Arctic climate change in 21st century CMIP5 simulations with EC-Earth

The Arctic climate change is analyzed in an ensemble of future projection simulations performed with the global coupled climate model EC-Earth2.3. EC-Earth simulates the twentieth century Arctic climate relatively well but the Arctic is about 2 K too cold and the sea ice thickness and extent are overestimated. In the twenty-first century, the results show a continuation and strengthening of the Arctic trends observed over the recent decades, which leads to a dramatically changed Arctic climate, especially in the high emission scenario RCP8.5. The annually averaged Arctic mean near-surface temperature increases by 12 K in RCP8.5, with largest warming in the Barents Sea region. The warming is most pronounced in winter and autumn and in the lower atmosphere. The Arctic winter temperature inversion is reduced in all scenarios and disappears in RCP8.5. The Arctic becomes ice free in September in all RCP8.5 simulations after a rapid reduction event without recovery around year 2060. Taking into account the overestimation of ice in the twentieth century, our model results indicate a likely ice-free Arctic in September around 2040. Sea ice reductions are most pronounced in the Barents Sea in all RCPs, which lead to the most dramatic changes in this region. Here, surface heat fluxes are strongly enhanced and the cloudiness is substantially decreased. The meridional heat flux into the Arctic is reduced in the atmosphere but increases in the ocean. This oceanic increase is dominated by an enhanced heat flux into the Barents Sea, which strongly contributes to the large sea ice reduction and surface-air warming in this region. Increased precipitation and river runoff lead to more freshwater input into the Arctic Ocean. However, most of the additional freshwater is stored in the Arctic Ocean while the total Arctic freshwater export only slightly increases.     

Ice-wedge casts and relict polygonal patterns in Scandinavia

Ice-wedge casts in Scandinavia frequently occur in three regions: (a) southwestern Jutland (outside the limit of the Weichselian glaciation); (b) southwestern Sweden; and (c) northernmost Norway. The latter two areas are both early deglaciated regions. Characteristics of casts in vertical sections are discussed with reference to the host and infilling material. Aerial photographs provide an effective tool for detecting relict ice-wedge polygons (crop marks, micromorphology). Experience from present-day permafrost regions with active ice-wedge formation helps to explain the palaeoclimatic significance of the relict polygons. Attempts to establish the ages of formation are discussed from a methodological point of view.     

Meltwater Discharge to the Skagerrak–Kattegat from the Baltic Ice Lake during the Younger Dryas Interval

Diatom data from the Skagerrak–Kattegat show that large amounts of meltwater were discharged into the Kattegat–Skagerrak from the Baltic Ice Lake during the Younger Dryas interval. Strong meltwater discharge greatly freshened surface-water salinity in the Kattegat and areas along the Swedish west coast and possibly changed the directions of sea-surface salinity gradients from north–south to east–west or northwest–southeast. It resulted in a markedly stratified water column in salinity in the Kattegat, which complicates the environmental interpretation based on different types of microfossils. The meltwater influence on the large area of the Skagerrak during the Younger Dryas was, however, restricted along the Norwegian coast where it flowed into the Norwegian Sea.     

The identification of Feix and Nixi in the solar corona

The levels of the configuration 3s ²3 _p ⁵3d of Fe ix have been experimentally determined from their combinations with 3s3 _p ⁶3d ³ D in the region 300–400 Å. Wavelengths can now be accurately predicted for all transitions within 3s ²3 _p 53^d, and eight of these can be identified with coronal lines from 2042 to 4585 Å. Also, identifications of solar lines from 171 to 245 Å with electric-dipole and magnetic-quadrupole transitions to the ground state, 3s ²3p ^{6 1} S, are confirmed and extended. Solar identifications with corresponding transitions in Ni xi, both within 3s ²3 _p ⁵3d and to the ground state, are proposed on the basis of a short extrapolation.     

DNA strand breakage in mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) deployed in intertidal and subtidal zone in Reykjavík harbour

DNA single-strand breaks were analysed in the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) deployed in intertidal and subtidal zones in the PAH contaminated Reykjavík harbour and at a reference site, Hvalfj?rethur, Iceland. DNA strand breaks were analysed by Comet assay in isolated gill and haemocyte cells from six mussels from each site and depth. Increased DNA damage in both gill cells and haemocytes were observed in mussels deployed in Reykjavík harbour compared to the reference site. Intertidal mussels from Reykjavík harbour had higher DNA damage in haemocytes compared to subtidal mussels. The Comet assay seems to be useful for measuring genotoxic exposure in mussels from the field, and that DNA damage might be higher in the intertidal zone either due to higher exposure to contaminants or because of physiological and biochemical responses to variations in oxygen availability.     

Temporal changes and spatial variation of soil oxygen consumption, nitrification and denitrification rates in a tidal salt marsh of the Lagoon of Venice, Italy

The aim of the present study was to investigate seasonal and spatial patterns of soil oxygen consumption, nitrification, denitrification and fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in a tidal salt marsh of the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. In the salt marsh, intact soil cores including overlying water were collected monthly at high tide from April to October in salt marsh creeks and in areas covered by the dominant vegetation, Limonium serotinum. In May, cores were also collected in areas with vegetation dominated by Juncus maritimus and Halimione portulacoides. In laboratory incubations at in situ temperature in the dark, flux rates of oxygen and DIN were monitored in the overlying water of the intact cores. ¹⁵N-nitrate was added to the overlying water and nitrification and denitrification were measured using isotope-dilution and -pairing techniques. The results show that highest soil oxygen consumption coincided with the highest water temperature in June and July. The highest denitrification rates were recorded in spring and autumn coinciding with the highest nitrate concentrations. Soil oxygen consumption and nitrification rates differed between sampling sites, but denitrification rates were similar among the different vegetation types. The highest rates were recorded in areas covered with L. serotinum. Burrowing soil macrofauna enhanced oxygen consumption, nitrification and denitrification in April and May. The data presented in this study indicate high temporal as well as spatial variations in the flux of oxygen and DIN, and nitrogen transformations in the tidal salt marshes of the Venice lagoon during the growth season. The results identify the salt marshes of the Venice lagoon as being metabolically very active ecosystems with a high capacity to process nitrogen.     

AMS radiocarbon dating of organic fractions from varved lake sediments: an empirical test of reliability

Replicate cores of annually laminated (varved) sediments have been used to test the accuracy and precision of chronologies of lake sediment accumulation over the last 1000 years, based on AMS 14C measurements. The internally consistent results show that in the case of the soft-water lake sediments studied (Kassjön, northern Sweden), all the organic fractions that include aquatic components give significantly older dates than expected. Only the single terrestrial macrofossil and the fine, unidentified residual particulate fraction provide dates close to the true age of the sediments. The results also show that age discrepancies for some fractions are not constant over time. The age discrepancies may arise from some carbon reservoir effect within the aquatic ecosystem, from resuspension and focusing of older marginal organic material into the deepest part of the lake or from some combination of these processes. More work is needed on the 14C age of organic fractions in varve-dated sediments from a range of lake types.     

Food web analysis in two permanently open temperate estuaries: consequences of saltmarsh loss?

Saltmarsh vegetation, seston and microphytobenthos are all conspicuous components of most temperate estuaries and they potentially contribute to the estuarine food chain. Yet their relative contributions are unclear, as is the significance of saltmarsh losses through natural and human-induced impacts. This study aimed to quantitatively determine the contribution of various types of primary producers to detritus in the Walpole-Nornalup Estuary and Leschenault Inlet, two permanently open estuaries in SW Australia, and, estimate the flow of different types of detritus to higher trophic levels, using carbon ((13)C) and nitrogen ((15)N) stable isotopes as tracers. Results of the mixing model indicated that seston, microphytobenthos and to some extent seagrass and fringing saltmarsh were the main contributors to the detrital pool in both estuaries. However, the relative contribution of different primary producers varied both within and between estuaries. The contribution of saltmarsh was higher at sites close to rivers and dense fringing vegetation, while seston, microphytobenthos and seagrass dominated the detrital material at other sites. Benthic harpacticoid copepods were shown to feed on detritus though they appeared to actively select for different components of the detritus depending on site and estuary. Isotopic signatures of other consumers indicated that fish and invertebrates derived nutrients from MPB and detritus, either directly as food or indirectly through feeding on invertebrates. The overall contribution of saltmarsh to detritus was lower in Leschenault Inlet than in Walpole-Nornalup Estuary, possibly as a result of increased clearing of fringing vegetation around Leschenault Inlet. This pattern was however not reflected in harpacticoid food. Therefore, although losses of fringing saltmarsh around estuaries have the potential to significantly affect estuarine food webs, the significance of such losses will be site- and estuary-dependent.     

The nature of MIS 3 stadial–interstadial transitions in Europe: New insights from model–data comparisons

15 abrupt warming transitions perturbed glacial climate in Greenland during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, 60–27 ka BP). One hypothesis states that the 8–16 °C warming between Greenland Stadials (GS) and Interstadials (GI) was caused by enhanced heat transport to the North Atlantic region after a resumption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) from a weak or shutdown stadial mode. This hypothesis also predicts warming over Europe, a prediction poorly constrained by data due to the paucity of well-dated quantitative temperature records. We therefore use a new evidence from biotic proxies and a climate model simulation to study the characteristics of a GS–GI transition in continental Europe and the link to enhanced AMOC strength. We compare reconstructed climatic and vegetation changes between a stadial and subsequent interstadial – correlated to GS15 and GI14 (～55 ka BP) – with a simulated AMOC resumption using a three-dimensional earth system model setup with early-MIS 3 boundary conditions. Over western Europe (12°W–15°E), we simulate twice the annual precipitation, a 17 °C warmer coldest month, a 8 °C warmer warmest month, 1300 °C-day more growing degree days with baseline 5 °C (GDD5) and potential vegetation allowing tree cover after the transition. However, the combined effect of frequent killing frosts, <20 mm summer precipitation and too few GDD5 after the transition suggest a northern tree limit lying at ～50°N during GI14. With these 3 climatic limiting factors we provide a possible explanation for the absence of forests north of 48°N during MIS 3 interstadials with mild summers. Finally, apart from a large model bias in warmest month surface air temperatures, our simulation is in reasonable agreement with reconstructed climatic and vegetation changes in Europe, thus further supporting the hypothesis.     

Comparing Estimates of Turbulence Based on Near-Surface Measurements in the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer

Tethered Lifting System (TLS) estimates of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (e){(\varepsilon)} are reasonably well correlated with concurrent measurements of vertical velocity variance (s_w²){(\sigma_{w}^{2})} obtained from sonic anemometers located on a nearby 60-m tower during the CASES-99 field experiment. Additional results in the first 100 m of the nocturnal stable boundary layer confirm our earlier claim that the presence of weak but persistent background turbulence exists even during the most stable atmospheric conditions, where e{\varepsilon} can exhibit values as low as 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻³. We also present a set of empirical equations that incorporates TLS measurements of temperature, horizontal wind speed, and e{\varepsilon} to provide a proxy measurement for s_w²{\sigma_{w}^{2}} at altitudes higher than tower heights.