Multiple drivers of Holocene lake level changes at a lowland lake in northeastern Germany

Many German lakes experienced significant water level declines in recent decades that are not fully understood due to the short observation period. At a typical northeastern German groundwater‐fed lake with a complex basin morphology, an acoustic sub‐bottom profile was analysed together with a transect of five sediment cores, which were correlated using multiple proxies (sediment facies, μ‐XRF, macrofossils, subfossil Cladocera). Shifts in the boundary between sand and mud deposition were controlled by lake level changes, and hence, allowed the quantification of an absolute lake level amplitude of ~8 m for the Holocene. This clearly exceeded observed modern fluctuations of 1.3 m (AD 1973–2010). Past lake level changes were traced continuously using the calcium‐record. During high lake levels, massive organic muds were deposited in the deepest lake basin, whereas lower lake levels isolated the sub‐basins and allowed carbonate deposition. During the beginning of the Holocene (>9700 cal. a BP), lake levels were high, probably due to final melting of permafrost and dead‐ice remains. The establishment of water‐use intensive Pinus forests caused generally low (3–4 m below modern) but fluctuating lake levels (9700–6400 cal. a BP). Afterwards, the lake showed an increasing trend and reached a short‐term highstand at c. 5000 cal. a BP (4 m above modern). At the transition towards a cooler and wetter late Holocene, forests dominated by Quercus and Fagus and initial human impact probably contributed more positively to groundwater recharge. Lake levels remained high between 3800 and 800 cal. a BP, but the lake system was not sensitive enough to record short‐term fluctuations during this period. Lake level changes were recorded again when humans profoundly affected the drainage system, land cover and lake trophy. Hence, local Holocene water level changes reflect feedbacks between catchment and vegetation characteristics and human impact superimposed by climate change at multiple temporal scales.     

Reconstruction of floral changes during deposition of the Miocene Embalut coal from Kutai Basin,Mahakam Delta,East Kalimantan,Indonesia by use of aromatic hydrocarbon composition and stable carbon isotope ratios of organic matter

The distribution of aromatic hydrocarbons and stable carbon isotope ratios of organic matter in a series of nine Miocene Embalut coal samples obtained from nine coal seams of Kutai Basin, East Kalimantan, Indonesia were studied. The rank of the Embalut coals ranged from lignites to low rank sub-bituminous coals (0.36–0.50% Rr), based on measurements of huminite reflectance. The aromatic hydrocarbon fractions of all coal samples were dominated by cadalene in the lower boiling point range and picene derivatives in the higher boiling point range of the gas chromatograms. Cadalene can be attributed to the contribution of Dipterocarpaceae and various hydrated picenes to the contribution of additional angiosperms to the coal forming vegetation. The picenes originate from alpha- and beta-amyrin. However, in some coal samples minor amounts of simonellite and retene were also detected which argues for an additional contribution of gymnosperms (conifers) to coal forming vegetation preferentially in the Middle Miocene and at the beginning of the Late Miocene. The results of stable carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) in most of the coal samples are consistent with their origin from angiosperms (δ¹³C between ?27.0‰ and ?28.0‰). During the Miocene the climate of Mahakam Delta was not uniformly moist and cooler than the present day climate. This would have been favourable for the growth of conifers, especially in the montane forests. The contribution of conifers to the Embalut coals might be a result of the cool Middle/Late Miocene climate during peat accumulation in the Kutai Basin.     

Real-time drilling mud gas monitoring for qualitative evaluation of hydrocarbon gas composition during deep sea drilling in the Nankai Trough Kumano Basin

Background

Riverine particles undergo a rapid transformation when they reach estuaries. The rapid succession of hydrodynamic and biogeochemical regimes forces the particles to flocculate, settle and enter the sediment pool. The rates and magnitudes of flocculation depend on the nature of the particles which are primarily affected by the types and quantities of organic matter (OM). Meanwhile, the OM characteristics vary widely between environments, as well as within a single environment due to seasonal climate and land use variability. We investigated the effect of the OM types and quantities through laboratory experiments using natural estuarine particles from the Mississippi Sound and Atchafalaya Bay as well as model mixtures of montmorillonite and organic molecules (i.e., biopolymers (guar/xanthan gums) and humic acid).

Results

Biopolymers promote flocculation but the magnitude depends on the types and quantities. Nonionic guar gum yields much larger flocs than anionic xanthan gum, while both of them exhibit a nonlinear behavior in which the flocculation is the most pronounced at the intermediate OM loading. Moreover, the effect of guar gum is independent of salinity whereas the effect of xanthan gum is pronounced at higher salinity. Meanwhile, humic acid does not affect flocculation at all salinity values tested in this study. These results are echoed in the laboratory manipulation of the natural estuarine particles. Flocculation of the humic acid-rich Mississippi Sound particles is unaffected by the OM, whereas that of biopolymer-rich Atchafalaya Bay particles is enhanced by the OM.

