North Atlantic Water in the Barents Sea Opening, 1997 to 1999

North Atlantic Water (NAW) is an important source of heat and salt to the Nordic seas and the Arctic Ocean. To measure the transport and variability of one branch of NAW entering the Arctic, a transect across the entrance to the Barents Sea was occupied 13 times between July 1997 and November 1999, and hydrography and currents were measured. There is large variability between the cruises, but the mean currents and the hydrography show that the main inflow takes place in Bjørnøyrenna, with a transport of 1.6 Sv of NAW into the Barents Sea. Combining the flow field with measurements of temperature and salinity, this results in mean heat and salt transports by NAW into the Barents Sea of 3.9×10¹³ W and 5.7×10⁷ kg s⁻¹, respectively. The NAW core increased in temperature and salinity by 0.7 °C yr⁻¹ and 0.04 yr⁻¹, respectively, over the observation period. Variations in the transports of heat and salt are, however, dominated by the flow field, which did not exhibit a significant change.     

Direct measurements of volume transports through Fram Strait

Heat and freshwater transports through Fram Strait are understood to have a significant influence on the hydrographic conditions in the Arctic Ocean and on water mass modifications in the Nordic seas. To determine these transports and their variability reliable estimates of the volume transport through the strait are required. Current meter moorings were deployed in Fram Strait from September 1997 to September 1999 in the framework of the EU MAST III Variability of Exchanges in the Northern Seas programme. The monthly mean velocity fields reveal marked velocity variations over seasonal and annual time scales, and the spatial structure of the northward flowing West Spitsbergen Current and the southward East Greenland Current with a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer. The volume transport obtained by averaging the monthly means over two years amounts to 9.5 ± 1.4 Sv to the north and 11.1 ± 1.7 Sv to the south (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹). The West Spitsbergen Current has a strong barotropic and a weaker baroclinic component; in the East Greenland Current barotropic and baroclinic components are of similar magnitude. The net transport through the strait is 4.2 ± 2.3 Sv to the south. The obtained northward and southward transports are significantly larger than earlier estimates in the literature; however, within its range of uncertainty the balance obtained from a two year average is consistent with earlier estimates.     

Early Holocene environment on Bjørnøya (Svalbard) inferred from multidisciplinary lake sediment studies

Bjørnøya, a small (178 km²) island situated between the mainland of Norway and southern Spitsbergen, provides the opportunity for the reconstruction of early Holocene terrestrial and limnic palaeoenvironments in the southwestern Barents Sea. The AMS ¹⁴C dating technique, geochemical, mineral magnetic, micro and macrofossil analyses were applied to sediments recovered from lake Stevatnet and the results are interpreted in terms of palaeoenvironmental conditions between 9800 and 8300 ¹⁴C bp. After the disappearance of local glaciers before ca 9800¹⁴C BP, the lake productivity increased rapidly at the same time as pioneer plant communities developed on soils which gradually became more stable. Insect data indicates that strong seasonal contrasts with mean July temperatures around 9°C and mean January temperatures around −12°C prevailed between 9500 and 8300 ¹⁴C BP. These high summer temperatures, possibly as much as 4-5°C higher than the present, favoured the development of a flora including Dryas and Angelica cf. archangelica . The enhanced freeze/thaw processes led to an increased erosion of minerogenic and organic material. After 8000 ¹⁴C BP the temperatures may have gradually declined. The environmental reconstruction derived from our data set supports the conceptual insolation model which proposes maximum Holocene seasonality for the Northern Hemisphere at ca 9000 ¹⁴C BP.     

