Ecological variations in diatom assemblages in the Paleo-Kathmandu Lake linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 years

Variations in fossil diatom assemblages and their relationship with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 yr were investigated using a core of ancient lake (Paleo-Kathmandu Lake) sediments drilled at the Kathmandu Basin, Nepal Himalaya. Chronological scales of the core were constructed by tuning pollen wet and dry index records to the SPECMAP δ¹⁸O stack record. Examinations of biogenic silica contents and fossil diatom assemblages revealed that variations in productivity and compositions of diatom assemblages were closely linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes on glacial and interglacial time scales. When summer monsoonal rainfall increased during interglacials (interstadials), diatom productivity increased because of increased inputs of terrestrial nutrients into the lake. When summer monsoonal rainfall reduced and/or winter monsoonal aridification enhanced during glacials (stadials), productivity of the diatoms decreased and lake-level falling brought about changes in compositions of diatom assemblages. Monospecific assemblages by unique Cyclotella kathmanduensis and Puncticulata versiformis appeared during about 590 to 390 ka. This might be attributed to evolutionary fine-tuning of diatom assemblages to specific lake environmental conditions. Additionally, low-amplitude precessional variations in monsoon climate and less lake-level changes may have also allowed both species to dominate over the long periods.     

Redeposition of volcaniclastic sediments by a tsunami 4600 years ago at Kushima City,south-eastern Kyushu,Japan

The Hyuga-nada Sea, south-eastern Kyushu, Japan, is located between a strong (Nankai Trough) and a weak interplate coupling zone (Ryukyu Trench). Over the past 400 years this area has only experienced Magnitude 7·5 earthquakes or smaller and associated small-scale tsunamis. However, this short historical record most likely does not include the full range of high magnitude, low frequency giant earthquakes that might have occurred in the region. Thus, it is still unclear whether giant earthquakes and their associated tsunamis have occurred in this region. This paper reports on a prehistoric tsunami deposit discovered in a coastal lowland in south-eastern Kyushu facing the Hyuga-nada Sea. There is a reddish-brown pumiceous layer preserved in a non-marine, organic-rich mud sequence obtained from onshore sediment cores. This layer is recognized as the ca 4600 year old Kirishima-Miike tephra (that is now placed around 4500 years ago) sourced from Mount Kirishima, southern Kyushu. Another whitish pumiceous layer is evident below the Kirishima-Miike tephra in almost all of the sediment cores. A relatively high percentage of marine and brackish diatoms is recorded within this lower pumiceous layer (but not in the surrounding muds or in the overlying Kirishima-Miike tephra), indicating a marine or beach sediment source. Plant material obtained from organic-rich mud immediately below the event layer was dated to ca 4430 to 4710 cal yr bp , providing a limiting-maximum age for this marine incursion event. The presence of marine diatoms below the event layer is probably explained by pre-seismic subsidence. An absence of the resting spore of the planktonic brackish diatom Cheatoceros and the appearance of the freshwater diatom Eunotia serra immediately above the event layer probably represents a marked change to a relatively low-salinity environment. Assuming that there were no significant local geomorphological changes, such as drainage obstruction caused by formation of a new barrier spit, it is considered that co-seismic or immediate post-seismic uplift are the most likely explanations for this notable environmental change. Based on the crustal movements noted before and after the marine incursion, this event is interpreted here as an earthquake-generated tsunami. Moreover, because of these notable seismic crustal movements the tsunamigenic earthquake probably occurred immediately offshore of the study site.     

Separation of Heavy Lanthanoids by Flash Column Chromatography for Precise Determination of Er and Yb Isotope Compositions in Rock Samples

We present a new column chemistry technique for the quantitative separation of heavy lanthanoids by an ultra‐fine‐grained LN resin (20–50 µm) with a specific emphasis on the purification of Er and Yb for their isotopic analysis. To achieve the quantitative separation of Er and Yb within a reasonable timescale, flash column chromatography was applied, where the column was attached to a newly designed vacuum box system, thus accelerating the elution speed by ten times compared with that of the normal column procedure operated by gravity flow. The recovery yields of Er and Yb were confirmed to be approximately 100%, which is important to suppress the effect of the mass‐independent fractionation of the Er and Yb isotopes during chromatography. Additionally, we have developed precise Er and Yb isotope measurements by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) using multistatic and/or dynamic methods. Moreover, in most cases, the Er and Yb isotope compositions of the measured four terrestrial rock samples were indistinguishable from those of the commercially available Er and Yb Alfa Aesar solutions. The new method presented in this work will be useful for future studies on heavy lanthanoids in various geological materials.     

