Natural hazards in Nordic Countries

Compared to many areas of the world, the human losses caused by natural hazards are smaller in Nordic countries. This is mainly due to the low population density in the exposed areas. However, the economic losses are significant and the geohazards picture varies among the countries. The predominant natural hazards in Nordic countries are floods, landslides, and, with the exception of Denmark, snow avalanche. Volcanoes and earthquakes are major geohazards in Iceland, and parts of Norway are susceptible to seismic activity. Slidetriggered tsunamis also represent a threat to parts of the coastal areas of Nordic countries and Greenland.     

Master of puppets: sculpting ancient worlds

Some extraordinary people have dedicated their lives to making art pieces out of long dead organisms. One of them is Esben Horn, founder of model shop 10 Tons Studios on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. A bona fide ‘master of puppets’, he makes jaw‐dropping replicas for museums around the world, with the utmost respect for science and organismal anatomy. Recently, our joint efforts resulted in the exhibition ‘Heavy Metal and Punk Fossils’—a novel, albeit perhaps unconventional, forum for scientific outreach.     

Estuarine behaviour of metal loads leached from coastal lowland acid sulphate soils

The estuarine behaviour of the metal load leaching from acid sulphate (AS) soils was studied in a selected river system (the V?r? River), in western Finland. Large amounts of metals were transported with the river and deposited within the estuary, causing highly elevated metal concentrations in both the sediment traps and in the underlying bottom sediments. Among the metals, there was a diverging deposition pattern where Al, Cu, La and U demonstrated a strong association with organic matter and were deposited within approximately 4 km from the river mouth. In contrast, the deposition of Co, Mn, Ni and Zn occurred when pH reached circumneutral conditions further out in the estuary. Yet other metals were not abundantly leached from the AS soils and thus not elevated in the river and estuary (Fe, Ti, Cr, V). Five separate chemical extractions indicated the geochemical speciation of the metals.     

Wetland development, permafrost history and nutrient cycling inferred from late Holocene peat and lake sediment records in subarctic Sweden

Permafrost in peatlands of subarctic Sweden is presently thawing at accelerated rates, which raises questions about the destiny of stored carbon and nutrients and impacts on adjacent freshwater ecosystems. In this study we use peat and lake sediment records from the Stordalen palsa mire in northern Sweden to address the late Holocene (5,000 cal BP-present) development of the mire as well as related changes in carbon and nutrient cycling. Formation, sediment accumulation and biogeochemistry of two studied lakes are suggested to be largely controlled by the development of the mire and its permafrost dynamics. Peat inception took place at ca. 4,700 cal BP as a result of terrestrialisation. Onset of organic sedimentation in the adjacent lakes occurred at ca. 3,400 and 2,650 cal BP in response to mire expansion and permafrost aggradation, respectively. Mire erosion, possibly due to permafrost decay, led to re-deposition of peat into one of the lakes after ca. 2,100 cal BP, and stimulated primary productivity in the other lake at ca. 1,900–1,800 cal BP. Carbonate precipitation appears to have been suppressed when acidic poor fen and bog (palsa) communities dominated the catchment mire, and permafrost-induced changes in hydrology may further have affected the inflow of alkaline water from the catchment. Elevated contents of biogenic silica and diatom pigments in lake sediments during periods of poor fen and bog expansion further indicate that terrestrial vegetation influenced the amount of nutrients entering the lake. Increased productivity in the lake likely caused bottom-water anoxia in the downstream lake and led to recycling of sediment phosphorous, bringing the lake into a state of self-sustained eutrophication during two centuries preceding the onset of twentieth century permafrost thaw. Our results give insight into nutrient and permafrost dynamics in a subarctic wetland and imply that continued permafrost decay and related vegetation changes towards minerotrophy may increase carbon and nutrient storage of mire deposits and reduce nutrient fluxes in runoff. Rapid permafrost degradation may on the other hand lead to widespread mire erosion and to relatively short periods of significantly increased nutrient loading in adjacent lakes.     

A reassessment of the non-stoichiometry of fayalite

The thermogravimetric measurements on fayalite reported by Nakamura and Schmalzried (1983) have been reassessed using the compound-energy model and computer calculations which eliminate much mathematical manipulation and subjective choice. The calculated phase field for fayalite differs somewhat from the one obtained by Nakamura and Schmalzried (1983) but there is satisfactory agreement in the experimental range.     

