Aragonite and calcite preservation in sediments from Lake Iznik related to bottom lake oxygenation and water column depth

This study examines the forcing mechanisms driving long‐term carbonate accumulation and preservation in lacustrine sediments in Lake Iznik (north‐western Turkey) since the last glacial. Currently, carbonates precipitate during summer from the alkaline water column, and the sediments preserve aragonite and calcite. Based on X‐ray diffraction data, carbonate accumulation has changed significantly and striking reversals in the abundance of the two carbonate polymorphs have occurred on a decadal time scale, during the last 31 ka cal bp . Different lines of evidence, such as grain size, organic matter and redox sensitive elements, indicate that reversals in carbonate polymorph abundance arise due to physical changes in the lacustrine setting, for example, water column depth and lake mixing. The aragonite concentrations are remarkably sensitive to climate, and exhibit millennial‐scale oscillations. Extending observations from modern lakes, the Iznik record shows that the aerobic decomposition of organic matter and sulphate reduction are also substantial factors in carbonate preservation over long time periods. Lower lake levels favour aragonite precipitation from supersaturated waters. Prolonged periods of stratification and, consequently, enhanced sulphate reduction favour aragonite preservation. In contrast, prolonged or repeated exposure of the sediment–water interface to oxygen results in in situ aerobic organic matter decomposition, eventually leading to carbonate dissolution. Notably, the Iznik sediment profile raises the hypothesis that different states of lacustrine mixing lead to selective preservation of different carbonate polymorphs. Thus, a change in the entire lake water chemistry is not strictly necessary to favour the preservation of one polymorph over another. Therefore, this investigation is a novel contribution to the carbon cycle in lacustrine systems.     

Magmatic evolution of Li–F, rare-metal granites: a case study of melt inclusions in the Khangilay complex, Eastern Transbaikalia (Russia)

We report compositions of homogenized quartz-hosted melt inclusions from a layered sequence of Li-, F-rich granites in the Khangilay complex that document the range of melt evolution from barren biotite granites to Ta-rich, lepidolite–amazonite–albite granites. The melt inclusions are crystalline at room temperature and were homogenized in a rapid-quench hydrothermal apparatus at 200 MPa before analysis. Homogenization runs determined solidus temperatures near 550 °C and full homogenization between 650 and 750 °C. The compositions of inclusions, determined by electron microprobe and Raman spectroscopy (for H₂O), show regular overall trends of increasing differentiation from the least-evolved Khangilay units to apical units in the Orlovka intrusion. Total volatile contents in the most-evolved melts reach over 11 wt.% (H₂O: 8.6 wt.%, F: 1.6 wt.%, B₂O₃: 1.5 wt.%). Concentrations of Rb range from about 1000 to 3600 ppm but other trace elements could not be measured reliably by electron microprobe. The resulting trends of melt evolution are similar to those described by the whole-rock samples, despite petrographic evidence for albite- and mica-rich segregations previously taken as evidence for post-magmatic metasomatism.

Melt variation trends in most samples are consistent with fractional crystallization as the main process of magma evolution and residual melt compositions plot at the granite minimum in the normative Qz–Ab–Or system. However, melts trapped in the highly evolved pegmatitic samples from Orlovka deviate from the minimum melt composition and show compositional variations in Al, Na and K that requires a different explanation. We suggest that unmixing of the late-stage residual melt into an aluminosilicate melt and a salt-rich dense aqueous fluid (hydrosaline melt) occurred. Experimental data show the effectiveness of this process to separate K (aluminosilicate melt) from Na (hydrosaline melt) and high mobility of the latter due to its low viscosity and relatively low density may explain local zones of albitization in the upper parts of the granite.     

