Distribution of Chemical Constituents in Superimposed Ice from Austre Brøggerbreen, Spitsbergen

10 m and 2.3 m ice cores were obtained on Austre Brøggerbreen, Spitsbergen in Svalbard (78°53 ' N, 11°56 ' E, 450 m a.s.l.) in September 1994 and in March 1995, respectively. Stratigraphy, bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, and major ions were obtained from the core samples.
The chemical effect of meltwater percolation through snow/ice is examined. Good correlation between Cl⁻ and Na⁺ was obtained. The ratio of Cl⁻ to Na⁺ was 1.14 which was nearly the same value as in bulk sea water. However, the variation of Cl⁻/Na⁺ shows that higher ratio occured in the bubble-free ice. Furthermore the Cl⁻ ions remain in higher concentration than SO ₄ ²⁻ or Na⁺ ions.     

222Rn and 226Ra: indicators of sea-ice effects on air-sea gas exchange

²²² Rn and ²²⁶Ra distributions beneath the sea ice of the Barents Sea revealed that ice cover has varied effects on air-sea gas exchange. Twice, once in late summer and once in late winter, seawater samples from the top meter below drill holes had ²²²Rn activities that were not lower than their ^226,Ra activities, indicating the existence of secular equilibrium and a negligible net exchange of ²²²Rn and other gases with the atmosphere. However, seawater in the upper 20-85 m usually exhibited at least some ²²²Rn depletion; ²²²Rn-to-²²⁶Ra activity ratios tended to have 'ice-free' values (0.3-0.9) in the summer and values between 0.9 and 1.0 in the winter. Integrated ²²²Rn depletions and piston velocities in both seasons typically fell in the lower 25% of the ranges for ice-free seawater, suggesting that a moderate but far from total reduction in gas exchange is normally caused by ice cover and/or meltwater. The results demonstrate that sea-ice interference with the oceanic uptake of atmospheric gases such as CO, is not well understood and needs further investigation.     

Glaciers in Svalbard: mass balance, runoff and freshwater flux

Gain or loss of the freshwater stored in Svalbard glaciers has both global implications for sea level and, on a more local scale, impacts upon the hydrology of rivers and the freshwater flux to fjords. This paper gives an overview of the potential runoff from the Svalbard glaciers. The freshwater flux from basins of different scales is quantified. In small basins (A < 10 km²), the extra runoff due to the negative mass balance of the glaciers is related to the proportion of glacier cover and can at present yield more than 20% higher runoff than if the glaciers were in equilibrium with the present climate. This does not apply generally to the ice masses of Svalbard, which are mostly much closer to being in balance. The total surface runoff from Svalbard glaciers due to melting of snow and ice is roughly 25 ± 5 km³ a⁻¹, which corresponds to a specific runoff of 680 ± 140 mm a⁻¹, only slightly more than the annual snow accumulation. Calving of icebergs from Svalbard glaciers currently contributes significantly to the freshwater flux and is estimated to be 4 ± 1 km³ a⁻¹ or about 110 mm a⁻¹.     

Accumulation Rate Measurements at Taylor Dome, East Antarctica: Techniques and Strategies for Mass Balance Measurements in Polar Environments

Accumulation rate measurements on the East Antarctic plateau are challenging due to both spatial and temporal variability. Annual stratigraphy is often not reliably or consistently preserved in the firn, and so accumulation cannot be determined from snow pit stratigraphy. We present a suite of accumulation rate measurements collected over several seasons at Taylor Dome, East Antarctica. We compare net accumulation results from direct burial rate measurements and β -activity firn cores along a 35 km traverse. The two methods are consistent and show that the net accumulation varies from greater than 10 cm a⁻¹ to about 1 cm a⁻¹ (ice equivalent) southwest to northeast across the dome. We map the depth of shallow radar layering to interpolate and extrapolate these point-location measurements and show that considerable variations occur over kilometer scales resulting from subtle surface topography. We also present accumulation rates estimated from concentration of the cosmogenic isotope ¹⁰Be and from activity profiles of ²¹⁰Pb. Finally, satellite passive microwave data are used to estimate spatially averaged accumulation rates on the regional to continental scale to provide a context for these local observations. We show that robust mass balance measurements in this environment must rely on spatial and/or temporal averaging.     

