A 200–300 year cyclicity in sediment deposition in the Gotland Basin,Baltic Sea,as deduced from geochemical evidence

During the EU funded project BASYS (Baltic Sea System Study) short (Niemistö-type) and long (box and piston cores) sediment cores were taken which cover sedimentation during the past 8 ka. The uppermost part of the sedimentary sequence was chosen for a detailed geochemical study and freeze dried samples were analysed for about 20 elements but only the elements Mn and Ca are discussed. An age model was constructed using radiometric dating results by ²¹⁰Pb/¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁴C AMS. Significant correlation exists along the cores between very high Mn and moderately high Ca due to occrrences of the mineral rhodochrosite (kuthnahorite), a complex Mn(Ca) carbonate. This mineral is thought to be produced when salt water meets the pool of dissolved Mn at the bottom of the Gotland Basin. During favourable hydrographic conditions, e.g. strong northwesterly winds, salt water from the North Sea invades even the deepest parts of the central Baltic. Mn²⁺ which is produced mainly by the dissolution of ferromanganse oxides/oxyhydroxides in the water colum and in the course of destruction of organic matter in the sediments, combines with HCO₃^2- and Ca²⁺ in the seawater to form rhodochrosite. After burial, this mineral stays in the sediment and is seen as light-coloured layers. A certain cyclicity in the upper 1.5 m of the cores was observed in that about 200–300 a periods of elevated Mn–Ca are followed by periods with lower Mn–Ca of similar duration. An explanation for the observed cyclicity may be sea level variations: during rising sea level (transgression) more and more saline water is pushed into the deep basin of the Baltic Sea and if conditions are favourable (high dissolved Mn) the mineral rhodochrosite is precipitated.     

Petroleum source rock evaluation of the Alum and Dictyonema Shales (Upper Cambrian–Lower Ordovician) in the Baltic Basin and Podlasie Depression (eastern Poland)

International Journal of Earth Sciences - We present geochemical characteristics of the Lower Palaeozoic shales deposited in the Baltic Basin and Podlasie Depression. In the study area, this strata...     

Warming and environmental changes in the eastern North Sea Basin during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum as revealed by biomarker lipids

Analysis of sediments deposited at different latitudes around the world during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ∼56 Ma) have revealed a globally profound warming phase, regionally varying from 5–8 °C. Such records from Europe have not yet been obtained. We studied the variations in sea surface and continental mean annual air temperatures (SST and MAT, respectively) and the distribution patterns and stable carbon isotopes of higher plant derived n-alkanes in two proximal PETM sections (Fur and Store Bælt, Denmark) from the epicontinental North Sea Basin. A negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of 4–7‰ was recorded in land plant derived n-alkanes, similar to what has been observed for other PETM sections. However, differences observed between the two proximal sites suggest that local factors, such as regional vegetation and precipitation patterns, also influenced the CIE. The presence of S-bound isorenieratene derivatives at the onset of the PETM and increased organic carbon contents points to a rapid shift in depositional environment; from well oxygenated to anoxic and sulfidic. These euxinic conditions are comparable with those during the PETM in the Arctic Ocean. SSTs inferred from TEX₈₆ show relatively low temperatures followed by an increase of ∼7 °C across the PETM. At the Fur section, a remarkably similar temperature record was obtained for MAT using the MBT′/CBT proxy. However, the MAT record of the Store Bælt section did not reveal this warming.     

Geochemical evolution of groundwater in the Cambrian–Vendian aquifer system of the Baltic Basin

The shallowly buried marginal part of the Cambrian–Vendian confined aquifer system of the Baltic Basin is characterised by fresh and low δ¹⁸O composition water, whereas the deeply settled parts of the aquifer are characterized by typical Na–Ca–Cl basinal brines. Spatial variation in water geochemistry and stable isotope composition suggests mixing origin of the diluted water of three end-members—glacial melt water of the Weichselian Ice Age (115 000–10 000 BP), Na–Ca–Cl composition basin brine and modern meteoric water. The mixing has occurred in two stages. First, the intrusion and mixing of isotopically depleted glacial waters with basinal brines occurred during the Pleistocene glacial periods when the subglacial melt-water with high hydraulic gradient penetrated into the aquifer. The second stage of mixing takes place nowadays by intrusion of meteoric waters. The freshened water at the northern margin of the basin has acquired a partial equilibrium with the weakly cemented rock matrix of the aquifer.     