Conclusions

Flocculation is positively influenced by the presence of biopolymers that are produced as the result of marine primary production. Meanwhile, humic acid, which is abundant in the rivers that drain the agricultural soils of Southeastern United States, has little influence on flocculation. Thus, it is expected that humic acid-poor riverine particles (e.g., Mississippi River, and Atchafalaya River, to a lesser degree) may be prone to rapid flocculation and settling in the immediate vicinity of the river mouths when mixed with biopolymer-rich coastal waters. It is also expected that humic acid-rich riverine particles (e.g., Pearl River) may resist immediate flocculation and be transported further away from the river mouth.     

New constraints on oceanographic vs. seismic control on submarine landslide initiation: a geotechnical approach off Uruguay and northern Argentina

Submarine landslides are common along the Uruguayan and Argentinean continental margin, but size, type and frequency of events differ significantly between distinct settings. Previous studies have proposed sedimentary and oceanographic processes as factors controlling slope instability, but also episodic earthquakes have been postulated as possible triggers. However, quantitative geotechnical slope stability evaluations for this region and, for that matter, elsewhere in the South Atlantic realm are lacking. This study quantitatively assesses continental slope stability for various scenarios including overpressure and earthquake activity, based on sedimentological and geotechnical analyses on three up to 36 m long cores collected on the Uruguayan slope, characterized by muddy contourite deposits and a locus of landslides (up to 2 km³), and in a canyon-dominated area on the northern Argentinean slope characterized by sandy contourite deposits. The results of shear and consolidation tests reveal that these distinct lithologies govern different stability conditions and failure modes. The slope sectors are stable under present-day conditions (factor of safety >5), implying that additional triggers would be required to initiate failure. In the canyon area, current-induced oversteepening of weaker sandy contourite deposits would account for frequent, small-scale slope instabilities. By contrast, static vs. seismic slope stability calculations reveal that a peak ground acceleration of at least 2 m/s² would be required to cause failure of mechanically stronger muddy contourite deposits. This implies that, also along the western South Atlantic passive margin, submarine landslides on open gentle slopes require episodic large earthquakes as ultimate trigger, as previously postulated for other, northern hemisphere passive margins.     

Recently induced anoxia leading to the preservation of seasonal laminae in two NE-German lakes

The recent sediments of two lakes in the NE German lowland became seasonally laminated at different times. Anoxic bottom conditions resulted from a surplus of organic matter (OM), in the early stage indicated by irregularly laminated sediments comprising abundant iron-sulfide framboids. Their diagenetic formation predates the preservation of biochemical calcite varves. In the larger, deeper Lake Tiefer See near Klocksin, anoxia developed stepwise. A first anoxic pulse was contemporary with inflow narrowing by railway-dam construction and accumulation of OM. It was favored by a decrease of the intensity of lake circulation (turnover). Nutrients introduced from artificial fertilizer then increased the primary production (diatoms) to the point of OM surplus and seasonal laminae formation started 40 years later in 1924. In the smaller, shallower Lake Tiefer See in the Uckermark, a massive pulse of iron sulfide was centered around 1960, seven years after installation of piped field drainage into the lake. Anoxia developed rapidly with the nutrients drained from a fertilized groundwater catchment that is 10 times larger than the surface catchment, while surface erosion was reduced. Reducing bottom conditions became regular and the seasonal lamination was preserved after 1967. Morphological criteria to screen lakes for varved sediments should include reductions of natural lake inflow and catchment increase, such as by inflow of field drainage. Similar developments of increased nutrient input or intensity decrease of lake circulation may result from historical human activities but also from natural processes.     

Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices I (ASTROD I)—a class-M fundamental physics mission proposal for cosmic vision 2015–2025: 2010 Update

