Late Quaternary glaciation in the south-western Barents Sea

Moraine ridges have been morphologically and seismically identified in the south-western Barents Sea. Some of these ridges were deposited in front of ice lobes from the northern part of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet, others in front of glaciers located on the southern Barents Sea shelf. The moraine ridges were probably deposited during the Weichselian, possibly the Late Weichselian.     

The effects of oil and oil dispersants on the amphipod Gammarus oceanicus from Arctic waters

Amphipods of the species Gammarus oceanicus were exposed to water soluble fractions and water emulsions crude oil, the dispersants Finasol OSR-5 and Finasol OSR-12, and combinations of the oil and dispersants. Adding Finasol OSR-12 to the crude oil caused a reduction in the mortality of the amphipods compared with amphipods exposed to the water soluble fraction and the water emulsion of crude oil alone, probably due to a reduced mole fraction of toxic oil components in the mixture of oil and dispersant. Exposure to sublethal concentrations of water soluble fractions increased the respiratory rates of the amphipods in the majority of the exposed groups. The water soluble fractions slightly increased the concentrations of sodium in the haemolymph and in the whole organism. Some exposures gave a significant increase in the relative water content of the amphipods. The water soluble fractions probably increase the membrane permeability to water and ions, leading to an increased influx of water and sodium from the medium. The increased respiratory rates are likely to be due to a compensatory extrusion of sodium. Exposure to sublethal concentrations of water emulsions reduced the respiratory rates of the amphipods, probably due to oil droplets adhering to the gill membranes and thus causing a reduced rate of oxygen diffusion into the organisms. The majority of the exposures to water emulsions increased concentrations of sodium in the haemolymph as well as in whole organisms. Thus, sodium probably accumulates in the intracellular compartments because the sodium pumps are restricted by the reduced energy available. This is likely to lead to an osmotic swelling of cells. Reduced total free amino acid concentrations in these amphipods is ascribed to volume regulation of the swollen cells, and a reduced co-transport of sodium and free amino acids from the haemolymph to the intracellular compartments.     

Interplay between shoreline migration paths, architecture and pinchout distance for siliciclastic shoreline tongues: evidence from the rock record

Facies, geometry and key internal stratigraphic surfaces from eight Cretaceous and Eocene clastic shoreline tongues have been documented. The regressive parts of all the studied tongues represent storm‐wave influenced strandplains, deltas or fan‐deltas, and the regressive shoreline trajectories varied from descending to ascending. The transgressive parts of the tongues are dominated by either estuarine or coastal‐plain deposits. The distance from the coeval, up‐dip non‐marine deposits to the basinward pinchout of amalgamated shoreface sandstones, measured along depositional dip, is here termed the sand pinchout distance. The study shows that the angle of regressive‐to‐transgressive turnaround (defined by the angle between the regressive and subsequent transgressive shoreline trajectories) and the process regime during turnaround largely control the sand‐pinchout distance. The amount of transgressive erosion can also partly control the pinchout distance, but this parameter was comparable for the different examples presented here. If the type of depositional system at turnaround and the depth of transgressive erosion are constant, small angles of turnaround are associated with large pinchout distances, whereas larger angles of turnaround result in smaller pinchout distances. The model developed allows sand‐pinchout distance to be predicted, using data for the landward parts of shoreline tongues. The dataset also shows that steeply rising (aggrading) shoreline trajectories tend to produce more heterolithic sandstone tongues than those formed by lower‐angle trajectories.     

Holocene climate in the subarctic fjord Malangen, northern Norway: a multi-proxy study

A Holocene sedimentary record from the deep-silled Malangen fjord in northern Norway reveals regional changes in sedimentary environment and climate. Down-core analysis of two sediment cores includes multi-core sensor logging, grain size, x-radiography, foraminifera, oxygen isotopes, dinoflagellates, pollen, trace elements and radiocarbon datings. The cores are located just proximal to the submarine Younger Dryas moraine complex, and reveal the deglaciation after Younger Dryas and the postglacial evolution. Five sedimentary units have been identified. The oldest units, V and IV, bracket the Younger Dryas glacial readvance in the fjord between 12 700 cal. years BP and 11 800 cal. years BP. This is followed by deposition of glaciomarine sediments (units IV and III) starting around 12 100 cal. years BP. Glaciomarine sedimentation ceased in the fjord c. 10 300 cal. years BP and was replaced by open marine sedimentation (units II and I). A rapid stepwise warming occurred during the Preboreal. Onset of surface water warming lagged bottom water warming by several hundred years. The δ[Formula: See Text]O record indicates a significant, gradual bottom water cooling (c. 4°C) between 8000 and 2000 cal. years BP, a trend also supported by the other proxy data. Other records in the region, as well as GCM simulations, also support this long-term climatic evolution. Superimposed on this cooling were brief warmings around 6000 cal. years BP and 2000 cal. years BP. The long-term change may be driven by orbitally forced reduction in insolation, whereas the short-term changes may be linked to for example solar forcing, meltwater and NAO changes all causing regional changes in the North Atlantic heat transport.     

