Vertical distributions of chlorophyll in deep, warm monomictic lakes

The factors affecting vertical distributions of chlorophyll fluorescence were examined in four temperate, warm monomictic lakes. Each of the lakes (maximum depth >80 m) was sampled over 2 years at intervals from monthly to seasonal. Profiles were taken of chlorophyll fluorescence (as a proxy for algal biomass), temperature and irradiance, as well as integrated samples from the surface mixed layer for chlorophyll a (chl a) and nutrient concentrations in each lake. Depth profiles of chlorophyll fluorescence were also made along transects of the longest axis of each lake. Chlorophyll fluorescence maxima occurred at depths closely correlated with euphotic depth (r ² = 0.67, P < 0.01), which varied with nutrient status of the lakes. While seasonal thermal density stratification is a prerequisite for the existence of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), our study provides evidence that the depth of light penetration largely dictates the DCM depth during stratification. Reduction in water clarity through eutrophication can cause a shift in phytoplankton distributions from a DCM in spring or summer to a surface chlorophyll maximum within the surface mixed layer when the depth of the euphotic zone (z _eu) is consistently shallower than the depth of the surface mixed layer (z _SML). Trophic status has a key role in determining vertical distributions of chlorophyll in the four lakes, but does not appear to disrupt the annual cycle of maximum chlorophyll in winter.     

A Biogeochemical View of Estuarine Eutrophication: Seasonal and Spatial Trends and Correlations in the Delaware Estuary

The Delaware River and Bay Estuary is one of the major urbanized estuaries of the world. The 100-km long tidal river portion of the estuary suffered from major summer hypoxia in the past due to municipal and industrial inputs in the urban region; the estuary has seen remarkable water quality improvements from recent municipal sewage treatment upgrades. However, the estuary still has extremely high nutrient loading, which appears to not have much adverse impact. Since the biogeochemistry of the estuary has been relatively similar for the past two decades, our multiple year research database is used in this review paper to address broad spatial and seasonal patterns of conditions in the tidal river and 120 km long saline bay. Dissolved oxygen concentrations show impact from allochthonous urban inputs and meteorological forcing as well as biological influences. Nutrient concentrations, although high, do not stimulate excessive algal biomass due to light and multiple nutrient element limitations. Since the bay does not have strong persistent summer stratification, there is little potential for bottom water hypoxia. Elevated chlorophyll concentrations do not exert much influence on light attenuation since resuspended bottom inorganic sediments dominate the turbidity. Dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved and particulate organic carbon distributions show significant variability from watershed inputs and lesser impact from urban inputs and biological processes. Ratios of dissolved and particulate carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus help to understand watershed and urban inputs as well as autochthonous biological influences. Owing to the relatively simple geometry of the system and localized anthropogenic inputs as well as a broad spatial and seasonal database, it is possible to develop these biogeochemical trends and correlations for the Delaware Estuary. We suggest that this biogeochemical perspective allows a revised evaluation of estuarine eutrophication that should have generic value for understanding other estuarine and coastal waters.     

Prospects for detecting ultra-high-energy particles with FAST

The origin of the highest-energy particles in nature, ultra-high-energy(UHE) cosmic rays, is still unknown. In order to resolve this mystery, very large detectors are required to probe the low flux of these particles — or to detect the as-yet unobserved flux of UHE neutrinos predicted from their interactions. The‘lunar Askaryan technique' is a method to do both. When energetic particles interact in a dense medium,the Askaryan effect produces intense coherent pulses of radiation in the MHz–GHz range. By using radio telescopes to observe the Moon and look for nanosecond pulses, the entire visible lunar surface(20 million km~2) can be used as a UHE particle detector. A large effective area over a broad bandwidth is the primary telescope requirement for lunar observations, which makes large single-aperture instruments such as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST) well-suited to the technique. In this contribution, we describe the lunar Askaryan technique and its unique observational requirements. Estimates of the sensitivity of FAST to both the UHE cosmic ray and neutrino flux are given, and we describe the methods by which lunar observations with FAST, particularly if equipped with a broadband phased-array feed, could detect the flux of UHE cosmic rays.     

