On the utility of identification schemes for digital earth science data: an assessment and recommendations

In recent years, a number of data identification technologies have been developed which purport to permanently identify digital objects. In this paper, nine technologies and systems for assigning persistent identifiers are assessed for their applicability to Earth science data (ARKs, DOIs, XRIs, Handles, LSIDs, OIDs, PURLs, URIs/URNs/URLs, and UUIDs). The evaluation used four use cases that focused on the suitability of each scheme to provide Unique Identifiers for Earth science data objects, to provide Unique Locators for the objects, to serve as Citable Locators, and to uniquely identify the scientific contents of data objects if the data were reformatted. Of all the identifier schemes assessed, the one that most closely meets all of the requirements for an Unique Identifier is the UUID scheme. Any of the URL/URI/IRI-based identifier schemes assessed could be used for Unique Locators. Since there are currently no strong market leaders to help make the choice among them, the decision must be based on secondary criteria. While most publications now allow the use of URLs in citations, so that all of the URL/URI/IRI based identification schemes discussed in this paper could potentially be used as a Citable Locator, DOIs are the identification scheme currently adopted by most commercial publishers. None of the identifier schemes assessed here even minimally address identification of scientifically identical numerical data sets under reformatting.     

Biological controls on dissolution of diatom frustules during their descent to the deep ocean: Lessons learned from controlled laboratory experiments

The majority of opal produced by diatoms dissolves during their sedimentation to the seafloor, but spatial and temporal variability of dissolution rates are large. Controlled laboratory experiments using live phytoplankton or phyto-detritus may help identify the different processes, including those that are biologically mediated or physico-chemically driven, that impact the dissolution of frustules and the aforementioned variability. Results of eight bSiO₂ dissolution experiments, seven of which were conducted at low temperatures (<6 °C) are presented within the context of earlier similar studies, and different phases of dissolution dynamics characterized. TEP concentration, aggregation and the physiological status of the diatoms determined the period during which diatoms may maintain the protective membrane that surrounds their frustule and effectively reduces or completely inhibits (lag period) dissolution for some time. Once diatoms loose the capability to maintain their protective membrane, bacterial activity compromises it. Physico-chemical dissolution, which depends on frustule structure and abiotic environmental conditions, begins once the protective membrane is damaged. The ability of diatoms to maintain their membrane, the bacterial composition and activity governing its degradation, and the physico-chemical dissolution dynamics of exposed frustules are all impacted by temperature. In our experiments instantaneous dissolution rates were not dependant on bSiO₂ concentration at low temperatures, although such a relationship was observed under otherwise identical conditions at 15 °C, implying that biotic factors rather than physico-chemical processes initially dominated dissolution at polar temperatures. Since inhibition of bSiO₂ dissolution at low temperatures was inhibited to a greater extent than organic matter degradation, we postulate that it was not reduced bacterial activity but the enhanced ability of diatoms to maintain their membrane and thus withstand microbial attack that caused the low initial dissolution rates at <6 °C. In situ, interactions between the different biotic and abiotic processes impacting dissolution combined with differences in sinking velocity of diatom aggregates and grazing effects could easily explain high spatial and temporal variability in the accumulation of diatoms on the seafloor. Simple calculations based on our experimental results suggest that Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, for example, would be appreciably more likely to reach the seafloor than Chaetoceros debilis if both grow at low growth rates, e.g. under growth limiting conditions. However, dissolution behavior of Chaetoceros debilis during sedimentation may differ under conditions where this species forms large blooms.     

In situ laser ablation ICP‐MS analyses of dimict diogenites: Further evidence for harzburgitic and orthopyroxenitic lithologies

Trace element concentrations in pyroxene, plagioclase, and olivine were measured in five diogenite breccias previously identified as containing distinct harzburgitic (ol+opx) and orthopyroxenitic (opx) lithologies (dimict). Three samples show two distinct populations of pyroxene trace element abundances, supporting their classification as dimict. These three meteorites show increases in Y, Yb, and HREE concentrations from harzburgitic to orthopyroxenitic pyroxenes, supporting the hypothesis that the lithologies are related through fractional crystallization whereby harzburgite olivine and pyroxene crystallized from the magma first followed by orthopyroxenite pyroxene. Depletions in LREE and Eu concentrations in the orthopyroxenitic lithology are most likely due to equilibration with LREE and Eu‐rich phases, likely plagioclase, which is found primarily in that lithology. Two samples do not show evidence supporting a dimict classification. Large pyroxene trace element variation in one sample indicates that it is polymict, while uniform trace element distribution in the other suggests that it may be a monomict breccia.     

An amalgamated meter-thick sedimentary package enabled by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami in El Garrapatero,Galapagos Islands

Tsunamis and storms instigate sedimentological and geomorphological changes to the coastal system, both long-term and ephemeral. To accurately predict future coastal hazards, one must identify the records that are generated by the processes associated with these hazards and recognize what will be preserved. Using eyewitness accounts, photographs, and sedimentology, this study documents pre- and post-tsunami conditions and constrains the timing and process of depositional events during and following the 11 March 2011 Tohoku tsunami in the coastal system at El Garrapatero, Galapagos Islands. While the tsunami acted as both an erosional and depositional agent, the thick, fan-like sand sheet in El Garrapatero was primarily emplaced by overwash deposition during high tide from swell waves occurring between 19–25 March and 17–22 April 2011. The swell waves were only able to access the terrestrial coastal system via a channel carved by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami through the barrier sand dune. This combined deposit could result in an overestimation of the hazard if interpreted to be the result of only one event (either tsunami or wind-generated waves). An analogous sand layer, younger than 1390–1530 cal yr BP, may record a similar, prior event.     

