Current continental palaeoclimatic research in the Nordic region (100 years since Gunnar Andersson 1909) – Introduction

Seppä, H., Birks, H. J. B., Bjune, A. E. & Nesje, A. 2010: Current continental palaeoclimatic research in the Nordic region (100 years since Gunnar Andersson 1909) – Introduction. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 649‐654. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00170.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.     

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE FRESHWATERS OF ARCTIC AND SUBARCTIC NORTH AMERICA

Region 2 comprises arctic and subarctic North America and is underlain by continuous or discontinuous permafrost. Its freshwater systems are dominated by a low energy environment and cold region processes. Central northern areas are almost totally influenced by arctic air masses while Pacific air becomes more prominent in the west, Atlantic air in the east and southern air masses at the lower latitudes. Air mass changes will play an important role in precipitation changes associated with climate warming. The snow season in the region is prolonged resulting in long-term storage of water so that the spring flood is often the major hydrological event of the year, even though, annual rainfall usually exceeds annual snowfall. The unique character of ponds and lakes is a result of the long frozen period, which affects nutrient status and gas exchange during the cold season and during thaw. GCM models are in close agreement for this region and predict temperature increases as large as 4°C in summer and 9°C in winter for a 2 × CO₂ scenario. Palaeoclimate indicators support the probability that substantial temperature increases have occurred previously during the Holocene. The historical record indicates a temperature increase of > 1°C in parts of the region during the last century. GCM predictions of precipitation change indicate an increase, but there is little agreement amongst the various models on regional disposition or magnitude. Precipitation change is as important as temperature change in determining the water balance. The water balance is critical to every aspect of hydrology and limnology in the far north. Permafrost close to the surface plays a major role in freshwater systems because it often maintains lakes and wetlands above an impermeable frost table, which limits the water storage capabilities of the subsurface. Thawing associated with climate change would, particularly in areas of massive ice, stimulate landscape changes, which can affect every aspect of the environment. The normal spring flooding of ice-jammed north-flowing rivers, such as the Mackenzie, is a major event, which renews the water supply of lakes in delta regions and which determines the availability of habitat for aquatic organisms. Climate warming or river damming and diversion would probably lead to the complete drying of many delta lakes. Climate warming would also change the characteristics of ponds that presently freeze to the bottom and result in fundamental changes in their limnological characteristics. At present, the food chain is rather simple usually culminating in lake trout or arctic char. A lengthening of the growing season and warmer water temperature would affect the chemical, mineral and nutrient status of lakes and most likely have deleterious effects on the food chain. Peatlands are extensive in region 2. They would move northwards at their southern boundaries, and, with sustained drying, many would change form or become inactive. Extensive wetlands and peatlands are an important component of the global carbon budget, and warmer and drier conditions would most likely change them from a sink to a source for atmospheric carbon. There is some evidence that this may be occurring already. Region 2 is very vulnerable to global warming. Its freshwater systems are probably the least studied and most poorly understood in North America. There are clear needs to improve our current knowledge of temperature and precipitation patterns; to model the thermal behaviour of wetlands, lakes and rivers; to understand better the interrelationships of cold region rivers with their basins; to begin studies on the very large lakes in the region; to obtain a firm grasp of the role of northern peatlands in the global carbon cycle; and to link the terrestrial water balance to the thermal and hydrological regime of the polar sea. Overall, there is a strong need for basic research and long-term monitoring. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dimensions and architecture of late Pleistocene submarine lobes off the northern margin of East Corsica

Sandy lobe deposits on submarine fans are sensitive recorders of the types of sediment gravity flows supplied to a basin and are economically important as hydrocarbon reservoirs. This study investigates the causes of variability in 20 lobes in small late Pleistocene submarine fans off East Corsica. These lobes were imaged using ultra‐high resolution boomer seismic profiles (<1 m vertical resolution) and sediment type was ground truthed using piston cores published in previous studies. Repeated crossings of the same depositional bodies were used to measure spatial changes in their dimensions and architecture. Most lobes increase abruptly down‐slope to a peak thickness of 8 to 42 m, beyond which they show a progressive, typically more gradual, decrease in thickness until they thin to below seismic resolution or pass into draping facies of the basin plain. Lobe areas range from 3 to 70 km² and total lengths from 2 to 14 km, with the locus of maximum sediment accumulation from 3 to 28 km from the shelf‐break. Based on their location, dimensions, internal architecture and nature of the feeder channel, the lobes are divided into two end‐member types. The first are small depositional bodies located in proximal settings, clustered near the toe‐of‐slope and fed by slope gullies or erosive channels lacking or with poorly developed levées (referred to as ‘proximal isolated lobes’). The second are larger architecturally more complex depositional bodies deposited in more distal settings, outboard more stable and longer‐lived levéed fan valleys (referred to as ‘composite mid‐fan lobes’). Hybrid lobe types are also observed. At least three hierarchical levels of compensation stacking are recognized. Individual beds and bed‐sets stack to form lobe‐elements; lobe‐elements stack to form composite lobes; and composite lobes stack to form lobe complexes. Differences in the size, shape and architectural complexity of lobe deposits reflect several inter‐related factors including: (i) flow properties (volume, duration, grain‐size, concentration and velocity); (ii) the number and frequency of flows, and their degree of variation through time; (iii) gradient change and sea floor morphology at the mouth of the feeder conduit; (iv) lobe lifespan prior to avulsion or abandonment; and (v) feeder channel geometry and stability. In general, lobes outboard stable fan valleys that are connected to shelf‐incised canyons are wider, longer and thicker, accumulate in more basinal locations and are architecturally more complex.     

