Significance of pteropods in deciphering the late Quaternary sea-level history along the southwestern Indian shelf

The paper evaluates the usefulness of pteropods in palaeobathymetric synthesis along the southwestern continental shelf of India. Core samples collected from the shelf off north Kerala (SW coast of India) were studied for faunal assemblages (pteropods and foraminifers), calcium carbonate contents and lithological characteristics. A fundamental precept for considering any organism as a bathometer is that it should be highly sensitive to changing water depths. To ascertain this, the bathymetric distribution patterns of modern pteropods as well as planktonic and benthic foraminifers were recorded in core-top samples. The results reveal that certain pteropod species (Limacina inflata, Creseis acicula, Creseis virgula, and Creseis chierchiae) are highly depth sensitive. The response of these species to depth changes was assessed in terms of the L. inflata and Creseis spp. abundance ratio. A model for the relationship between water depths and the L. inflata/Creseis spp. ratio is proposed for the southwestern shelf of India. Variations of benthic/planktonic foraminifers (BF/PF) and pteropods/planktonic foraminifers (Pt/PF) in the modern sediments were also found to be depth controlled. Two sediment cores, representing the last 36,000 and 23,000 years, were collected to investigate past sea-level changes. These cores comprised two distinct lithological units, the upper unit corresponding to the Holocene, and the lower unit to the last glacial period. The L. inflata/Creseis spp. model was successfully applied to the fossil record for reconstructing the palaeobathymetry of the shelf study locations. Down-core variations in the BF/PF and Pt/PF ratios support these inferred sea-level changes. Major periods of sea-level oscillations were also found to have a strong influence on the calcium carbonate distribution. For both core sites, the palaeobathymetric curves reflect consistency in terms of changing sea level. The results suggest that the sea level stood around 100 m below the present mean sea level during the last glacial maximum. A rapid rise in sea level was documented between 15 and 10 ka B.P. The sea-level rise has been slower since 7 ka B.P.     

Climate prediction: Progress,problems, and prospects

“Hundred year forecasts are made with the same models, which cannot predict the weather even several days ahead...”     

Revealing the energy sources of alternating intensity regimes of the evolving Alberto tropical cyclone using microwave satellite sensing data

The trajectory characteristics and the intensity evolution of the Alberto tropical cyclone (TC) in the integral water-vapor field are analyzed in detail using a software-algorithmic complex designed for constructing highly detailed global radio-thermal fields of the ocean-atmosphere system based on microwave satellite measurements. This complex was developed by the authors earlier and allows one to obtain global animated radio-thermal fields with a time step of 1.5 h and a spatial resolution of 0.2°. Special attention is paid to the problem of revealing the energy sources of three consecutive intensifications of this TC. The analysis of satellite data with the use of the animation method developed by the authors shows for the first time that these sources are regions with an increased (exceeding the critical level) integral water-vapor content located in different geographical areas lying along the complex trajectory of the TC with a variable intensity. The first region was located in the equatorial intertropical convergence zone, the second was located above the Gulf Stream water area, and the third resided in the area affected by the Azores High.     

Density estimation of two-phase flow with multiscale and randomly perturbed data

In this paper, we describe an efficient approach for quantifying uncertainty in two-phase flow applications due to perturbations of the permeability in a multiscale heterogeneous porous medium. The method is based on the application of the multiscale finite element method within the framework of Monte Carlo simulation and an efficient preprocessing construction of the multiscale basis functions. The quantities of interest for our applications are the Darcy velocity and breakthrough time and we quantify their uncertainty by constructing the respective cumulative distribution functions. For the Darcy velocity we use the multiscale finite element method, but due to lack of conservation, we apply the multiscale finite volume element method as an alternative for use with the two-phase flow problem. We provide a number of numerical examples to illustrate the performance of the method.     

The end-Ordovician glaciation and the Hirnantian Stage: A global review and questions about Late Ordovician event stratigraphy

This paper proposes a global review of Hirnantian event stratigraphy. The Hirnantian GSSP in south China is tentatively correlated with latest Ordovician strata from the peri-Gondwanan “glacial” regions. Problems of biostratigraphical correlation are highlighted. At a worldwide scale, the major biostratigraphically useful fossil groups (graptolites, chitinozoans, brachiopods, conodonts, acritarchs) are analysed and their limits for global correlation of the uppermost Ordovician are discussed. Palaeobiogeographical disparities are invoked as the primary cause of the difficulty in establishing an effective Late Ordovician global biostratigraphical scheme. As an alternative correlative tool, the HICE (Hirnantian Isotopic Curve Excursion) event is often put forward in the literature. However, carbon isotope chemostratigraphy shows, like biostratigraphy, some limits to the present state of knowledge. No good independent biostratigraphical control of the HICE exists in both shallow carbonate deposits and deeper shaly ones. Recent studies have also demonstrated inconsistencies between carbon isotopic signals obtained from organic (δ¹³C_org) and inorganic (δ¹³C_carb) carbon species, further complicating the use of the HICE as an isochronous benchmark.All of these difficulties for Hirnantian event stratigraphy are discussed in detail in order to enable them to be overcome in the future. Precise Late Ordovician and early Silurian event stratigraphies are essential for the understanding of the mechanisms linked to the first of the “Big Five” extinctions.     

