Tracking hydrological responses of a thermokarst lake in the Old Crow Flats (Yukon Territory,Canada) to recent climate variability using aerial photographs and paleolimnological methods

Recent studies using remote sensing analysis of lake‐rich thermokarst landscapes have documented evidence of declining lake surface area in response to recent warming. However, images alone cannot identify whether these declines are due to increasing frequency of lake drainage events associated with accelerated thermokarst activity or to increasing evaporation in response to longer ice‐free season duration. Here, we explore the potential of combining aerial photograph time series with paleolimnological analyses to track changes in hydrological conditions of a thermokarst lake in the Old Crow Flats (OCF), Canada, and to identify their causes. Images show that the water level in lake OCF 48 declined markedly sometime between 1972 and 2001. In a sediment core from OCF 48, complacent stratigraphic profiles of several physical, geochemical, and biological parameters from ～1874–1967 indicate hydro‐limnological conditions were relatively stable. From ～1967–1989, declines in organic matter content, organic carbon isotope values, and pigment concentrations are interpreted to reflect an increase in supply of minerogenic sediment, and subsequent decline in aquatic productivity, caused by increased thermo‐erosion of shoreline soils. Lake expansion was likely caused by increased summer rainfall, as recorded by increased cellulose‐inferred lake‐water oxygen isotope compositions. Stratigraphic trends defining the lake expansion phase terminated at ～1989, which likely marks the year when the lake drained. Above‐average precipitation during the previous year probably raised the lake level and promoted further thermo‐erosion of the shoreline soils that caused the lake to drain. These are meteorological conditions that have led to other recent lake‐drainage events in the OCF. Thus, the decline in lake level, evident in the aerial photograph from 2001, is unlikely to have been caused by evaporation, but rather is a remnant of a drainage event that took place more than a decade earlier. After drainage, the lake began to refill, and most paleolimnological parameters approach levels that are similar to those during the stable phase. These findings indicate that combined use of aerial images and paleolimnological methods offers much promise for identifying the hydrological consequences of recent climatic variations on thermokarst lakes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A lagoonal interlude with occasional hypersalinity in the deposition of the Early–Middle Miocene Brasso Formation of Trinidad

An outcrop of the Early–Middle Miocene age Brasso Formation along the Guaico-Tamana Road of Trinidad was logged and sampled for 20 m at 1 m intervals. The log revealed two sand- and silt-rich successions separated by a claystone-rich interval with thinner sands. One horizon yielded gypsum that is concluded to indicate that conditions occasionally became hypersaline. With the exception of one laminated siltstone interval ～1 m thick, all the beds lacked primary sedimentary structures, but many contained much mollusc debris. The lack of primary structures is thought to reflect bioturbation. Pyrite was common throughout much of the section, but replaced by hematite in two intervals. The pyrite is indicative of anoxic conditions in the sediment below the bioturbated layer, while the hematite shows that conditions occasionally became strongly oxic. The development of low-diversity benthonic foraminiferal communities dominated by porcellaneous-walled Quinqueloculina seminulangulata supports a model of occasional hypersalinity. These conditions are concluded to have developed in a leaky lagoon situated between the carbonate bioherms of the Tamana Formation of Central Trinidad and the mountainous allochthon of the Northern Range. Occasional high numbers of planktonic foraminifera are suggested to result from onshore winds blowing surface seawater into the lagoon. The lagoonal interlude came at the end of a tectonically-induced transgressive–regressive cycle. The influence of tectonics on the deposition of the Brasso Formation complicates at least for the Early–Middle Miocene any attempt to tie the sequence stratigraphy of Trinidad to a global sea-level model. It remains to be seen how much this is true for the remainder of the Neogene succession.     

40Ar/39Ar age of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa

The Hayabusa mission to asteroid 25143, Itokawa, brought back 2000 small particles, which most closely resemble material found in LL4‐6 chondrites. We report an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 1.3 ± 0.3 Ga for a sample of Itokawa consisting of three grains with a total mass of ~2 μg. This age is lower than the >4.0 Ga ages measured for 75% of LL chondrites but close to one for Y‐790964 and its pairs. The flat ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar release spectrum of the sample suggests complete degassing 1.3 Ga ago. Recent solar heating in Itokawa's current orbit does not appear likely to have reset that age. Solar or impact heating 1.3 Ga ago could have done so. If impact heating was responsible, then the 1.3 Ga age sets an upper bound on the time at which the Itokawa rubble pile was assembled and suggests that rubble pile creation was an ongoing process in the inner solar system for at least the first 3 billion years of solar system history.     

