Global energy budget changes to high latitude North Atlantic cooling and the tropical ITCZ response

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in atmospheric general circulation models (coupled to slab ocean) shift southwards in response to northern extratropical cooling. Previous studies have demonstrated the utility of diagnosing the atmospheric energy fluxes in interpreting this teleconnection. This study investigates the nature of global energy flux changes in response to North Atlantic high latitude cooling applied to the Community Atmosphere Model version 3 coupled to a slab ocean, focusing on key local and remote feedbacks that collectively act to alter the energy budget and atmospheric energy transport. We also investigate the relative roles of tropical sea surface temperature (SST) and energy flux changes in the ITCZ response to North Atlantic cooling. Using a radiative kernel technique, we quantify the effects of key feedbacks—temperature, cloud and water vapor, to the top-of-the-atmosphere radiative flux changes. The results show only partial local energy flux compensation to the initial perturbation in the high latitudes, originating from the negative temperature feedback and opposed by positive shortwave albedo and longwave water vapor feedbacks. Thus, an increase in the atmospheric energy transport to the Northern extratropics is required to close the energy budget. The additional energy flux providing this increase comes from top-of-the-atmosphere radiative flux increase over the southern tropics, primarily from cloud, temperature and longwave water vapor feedbacks, and largely as a consequence of increased deep convection. It has been previously argued that the role of tropical SST changes was secondary to the role played by the atmospheric energy flux requirements in controlling the ITCZ shifts, proposing that the SST response is a result of the surface energy budget and not a driver of the precipitation response. Using a set of idealized simulations with the fixed tropical SSTs, we demonstrate that the ITCZ shifts are not possible without the tropical SST changes and suggest that the tropical SSTs are a more suitable driver of tropical precipitation shifts compared to the atmospheric energy fluxes. In our simulations, the ITCZ shifts are influenced mainly by the local (tropical) SST forcing, apparently independent of the actual high latitude energy demand.     

Multiple techniques for mineral identification on Mars:: a study of hydrothermal rocks as potential analogues for astrobiology sites on Mars

Spectroscopic studies of Mars analog materials combining multiple spectral ranges and techniques are necessary in order to obtain ground truth information for interpretation of rocks and soils on Mars. Two hydrothermal rocks from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, were characterized here because they contain minerals requiring water for formation and they provide a possible niche for some of the earliest organisms on Earth. If related rocks formed in hydrothermal sites on Mars, identification of these would be important for understanding the geology of the planet and potential habitability for life. XRD, thermal properties, VNIR, mid-IR, and Raman spectroscopy were employed to identify the mineralogy of the samples in this study. The rocks studied here include a travertine from Mammoth Formation that contains primarily calcite with some aragonite and gypsum and a siliceous sinter from Octopus Spring that contains a variety of poorly crystalline to amorphous silicate minerals. Calcite was detected readily in the travertine rock using any one of the techniques studied. The small amount of gypsum was uniquely identified using XRD, VNIR, and mid-IR, while the aragonite was uniquely identified using XRD and Raman. The siliceous sinter sample was more difficult to characterize using each of these techniques and a combination of all techniques was more useful than any single technique. Although XRD is the historical standard for mineral identification, it presents some challenges for remote investigations. Thermal properties are most useful for minerals with discrete thermal transitions. Raman spectroscopy is most effective for detecting polarized species such as CO₃, OH, and CH, and exhibits sharp bands for most highly crystalline minerals when abundant. Mid-IR spectroscopy is most useful in characterizing Si-O (and metal-O) bonds and also has the advantage that remote information about sample texture (e.g., particle size) can be determined. Mid-IR spectroscopy is also sensitive to structural OH, CO₃, and SO₄ bonds when abundant. VNIR spectroscopy is best for characterizing metal excitational bands and water, and is also a good technique for identification of structural OH, CO₃, SO₄, or CH bonds. Combining multiple techniques provides the most comprehensive information about mineralogy because of the different selection rules and particle size sensitivities, in addition to maximum coverage of excitational and vibrational bands at all wavelengths. This study of hydrothermal rocks from Yellowstone provides insights on how to combine information from multiple instruments to identify mineralogy and hence evidence of water on Mars.     

