Classic localities explained 6: Tobago

The island of Tobago is only about 40 km in length and to the geologist is a demonstration of the old saying that good things come in small packages. Situated in the southeast corner of the Caribbean Plate, it is the eastern extremity of the Caribbean Mountain System of northern South America, and is divided into three geologic provinces, one metamorphic, one igneous and one sedimentary.     

Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype Section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core,and selected auxiliary records

The Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP (NGRIP) contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision. This climatic event is most clearly reflected in an abrupt shift in deuterium excess values, accompanied by more gradual changes in δ¹⁸O, dust concentration, a range of chemical species, and annual layer thickness. A timescale based on multi‐parameter annual layer counting provides an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2 k (before AD 2000) for the base of the Holocene, with a maximum counting error of 99 yr. A proposal that an archived core from this unique sequence should constitute the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) has been ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences. Five auxiliary stratotypes for the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary have also been recognised. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel measurements of atmospheric iodine species by resonance fluorescence

A field instrument has been developed for the purpose of measuring gas-phase atmospheric iodine species in the marine boundary layer. Vacuum UV resonance-fluorescence (RF), generated using a microwave discharge lamp, is employed to detect atomic iodine via the (5p⁴6s)–(5p⁵) transitions around 178–184 nm. The system can be operated in two modes; either to directly measure ambient iodine atoms, or to measure the total photolabile iodine loading of ambient air, through broadband visible photolysis of photolabile iodine-containing species, with subsequent RF detection of the iodine atoms released. In both cases the instrument allows for the in situ measurement of the species detected, which is advantageous for gathering information concerning their local sources and distribution. The instrument is calibrated through generation of a known concentration of iodine atoms from the photolysis of I₂ using a mercury pen-ray lamp. The instrument was deployed for the first time in August 2007 at Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland; initial results from this field trial are presented. Ambient iodine atoms were measured at levels up to 22 ± 4.8 ppt during the day, coinciding with the lowest tides, when Laminaria seaweed beds were exposed. The total photolabile iodine loading was also measured during several night-time and day-time periods and was found to correlate inversely with tidal height. Inferred I₂ concentrations based on these measurements indicate levels of several hundred ppt at the Mace Head site. These measurements represent the first direct observations of ambient iodine atoms and measurement of total photolabile iodine in the atmosphere.     

The 2003 November 14 occultation by Titan of TYC 1343-1865-1: II. Analysis of light curves

We observed a stellar occultation by Titan on 2003 November 14 from La Palma Observatory using ULTRACAM with three Sloan filters: u^′, g^′, and i^′ (358, 487, and 758 nm, respectively). The occultation probed latitudes 2° S and 1° N during immersion and emersion, respectively. A prominent central flash was present in only the i^′ filter, indicating wavelength-dependent atmospheric extinction. We inverted the light curves to obtain six lower-limit temperature profiles between 335 and 485 km (0.04 and 0.003 mb) altitude. The i^′ profiles agreed with the temperature measured by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument [Fulchignoni, M., and 43 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 785–791] above 415 km (0.01 mb). The profiles obtained from different wavelength filters systematically diverge as altitude decreases, which implies significant extinction in the light curves. Applying an extinction model [Elliot, J.L., Young, L.A., 1992. Astron. J. 103, 991–1015] gave the altitudes of line of sight optical depth equal to unity: 396±7 and 401±20 km (u^′ immersion and emersion); 354±7 and 387±7 km (g^′ immersion and emersion); and 336±5 and 318±4 km (i^′ immersion and emersion). Further analysis showed that the optical depth follows a power law in wavelength with index 1.3±0.2. We present a new method for determining temperature from scintillation spikes in the occulting body's atmosphere. Temperatures derived with this method are equal to or warmer than those measured by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument. Using the highly structured, three-peaked central flash, we confirmed the shape of Titan's middle atmosphere using a model originally derived for a previous Titan occultation [Hubbard, W.B., and 45 colleagues, 1993. Astron. Astrophys. 269, 541–563].     

The comparative effects of oil dispersants and oil/dispersant conjugates on germination of the marine macroalga Phyllospora comosa (Fucales: Phaeophyta)

Germination inhibition of the marine macrophyte Phyllospora comosa was utilized as a sub-lethal end-point to assess and compare the effects of four oil dispersants and dispersed diesel fuel and crude oil combinations. Inhibition of germination by the water-soluble fraction of diesel fuel increased following the addition of each of the dispersants; the nominal 48-h EC₅₀ concentration of diesel fuel declined from 6800 to approximately 400 μl l⁻¹ nominal for each dispersed combination. This contrasted with crude oil, where the addition of two dispersants resulted in an enhanced germination rate and an increase in nominal EC₅₀ concentrations from 130 μl l⁻¹ for the undispersed crude to 4000 and 2500 μl l⁻¹. The results indicate that, while germination inhibition of P. comosa may be enhanced by the chemical dispersal of oil, the response varies with type of both oil and oil dispersant.     

A model study of seasonal mixed-layer primary production in the Arabian Sea

We combined a surface irradiance model with a non-spectral photosynthesisirradiance model to estimate the daily, average rate of mixed-layer primary production in the Arabian Sea for the 15th day of months at the end of the northeast monsoon, the southwest monsoon, and the fall and spring inter-monsoons. Our model experiment uses climatologies of cloud cover, mixed-layer thickness, and satellite ocean-color observations of phytoplankton biomass. Modelled surface radiation is at an annual maximum in May beneath nearly cloud-free skies just prior to the summer solstice. The model estimate of surface radiation diminishes through the southwest monsoon over most of the northern Arabian Sea to an annual minimum in August due to intense cloudiness. In agreement with previous ship-based measurements, the photosynthesis-irradiance model predicts that the mixed-layer primary production in the Arabian Sea is extremely seasonal, and peaks annually during the southwest monsoon to the north-west of the atmospheric Findlater Jet and along the coast of Somalia. Northern Arabian Sea maxima predicted for both the summer and winter monsoons are separated by periods of low mixed-layer primary production, the fall and spring inter-monsoons. The annual cycles of modelled mixed-layer primary production differ by region in the Arabian Sea due to varying monsoon influence and circulation dynamics.     

New production and mixed-layer physics

We treat the ocean carbon cycle as a coupled physical-biogeochemical process. The interactions between mixed-layer dynamics and growth of phytoplankton in the layer are discussed, and the formal relationship between phytoplankton accumulation and new production is examined. A coupled biological-physical model is presented for studying the classical spring bloom in the N. Atlantic, and possible differences in the mechanisms that drive the seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the N. Atlantic and the Arabian Sea are discussed. Finally, recommendations are made for observational programs to improve our understanding of the biologically-mediated carbon cycle in the Arabian Sea.     

Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids and diterpenoids in Australian crude oils

Bicyclanes previously reported only in heavily biodegraded Texas Gulf Coast crudes have been found to be ubiquitous in Australian crude oils of non-marine origin from four different basins. The compounds are present in oils, thought to be derived from the same or similar sources, that have undergone varying degrees of biodegradation. They are also found to be present in oils of different geological age. In addition a series of tricyclic diterpenoid hydrocarbons was common to four oils from the Gippsland Basin. Four of these compounds had the molecular formula C₂₀H₃₄ and mass spectral fragmentation patterns suggested they were mono-unsaturated diterpenoids. The presence of unsaturated diterpenoids in crude oils appears to be a unique observation. It is proposed that the diterpenoids may be the source of the bicyclanes also observed in these oils.