Composition and petrology of HED polymict breccias: The regolith of (4) Vesta

We have done petrologic and compositional studies on a suite of polymict eucrites and howardites to better understand regolith processes on their parent asteroid, which we accept is (4) Vesta. Taking into account noble gas results from companion studies, we interpret five howardites to represent breccias assembled from the true regolith: Elephant Moraine (EET) 87513, Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95535, GRO 95602, Lewis Cliff (LEW) 85313, and Meteorite Hills (MET) 00423. We suggest that EET 87503 is paired with EET 87513, and thus is also regolithic. Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 02066 is dominated by melt‐matrix clasts, which may have been formed from true regolith by impact melting. These meteorites display a range in eucrite:diogenite mixing ratio from 55:45 to 76:24. There is no correlation between degree of regolith character and Ni content. The Ni contents of howardite, eucrite, and diogenites (HEDs) are mostly controlled by the distribution of coarse chondritic clasts and metal grains, which in some cases resulted from individual, low‐velocity accretion events, rather than extensive regolith gardening. Trace element compositions indicate that the mafic component of HED polymict breccias is mostly basalt similar to main‐group eucrites; Stannern‐trend basaltic debris is less common. Pyroxene compositions show that some trace element‐rich howardites contain abundant debris from evolved basalts, and that cumulate gabbro debris is present in some breccias. The scale of heterogeneity varies considerably; regolithic howardite EET 87513 is more homogeneous than fragmental howardite Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 97001. Individual samples of a given howardite can have different compositions even at roughly 5 g masses, indicating that obtaining representative meteorite compositions requires multiple or large samples.     

Perturbed physics ensemble using the MIROC5 coupled atmosphere–ocean GCM without flux corrections: experimental design and results

In this study, we constructed a perturbed physics ensemble (PPE) for the MIROC5 coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (CGCM) to investigate the parametric uncertainty of climate sensitivity (CS). Previous studies of PPEs have mainly used the atmosphere-slab ocean models. A few PPE studies using a CGCM applied flux corrections, because perturbations in parameters can lead to large radiation imbalances at the top of the atmosphere and climate drifts. We developed a method to prevent climate drifts in PPE experiments using the MIROC5 CGCM without flux corrections. We simultaneously swept 10 parameters in atmosphere and surface schemes. The range of CS (estimated from our 35 ensemble members) was not wide (2.2–3.2?°C). The shortwave cloud feedback related to changes in middle-level cloud albedo dominated the variations in the total feedback. We found three performance metrics for the present climate simulations of middle-level cloud albedo, precipitation, and ENSO amplitude that systematically relate to the variations in shortwave cloud feedback in this PPE.     

Natural variability of summer rainfall over China in HadCM3

Summer rainfall over China has shown decadal variability in the past half century, which has resulted in major north–south shifts in rainfall with important implications for flooding and water resource management. This study has demonstrated how multi-century climate model simulations can be used to explore interdecadal natural variability in the climate system in order to address important questions around recent changes in Chinese summer rainfall, and whether or not anthropogenic climate change is playing a role. Using a 1,000-year simulation of HadCM3 with constant pre-industrial external forcing, the dominant modes of total and interdecadal natural variability in Chinese summer rainfall have been analysed. It has been shown that these modes are comparable in magnitude and in temporal and spatial characteristics to those observed in the latter part of the twentieth century. However, despite 1,000 years of model simulation it has not been possible to demonstrate that these modes are related to similar variations in the global circulation and surface temperature forcing occurring during the latter half of the twentieth century. This may be in part due to model biases. Consequently, recent changes in the spatial distribution of Chinese summer rainfall cannot be attributed solely to natural variability, nor has it been possible to eliminate the likelihood that anthropogenic climate change has been the driving factor. It is more likely that both play a role.     