Changes in the Abundance and Species Composition of Phytoplankton in the Last 150 Years in the Southern Black Sea

Changes in total abundance and in species composition of phytoplankton in the last 150 years in the southern Black Sea were investigated through a paleoecological study of two sediment cores. The results show changes in the species composition and a marked increase in total abundance of siliceous protists after around 1960. In core 22 (42°13.534′ N/36°29.555′ E), the dominating species before 1960 were Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana and Thalassiosira oestrupii. In core 25 (42°6.212′ N/36°37.460′ E), the dominating species before 1960 were T. oestrupii, Cyclotella meneghiniana, C. choctawhatcheeana, and Pseudosolenia cf. calcar-avis. Core 22 was located in closer proximity to the rim current than core 25, and the differences in total abundance between the cores could be related to differences in local nutrient loading prior to 1960. After around 1960, both cores changed to a community dominated by C. choctawhatcheeana. The changes in total abundance and species composition after around 1960 could be related to the increased nutrient loading from the Danube River into the rim current after the late 1960s. The results also showed changes in both total abundance and in species composition of dinoflagellate cysts. The dominating dinoflagellate cysts recorded were Lingulodinium polyedrum, Polykrikos schwartzii, and Spiniferites spp.     

Paleogeographic conditions in the West Siberian Basin during the Tithonian–Early Berriasian

Based on facies, structural, and general paleogeographic analyses, new models of the bottom topography and accumulation of the Tithonian–Early Berriasian Bazhenov Formation (West Siberian Basin) are proposed. According to these patterns, quite a low proportion of the terrigenous material in the high-carbon facies of the Bazhenov Formation can be explained by its accumulation in relatively deep troughs that frame the uplifted shallow-water central part of the West Siberian basin. In addition, the structure and dynamics of ocean currents are considered. During the Tithonian–Early Berriasian, these currents were related to the aeration stages of bottom waters enriched in hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. As a result of the convection of the water mass suffocation periods occurred.     

The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary in the eastern part of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) from S-to-P receiver functions

Clear S-to-P converted waves from the crust–mantle boundary (Moho) and lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) have been observed on the eastern part of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB), and are used for the determination of the depth of the Moho and the LAB. A temporary network consisting of 18 seismic broad-band stations was operated in the DSB region as part of the DEad Sea Integrated REsearch project for 1.5 years beginning in September 2006. The obtained Moho depth (～35 km) from S-to-P receiver functions agrees well with the results from P-to-S receiver functions and other geophysical data. The thickness of the lithosphere on the eastern part of the DSB is about 75 km. The results obtained here support and confirm previous studies, based on xenolith data, geodynamic modeling, heat flow observations, and S-to-P receiver functions. Therefore, the lithosphere on the eastern part of the DSB and along Wadi Araba has been thinned in the Late Cenozoic, following rifting and spreading of the Red Sea. The thinning of the lithosphere occurred without a concomitant change in the crustal thickness and thus an upwelling of the asthenosphere in the study area is invoked as the cause of the lithosphere thinning.     

Anomalously deep convection in the Irminger Sea during the winter of 2014–2015

The anomalous thermohaline properties of the core of the Labrador Sea water (LSW), a product of winter convection resulted from the ocean–winter interaction, which were recorded in the Irminger Sea in 2014 and 2015, are discussed. It is found that, in the summer of 2015, the LSW filled the entire deepwater basin in the south of the sea down to a depth of 1300 m over the periphery of the Irminger gyral, and down to a depth of 1800 m, in the anticyclone eddy formed in early June of 2015. The maximum density of the LSW core here was 27.75 σ_θ. Such deep and intense winter convection in the Irminger Sea was last recorded 20 years ago. As a result, the temperature of the LSW dropped to values observed in the years 2002 and 2007, but its average salinity remained high. The LSW that have been formed in recent years are reported to have great amplitude and nonmonotonic variability of the properties.     