Carbon fluxes in the Arctic Ocean—potential impact by climate change

Because of its ice cover the central Arctic Ocean has not been considered as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. With recent observations of decreasing ice cover there is the potential for an increased air–sea carbon dioxide flux. Though the sensitivity of the carbon fluxes to a climate change can at present only be speculated, we know the responses to some of the forcing, including: melting of the sea ice cover make the air–sea flux operate towards equilibrium; increased temperature of the surface water will decrease the solubility and thus the air-sea flux; and an open ocean might increase primary production through better utilization of the nutrients.
The potential change in air-sea CO₂ fluxes caused by different forcing as a result of climate change is quantified based on measured data. If the sea ice melts, the top 100 m water column of the Eurasian Basin has, with the present conditions, a potential to take up close to 50 g C m⁻². The freshening of the surface water caused by a sea ice melt will increase the CO₂ solubility corresponding to an uptake of ∼ g C m⁻², while a temperature increase of 1°C in the same waters will out-gas 8 g C m⁻², and a utilization of all phosphate will increase primary production by 75 g C m⁻².     

Approaches to Modelling the Surface Albedo of a High Arctic Glacier

Broadband surface albedo measurements, made during the summer melt season at three weather stations on John Evans Glacier (79°40 ' N, 74°00 ' W), varied strongly with the solar zenith angle ( θ _z ). Tests were carried out to assess the impact of diurnal variations in surface albedo on seasonal net shortwave radiation ( K ^* ) totals. Removing the diurnal signal from albedo measurements by daily averaging of hourly measurements, or by applying midday measurements to all hours of the day, changed K ^* by up to 16%. Ignoring measurements made at θ _z & 75°, to account for measurement (cosine) error at high θ _z , decreased K ^* by between 5 and 18%. Given the sensitivity of K ^* to diurnal patterns in surface albedo, experiments were carried out with two albedo models. One model accounted for albedo variations with θ _z and one did not. The model driven by θ _z , when implemented within a surface energy balance model for John Evans Glacier, produced better melt estimates. This suggests that diurnal variations in surface albedo should be accounted for in energy balance models of glacier melt.     

A comparison of annual and seasonal carbon dioxide effluxes between sub-Arctic Sweden and High-Arctic Svalbard

Recent climate change predictions suggest altered patterns of winter precipitation across the Arctic. It has been suggested that the presence, timing and quantity of snow all affect microbial activity, thus influencing CO₂ production in soil. In this study annual and seasonal emissions of CO₂ were estimated in High-Arctic Adventdalen, Svalbard, and sub-Arctic Latnjajaure, Sweden, using a new trace gas-based method to track real-time diffusion rates through the snow. Summer measurements from snow-free soils were made using a chamber-based method. Measurements were obtained from different snow regimes in order to evaluate the effect of snow depth on winter CO₂ effluxes. Total annual emissions of CO₂ from the sub-Arctic site (0.662–1.487 kg CO₂ m^–2 yr^–1) were found to be more than double the emissions from the High-Arctic site (0.369–0.591 kg CO₂ m^–2 yr^–1). There were no significant differences in winter effluxes between snow regimes or vegetation types, indicating that spatial variability in winter soil CO₂ effluxes are not directly linked to snow cover thickness or soil temperatures. Total winter emissions (0.004–0.248 kg CO₂ m^–2) were found to be in the lower range of those previously described in the literature. Winter emissions varied in their contribution to total annual production between 1 and 18%. Artificial snow drifts shortened the snow-free period by 2 weeks and decreased the annual CO₂ emission by up to 20%. This study suggests that future shifts in vegetation zones may increase soil respiration from Arctic tundra regions.     

Physical properties and stratigraphy of surface snow in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Information about the spatial variations of snow properties and of annual accumulation on ice sheets is important if we are to understand the results obtained from ice cores, satellite remote sensing data and changes in climate patterns. The layer structure and spatial variations of physical properties of surface snow in western Dronning Maud Land were analysed during the austral summers 1999/2000, 2000/01 and 2003/04 in five different snow zones. The measurements were performed in shallow (1–2 m) snow pits along a transect extending 350 km from the seaward edge of the ice shelf to the polar plateau. These pits covered at least the last annual accumulation and ranged in elevation from near sea level to 2500 m a.s.l. The ع⁸O values and accumulation rates had a good linear correlation with the distance from the coast. The mean accumulation on the ice shelf was 312±28 mm water equivalent (w.e.); in the coastal region it was 215±43 mm w.e. and on the polar plateau it was 92±25 mm w.e. The mean annual conductivity and grain size values decreased exponentially with increasing distance from the ice edge, by 48%/100 km and 18%/100 km respectively. The mean grain size varied between 1.5 and 1.8 mm. Depth hoar layers were a common phenomenon, especially under thin ice crusts, and were associated with low dielectric constant values.     