Mass balance and changes of surface slope, crevasse and flow pattern of Erikbreen, northern Spitsbergen: an application of a geographical information system (GIS)

The polythcrmal valley glacier Erikbreen (79°40'N 12°30'E), northern Spitsbergen, was investigated in 1970 and 1990 using digital photogrammetry and digital elevation model (DEM) techniques. The bottom topography was derived from radio-echo soundings. Based on the DEM, mass balance and changes of surface slope, crevasse and flow pattern were evaluated, and internal ice deformation velocities were calculated. Calculations of the total mass balance show that Erikbreen has not been in equilibrium for the last 20 years. The average surface lowering was 0.38 m/a and the volume had decreased by 5% to 6% from 1970 to 1990 or on the average by 3.5 × 10⁻¹ water. The glacier surface subsided over the whole glacier area except in minor areas with northfacing slopes in the accumulation area. The surface slope and the crevasse pattern, however, did not change significantly during the 20-year-period, except in areas below 100 ma.s.l.     

Deglaciation effects on the rotation of the Earth

Summary. The viscoelastic response of the Earth to the mass displacements caused by late Pleistocene deglaciation and concomitant sea level changes is shown to be capable of producing the secular motion of the Earth's rotation pole as deduced from astronomical observations. The calculations for a viscoelastic Earth yield a secular motion in the direction of 72° W meridian which is in excellent agreement with observed values. The average Newtonian viscosity and the relaxation time obtained from polar motion data are about (1.1 ± 0.6)10²³ poise (P) and 10⁴ (1 ± 0.5) yr. The non-tidal secular acceleration of the Earth can also be attributed to the viscoelastic response to deglaciation and results in an independent viscosity estimate of 1.6 × 10²³ P with upper and lower limits of 1.1 × 10²³ and 2.8 × 10²³ P. These values are in agreement with those based on the polar drift analysis and indicate an average mantle viscosity of 1–2 × 10²³ P.     

Modeling Arctic Ocean heat transport and warming episodes in the 20th century caused by the intruding Atlantic Water

This study investigates the Arctic Ocean warming episodes in the 20th century using both a high-resolution coupled global climate model and historical observations .The model,with no flux adjustment,reproduces well the Atlantic Water core temperature(AWCT) in the Arctic Ocean and shows that four largest decadal-scale warming episodes occurred in the 1930s,70s,80s,and 90s,in agreement with the hydrographic observational data.The difference is that there was no pre-warming prior to the 1930s episode,while there were two pre-warming episodes in the 1970s and 80s prior to the 1990s,leading the 1990s into the largest and prolonged warming in the 20th century.Over the last century,the simulated heat transport via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea was estimated to be,on average,31.32 TW and 14.82 TW,respectively,while the Bering Strait also provides 15.94 TW heat into the western Arctic Ocean.Heat transport into the Arctic Ocean by the Atlantic Water via Fram Strait and the Barents Sea correlates significantly with AWCT(C=0.75 ) at 0- lag.The modeled North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) index has a significant correlation with the heat transport(C=0.37).The observed AWCT has a significant correlation with both the modeled AWCT(C=0.49) and the heat transport(C=0.41). However,the modeled NAO index does not significantly correlate with either the observed AWCT(C=0.03) or modeled AWCT(C=0.16) at a zero-lag,indicating that the Arctic climate system is far more complex than expected.     

Uplift and heat flow following the injection of magmas into the lithosphere

Summary. The thermal effect of a rapid injection of hot magmas into the lower part of the lithosphere is modelled as an increase in heat production through the invaded region. The change in surface heat flow and the uplift resulting from the thermal expansion are determined in three-dimensional axially symmetric geometry: they are expressed as the space time convolutions of a Green's function with the anomalous heat production.
The anomalies with shorter wavelength (compared to the lithospheric thickness) are attenuated. This filtering affects the surface uplift more than the heat flow anomaly; the attenuation effect is larger when only the lower part of the lithosphere is invaded.
The uplift time constant is of the same order as the heat conduction time if the lower lithosphere is invaded by magmas at a moderate rate (i.e. the rate of injection does not exceed the equivalent of 0.1 per cent of the lithospheric volume in 10⁶yr). Fifty per cent of the total uplift takes place in about 80 × 10⁶yr for a lithosphere 100 km thick. The uplift is slightly faster when the whole lithosphere is invaded. The heat flow anomaly is delayed when the lower part of the lithosphere is invaded.
The spatial extent and the timing of the uplift and heat flow anomalies are critical in determining the mechanism's feasibility. Magma injections explain rapid uplifts [> 100 m (10⁶ yr)⁻¹] only if the magma is supplied at a very high rate (i.e. at least 10 per cent of the lithosphere volume per 10⁶yr). It is a feasible mechanism for uplifts that occur over longer periods of time (≊ 30 × 10⁶yr) such as those that seem to have occurred when the African plate came to rest with respect to the mantle.     