Weichselian stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments at Bellsund, western Svalbard

A coastal cliff facing the ocean at the west coast of Spitsbergen has been studied, and seven formations of Weichselian and Holocene age have been identified. A reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and glacial history shows that most of the sediments cover isotope stage 5. From the base of the section, the formation 1 and 2 tills show a regional glaciation that reached the continental shelf shortly after the Eemian. Formation 3 consists of glacimarine to marine sediments dated to 105,000–90,000 BP. Amino acid diagenesis indicates that they were deposited during a c . 10,000-year period of continuous isostatic depression, which indicates contemporaneous glacial loading in the Barents Sea. Foraminifera and molluscs show influx of Atlantic water masses along the west coast of Svalbard at the same time. Local glaciers advanced during the latter part of this period, probably due to the penetration of moist air masses, and deposited formation 4. A widespread weathering horizon shows that the glacial retreat was succeeded by subaerial conditions during the Middle Weichselian. Formation 5 is a till deposited during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum in this area. The glaciation was dominated by ice streams from a dome over southern Spitsbergen, and the last deglaciation of the outer coast is dated to 13,000 BP. A correlation of the events with other areas on Svalbard is discussed, and at least two periods of glaciation in the Barents Sea during the Weichselian are suggested.     

CONDITIONAL SAMPLING AND SCALE ANALYSIS OF THE MARINE ATMOSPHERIC MIXED LAYER -- SOFIA EXPERIMENT

During the SOFIA experiment, performed in the Azores region in June1992, airborne missions were conducted in the atmospheric boundary layerwith two aircraft instrumented for turbulence measurements. We show howthe conditional sampling technique, applied to the velocity, temperatureand moisture fluctuations, is able to describe the various parcels whichconstitute the turbulent field. Each parcel, so identified, is characterized byits fractional area and by its contribution to the transfers of sensible heat andlatent heat. On the other hand, a scale analysis is conducted by filteringthe turbulent signals in five non-overlapping frequency bands, definedaccording to the characteristic turbulent scales. The contribution of eachband to the turbulent energy and to the transfers is thus presented. Theimportance of the lowest frequencies, which are generally removed fromthe signals by high-pass filtering before computing turbulent fluxes, isshown. In the final section, the conditional sampling technique is applied tothe signals filtered in the various bands. Despite a slight deformation of theeddies due to the filtering technique, the contribution of each parcel can beestimated at the various scales analysed.     

Experimental authigenesis of phyllosilicates from feldspathic sands

Hydrothermal experiments with primary detrital components of feldspathic sands (orthoclase, albite, quartz, and calcite) were conducted to simulate possible diagenetic changes in geosynclinal sedimentary accumulations and the geothermal reservoir of the Imperial Valley area, California. Phyllosilicate and zeolite mineralization was produced at 200°C and 1 Kb Ph₂o and at 300°C and 1 and 3 Kb Ph₂o. Scanning electron microscope examination of the detrital grains shows the development of authigenic minerals and solution features. Phyllosilicate development occurred as dense surface coatings on orthoclase crystals in concentrated brines and as scattered grain clusters in dilute brines. Cation concentration is considered to be a controlling factor in phyllosilicate formation and growth. During formation the phyllosilicate crystals appear to utilize the surficial feldspar lattice structure as a preferred growth site. Electron diffraction studies indicate the crystals are a 1 Md mica similar to illite. Initial phyllosilicate formation occurs principally on orthoclase in systems containing this mineral, but is disseminated on other mineral surfaces in systems without orthoclase. This experimental development of authigenetic illite via the destruction of potassium feldspar may offer a potential mechanism to help explain the resulting mineralogy of diagenetic processes occurring in natural sediments such as in feldspathic sands and argillaceous sediments.     