The acid catalyzed nitration of methanol: formation of methyl nitrate via aerosol chemistry

The aqueous phase acid-catalyzed reaction of methanol (CH₃OH) with nitric acid (HNO₃) to yield methyl nitrate (CH₃ONO₂) under atmospheric conditions has been investigated using gas-phase infrared spectroscopy. Reactions were conducted in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions (50.5–63.6 wt.%) with [CH₃OH] = 0.00005–0.005 M and [HNO₃] = 0.02–0.21 M, at 278.2–328.6 K. Methyl nitrate production rates increased linearly with CH₃OH and HNO₃ concentrations and exponentially with sulfuric acid weight percent within the regime studied. Rates increased linearly with nitronium ion concentration, indicating that the reaction involves as the nitrating agent under these conditions. At 298 K, the rate of methyl nitrate production can be calculated from k _obs [CH₃OH][HNO₃], where k _obs  = 2.337 × 10⁻¹³(exp(0.3198*wt.% H₂SO₄)) when the solubility of CH₃ONO₂ in acidic solution is approximated by H* for pure water. The temperature dependence of the rate coefficient is related to solution composition, with activation energies of 59 and 49 kJ/mol at 51.1 and 63.6 wt.% H₂SO₄, respectively, when k is calculated from rate. The temperature dependence has also been parameterized for application to the atmosphere, but the small quantities of present in aerosol particles will result in methyl nitrate production rates too small to be of significance under most atmospheric conditions. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Desert heat island study in winter by mobile transect and remote sensing techniques

A familiar problem in urban environments is the urban heat island (UHI), which potentially increases air conditioning demands, raise pollution levels, and could modify precipitation patterns. The magnitude and pattern of UHI effects have been major concerns of a lot of urban environment studies. Typically, research on UHI magnitudes in arid regions (such as Phoenix, AZ, USA) focuses on summer. UHI magnitudes in Phoenix (more than three million population) attain values in excess of 5°C. This study investigated the early winter period—a time when summer potential evapotranspiration >250 mm has diminished to <90 mm. An analysis of the winter magnitude of the heat island in Phoenix has been studied very little, and therefore with the aid of automobile transects, fixed stations, and remote sensing techniques, we investigated a portion of the large Phoenix metropolitan area known as the East Valley. The eastern fringes of the metropolitan area abut against breaks in sloping terrain. The highest UHI intensity observed was >8.0°C, comparable to summertime UHI conditions. Through analysis of the Oke (1998) weather factor Φ_W, it was determined thermally induced nighttime cool drainage winds could account for inflating the UHI magnitude in winter.     

Digital imaging and public engagement in palaeontology

Public engagement and the promotion of science to a wider non-academic audience form an integral role of the professional scientist in the twenty-first century. The high level of public interest in palaeontology means that the Earth's prehistoric past can provide an important medium through which to communicate information concerning contemporary scientific issues. Here we explain how modern computer techniques can be used to enhance public understanding of complex palaeontological issues.     

Advance,deglacial and sea‐level chronology for Foxe Peninsula,Baffin Island,Nunavut

The impact of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) deglaciation on Northern Hemisphere early Holocene climate can be evaluated only once a detailed chronology of ice history and sea‐level change is established. Foxe Peninsula is ideally situated on the northern boundary of Hudson Strait, and preserves a chronostratigraphy that provides important glaciological insights regarding changes in ice‐sheet position and relative sea level before and after the 8.2 ka cooling event. We utilized a combination of radiocarbon ages, adjusted with a new locally derived ΔR, and terrestrial in‐situ cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages to develop a chronology for early‐Holocene events in the northern Hudson Strait. A marine limit at 192 m a.s.l., dated at 8.1–7.9 cal. ka BP, provides the timing of deglaciation following the 8.2 ka event, confirming that ice persisted at least north of Hudson Bay until then. A moraine complex and esker morphosequence, the Foxe Moraine, relates to glaciomarine outwash deltas and beaches at 160 m a.s.l., and is tightly dated at 7.6 cal. ka BP with a combination of shell dates and exposure ages on boulders. The final rapid collapse of Foxe Peninsula ice occurred by 7.1–6.9 cal. ka BP (radiocarbon dates and TCN depth profile age on an outwash delta), which supports the hypothesis that LIS melting contributed to the contemporaneous global sea‐level rise known as the Catastrophic Rise Event 3 (CRE‐3).     

Participatory methods of incorporating scientific with traditional knowledge for volcanic hazard management on Ambae Island,Vanuatu

Ambae Island is the largest of Vanuatus active volcanoes. It is also one of the nations potentially most dangerous, with 60 million m³ of lake-water perched at over 1340 m in the summit caldera and over the active vent. In 1995, small phreatic explosions, earthquake swarms and heightened gas release led to calls for evacuation preparation and community volcanic hazard awareness programs for the ~9500 inhabitants. Differences in perspective or world-view between the island dwellers adhering to traditional beliefs (Kastom) and external scientists and emergency managers led to a climate of distrust following this crisis. In an attempt to address these issues, rebuild dialogue and respect between communities, outside scientists and administrators, and move forward in volcanic hazard education and planning for Ambae, we adapted and applied Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approaches. Initial gender-segregated PRA exercises from two representative communities provided a mechanism for cataloguing local traditional viewpoints and hazard perceptions. Ultimately, by combining elements of these viewpoints and perceptions with science-based management structures, we derived volcanic hazard management guidelines, supported by an alert system and map that were more readily accepted by the test communities than the earlier top-down plans imposed by outside governmental and scientific agencies. The strength of PRA approaches is that they permit scientists to understand important local perspective issues, including visualisations of volcanic hazards, weaknesses in internal and external communication systems, and gender and hierarchy conflicts, all of which can hinder community emergency management. The approach we describe has much to offer both developing and industrialised communities that wish to improve their awareness programs and mitigative planning. This approach should also enhance communication and understanding between volcanologists and the communities they serve.