The Impact of Sediment and Carbon Fluxes on the Biogeochemistry of Methane and Sulfur in Littoral Baltic Sea Sediments (Himmerfjärden, Sweden)

Three sediment stations in Himmerfjärden estuary (Baltic Sea, Sweden) were sampled in May 2009 and June 2010 to test how low salinity (5–7 ‰), high primary productivity partially induced by nutrient input from an upstream waste water treatment plant, and high overall sedimentation rates impact the sedimentary cycling of methane and sulfur. Rates of sediment accumulation determined using ²¹⁰Pb_excess and ¹³⁷Cs were very high (0.65–0.95 cm?year^?1), as were the corresponding rates of organic matter accumulation (8.9–9.5 mol C?m^?2?year^?1) at all three sites. Dissolved sulfate penetrated <20 cm below the sediment surface. Although measured rates of bicarbonate methanogenesis integrated over 1 m depth were low (0.96–1.09 mol?m^?2?year^?1), methane concentrations increased to >2 mmol?L^?1 below the sulfate–methane transition. A steep gradient of methane through the entire sulfate zone led to upward (diffusive and bio-irrigative) fluxes of 0.32 to 0.78 mol?m^?2?year^?1 methane to the sediment–water interface. Areal rates of sulfate reduction (1.46–1.92 mol?m^?2?year^?1) integrated over the upper 0–14 cm of sediment appeared to be limited by the restricted diffusive supply of sulfate, low bio-irrigation (α?=?2.8–3.1 year^?1), and limited residence time of the sedimentary organic carbon in the sulfate zone. A large fraction of reduced sulfur as pyrite and organic-bound sulfur was buried and thus escaped reoxidation in the surface sediment. The presence of ferrous iron in the pore water (with concentrations up to 110 μM) suggests that iron reduction plays an important role in surface sediments, as well as in sediment layers deep below the sulfate–methane transition. We conclude that high rates of sediment accumulation and shallow sulfate penetration are the master variables for biogeochemistry of methane and sulfur cycling; in particular, they may significantly allow for release of methane into the water column in the Himmerfjärden estuary.     

The Mesoproterozoic basement in the southern Baltic Sea: insights from the G 14–1 off-shore borehole

The continuation of the Mesoproterozoic basement of the southern Fennoscandian Shield is documented in the G 14–1 off-shore borehole, northeast of the island of Rügen, where crystalline rocks of monzogranitic composition occur beneath flat-lying early Palaeozoic sediments at a depth of approximately 2,000 m. The greenish-grey, or partly reddish-grey, granites show a slightly porphyritic texture marked by plagioclase crystals or aggregates in a groundmass dominated by fresh microcline. Chloritized biotite occurs as a subordinate mafic phase. Ductile and brittle deformation is indicated by a weak foliation and the occurrence of several cataclastic zones, respectively. Major and trace element geochemistry suggest that these rocks are K-rich calc-alkaline granites and represent a restite-poor melting product of a granodioritic protolith. The low MgO, Cr, Ni and Co concentrations and relatively high content of accessory phases (apatite, zircon) point to formation of water undersaturated, high temperature (>900 °C) melts at low degrees of partial melting. Although the G 14 granite lacks hornblende, in contrast to most of the granites from Bornholm, it seems geochemically related to them. Analysed samples mostly fit an intermediate position between the Rønne and Vang granitoids, which both belong to a group of Mesoproterozoic intrusions showing partial ductile deformation. (Y+Nb) vs. Rb plots suggest that all these granitic rocks were generated in intracratonic conditions. A genetic relationship between them and contemporaneously intruded Karlshamn-group granites in Blekinge, eastern Scania and Småland is supported by intrusion age of 1,460±3 Ma obtained from Pb-Pb isotope ratios measured on single zircons of the G 14 granite.     