Micromonas pusilla (Prasinophyceae) as part of pico-and nanoplankton communities of the Barents Sea

Micromonas pusilla (Butcher) Manton & Parke appears to be a prominent member of the Barents Sea picoplankton community as revealed by the serial dilution culture method. Cell numbers frequently exceeded 10⁷ cells 1⁻¹, though they usually varied between 10³and 10⁶ cells l⁻¹. A number of other identified and unidentified taxa were recorded and quantified. Distribution relative to the marginal ice zone is reported.     

δD-δ18O relationships on a polythermal valley glacier: Midtre Lovénbreen, Svalbard

This paper outlines the results of stable isotope (δD-δ¹⁸O) analysis of snow and glacier ice undertaken as part of a larger study concerning structural glaciology, debris entrainment and debris transport patterns at Midtre Lovénbreen, Svalbard. Samples of fresh snow were collected from the glacier surface in spring 1999 and samples of surface glacier ice and basal ice samples were collected in summer 1999. When plotted on bivariate co-isotopic diagrams (δD-δ¹⁸O), the slopes obtained for snow and unmodified glacier ice (6.4 and 6.9, respectively) are less steep than those for the basal ice layer and transverse ice layers on the ice surface (7.6 and 7.7, respectively). The difference in the slope of these lines is not statistically significant at the sample size (50) used in this study. The results indicate that although stable isotope analysis clearly has potential for studies of debris entrainment, transport and structural glaciology, difficulties remain with applying this technique. It is therefore not possible to apply these isotopic techniques to ice facies of unknown origins. In particular, large sample numbers are required to establish statistical differences and high-resolution sampling of specific ice facies may be necessary to establish isotopic differences.     

Nitrogen uptake rates in phytoplankton and ice algae in the Barents Sea

Uptake rates of NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻ and dissolved organic nitrogen (urea) were measured in phytoplankton and in ice algae in the Barents Sea using a ¹⁵N-technique. NO₃⁻ was the most important nitrogen source for the ice algae (f-ratio = 0.92). The in situ irradiances in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum and in the ice algal communities were low. The in situ NO₃⁻ uptake rate in the ice algal communities was light-limited The in situ NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁻ uptake rates in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum were at times light-limited. It is hypothesised that NH₄⁺ may accumulate in low light in the bottom of the euphotic zone and inhibit the in situ NO₃⁻ uptake rate.     

Deglaciation effects on the rotation of the Earth

Summary. The viscoelastic response of the Earth to the mass displacements caused by late Pleistocene deglaciation and concomitant sea level changes is shown to be capable of producing the secular motion of the Earth's rotation pole as deduced from astronomical observations. The calculations for a viscoelastic Earth yield a secular motion in the direction of 72° W meridian which is in excellent agreement with observed values. The average Newtonian viscosity and the relaxation time obtained from polar motion data are about (1.1 ± 0.6)10²³ poise (P) and 10⁴ (1 ± 0.5) yr. The non-tidal secular acceleration of the Earth can also be attributed to the viscoelastic response to deglaciation and results in an independent viscosity estimate of 1.6 × 10²³ P with upper and lower limits of 1.1 × 10²³ and 2.8 × 10²³ P. These values are in agreement with those based on the polar drift analysis and indicate an average mantle viscosity of 1–2 × 10²³ P.     

Late glacial palaeoceanography of Hinlopen Strait, northern Svalbard

Timing and structure of the Late and post-glacial development of the northern Svalbard margin, together with the initial influx of Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean are still very poorly constrained. We investigated a sediment core (NP94-51) from a high accumulation area on the continental shelf north of Hinlopen Strait with the purpose of resolving the timing and structure of the last deglaciation. Detailed analyses of ice-rafted detritus, benthic and planktonic foraminiferal fauna, diatom flora, grain size and radiocarbon dates are used to reconstruct the palaeoceanographic evolution of the area. Our results indicate that the disintegration of Hinlopen Strait ice and possibly the northern margin of the Svalbard Ice Sheet commenced between 13.7 and 13.9 ¹⁴C Ky BP. Influx of subsurface Atlantic waters into the area (12.6 ¹⁴C Ky BP) and the retreat of the sea ice cover, with the accompanying opening of the surface waters (10.8 ¹⁴C Ky BP), happened at different times and both much later than the disintegration of the ice sheets. The transition into the Holocene shows a two-step warming.     

