Modern and historical tropical cyclone and tsunami deposits at the coast of Myanmar: Implications for their identification and preservation in the geological record

The catastrophic storm surge of tropical cyclone Nargis in May 2008 demonstrated Myanmar's exposure to coastal flooding. The investigation of sediments left by tropical cyclone Nargis and its predecessors is an important contribution to prepare for the impact of future tropical cyclones and tsunamis in the region, because they may extend the database for long-term hazard assessment beyond the relatively short instrumental and historical record. This study, for the first time, presents deposits of modern and historical tropical cyclones and tsunamis from the coast of Myanmar. The aim is to establish regional sedimentary characteristics that may help to identify and discriminate cyclones and tsunamis in the geological record, and to document post-depositional changes due to tropical weathering in the first years after deposition. These findings if used to interpret older deposits will extend the existing instrumental record of flooding events in Myanmar. Evaluating deposits that can be related to specific events, such as the 2006 tropical cyclone Mala and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, indicates similar sedimentary characteristics for both types of sediments. Landward thinning and fining trends, littoral sediment sources and sharp lower contacts allow for the differentiation from underlying deposits, while discrimination between tropical cyclone and tsunami origin is challenging based on the applied methods. The modern analogues also demonstrate a rather low preservation potential of the sand sheets due to carbonate dissolution, formation of organic top soils, and coastal erosion. However, in coastal depressions sand sheets of sufficient thickness (>10 cm) may be preserved where the shoreline is prograding or stable. In the most seaward swale of a beach-ridge plain at the Rakhine coast, two sand sheets have been identified in addition to the deposits of 2006 tropical cyclone Mala. Based on a combination of optically stimulated luminescence, radiocarbon and ¹³⁷Cs dating, the younger sand layer is related to 1982 tropical cyclone Gwa, while the older sand layer is most probably the result of an event that took place prior to 1950. Comparison with historical records indicates that the archive is only sensitive to tropical cyclones of category 4 (or higher) with landfall directly in or a few tens of kilometres north of the study area. While the presented tropical cyclone records are restricted to the last 100 years, optically stimulated luminescence ages of the beach ridges indicate that the swales landward of the one investigated in this study might provide tropical cyclone information for at least the past 700 years.     

Geomorphology of Lake Lisan terraces along the eastern coast of the Dead Sea, Jordan

Lake Lisan, the lake that filled the Jordan graben during the Last Glacial, left behind a well developed sequence of erosional and depositional shore terraces in the south east of the current Dead Sea. These terraces record a series of stillstands that were caused by small transgressions within an overall trend of falling lake levels. The terraces were observed in places where they had not been identified previously. The morphology of the terraces was investigated in six cross-sections using differential GPS altimetry. The levels of the terraces range between − 370 and − 148 m a.s.l. The high stand of Lake Lisan at − 148 m correlates well with the high level of − 150 m reported by Bowman and Gross [Bowman, D., Gross, T., 1992. The highest stand of Lake Lisan: ~ 150 meters below MSL. Israel Journal of Earth-Science 41, 233–237.] along the western coast of Lake Lisan. The lake terraces are horizontal, elongated and tectonically undisturbed, and have a sub-horizontal foreshore (tread) with an average slope of 8.2° and steep backshore cliff (riser) with an average slope of 17.7°. The six cross-sections show a good altitudinal correlation between their terraces. Moreover, the terraces appear in undisturbed continuity on the aerial photos. These morphological characteristics demonstrate that the retreat of the lake was a result of substantial climatic changes, not of tectonic subsidence.In-situ stromatolites were found on most of the terraces, reflecting a shallow water environment and emphasizing that these terraces are recessional. Well-developed desert varnish and Tafoni observed on blocks sitting on the terrace surfaces imply a long period of exposure and a low rate of post lacustrine erosion. The formation of Lisan terraces is constrained mainly by coastal slope, water depth and underlying lithology. The morphological analysis of these terraces allows identification of two kinds of pseudo-terraces, which were formed as a result of tread or riser destruction.U/Th and OSL dating allowed the dating of three events within the lake level curve more precisely. The high level of − 148 m occurred at 30.5 ± 0.22 ka BP, consistent with the Heinrich Event 3 and Dansgaard–Oeschger stadial 5, the coldest period in the NGRIP Greenland Ice Core record. The next lower terrace at − 154 m was formed at 22.9 ka BP ± 0.29 and corresponds to the stadial 2C, the final phase of the Last High Glacial. The correlation between the Lisan high stands and climatic stadials suggests that Northern-Hemispheric cold periods led to periods with a more positive water balance in the Near East. At ~ 10 ± 0.8 ka BP Lake Lisan experienced a sharp drop to − 200 m followed by a transgression between 9.5 to 7 ka BP.     