GPS measurements (2003–2006) in the Sikhote Alin network,the Far East

This paper considers results of geodynamic studies using the GPS method in the territory of the Far East. GPS measurements using TRIMBLE-4700 geophones were launched along the Sikhote Alin profile in 2003. The technology of the GPS measurements and the problems of selecting the measurement sites and network configuration with reference to the region’s structure are discussed. The results of GPS measurements in 2003–2006 were used to study the fault system of the Far East continental margin. Different models of the Eurasia rotation (from the known NNR-NUVEL-1A to the recent ones) were analyzed. The solid-body rotation of Eurasia was predicted in the framework of the AR-IR-2006 model with a pole located at 51.045°N latitude, 255.842° longitude and rotating at a rate of 0.2423°/Ma. The parameters of the Amur plate rotation were preliminarily estimated (57.6° ± 0.5°N, 117.1 ± 0.5°E, and 0.083° ± 0.004°/m.y) using results on the Sikhote Alin and Transbaikalian network.     

Strontium-90 in Seawater and Bottom Sediments of the Barents Sea Shelf (2000–2019)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The long-term dynamics of the 90Sr concentration in water and bottom sediments of the Barents Sea is analyzed. The dependence of the distribution of 90Sr on the conditions...     

Carbon isotope systematics of the Cambrian–Vendian aquifer system in the northern Baltic Basin: Implications to the age and evolution of groundwater

Groundwater in the Cambrian–Vendian aquifer system has a strongly depleted stable isotope composition (δ¹⁸O values of about −22‰) and a low radiocarbon concentration, which suggests that the water is of glacial origin from the last Ice Age. The aim of this paper was to elucidate the timing of infiltration of glacial waters and to understand the geochemical evolution of this groundwater. The composition of the dissolved inorganic C (DIC) in Cambrian–Vendian groundwater is influenced by complex reactions and isotope exchange processes between water, organic materials and rock matrix. The δ¹³C composition of dissolved inorganic C in Cambrian–Vendian water also indicates a bacterial modification of the isotope system. The corrected radiocarbon ages of groundwater are between 14,000 and 27,000 radiocarbon years, which is coeval with the advance of the Weichselian Glacier in the area.     

Climate,environment, and humans in North America’s Great Basin during the Younger Dryas, 12,900–11,600 calendar years ago

Global climate change associated with the onset of the Younger Dryas chronozone affected different regions of the northern hemisphere in different ways. In the Great Basin of western North America, the effect was positive for human populations. Relatively cool temperatures causing effectively wetter conditions filled some pluvial basins with shallow but permanent lakes and other basins with well-watered marshes or meadows. Vegetation communities dominated by sagebrush and grasses promoted healthy and diverse animal populations. Ten archaeological sites from the region have been dated to the Younger Dryas chronozone. Evidence from these sites indicates that Paleoindians with skull shapes and mitochondrial DNA similar to modern western North American Indians occupied the region. These early humans produced a material culture characterized predominantly by large stemmed bifacial points, although one site contained a small fluted point. Curated tool forms and technological activities represented in analyzed lithic assemblages suggest a highly mobile settlement strategy, and redundant short-term occupations of sites indicate frequent and long-distance residential moves across territories spanning distances of up to 400 km. Paleoindian subsistence pursuits focused on artiodactyls (primarily mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope), leporids (chiefly jackrabbits), birds (sage grouse and waterfowl), insects (grasshoppers), and possibly fish. Easy-to-process plants like cactus pads were also eaten, but small seeds do not seem to have been an important part of Great Basin human diets until long after the Younger Dryas, closer to 9500 cal BP. The Great Basin record contains no evidence for natural catastrophe at the onset of the chronozone. Instead, the Younger Dryas appears to have been among the best of times for human foragers in this region of North America.     