ASTROD I is a planned interplanetary space mission with multiple goals. The primary aims are: to test General Relativity with an improvement in sensitivity of over 3 orders of magnitude, improving our understanding of gravity and aiding the development of a new quantum gravity theory; to measure key solar system parameters with increased accuracy, advancing solar physics and our knowledge of the solar system; and to measure the time rate of change of the gravitational constant with an order of magnitude improvement and the anomalous Pioneer acceleration, thereby probing dark matter and dark energy gravitationally. It is envisaged as the first in a series of ASTROD missions. ASTROD I will consist of one spacecraft carrying a telescope, four lasers, two event timers and a clock. Two-way, two-wavelength laser pulse ranging will be used between the spacecraft in a solar orbit and deep space laser stations on Earth, to achieve the ASTROD I goals.For this mission, accurate pulse timing with an ultra-stable clock, and a drag-free spacecraft with reliable inertial sensor are required. T2L2 has demonstrated the required accurate pulse timing; rubidium clock on board Galileo has mostly demonstrated the required clock stability; the accelerometer on board GOCE has paved the way for achieving the reliable inertial sensor; the demonstration of LISA Pathfinder will provide an excellent platform for the implementation of the ASTROD I drag-free spacecraft. These European activities comprise the pillars for building up the mission and make the technologies needed ready. A second mission, ASTROD or ASTROD-GW (depending on the results of ASTROD I), is envisaged as a three-spacecraft mission which, in the case of ASTROD, would test General Relativity to one part per billion, enable detection of solar g-modes, measure the solar Lense-Thirring effect to 10 parts per million, and probe gravitational waves at frequencies below the LISA bandwidth, or in the case of ASTROD-GW, would be dedicated to probe gravitational waves at frequencies below the LISA bandwidth to 100?nHz and to detect solar g-mode oscillations. In the third phase (Super-ASTROD), larger orbits could be implemented to map the outer solar system and to probe primordial gravitational-waves at frequencies below the ASTROD bandwidth. This paper on ASTROD I is based on our 2010 proposal submitted for the ESA call for class-M mission proposals, and is a sequel and an update to our previous paper (Appouchaux et al., Exp Astron 23:491?C527, 2009; designated as Paper I) which was based on our last proposal submitted for the 2007 ESA call. In this paper, we present our orbit selection with one Venus swing-by together with orbit simulation. In Paper I, our orbit choice is with two Venus swing-bys. The present choice takes shorter time (about 250?days) to reach the opposite side of the Sun. We also present a preliminary design of the optical bench, and elaborate on the solar physics goals with the radiation monitor payload. We discuss telescope size, trade-offs of drag-free sensitivities, thermal issues and present an outlook.     

Late Holocene temperature fluctuations on the Tibetan Plateau

Proxy data of palaeoclimate, like ice cores, tree rings and lake sediments, document aspects of climate changes on the Tibetan Plateau during the last 2000 years. The results show that the Tibetan Plateau experienced climatic episodes such as the warm intervals during AD 800–1100 and 1150–1400, the “Little Ice Age” between AD 1400 and 1900, and an earlier cold period between the 4th and 6th centuries. In addition, temperatures varied from region to region across the plateau. A warm period from AD 800 to 1100 in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau was contemporaneous with cooling in the southern Tibetan Plateau, which experienced warming between AD 1150 and 1400. Large-scale trends in the temperature history from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau resemble those in eastern China more than the trends from the southern Plateau. The most notable similarities between the temperature variations of the Tibetan Plateau and eastern China are cold phases during AD 1100–1150, 1500–1550, 1650–1700 and 1800–1850.     

Isotopic evidence (He,B, C) for deep fluid and mud mobilization from mud volcanoes in the Caucasus continental collision zone

The Caucasian orogenic wedge formed as a consequence of the closure of the Tethyan Ocean, and numerous fields of active mud volcanoes pepper the area adjacent to the Black and Caspian Seas. Stable isotope ratios of boron, helium, and carbon have been measured for gas, fluid and sediment samples from active mud volcanoes of Taman Peninsula and Georgia to estimate the sources and mobilization depths of the fluid phase and mud. Boron concentrations in mud volcano fluids were found to be 5–35× higher than seawater. Fluid isotope ratios vary between ¹¹B=22 and 39, while isotope ratios of the smectite- and illite-rich extruded mud are considerably depleted in heavy ¹¹B (¹¹B=–8 to +7). B contents of these muds are ~8× higher than modern marine sediments. This suggests that liquefaction prior to mud volcanism was accompanied by both B enrichment and isotope fractionation, most likely at an intermediate depth mud reservoir at 2–4 km.The hydrocarbon-generating source beds to the mud volcanoes are located at 7 to >10 km depth in the folded Maikop Formation and are of proposed Oligocene–Miocene age. The most likely mechanism is re-hydration of these shales by both hydrocarbons and a geochemically mature fluid from greater depth within the orogenic wedge. Such a deep fluid source is supported by our results from gas analyses, which imply an admixture of minor amounts (less than 1%vol) of ³He (Georgia), thermogenic ¹³C in methane as well as "ultraheavy" ¹³C in CO₂ (both Taman and Georgia). The overall results attest active local flow of geochemically different fluids along deep-seated faults penetrating the two study areas in the Caucasian orogenic wedge, with the waters as well as the gases coming from below the Maikop Formation.