The influence of systematic errors in the Southeast Pacific on ENSO variability and prediction in a coupled GCM

The impact of the warm SST bias in the Southeast Pacific (SEP) on the quality of seasonal and interannual variability and ENSO prediction in a coupled GCM is investigated. The reduction of this bias is achieved by means of empirical heat flux correction that is constant in time. It leads to a wide range of changes in the tropical Pacific climate including enhanced southeast trades, well-defined dry zone in the SEP, better simulation of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and stronger cross-equatorial asymmetry of the mean state in the eastern Pacific. As a result of the mean climate correction, significant improvements in the simulation of the seasonal cycle of the oceanic and atmospheric states are also observed both at the equator and basin-wide. Due to more realistic simulation of the seasonal evolution of the cold tongue, tropical convection and surface winds in the corrected version of the model, phase-lock of ENSO to the annual cycle looses its strong semi-annual component and becomes quite similar to the observed, although the amplitude of ENSO is reduced. Zonal wind stress response to the SST anomalies in the central-eastern Pacific also becomes more realistic. ENSO retrospective forecast experiments conducted with the directly coupled and the flux-corrected versions of the model demonstrate that deficiencies in the seasonal evolution of the cold tongue/Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone complex (that were largely due to the SEP bias in this model) and the related errors in the ENSO phase-lock to the annual cycle can seriously degrade ENSO prediction. By reducing these errors, ENSO predictive skill in the coupled model was substantially enhanced.     

Climate control on the evolution of Late Pleistocene alluvial‐fan and aeolian sand‐sheet systems in NW Germany

The Late Pleistocene was characterized by rapid climate oscillations with alternation of warm and cold periods that lasted up to several thousand years. Although much work has been carried out on the palaeoclimate reconstruction, a direct correlation of ice‐core, marine and terrestrial records is still difficult. Here we present new data from late Middle Pleniglacial to Lateglacial alluvial‐fan and aeolian sand‐sheet deposits in northwestern Germany. Records of Late Pleniglacial alluvial fans in central Europe are very rare, and OSL dating is used to determine the timing of fan aggradation. In contrast to fluvial systems that commonly show a delay between climate change and incision/aggradation, the small alluvial‐fan systems of the Senne area responded rapidly to climatic changes and therefore act as important terrestrial climate archives for this time span. The onset of alluvial‐fan deposition correlates with the climate change from warm to cold at the end of MIS 3 (29.3±3.2 ka). Strong fan progradation started at 24.4±2.8 ka and may be related to a period of higher humidity. The vertical stacking pattern of sedimentary facies and channel styles indicate a subsequrent overall decrease in water and sediment supply, with less sustained discharges and more sporadic runoffs from the catchment area, corresponding to an increasing aridity in central Europe during the Late Pleniglacial. Major phases of channel incision and fan aggradation may have been controlled by millennial‐scale Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. The incision of channel systems is attributed to unstable climate phases at cold–warm (dry–wet) or warm–cold (wet–dry) transitions. The alluvial‐fan deposits are bounded by an erosion surface and are overlain by aeolian sand‐sheets that were periodically affected by flash‐floods. This unconformity might be correlated with the Beuningen Gravel Bed, which is an important marker horizon in deposits of the Late Pleniglacial resulting from deflation under polar desert conditions. The deposition of aeolian sand‐sheet systems (19.6±2.1 to 13.1±1.5 ka) indicates a rapid increase in aridity at the end of the Late Pleniglacial. Intercalated flash‐floods deposits and palaeosols (Finow type) point to temporarily wet conditions during the Lateglacial. The formation of an ephemeral channel network probably marks the warm‐cold transition from the Allerød to the Younger Dryas.     

Diurnal variations in,and influences on,concentrations of particulate and dissolved arsenic and metals in the mildly alkaline Wallkill River,New Jersey,USA

Diurnal variations in particulate and dissolved As and metal concentrations were observed in mildly alkaline water from a wetlands site on the Wallkill River in northwestern New Jersey. The site, underlain by glacial sediments over dolomite bedrock, is 10 km downstream from a mined area of the Franklin Marble, host to Zn ores, also As and Mn minerals. In mid-September 2005, maxima and minima in dissolved-oxygen-concentration and pH, typically caused by photosynthesis and respiration, occurred at 2000 and 0800 hours. Concentrations of dissolved As (1.52–1.95 μg/L) peaked at dusk (2000 hours), whereas dissolved Mn and Zn concentrations (76.5–96.9 and 8.55–12.8 μg/L, respectively) were lowest at dusk and peaked at 1000 hours. These opposing cycles probably reflect sorption and desorption of As (an anion), and Mn and Zn (cations) as pH varied throughout the 24-h period. Doubly-peaked cycles of B, Cl, SO₄, and nutrients also were observed; these may result from upstream discharges of septic-system effluent. Both recoverable amd particulate Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations peaked between 0200 and 0600 hours. The particulate metals cycle, with perturbations at 0400 hours, may be influenced by biological activity.