Analysis of the surface temperature and wind forecast errors of the NCAR-AirDat operational CONUS 4-km WRF forecasting system

Investigating the characteristics of model-forecast errors using various statistical and object-oriented methods is necessary for providing useful guidance to end-users and model developers as well. To this end, the random and systematic errors (i.e., biases) of the 2-m temperature and 10-m wind predictions of the NCAR-AirDat weather research and forecasting (WRF)-based real-time four-dimensional data assimilation (RTFDDA) and forecasting system are analyzed. This system has been running operationally over a contiguous United States (CONUS) domain at a 4-km grid spacing with four forecast cycles daily from June 2009 to September 2010. In the result an exceptionally useful forecast dataset was generated and used for studying the error properties of the model forecasts, in terms of both a longer time period and a broader coverage of geographic regions than previously studied. Spatiotemporal characteristics of the errors are investigated based on the 24-h forecasts between June 2009 and April 2010, and the 72-h forecasts between May and September 2010. It was found that the biases of both wind and temperature forecasts vary greatly seasonally and diurnally, with dependency on the forecast length, station elevation, geographical location, and meteorological conditions. The temperature showed systematic cold biases during the daytime at all station elevations and warm biases during the nighttime above 1,000 m above sea level (ASL), while below 600 m ASL cold biases occurred during the nighttime. The forecasts of surface wind speed exhibited strong positive biases during the nighttime, while the negative biases were observed in the spring and summer afternoons. The surface wind speed was mostly over-predicted except for the stations located between 1,000 and 2,100 m ASL, for which negative biases were identified for most forecast cycles. The highest wind-speed errors were found over the high terrain and near sea-level stations. The wind-direction errors were relatively large at the high-terrain elevation in the Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges and the western coastal areas and the error structure exhibited notable diurnal variability.     

Summer temperature variability across four urban neighborhoods in Knoxville,Tennessee, USA

The urban heat island (UHI) is a well-documented effect of urbanization on local climate, identified by higher temperatures compared to surrounding areas, especially at night and during the warm season. The details of a UHI are city-specific, and microclimates may even exist within a given city. Thus, investigating the spatiotemporal variability of a city’s UHI is an ongoing and critical research need. We deploy ten weather stations across Knoxville, Tennessee, to analyze the city’s UHI and its differential impacts across urban neighborhoods: two each in four neighborhoods, one in more dense tree cover and one in less dense tree cover, and one each in downtown Knoxville and Ijams Nature Center that serve as control locations. Three months of temperature data (beginning 2 July 2014) are analyzed using paired-sample t tests and a three-way analysis of variance. Major findings include the following: (1) Within a given neighborhood, tree cover helps negate daytime heat (resulting in up to 1.19 ^°C lower maximum temperature), but does not have as large of an influence on minimum temperature; (2) largest temperature differences between neighborhoods occur during the day (0.38–1.16 ^°C difference), but larger differences between neighborhoods and the downtown control occur at night (1.04–1.88 ^°C difference); (3) presiding weather (i.e., air mass type) has a significant, consistent impact on the temperature in a given city, and lacks the differential impacts found at a larger-scale in previous studies; (4) distance from city center does not impact temperature as much as land use factors. This is a preliminary step towards informing local planning with a scientific understanding of how mitigation strategies may help minimize the UHI and reduce the effects of extreme weather on public health and well-being.     

Estimating Sea-Level Allowances for Atlantic Canada using the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC

Abstract

Sea-level allowances at 22 tide-gauge sites along the east coast of Canada are determined based on projections of regional sea-level rise for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) and on the statistics of historical tides and storm surges (storm tides). The allowances, which may be used for coastal infrastructure planning, increase with time during the twenty-first century through a combination of mean sea-level rise and the increased uncertainty of future projections with time. The allowances show significant spatial variation, mainly a consequence of strong regionally varying relative sea-level change as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). A methodology is described for replacement of the GIA component of the AR5 projection with global positioning system (GPS) measurements of vertical crustal motion; this significantly decreases allowances in regions where the uncertainty of the GIA models is large. For RCP8.5 with GPS data incorporated and for the 1995–2100 period, the sea-level allowances range from about 0.5?m along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to more than 1?m along the coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland.     

A Study of the Impacts of Freeze–Thaw on Cliff Recession at the Calvert Cliffs in Calvert County,Maryland

The Calvert Cliffs, which form much of the western coastline of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, are actively eroding and destabilizing, yielding critical situations for many homes in close proximity to the slope’s crest. Past studies have identified that waves directly interacting with the slope toe control cliff recession; however, where waves do not regularly interact with the slope toe, freeze–thaw controls recession. This study investigated the validity of this second claim by analyzing the recession rate and freeze–thaw behavior of six study sites along the Calvert Cliffs that are not directly affected by waves. While waves do remove failed material from the toe in these regions, freeze–thaw is believed to be the dominant factor driving recession at these sites. Past recession rates were calculated using historical aerial photographs and were analyzed together with a number of other variables selected to represent the freeze–thaw behavior of the Calvert Cliffs. The investigation studied sixteen independent variables and found that over 65 % of recession at these study sites can be represented by freeze–thaw through the following variables: (1) slope aspect, (2) soil freeze–thaw susceptibility, (3) the number of freeze–thaw cycles, and (4) the weighted shear strength. Future mitigation techniques at these sites should focus on addressing these variables. Unmitigated, the Calvert Cliffs will continue to recede until a stable slope angle is reached and maintained.     

