A sequence stratigraphic model for an intensely bioturbated shallow-marine sandstone: the Bridport Sand Formation, Wessex Basin, UK

The Bridport Sand Formation is an intensely bioturbated sandstone that represents part of a mixed siliciclastic‐carbonate shallow‐marine depositional system. At outcrop and in subsurface cores, conventional facies analysis was combined with ichnofabric analysis to identify facies successions bounded by a hierarchy of key stratigraphic surfaces. The geometry of these surfaces and the lateral relationships between the facies successions that they bound have been constrained locally using 3D seismic data. Facies analysis suggests that the Bridport Sand Formation represents progradation of a low‐energy, siliciclastic shoreface dominated by storm‐event beds reworked by bioturbation. The shoreface sandstones form the upper part of a thick (up to 200 m), steep (2–3°), mud‐dominated slope that extends into the underlying Down Cliff Clay. Clinoform surfaces representing the shoreface‐slope system are grouped into progradational sets. Each set contains clinoform surfaces arranged in a downstepping, offlapping manner that indicates forced‐regressive progradation, which was punctuated by flooding surfaces that are expressed in core and well‐log data. In proximal locations, progradational shoreface sandstones (corresponding to a clinoform set) are truncated by conglomerate lags containing clasts of bored, reworked shoreface sandstones, which are interpreted as marking sequence boundaries. In medial locations, progradational clinoform sets are overlain across an erosion surface by thin (<5 m) bioclastic limestones that record siliciclastic‐sediment starvation during transgression. Near the basin margins, these limestones are locally thick (>10 m) and overlie conglomerate lags at sequence boundaries. Sequence boundaries are thus interpreted as being amalgamated with overlying transgressive surfaces, to form composite erosion surfaces. In distal locations, oolitic ironstones that formed under conditions of extended physical reworking overlie composite sequence boundaries and transgressive surfaces. Over most of the Wessex Basin, clinoform sets (corresponding to high‐frequency sequences) are laterally offset, thus defining a low‐frequency sequence architecture characterized by high net siliciclastic sediment input and low net accommodation. Aggradational stacking of high‐frequency sequences occurs in fault‐bounded depocentres which had higher rates of localized tectonic subsidence.     

Exploring CO pollution episodes observed at Rishiri Island by chemical weather simulations and AIRS satellite measurements: long-range transport of burning plumes and implications for emissions inventories

The summer of 2003 was an active forest fire season in Siberia. Several events of elevated carbon monoxide (CO) were observed at Rishiri Island in northern Japan during an intensive field campaign in September 2003. A simulation with a global chemistry-transport model is able to reproduce the general features of the baseline levels and variability in the observed CO, and a source attribution for CO in the model suggests that the contribution from North Asia dominated, accounting for approximately 50% on average, with contributions of 7% from North America and 8% from Europe and 30% from oxidation of hydrocarbons. With consideration of recent emission estimates for East Asian fossil fuel and Siberian biomass burning sources, the model captures the timing and magnitude of the CO enhancements in two pollution episodes well (17 and 24 September). However, it significantly underestimates the amplitude during another episode (11–13 September), requiring additional CO emissions for this event. Daily satellite images from AIRS reveal CO plumes transported from western Siberia toward northern Japan. These results suggest that CO emissions from biomass burning in western Siberia in 2003 are likely underestimated in the inventory and further highlight large uncertainties in estimating trace gas emissions from boreal fires.     

Simulated climate conditions in Europe during the Marine Isotope Stage 3 stadial

Kjellström, E., Brandefelt, J., Näslund, J.‐O., Smith, B., Strandberg, G., Voelker, A. H. L. & Wohlfarth, B. 2010: Simulated climate conditions in Europe during the Marine Isotope Stage 3 stadial. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00143.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. State‐of‐the‐art climate models were used to simulate climate conditions in Europe during Greenland Stadial (GS) 12 at 44 ka BP. The models employed for these simulations were: (i) a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean global climate model (AOGCM), and (ii) a regional atmospheric climate model (RCM) to dynamically downscale results from the global model for a more detailed investigation of European climate conditions. The vegetation was simulated off‐line by a dynamic vegetation model forced by the climate from the RCM. The resulting vegetation was then compared with the a priori vegetation used in the first simulation. In a subsequent step, the RCM was rerun to yield a new climate more consistent with the simulated vegetation. Forcing conditions included orbital forcing, land–sea distribution, ice‐sheet configuration, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations representative for 44 ka BP. The results show a cold climate on the global scale, with global annual mean surface temperatures 5 °C colder than the modern climate. This is still significantly warmer than temperatures derived from the same model system for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Regional, northern European climate is much colder than today, but still significantly warmer than during the LGM. Comparisons between the simulated climate and proxy‐based sea‐surface temperature reconstructions show that the results are in broad agreement, albeit with a possible cold bias in parts of the North Atlantic in summer. Given a prescribed restricted Marine Isotope Stage 3 ice‐sheet configuration, with large ice‐free regions in Sweden and Finland, the AOGCM and RCM model simulations produce a cold and dry climate in line with the restricted ice‐sheet configuration during GS 12. The simulated temperature climate, with prescribed ice‐free conditions in south‐central Fennoscandia, is favourable for the development of permafrost, but does not allow local ice‐sheet formation as all snow melts during summer.     

Anthropogenic and biogenic winter sources of Arctic CO2—a model study

Long‐range transport of anthropogenic and biogenic CO₂ to a remote site in the Arctic is studied. A limited area, off‐line, Eulerian atmospheric transport model is used, and the results are compared to the observed CO₂ concentration at the "Ny‐Alesund International Arctic Research and Monitoring Facility". Inventories of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and estimates of biogenic CO₂ emissions are used to investigate the respective impact of these emissions on Arctic CO₂ variations during 4 winter months. A direct comparison of the modelled and observed concentrations reveals remarkably good timing in the modelled variations as compared to the observed variations for most of the time. The correlation of observed versus modelled CO₂ concentration is significant at the 95% confidence level. The biogenic and the anthropogenic CO₂ emissions are shown to have approximately equal influence on Arctic CO₂ variations during winter. Europe is found to be the dominant source of anthropogenic CO₂ at the monitoring station, while Siberia and Northern America have little influence on Arctic CO₂, during the months studied. These results contradict Engardt and Holmén whose results indicate that the lower‐Ob region in western Siberia has a large impact on Arctic CO₂.