The shedding of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies from the Alaskan Stream and westward transport of warm water

The south-flowing waters of the Kamchatka and Oyashio Currents and west-flowing waters of the Alaskan Stream are key components of the western sub-Arctic Pacific circulation. We use CTD data, Argo buoys, WOCE surface drifters, and satellite-derived sea-level observations to investigate the structure and interannual changes in this system that arise from interactions among anticyclonic eddies and the mean flow. Variability in the temperature of the upstream Oyashio and Kamchatka Currents is evident by warming in mesothermal layer in 1994–2005 compared to 1990–1991. A major fraction of the water in these currents is derived directly from the Alaskan Stream. The stream also sheds large anticyclonic (Aleutian) eddies, averaging approximately 300 km in diameter with a volume transport significant in comparison with that of the Kamchatka Current itself. These eddies enclose pools of relatively warm and saline water whose temperature is typically 4 °C warmer and salinity is 0.4 greater than that of cold-core Kamchatka eddies in the same density range. Aleutian eddies drift at approximately 1.2 km d⁻¹ and retain their distinctive warm and salty characteristics for at least 2 years. Selected westward pathways during 1990–2004 are identified. If the shorter northern route is followed, Aleutian eddies remain close to the stream and persist sufficiently long to carry warm and saline water directly to the Kamchatka Current. This was observed during 1994–1997 with substantial warming of the waters in the Kamchatka Current and upstream Oyashio. If the eddies take a more southern route they detach from the stream but can still contribute significant quantities of warm and saline water to the upstream Oyashio, as in 2004–2005. However, the eddies following this southern route may dissipate before reaching the western boundary current region.     

Radionuclides and mercury in the salt lakes of the Crimea

90 Sr concentrations,resulting from the Chernobyl NPP accident,were determined in the salt lakes of the Crimea(Lakes Kiyatskoe,Kirleutskoe,Kizil-Yar,Bakalskoe and Donuzlav),together with the redistribution between the components of the ecosystems.The content of mercury in the waters of the studied reservoirs was also established.Vertical distributions of natural radionuclide activities( 238 U,232 Th,226 Ra,210 Pb,40 K) and anthropogenic 137 Cs concentrations(as radiotracers) were determined in the bottom sediments of the Koyashskoe salt lake(located in the south-eastern Crimea) to evaluate the longterm dynamics and biogeochemical processes.Radiochemical and chemical analysis was undertaken and radiotracer and statistical methods were applied to the analytical data.The highest concentrations of 90 Sr in the water of Lake Kiyatskoe(350.5 and 98.0 Bq/m 3) and Lake Kirleutskoe(121.3 Bq/m 3) were due to the discharge of the Dnieper water from the North-Crimean Canal.The high content of mercury in Lake Kiyatskoe(363.2 ng/L) and in seawater near Lake Kizil-Yar(364 ng/L) exceeded the maximum permissible concentration(3.5 times the maximum).Natural radionuclides provide the main contribution to the total radioactivity(artificial and natural combined) in the bottom sediments of Lake Koyashskoe.The significant concentration of 210 Pb in the upper layer of bottom sediments of the lake indicates an active inflow of its parent radionuclide—gaseous 222 Rn from the lower layers of the bottom sediment.The average sedimentation rates in Lake Koyashskoe,determined using 210 Pb and 137 Cs data,were 0.117 and 0.109 cm per year,respectively.     

Warming of intermediate layers in the upper Oyashio in 1953–2007

Considerable variations in intermediate water characteristics were found in the upper Oyashio based on the oceanographic data from 1953 to 2007. The long-term temperature trend at the 26.75σ_? isopycnal is 0.03°C/year. This temperature trend is considerably higher than that determined earlier for the Sea of Okhotsk intermediate water and much higher than the World Ocean temperature trend. The westward transport of warm and salty water of the Alaskan Stream is most likely to cause the changes in the Kamchatka Current and upper Oyashio. It is established that Aleutian mesoscale eddies move westward from the location of their formation south of the Blizhniy Strait and transport warm water (3.8–4.2°C) in their core (100–600 m, ～26.75σ_?)). As the trajectory of eddies is quite stable, the westward flow of warm and salty intermediate waters considerably influences the upper Oyashio characteristics.     

The Role of the Aleutian Eddies in the Kamchatka Current Warming

New oceanographic observations are used for studying the Kamchatka Current and the Alaskan Stream and its Aleutian eddies in 1990–2017. The Aleutian eddies are mesoscale anticyclonic eddies that are formed within the Alaskan Stream southward of the Aleutian Islands be tween 170° and 180° E and are moving to the southwest. The rapid freshening of the upper layer and the increase in tem-perature and salinity in the Kamchatka Current halocline are detected. In the upper layer of the Kamchatka Current, salinity decreased by 0.2 psu per 27 years. The most rapid variations in salinity and temperature have been observed in recent years. In the halocline (at the isopycnic of 26.75σ_θ) temperature rose by 1.4°C and salinity in creased by 0.15 psu. The maximum temperature of the warm intermediate layer in the Kamchatka Current exceeded 4°C for the first time. The most likely reason for the temperature and salinity increase in the halocline is the transport of warm and salt water by the Aleu-tian eddies.     