Impact of Pleistocene–Holocene climate shifts on vegetation and fire dynamics and its implications for Prearchaic humans in the central Great Basin,USA

The effects of climate change during the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene transition on ecosystems and early Prearchaic hunter-gatherers in the central Great Basin of North America are not well understood. We present a palynological reconstruction of regional vegetation and fire history in Grass Valley, central Nevada, from ~14 to ~7.5k cal a BP showing that Pinus-dominated woodlands were replaced by dry-adapted steppe and desert vegetation accompanied by an increase in regional fire activity at the beginning of the Holocene, in response to summer warming and a drying climate. Following a severe drought period peaking ~10.2–9.3k cal a BP, Pinus woodlands partially recovered contemporaneously with the 8.2k cal a BP climate anomaly. Local wetlands provided important resource patches for human foraging societies, and periodic declines of wetlands in response to changing local hydrological conditions may have necessitated adjustments in subsistence and settlement practices and technology.     

Mineralogy,diagenesis and hydrochemical evolution in a probertite–glauberite–halite saline lake (Miocene,Emet Basin,Turkey)

The Emet basin is one of the Neogene basins in western Turkey containing significant amounts of borate minerals, mainly colemanite. The petrologic study of core samples from two exploratory wells in the Do?anlar sector, under optic and electron microscopy, reveals a complex mineral association in which probertite, glauberite, and halite constitute the major primary phases (without mineral precursors) precipitated in a saline lake placed in a volcano-sedimentary context. Other sulfates (anhydrite, gypsum, thenardite, celestite and kalistrontite), borates (colemanite, ulexite, hydroboracite, tunellite, kaliborite and aristarainite), and sulfides (arsenopyrite, realgar and orpiment) are attributed to early diagenesis. So far, the Do?anlar deposit is the most important deposit of probertite known up to now.Chemical changes in the groundwater inflow led to the precipitation of Ca-bearing borates (colemanite) in the tuff-flat environment surrounding the lake, while Na–Ca sulfates and borates (glauberite and probertite) precipitated in the center of the lake. Fluid inclusion compositions in halite indicate that the advanced brines correspond to the Na-K-Cl-SO₄ type. During restricted stages of the saline lake, the residual brines seeped through the tuff-flat sediments, leading to transformations of previous precipitates that resulted in the formation of K-bearing minerals.The abundance of coccoid-like biogenic dolomite, colloidal arsenopyrite and the isotopic composition of sulfates are indicative of bacterial sulfate reduction. In contrast, arsenic sulfides are attributed to acidophilic micro-organisms in oxidizing conditions. Fluctuations of redox conditions in both free and interstitial brines control the biological influence in some diagenetic transformations.     

The proportion of hot and cold regions in the polar solar corona during 1957–2002

Occultation observations of the intensity of the FeXIV 530.3 nm and FeX 637.4 nm forbidden lines detected at the Kislovodsk Mountain Station during 1957–2002, indicate long-term changes in the structure of the solar corona. The monthly average intensities of green (KI_530.3) and red (KI_637.4) spectral lines are calculated for all latitudes (0°–90°) and for a high-latitude zone (45°–90°). A strong correlation (r = 0.91) between the green KI_530.3 line intensity and the Wolf numbers is found and used to fill gaps in the observations. The ratio KI_637.4/KI_530.3 takes on its maximum value at the solar minimum. The KI _637.4 ^p /KI _530.3 ^p ratio in the high-latitude solar zone (45°–90°) increased by more than a factor of two during 1957–2002. This means that the fraction of cool regions in the polar corona has more than doubled over these years. We suggest that this increase in the number of cool regions is related to an increase in the area of the polar solar zones occupied by magnetic field of a single polarity at the solar minimum, and possibly to an increase in the area occupied by polar coronal holes. This is associated with long-term variations in the internal structure of the Sun.