Magnetic measurements and seismic profiling in the Skagerrak

The results of aero-magnetic measurements in the Skagerrak and of seismic profiling outside Kristiansand are presented.Characteristic magnetic features which are observed on the Norwegian mainland along the Skagerrak coastline can be followed into the Skagerrak (Figure 12).The seismic profiling off Kristiansand shows that the unmetamorphic sedimentary rocks found beneath the Skagerrak form a wedge-shaped border zone with the crystalline basement rocks on the landside. The magnetic measurements indicate that a wedge-shaped border zone may also exist all along the Norwegian Skagerrak coastline and along the Fennoscandian border zone (Figures 5 and 12).The basement depths in the Skagerrak, which are calculated on the basis of the magnetic records, show a maximum depth of over 6000 m (Figure 5).The distribution of the quaternary sediments in the Norwegian Channel supports the theory that glacier activity has played an important role during the formation of the Norwegian Channel.Paper No. 8 of the Working Group on the Skagerrak Project.     

Sublethal toxicity of orchard stormwater runoff in Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) larvae

The sublethal effects of stormwater runoff from sections of a plum orchard treated with esfenvalerate or diazinon were evaluated in 7-day-old Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) larvae. Fish were exposed to eight runoff samples using the USEPA standard static renewal method for 96 h acute toxicity testing, then transferred to clean water for three-month to assess the survival, growth, histopathological abnormalities, and heat stress proteins (hsp). No significant mortality was observed at 96 h in exposed fish. At one week, histopathological abnormalities included severe glycogen depletion, cytoplasmic protein droplets, vacuolar degeneration, and cell necroses in liver of all exposure groups. Pyknotic nerve cells were seen in brain of one exposure group. Significantly higher cumulative mortality, lower condition factor, and elevated hsp60 and hsp70 levels (p < 0.05) were occurred in several exposure groups. No histopathological abnormalities were observed after three months in any exposure group. This study confirms that standard acute toxicity tests have underestimated the toxicity of stormwater runoff, and although splittail larvae survived the 96 h exposure, they exhibited reduced survival and growth and showed signs of cellular stress even after a three month recovery period.     

Validation of very high cloud droplet number concentrations in air masses transported thousands of kilometres over the ocean

The microstructure of orographic clouds related to the aerosol present was studied during the second Aerosol Characterisation Experiment (ACE‐2). Very high cloud droplet number concentrations (almost 3000 cm⁻³) were observed. These high concentrations occurred when clouds formed on a hill slope at Tenerife in polluted air masses originating in Europe that had transported the order of 1000 km over the Atlantic Ocean. The validity of the measured droplet number concentrations was investigated by comparing with measurements of the aerosol upstream of the cloud and cloud interstitial aerosol. Guided by distributions of the ratios between the measurements, three criteria of typically 30% in maximum deviation were applied to the measurements to test their validity. Agreement was found for 88% of the cases. The validated data set spans droplet number concentrations of 150–3000 cm⁻³. The updraught velocity during the cloud formation was estimated to 2.2 m s⁻¹ by model calculations, which is typical of cumuliform clouds. The results of the present study are discussed in relation to cloud droplet number concentrations previously reported in the literature. The importance of promoting the mechanistic understanding of the aerosol/cloud interaction and the use of validation procedures of cloud microphysical parameters is stressed in relation to the assessment of the indirect climatic effect of aerosols.     

Timing of the younger dryas glacial maximum in western Norway

This study precisely constrains the timing of the Younger Dryas (YD) glacial maximum in south‐western Norway by utilizing sediment records from lake basins. Two of the basins, located on the distal side of the mapped Herdla–Halsnøy Moraine, received meltwater directly from the ice sheet only when the ice margin reached its maximum extent during the YD. In the cores, the ice maximum is represented by well‐defined units with meltwater deposits, dominantly laminated silt. Plant macrofossils in the sediment sequences are common and we obtained 18 radiocarbon ages from one of the cores. By applying Bayesian age–depth modelling we obtained a precise date for this meltwater event and thereby also for the timing of the YD glacial maximum. We conclude that the ice‐sheet advance culminated at the Halsnøy Moraine at 11 760 ± 120 cal a BP, and that the ice margin stayed in this position for 170 ± 120 years. The subsequent retreat started at 11 590 ± 100 cal a BP, i.e. close to the YD/Holocene boundary. Withdrawal was probably triggered by abrupt climatic warming at this time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orbicular lamprophyre from Vestby,southeast Norway

A pyroxene-amphibole lamprophyre of Permian age intersecting Precambrian gneiss, etc., contains domains of pyroxenite breccia and of closely packed single- and multi-shelled orbicules. The multi-shelled orbicules have inner medium-grained, radial and outer aphanitic, laminated shells. The outer shells are explained as having formed by direct precipitation from the magma. The inner shells most probably underwent a recrystallization at magmatic temperatures, their original composition being like that of the outer shells. Shells of single-shelled orbicules are similar to the inner shell of the multi-shelled ones and contain relicts of aphanitic, laminated material.The cores, composed of Permian pyroxenite or more rarely Precambrian pegmatite quartz, were originally formed by volcanic fragmentation of the country rock.     

