Impact of different sea surface roughness on surface gravity waves using a coupled atmosphere–wave model: a case of Hurricane Isaac (2012)

Ocean Dynamics - The complicated pattern of the chaotic ocean surface depends strongly on the interaction between wind and waves. An accurate representation of momentum and energy exchange at...     

26Al and 10Be dating of late pleistocene and holocene fill terraces: a record of fluvial deposition and incision,Colorado front range

Cosmogenic ²⁶Al, ¹⁰Be, and ¹⁴C dating of fluvial fill terraces in steep canyons of the Colorado Front Range provides a temporal framework for analysing episodic aggradation and incision. Results from Boulder Canyon show that terrace heights above the modern channel (grade) can be divided into: (1) Bull Lake (≳100 ka; 20–15 m above grade); (2) Pinedale (32–10 ka; 15–4 m above grade); and (3) Holocene age (<4 m above grade). No pre‐Bull Lake deposits are preserved along Boulder Canyon, and only three small remnants >15 m above grade record Bull Lake deposition. Well‐preserved terraces of Pinedale age suggest that the range of terrace height above grade reflects short‐term fluctuations in the river profile during periods of rapidly changing stream load and power. Net river incision apparently occurred during transitions to interglacial periods. Soil development and stratigraphic position, along with limited cosmogenic and ¹⁴C dating, suggest that ∼130 ka terraces in Boulder Canyon correlate with the Louviers Alluvium, and that 32 to 10 ka fills in the canyon correlate with the Broadway Alluvium on the adjacent High Plains. Late Pleistocene incision rates (∼0·15 m ka⁻¹) along Boulder Canyon exceed pre‐late Pleistocene incision rates, and are higher than middle to late Pleistocene incision rates (∼0·04 m ka⁻¹) on the High Plains. This study provides an example of how modern geochronologic techniques allow us to understand better rivers that drain glaciated catchments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The new hominid skeleton from Sterkfontein,South Africa: age and preliminary assessment

A new hominid skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2 attaches to foot bones recovered from loose blocks during the 1980s and first described in 1995. Several flowstone horizons are present above and below the skeleton and have given clear palaeomagnetic signatures. Five changes in magnetic polarity have been identified; when constrained by the available biostratigraphy, this sequence can be placed confidently between 3.22 and 3.58 Ma. Interpolation of sedimentation rates over the small intervals between reversals allows this range to be reduced to 3.30–3.33 Ma. The skeleton is thus the oldest yet discovered and is considered to belong to a species of Australopithecus other than africanus. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar activity cycles,north/south asymmetries,and differential rotation associated with solar spin-orbit variations

The possible role of the Sun's planetary-induced spin-orbit dynamics in the generation of various solar oscillations is examined using simple approaches and heuristic models. Theoretically, the 22.5-yr dipole inversion magnetic cycle and the recently described 17-yr neutral line topology cycle can be derived from the non-linear mixing of two oscillations with periods of approximately 20 and 165 years. Oscillations with such periods are observed in two aspects of the Sun's spin-orbit dynamics. The 20-yr oscillation is the fundamental variation in the angular momentum of the solar body with respect to the solar system center-of-mass, while the 165-yr oscillation is the lowest-frequency component of the spin projection variations. It is shown that these two oscillations when mixed non-linearly yield, to a 1st-order approximation, the correct phase and frequency of the observed 17.5- and 22.5-yr magnetic cycles. By allowing an asymmetric shape to the 165-yr oscillation, the frequency modulation inherent in the Hale cycle (and sunspot cycle) is reproduced, yielding a more accurate estimate of solar activity. The asymmetric 165-yr oscillation matches the combination of the two lowest frequency components (165- and 84-yr periods) of the spin projection variations. Hemispheric sunspot asymmetry cycles, north/south differences in convective zone rotational velocities, and meridional flows are also shown to be expected byproducts of classical spin-orbit effects. Finally, the problem of low activity epochs (e.g., Maunder minimum) can be seen as a natural outcome of the interactions among the driving and driven oscillations involved in the conservation of solar system angular momentum.     

