Fluvial incisions in the North‐Western Pyrenees (Aspe Valley): Dissection of a former planation surface and some tectonic implications

Dissected remnants of a high elevation low relief surface (HELRS) are encountered all along the Pyrenean range. All authors agree that the HELRS was shaped during the post‐shortening evolution of the belt, but doubt remains on its original elevation. Notably, whether a post‐shortening uplift event occurred after the generation of the Pyrenean planation surface is still debated. Based on a geomorphological study of the entrenchment of the Aspe River in the North‐Western Pyrenees, we describe a post‐Oligocene multi‐stage dissection of the HELRS linked to a regional post‐shortening uplift. Each incision stage is recorded by erosional triangular facets and associated stepped remnants of former smooth topographies. Compared analysis of patterns of incision in the Axial Zone and its northern border allows to evidence differential vertical motions. We discuss the forcing mechanism(s) that controlled this morphological evolution.     

Calcareous algae and cyanobacteria

Algae is an informal term used to describe a broad group of simple organisms from the plant kingdom. The organisms included within this grouping are aquatic photosynthetic biota with an extensive range of life habits and forms. These organisms range from micron-sized unicellular forms to giant seaweeds and kelps, which can grow to several metres long. Both benthic and planktonic modes of life are known and display a wide variety of life cycles.     

Diagnosing snow accumulation errors in a rain‐snow transitional environment with snow board observations

Diagnosing the source of errors in snow models requires intensive observations, a flexible model framework to test competing hypotheses, and a methodology to systematically test the dominant snow processes. We present a novel process‐based approach to diagnose model errors through an example that focuses on snow accumulation processes (precipitation partitioning, new snow density, and snow compaction). Twelve years of meteorological and snow board measurements were used to identify the main source of model error on each snow accumulation day. Results show that modeled values of new snow density were outside observational uncertainties in 52% of days available for evaluation, while precipitation partitioning and compaction were in error 45% and 16% of the time, respectively. Precipitation partitioning errors mattered more for total winter accumulation during the anomalously warm winter of 2014–2015, when a higher fraction of precipitation fell within the temperature range where partition methods had the largest error. These results demonstrate how isolating individual model processes can identify the primary source(s) of model error, which helps prioritize future research.     

Discussion: “Xenoliths in ultrapotassic volcanic rocks in the Lhasa block: direct evidence for crust–mantle mixing and metamorphism in the deep crust” by Wang et al. 2016 (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology) 171:62

Wang et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 171:62, 2016a) present data on composition of xenolith from Southern Tibet and conclude that ulrapotassic melts from the region formed by melting mantle, and complex interaction with a crustal component. In this discussion we demonstrate that numerous observations presented by Wang et al. (2016a) can be explained by partial melting of crust followed by interaction between that melt and the mantle. We show that this model can explain the variability of magmas in such suits without evoking occurrence of coincidental, unrelated events. Moreover we demonstrate that our model of a crustal origin of the proto-shoshonite melts is now supported by independent lines of evidence such as geochemistry of restites after high- and ultrahigh- pressure melting and melt inclusion studies.     

Spatial Patterns of Sea Level Variability Associated with Natural Internal Climate Modes

Sea level rise (SLR) can exert significant stress on highly populated coastal societies and low-lying island countries around the world. Because of this, there is huge societal demand for improved decadal predictions and future projections of SLR, particularly on a local scale along coastlines. Regionally, sea level variations can deviate considerably from the global mean due to various geophysical processes. These include changes of ocean circulations, which partially can be attributed to natural, internal modes of variability in the complex Earth’s climate system. Anthropogenic influence may also contribute to regional sea level variations. Separating the effects of natural climate modes and anthropogenic forcing, however, remains a challenge and requires identification of the imprint of specific climate modes in observed sea level change patterns. In this paper, we review our current state of knowledge about spatial patterns of sea level variability associated with natural climate modes on interannual-to-multidecadal timescales, with particular focus on decadal-to-multidecadal variability. Relevant climate modes and our current state of understanding their associated sea level patterns and driving mechanisms are elaborated separately for the Pacific, the Indian, the Atlantic, and the Arctic and Southern Oceans. We also discuss the issues, challenges and future outlooks for understanding the regional sea level patterns associated with climate modes. Effects of these internal modes have to be taken into account in order to achieve more reliable near-term predictions and future projections of regional SLR.     

