Airborne measurements of dust layer properties, particle size distribution and mixing state of Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006

The Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) was conducted in May/June 2006 in southern Morocco. As part of SAMUM, airborne in situ measurements of the particle size distribution in the diameter range 4 nm < D _p < 100 μm were conducted. The aerosol mixing state was determined below D _p < 2.5 μm. Furthermore, the vertical structure of the dust layers was investigated with a nadir-looking high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL). The desert dust aerosol exhibited two size regimes of different mixing states: below 0.5 μm, the particles had a non-volatile core and a volatile coating; larger particles above 0.5 μm consisted of non-volatile components and contained light absorbing material. In all cases, particles larger than 10 μm were present, and in 80% of the measurements no particles larger than 40 μm were present. The abundance of large particles showed almost no height dependence. The effective diameter D _eff in the dust plumes investigated showed two main ranges: the first range of D _eff peaked around 5 μm and the second range of D _eff around 8 μm. The two ranges of D _eff suggest that it may be inadequate to use one average effective diameter or one parametrization for a typical dust size distribution.     

What can be deduced from chemical measurement in an open-field raingauge? An example in the Maures Massif,southeastern France

Abstract

The deposition of chemical elements in a catchment occurs through three different processes: wet, dry and cloud deposition. Total deposition cannot be inferred from measurements made with open-field raingauges, and still constitutes a challenge to scientific method. The chemical composition of samples from an open-field raingauge (bulk precipitation) was analysed over a period of several years in a small Mediterranean catchment in the Maures Massif, France. The input of chloride measured in this way was two times lower than the output, despite the fact that this element is reputed to be conservative, which means input and output should roughly balance. This implies that input has previously been underestimated. Analysis of the bulk precipitation data was carried out taking into account both the history of rain events and of sampling. This study allowed the relative parts of the different deposition processes to be quantified. Dry deposition can provide from 20% to more than 80% of the anthropogenic and terrigenic elements (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, NO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2-, SiO₂) to the rain samples. The occult deposition of marine elements on the catchment area (50% of total deposition) was found to be mostly due to cloud deposition during wet periods.     

Early Jurassic Coleopterans from the Mintaja Insect Locality,Western Australia

<正>Beetles(Coleoptera)are the most common insects recovered from the Lower Jurassic Mintaja insect locality of Western Australia,with over half of the fossils recorded from this site being isolated coleopteran elytra. A range of partial beetle bodies and other isolated beetle sclerites have also been recovered from the locality; much of this material is taxonomically unidenitifiable due to its disarticulation and poor preservation.A number of the Mintaja coleopterans are assigned to the archostematan family Ommatidae,including Zygadenia westraliensis(Riek,1968)comb.nov,previously placed in the morphogenus Mesothoris,and an unnamed species of Tetraphalerus.Also recorded is a new species of elaterid,Lithomerus wunda sp.nov.,along with other fragments likely attributable to the same family.The remaining material is assigned into morphospecies, separated primarily on preserved body parts—specifically,there are three morphospecies based on partially articulated coleopteran bodies,two morphospecies based on isolated head capsules,three morphospecies based on isolated thoracic sclerites,three morphospecies based on isolated abdominal sclerites,and 13 morphospecies based on isolated elytra.Overall,the ecology of these fossils is difficult to interpret due to poor preservation, although some of the beetles were likely aquatic,and the Ommatidae and Elateridae were both likely xylophilous. There is a strong similarity between the Mintaja coleopterans and those from the Late Triassic Denmark Hill locality of Queensland,though many of these similarities are based on morphotaxa and may be superficial in nature.Of the species that have been assigned to named taxa,all are generally typical of the Late Mesozoic worldwide,with Zygadenia,Tetraphalerus and Lithomerus all long-ranging,cosmopolitan genera.     

The spectra of singular values in a regional model

Large portions of the spectra of singular values are determined for both moist and dry versions of a tangent linear, regional model for 4 different synoptic cases. Norms considered include the usual energy norm and versions of a norm measuring only the energy in some set of rotational mode perturbations. At most, only a few percent of the singular vectors possible with any of the norms are growing ones. Inclusion of moist physics in the tangent linear model greatly affects the leading singular vectors but does not increase the number of growing singular vectors much. Most singular vectors are damping ones, and therefore random perturbations drawn from a white‐noise distribution will likely damp during the 24‐h forecast periods considered. Only a few singular vectors are required to explain a significant portion of the final‐time variance of such perturbations, however, because the leading singular values are so large compared with the rest. The truncated rotational mode norm is shown to be very useful for investigating these properties.     