On the inclusion of ground-based gravity measurements to the calibration process of a global rainfall-discharge reservoir model: case of the Durzon karst system (Larzac, southern France)

This work examines the relevance of the inclusion of ground-based gravity data in the calibration process of a global rainfall-discharge reservoir model. The analysis is performed for the Durzon karst system (Larzac, France). The first part of the study focuses on the hydrological interpretation of the ground-based gravity measurements. The second part of the study investigates further the information content of the gravity data with respect to water storage dynamics modelling. The gravity-derived information is found unable to either reduce equifinality of the single-objective, discharge-based model calibration process or enhance model performance through assimilation.     

Oxygen isotopic composition of Central Sierra Nevada precipitation, I. Identification of ice-phase water capture regions in winter storms

Measurements of the stable isotopic ratios of oxygen and simultaneously observed ice crystal structure in freshly fallen snow, have been used to estimate the weighted mean altitudes of ice-phase precipitation formation in winter clouds over the Central Sierra Nevada.Observations of dominant, diffusionally grown ice-crystal habits were used to estimate relatively narrow ranges of temperatures of initial formation of the precipitation particles using the Nakaya (1954) ice-crystal classification techniques. The mean oxygen isotope ratio ¹⁸O/¹⁶O for each snow sample, together with local upper air soundings, were used to estimate ranges of temperature-altitude within the clouds where the precipitating particles had captured their ice-phase water. For this initial study, snow samples were collected each five (5) to ten (10) minutes during three snowfall periods on 27 January, 26 February and 28 February, 1983.For the 27 January case, the ice formation mechanism was predominantly vapor deposition and hence the narrow range of temperatures determined by the ice-crystal habits was directly relatable to the mean δ¹⁸O value.The 26 and 28 February cases were more complicated because the solid-phase precipitation was formed by vapor deposition and by freezing of drops and droplets (which occurs without isotopic fractionation). In these cases, the oxygen isotopic composition of the snow reaching the ground was representative of solid phase precipitation which had formed at warmer temperatures than those corresponding to the primary ice-crystal habits alone. There was no apparent relationship between δ¹⁸O values and surface temperature at the sampling site.If relationships between ¹⁸O/¹⁶O and temperature-altitude are established for this geograpic region for winter snowfall conditions, this crystal habit—isotopic composition technique can provide knowledge about the regions of the clouds in which the ice-phase precipitation is forming over the Central Sierra Nevada.     

Phytoplankton dynamics and cyanobacterial dominance in Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria (Uganda) in relation to environmental conditions

Murchison Bay is a shallow embayment in the north-western part of Lake Victoria, strongly influenced by urban pollution from the Ugandan capital Kampala. Two stations, representing the semi-enclosed innermost part of the bay and the wider outer part of the bay, were sampled in the period from April 2003 to March 2004, in order to assess the phytoplankton community and the nutrient status in the bay. Murchison Bay was highly eutrophic with average concentrations (n=25) of total phosphorous >90 μg L⁻¹ and total nitrogen >1100 μg L⁻¹ in the inner part of the bay. The phytoplankton community was dominated by a variety of cyanobacterial species and diatoms. Cyanobacteria were dominant in the whole bay, whereas diatoms were more abundant in the outer part of the bay. Moreover, the proportion of N-fixing species like Anabaena sp. was higher in the outer part of the bay, whereas species like Microcystis sp. were more abundant in the inner part of the bay. The phytoplankton community, especially in the outer part of the bay, may be influenced by light limitation. Low NO₃-N concentrations in the bay may also indicate a possible N-limitation, thus favouring growth of N-fixing cyanobacteria. The open bay is, however, a complex system, and additional environmental factors and loss processes most likely affect the phytoplankton community.