A high‐resolution seismic stratigraphy from a Scottish sea loch and its implications for Loch Lomond Stadial deglaciation

A detailed high‐resolution seismic stratigraphy, calibrated by core data and terrestrial geomorphological mapping, has been constructed for Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye. This study has provided a palaeoenvironmental history of the area as well as important corroborative evidence for the stepped deglaciation of the Loch Lomond Stadial ice‐field on Skye. The Ainort Glacier reworked pre‐Loch Lomond glacial deposits terminating in a grounded tidewater ice‐front potentially 800 m beyond the previously extrapolated limit. The first stage of deglaciation was characterised by the formation of De Geer moraines indicative of a period of interrupted retreat. The second phase, by contrast, produced hummocky relief with sporadic linear moraines suggesting periods of uninterrupted retreat with occasional stillstands/readvances. Paraglacial reworking of terrestrial slopes resulted in the deposition of thick, subaqueous, debris flows which graded into fluvioglacial dominated sediments and ultimately modern fjordic deposits. The identification of an initial period of active retreat punctuated by numerous readvances correlates directly with the terrestrial record. However, the offshore stratigraphy suggests that although the second phase was dominated by uninterrupted retreat, occasional stillstands/ readvances did occur. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lake ice and temperature trends for Ontario and Manitoba: 2001 to 2014

Lakes are a prominent geographic feature in northern landscapes and play an important role in understanding regional climate systems. In order to better model changes within climate systems, it is important to study lake ice processes. Although the availability of records for lake ice through ground measurements has declined in recent years, the increased use of remote sensing provides an alternative to this. Using a preclassified snow and ice remote sensing product with a 500‐m resolution, based on images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS/MOD10A1), and the use of measured and reanalysis temperature data, this study evaluated lake ice phenology dates in connection to recent trends in temperature and 0 °C isotherms within Ontario and Manitoba between 2001 and 2014. Temperature trends indicated both regional warming and cooling, with significant cooling observed in Southern Ontario (p < .05) and significant warming in Southern Manitoba (p < .1) during the fall. Spatial analysis of the trends in the lake ice data showed significant clustering of significant trends in ice on dates (p < .01). When analysing the trends in ice phenology in connection to the trends in temperature, it was found that 70% of lakes experienced a change in the ice on date with the expected change in temperature and 85% of lakes for ice off date. When shifting ice on and ice off dates are investigated in relation to 0 °C isotherms, it was seen that 80% of ice on dates and 100% of ice off dates shifted in sync with the isotherm dates. This demonstrates that the ice phenology of lakes in Ontario and Manitoba, Canada, is responding to short‐term variability in temperature. The MODIS product could be used to investigate ice phenology on a large scale and contribute towards expanding existing records of ice phenology. Establishing long‐term ice records could be a valuable asset for other research ranging from water balance studies to the response of lake biota under changing climate.     

On the control of subantarctic stratification by the ocean circulation

Climate Dynamics - A shallow mixed layer depth bias in Austral winter in the Subantarctic Zone is a common feature of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) models, including the Community...     

Global sensitivity analysis in an ocean general circulation model: a sparse spectral projection approach

Polynomial chaos (PC) expansions are used to propagate parametric uncertainties in ocean global circulation model. The computations focus on short-time, high-resolution simulations of the Gulf of Mexico, using the hybrid coordinate ocean model, with wind stresses corresponding to hurricane Ivan. A sparse quadrature approach is used to determine the PC coefficients which provides a detailed representation of the stochastic model response. The quality of the PC representation is first examined through a systematic refinement of the number of resolution levels. The PC representation of the stochastic model response is then utilized to compute distributions of quantities of interest (QoIs) and to analyze the local and global sensitivity of these QoIs to uncertain parameters. Conclusions are finally drawn regarding limitations of local perturbations and variance-based assessment and concerning potential application of the present methodology to inverse problems and to uncertainty management.     