Seismic sources with observable glut moments of spatial degree two

Let ζ_Λ and r _Λ. be the hypocentral position and time of an extended indigenous seismic source. Backus showed that the force moment tensors of the source, Γ^{( m +1, n )}(ζ_Λ, r _Λ), determine and are determined by the motion which the source produces. For small m + n , only the long-period motion is relevant. The glut moment tensor Λ^{( m,n )} (ζ_Λ, r _Λ.) can be calculated uniquely from γ^{( m +1, n )}(ζ_Λ r _Λ) only if m = 0 or m = 1. The tensor G =Λ^(2,0)(ζ_Λ) gives the spatial variance tensor W_Λ of the source, and W_Λ. roughly describes the size, shape and orientation of the source region. Therefore the failure of the observed F =Γ^(3,0)(ζ_Λ) to determine G uniquely is of seismological interest. In the present paper we show that F determines G uniquely if we assume the source to be a simple straight line source (SSLS) or an ideal fault in an isotropic medium with isotropic prestress (IFIMIP). We give tests on F which determine whether it can come from a SSLS, from an IFIMIP or from a simple plane surface source (SPSS). If we assume the source to be a SPSS then knowing F and the fault plane determines G to within an unknown scalar multiple of a certain tensor tangent to the fault plane. Moreover F determines the fault plane uniquely unless F can come from a SSLS. If it can, then F determines this virtual source line uniquely, and F permits the fault plane to be any plane containing the virtual source line.     

Applicability of time-to-failure analysis to accelerated strain before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

We examine quantitatively the ranges of applicability of the equation Ω= A+B [1− t/t _f ] ^m for predicting 'system-sized' failure times t _f in the Earth. In applications Ω is a proxy measure for strain or crack length, and A , B and the index m are model parameters determined by curve fitting. We consider constitutive rules derived from (a) Charles' law for subcritical crack growth; (b) Voight's equation; and (c) a simple percolation model, and show in each case that this equation holds only when m < 0. When m > 0, the general solution takes the form Ω = A + B [1 + t / T  ] ^m , where T   is a positive time constant, and no failure time can be defined. Reported values for volcanic precursors based on rate data are found to be within the range of applicability of time-to-failure analysis ( m < 0). The same applies to seismic moment release before earthquakes, at the expense of poor retrospective predictability of the time of the a posteriori -defined main shock. In contrast, reported values based on increasing cumulative Benioff strain occur in the region where a system-sized failure time cannot be defined ( m > 0; commonly m ≈ 0.3). We conclude on physical grounds that cumulative seismic moment is preferred as the most direct measure of seismic strain. If cumulative Benioff strain is to be retained on empirical grounds, then it is important that these data either be re-examined with the independent constraint m < 0, or that for the case 0 < m + 1 < 1, a specific correction for the time-integration of cumulative data be applied, of the form ΣΩ = At + B '{1 − [1 − t/t _f ] ^m+1 }.     

Palaeoclimatic record from a loess–soil profile in northeastern Bulgaria—II. Correlation with global climatic events during the Pleistocene

Magnetic susceptibility ( χ ) variations and the behaviour of the ratio of susceptibility to saturation magnetization ( χ/J _s ) along the loess/palaeosol section at Koriten (NE Bulgaria) are used to deduce climatic changes during the Pleistocene in southeastern Europe. A good correlation of susceptibility variations with the astronomically tuned oxygen isotope record from ODP site 677 enables us to propose a more precise dating of the upper part of the Bulgarian loess complex. Close correspondence between susceptibility and δ ^{1 8} O records demonstrates the global significance of the palaeoclimatic signal recorded, although differences in relative amplitudes of χ and χ/J _s and δ ^{1 8} O create difficulties in making quantitative estimates of the climatic humidity in the past. The role of local factors affecting the palaeoclimatic mineral magnetic record deduced from the profile studied in Bulgaria is discussed.     

