Response of Pediastrum in German floodplain lakes to Late Glacial climate changes

Subfossil remains of the Pediastrum-algae group (Fam. Hydrodictyaceae) are frequently found in lake sediments, but very few studies have used them as palaeoclimate and palaeolimnological indicators. This study explored the species composition of Pediastrum assemblages in shallow floodplain lakes in northern Germany during two transitional periods from cold to temperate climate conditions (GS-2/GI-1 and GI-1/Holocene). We identified Pediastrum taxa to subspecies level and used multivariate statistics (constrained clustering, principal component analysis and redundancy analysis) to show that shifts in taxonomic composition reflected the strong Late Glacial climate oscillations. The Pediastrum assemblages indicate that climate amelioration already begun shortly before the main GS-2/GI-1 summer-temperature transition. In contrast to previous studies that identified trophic state as the main driver of change in Pediastrum species composition, we identified climate shifts and related factors as the major drivers of community change. Water depth and trophic state probably acted as secondary factors that were responsible for differences in Pediastrum response between the first and second investigated climate transitions. During cold periods, Pediastrum algae composition was controlled mainly by environmental variables, whereas during warm periods, Pediastrum assemblages may have been influenced to a greater extent by intra- and intergeneric competition. This study contributes to knowledge about ecological niches of Pediastrum species. Size-measurements on Pediastrum coenobia reveal that one response of Pediastrum algae to climate shifts probably was size change. Coenobia of Pseudopediastrum boryanum var. boryanum were significantly smaller during cold climate periods than during temperate periods. The shifts in Pediastrum species composition and coenobium size suggest this algae group has great potential for enabling palaeoecological and palaeoclimate inferences.     

Least squares collocation and regularization

Certain geodetic problems such as the downward continuation of gravity information from satellite or aerial altitudes to the surface of the earth or the inverse Stokes problem are improperly posed in the sense that the best approximate solution does not continuously depend on the given observations. In order to obtain a stable solution a technique of regularization is discussed which can be shown to be identical to the method of least squares collocation. The characteristic features of regularization are analysed transferring the problem through a singular value decomposition into the spectral domain which allows an easy interpretation as a special method of filtering. In practical applications the stability depends not only on the observational errors including the computer round-off but in the same way on the number of observations and their distribution. The regularized solution should achieve a proper trade-off between sufficient smoothness and highest possible resolution with a limit defined through the internal accuracy of the computer.     

Local characteristics of the gravity anomaly covariance function

Summary Using a data set of 260 000 gravity anomalies it is shown that common characteristics for a local covariance function exist in an area as large as Canada excluding the Rocky Mountains. After eliminating global features by referencing the data to the GEM-10 satellite solution, the shape of the covariance function is remarkably consistent from one sample area to the next. The determination of the essential parameters and the fitting of the covariance function are discussed in detail. To test the reliability of the derived function, deflections of the vertical are estimated at about 230 stations where astrogeodetic data are available. Results show that the standard error obtained from the discrepancies is about1″ for each component and that the error covariance matrix of least-squares collocation reflects this accuracy remarkably well.     

Deterministic and probabilistic floor response spectra

The paper presents a comparative study for computing floor response spectra (FRS) for complex structures. For the purpose of validation and evaluation of the methods for practical application, a systematic comparison of two concepts, classical deterministic and probabilistic, was carried out as an example of a nuclear power plants structure. The deterministic method utilizes time history analyses compatible with the prescribed design response spectrum. The probabilistic method uses an analysis of random vibrations for defining the probabilistic FRS influenced by random seismic soil movement. The seismic input is a power spectral density function (PSDF) compatible with the design response spectrum. The probabilistic approach based on PSDF provides satisfying FRS with far less effort and time consumption needed for calculation.     

On the potential of plant species invasion influencing bio‐geomorphologic landscape formation in salt marshes

Species invasions are known to change biotic and abiotic ecosystem characteristics such as community structure, cycling of materials and dynamics of rivers. However, their ability to alter interactions between biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, in particular bio‐geomorphic feedbacks and the resulting landscape configuration in tidal wetlands, such as tidal channels have not yet been demonstrated. We studied the impact of altered bio‐geomorphic feedbacks on geomorphologic features (i.e. tidal wetland channels), by comparing proxies for channel network geometry (unchanneled flow lengths, fractal dimension) over time between non‐invaded and invaded salt marsh habitats. The non‐invaded habitats (the south of eastern Chongming Island, Yangtze estuary, China) show little change in network geometry over time with a tendency for an increased drainage density. The invaded site (salt marshes in the north of eastern Chongming Island invaded by the exotic plant species Spartina alterniflora) showed a decreasing tendency in channel drainage density throughout and after the species invasion. This suggests that species invasions might not only affect biotic ecosystem characteristics, but also their ability to change bio‐geomorphic feedback loops, potentially leading to changes in existing geomorphologic features and therefore landscape configuration. Our results further suggest that the species invasion also altered sediment composition. Based on observations we propose a mechanism explaining the change in channel drainage density by an alteration in plant properties. The physical and physiological characteristics of the invading species Spartina alterniflora clearly differ from the native species Scirpus mariqueter, inducing different bio‐geomorphic feedback loops leading to the observed change in salt marsh channel configuration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of hydrologic impact of an irrigation curtailment program using Landsat satellite data

Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) is the source of the Klamath River that flows through southern Oregon and northern California. The UKL Basin provides water for 81,000+ ha (200,000+ acres) of irrigation on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project located downstream of the UKL Basin. Irrigated agriculture also occurs along the tributaries to UKL. During 2013–2016, water rights calls resulted in various levels of curtailment of irrigation diversions from the tributaries to UKL. However, information on the extent of curtailment, how much irrigation water was saved, and its impact on the UKL is unknown. In this study, we combined Landsat-based actual evapotranspiration (ETa) data obtained from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance model with gridded precipitation and U.S. Geological Survey station discharge data to evaluate the hydrologic impact of the curtailment program. Analysis was performed for 2004, 2006, 2008–2010 (base years), and 2013–2016 (target years) over irrigated areas above UKL. Our results indicate that the savings from the curtailment program over the June to September time period were highest during 2013 and declined in each of the following years. The total on-field water savings was approximately 60 hm³ in 2013 and 2014, 44 hm³ in 2015, and 32 hm³ in 2016 (1 hm3 = 10,000 m³ or 810.7 ac-ft). The instream water flow changes or extra water available were 92, 68, 45, and 26 hm³, respectively, for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Highest water savings came from pasture and wetlands. Alfalfa showed the most decline in water use among grain crops. The resulting extra water available from the curtailment contributed to a maximum of 19% of the lake inflows and 50% of the lake volume. The Landsat-based ETa and other remote sensing datasets used in this study can be used to monitor crop water use at the irrigation district scale and to quantify water savings as a result of land-water management changes.     

Beiträge zur Dynamik der Biomasse in Oxydationsteichen. Teil 3: Untersuchungen an der Teichanlage Greifswald-Ladebow nach Einsatz einer Kreiselbelüftungsanlage

The wastewater treatment is carried out in two parallel pond groups: South–9200 m³/d, 1748 kg/d BOD₅, preliminary clarifier (1.1 ha, 22000 m³), three ponds (9.8 ha, 88000 m³), naturel aeration; North ?5700 m³/d, 2394 kg/d BOD₅, Imhoff tank, three ponds (7.9 ha, 71000 m³), the pond 1 artificially aerated by gyroscopic units. The different loads of 15.9 and 33.7 g/m³ d BOD₅ results in rates of removal of 11.2 and 22.5 g/m³d BOD₅, resp. Therefore, the efficiency of the naturally aerated system is higher than that of the artificially aerated system. In the aerated system mainly the bacterial growth is promoted, a typical algal state being achieved only slowly, whereas the naturally aerated system gains a summer-time algal maximum in the ponds 2 and 3, which is accompanied already by zooplankton populations. In the dynamics of the biomass development, the higher efficiency of the four-stage, naturally aerated system is especially obvious.     

European winter temperature variability in a long coupled model simulation: the contribution of ocean dynamics

The interannual variability of the European winter air temperature is partially caused by anomalous atmospheric circulation and the associated advection of air masses, mainly linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). However, a considerable part of the temperature variability is not linearly described by atmospheric circulation anomalies. Here, a long control simulation with a coupled atmosphere-ocean climate model is analyzed, with the goal of decomposing the European temperature (ET) anomalies in a part linked to the anomalous atmospheric circulation and a residual. The amount of interannual variability of each contribution is roughly 50%, although at subdecadal (overdecadal) time scales the variability of the residuals is dominant. These residuals are found to be linked to temperature anomalies of the same sign in the whole North Atlantic and Greenland, in contrast to the well-known temperature zonal seesaw associated with the NAO. The association between the residuals and other processes in the North Atlantic has been also analyzed. The thermohaline circulation, closely connected in the model to the intensity of the Gulf Stream, lags the evolution of the temperature residuals by several years and thus is not able to control their evolution. The variability of the oceanic convection in the Northern North Atlantic, on the other hand, correlates with the temperature residual at lags close to zero. It is hypothesized that oceanic convection produces a sea-surface temperature fingerprint that leads to the ET residuals. The implications of these results for multi-year predictability and for empirical climate reconstructions are discussed.     

GGR Critical Review of Analytical Developments in 2006–2007

In 2005 the Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research editorial team, in the true spirit of scientific endeavour, embarked on an experiment of our own. We decided to trial a new kind of review, somewhat different from those more typically observed in journals, and one that would provide readers with a summary of analytical developments across a broad range of topics appropriate to the Earth sciences. The first contribution of this kind appeared in 2005, and reported on developments in 2003 (Hergt et al. 2005). The second, this time a biennial review, was published in 2006 and reported on highlights of the 2004 and 2005 literature (Hergt et al. 2006). Based on reprint requests, positive remarks at conferences and strong citations we consider the experiment a resounding success and proudly present here the third in this series. This comprises six individual review sections that cover the main analytical technologies and topical application fields in geoanalysis and geochemistry, including geological and environmental reference materials, ICP‐thermal and secondary ionisation‐mass spectrometry, as well as neutron activation analysis, X‐ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometry.