Seasonal and interannual variability of Siberian river discharge in the Laptev Sea inferred from stable isotopes in modern bivalves

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope profiles from modern bivalve shells were investigated in order to reconstruct short-term hydrographical changes in the river-shelf system of the Laptev Sea. Oxygen isotopic profiles obtained from the aragonitic species Astarte borealis exhibit amplitude cycles interpreted as annual hydrographical cycles. These records reflect the strong contrast between summer and winter bottom water conditions in the Laptev Sea. The seasonal variations in δ¹⁸O are mainly controlled by the riverine freshwater discharge during summer with 0.5‰ per salinity unit. Corrected for a defined species-dependent fractionation offset of -0.37‰, time-dependent salinity records were reconstructed from these δ¹⁸O profiles. They indicate a good correspondence to seasonal hydrographic changes and synoptical data. Persistent trends with shell growth towards more negative δ¹³C values are observed in all specimens and appear to be related to metabolic changes of the bivalves during ontogeny. In contrast, short-term fluctuations are likely linked to seasonal variabilities of the river water outflow patterns and enhanced phytoplankton productivity during summer. This is corroborated by a clear watermass-related distinction of the various δ¹³C records made on the basis of water depth and distance from the riverine source.     

TRANSFORMATION OF MAGNETOMETRIC DATA INTO TECTONIC MAPS BY DIGITAL TEMPLATE ANALYSIS*

Results of gravimetric surveys can be interpreted by comparing the Bouguer field values with master curves based on simplified geological models. It has been shown in a previous paper how this procedure can be transformed into routine processes which can be computerized. The application of this method has yielded useful results in detailed gravity surveys. The present paper discusses the application of the same interpretation principles to magnetic data. After some modifications, the method elaborated for the gravimetric data can be used for the interpretation of magnetometric survey results. Magnetometric-tectonic maps are obtained which show the structural picture by common geological symbols. In the case of faults, the dimensions of depth of burial and throw are indicated on the maps. The method is illustrated by an example where these procedures have been applied to gravimetric and magnetometric data of the same area. Two different maps are obtained: One shows the tectonics according to density contrasts and the other map depicts the tectonic situation on the basis of magnetic susceptibility contrasts.     

FLOOD DISTURBANCE AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF RIPARIAN SPECIES DIVERSITY*

ABSTRACT. Biodiversity varies considerably in Southern Californian riparian vegetation. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis posits greatest diversity in settings that are subject to moderate-intensity disturbance. Flood intensity tends to vary systematically in watersheds, potentially imposing patterns of biodiversity. In two study watersheds, species richness increases with flood severity. Diversity, or heterogeneity, is less predictable: Biodiversity patterns in these watersheds are complicated by atypical patterns of flood severity. Although riparian diversity may be intimately dependent on flood disturbance, the relationship is predictable only with due attention to the physiographic details of individual stream networks.     

Variability of the Denmark Strait Overflow during the Last Glacial Maximum

The Denmark Strait Overflow (DSO) today compensates for the northward flowing Norwegian and Irminger branches of the North Atlantic Current that drive the Nordic heat pump. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), ice sheets constricted the Denmark Strait aperture in addition to ice eustatic/isostatic effects which reduced its depth (today ∼630 m) by ∼130 m. These factors, combined with a reduced north-south density gradient of the water-masses, are expected to have restricted or even reversed the LGM DSO intensity. To better constrain these boundary conditions, we present a first reconstruction of the glacial DSO, using four new and four published epibenthic and planktic stable-isotope records from sites to the north and south of the Denmark Strait. The spatial and temporal distribution of epibenthic δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C maxima reveals a north-south density gradient at intermediate water depths from σ₀ ∼28.7 to 28.4/28.1 and suggests that dense and highly ventilated water was convected in the Nordic Seas during the LGM. However, extremely high epibenthic δ¹³C values on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge document a further convection cell of Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water to the south of Iceland, which, however, was marked by much lower density (σ₀ ∼28.1). The north-south gradient of water density possibly implied that the glacial DSO was directed to the south like today and fed Glacial North Atlantic Deep Water that has underthrusted the Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water in the Irminger Basin.     

Theoretical post-glacial sedimentation rates for a semi-enclosed sea; example of the Kieler Bucht, Western Baltic

The theoretical rates of deposition for fine sediments over the last 10 ka have been deduced and plotted for the Kieler Bucht. Assumptions are that the bay has remained as a closed sedimentary system, and that the fine sediments deposit in water deeper than 10 m. A sharp peak of sedimentation activity is indicated between 7.5 and 8.5 ka B.P. with low rates prior to 9.5 ka and since 6 ka. Comparison of rates obtained from dated cores extracted from different parts of the Kieler Bucht with the theoretical curve shows general conformity, and confirms that peak sedimentation rates exceeding 3 mm/a, as averaged over 100–200 years, occurred between 8 and 9 ka, with the suggestion of a minor activity peak between 3 and 4 ka. The overall consistency supports the view that the bay has acted essentially as a closed sedimentary basin during the Holocene marine transgression and subsequently.     

The early Holocene Saksunarvatn tephra found in lake sediments in NW Germany

A basaltic tephra layer consisting of brownish-olive glass shards. and about 0.2 mm thick. was found in cores from four lakes in northwest Germany. According to pollen analysis it was deposited during the early Boreal period (corresponding to about 8700 BP). The petrographic properties. the geochemical composition and the age agree with those of the Saksunarvatn tephra. which was first found on the Faroe Islands. The position of the tephra layer in the pollen stratigraphy and in the absolute time-scale is discussed. Procedures for locating the tephra in other cores are suggested.     

DIE LITHOGENESE DER STEINMÜHL-KALKE DES ARRACHER STEINBRUCHES (JURA, ÖSTERREICH)

Lithogenesis of the Steinmiihl Limestone of the Arrach Quarry (Jurassic, Austria) The Upper Jurassic Steinmuhl Limestone Group on its type section (Arrach Quarry, Lower Austria) is subdivided into the following four members: These various sedimentary units represent a gradual change in the environments during sedimentation. The sequence sets in with the Filament Limestone. It possibly represents a sublittoral Lamellibranchiata debris and is of Callovian (?)age. Though the marine deposition continued without interruption to the Upper Jurassic, the environment changed markedly. The sea became deeper and the Filament Limestones were followed by pelagic-bathyal Radiolaria Siliceous Limestones. A distinct difference in the degree of subsidence within the Upper Jurassic geosyncline led to the formation of bathyal furrows and swells. Over the latter the calcilutite Saccocoma and Calpionella Limestones with mainly pelagic fossils were deposited in Kimmeridgian and Port- landian. Their thickness is small, for currents swept much sediment into the deeper furrows, in which the Oberalm stratas arose in great thickness at this time.