A multi-proxy record of the Last Glacial Maximum and last 14,500?years of paleoenvironmental change at Lone Spruce Pond, southwestern Alaska

Sediment cores from Lone Spruce Pond (60.007°N, 159.143°W), southwestern Alaska, record paleoenvironmental changes during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and during the last 14,500 calendar years BP (14.5?cal?ka). We analyzed the abundance of organic matter, biogenic silica, carbon, and nitrogen, and the isotope ratios of C and N, magnetic susceptibility, and grain-size distribution of bulk sediment, abundance of alder shrub (Alnus) pollen, and midge (Chironomidae and Chaoboridae) assemblages in a 4.7-m-long sediment sequence from the depocenter at 22?m water depth. The basal unit contains macrofossils dating to 25?C21?cal?ka (the global LGM), and is interpreted as glacial-lacustrine sediment. The open water requires that the outlet of the Ahklun Mountain ice cap had retreated to within 6?km of the range crest. In addition to cladocerans and diatoms, the glacial-lacustrine mud contains chironomids consistent with deep, oligotrophic conditions; several taxa associated with relatively warm conditions are present, suggestive of relative warmth during the global LGM. The glacial-lacustrine unit is separated from the overlying non-glacial lake sediment by a possible disconformity, which might record a readvance of glacier ice. Non-glacial sediment began accumulating around 14.5?cal?ka, with high flux of mineral matter and fluctuating physical and biological properties through the global deglacial period, including a reversal in biogenic-silica (BSi) content during the Younger Dryas (YD). During the global deglacial interval, the ??¹³C values of lake sediment were higher relative to other periods, consistent with low C:N ratios (8), and suggesting a dominant atmospheric CO₂ source of C for phytoplankton. Concentrations of aquatic faunal remains (chironomids and Cladocera) were low throughout the deglacial interval, diversity was low and warm-indicator taxa were absent. Higher production and air temperatures are inferred following the YD, when bulk organic-matter (OM) content (LOI 550?°C) increased substantially and permanently, from 10 to 30?%, a trend paralleled by an increase in C and N abundance, an increase in C:N ratio (to about 12), and a decrease in ??¹³C of sediment. Post-YD warming is marked by a rapid shift in the midge assemblage. Between 8.9 and 8.5?cal?ka, Alnus pollen tripled (25?C75?%), followed by the near-tripling of BSi (7?C19?%) by 8.2?cal?ka, and ??¹⁵N began a steady rise, reflecting the buildup of N and an increase in denitrification in soils. Several chironomid taxa indicative of relatively warm conditions were present throughout the Holocene. Quantitative chironomid-based temperature inferences are complicated by the expansion of Alnus and resulting changes in lake nutrient status and production; these changes were associated with an abrupt increase in cladoceran abundance and persistent shift in the chironomid assemblage. During the last 2,000?years, chironomid-assemblage changes suggest cooler temperatures, and BSi and OM values were generally lower than their maximum Holocene values, with minima during the seventh and eighth centuries, and again during the eighteenth century.     

Comparative analysis of the experiments aimed at modeling marine ecosystems by using the object-oriented approach

We describe the results of comparative analysis of the numerical experiments carried out by using two different approaches to modeling the biological components of marine ecosystems: “ordinary” and object-oriented. These results demonstrate that the character of the space distribution (patchiness) of the food resource on the lowest level of the trophic chain strongly affects the growth rate of the density of population on the next level and forms specific features of its space distribution which, in fact, affect the productivity of all levels of the trophic chain. The representation of phytoplankton (lowest level) in the model in the form a continuous field of passive admixtures creates more favorable conditions for the nutrition of the organisms consuming this resource. Therefore, in our calculations based on the “ordinary” procedure of modeling of marine ecosystems, the productivity of all its living components is higher than in the case of application of the object-oriented method. The indicated distinctions are especially well visible on the scales of about ten kilometers. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 26–35, January–February, 2009.     

