Summer Moisture Variability in East Central Sweden Since the Mid-Eighteenth Century Recorded in Tree Rings

To make predictions of future climate it is necessary to understand the past climate—temperature as well as precipitation. While a wealth of temperature proxies exist from northern latitudes, there is still a lack of information about past precipitation variability. Here we present a 300‐year‐long tree‐ring width chronology from xeric‐site Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Tyresta National Park, east central Sweden. Tree‐ring widths were compared to the long observed temperature and precipitation records from Stockholm during 1786–2000. Analyses of the climate/growth relationship showed that, in general, May–June precipitation had a dominating influence on pine growth. However, during dry periods, negative responses to June–July temperature were stronger, especially evident in the late nineteenth century. Periods of below‐average growth were associated with dry conditions in May–June, but occasionally periods of wet and cool summers also produced narrow rings. Periods of above‐average growth were linked to wet, but sporadically also cool and dry, early summers. The years between 1815 and 1833 appear to be particularly dry in the 300‐year context. Since growth anomalies are found in other Swedish drought‐sensitive tree‐ring chronologies during this period, it is likely that this dry period had a regional extent. This is the first tree‐ring chronology from southern Sweden that provides multi‐century information of past summer drought and moisture variability with high resolution and the study will add important information regarding past climate variability in southern Sweden.     

Causes of acidity in the River Lillån in the coastal zone of central northern Sweden

Factors controlling acidity were studied in the acidic River Lillån in the coastal zone of central northern Sweden. The stream drains the hilly wave-washed terrain and the sediment-covered coastal plain which are the dominating types of landscape in the region. A synoptic study of 38 small streams, representing both types of landscape was also made. Acidity in all streams is caused by organic acids in combination with catchment sources of sulfate. The most acidic streams occur in the hilly terrain because of a high terrestrial export of organic acids and low buffering capacity. Acidic episodes during snowmelt were associated with strongly decreased base cation concentrations, decreased SO²⁻₄ and slightly increased organic acids concentrations. Frequently occurring acid episodes caused by rainstorms and associated outwash of organic acids from forest soils are typical for events in late summer and autumn. It is suggested that, in all essential aspects, the acidity in surface waters in this part of Sweden is of natural origin.     

大陆裂谷中断层的演化：北贝加尔盆地西南端构造地貌证据

北贝加尔盆地西南端位于贝加尔盆地中部,包括Olkhon岛及其邻区,文中研究了这个区域的构造地貌格架。北贝加尔盆地西南端的构造地貌类型是由走滑构造末端的一系列雁列构造、裂谷断层及次级断层的末端复合构造控制。朝着海的方向Olkhon地区次级断层包括4个连续的末端复合构造Primorsky断层带,Buguldeika-Chernorud地堑—MaloyeMore裂谷盆地—Ushkaniy断层带,Tazheran高原—Olkhon岛鞍部和淹没的Akademichesky山脊,Olkhon断层带。这个末端构造被横向断层切为几段,其活动时间在南西最年轻,向北东逐渐加大,同时断层垂直断距从数十米增至2000余米,且断层带变得更为宽阔,也更为复杂。Pri-morsky断层带向北东从西南端简单的线性断层崖,变为断层围限的断块系统,再变为上升和沉降(盆地)块体系统,并最终汇入一个盆地之中;沿着这个方向裂谷边界断层则突然地复合于盆地构造中。这种构造地貌类型记录了断层演化的时间和空间关系,即从属于递进的沉降和加宽直至最终发育为盆地。因此其趋势是发育完好的湖盆、陆地构造直至被水淹没。陆地构造淹没趋势及没有断层围限块体的盆内构造组合可能是与犁式断层旋转相关的陆内裂谷的共同特点,并具一般裂谷的打开机制。     

Evaluating preprocessing methods of digital elevation models for hydrological modelling