Selenium and other trace element in phosphorites: A comparison between those of the Bayovar-Sechura and other provenances

Data of trace element composition of phosphorites are scarce and incomplete. Phosphorites of different origins can vary substantially in trace element contents. In this paper 20 trace element concentrations of 35 sample phosphorites are reported. The geographical provenance is: Bayovar-Sechura (Peru), Khouribga, Youssoufia and Boucraa (Morocco), Gafsa (Tunisia), Florida (USA), Idaho and Phosphoria Formation (USA), North Carolina (USA), Algeria, Israel, Senegal, Syria and Togo. Aqua regia extracts were used to estimate the “pseudototal” values, following standard procedures (ISO 11466, 2002) and measured by ICP-AES and ICP-MS.     

Precambrian glaciations and associated biospheric events

Precambrian glaciations are established to have occured during several brief periods in the Late Archean, Early Proterozoic, Late Riphean, and Vendian. These extreme climatic events of the Late Archean and post-Archean Earth history were accompanied by significant changes in the biosphere and biota. The terminal stages of Precambrian glaciations were marked by intense development of some existing groups, and the appearance of new groups of organisms. This may be explained by associated radical transformations of environments in all the biosphere subsystems, which resulted in substantial ecosystem and related biotic crises. The crises released former and yielded new ecological niches, on the one hand, and provoked enhanced mutations in organisms and rapid appearance of new forms, on the other. The most viable new forms as well as some of taxa that survived the crisis colonized released and newly formed niches to become more diverse and dominant groups. Thus, activation of abiotic and subsequent biotic factors during and after glaciations stimulated the renewal of the biota and acceleration of the evolutionary process.     

A 44-year high-resolution ocean and atmospheric hindcast for the Mediterranean Basin developed within the HIPOCAS Project

A set of 44-year (1958–2001) homogeneous and high-resolution hindcasts of atmospheric, sea level residuals, and wave states was performed for the Mediterranean Basin within the framework of the HIPOCAS European Project. To this aim, different numerical models were used. As a first step, a Mediterranean high-resolution atmospheric database, suitable to provide realistic and homogeneous forcing for ocean hindcast runs was generated. The HIPOCAS atmospheric database was created by means of dynamical downscaling from the global reanalysis NCEP, using for that the limited area model SN-REMO along with a spectral nudging technique. In a second stage, different Mediterranean oceanic hindcasts were performed. On one hand a long-term database of sea state over the western Mediterranean was generated by means of the wave model WAM and on the other hand a sea level residual database containing storm surge events was obtained from a long-term integration of the HAMSOM model over the entire basin. The three different hindcast runs have been exhaustively validated. On that score, various simulated parameters have been compared to both satellite and in situ measurements. Such comparisons provide a measure of the skills of the different simulated fields to realistically reproduce the observed features. Once these skills are evaluated, a study of the ocean and atmospheric climate trends as well as the interannual variability for the whole 44-year period was carried out with the hindcasted data. The reliability of the data as shown by its comparison to measurements and a proven temporal homogeneity over the 44 years of simulation make the Mediterranean HIPOCAS ocean–atmosphere hindcasted database a useful tool for studies focused on regional climatic variability, as well as for further applications in coastal and environmental decision processes in the Mediterranean area.     

Mechanisms of expansion for an introduced species of cordgrass, Spartina densiflora, in Humboldt Bay, California

The dominant plant in Humboldt Bay salt marshes in Spartina densiflora, a species of cordgrass apparently introduced from South America. At several salt marshes and restoration sites around Humboldt Bay, distribution of this plant has increased significantly. We investigated the relative contributions of vegetative tiller production and seed germination to the establishment and expansion of S. densiflora. Lateral spread of plants surrounded by competitors were compared to areas without competing plant species. Plants growing in areas without competitors had significantly higher rates of vegetative expansion (p<0.0001). Viable seed production, germination rates, seedling survivorship, and growth of adult plants were measured in six salinity treatments. Approximately 1,977±80 viable seeds are produced per plant (0.25–0.5 m²). The number of germinating seeds was inversely related to increases in salinity. Salinity treatments between 19‰ and 35‰ produced significantly lower germination rates than salinities of 0–18‰ (p<0.0001). Seedling survivorship was 50% at ≤4‰ and 8–14% at ≥11‰. Lateral expansion of adult, greenhouse-grown plants occurred in all salinity treatments, with modest decreases in the highest salinity treatments (p<0.05). Our findings indicate that S. densiflora expands primarily by vegetative expansion, and lateral tillers are produced by throughout the year. Spartina densiflora produces prolific amounts of seed, but recruitment in mature salt marshes may be limited by competitors and higher salinities. At restoration sites, planting of native species such as Salicornia virginica, Distichlis spicata, or Jaumea carnosa may prevent monospecific stands of S. densiflora from developing.