Sandbank occurrence on the Dutch continental shelf in the North Sea

Sandbanks, the largest of bed patterns in shallow sandy seas, pose a potential risk to shipping. They are also valuable elements of natural coastal protection, dissipating the energy of waves. In the Southern Bight of the North Sea, several sandbank areas have been reported in the literature. However, based on an objective crest–trough analysis of the bathymetry of the Dutch continental shelf, the present study shows that sandbanks are more widespread than commonly considered. These banks are relatively low, presumably explaining why they have not been documented before. This widespread occurrence of sandbanks in the North Sea is in agreement with theoretical predictions based on stability analysis techniques. The possible interference between large-scale human activity and low-amplitude open-shelf ridges implies that one should be careful not to overlook these patterns if none should appear in a preliminary (visual) assessment. The only part of the Southern Bight in which no ridges can be seen is a circular area with a diameter of about 50 km near the mouth of the river Rhine. Here, freshwater outflow affects the direction of tidal ellipses and residual flow, and suppresses the formation of open ridges.     

Changes in climatic characteristics of Northern Hemisphere extratropical land in the 21st century: Assessments with the IAP RAS climate model

Assessments of future changes in the climate of Northern Hemisphere extratropical land regions have been made with the IAP RAS climate model (CM) of intermediate complexity (which includes a detailed scheme of thermo- and hydrophysical soil processes) under prescribed greenhouse and sulfate anthropogenic forcing from observational data for the 19th and 20th centuries and from the SRES B1, A1B, and A2 scenarios for the 21st century. The annual mean warming of the extratropical land surface has been found to reach 2–5 K (3–10 K) by the middle (end) of the 21st century relative to 1961–1990, depending on the anthropogenic forcing scenario, with larger values in North America than in Europe. Winter warming is greater than summer warming. This is expressed in a decrease of 1–4 K (or more) in the amplitude of the annual harmonic of soil-surface temperature in the middle and high latitudes of Eurasia and North America. The total area extent of perennially frozen ground S _p in the IAP RAS CM changes only slightly until the late 20th century, reaching about 21 million km², and then decreases to 11–12 million km² in 2036–2065 and 4–8 million km² in 2071–2100. In the late 21st century, near-surface permafrost is expected to remain only in Tibet and in central and eastern Siberia. In these regions, depths of seasonal thaw exceed 1 m (2 m) under the SRES B1 (A1B or A2) scenario. The total land area with seasonal thaw or cooling is expected to decrease from the current value of 54–55 million km² to 38–42 in the late 21st century. The area of Northern Hemisphere snow cover in February is also reduced from the current value of 45–49 million km² to 31–37 million km². For the basins of major rivers in the extratropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, runoff is expected to increase in central and eastern Siberia. In European Russia and in southern Europe, runoff is projected to decrease. In western Siberia (the Ob watershed), runoff would increase under the SRES A1B and A2 scenarios until the 2050s–2070s, then it would decrease to values close to present-day ones; under the anthropogenic forcing scenario SRES B1, the increase in runoff will continue up to the late 21st century. Total runoff from Eurasian rivers into the Arctic Ocean in the IAP RAS CM in the 21st century will increase by 8–9% depending on the scenario. Runoff from the North American rivers into the Arctic Ocean has not changed much throughout numerical experiments with the IAP RAS CM.     

Methods for monitoring tidal flushing in large animal burrows in tropical mangrove swamps

The typically anaerobic nature of mangrove sediments provides significant challenges to the mangrove trees and biota inhabiting them. The burrowing activities and flow of water through the numerous and complex animal burrows perforating the sediments of mangroves have a major influence on the biogeochemistry of the sediments and are important to the enhancement of nutrient and oxygen exchange. Two new methods are presented for monitoring the tidal flushing of Sesarma messa and Alpheus cf macklay burrows in a Rhizophora stylosa mangrove forest – by measuring oxygen content of burrow water and by determining the change in fluorescence of a dye tracer through tidal inundation. A case study using the first of these showed oxygen consumption rates at the burrow wall deep within the burrow were found to be between 210 and 460 μmol O₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. The influx of oxygen during a flood tide was found to be significant and indicated that approximately 40% of the burrow water is flushed during a single tidal event. However, the high consumption rate of oxygen within the burrow resulted in the oxygen concentration remaining at or below one-third of the oxygen content of the flooding tidal water. A test application of the second method, using rhodamine dye as a tracer, indicated that the exchange of water between the burrow and the flooding tide was found to be in the order of 30% of the burrow volume. These new techniques provide a means to further study the nutrient exchange within these burrow systems and verify the initial findings that several tidal inundations are necessary to completely flush the burrows.     

Russian studies of the atmospheric ozone in 2003–2006

This review contains the most important results obtained in the studies of atmospheric ozone in 2003–2006. It is part of the Russian national report on meteorology and atmospheric sciences that was prepared for the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS). This report was considered and approved at the XXIV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).     