With the introduction of high‐resolution digital elevation models, it is possible to use digital terrain analysis to extract small streams. In order to map streams correctly, it is necessary to remove errors and artificial sinks in the digital elevation models. This step is known as preprocessing and will allow water to move across a digital landscape. However, new challenges are introduced with increasing resolution because the effect of anthropogenic artefacts such as road embankments and bridges increases with increased resolution. These are problematic during the preprocessing step because they are elevated above the surrounding landscape and act as artificial dams. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of different preprocessing methods such as breaching and filling on digital elevation models with different resolutions (2, 4, 8, and 16 m) and to evaluate which preprocessing methods most accurately route water across road impoundments at actual culvert locations. A unique dataset with over 30,000 field‐mapped road culverts was used to assess the accuracy of stream networks derived from digital elevation models using different preprocessing methods. Our results showed that the accuracy of stream networks increases with increasing resolution. Breaching created the most accurate stream networks on all resolutions, whereas filling was the least accurate. Burning streams from the topographic map across roads from the topographic map increased the accuracy for all methods and resolutions. In addition, the impact in terms of change in area and absolute volume between original and preprocessed digital elevation models was smaller for breaching than for filling. With the appropriate methods, it is possible to extract accurate stream networks from high‐resolution digital elevation models with extensive road networks, thus providing forest managers with stream networks that can be used when planning operations in wet areas or areas near streams to prevent rutting, sediment transport, and mercury export.     

Periglacial mass-wasting landforms on Mars suggestive of transient liquid water in the recent past: Insights from solifluction lobes on Svalbard

On Earth, periglacial solifluction is a slow mass-wasting process related to freeze–thaw activity. We compare the morphology of small-scale lobate features on Mars to solifluction lobes in Svalbard to constrain their processes of formation. The analysis is based on high-resolution satellite imagery of Mars (HiRISE, ～25 cm/pxl), aerial images of Svalbard with a similar spatial resolution (HRSC–AX, ～20 cm/pxl) acquired through an air campaign in summer 2008, and ground truth obtained during two summer expeditions in 2009 and 2011 on Svalbard. We present a detailed study of two crater environments on Mars displaying two types of lobate forms, characterized as sorted (clast-banked) and non-sorted lobes. On both Svalbard and Mars such lobes typically occur as clusters of overlapping risers (lobe fronts), pointing to differential velocities in the soil. The martian small-scale lobes have well-defined arcuate risers and lobe treads (surface). Lobe widths range between 14 and 127 m and tread lengths between 13 and 105 m. Riser height is estimated to be approximately 1–5 m. The lobes on Mars share the plan view morphology of solifluction lobes on Svalbard and their morphometry is within the range of values of terrestrial solifluction lobes. The lobes are distinct from permafrost-creep landforms such as rock glaciers. We show the results of a survey of 53 HiRISE images covering latitudes between 59°N and 81°N. Similar to Svalbard, the studied lobate features on Mars occur in close spatial proximity to gullies and thermal contraction polygons. The widespread distribution of the lobate forms in the northern hemisphere and their close association to ground-ice and gullies are best explained by mass-wasting processes related to frost creep, gelifluction and/or plug-like flow. This suggests a protracted process (thousand to several thousands of years) of freeze–thaw activity at the northern high latitudes on Mars. Age constraints on lobe deposits and superposition relationships with gullies and polygons imply a process involving liquid water within the last few million years.     

A simple method to classify diamicts by scanning electron microscope from surface microtextures

Interpretation of quartz sand grain surface microtextures with scanning electron microscopy has been riddled with inconsistencies, invalid assumptions and much subjectivity. Therefore, a novel classification for analysing grain surface microtextures is presented based on the origin of complete grain surfaces. This novel method has solved most of the earlier problems of interpretation of surface microtextures, and it is easy to use and to quickly find evident genetic interpretations of diamicts. The data are plotted graphically in ‘2‐History Diagrams’ or ‘3‐History Diagrams’ for quick visual inspection and statistical evaluation. Source rocks and Quaternary glacial deposits from Scandinavia and Southern Ontario, representing different ice‐substrate dynamics, are analysed to define surface microtextures from typical glacigenic grains, bedrock and fluvially transported grains. Typical glacially crushed grains display large‐scale fractures and abrasion. Shield bedrock grains display large or small‐scale fractures and solution/precipitation microtextures. Fluvially transported grains exhibit abrasion and solution/precipitation microtextures.     