Geological,mineralogical, and oxygen isotope studies of the Chandmani Uul iron oxide–copper–gold deposit in Dornogobi Province,Southeastern Mongolia

The Chandmani Uul deposit is located in Dornogovi province, Southeastern Mongolia. Iron oxide ores are hosted in the andesitic rocks of the Shar Zeeg Formation of Neoproterozoic to Lower‐Cambrian age. Middle‐ to Upper‐Cambrian bodies of granitic rocks have intruded into the host rocks in the western and southern regions of the deposit. The wall rocks around the iron oxide ore bodies were hydrothermally altered to form potassic, epidote, and sericite–chlorite alteration zones, and calcite and quartz veinlets are ubiquitous in the late stage. Since granitic rocks also underwent potassic alteration, the activity of the granitic rocks must have a genetic relation to the ore deposit. The ore mineral assemblage is dominated by iron oxides such as mushketovite, euhedral magnetite with concentric and/or oscillatory zoning textures, and cauliflower magnetite. Lesser amounts of chalcopyrite and pyrite accompany the iron oxides. Among all these products, mushketovite is dominant and is distributed throughout the deposit. Meanwhile, euhedral magnetite appears in limited amounts at relatively shallow levels in the deposit. By contrast, cauliflower magnetite appears locally in the deeper parts of the deposit, and is associated with green‐colored garnet and calcite. Sulfide minerals are ubiquitously associated with these iron oxides. The oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) values of all types of magnetite, quartz, and epidote were found to be ?5.9 to ?2.8‰, 10.5 to 14.9‰, and 3.6 to 6.6‰, respectively. The δ¹⁸O values of quartz–magnetite pairs suggest an equilibrium isotopic temperature near 300°C. The calculated values of δ¹⁸O for the water responsible for magnetite ranged from 2 to 10‰. All the data obtained in this study suggest that the iron oxide deposit at the Chandmani Uul is a typical iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, and that this deposit was formed at an intermediate depth with potassic and sericite–chlorite alteration zones under the oxidized conditions of a hematite‐stable environment. The δ¹⁸O range estimated implies that the ore‐forming fluid was supplied by a crystallizing granodioritic magma exsolving fluids at depth with a significant contribution of meteoric water.     

Vegetation development and carbon storage on a glacier foreland in the High Arctic, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

The distribution of organic carbon and its relationship to vegetation development were examined on a glacier foreland near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (79°N). In a 0.72-km² area, we established 43 study plots on three line transects along primary succession from recently deglaciated area to old well-vegetated area. At each plot, we measured the type and percent coverage of vegetation types. The organic carbon content of vegetation, organic soil, and mineral soil samples was determined based on their organic carbon concentration and bulk density. Cluster analysis based on vegetation coverage revealed five types of ground surfaces representing variations in the amounts and allocation patterns of organic carbon. In the later stages of succession, 7%–24% and 31%–40% of organic carbon was contained in the organic and deeper soil layers, respectively. Organic carbon storage in the later stages of succession ranged from 1.1 – 7.9 kg C m⁻². A larger amount of organic carbon, including ancient carbon in a raised beach deposit, was expected to be contained in much deeper soil layers. These results suggest that both vegetation development and geological history affect ecosystem carbon storage and that a non-negligible amount of organic carbon is distributed in this High Arctic glacier foreland.     

Effects of frozen soil and snow cover on cold‐season soil water dynamics in Tokachi,Japan

Despite the potential impact of winter soil water movements in cold regions, relatively few field studies have investigated cold‐season hydrological processes that occur before spring‐onset of snowmelt infiltration. The contribution of soil water fluxes in winter to the annual water balance was evaluated over 5 years of field observations at an agricultural field in Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan. In two of the winters, soil frost reached a maximum depth of 0·2 m (‘frozen’ winters), whereas soil frost was mostly absent during the remaining three winters (‘unfrozen’ winters). Significant infiltration of winter snowmelt water, to a depth exceeding 1·0 m, occurred during both frozen and unfrozen winters. Such infiltration ranged between 126 and 255 mm, representing 28–51% of total annual soil water fluxes. During frozen winters, a substantial quantity of water (ca 40 mm) was drawn from deeper layers into the 0–0·2 m topsoil layer when this froze. Under such conditions, the progression and regression of the freezing front, regulated by the thickness of snow cover, controlled the quantity of soil water flux below the frozen layer. During unfrozen winters, 13–62 mm of water infiltrated to a depth of 0·2 m, before the spring snowmelt. These results indicate the importance of correctly evaluating winter soil water movement in cold regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating the diurnal cycle of rainfall in global climate models: resolution versus parameterization