Isotopic composition of rain- and groundwater at Mt. Vesuvius: environmental and volcanological implications

The present work reports on the isotopic characterization of rainfall and groundwater at Mt. Vesuvius. Values of δ ¹⁸O, monthly measured on rain samples collected during the period 2002–2004 in a rain-gauge network composed of 10 stations, were compared with meteorological and DEM data. Air temperature, controlled by the local orographic structure, was identified as the main factor influencing rain isotopic composition. Another important role is played by orographic clouds, whose condensation over the top of Mt. Vesuvius is responsible for anomalously high δ ¹⁸O values recorded in rain samples from the summit area of the volcanic edifice. A spatial model of rain isotopic composition, based on a 3D distribution of temperature derived by a 1 × 1 km DEM, was implemented and used for calculating the theoretical isotopic signature of seepage, further compared with data measured in the groundwater monitoring network. The analysis evidenced the role of local meteoric recharge as the main source feeding Mt. Vesuvius aquifers. The unique exception is the Olivella drainage gallery, located on the north-eastern flank of the volcanic edifice, whose isotopic composition is slightly more positive than the one expected for its altitude, likely caused by both evaporation processes and mixing with condensed hydrothermal vapor.     

Management information system of lakes and reservoirs

Information technologies provide a significant support in the management of lakes and reservoirs. Existing information systems mostly did not comprise all the necessary data and enabled collecting only a limited set of reports. More complex data analyses such as statistical analyses and data research were conducted in separate environments and recquired additional preparation of the data. Information system of lakes and reservoirs in Serbia (SeLaR) was produced in order to provide all the neccessary information for lake and reservoir management. The information system integrates a large data set and provide users with necessary information in the form of reports and charts. The users of the system are scientists and experts who study these issues, as well as students with the objective of continuous education. Furthermore, an interface was produced to enable linking with data research software. In this way a unique working environment was created to provide users with an efficient model of acquiring all the information necessary for the management and to find out new facts in data interaction, and also to make a forecast. This study presents an overview of the information system, its production model, the information available and the possibilities of data research.     

Population ecology of the snail Melampus bidentatus in changing salt marsh landscapes

We studied the population ecology of the snail Melampus bidentatus in relation to patch composition and landscape structure across several salt marsh systems in Connecticut, USA. These marshes have changed significantly over the past 40–50 years including loss of total area, increased areas of short Spartina alterniflora, and decreased areas and fragmentation of Spartina patens. These changes are consistent with tidal inundation patterns that indicate frequent flooding of high marsh areas. Melampus bidentatus densities were highly variable, both among different salt marsh systems and locations within specific marshes, but were generally similar among short Sp. alterniflora and Sp. patens patches within locations. Densities were lowest where the marsh was regularly inundated at high tide and only remnant Sp. patens patches remained. Almost no snails were found in bare patches. Areas that had large Sp. patens patches adjacent to short Sp. alterniflora supported the highest M. bidentatus densities. Population size‐structure varied significantly among patch types, with higher proportions of large individuals in short Sp. alterniflora and hummocked Sp. patens patches than in large and remnant Sp. patens patches. This was likely due to size‐selective predation and/or higher snail growth rates due to better food resource conditions in short Sp. alterniflora patches. Egg mass densities and the number of eggs per egg mass were highest in short Sp. alterniflora. Our results indicate that M. bidentatus is resilient to the level and patterns of salt marsh change evident at our study sites. Indeed, snail densities were significantly higher than reported in other field studies, suggesting that increased patch areas of short Sp. alterniflora and associated environmental conditions at our study sites may provide more favorable habitats than previously when marshes were dominated by extensive Sp. patens meadows. However, there may be threshold conditions that could overwhelm the ability of M. bidentatus to maintain itself within salt marsh systems where changes in hydrology, sedimentation and other factors lead to increased numbers of bare patches and ponds and loss of short Sp. alterniflora and Sp. patens. Studies of the responses of resident and transient fauna to salt marsh change are critically needed in order to better understand the implications for salt marsh ecosystem dynamics and services.     

Damage detection on framed structures: modal curvature evaluation using Stockwell Transform under seismic excitation

The key parameters for damage detection and localization are eigenfrequencies, related equivalent viscous damping factors and mode shapes. The classical approach is based on the evaluation of these structural parameters before and after a seismic event, but by using a modern approach based on time-frequency transformations it is possible to quantify these parameters throughout the ground shaking phase. In particular with the use of the S-Transform, it is possible to follow the temporal evolution of the structural dynamics parameters before, during and after an earthquake. In this paper, a methodology for damage localization on framed structures subjected to strong motion earthquakes is proposed based on monitoring the modal curvature variation in the natural frequency of a structure. Two examples of application are described to illustrate the technique: Computer simulation of the nonlinear response of a model, and several laboratory(shaking table) tests performed at the University of Basilicata(Italy). Damage detected using the proposed approach and damage revealed via visual inspections in the tests are compared.     

Characterization of salt-water intrusion in the lower Esino Valley, Italy using a three-dimensional numerical model

A seawater-intrusion study was conducted at an oil-refinery site located on the coast in the lower Esino Valley, Italy. A steady-state density-dependent flow model was used in order to understand the position of the freshwater/salt-water interface, as influenced by the hydrogeologic structure and the presence of industrial activities and a river. Collected data and model results showed that in a large part of the area, the salt-water interface is steep and can penetrate only a few meters inland. On the other hand, close to the river mouth, seawater represents the main saline source for the aquifer. The river, in connection with the sea, can enhance seawater encroachment into the coastal aquifer; a long-term survey of river level and chloride concentrations in groundwater is recommended to further improve the physical model and to obtain a better calibration. At the refinery site, two “secondary” sources of saline water were identified and were demonstrated to have had a great influence on the presence of brackish waters in the unconfined aquifer: leakage from the fire-extinguishing system (network of pipes containing seawater) and rough sea events. This confirmed that groundwater contamination by chloride can result from means other than seawater intrusion.     

Multiple Sources of Metals of Mineralization in Lower Cambrian Black Shales of South China: Evidence from Geochemical and Petrographic Study

Black shales of the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation in southern China (Huangjiawan mine, Zunyi region, northern part of the Guizhou Province) host regionally distributed stratiform polymetallic Ni‐Mo‐platinum group elements (PGE)‐Au phosphate‐ and sulfide‐rich ores. These are confined to a ≥0.2‐m thick ore horizon composed of mineralized bodies of algal onkolites, phosphate nodules, and sulfide and shale clasts in a mineralized phosphate‐ and organic matter‐rich matrix. Compared to footwall and hanging wall shales, the ore bed is strongly enriched in Ni (up to 100‐fold), As (up to 97‐fold), Mo (up to 95‐fold), Sb (up to 67‐fold), Rh (up to 49‐fold), Cu (up to 37‐fold), Pd (up to 33‐fold), Ru (up to 24‐fold), Zn (up to 23‐fold), Pt (up to 21‐fold), Ir (up to 15‐fold), Co (up to 14‐fold), and Pb (up to 13‐fold). Even footwall and hanging wall black shales are significantly enriched by Mo (21‐fold) and Ni (12‐fold) but depleted in Cr in comparison to average Cambrian black shale. Organic matter is represented by separate accumulations dispersed in the rock matrix or as biotic bitumen droplets and veinlets in ore clasts. Similar organic carbon (C_org) values in an ore bed and enclosing footwall and hanging wall shales of little mineralization indicate that metal accumulation was not controlled only by biogenic productivity and organic matter accumulation rate. Evaporitic conditions during sedimentation of the basal part of the Niutitang Formation were documented by an occurrence of preserved Ni‐, V‐, Cr‐, and Cu‐enriched phosphate‐rich hardground with halite and anhydrite pseudomorphs on the paleosurface of the underlying Neoproterozoic carbonates. Neoproterozoic black shales of the Doushantuo Formation are characterized by increased metal concentrations. Comparison of metal abundances in both hardground and Doushantuo black shales indicate that black shales could have become a source of metal‐rich hardground during weathering. The polymetallic Ni‐Mo‐PGE sulfide‐rich ore bed is interpreted to represent a remnant of shallow‐water hardground horizon rich in metals, which originated in a sediment‐starved, semi‐restricted, seawater environment. During the Early Cambrian transgression an influx of fresh seawater and intensive evaporation, together with the hydrothermal enrichment of seawater in a semi‐restricted basin, resulted in the formation of dense metalliferous brines; co‐precipitation of metals together with phosphates and sulfides occurred at or above the oxic–anoxic sediment interface. Metal‐enriched hardground was disintegrated by the action of waves or bottom currents and deposited in a deeper part of the anoxic basin. Contemporaneously with the formation of a polymetallic Ni‐Mo‐PGE‐Au sulfide ore bed, economic sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX)‐type barite deposits were forming in a stratigraphically and geotectonically similar setting. The results of geochemical study at the Shang Gongtang SEDEX‐type Ba deposit indicate that concentrations of Ag, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, Zn and other metals decrease from top of the barite body toward the hanging wall black shale. Lower Cambrian black shales of the Niutitang Formation above the barite body also display similar element abundances as Neoproterozoic black shales of the Doushantuo Formation, developed in the footwall of the barite body. But the geochemical composition of the sulfide layer is different from the Ni‐Mo ore bed, showing only elevated Pb, Cu, Ni and Mo values. It is suggested that hydrothermal brines at Shang Gongtang might have leached metals from footwall Neoproterozoic sequences and became, after mixing with normal seawater, an additional source of Ag, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sb, Zn, Ni, PGE, V and other metals.     