Single-zircon Pb-evaporation and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the metamorphic and granitic rocks in north-west Spitsbergen

North-west Spitsbergen consists of a complex of Caledonian and Grenvillian crystalline rocks, situated at the north-west corner of the Barents Shelf. The aim of this study is to understand the extent of pre-Caledonian basement rocks and their protoliths. Micas and zircon grains from six rocks from north-west Spitsbergen have been dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and single-zircon Pb-evaporation methods. Two grey granites yielded Late Caledonian mica ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and zircon ages of ca. 420-430 My, with inherited zircon grains as old as 1725 My. Zircon grains from a gneissose granite xenolith in a grey granites gave crystallization ages of ca. 960 My; some grains from a migmatite neosome show similar ages. Zircon grains yielding Archean and late Palaeoproterozoic ages (1600-1800 My) are interpreted as xenocrysts of detrital origin. The youngest ages obtained from detrital zircon grains from a greenschist facies quartzite of the Signehamna unit are ca. 1800 My. Similar schists are included as xenoliths in the 960 My old gneissose granite; therefore, the sedimentary protoliths of the unit are Mesoproterozoic. The dating results suggest a significant tectonothermal event during Grenvillian time; subsequent Caledonian events had less extensive thermal effects. However, it is still a matter of debate whether Grenvillian or Caledonian metamorphism produced the majority of the migmatites. A large population of zircon grains with Late Palaeoproterozoic ages suggests a wide surface exposure of rocks of this age in the source area, with some Archean zircons.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Southern Zone of the Lewisian (Precambrian) Foreland, NW Scotland

Summary. Palaeomagnetic results are reported from 111 localities in meta- morphic rocks from the Southern Zone of the Lewisian Complex and 12 sites from similar terrain on the island of Lewis and Harris. These rocks were magnetized during slow uplift following the ca. 1800 Ma Laxfordian tectonic/ magmatic episode. The Southern Zone experienced diachronous uplift and there is a transition from predominantly positive NW remanence directions in the north to shallow negative NW directions in the south. More prolonged metamorphism in the south correlates with a transition from magnetite/ sulphide to magnetite/hematite assemblages. The relict Ruadh Mheallan zone relatively unaffected by Laxfordian tectonism preserves a (A1) remanence D = 82°, I = 65° which is sporadically recovered as high blocking temperature component in areas bordering this zone. Elsewhere, the migration of field directions is summarized as mean directions (A3) D = 323°, I = 44°, (A4) D = 314°, I = 14° and (A5) D = 313°, I = - 11° which appear to follow on sequentially from the predominant A2 direction ( D = 286°, I = 55°) observed in the Central Zone of the Lewisian Complex. The remanence directions are linked to a first approximation to the K-Ar hornblende ages and imply a migration of the ambient field direction through ca. 110° during an interval between 1 × 10⁷ and 2 × 10⁸× yr at about 1600Ma; the weight of the evidence suggests that the interval represented is between 0.5 and 1 × 10⁸× yr.
The Lewisian A2—A5 directions yield palaeopoles which follow on from 1800–1700 Ma magnetizations from the Hudsonian terrains of Greenland and North America and overlap with the youngest record from these regions on the pre-drift reconstruction; collectively the data define part of a large apw loop.     