Modeling IR spectral energy distributions: a?pilot study of?starburst parameters and silicate absorption curves for some GOALS galaxies

This paper describes a pilot study into the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting and the derivation of physical parameters for 19 galaxies observed as part of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) survey as observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. For this we have used the pan-spectral fitting tools developed in a series of papers by Dopita and his co-workers. We show that the standard Lee and Draine ??astronomical silicate?? model cannot provide a good fit to the silicate absorption features as observed in the heavily dust-extinguished (A _V??50 mag.) starbursts. We have derived an empirical fit to the ??starburst silicate?? absorption in these objects. This absorption curve is consistent with the silicate grains being systematically larger in starburst environments than in the local Galactic interstellar medium. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the SED fitting to each of the fitted parameters, and derive these parameters for those galaxies which do not have an embedded AGN. This technique is simple and provides reasonably robust and uniform parameters for the starburst, especially as far as the star formation rate, population of old stars, compactness of the starburst region and total foreground extinction are concerned. However, the chemical abundances and the optical extinction cannot be reliably determined by this analysis, and optical SEDs will also be required to provide a complete characterization of the starburst region and of the surrounding galaxy.     

Effect of chlorine on near-liquidus phase equilibria of an Fe–Mg-rich tholeiitic basalt

The importance of Cl in basalt petrogenesis has been recognized, yet constraints on its effect on liquidus crystallization of basalts are scarce. In order to quantify the role of Cl in basaltic systems, we have experimentally determined near-liquidus phase relations of a synthetic Fe–Mg-rich basalt, doped with 0.0–2.5 wt% dissolved Cl, at 0.7, 1.1, and 1.5 GPa. Results have been parameterized and compared with previous data from literature. The effect of Cl on mineral chemistry and liquidus depression is dependent on the starting basaltic composition. The liquidus depression measured for a SiO₂-rich, Al₂O₃-poor basalt is smaller than that observed for a basaltic melt depleted in silica and enriched in FeO_T and Al₂O₃. The effect of Cl on depression of the olivine–orthopyroxene–liquid multiple saturation pressure does not seem to vary with the starting composition of the basaltic liquid. This suggests that Cl may significantly promote the generation of silica-poor, Fe–Al-rich magmas in the Earth, Mars, and the Moon.     

Assimilation of preexisting Pleistocene intrusions at Long Valley by periodic magma recharge accelerates rhyolite generation: rethinking the remelting model

Rhyolite flows and tuffs from the Long Valley area of California, which were erupted over a two-million-year time period, exhibit systematic trends in Nd, Hf, and Pb isotopes, trace element composition, erupted volume, and inferred magma residence time that provide evidence for a new model for the production of large volumes of silica-rich magma. Key constraints come from geochronology of zircon crystal populations combined with a refined eruption chronology from Ar–Ar geochronology; together these data give better estimates of magma residence time that can be evaluated in the context of changing magma compositions. Here, we report Hf, Nd, and Sr isotopes, major and trace element compositions, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, and U–Pb zircon ages that combined with existing data suggest that the chronology and geochemistry of Long Valley rhyolites can be explained by a dynamic interaction of crustal and mantle-derived magma. The large volume Bishop Tuff represents the culmination of a period of increased mantle-derived magma input to the Long Valley volcanic system; the effect of this input continued into earliest postcaldera time. As the postcaldera evolution of the system continued, new and less primitive crustal-derived magmas dominated the system. A mixture of varying amounts of more mafic mantle-derived and felsic crustal-derived magmas with recently crystallized granitic plutonic materials offers the best explanation for the observed chronology, secular shifts in Hf and Nd isotopes, and the apparently low zircon crystallization and saturation temperatures as compared to Fe–Ti oxide eruption temperatures. This scenario in which transient crustal magma bodies remained molten for varying time periods, fed eruptions before solidification, and were then remelted by fresh recharge provides a realistic conceptual framework that can explain the isotopic and geochemical evidence. General relationships between crustal residence times and magma sources are that: (1) precaldera rhyolites had long crustal magma residence times and high crustal affinity, (2) the caldera-related Bishop Tuff and early postcaldera rhyolites have lower crustal affinity and short magma residence times, and (3) later postcaldera rhyolites again have stronger crustal signatures and longer magma residence times.