The effects of horizontal resolution and the treatment of convection on simulation of the diurnal cycle of precipitation during boreal summer are analyzed in several innovative weather and climate model integrations. The simulations include: season-long integrations of the Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) with explicit clouds and convection; year-long integrations of the operational Integrated Forecast System (IFS) from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts at three resolutions (125, 39 and 16 km); seasonal simulations of the same model at 10 km resolution; and seasonal simulations of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) low-resolution climate model with and without an embedded two-dimensional cloud-resolving model in each grid box. NICAM with explicit convection simulates best the phase of the diurnal cycle, as well as many regional features such as rainfall triggered by advancing sea breezes or high topography. However, NICAM greatly overestimates mean rainfall and the magnitude of the diurnal cycle. Introduction of an embedded cloud model within the NCAR model significantly improves global statistics of the seasonal mean and diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as many regional features. However, errors often remain larger than for the other higher-resolution models. Increasing resolution alone has little impact on the timing of daily rainfall in IFS with parameterized convection, yet the amplitude of the diurnal cycle does improve along with the representation of mean rainfall. Variations during the day in atmospheric prognostic fields appear quite similar among models, suggesting that the distinctive treatments of model physics account for the differences in representing the diurnal cycle of precipitation.     

Is there horizontal phase propagation of 5-min oscillations at high velocities?

New observations of the photospheric 5-min oscillations are presented which prove that the physical reality of the very high horizontal phase propagation velocities observed in connection with the oscillations cannot be maintained. Instead, a statistical model is proposed to explain the observed phase relations.Mitteilungen aus dem Fraunhofer Institut Nr. 119.     

Zn-Mn ilmenite in the Kuiqi granite from Fuzhou,Fujian province,East China

Summary Zn-Mn ilmenite occurs as a principal constituent of the miarolitic cavities in the Kuiqi granite from Fuzhou. In the cavities potassium feldspar, albite, quartz, fluorite, aegirine and arfvedsonite also occur with accessory zircon, magnetite, hematite and sphalerite. Zn-Mn ilmenite forms a trigonal platy euhedral crystal up to 30 mm in length. Its chemical composition ranges from 37.3 to 63.8 mol.% FeTiO₃ (ilmenite molecule), 61.1 to 22.4 mol.% MnTiO₃ (pyrophanite molecule) and 0.6 to 15.3 mol.% ZnTiO₃ (Znmetatitanate molecule). ZnO content ranges from 0.34 wt.% to 7.63 wt.%. Zonal structure is noticeable in the Zn-Mn ilmenite. FeTiO₃ and ZnTiO₃ molecules increase towards the crystal rim, while MnTiO₃ molecule decreases towards the rim. Unit cell parameters of the rim and the core area = 5.092(6)Å,c = 14.08(2)Å,V = 316.1ų anda = 5.106(7)Å,c = 14.02(3)Å,V = 316.6ų, respectively. Coexisting minerals, except for arfvedsonite and sphalerite, are very low in ZnO content. It is suggested that complete isomorphous replacement between FeTiO₃ MnTiO₃ and ZnTiO₃ may be possible. Oxygen fugacity conditions for crystallization of Zn-Mn ilmenite are considered to be in the vicinity of the magnetite-hematite and quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffers.

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Zn-Mn Ilmenit in dem Kuigi-Granit aus Fuzhou in der Provinz Fujian, Ostchina

Zusammenfassung Zn-Mn Ilmenit ist ein grundsätzlicher Bestandteil in miarolitischen Hohlräumen in den Kuiqi Graniten aus Fuzhou. Daneben treten Kalifeldspäte, Albit, Quarz, Fluorit, Ägirin und Arfvedsonit sowie akzessorisch Zirkon, Magnetit, Hämatit und Sphalerite in den Hohlräumen auf.Zn-Mn Ilmenit bildet idiomorphe, tabular trigonale Kristalle mit bis zu 30 mm Länge aus. Die chemische Zusammensetzung variiert zwischen 37,3 und 63,8 Mol.% FeTiO₃ (Ilmenit) 61,1 und 22,4 Mol.% MnTiO₃ (Pyrophanit) sowie zwischen 0,6 und 15,3 Mol.% ZnTiO₃ (Zn-Metatitanat-Molekül). Die ZnO-Gehalte schwanken von 0,34 Gew.% bis 7,63 Gew.%. In dem Zn-Mn Ilmenit wurden Zonierungen beobachtet. FeTiO₃ und ZnTiO₃ Moleküle nehmen zum Rand des Kristalls hin zu, MnTiO₃ Moleküle hingegen ab.Die Parameter der Elementarzelle sind am Randa = 5,092(6)Å,c = 14.08(2)Å,V = 316.1ų und im Kerna = 5,106(7)Å,c = 14.02(3)Å,V = 316,6ų. Mit Ausnahme von Arfvedsonit und Sphalerit sind die ZnO Gehalte in koexistierenden Mineralen sehr niedrig.Es wird daher angenommen, daß zwischen FeTiO₃, MnTiO₃ und ZnTiO₃ ein vollständiger isomorpher Ersatz möglich ist. Die Sauerstoff-Fugazitäten die während der Kristallisation von Zn-Mn Ilmenit herrschten, bewegten sich zwischen MagnetitHämatit und Quarz-Fayalit-Magnetit.

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With 4 Figures