Advancing the understanding of variations of Arctic sea ice optical and thermal behaviors through an international research and mobility project

In recent decades, significant changes of Arctic sea ice have taken place. These changes are expected to influence the surface energy balance of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. To quantify this energy ba...     

Abundance, Sources and Speciation of Trace Elements in Humus-Rich Streams Affected by Acid Sulphate Soils

The behaviour of trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr,Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, V, Zn) was studied in five humus-richstreams (dissolved organic carbon = 14–40 mg/L)impacted by acid sulphate soils developed in marinesulphide-bearing fine-grained sediments. During heavyrainfalls in autumn, on which the study focusses, themetals Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn are extensivelyleached from these acidic soils (pH = 2.5–4.5), whileAs, Cr, Fe and V are not leached more strongly fromthis soil type than from areas of till and peat. Aspeciation experiment, based on anion and cationexchange of the stream waters in the field, showedthat (1) the metals Al, Cd, Co, Mn, Ni and Zn aretransported in the streams mainly as inorganiccations, (2) Cu exists mainly in cationic form but isalso to a significant extent associated with dissolvedhumic substances, (3) Fe occurs mainly in the anionicfraction explained by organic coating on colloidal Feoxyhydoxides and (4) the hydrochemistry of As, Cr andV is complex as these elements may exist in severalunquantified anionic fractions and to a minor extentin cationic species/forms. Whereas the proportion ofacid sulphate soils in the catchments had a largeimpact on concentrations levels of several elements inthe stream waters, these soils did not have a largeaffect on the speciation of elements in water.     

Wave Energy from the North Sea: Experiences from the Lysekil Research Site

This paper provides a status update on the development of the Swedish wave energy research area located close to Lysekil on the Swedish West coast. The Lysekil project is run by the Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion at Uppsala University. The project was started in 2004 and currently has permission to run until the end of 2013. During this time period 10 grid-connected wave energy converters, 30 buoys for studies on environmental impact, and a surveillance tower for monitoring the interaction between waves and converters will be installed and studied. To date the research area holds one complete wave energy converter connected to a measuring station on shore via a sea cable, a Wave Rider? buoy for wave measurements, 25 buoys for studies on environmental impact, and a surveillance tower. The wave energy converter is based on a linear synchronous generator which is placed on the sea bed and driven by a heaving point absorber at the ocean surface. The converter is directly driven, i.e. it has no gearbox or other mechanical or hydraulic conversion system. This results in a simple and robust mechanical system, but also in a somewhat more complicated electrical system.     

俄罗斯贝加尔湖区伸展构造及与中国东部伸展构造对比

在晚白垩世-始新世夷平面基础上,由于断裂作用形成了贝加尔裂谷系。断裂作用最大幅度超过10 km。在裂谷系中心部位发育的断层长度最大、最深、最早,并以准对称形式向四周扩展。贝加尔裂谷系是在地幔隆起和印度-欧亚大陆碰撞双重作用下形成。贝加尔裂谷系与中国东部新生代断陷盆地和汾渭裂谷系同时形成,并有密切的成因联系。它们的形成不仅受太平洋板块的俯冲和印度-欧亚大陆碰撞的制约和影响,而且位于中国西南部的地幔流发散中心,呈扇状向太平洋区流动,可能是它们在更深层次上的共同场源基础。     

Response of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre to persistent North Atlantic oscillation like forcing

The response of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) to a persistent positive (or negative) phase of the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) is investigated using an ocean general circulation model forced with idealized atmospheric reanalysis fields. The integrations are analyzed with reference to a base-line integration for which the model is forced with idealized fields representing a neutral state of the NAO. In the positive NAO case, the results suggest that the well-known cooling and strengthening of the SPG are, after about 10 years, replaced by a warming and subsequent weakening of the SPG. The latter changes are caused by the advection of warm water from the subtropical gyre (STG) region, driven by a spin-up of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the effect of an anomalous wind stress curl in the northeastern North Atlantic, which counteracts the local buoyancy forcing of the SPG. In the negative NAO case, however, the SPG response does not involve a sign reversal, but rather shows a gradual weakening throughout the integration. The asymmetric SPG-response to the sign of persistent NAO-like forcing and the different time scales involved demonstrate strong non-linearity in the North Atlantic Ocean circulation response to atmospheric forcing. The latter finding indicates that analysis based on the arithmetic difference between the two NAO-states, e.g. NAO+ minus NAO?, may hide important aspects of the ocean response to atmospheric forcing.