Ion transport in porous media: derivation of the macroscopic equations using upscaling and properties of the effective coefficients

In this work, we undertake a numerical study of the effective coefficients arising in the upscaling of a system of partial differential equations describing transport of a dilute N-component electrolyte in a Newtonian solvent through a rigid porous medium. The motion is governed by a small static electric field and a small hydrodynamic force, around a nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann equilibrium with given surface charges of arbitrary size. This approach allows us to calculate the linear response regime in a way initially proposed by O’Brien. The O’Brien linearization requires a fast and accurate solution of the underlying Poisson–Boltzmann equation. We present an analysis of it, with the discussion of the boundary layer appearing as the Debye–Hückel parameter becomes large. Next, we briefly discuss the corresponding two-scale asymptotic expansion and reduce the obtained two-scale equations to a coarse scale model. Our previous rigorous study proves that the homogenized coefficients satisfy Onsager properties, namely they are symmetric positive definite tensors. We illustrate with numerical simulations several characteristic situations and discuss the behavior of the effective coefficients when the Debye–Hückel parameter is large. Simulated qualitative behavior differs significantly from the situation when the surface potential is given (instead of the surface charges). In particular, we observe the Donnan effect (exclusion of co-ions for small pores).     

Seawater nutrient and carbonate ion concentrations recorded as P/Ca, Ba/Ca, and U/Ca in the deep-sea coral Desmophyllum dianthus

As paleoceanographic archives, deep sea coral skeletons offer the potential for high temporal resolution and precise absolute dating, but have not been fully investigated for geochemical reconstructions of past ocean conditions. Here we assess the utility of skeletal P/Ca, Ba/Ca and U/Ca in the deep sea coral D. dianthus as proxies of dissolved phosphate (remineralized at shallow depths), dissolved barium (trace element with silicate-type distribution) and carbonate ion concentrations, respectively. Measurements of these proxies in globally distributed D. dianthus specimens show clear dependence on corresponding seawater properties. Linear regression fits of mean coral Element/Ca ratios against seawater properties yield the equations: P/Ca_coral (μmol/mol) = (0.6 ± 0.1) P/Ca_sw(μmol/mol) - (23 ± 18), R² = 0.6, n = 16 and Ba/Ca_coral(μmol/mol) = (1.4 ± 0.3) Ba/Ca_sw(μmol/mol) + (0 ± 2), R² = 0.6, n = 17; no significant relationship is observed between the residuals of each regression and seawater temperature, salinity, pressure, pH or carbonate ion concentrations, suggesting that these variables were not significant secondary dependencies of these proxies. Four D. dianthus specimens growing at locations with Ω_arag ? 0.6 displayed markedly depleted P/Ca compared to the regression based on the remaining samples, a behavior attributed to an undersaturation effect. These corals were excluded from the calibration. Coral U/Ca correlates with seawater carbonate ion: U/Ca_coral(μmol/mol) = (−0.016 ± 0.003) (μmol/kg) + (3.2 ± 0.3), R² = 0.6, n = 17. The residuals of the U/Ca calibration are not significantly related to temperature, salinity, or pressure. Scatter about the linear calibration lines is attributed to imperfect spatial-temporal matches between the selected globally distributed specimens and available water column chemical data, and potentially to unresolved additional effects. The uncertainties of these initial proxy calibration regressions predict that dissolved phosphate could be reconstructed to ±0.4 μmol/kg (for 1.3-1.9 μmol/kg phosphate), and dissolved Ba to ±19 nmol/kg (for 41-82 nmol/kg Ba_sw). Carbonate ion concentration derived from U/Ca has an uncertainty of ±31μmol/kg (for ). The effect of microskeletal variability on P/Ca, Ba/Ca, and U/Ca was also assessed, with emphasis on centers of calcification, Fe-Mn phases, and external contaminants. Overall, the results show strong potential for reconstructing aspects of water mass mixing and biogeochemical processes in intermediate and deep waters using fossil deep-sea corals.     

Differential absorption measurements of mesospheric and lower thermospheric electron densities using the Buckland Park MF radar

The differential absorption experiment (DAE) was first proposed in the 1950s for the estimation of mesospheric and lower thermospheric electron density using MF/HF radars. The technique was used extensively until the late 1970s, when interest in the technique declined, due to experimental limitations and questions regarding the assumptions of the technique. This paper describes the application of the DAE within the online observations of the Buckland Park MF (BPMF) radar. The experimental limitations of the technique for the BPMF radar are discussed, with particular attention paid to effects of complex gain differences between receiving channels used to decompose the linearly received signals into circular components. Hourly and monthly averaged midday DAE electron densities are presented, revealing good agreement with IRI model estimates. Monthly averaged midnight DAE electron densities are also presented, revealing good qualitative agreement with the IRI model estimates.