Low energy neutral atom imaging on the Moon with the SARA instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 mission

This paper reports on the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) experiment that will be flown on the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. The SARA is a low energy neutral atom (LENA) imaging mass spectrometer, which will perform remote sensing of the lunar surface via detection of neutral atoms in the energy range from 10 eV to 3 keV from a 100km polar orbit. In this report we present the basic design of the SARA experiment and discuss various scientific issues that will be addressed. The SARA instrument consists of three major subsystems: a LENA sensor (CENA), a solar wind monitor (SWIM), and a digital processing unit (DPU). SARA will be used to image the solar wind-surface interaction to study primarily the surface composition and surface magnetic anomalies and associated mini-magnetospheres. Studies of lunar exosphere sources and space weathering on the Moon will also be attempted. SARA is the first LENA imaging mass spectrometer of its kind to be flown on a space mission. A replica of SARA is planned to fly to Mercury onboard the BepiColombo mission.     

Smart Interpretation – automatic geological interpretations based on supervised statistical models

A method that infers a statistical model, which describes a relation between the knowledge of a geologist (quantified by geological interpretations) and the available information (such as geophysical data, well log data, etc.) that a geologist uses when he/she interprets is proposed and tested. The statistical model is then used to perform automatic geological interpretations wherever the same kinds of information, as used for the initial interpretations, are available. This methodology is named Smart Interpretation (SI). In this study, we look at two different approaches to infer such a model, and we demonstrate the applicability of the model to predict the depth to a low resistivity subsurface layer, based on interpretations from a geological expert, using a 19-layered resistivity model obtained from inversion of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data. This study shows that SI is capable of making predictions with great accuracy. The method is fast and is able to handle large amounts of data of different origin, which suggest that the method may become a very useful approach to assist in geological modeling based on increasingly large amounts of data of different nature.     

Meteorological impacts on the water quality in the Pajuluoma acid sulphate area,W. Finland

Water samples (n = 354) from a small catchment (7.4 km²) covered by acid sulphate soils (pH < 4) were collected during all seasons and all types of hydrological conditions in 1990–2001. The electric conductivity (EC) and pH, i.e. the key indicators of acid sulphate soil impact in the current setting, were determined. Representative daily runoff and precipitation data was available for the whole study period. The 10th and 90th percentiles for EC and pH were 29–140 mS/m and 3.8–4.6, respectively. While the water quality varied remarkably from year to year, and even within seasons, some regularity was found. The water quality was generally worst in late autumn (water temperature < 5 °C) and in spring. Of all seasons the variations were clearly smallest in spring, indicating that most representative samples can be obtained in this season. There were significant correlations between autumn, early winter and spring water quality within hydrological years. Thus acid and metal surges in spring are somewhat predictable. At base flow conditions (runoff about 1 L/s km² or less), the water quality was relatively good in all seasons. Above base flow conditions, the impact of acid sulphate soils tended to slightly increase with increasing runoff and precipitation, especially in early summer, but not in late summer. No significant signs of dilution during flood conditions (up to 100 L/s km²) were found and neither were there any correlations to rising or falling limbs. The severity of individual summer droughts, which in theory should increase the oxidation of S and acidity in the soils, had little or no impact on the water quality in subsequent autumn and spring. On the other hand, there was a remarkable long-term increase in EC and a corresponding decrease in pH (starting in 1995) after a suite of several very dry summers. After that the water quality did not improve even if the dry summers were followed by some wet summers. This indicates that the temporary pool of readily leachable acidity in the soils is fairly large. Moreover, it indicates that the potential shift towards more extreme global weather conditions (with more severe dry spells) may have significant impacts on the water quality in midwestern Finland, a region that is heavily affected by acidity and metals from acid sulphate soils.