Sunset on Heimdall's Stones. A View from Archaeology and Archaeoastronomy of the Ravlunda 169 Iron Age Cemetery

Salt, A. and Rundkvist, M., 2011. Letter to the editor: Sunset on Heimdall's stones. A view from archaeology and archaeoastronomy of the Ravlunda 169 Iron Age cemetery. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 193–196. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468‐0459.2011.00428.x     

A Holocene seabird record from Raffles Sø sediments, East Greenland, in response to climatic and oceanic changes

A 3.5-m-long sediment sequence from a lake on Raffles Ø, off Liverpool Land, East Greenland, was investigated for chronology, lithology, palynology and biogeochemistry. Radiocarbon-dating of plant remains and the lithology of the sediment succession indicate continuous sedimentation since deglaciation of the area prior to 10000 cal. yr BP. The postglacial palynological record shows little variation and evidence of a wind-transported pollen supply, both resulting from the geographical characteristics of Raffles Ø. Significant variations in the biogeochemical data reflect changes in aquatic bioproduction. These changes depend to some extent on climatic changes; however, they are mainly due to variations in seabird breeding colonies in the catchment which influence nutrient and cadmium supply to the lake. Large seabird breeding colonies were present between 7500 and 1900, from 1000 to 500, and since c. 100 cal. yr BP. Their absence prior to 7500 cal. yr BP may be the result of unsuitable feeding conditions close to Raffles Ø caused by a too dense or too open sea-ice cover. In contrast, between 1900 and 1000 and from 500 to 100 cal. yr BP, the seabird settlement was probably restricted by an insufficiently long breeding season due to cold climate conditions in East Greenland.     

Late Neanderthal occupation in North‐West Europe: rediscovery,investigation and dating of a last glacial sediment sequence at the site of La Cotte de Saint Brelade,Jersey

In 2011, a programme of field research was undertaken to effect the stabilization of an unstable section in the West Ravine at the key Neanderthal occupation site of La Cotte de St Brelade on the Channel Island of Jersey. As part of this essential remedial work the threatened section was analysed to characterize its archaeological and palaeoenvironmental potential as well provide optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates. The work determined, through two concordant OSL dating programmes, that the section formed part of an extensive sequence of sedimentation spanning >105 to <48 ka. Furthermore, reanalysis of the archive determined that the sediment sequence examined contained the stratigraphic equivalent of deposits lying below those that have previously produced Neanderthal fossils. Through our work, we can now constrain these younger sediments to being younger than 48 ka. The combined results suggest that this sequence now represents the recovery of an extensive dataset, thought lost to science through complete excavation, which holds the potential to throw light on the disappearance of Neanderthal populations from the Atlantic‐edge outpost on the north‐west frontier of their world.     

Depolarization ratio profiling at several wavelengths in pure Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006

Vertical profiles of the linear particle depolarization ratio of pure dust clouds were measured during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) at Ouarzazate, Morocco (30.9°N, –6.9°E), close to source regions in May–June 2006, with four lidar systems at four wavelengths (355, 532, 710 and 1064 nm). The intercomparison of the lidar systems is accompanied by a discussion of the different calibration methods, including a new, advanced method, and a detailed error analysis. Over the whole SAMUM periode pure dust layers show a mean linear particle depolarization ratio at 532 nm of 0.31, in the range between 0.27 and 0.35, with a mean Ångström exponent (AE, 440–870 nm) of 0.18 (range 0.04–0.34) and still high mean linear particle depolarization ratio between 0.21 and 0.25 during periods with aerosol optical thickness less than 0.1, with a mean AE of 0.76 (range 0.65–1.00), which represents a negative correlation of the linear particle depolarization ratio with the AE. A slight decrease of the linear particle depolarization ratio with wavelength was found between 532 and 1064 nm from 0.31 ± 0.03 to 0.27 ± 0.04.