Basin inversion: some consequences for drainage evolution and alluvial architecture

ABSTRACT Sedimentary basins developed in tectonically active areas commonly display dramatic changes in sedimentation rates, styles and spatial organization of alluvial facies. When deformation rates are relatively high these changes are frequently attributed to deflection and/or ponding of the fluvial systems. This paper examines the indirect modifications that less intense, epeirogenic uplift may instigate, during the latter stages of basin inversion, in the context of a fluvial system adjusting to the deformation. Field evidence is taken from the Sorbas Basin of south-east Spain and data are employed from both the current drainage pattern and ancient (Plio-Quaternary) sedimentary sequence. Major provenance and sedimentation changes in the ancient record (in terms of both rates and styles) are attributed to river capture. Intrinsic controls to the system (fan progradation and trenching) and the prevailing (semi-arid) climate provided the overall framework of fan development (general coarsening upwards sequence and change from sheetflood to braided conditions in the lower part of the sequence). This sedimentation trend was then substantially modified (a change to small meandering channels and a change in provenance) by the capture of the fan feeder by an aggressive subsequent stream. This cut off the connection with the former source area and reduced sediment and water input into the system. Initially the sedimentation rates declined and minor incision was stimulated by the increase in the water to sediment ratio as a result of the reduction in easily erodible sand to the system that resulted from the source area change. This minor incision stimulated a rejuvenation of the streams sourcing the fan, temporarily increasing sediment supply and choking the small channels, leading to a return to unconfined flow conditions. The system rapidly exhausted the sediment from the reduced catchment area leading to a fining upwards and abandonment of the system. This was followed by incision of the modern drainage network stimulated by base level changes in the main Sorbas Basin drainage network, to which the study area was tributary.     

Shallow subsurface diagenesis of Pleistocene periplatform ooze: northern Bahamas

Previous studies on early submarine diagenesis of periplatform carbonates have implied that these originally polymineralic (aragonite, magnesian calcite, calcite) sediments are susceptible to early diagenesis only in current-swept open seaways or where surficially exposed by erosion on the seafloor. It has also been proposed that while in the shallow subsurface, periplatform oozes retain their original mineralogy for at least 200,000–400,000 yr and remain unlithified for tens of millions of years. Evidence is reported here for extensive calcitization and selective lithification of periplatform oozes of late Pleistocene age in two piston cores collected from water depths of ～ 1,000 m north of Little Bahama Bank. It is shown that shallow (<30 m) subsurface diagenesis can significantly alter the original mineralogy of periplatform oozes to predominantly calcite in less than 440,000 yr, and that cementation by calcite can produce chalk-ooze sequences within the same time-frame. Periplatform oozes that originally contain a high percentage of bank-derived magnesian calcite appear to have a higher diagenetic potential than those originally low in magnesian calcite. Shallow subsurface calcitization and fithification greatly reduce the diagenetic potential of periplatform carbonates, and chalk-ooze sequences apparently can persist for tens of millions of years and to burial depths of at least 300 m. Shallow subsurface diagenesis, at water depths > 1,000 m, proceeds via dissolution of magnesian calcite and aragonite and reprecipitation of calcite as allochem fillings, exterior overgrowths and cement. It is speculated that density-driven ‘Kohout convection‘, where seawaters under-saturated with respect to magnesian calcite and aragonite and saturated/supersaturated with respect to calcite flow through the margins of carbonate platforms, is the primary driving mechanism for shallow subsurface diagenesis. Removal of Mg during early stages of deep seafloor and shallow subsurface diagenesis should increase the Mg content of interstitial waters which is likely to increase the ‘dolomitizing potential’ of Kohout convection fluid flow.     

The Lithospheric Mantle beneath Continental Margins: Melting and Melt-Rock Reaction in Canadian Cordillera Xenoliths

Seven alkali basalt centers in the southern Canadian Cordilleracontain mantle xenolith suites that comprise spinel Cr-diopsideperidotites, spinel augite-bearing wehrlites and orthopyroxene-poorlherzolites, and minor pyroxenites. The Cr-diopside peridotitesappear to be residues of the extraction of Mg-rich basalts byup to 15% partial melting (median 5–10%) of a pyrolite-likesource in the spinel stability field. The xenoliths are similarto other mantle xenolith suites derived from beneath convergentcontinental margins, but are less depleted, less oxidized, andhave lower spinel mg-number than peridotites found in fore-arcsettings. Their dominant high field strength element depletedcharacter, however, is typical of arc lavas, and may suggestthat fluids or melts circulating through the Canadian Cordilleralithosphere were subduction related. Modeling using MELTS isconsistent with the augite-bearing xenoliths being formed byinteraction between crystallizing alkaline melts and peridotite.Assimilation–fractional crystallization modeling suggeststhat the trace element patterns of liquids in equilibrium withthe augite xenoliths may represent the initial melts that reactedwith the peridotite. Moreover, the compositions of these meltsare similar to those of some glasses observed in the mantlexenoliths. Melt–rock interaction may thus be a viablemechanism for the formation of Si- and alkali-rich glass inperidotites. KEY WORDS: Canadian Cordillera; mantle xenolith; peridotite; wehrlite; melt–rock reaction