Synthesis and Preliminary Characterisation of New Silicate, Phosphate and Titanite Reference Glasses

Eleven synthetic silicate and phosphate glasses were prepared to serve as reference materials for in situ microanalysis of clinopyroxenes, apatite and titanite, and other phosphate and titanite phases. Analytical results using different micro-analytical techniques showed that the glass fragments were homogeneous in major and trace elements down to the micrometre scale. Trace element determinations using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and secondary ionisation mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed good agreement for most elements (Li, Be, B, Cs, Rb, Ba, Sr, Ga, Pb, U, Th, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) studied and provide provisional recommended values.     

On correcting precipitation as simulated by the regional climate model COSMO-CLM with daily rain gauge observations

Precipitation amounts simulated by the regional climate model COSMO-CLM are compared with observations from rain gauges at German precipitation stations for the period 1960–2000. The model overestimates precipitation by about 26 %. This bias is accompanied with a shift of the frequency distribution of rain intensities. The model overestimation varies regionally. A correction function is derived which adjusts rain intensities at every model grid point to the observations.     

Comparison of Boundary-Layer Profiles and Layer Detection by AMDAR and WTR/RASS at Frankfurt Airport

At Frankfurt airport (EDDF) vertical soundings of the lower atmosphere from two independent sources are available. One of them is a wind and temperature profiler (wind temperature radar and radio acoustic sounding system, WTR/RASS) located at the western end of the main pair of runways. The second source is aircraft meteorological data relay (AMDAR), i.e. measurements operationally collected by approaching and departing aircraft. Together, both offer a rare opportunity to compare the performance of these widely used systems. We use 1 year of continuous data to calculate systematic temperature and wind vector differences between both measurement systems. The differences show a clear season-dependent structure in conjunction with typical inversion heights. Possible causes for this behaviour are discussed. Second, we compare the ability of both systems to identify inversion and wind-shear layers above the airport. AMDAR-detected layers are typically higher than wind profiler detections. The layer base is usually detected with more agreement than the top. The mutual probability of detection of inversions is found to be mostly between 40 and 60%.     

Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Models in the Grey Zone of Turbulence: Adaptations to FLEXPART-COSMO for Simulations at 1 km Grid Resolution

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Lagrangian particle dispersion models (LPDMs) are frequently used for regional-scale inversions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the turbulence parameterizations...     

On the variability of the surface environment response to synoptic forcing over complex terrain: a multivariate data analysis approach

Synoptic climatology relates the atmospheric circulation with the surface environment. The aim of this study is to examine the variability of the surface meteorological patterns, which are developing under different synoptic scale categories over a suburban area with complex topography. Multivariate Data Analysis techniques were performed to a data set with surface meteorological elements. Three principal components related to the thermodynamic status of the surface environment and the two components of the wind speed were found. The variability of the surface flows was related with atmospheric circulation categories by applying Correspondence Analysis. Similar surface thermodynamic fields develop under cyclonic categories, which are contrasted with the anti-cyclonic category. A strong, steady wind flow characterized by high shear values develops under the cyclonic Closed Low and the anticyclonic H–L categories, in contrast to the variable weak flow under the anticyclonic Open Anticyclone category.     

Deep melting of old subducted oceanic crust recorded by superchondritic Nb/Ta in modern island arc lavas

Niobium–tantalum systematics of slab-derived melts are powerful tracers that discriminate residual high-pressure rutile-bearing eclogite from low-pressure garnet-bearing amphibolite in subducting plates. Previously reported low Nb–Ta ratios in modern slab melts suggested a predominance of shallow melting in the presence of residual amphibole and that deep melting of rutile-bearing eclogitic slabs, devoid of residual amphibole, is volumetrically insignificant. This study evaluates Nb/Ta in combination with other trace element systematics of modern intra-oceanic and slab melt-related arc lavas from the south-western volcanic chain of the Solomon Islands that cover over 1000 km of the SW Pacific plate border. After a change of subduction polarity, an old subducted Pacific slab and a recently subducting Indian–Australian slab are both present beneath the arc. Solomon arc lavas show sub- to superchondritic Nb–Ta ratios (ca. 10 to 27) which is the largest range ever reported in modern island arc lavas. The large range of Nb/Ta likely results from enrichment of the depleted sub-arc mantle by two distinct slab-derived melts in addition to fluids. One minor slab melt component is derived from the shallow and recent subducting Indian–Australian plate where amphibole is still a significant residual phase. The second slab melt component is predominant in Solomon arc lavas and can be attributed to deep rutile–eclogite-controlled melting of old subducted Jurassic Pacific oceanic crust where residual amphibole is entirely absent or insignificant. The deep Pacific slab melt component is the most likely origin of the extremely high and superchondritic Nb/Ta signatures that produce the upper half of the observed range of Nb/Ta in Solomon arc lavas. The slab melt component that enriched the sub-arc mantle with an unusually high Nb/Ta signature is derived from an initially intact Pacific plate that was probably subject to a slab break-off event and subsequent melting at depths exceeding 100 km. The geochemical evidence presented here shows that old and cold subducted oceanic crust, which is initially not torn, may resist shallow melting but can melt at greater depths instead. The resulting slab melts are generated in the presence of residual rutile-bearing eclogite and significantly fractionate Nb–Ta ratios which may be of relevance at a global scale.