A Middle Devensian woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) from Whitemoor Haye Quarry,Staffordshire (UK): palaeoenvironmental context and significance

This paper reports the discovery of a rare partial skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach, 1799) and associated fauna from a low Pleistocene terrace of the River Tame at Whitemoor Haye, Staffordshire, UK. A study of the sedimentary deposits around the rhino skeleton and associated organic‐rich clasts containing pollen, plant and arthropod remains suggests that the animal was rapidly buried on a braided river floodplain surrounded by a predominantly treeless, herb‐rich grassland. Highlights of the study include the oldest British chironomid record published to date and novel analysis of the palaeoflow regime using caddisfly remains. For the first time, comparative calculations of coleopteran and chironomid palaeotemperatures have been made on the same samples, suggesting a mean July temperature of 8–11 °C and a mean December temperature of between ?22 and ?16 °C. Radiocarbon age estimates on skeletal material, supported by optically stimulated luminescence ages from surrounding sediments, indicate that the rhino lived around 41–43 k cal a BP. The combined geochronological, stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental evidence places the assemblage firmly within the Middle Devensian (Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3). This would agree with other regional evidence for the timing of aggradation for the lowest terrace of the Trent and its tributary systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Classic localities explained 6: Tobago

The island of Tobago is only about 40 km in length and to the geologist is a demonstration of the old saying that good things come in small packages. Situated in the southeast corner of the Caribbean Plate, it is the eastern extremity of the Caribbean Mountain System of northern South America, and is divided into three geologic provinces, one metamorphic, one igneous and one sedimentary.     

A review of dimethylsulfoxide in aquatic environments

Abstract

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is an ubiquitous, albeit poorly understood, component of the marine sulfur cycle. Conventionally, the accepted formation pathways are the photochemical and microbial oxidation of dimethylsulfide (DMS). The principal loss mechanism is thought to be via microbial transformation, either consumption or reduction to DMS. The interactions between DMSO and DMS are likely to be important in controlling sea surface concentrations of DMS, and thus DMSO could influence the role played by DMS in global climate regulation. This review examines current knowledge of the distribution of DMSO in aquatic environments and the possible link between DMSO, DMS and global climate control. Mechanisms for the formation and loss of DMSO are also considered in addition to some of the factors influencing these processes. The review also considers that DMSO may be biosynthesized by phytoplankton, representing a non‐DMS source for DMSO, and that DMSO can undergo photochemical oxidation, a potential loss mechanism for DMSO in the marine environment.     

The Pleistocene palaeoenvironment and stratigraphy of Flatey island (northern Iceland): a preliminary assessment based on palynomorphs

For the first time, palynological data (pollen, spores and dinoflagellate cysts) from Pleistocene outcrop and core deposits from Flatey, off northern Iceland, are presented. The study provides a reconnaissance stratigraphical assessment of the deposits, the correlation between the Pleistocene of Flatey and the well‐known Tjörnes section on the mainland, and the reconstruction of the Pleistocene palaeoenvironment. The preservation of the assemblages is poor to moderate, whereas the diversity and richness are moderate to high. The pollen and spores indicate vegetation composed mainly of sedges and heath, comparable to the vegetation in the Tjörnes area during deposition of the Pleistocene Breidavík Group. Analysis of dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from an outcrop sample allowed their assignment to the Lower Pleistocene dinoflagellate cyst zone DAZ5, previously defined in the Tjörnes section. A core sample yielded a dinoflagellate cyst assemblage unknown from the Tjörnes area. The dinoflagellate cyst data combined with the palaeomagnetic record, the radiometric dating of lavas, and the position of the diamictites and tuff layers allowed refinement of the previously proposed stratigraphical correlations between the Tjörnes area and the Flatey core. The deposition of the sequence from the Flatey core took place during the Matuyama, i.e. between 2.59 and 0.78 Ma, and several hiatuses are postulated. The Lower Pleistocene dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the outcrop sample bear similarities to those recovered from fully marine subsurface samples on the northern shelf of Iceland within the Polar Front realm. Similar oceanographical conditions influenced by the Irminger Current and the East Icelandic Current can be inferred for Early Pleistocene times.     

