Compositional variability of ice‐rafted debris in Heinrich layers 1 and 2 on the northwest European continental slope identified by environmental magnetic analyses

The composition of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) within a sediment core from the European continental slope (core OMEX‐2K; 49° 5′ N, 13° 26′ W) has been examined using environmental magnetic analyses. The data demonstrate compositional variability of the IRD within Heinrich layers 2 (H2) and 1 (H1) and these differences are most readily explained by changes in the contribution of different IRD sources to the core site. Some IRD within the main Heinrich layers show magnetic signatures that are similar to IRD derived from the Laurentide ice sheet found in cores from within the main North Atlantic IRD‐belt. In contrast, other IRD‐rich layers, both prior to and within the main Heinrich layers, demonstrate different magnetic behaviour, suggesting a contribution from a non‐Laurentide sourced IRD, most likely derived from ice streams discharging from northeast Atlantic ice sheets such as the British and Fennoscandian ice sheets. These data are consistent with published compositional data from the same core and, given the rapid, highly sensitive and non‐destructive nature of the method, suggest that environmental magnetic analysis has considerable potential for characterising IRD materials within Heinrich layers for the purposes of defining provenance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Rough Guide to the Moon and Mars

Mike Lockwood and Mike Hapgood rough out essential physics for the astronaut intending to arrive alive.     

Fine-scale acoustic tomographic imaging of shallow water sediments

In acoustic tomographic system capable of performing in situ two-dimensional (2D) acoustic imaging of shallow water sediments is described. This system is capable of resolving inhomogeneities greater than 10 cm and differentiating sound-speed variations greater than 2%, A tomographic inversion is performed in a 2D vertical slice of about 1 m ² (1 m×1 m) using three identical probes, with each consisting of 70 evenly distributed transducers. In normal deployments, two of the probes are oriented vertically and are separated by about 1 meter, and the third is positioned horizontally right above the two vertical probes. The additional horizontal probe greatly improves the horizontal resolution of the system compared to conventional crosshole tomographic setups. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the influences of arrival time detection error and transducer position error on the performance of the tomography system. For an arrival time of 500 ns (standard deviation) and a position error of 4 mm (standard deviation), sound-speed anomalies of greater than 0.8% can be correctly predicted near the upper portion (close to the horizontal probe) and are resolvable near the lower portion. A controlled laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the system. The location of a polyurethane block (Conap EN22) used as a known target is correctly predicted while the inverted sound speed is about 9% lower than that from its actual value. Field data taken from a saturated muddy site are presented and analyzed. The inverted mean sound speed and attenuation are about 1480 ms^-1 and 20 dBm^-1, respectively     

Zinc and copper levels in Belfast Lough

A survey of dissolved zinc, copper, oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand in Belfast Lough has been carried out. Zinc and to a lesser extent copper occur at elevated levels compared with a non-industrialized area of the Irish Sea. Zinc levels are particularly high in the marginal waters of the north shore of the lough. Dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand levels indicate that pollution of the lough by oxygendemanding wastes is not a serious problem.     

Macrofossil evidence of alder (Alnus sp.) in Britain early in the Late Glacial Interstadial: implications for the northern cryptic refugia debate

Wood macrofossil remains of alder and willow/poplar have been recovered from a sediment sequence in the valley of the Turker Beck in the Vale of Mowbray, North Yorkshire. These remains have yielded radiocarbon dates early in the Devensian Late Glacial (14.7–14k cal a bp ), equivalent to the early part of the Greenland Interstadial (GI-1e) of the GRIP ice-core record. These are the earliest dates recorded for the presence of alder in the Late Glacial in the British Isles. Associated biological remains have provided a palaeoenvironmental record for this early part of the Greenland Interstadial, generally indicative of open environments dominated by herbaceous taxa on both the wetland and dryland surfaces. However, stands of alder, birch and willow woodland were also present, and indicate the possibility that such tree species survived in cryptic refugia in Britain as elsewhere in northern Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum. The absence of alder pollen at Turker Beck, in a sequence in which its macrofossil remains are relatively abundant, lends support to the view that pollen can be a poor indicator of the presence of tree species in Late Glacial sequences in northern and western Europe.     

Enabling technologies for REMUS docking: an integral component ofan autonomous ocean-sampling network

A dock for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) allows the vehicle to be left on station ready for deployment. However, it represents a significant engineering challenge, as docking requires an accurate navigation system so that the vehicle can find the dock, and complex mechanics to make the required underwater power and data connections. This paper describes the docking system built for the REMUS AUV. It outlines the basis for the design decisions, the as-built configuration, and its performance once deployed. It also delineates the lessons learned from the deployments, and the refinements in the vehicle that have been made since that time, that will improve the system's utility and reliability