Evidence from the Northeastern Atlantic basin for variability in the rate of the meridional overturning circulation through the last deglaciation

A first study from the subtropical western Atlantic, using ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th ratios as a kinematic proxy for deep water circulation, provided compelling evidence for a strong link between climate and the rate of Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) over the last deglaciation. However, these results warrant confirmation from additional locations and water depths because the interpretation of the sedimentary ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th ratio in terms of circulation vigor can be biased by variations in particle flux and composition. We have measured ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th in a core from the Iberian margin, in the Northeastern Atlantic basin, and have compared these new results to the data from the western Atlantic basin. We find that the reduction in the circulation during H1 and YD and the subsequent increases first recognized in the sediment deposited on Bermuda Rise are also evident in the eastern basin, in a totally different sedimentary regime, confirming that sedimentary ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th ratios record basin-wide changes in deep water circulation. However, some differences between the eastern and western records are also recognized, providing preliminary evidence to differentiate between renewal rates in the two North Atlantic basins and between shallower and deeper overturning. Our results suggest the possible existence of two sources of Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Deep Water (GNAIW), one in the south Labrador Sea and another west of Rockall Plateau. Both sources contributed to the meridional overturning but the two had different sensitivity to meltwater from the Laurentide and the Fennoscandian ice sheets during the deglaciation. These results indicate that additional information on the geometry and strength of the ventilation of the deep Atlantic can be obtained by contrasting the evolution of sediment ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th in different sections of the Atlantic Ocean.     

Sediment yield estimated from reservoir siltation in the Ochil hills,Scotland

Measurements made on the floors of the temporarily-drained Glenfarg and Glenquey Reservoirs indicate that sediments with wet volumes of 63.94 × 10³ m³ and 12.64 × 10³ m³ were deposited in 56 and 73 years respectively. These figures represent 2.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent losses of original storage capacity. When corrected for water, organic, and diatom skeleton contents, and reservoir trap efficiency inorganic sediment yields of at least 31.3 tonnes km^?2 yr^?1 and of 9.0 tonnes km^?2 yr^?1 are suggested. The difference is probably related to contrasts of land use.     

The evolution of fluviatile sediments as demonstrated by QDa-Md analysis

The modification of scree sediments entering a stream is examined by QDa-Md methods. Loss of fine or coarse subpopulations or both in combination from an initially symmetrical grain size distribution is shown to result in the dispersion of the QDa-Md plots throughout an envelope typical of fluvial sediments. Natural plots from the Rivers Earn and Tay provide live examples of the transenvironmental trend patterns demonstrated.     

Factors affecting the elimination of PCBs in the marine copepod Acartia tonsa

The effects of feeding, egg laying, and fecal pellet production on the elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the marine copepod Acartia tonsa were studied in a series of experiments. Copepods were exposed to ¹⁴C-labelled Aroclor 1254 and allowed to depurate in clean seawater. Copepods fed during depuration eliminated PCBs more rapidly than unfed copepods whether or not the original PCB exposure medium had contained food. Both eggs and fecal pellets contained PCBs during depuration, with the weight specific concentration of PCB in the eggs (up to 407 ppm, dry weight) exceeding four times that in the females that produced them. Female copepods eliminated PCBs twice as rapidly as males, indicating that egg production is an important route for PCB elimination.