Ottar Basin, SW Barents Sea: a major Upper Palaeozoic rift basin containing large volumes of deeply buried salt

Seismic mapping and gravity modelling of the Ottar Basin - a little studied Upper Palaeozoic graben in the south-western Barents Sea - demonstrates the presence of a major rift basin with large accumulations of unmobilized salt. Buried beneath thick, flat-lying Mesozoic strata, the NE-trending fault-bounded basin is at least 170 km long, varies in width between 50 and 80 km and coincides with a negative gravity anomaly of more than — 10 mgal. Seismic observations show that the south-western part is a half-graben tilted to the north-west whereas the north-eastern part appears to be more symmetric in shape. A large mass deficiency in the north-eastern part of the basin, indicated by a gravity anomaly of more than — 30 mgal, makes it necessary to postulate large amounts of salt within the basin. The preferred gravity model shows a total basin depth of 9.5 km, basin relief of 4.2 km and a salt volume of 6800 km³ corresponding to a 2.4-km-thick salt layer. Similar basin depths, but only 500–600 km³ of salt, are indicated beneath the Samson Dome in the south-western part of the basin. Unlike salt bodies in other Barents Sea basins, the thick salt deposit in the north-eastern part of the Ottar Basin is relatively unaffected by halokinesis. Interfingering of different basin facies, lack of tectonic reactivation of the basin and a relatively late differential loading by protruding cover strata probably explain these differences in development. The large size and voluminous salt deposits establish the Ottar Basin as one of the major Barents Sea evaporite basins and an important structural component of the Upper Palaeozoic rift system.     

Tree survey and allometric models for tiger bush in northern Senegal and comparison with tree parameters derived from high resolution satellite data

A tree survey and an analysis of high resolution satellite data were performed to characterise the woody vegetation within a 10 × 10 km² area around a site located close to the town of Dahra in the semi-arid northern part of Senegal. The surveyed parameters were tree species, height, tree crown radius, and diameter at breast height (DBH), for which allometric models were determined. An object-based classification method was used to determine tree crown cover (TCC) from Quickbird data. The average TCC from the tree survey and the respective TCC from remote sensing were both about 3.0%. For areas beyond the surveyed areas TCC varied between 3.0% and 4.5%. Furthermore, an empirical correction factor for tree clumping was obtained, which considerably improved the estimated number of trees and the estimated average tree crown area and radius. An allometric model linking TCC to tree stem crosssectional area (CSA) was developed, which allows to estimate tree biomass from remote sensing. The allometric models for the three main tree species found performed well and had r²-values of about 0.7–0.8.     

The extension of the Vøring margin (NE Atlantic) in case of different degrees of magmatic underplating

The nature of the Lower Crustal Body (LCB) underneath the western part of the Vøring margin (NE Atlantic) is studied with three scenarios of its extension history: (a) The LCB is Caledonian crust. (b) Half the LCB is Caledonian crust and the other half is emplaced as magmatic underplating in Late Palaeocene. (c) The entire LCB is emplaced as magmatic underplating. The extension of the margin transect is obtained with a procedure that accounts for the extension and thinning of the sedimentary basins. This procedure has been extended to include magmatic underplating. The lithosphere is modelled with deposition of sediments and four rift phases since the Early Devonian until today. The forward modelling is mass conservative and the present‐day thicknesses of the formations, crust, LCB and magmatic underplate are reproduced. The state of the lithosphere and the sedimentary basins are shown and compared at the beginning and at the end of the rift phases. It is concluded that the scenario with the LCB as only underplating requires an unrealistic amount of extension. A scenario where underplating accounts for maximum half the LCB is more likely. Two different interpretations for the Moho underneath the Utgard High are tested: one with a shallow base‐crust and another with a deeper and flatter base‐crust. Tectonic modelling of the two versions favours the latter interpretation. The modelling shows that the Late Jurassic rift phase was much more prominent than the Late Cretaceous and Palaeocene rift phase for all cases of underplating. A strong Late Jurassic rift phase is consistent with the accumulation space needed for the thick Cretaceous formations. There are no observations of magmatism from the Late Jurassic, although this rift phase is stronger than the Cretaceous and Palaeocene rift phase.     

Late Weichselian and holocene sea-level history for a cross-section of western Norway

The postglacial sea-level history along a cross-section of western Norway has been studied in detail. Ten local sea-level curves were used to construct an equidistant shoreline diagram, covering the last 13000 years. This includes 76 radiocarbon dates, of which the majority represent lacustrine sediments at the marine/lacustrine boundary in cores from emerged lakes. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost sites is 170 km and the difference in total emergence along this profile is more than 200 m. The shorelines all dip westward with a decreasing gradient through time. The Late Weichselian lines are all slightly curved whereas the Holocene lines are apparently straight. After the formation of the uppermost shoreline by around 12 800 BP there was a rapid emergence that decelerated with time to a near standstill during the Younger Dryas. From about 10 300 there was again a rapid emergence followed by the Tapes transgression along the coast and a standstill in the most easterly areas. At the western end of this profile, the Tapes transgression started around 9000 and culminated approximately 6000 BP, when a gradual regression occurred. To the east the early Holocene regression minimum occurs at a younger date and the transgression maximum is up to 1500 years older.     

Analysis and survival of amino acids in Martian regolith analogs

Abstract— We have investigated the native amino acid composition of two analogs of Martian soil, JSC Mars‐1 and Salten Skov. A Mars simulation chamber has been built and used to expose samples of these analogs to temperature and lighting conditions similar to those found at low latitudes on the Martian surface. The effects of the simulated conditions have been examined using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Exposure to energetic ultraviolet (UV) light in vacuum appears to cause a modest increase in the concentration of certain amino acids within the materials, which is interpreted as resulting from the degradation of microorganisms. The influence of low temperatures shows that the accretion of condensed water on the soils leads to the destruction of amino acids, supporting the idea that reactive chemical processes involving H₂O are at work within the Martian soil. We discuss the influence of UV radiation, low temperatures, and gaseous CO₂ on the intrinsic amino acid composition of Martian soil analogs and describe, with the help of a simple model, how these studies fit within the framework of life detection on Mars and the practical tasks of choosing and using Martian regolith analogs in planetary research.