Moraine Exposure Dates Imply Synchronous Younger Dryas Glacier Advances in the European Alps and in the Southern Alps of New Zealand

Samples taken from the top surfaces of boulders on the Lake Misery moraines at Arthur's Pass, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, were analysed for ¹⁰Be by accelerator mass spectrometry. Exposure ages calculated with the currently accepted production rate, along with scaling corrections for sample latitude and elevation (42°50'S, 960 m), are: 9300 ± 990, 11,000 ± 1360, 11,410 ± 1030, 12,050 ± 960, and 12,410 ± 1180 years. We consider the date of 9300 years to be an outlier, not included in our mean exposure age of 11,720 ± 320 years for the Lake Misery moraines. Based on exposure ages and geomorphologic similarities, we compare the Lake Misery moraines with an Egesen moraine complex at Julier Pass in the Swiss Alps (46°30'N, 2200 m). Based on the ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ³⁶Cl exposure ages of three boulders, we calculate a mean exposure age of 11,750 ± 140 years for the outer Egesen moraine at Julier Pass. Based solely on ¹⁰Be measurements, we obtain a mean exposure age of 11,860 ± 210 years for this outer moraine. Egesen moraines in the Swiss Alps represent glacier readvance during the Younger Dryas cold reversal, based on regional correlations and on basal radiocarbon dates from bogs located up-valley of Egesen moraines. The exposure dates from Arthur's Pass and Julier Pass show synchronous glacier advances both in the Southern Alps and in the European Alps during the European Younger Dryas chronozone of Mangerud et al .     

The Gulf of Aqaba earthquake swarm of 1983 January-April

Summary. In the period 1983 January 21 -April 20, more than 500 local earthquakes ( M _L≤ 4.85) occurred in the Gulf of Aqaba area between latitudes 29°00'and 29°25'and longitudes 34°30'and 34°45'. Most of the activity including the largest shocks was restricted to the area between latitudes 29°07'and 29° 15'and longitudes 34°33'and 34°42'where the NW Atiya regional dyke crosses the area and is horizontally displaced by NE strike-slip faults. The first-motion directions of four large shocks, including the largest, at both UNJ and HLW stations are in agreement with a strike-slip mechanism at a NE-trending fault in this area. The b value showed a temporal increase with time from 0.43 to 0.69. This, together with other geological and geophysical observations may indicate that subsurface magmatic activity has affected the stressed crustal rocks, thus triggering earthquake activity.
This swarm and historical information indicate that the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea Jordan transform is characterized by both swarm and foreshock-aftershock types of seismic activity and therefore the relatively large proportion of non-seismic slip along the southern part of this transform may actually be higher if swarm-type activities are considered.     

Thermochronometry and palaeomagnetism of the Archaean Nelshoogte Pluton, South Africa

²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb single-grain zircon, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar single-grain hornblende and biotite, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar bulk-sample muscovite and biotite ages from the Nelshoogte trondhjemite pluton located in eastern Transvaal, South Africa, show that this granitoid had a protracted thermal history spanning 3213±4  Ma to about 3000  Ma. Whole-rock ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from cross-cutting dolerite dykes indicate that these were intruded at about 1900  Ma. There is no evidence of this or other, later events significantly affecting the argon systematics of the minerals from the pluton dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method.
  The pluton has a well-defined palaeomagnetic pole which is dated at 3179±18 (2 σ ) Ma by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of hornblende. This pole (18°N, 310°E, A ₉₅=9°) yields a palaeolatitude of 0°, significantly different from other Archaean poles from the Kaapvaal Craton. The palaeolatitude difference implies that there was significant apparent polar wander during the Archaean. A second, overprinting magnetization seen in the pluton is also seen in the lower-Proterozoic dolerite dykes, and is consistent with other lower-Proterozoic (2150–1950  Ma) poles for southern Africa.     

Micromonas pusilla (Prasinophyceae) as part of pico-and nanoplankton communities of the Barents Sea

Micromonas pusilla (Butcher) Manton & Parke appears to be a prominent member of the Barents Sea picoplankton community as revealed by the serial dilution culture method. Cell numbers frequently exceeded 10⁷ cells 1⁻¹, though they usually varied between 10³and 10⁶ cells l⁻¹. A number of other identified and unidentified taxa were recorded and quantified. Distribution relative to the marginal ice zone is reported.     