On the Validity of ECHAM-Simulated Daily Extreme Temperatures

Three-dimensional global circulation models (GCMs) are state-of-the-art tools for projecting possible changes in climate. GCM simulations have frequently been validated against observations in terms of time-averaged variables while daily time series have not been studied extensively. In this paper, 30-year simulations of daily extreme temperatures are compared with the 30-year series recorded in Moravia. Attention is focused on the annual cycles, trimmed characteristics and average interdiurnal variability which are calculated for the average simulated series (4 gridpoints) and the average time series recorded in Moravia (5 stations). It is shown that daily extreme temperature variability is underestimated in the simulations, maximum (minimum) temperatures being underestimated (overestimated). Generally, the persistence of the simulated series is much higher, and small day-to-day changes are observed more frequenly than those in reality. The model is unable to reflect large changes between two consecutive days.     

The Messinian salinity crisis in Cyprus: a further step towards a new stratigraphic framework for Eastern Mediterranean

A revised stratigraphic framework for the Messinian succession of Cyprus is proposed demonstrating that the three‐stage model for the Messinian salinity crisis recently established for the Western Mediterranean also applies to the Eastern Mediterranean, at least for its marginal basins. This analysis is based on a multidisciplinary study of the Messinian evaporites and associated deposits exposed in the Polemi, Pissouri, Maroni/Psematismenos and Mesaoria basins. Here, we document for the first time that the base of the unit usually referred to the ‘Lower Evaporites’ in Cyprus does not actually correspond to the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis. The basal surface of this unit rather corresponds to a regional‐scale unconformity, locally associated with an angular discordance, and is related to the erosion and resedimentation of primary evaporites deposited during the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis. This evidence suggests that the ‘Lower Evaporites’ of the southern basins of Cyprus actually belong to the second stage of the Messinian salinity crisis; they can be thus ascribed to the Resedimented Lower Gypsum unit that was deposited between 5.6 and 5.5 Ma and is possibly coeval to the halite deposited in the northern Mesaoria basin. Primary, in situ evaporites of the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis were not preserved in Cyprus basins. Conversely, shallow‐water primary evaporites deposited during the third stage of the Messinian salinity crisis are well preserved; these deposits can be regarded as the equivalent of the Upper Gypsum of Sicily. Our study documents that the Messinian stratigraphy shows many similarities between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean marginal basins, implying a common and likely coeval development of the Messinian salinity crisis. This could be reflected also in intermediate and deep‐water basins; we infer that the Lower Evaporites seismic unit in the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins could well be mainly composed of clastic evaporites and that its base could correspond to the Messinian erosional surface.