Phototrophic and heterotrophic nano- and microorganisms of sea ice and sub-ice water in Guba Chupa (Chupa Inlet), White Sea, in April 2002

Autotrophic and heterotrophic flagellates, microalgae and ciliates sampled at four stations in the White Sea in April 2002 were studied using epifluorescence microscopy. The concentrations of phototrophic 1.5 μm algae in the middle and lower part of the ice core were very high: up to 6.1 ± 10⁸ cells I⁻¹ and 194 μg C I⁻¹. Heterotrophic algae made up the largest proportion of the nanoplankton (2-20 μm) and microplankton (20-200 μm) at depths 10-25 m below the ice. The proportion of ciliates ranged from about 0.01% to 18% at different stations and depths. Most of the ciliate biomass in the ice was made up of typical littoral zone species, whereas the water under the ice was dominated by phototrophic Myrionecta rubra . Ice algae, mainly flagellates in the upper ice layer and diatoms in the bottom ice layer, supported the proliferation of heterotrophs, algae and ciliates in early spring. Small heterotrophs and diatoms from the ice may provide food for early growth and development of pelagic copepods. Mass development of the ice algae in early spring appears typical for the seasonal ice of the White Sea. Ice algae differ in species composition from the spring pelagic community and develop independently in time and space from the spring phytoplankton bloom.     

Effect of viscosity structure on fault potential and stress orientations in eastern Canada

Previous investigations of the causal relationship between postglacial rebound and earthquakes in eastern Canada have focused on the mode of failure and the observed timing of the pulse of earthquake/faulting activity following deglaciation. In this study, the observational database has been extended to include observed orientations of the contemporary stress field and the rotation of stress since deglacial times. It is shown that many of these observations can be explained by a realistic ice history and a viscoelastic earth with a uniform 10²¹ Pa s mantle.
The effects of viscosity structure on the above predictions are also examined. It is shown that, since most of the above observations are found within the ice margin, they are not very sensitive to lithospheric thickness. Also, the inclusion of a 25 or 50 km ductile layer within the lithosphere will not decouple the seismogenic upper crust. High viscosity (10²² Pa s) in the lower mantle is rejected by the stress orientation and rotation observations. A low-viscosity (6 times 10²⁰Pa s) upper mantle with 1.6 times 10²¹ Pa s in the upper part of the lower mantle and 3 times 10²¹ Pa s in the lower part of the lower mantle below 1200 km depth has been found to give predictions that are in general agreement with the observations.     

Crustal structure in the Western Somali Basin

Summary. As part of integrated marine geophysical studies in the Western Somali Basin, we performed 118 sonobuoy experiments to define better the crustal structure of the margins and basin created by the separation of Madagascar and Africa. After using T ²/ X ², conventional slope-intercept methods, and slant-stacked t-p techniques to analyse the data, we combined our solutions with all previous velocity information for the area. Velocity functions were derived for the sediment coiumn, and we detected a high-velocity (4.58 ± 0.29 km s^–1) sediment layer overlying acoustic basement. We confirmed that the crust is indeed seismically oceanic, and that it may be considered either in terms of a layered model – layers 2B (5.42 ± 0.19 km s^–1), 2C (6.23 ± 0.22 km s^–1), 3 (7.03 ± 0.25 km s^–1), and mantle (7.85 ± 0.32 km s^–1) were identified – or a more complex gradient model in which layer 2 is marked by a steeper velocity gradient than underlying layer 3. Integrated igneous crustal thicknesses (1.62 ± 0.22 s, 5.22 ± 0.64 km) are significantly less than what is considered normal. We present a revised seismic transect across the East African margin, as well as total sediment thickness, depth to basement and crustal thickness maps.     

The Influence of Surface Inhomogeneities On Deep Electromagnetic Soundings of the Earth

Summary. Asymptotic expressions for components of the electromagnetic field of a grounded electric dipole are considered for the model consisting of a thin surface-layer overlapping a stratified medium with a highly resistive screen on the roof. It is shown that the method of spatial derivatives makes it possible to obtain proper estimates of the impedance at distances of r ≥|λ₀| from the nearest edge of the surface anomaly (|λ₀| being the effective depth of the field penetration in the underlying section). the magnetotelluric methods allow one to obtain the true values of impedance, provided r ≥ max {|λ₀|, |/( S ⁻¹+ Z ⁻₀|^1/2} where S is the integrated conductivity of the surface layer, is the transverse resistance of the screen, and Z ⁻₀ is the Tikhonov—Cagniard impedance for the medium underlying the surface layer.