Thermal regime of a valley glacier, Erikbreen, northern Spitsbergen

The thermal regime of the valley glacier, Erikbreen, northern Spitsbergen (79°40'N, 12°30'E) was studied using radio-echo sounding and temperature measurements from eight boreholes ranging from 13.5 to 24 m. Radar images indicate a glacier with a two-layered thermal structure. A surface layer of cold ice, 20 to 60 m thick along the centre flow line, extends from an altitude above equilibrium line to the glacier front. This layer represents 20 to 35% of the glacier thickness, except at the floating front, where the cold layer is about 50%. The ice beneath the cold surface layer is interpreted to be temperate. Cold-based areas exist near the glacier margin and in some locations in the accumulation area; the ice is interpreted to be entirely temperate in central parts of the accumulation area at high altitude. Freezing of temperate ice at the base of the cold surface layer is probably the main mechanism of cold ice formation in the frontal parts of Erikbreen. Calculated heat fluxes based on the borehole measurements show that a steady state cold layer 25 to 30 m thick is likely, assuming a surface melting of 1.7 m/y and a maximum water content of 3%. In the frontal parts the calculated mean annual upward heat flux at 10 to 15 m depth is roughly 0.6 W/m².     

The outflow of polar water through the Arctic Archipelago and the oceanographic conditions in Baffin Bay

The transports of mass, heat, and salt through the Arctic Archipelago are estimated by two different approaches. First: A baroclinic, rotationally controlled flow is assumed through the Arctic Archipelago and the Davis Strait, with all passages transporting at maximum capacity. Second: Mass, salt, and energy balances are considered for the upper 'cold core' in Baffin Bay. The mass transport in the first case decreases and in the second case increases with increasing salinity in the Beaufort Sea. It is thus possible to determine a salinity at which both approaches give the same mass transport. The outflow in the upper layers is estimated at 0.7 · 10⁹ kg s⁻¹ with a salinity of 32.9. The amount of water from the Polar Ocean entering the deeper (Atlantic) layer in Baffin Bay is more difficult to assess. A tentative value of 0.3 10·kg s⁻¹ with a salinity cf 34.3 is proposed.     

Deglacial land emergence and lateral upper-mantle heterogeneity in the Svalbard Archipelago—II. Extended results for high-resolution load models

In Paper I (Breuer & Wolf 1995), a preliminary interpretation of the postglacial land emergence observed at a restricted set of six locations in the Svalbard Archipelago was given. The study was based on a simple model of the Barents Sea ice sheet and suggested increases in lithosphere thickness and asthenosphere viscosity with increasing distance from the continental margin.
In the present paper, the newly developed high-resolution load model. BARENTS-2, and land-uplift observations from an extended set of 25 locations are used to study further the possibility of resolving lateral heterogeneity in the upper mantle below the northern Barents Sea. A comparison of the calculated and observed uplift values shows that the lithosphere thickness is not well resolved by the observations, although values above 110 km are most common for this parameter. In contrast to this, there are indications of a lateral variation of asthenosphere viscosity. Whereas values in the range 10¹⁸-10²⁰Pas are inferred for locations close to the continental margin, 10²⁰-10²¹ Pa s are suggested further away from the margin.
A study of the sensitivity of the values found for lithosphere thickness and asthenosphere viscosity to modifications of load model BARENTS-2 shows that such modifications can be largely accommodated by appropriate changes in lithosphere thickness, whereas the suggested lateral variation of asthenosphere viscosity is essentially unaffected. An estimate of the influence of the Fennoscandian. ice sheet leads to the conclusion that its neglect results in an underestimation of the thickness of the Barents Sea ice sheet by about 10 per cent.     