A major ice drainage pathway of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet: the Tyne Gap,northern England

The Tyne Gap is a wide pass, situated between the Scottish Southern Uplands and the English Pennines that connects western and eastern England. It was a major ice flow drainage pathway of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. This study presents new glacial geomorphological and sedimentological data from the Tyne Gap region that has allowed detailed reconstructions of palaeo‐ice flow dynamics during the Late Devensian (Marine Isotope Stage 2). Mapped lineations reveal a complex palimpsest pattern which shows that ice flow was subject to multiple switches in direction. These are summarised into three major ice flow phases. Stage I was characterised by convergent Lake District and Scottish ice that flowed east through the Tyne Gap, as a topographically controlled ice stream. This ice stream was identified from glacial geomorphological evidence in the form of convergent bedforms, streamlined subglacial bedforms and evidence for deformable bed conditions; stage II involved northerly migration of the Solway Firth ice divide back into the Southern Uplands, causing the easterly flow of ice to be weakened, and resulting in southeasterly flow of ice down the North Tyne Valley; and stage III was characterised by strong drawdown of ice into the Irish Sea Ice Basin, thus starving the Tyne Gap of ice and causing progressive ice sheet retreat westwards back across the watershed, prior to ice stagnation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relating hydrogeomorphic properties to stream buffering chemistry in the Neversink River watershed,New York State,USA

Monitoring the effects of acidic deposition on aquatic ecosystems in the Northeastern US has generally required regular measurements of stream buffering chemistry (i.e. acid‐neutralizing capacity (ANC) and calcium Ca²⁺), which can be expensive and time consuming. The goal of this paper was to develop a simple method for predicting baseflow buffering chemistry based on the hydrogeomorphic properties of ten nested watersheds in the Neversink River basin (2·0–176·0 km²), an acid‐sensitive basin in the Catskill Mountains, New York State. The tributaries and main reach watersheds have strongly contrasting mean baseflow ANC values and Ca²⁺ concentrations, despite rather homogeneous vegetation, bedrock geology, and soils. A stepwise regression was applied to relate 13 hydrogeomorphic properties to the mean baseflow ANC values and Ca²⁺ concentrations. The regression analysis showed that watersheds with lower ANC values had a higher mean ratio of ‘quickflow’ runoff to precipitation during 20 non‐snowmelt runoff events (referred to as mean runoff ratio). The mean runoff ratio could explain at least 80% of the variability in mean baseflow ANC values and Ca²⁺ concentrations among the ten watersheds. Greater mean runoff ratios also correlated with steeper slopes and greater drainage densities, thus allowing the prediction of baseflow ANC values (r² = 0·75) and Ca²⁺ concentrations (r² = 0·77) with widely available spatial data alone. These results indicate that hydrogeomorphic properties can predict a watershed's sensitivity to acid deposition in regions where the spatial sources of stream buffering chemistry from the bedrock mineralogy and soils are fairly uniform. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chandra smells a RRAT

“Rotating RAdio Transients” (RRATs) are a newly discovered astronomical phenomenon, characterised by occasional brief radio bursts, with average intervals between bursts ranging from minutes to hours. The burst spacings allow identification of periodicities, which fall in the range 0.4 to 7 seconds. The RRATs thus seem to be rotating neutron stars, albeit with properties very different from the rest of the population. We here present the serendipitous detection with the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a bright point-like X-ray source coincident with one of the RRATs. We discuss the temporal and spectral properties of this X-ray emission, consider counterparts in other wavebands, and interpret these results in the context of possible explanations for the RRAT population. B.M.G. acknowledges the support of NASA through LTSA grant NAG5-13023 and of an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship.