Editorial

The long‐term mean sea level in the Baltic Sea is investigated using the coupled three‐basin model constructed by Carlsson (1997). The model is forced by the observed sea level in the Kattegat, the freshwater supply, horizontal air pressure and density gradients, and the wind stress. Both the seasonal variations and the slope of the mean sea level are investigated and compared with the results of another oceanographic model (Lisitzin, 1962) and a geodetic model (Ekman &; Mäkinen, 1996). In the geodetic model an unofficial height system, NH60, is used, and one part of the investigation is to find out whether this height system is useful for oceanographers. The estimated mean sea level difference between the northern and the southern parts of the Baltic Sea are: 17.1 cm (the present model), 26 cm (Lisitzin's model), and 18.3 cm (the geodetic model). It is concluded that the mean sea level difference between the northern and southern parts of the Baltic Sea is due mainly to horizontal variations of density and air pressure, and that the height system NH60 is suitable for oceanographie applications.     

Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey – II. Local radio luminosity functions for AGN and star-forming galaxies at 1.4 GHz

We have cross-matched the 1.4-GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) with the first 210 fields observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), covering an effective area of 325 deg² (about 20 per cent of the final 2dFGRS area). This yields a set of optical spectra of 912 candidate NVSS counterparts, of which we identify 757 as genuine radio identifications – the largest and most homogeneous set of radio source spectra ever obtained. The 2dFGRS radio sources span the redshift range     to 0.438, and are a mixture of active galaxies (60 per cent) and star-forming galaxies (40 per cent). About 25 per cent of the 2dFGRS radio sources are spatially resolved by NVSS, and the sample includes three giant radio galaxies with projected linear size greater than 1 Mpc. The high quality of the 2dF spectra means we can usually distinguish unambiguously between AGN and star-forming galaxies. We make a new determination of the local radio luminosity function at 1.4 GHz for both active and star-forming galaxies, and derive a local star formation density of         .     

Land use/cover change in central Tibet, c. 1830–1990: devising a GIS methodology to study a historical Tibetan land decree

In this study, historical Tibetan tax-related data pertaining to cultivated land in central Tibet are studied by means of GIS and compared with contemporary patterns. A Tibetan land decree from 1830 contains aggregated data on the amount of land-based tax units for estates in 57 districts of central Tibet. The purpose of this study is to devise a GIS methodology to study the potential utility of these data for historical geographical research, and to determine the approximate changes in cultivated land areas between 1830 and 1990. Traditional Tibetan tax data are significant for current efforts to construct historical land cover databases of the Tibetan Plateau region for the study of the human dimensions of global change.     

Investigation of groundwater contamination using electric and electromagnetic methods at an open waste-disposal site: a case study from Isparta, Turkey

 Geophysical methods, when integrated with soil chemical and hydrogeological methods, can be used to investigate groundwater contamination. Direct current (DC) resistivity geo-electrical sounding and very-low-frequency electromagnetic (VLF-EM) data were collected at an open waste site used by the municipality of the city of Isparta, Turkey. The groundwater at shallow depths in alluvium, which is composed of gravel, sand and clay, were expected to be hazardously contaminated under and around the open waste-disposal site, in which both household and industrial wastes are known to be disposed of improperly. In this study, we mapped the spread of groundwater contamination using a VLF-EM method, which allows fast and inexpensive data collection. The method complements the results of geo-electrical sounding. There is a good correlation between the results of the VLF-EM and the DC-resistivity methods employed for the investigation of subsurface structure of the site, where soil chemical and previous hydrogeological surveys have indicated high levels of chemical concentrations. Received: 17 January 2000 · Accepted: 12 August 2000     

Chemical denudation rates in Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

This study examines the spatial and temporal variability of chemical denudation rates in Kärkevagge, northern Sweden. The chemical flux rates within the valley are strongly influenced by the local geology. Chemical denudation rates determined for the study period are more than double those previously reported in the literature for this valley. Rates of greater than 46t km⁻² a⁻¹ were measured at the valley mouth over the course of the melt season. This difference is likely due to differences in measurement technique compared to that used by past researchers. This rate is also much higher than for other arctic and alpine watersheds. Chemical denudation in Kärkevagge is comparable to larger temperate rivers. The rapid chemical denudation in Kärkevagge is likely due to sulfide weathering creating acid solutions.     

Dysaerobic conditions during Heinrich events 4 and 5: Evidence from phosphorus distribution in a North Atlantic deep-sea core

Reactive phosphorus undergoes diagenetic transformation once transferred into marine sediments. The degree of regeneration and redistribution of phosphorus depends on early diagenetic and environmental conditions, which may be linked to larger scale phenomena, such as bottom water circulation, water column ventilation, and organic carbon flux. Phosphorus phases of the <50-μm-sized fraction of deep-sea sediments from core SU 90-09 (North Atlantic, 43°31′N, 30°24′W, 3375 m below sea level) have been analyzed using a sequential extraction technique (SEDEX method) to reconstruct phosphorus geochemistry during Heinrich events 4 and 5. Comparison with Holocene samples from the same site indicates that postdeposition diagenetic transformation has not affected phosphorus distribution in the deep part of the sediments. Total and reactive phosphorus average 0.40 ± 0.04 mg/g and 0.30 ± 0.05 mg/g, respectively, and are comparable to values found in analog deep-sea environments in the North Atlantic. Detrital phosphorus, the phase linked to igneous- and metamorphic-derived material, sharply increases during Heinrich events and covaries with the ice-rafted debris record, whereas authigenic and Fe-bound phosphorus phases, both influenced by redox conditions, decrease or even disappear. These findings suggest that during the deposition of Heinrich layers (HLs), environmental parameters hampered the precipitation of these phases. Large freshwater discharges in relation to iceberg surges may have provoked a temporary stratification of the water column. Accordingly, dysaerobic conditions in the sediments may have fostered the loss of dissolved phosphorus from the sediments to the water column, in a direct and rapid response to the changed conditions. Decreasing trends in organic matter elemental ratios (total organic carbon/organic phosphorus) and Rock-Eval oxygen index values, along with the presence of partly authigenic dolomite and ankerite within HLs, also support this assumption.     

Projective ordination by SIMCA: A dynamic strategy for cost-efficient environmental monitoring around offshore installations

A method for environmental monitoring using benthic species profiles as input is developed in this work. The method, referred to as projective ordination, utilises local principal component modelling (SIMCA) to obtain a cross-validated model which spans the natural variation in a region around offshore oil-producing installations. The borderline between regions with disturbed and non-disturbed species communities is subsequently decided from the residual distribution. This distribution is used to design an approximate F-test for assessing whether a community at a particular sampling location is disturbed or not. If so, the nature of the disturbance is determined by projecting the data on the PC model.Projective ordination utilises information from previous surveys to define the permissible variation in species communities, i.e. the limit of the natural variation. In addition, the method is dynamic, in a sense that the sampling locations may vary from survey to survey.Furthermore, our analysis shows that the customary number of replicate samples per station can be reduced. Modelling with only four randomly chosen replicates out of the complete set of five for each sampling location, does not affect the model significantly. On the other hand, taking only 3 replicates into account leads to significant divergences.A model based on the 1990 and 1993 surveys at the Statfjord field is presented as an example of the technique.     

Elevation, Age, Soil Development, and Chemical Weathering at Storbreen, Jotunheimen, Norway

Chemical weathering and associated soil development trends on glacial forelands are commonly assumed to exhibit increases with time elapsed since glaciation. However, this gross trend is complicated by several other factors including elevation, aspect, and microtopography. This paper demonstrates that on the glacial foreland at Storbreen, Jotunheimen, Norway, chemical weathering and associated soil development trends show significant elevational influences. We sampled soils at shallow depths (0–1, 1–5, and 15–20 cm) at two sites on a moraine dated to 1750 at its elevational extremes of 1155 m (site L) and 1385 m (site H). The two moraine sites also differed developmentally from an adjacent 9000-year-old surface (site T) at an intermediate elevation, 1205 m. Analyses were conducted on the fine-earth fractions. Extractable elemental composition exhibited detectable differences between the same-age soils at different elevations with the lower site L tending to have measured parameters intermediate between the high site H and the older site T. Weathering, as indicated by mineralogy, was more pronounced at the 9000-year-old site T and least evident at the high elevation site H. In addition, elevation under the conditions of the field research may inhibit pedogenesis as indicated by the chemical data. Site H, for example, showed little variation with depth and had in general, less organic matter accumulation, smaller C:N ratio, greater pH, and lesser amounts of the measured extractable elements than the soil at site L. Site T generally had smaller pH and larger levels of the measured elements than the other sites. It was concluded that elevation has a significant control on weathering and pedogenesis that may mask the effects of age in this cold and wet environment.