Morphosedimentary features and recent depositional architectural model of the Cantabrian continental margin

Multibeam bathymetry, high (sleeve airguns) and very high resolution (parametric system-TOPAS-) seismic records were used to define the morphosedimentary features and investigate the depositional architecture of the Cantabrian continental margin. The outer shelf (down to 180–245 m water depth) displays an intensively eroded seafloor surface that truncates consolidated ancient folded and fractured deposits. Recent deposits are only locally present as lowstand shelf-margin deposits and a transparent drape with bedforms. The continental slope is affected by sedimentary processes that have combined to create the morphosedimentary features seen today. The upper (down to 2000 m water depth) and lower (down to 3700–4600 m water depth) slopes are mostly subject to different types of slope failures, such as slides, mass-transport deposits (a mix of slumping and mass-flows), and turbidity currents. The upper slope is also subject to the action of bottom currents (the Mediterranean Water — MW) that interact with the Le Danois Bank favouring the reworking of the sediment and the sculpting of a contourite system. The continental rise is a bypass region of debris flows and turbidity currents where a complex channel-lobe transition zone (CLTZ) of the Cap Ferret Fan develops.The recent architecture depositional model is complex and results from the remaining structural template and the great variability of interconnected sedimentary systems and processes. This margin can be considered as starved due to the great sediment evacuation over a relatively steep entire depositional profile. Sediment is eroded mostly from the Cantabrian and also the Pyrenees mountains (source) and transported by small stream/river mountains to the sea. It bypasses the continental shelf and when sediment arrives at the slope it is transported through a major submarine drainage system (large submarine valleys and mass-movement processes) down to the continental rise and adjacent Biscay Abyssal Plain (sink). Factors controlling this architecture are tectonism and sediment source/dispersal, which are closely interrelated, whereas sea-level changes and oceanography have played a minor role (on a long-term scale).     

Tortonian-Pleistocenic oceanic features in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea: magnetic inverse model of the Selli-Vavilov region

We show the magnetic model of the Selli-Vavilov region. The Selli Line is known as the northwestern edge of the southern Tyrrhenian Basin. The tectonic evolution of the Tyrrhenian Basin is dominated by a Tortonian-Quaternary extension through the eastward movement of the Apennine subduction system. This migration has generated a diffuse stretching of the continental crust with the emplacement of new oceanic material. This latter occurred in several localized zones where the eastward retreating of the Ionian subduction system produced a strong depletion of the crust with formation of basins and correlated spreading. Nowadays the presence of oceanic crust is confirmed through direct drilling investigation but a complete mapping of the oceanic crustal distribution is still lacking. The Selli-Vavilov region shows a differentiated crustal setting where seamount structures, the oceanic basement portions and continental crust blocks are superimposed. To this aim, a 2D inversion of the magnetic data of this region was conducted to define buried structures. The magnetic susceptibility pattern was computed by solving the least squares problem of the misfit between the predicted and real data for separated wavebands. This method produced two 2D models of the high and low frequency fields of the Selli-Vavilov region. The two apparent susceptibility maps provide different information for distinct ranges of depth. The results of the inversions were also combined with seismic data of the Selli region highlighting the position of the highly magnetized buried bodies. The results confirm a role for the Selli Line as a deep crustal boundary dividing the Sardinian passive domain from the easternmost active region where different oceanic structures are located. The Selli Line has worked as a detachment fault system which has moved eastward. Finally, the Selli-Vavilov region may be interpreted as a tectonic result due to a passive asymmetrical rift occurred between the Tortonian and Pliocene.     

Lagging mantle convection,the geoid and mantle structure

In numerical models of convection incorporating migration of a simulated subduction zone, the main descending flow lags far behind the migrating trench, and a geoid low is associated with the main descending flow. This provides physical plausibility for the suggestion by Chase and Sprowl that present very long-wavelength (degree 2–4) geoid lows are associated with Mesozoic trench locations, and suggests further that the present long-wavelength geoid, deep mantle structure and hotspot distribution may be straightforward consequences of plate evolution since the Upper Paleozoic.     

Anthropogenic Meso-Meteorological Feedbacks: A Review of a Recent Research

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The anthropogenic impact on the Earth’s climate system is currently one of the main factors determining climate change over all spatial scales,...