Earth observations during space shuttle flight STS‐41: Discovery's mission to planet earth

Abstract

Multi‐temporal ERS‐1 SAR data acquired over a large agricultural region in West Bengal was used to classify kharif crops like rice, jute and sugarcane. Rice crop grown under lowland management practice showed a temporal characteristic. The dynamic range of backscatter was highest for this crop in temporal SAR data. This was used to classify rice using temporal SAR data. Such temporal character was not observed for the other study crops, which may be due to the difference in cultivation practice and crop calendar. Significant increase in backscatter from the ploughed fields was used to derive information on onset and duration of land preparations. Synergistic use of optical remote sensing data and SAR data increased the separability of rice crop from homesteads and permanent vegetation classes.     

A 35 kyr record of organic matter composition and δ13C of n-alkanes in bog sediments close to Lake Baikal: Implications for paleoenvironmental studies

We characterized the compositions of organic compounds in a Cheremushka bog sediment core (deposited over the last 35 kyr), located at the eastern coast of Lake Baikal, to obtain basic information about the terrestrial organic matter (OM) which contributed to Lake Baikal sediments. The bog sediment was analyzed for the molecular composition of n-alkanes, lignin phenols and n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids, as well as the carbon isotopic composition of plant wax derived n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkanes.Concentrations of lignin phenols [vanillyl (V) plus syringyl (S) phenols] normalized to total organic carbon (TOC) in the Holocene are twice those for the last glacial maximum (LGM), while concentrations of TOC-normalized n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids do not change markedly in this period. Thus, the ratio of lignin phenols to n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acids increases from the LGM to the Holocene. This result is essentially consistent with pollen analysis indicating an expansion of woody plants in the Holocene and a prevailing herb-abundant environment for the LGM. The δ¹³C values of n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkanes (e.g. ?29‰ to ?33‰ for C₃₁) indicate the presence of C₃-dominant plants throughout the core.The contribution of terrestrial OM to Lake Baikal sediments was estimated using the biomarkers, on the assumption that the OM in the bog sediments is a representative of the terrestrial OM around the lake. Hence, the estimation using lignin phenol or n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acid parameters indicates that 11–24% of the TOC in the Academician Ridge sediments is land-derived for both the Holocene and the LGM, which is similar to the estimates from C/N values of bulk OM. However, the estimates for terrestrial OM using the n-C₂₇ to C₃₃ alkane parameter are generally higher than those using lignin phenol or n-C₂₄ to C₃₀ alkanoic acid parameters. The difference is thought to be associated with the difference in source and behavior of these biomarkers.     

Modeling Bedload Transport of Juvenile Bivalves: Predicted Changes in Distribution and Scale of Postlarval Dispersal

The potential consequences of bedload transport of postlarvae for patterns of distribution of marine invertebrates were explored by developing a bedload transport model for juvenile bivalves in a small estuary in New Jersey, USA. A simple numerical model of tidal current hydrodynamics was developed based on field measurements of shear stresses near the bottom. Burrowing behavior of bivalves was incorporated into the model of bedload transport by using estimates of entrainment rates of Gemma gemma and Mya arenaria in a laboratory flume, and jump lengths of the bivalves were estimated by methods previously developed for noncohesive particles. Based on the flood domination and strong gradient of shear stresses in the Navesink estuary, our model predicted that juvenile bivalves would accumulate in the center of the estuary, traveling up to several kilometers over 30 days. Field distributions of juvenile bivalves were consistent with the model predictions for other species of bivalves but not for G. gemma, for which field distributions of both <500- and >500-μm individuals were concentrated in the eastern end of the estuary. Differences between the bedload model and G. gemma distributions suggest that spatial variation in burrowing behavior or biological interactions are playing an important role in maintaining distribution patterns of this species in spite of high levels of bedload transport. This modeling approach is applicable to other juvenile benthic invertebrates that disperse as bedload and is a useful model against which to compare field observations of rates of transport and patterns of distribution and abundance.     

Spatiotemporal drought variability in northwestern Africa over the last nine centuries

Changes in precipitation patterns and the frequency and duration of drought are likely to be the feature of anthropogenic climate change that will have the most direct and most immediate consequences for human populations. The latest generation of state-of-the-art climate models project future widespread drying in the subtropics. Here, we reconstruct spatially-complete gridded Palmer drought severity index values back to A.D. 1179 over Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The reconstructions provide long-term context for northwest African hydroclimatology, revealing large-scale regional droughts prior to the sixteenth century, as well as more heterogeneous patterns in sixteenth, eighteenth, and twentieth century. Over the most recent decades a shift toward dry conditions over the region is observed, which is consistent with general circulation model projections of greenhouse gas forced enhanced regional subtropical drought.