The geology and age of Peter I 0y, Antarctica

The island Peter I 0y is located in the BeUinghausen Sea 400 km off the coast of West Antarctica. It is situated at the transition between oceanic and contintental crust close to a former transform fault, the Tharp fracture zone. The island is completely volcanic, consisting of predominantly alkali basalt and hawaiite and some more evolved rocks. Sampling done by the Aurora expedition in 1987 has made dating and detailed petrological studies possible. The island appears to be much younger (<0.5 Ma) than previously believed. However, the volcanic activity responsible for this oceanic island may have lasted for 10-20 Ma. Volcanic activity at the island thus took place at the same time as post-subduction rift-related volcanism took place along the Antarctic Peninsula and in Marie Byrd Land. However, the petrologic data indicate that this may be coincidental and that the Peter I 0y activity is independent and related to transtensional rifting along the Tharp fracture zone.     

Weichselian ice movement in South Norway and adjacent areas

Three main phases of ice-movement pattern in South Norway during the Weichselian are reconstructed. During Phase II (possibly of Middle Weichselian age) the ice divide was located far to the west. Phase III (assumed Middle/Late Weichselian age) had an easterly situated ice divide. During Phase IV (Preboreal age) the ice divide had moved back to the west and had partly fragmented into separate domes. The migration of the ice divide from west to east may be due to glacier surges, whilst the ice-divide migration from Phase III to IV was probably a result of a general reduction in size of the ice sheet.     

Weichselian sediments containing redeposited interstadialhnterglacial fossils at Slettaelva, North Norway

The following stratigraphy was found at Slettaelva, near Troms (from bottom to top): greenish basal till (unit A), laminated c lay (unit B), fossitiferous basal till (Unit C). Unit A probably derives from an early Weichselin local glaciation, Unit B comprises lacustrine sediments which were apparently deposited in an early Weichselian tundra-like enivironment, Unit C, which contains reworked fossils of moulluscs, palynomorphs and foraminifera, was deposited by a continenntal ice shcet. Amino acid ratios of Mya truncata and plaaeontological evidence indicate that unit Ccontains a mixed fossil assemblage, probably of Eemian and Weichselian interstadial age.     

A Late Pleistocene sequence at Margreteberg, southwestern Sweden

At Margreteberg, southwestern Sweden, a comple Pleistocene sequence has been stratigraphically investigated. Strata of clay, silt, sand, peat and solifluction layers are overlain by till-like sediments which are covered by sandy-clayey strata. By means of biostratigraphical analyses (foraminifera, olluscs, wood remains, pollen and diatoms), a reconstruction of the palaeoenvirnmental development has been obtained. Radiocarbon measurements and amiono acis ratios have been carried out in order to date the sediments. The foraminifera in the lowermost clay strata indicate Arctic or boreal-Arctic marine environment during the Late Saalian or Late Elsterian perods The δ¹⁸ Ovalues and molluscs also suggest that the clay was deposited in glaciomarine conditions. Amino acid ratios (D/L=0.25) of Hiatella in the clay imply an age between the Holsteinian and Eemian Interglacials. Teh peat layers contain a pollen flora. Prtedominated by Picea and Pinus, and are pollen analytically dated to the end of the Eemian interglacial. The solofluction sediments most probably were fromed during the first stage (s) of the Early weichselian and may include the initaial phase of the Brorup Interstadial (the Rodebaek interstadial). During this stage(s) aretic-Subarctic conditions previaled reflected by a pollen flora with a predominance of herbs and shrubs. Acidophilous and aerohpilous diatoms indicate oligotrophic shallow wate conditions in an Arctic environment, when almost no leaching of mineral solis occurred. The solofluction sediments also contain reworked interglacial (Eemian) pollen and brackish-Marine diatoms. Radiocarbon dating of the peat, wood and solofluction sediments yieded infinnite ages>40,000B.P.