Middle and Late Weichselian (Devensian) glaciation history of south-western Norway,North Sea and eastern UK

Data from eastern England, Scotland, the northern North Sea and western Norway have been compiled in order to outline our current knowledge of the Middle and Late Weichselian glacial history of this region. Radiometric dates and their geological context from key sites in the region are presented and discussed. Based on the available information the following conclusions can be made: (i) Prior to 39 cal ka and most likely after ca 50 cal ka Scotland and southern Norway were extensively glaciated. Most likely the central North Sea was not glaciated at this time and grounded ice did not reach the shelf edge. (ii) During the time interval between 29 and 39 ka periods with ameliorated climate (including the Ålesund, Sandnes and Tolsta Interstadials) alternated with periods of restricted glaciation in Scotland and western Norway. (iii) Between 29 and 25 ka maximum Weichselian glaciation of the region occurred, with the Fennoscandian and British ice sheets coalescing in the central North Sea. (iv) Decoupling of the ice sheets had occurred at 25 ka, with development of a marine embayment in the northern North Sea (v) Between 22 and 19 ka glacial ice expanded westwards from Scandinavia onto the North Sea Plateau in the Tampen readvance. (vi) The last major expansion of glacial ice in the offshore areas was between 17.5 and 15.5 ka. At this time ice expanded in the north-western part of the region onto the Måløy Plateau from Norway and across Caithness and Orkney and to east of Shetland from the Moray Firth. The Norwegian Channel Ice Stream (NCIS), which drained major parts of the south-western Fennoscandian Ice Sheet, was active at several occasions between 29 and 18 ka.     

Quaternary palaeoenvironments and multi-storey valley fill architecture along the Mezen and Severnaya Dvina river valleys,Arkhangelsk region,NW Russia

The modern Severnaya Dvina and Mezen river systems in the Arkhangelsk region, NW Russia, are located within extensive palaeovalley systems. The palaeovalleys form depressions in bedrock and have controlled the drainage systems in the area at least since the Last Interglacial. Vertically stacked marine to fluvial sediments reflect deposition during fluctuating climate and sea levels.A compilation of lithostratigraphical data collected during the last decade has been coupled with bedrock topography and geomorphology from satellite images in order to describe the valley fill architecture for the two valley systems. Each system has been divided into a number of depositional units (storeys) separated by incision/non-deposition and used to investigate the timing of aggradational versus incisional phases. Time constraints for each phase are provided by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages, and aggradation and incision are linked to independent records of climate and sea level change.The pattern of aggradation and erosion is regional and primarily driven by episodes of increasing and decreasing sediment supply. Aggradation is correlated to times of deglaciation with high sediment supply from the ice margin, release of sediment from ice-dammed lakes and low vegetation and degradation of permafrost on the flood plain. Incision is related to cold intervals with low sediment supply, delayed incision due to isostatic uplift and drainage of ice-dammed lakes. Relative sea level change controls the distribution of marine deposits, which show significant regional variations due to variable isostatic response across the region. Sea level change plays a limited role for fluvial aggradation/incision in the study area.     

Surface waves from earthquakes in Northern Atlantic-Arctic Ocean

Summary Earthquakes in the region of Jan Mayen exhibit two different appearances on records of near-by stations: classa with extremely well developed Love waves and less well developed Rayleigh waves, classb with poorly developed or missing Love waves but with clear Rayleigh waves. The difference between the two classes is ascribed to different focal depths. The Love waves of classa start simultaneously with theS wave and have initial periods over 40 sec; they have a small vertical component increasing along the wave train. They are unable to propagate beyond the continental margin for any considerable distance, probably due to a breakdown of the condition for constructive interference valid for their oceanic propagation.The oceanic dispersion curves both of Love and Rayleigh waves have been deduced using records at Kiruna, Uppsala, Bergen, Copenhagen, Scoresby Sund, Reykjavik, and Akureyri. The average thickness of the oceanic crust is around 15 km in the Norwegian Sea. For the Mid-Atlantic Ridge southwest of Reykjavik a crustal thickness of 10 km is obtained. The average thickness of unconsolidated sediments is around 2.4 km for the Norwegian Sea, and around 1.0 km in shallower regions of the ocean toward Iceland and Greenland.

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Zusammenfassung Erdbeben in der Gegend von Jan Mayen zeigen zwei verschiedene Erscheinungen in den Aufzeichnungen naheliegender Stationen: Klassea mit ausserordentlich gut entwickelten Love-Wellen und weniger gut ausgebildeten Rayleigh-Wellen, Klasseb mit schwach entwickelten oder fehlenden Love-Wellen aber mit deutlichen Rayleigh-Wellen. Der Unterschied zwischen den beiden Klassen wird verschiedener Herdtiefe zugeschrieben. Die Love-Wellen der Klassea beginnen unmittelbar mit derS-Welle und haben Anfangsperioden über 40 sek; sie haben eine geringe vertikale Komponente, die im Laufe des Wellenzuges zunimmt. Sie können sich nicht über den Kontinentalrand beträchtlich weit fortpflanzen, was möglicherweise einem Aufhören der Voraussetzung für konstruktive Interferenz, die bei ihrer ozeanischen Ausbreitung vorhanden ist, zugeschrieben werden muss.Unter der Benutzung der Aufzeichnungen von Kiruna, Uppsala, Bergen, Kopenhagen, Scoresby Sund, Reykjavik und Akureyri wurden ozeanische Dispersionskurven sowohl für Love- als auch für Rayleigh-Wellen bestimmt. Die mittlere Mächtigkeit der ozeanischen Kruste beträgt ungefähr 15 km unter dem Europäischen Nordmeer. Für die Mittelatlantische Schwelle südwestlich von Reykjavik wurde eine Krustenmächtigkeit von 10 km erhalten. Die mittlere Mächtigkeit von unbefestigten Sedimenten ist ungefähr 2.4 km für das Europäische Nordmeer und ungefähr 1.0 km in Gegenden flacheren Meeres nach Island und Grönland hin.

     

A late Holocene record of land-use history,soil erosion,lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations at Bjäresjösjön (south Sweden)

Land-use history, soil erosion, lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations during the last 3000 years were reconstructed through a multidisciplinary palaeolimnological study (pollen, plant macrofossils, diatoms, physical and chemical analysis, magnetic measurements and radiometric methods) of a small eutrophic lake in southern Sweden (Bjäresjösjön, Scania). There are striking responses in diatom, chemical, sediment yield and magnetic records to land-use changes documented by pollen analysis or historical sources, and to lake-level changes identified from sedimentary changes. Our multidisciplinary approach assists interpretation of the processes controlling long-term changes and separation of the effects of different factors (land-use changes, lake-level fluctuations) on individual biostratigraphical records. Climate has controlled processes in the lake indirectly, through lake-level fluctuations, from the Late Bronze Age to the Viking Age (700 BC-AD 800). Since the Viking Age, land-use controlled most of the changes observed in the lake's development and soil erosion processes. Major changes in lake development occurred during the last 200 years, due to a drastic increase in soil erosion and water eutrophication during a period of agricultural modernization.     

Anisotropic Cosmological Models with a Perfect Fluid and a Λ Term

We consider a self-consistent system of Bianchi type-I (BI) gravitational field and a binary mixture of perfect fluid and dark energy given by a cosmological constant. The perfect fluid is chosen to be the one obeying either the usual equation of state, i.e., p = ζ, with ζ ∊ [0, 1] or a van der Waals equation of state. Role of the Λ term in the evolution of the BI Universe has been studied.     

Water column monitoring near oil installations in the North Sea 2001-2004

Fisheries have been vital to coastal communities around the North Sea for centuries, but this semi-enclosed sea also receives large amounts of waste. It is therefore important to monitor and control inputs of contaminants into the North Sea. Inputs of effluents from offshore oil and gas production platforms (produced water) in the Norwegian sector have been monitored through an integrated chemical and biological effects programme since 2001. The programme has used caged Atlantic cod and blue mussels. PAH tissue residues in blue mussels and PAH bile metabolites in cod have confirmed exposure to effluents, but there was variation between years. Results for a range of biological effects methods reflected exposure gradients and indicated that exposure levels were low and caused minor environmental impact at the deployment locations. There is a need to develop methods that are sufficiently sensitive to components in produced water at levels found in marine ecosystems.     

Amplitudes of explosion-generated seismic waves

Summary Records of underwater explosions in Iceland in 1959 and 1960, mainly performed for crustal studies, have been investigated with regard to amplitudes. The amplitudes ofP2 in the 1959 explosions and of the first arrivingP waves in the 1960 explosions were found to be proportional to the first power of the charge weight, whereas amplitudes ofP1 andS1 in the 1959 explosions were proportional to the 3/4-power of the charge up to 200 kg, but increased much slower for larger charges. The influence of water depth of shot point on the charge weights, required to obtain a certain amplitude, has been determined and it was found that the logarithm of the charge weight has a linear relation to water depth down to about 8 meters. The amplitudes of first arrivingP waves decrease as the inverse 2.2-power of the distance up to about 30 km. For greater distances an exponential decrease of the form (const./) exp (–) is valid. ForP2 waves with a frequency of 10 cps we found =0.027±0.003 km^–1 for a profile across central Iceland and =0.009±0.004 km^–1 for a profile in the western part of Iceland.

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Zusammenfassung In den Jahren 1959 und 1960 wurden auf Island Unterwasser-Explosionen ausgelöst, deren Hauptziel Untersuchung der Erdkruste waren. Die Aufzeichnungen der Explosionen werden hier in Hinsicht auf die Amplituden der Wellen untersucht. DieP2-Amplituden in den Explosionen von 1959 und die Amplituden der zuerst ankommendenP-Wellen in den Explosionen von 1960 waren proportional der ersten Potenz des Ladungsgewichtes, während diePl-undSl-Amplituden in den Explosionen von 1959 proportional der 3/4-Potenz des Ladungsgewichtes bis 200 kg waren. Für höhere Ladungsgewichte wuchsen die Amplituden langsamer an. Es wurde der Einfluss der Tiefe des Schusspunktes unterhalb des Wasserspiegels auf das für eine gewisse Amplitude benötigte Ladungsgewicht bestimmt. Es ergab sich dabei, dass der Logarithmus des Ladungsgewichtes in einer linearen Beziehung zur Tiefe, bis etwa 8 m, steht. Die Amplituden der zuerst ankommendenP-Wellen sind umgekehrt proportional der 2.2-Potenz der Entfernung, bis etwa 30 km. Für grössere Entfernungen ist die Abnahme der Amplituden exponential und kann durch (Konst./) exp (–) dargestellt werden. FürP2 mit einer Frequenz von 10 cps haben wir =0.027±0.003 km^–1 für ein Profil in Zentral-Island und =0.009 ± 0.004 km^–1 für ein Profil in West-Island gefunden.

     

Fishery control and regulation compliance: a case for co-management in Swedish commercial fisheries

The results from a survey of Swedish commercial fishers on regulation compliance and attitudes to control and restrictions are reported. According to the responding fishers, 90% of all Swedish catches are reported, in spite of limited control efforts. From an economic perspective we would expect substantially lower levels of compliance. The results also show that the majority of Swedish fishers are in favour of co-management on a regional basis. However, on this and other management issues opinions divert significantly between large vessel operators and small vessel operators, which reveals conflicting interests for such and similar changes in Swedish management of fisheries.     

New Formulas of Earth Pressure on Large Successive Cylinders

The retaining wall made of large successive cylinders is a kind of structure which draws muchattention in coastal engineering of China.The earth pressure on the arched back of large successive cylin-ders is different from that on the plane back of a general wall.On the basis of equilibrium of forces on thestrip element taken from the soil between two cylinders,the differential equation is established and theanalytic solution to the equation is obtained.The formulas of earth pressure on large successive cylindersare given in this paper.The distribution of earth pressure around the circle given by the present formulas isdifferent from that given by the formulas commonly used at present,but it is identical with that measuredin the model test.