Oxygen consumption in Macrotrachela musculosa and Trichotria truncata (Rotatoria) from the High Arctic

Oxygen consumption by rotifers Macrotrachela musculosa and Trichotria truncata from Spitsbergen tundra (77°N) was measured using the method of Cartesian divers. The metabolic rate of M. musculosa was: 0.205 10⁻³mm³ 0₂ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour at 2°C, 0.201 10⁻⁶mm³ at 6°C and 0.616 10⁻³mm³ 0₂ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour at 10°C. The metabolic rate of Trichotria truncata at 6° was 0.103 10⁻³mm³ per g 10⁻⁶ per hour. The relation between body weight and oxygen consumption by M. musculosa at 2°C is expressed with the equation R = 0.18W^0.67, with R – oxygen consumption in mm³10⁻³ per individual per hour and W – wet weight of an animal in g 10⁻⁶.     

Coastal morpho-stratigraphy and Holocene relative sea level changes at Tuapaat, southeastern Disko Island, central West Greenland

The geomorphology of a coarse clastic coastal landscape at Tuapaat (69°24'N 52°36'W), southeastern Disko Island, central West Greenland, is described, and a coastal morpho-stratigraphy of the landscape is constructed. ¹⁴C ages on marine shells, whale bones, peat and gyttja are used to construct relative sea level changes throughout the Holocene. The emergence of SE Disko Island occurred in the early part of the Holocene. The Holocene marine limit is situated ca. 80m a.s.l. Between 4.7 and 1.0ka BP, the relative sea level approached the present sea level and it has probably been below present sea level between 4.7 ka BP and the present. The morpho-stratigraphy in the lowest part of the coastal landscape at Tuapaat suggests a complex late Holocene relative sea level history which includes at least 3-4 transgressions during the last ca. 2.5 ka.     

Palaeointensity results from Ethiopian basalts: implications for the Oligocene geomagnetic field strength

From a large collection of Ethiopian flood basalts (~30  Myr old) sampled for magnetostratigraphy, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and geochemical investigations, 47 samples were selected in order to test their suitability for Thellier palaeointensity experiments. Only 17 samples from eight individual flows yielded reliable palaeointensity estimates, with flow-mean virtual dipole moments ranging from 3.0 to 10.5 × 10²²  A  m² .
  A critical review of the Oligocene palaeointensity data set, including these new Ethiopian data, indicates an Oligocene mean virtual dipole moment of 5.1 ± 2.5 × 10²²  A  m² for the complete data set. After applying mild selection criteria, the reduced data set yields a mean value of only 4.6 ± 1.9 × 10²²  A  m² . This value is significantly lower than the present-day field strength but is higher than the Mesozoic dipole low mean field. This low Oligocene field might be in agreement with the high palaeosecular variation and rather high non-dipole field invoked around 30  Ma. However, the Oligocene data set is largely dependent on the palaeointensity determinations from Armenia, obtained mainly from baked contacts, which show amazingly low dispersion at both flow and between-flow levels. More data are needed to reduce the weight of these determinations on the mean value and avoid a possible bias.     

Glacier extent in a Novaya Zemlya fjord during the "Little Ice Age" inferred from glaciomarine sediment records

Glacier activity at Russkaya Gavan', north-west Novaya Zemlya (Arctic Russia), is reconstructed by particle size analysis of three fjord sediment cores in combination with ¹⁴C and ²¹⁰Pb dating. Down-core logging of particle size variation reveals at least two intervals with sediment coarsening during the past eight centuries. By comparing them with reconstructions of summer temperature and atmospheric circulation, these intervals are interpreted to represent two cycles of glacier advance and retreat sometime during ca. AD 1400–1700 and AD 1700–present. Sediment accumulation thus appears to be sensitive to century-scale fluctuations of the Barents Sea climate. The identification of two glacier cycles in the glaciomarine record from Russkaya Gavan' demonstrates that during the "Little Ice Age" major glacier fluctuations on Novaya Zemlya occurred in broad synchrony with those in other areas around the Barents Sea.