Choice of conodont Idiognathodus simulator （sensu stricto） as the event marker for the base of the global Gzhelian Stage （Upper Pennsylvanian Series,Carboniferous System）

We propose that the level at which the conodont species Idiognathodus simulator （Ellison 1941） （sensu stricto） first appears be selected to mark the base of the Gzhelian Stage, because we believe that this is the optimal level by which this boundary can be correlated. This taxon has a short range and a wide distribution, as shown by correlation of glacial-eustatic cyclothems across the Kasimovian-Gzhelian boundary interval among Midcontinent North America and the Moscow and Donets basins of eastern Europe, based on scale of the cyclothems along with several aspects of biostrati- graphy. Outside of these areas, I. simulator （sensu stricto） is known also from other parts of the U.S., and is reported from the southern Urals and south-central China in its expected position between other widespread taxa. Its first appearance is consistent with the current ammonoid placement of the boundary （first appearance of Shumardites cuyleri）, and it is also compatible with certain aspects of the distribution of Eurasian fusulinid faunas （e.g., lectotype ofRauserites rossicus）.     

Late Pleistocene-Holocene paleolimnology of three north-western Russian lakes

The vegetation history and development of three different types of lakes, lakes Valday, Kubenskoye and Vishnevskoye (northwest of the East European Plain) were reconstructed using paleolimnological techniques. Watershed vegetation demonstrates a close connection with climate fluctuations: gradual expansion of the southern broad-leaved trees to the North during the Holocene with the maximum extent during the climate optimum (8000–5000 BP); and their subsequent retreat afterwards; followed by the extension of spruce during the cold and dry Subboreal time; and dominance of pine-spruce-birch forests in the Subatlantic time. The Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes resulted in lake-level fluctuations and other ecosystem changes. Valday Lake was formed ca. 12,500 BP as an oligotrophic, deep water basin. The lake level decreased during the dry Boreal, then increased again during the humid Atlantic period. The large shallow Kubenskoye Lake was formerly a part of an ice margin lake, which was then separated (ca. 13,000 BP) and developed into the Sukhona Basin with an outflow to the northwest. During the Atlantic, the outflow direction changed to the east. As a result, the ancient Sukhona Lake disappeared and Kubenskoye Lake formed in its modern size and shape. Vishnevskoye Lake, on the Karelian Isthmus, was formed at the beginning of the Preboreal after the disappearance of the Baltic Ice Lake. It was flooded by waters of the Boreal Ancylus transgression of the Baltic Basin and had become a small eutrophic lake by the time.     

The miniaturized Möessbauer spectrometer MIMOS II for the Phobos-Grunt mission

Möessbauer spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the mineralogical analysis of Fe-bearing materials. The miniaturized Möessbauer spectrometer MIMOS II has already been working on the surface of Mars for 6 years as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rovers mission. The improved version of the instrument is a component of the scientific payload of the Phobos-Grunt mission. The scientific objectives of the instrument are the following: to identify the iron-bearing phases, to determine the quantitative distribution of iron among these phases, and to determine the distribution of iron among its oxidation states.     

Recent changes of the halocline characteristics and warming of the intermediate water in the Kamchatka current and the Oyashio

The upper Oyashio intermediate water, one of the source waters for the Sea of Okhotsk intermediate water, is exhibiting a warming trend. The historical data show that the upper Oyashio temperature increased by 2.4°C during 1953 to 2007 at the potential density of 26.75 at depths of approximately 170 m. This rate of warming is much faster than that of the global ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. The upper Oyashio warming is likely linked to the penetration of warm water of the Alaskan Stream westward. One mechanism of this warm Alaskan Stream water penetration is associated with large Aleutian eddies.     

Origin and emplacement of the impact formations at Chicxulub,Mexico, as revealed by the ICDP deep drilling at Yaxcopoil‐1 and by numerical modeling

We present and interpret results of petrographic, mineralogical, and chemical analyses of the 1511 m deep ICDP Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) drill core, with special emphasis on the impactite units. Using numerical model calculations of the formation, excavation, and dynamic modification of the Chicxulub crater, constrained by laboratory data, a model of the origin and emplacement of the impact formations of Yax‐1 and of the impact structure as a whole is derived. The lower part of Yax‐1 is formed by displaced Cretaceous target rocks (610 m thick), while the upper part comprises six suevite‐type allochthonous breccia units (100 m thick). From the texture and composition of these lithological units and from numerical model calculations, we were able to link the seven distinct impact‐induced units of Yax‐1 to the corresponding successive phases of the crater formation and modification, which are as follows: 1) transient cavity formation including displacement and deposition of Cretaceous “megablocks;” 2) ground surging and mixing of impact melt and lithic clasts at the base of the ejecta curtain and deposition of the lower suevite right after the formation of the transient cavity; 3) deposition of a thin veneer of melt on top of the lower suevite and lateral transport and brecciation of this melt toward the end of the collapse of the transient cavity (brecciated impact melt rock); 4) collapse of the ejecta plume and deposition of fall‐back material from the lower part of the ejecta plume to form the middle suevite near the end of the dynamic crater modification; 5) continued collapse of the ejecta plume and deposition of the upper suevite; 6) late phase of the collapse and deposition of the lower sorted suevite after interaction with the inward flowing atmosphere; 7) final phase of fall‐back from the highest part of the ejecta plume and settling of melt and solid particles through the reestablished atmosphere to form the upper sorted suevite; and 8) return of the ocean into the crater after some time and minor reworking of the uppermost suevite under aquatic conditions. Our results are compatible with: a) 180 km and 100 km for the diameters of the final crater and the transient cavity of Chicxulub, respectively, as previously proposed by several authors, and b) the interpretation of Chicxulub as a peak‐ring impact basin that is at the transition to a multi‐ring basin.