Three varieties of alpine-type ultramafic rocks in the Norwegian Caledonides and basal gnesis complex

Three varieties of alpine-type ultramafic rocks are distinguish in the Norwegian Caledonides associated Basal Gneiss Complex. Type one rocks have primary (magmatic) olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and chromite, and are partly or completely serpentinised. They are found exclusively in rocks of Cambro-Silurian age. Type two are polymetamorphic metaperidotites or sagvandites consisting of olivine, enstatite and carbonate minerals, with talc and amphibole commonly being present. They are found in medium- to high-grade metamorphic rocks. Type three also show a metamorphic mineral association of olivine, orthopyroxene and minor chromite, while clinopyroxene, amphibole and chrome-bearing chlorite may also be present in some samples. Garnet may or may not occur and, where present, is often surrounded by reaction rims of spinel and amphibole. The type three ultramafic bodies are serpentinised to varying degrees and occur in high-grade metamorphic gneisses which may also contain eclogites and anorthosites. Distinction of these three varieties of ultramafic body may be useful for correlation purposes and for more detailed studies on the nature of their metamorphism.     

Sulfide intrusion in the tropical seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme

Sulfur and oxygen dynamics in the seagrasses Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme and their sediments were studied in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) in order to explore sulfide intrusion into tropical seagrasses. Four study sites were selected based on the iron concentration in sediments and on proximity to anthropogenic nutrient sources. Meadow characteristics (shoot density, above- and below-ground biomass, nutrient content) were sampled along with sediment biogeochemistry. Sulfide intrusion was high in T. testudinum, as up to 96% of total sulfur in the plant was derived from sediment-derived sulfides. The sulfide intrusion was negatively correlated to the turnover of sulfides in the sediments regulated by both plant parameters and sediment sulfur pools. Sediment iron content played an indirect role by affecting sulfide turnover rates. Leaf production was negatively correlated with sulfide intrusion suggesting that active growth reduced sulfide intrusion. Sulfide intrusion was lower in S. filiforme (up to 44%) compared to T. testudinum consistent with a higher internal nighttime oxygen concentrations found for S. filiforme. When S. filiforme can take advantage of its ability to maintain high internal oxygen concentrations, as was the case on the USVI, it could increase its success in colonizing unvegetated disturbed sediments with potentially high sulfide concentrations.     

UV-controlled physical and chemical structure of protoplanetary disks

We study details of the UV radiation transfer in a protoplanetary disk, paying attention to the influence of dust growth and sedimentation on the disk density and temperature. Also, we show how the dust evolution affects photoreaction rates of key molecules, like CN and CS.     

Shaking and splashing—A case study of far-field effects of the Mjølnir asteroid impact on depositional environments in the Barents Sea

The Mjølnir impact crater in the Norwegian Barents Sea features among the 20 largest impact craters listed in the Earth Impact Database. The impact is dated to 142 ± 2.6 Ma, corresponding closely to the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in the Boreal stratigraphy. Multidisciplinary studies carried out over the last three decades have suggested that the up to 40 km wide crater was created by a 1–3 km diameter impactor colliding with a shallow epicontinental sea, causing regional havoc and a regional ecological crisis that followed in its wake. Only minor evidence for the consequences of the impact for the surrounding depositional basins has been documented so far. This study describes a large submarine slump penetrated by hydrocarbon exploration well 7121/9-1, located in the southern Hammerfest Basin and approximately 350 km away from the impact site. The slump is dated by a black shale drape, which contains characteristic impact-related biotic assemblages and potential ejecta material. This precise dating enables us to associate the slump with large-scale fault movements and footwall collapse along the basin-bounding Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex, which we conclude were caused by shock waves from the Mjølnir impact and the passage of associated tsunami trains. The draping black shale is interpreted to represent significant reworking of material from the contemporary seabed by tsunamis and currents set up by the impact.     

Results from the Greenland Search for Meteorites expedition

Abstract— Following discoveries of blue ice areas in Greenland resembling meteorite‐bearing blue ice fields in Antarctica, a surface search of several of the most promising sites was carried out in August 2003. The ice fields are located in Kong Christian X Land, in northeastern Greenland around 74°N at elevations between 2100 and 2400 m. No meteorites were found in any of the localities that were searched. Evidence of occasional significant melting (filled crevasses and melt sheets) suggest that summer temperatures are sometimes high enough that dark rocks, like meteorites, can melt through the upper layers of ice. Small terrestrial rocks and cryogenite were found down to 50 cm below the ice surface. Meter‐sized terrestrial rocks were found on top of the ice downstream from nunataks. These rocks shade the ice below, and since they were apparently too massive to warm up during warm days, they remained at the surface as the surrounding ice ablated away. Our findings strongly suggest that Greenland is currently unlikely to harbor significant meteorite concentrations on blue ice fields.     

Evidence for delayed poleward expansion of North Atlantic surface waters during the last interglacial (MIS 5e)

The Last Interglacial (Marine Isotopic Stage or MIS 5e) surface ocean heat flux from the Rockall Basin (NE Atlantic) towards the Arctic Ocean was reconstructed by analysing dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages in four sediment cores. Together with records of stable isotopes and ice-rafted detritus, the assemblage data reflect the northward retreat of ice(berg)-laden waters and the gradual development towards interglacial conditions at the transition from the Saalian deglaciation (Termination II) into MIS 5e. At the Rockall Basin, this onset of the Last Interglacial is soon followed by the appearance of the thermophilic dinocyst species Spiniferites mirabilis, with relative abundances higher than those observed at present in the area. North of the Iceland-Scotland Ridge, however, S. mirabilis only appears in significant numbers during late MIS 5e, between ～118 and 116.5 ka. Hence, fully marine Last Interglacial conditions with most intense Atlantic surface water influence occurred during late MIS 5e in the Nordic seas, and consequently also farther north in the Arctic Ocean, and at times when northern hemisphere summer insolation was already significantly decreased. The stratigraphic position of this Late Interglacial optimum is supported by planktic foraminifers and contrasts with the timing of the early Holocene climatic optimum in this area. We interpret the delayed northward expansion of Atlantic waters towards the polar latitudes as a result of the Saalian ice sheet deglaciation and its specific impact on the subsequent water mass evolution in this region.     

Climatic bisection of the last interglacial warm period in the Polar North Atlantic

New multiproxy marine data of the Eemian interglacial (MIS5e) from the Norwegian Sea manifest a cold event with near-glacial surface ocean summer temperatures (3–4 °C). This mid-Eemian cooling divided the otherwise relatively warm interglacial climate and was associated with widespread expansions of winter sea-ice and polar water masses due to changes in atmospheric circulation and ocean stability. While the data also verify a late rather than early last interglacial warm peak, which is in general disharmony with northern hemisphere insolation maximum and the regional climatic progression of the early Holocene, the cold event itself was likely instrumental for delaying the last interglacial climate development in the Polar North when compared with regions farther south. Such a ‘climatic decoupling’ of the Polar region may bear profound implications for the employment of Eemian conditions to help evaluate the present and future state of the Arctic cryosphere during a warming interglacial.