Transitional impact craters on the Moon: Insight into the effect of target lithology on the impact cratering process

We studied a data set of 28 well‐preserved lunar craters in the transitional (simple‐to‐complex) regime with the aim of investigating the underlying cause(s) for morphological differences of these craters in mare versus highland terrains. These transitional craters range from 15 to 42 km in diameter, demonstrating that the transition from simple to complex craters is not abrupt and occurs over a broad diameter range. We examined and measured the following crater attributes: depth (d), diameter (D), floor diameter (D_f), rim height (h), and wall width (w), as well as the number and onset of terraces and rock slides. The number of terraces increases with increasing crater size and, in general, mare craters possess more terraces than highland craters of the same diameter. There are also clear differences in the d/D ratio of mare versus highland craters, with transitional craters in mare targets being noticeably shallower than similarly sized highland craters. We propose that layering in mare targets is a major driver for these differences. Layering provides pre‐existing planes of weakness that facilitate crater collapse, thus explaining the overall shallower depths of mare craters and the onset of crater collapse (i.e., the transition from simple to complex crater morphology) at smaller diameters as compared to highland craters. This suggests that layering and its interplay with target strength and porosity may play a more significant role than previously considered.     

Morphology and paleoclimatic significance of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville spits

Pleistocene Lake Bonneville of western Utah contains a variety of spits associated with shorelines and other features that formed between 21,000 and 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Field studies in the low-lying mountain ranges of the central portion of Lake Bonneville identified 17 spits of various types. The spits are connected to small mountain ranges and islands, vary in size from 0.02 to 0.5 km², and are composed of coarse-grained, well-rounded, poorly-sorted sedimentary material. Sixteen of the 17 spits have a northeasterly to southwesterly orientation implying that winds were from the northwest to northeast, approximately 180° out of phase with modern winds in the eastern Great Basin. Lake Bonneville spit orientation is best explained as the result of persistent northerly winds caused by the high atmospheric pressure cell of the continental ice sheet and passage of low pressure extratropical storms south of the lake. Similar, strong persistent winds are a common feature of modern continental ice sheets and passing low pressure systems. If so, the North American jet stream tracked south of Lake Bonneville as recently as 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP, well past the height of the last glacial maximum.     

A discrete particle representation of hillslope hydrology: hypothesis testing in reproducing a tracer experiment at Gårdsjön,Sweden

Despite the long history of the continuum equation approach in hydrology, it is not a necessary approach to the formulation of a physically based representation of hillslope hydrology. The Multiple Interacting Pathways (MIPs) model is a discrete realization that allows hillslope response and transport to be simultaneously explored in a way that reflects the potential occurrence of preferential flows and lengths of pathways. The MIPs model uses random particle tracking methods to represent the flow of water within the subsurface alongside velocity distributions that acknowledge preferential flows and transition probability matrices, which control flow pathways. An initial realization of this model is presented here in application to a tracer experiment carried out in Gårdsjön, Sweden. The model is used as an exploratory tool, testing several hypotheses in relation to this experiment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patterns in abundance and size of two deep-water gorgonian octocorals,in relation to depth and substrate features off Nova Scotia

Deep-water corals form unique ecosystems, yet very little is known about factors that regulate their distribution and growth. The abundance and size of two deep-water gorgonian coral species, Paragorgia arborea and Primnoa resedaeformis, and their relationship with depth and substratum cover, were investigated at Northeast Channel, off Nova Scotia, in July 2006. This is the first study to measure abundance and size of these two coral species at depths >500 m in the Canadian Atlantic region. A total of 5 transects between 500 and 1000 m depth were examined using video collected by the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS. Abundance of both species was patchy, but higher at these deeper depths than at <500 m. Abundance generally declined with depth, and was moderately correlated with cover of hard substratum (cobble, boulder, bedrock). These relationships were stronger and less variable for P. resedaeformis than for P. arborea, suggesting that factors such as topographic relief may play an additional role in regulating distributions of P. arborea. Maximum colony height was 125 and 240 cm for P. resedaeformis and P. arborea, respectively, and much greater than recorded for depths <500 m. Overall, colony height and depth relationships were strong for both species, but variable among transects. P. resedaeformis showed a negative relationship with depth, while the opposite was observed for P. arborea, suggesting that the two species are affected differently by factors that vary with depth (e.g. temperature, fishing disturbance). Relationships between colony size and size of attachment stone were stronger for P. arborea, especially for overturned colonies, than for P. resedaeformis, suggesting that availability of suitably coarse substrate may be more important for the long-term persistence of P. arborea colonies.