A hindcast simulation of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice variability, 1955–2001

A hindcast simulation of the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice variability during 1955-2001 has been performed with a global, coarse resolution ice-ocean model driven by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis daily surface air temperatures and winds. Both the mean state and variability of the ice packs over the satellite observing period are reasonably well reproduced by the model. Over the 47-year period, the simulated ice area (defined as the total ice-covered oceanic area) in each hemisphere experiences large decadal variability together with a decreasing trend of Ø1% per decade. In the Southern Hemisphere, this trend is mostly caused by an abrupt retreat of the ice cover during the second half of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. The modelled ice volume also exhibits pronounced decadal variability, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Besides these fluctuations, we detected a downward trend in Arctic ice volume of 1.8% per decade and an upward trend in Antarctic ice volume of 1.5% per decade. However, caution must be exercised when interpreting these trends because of the shortness of the simulation and the strong decadal variations. Furthermore, sensitivity experiments have revealed that the trend in Antarctic ice volume is model-dependent.     

The effect of oxygen vacancies and aluminium substitution on the high-pressure properties of brownmillerite-structured Ca2Fe2?xAlxO5

The structural evolution with pressure and the equations of state of three members of the brownmillerite solid solution, Ca₂(Fe_2−x Al _x )O₅, have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction up to a maximum pressure of 9.73 GPa. The compositions of the samples were x = 0.00 and x = 0.37 (with Pnma symmetry) and x = 0.55 (with I2mb symmetry). No phase transitions were observed in the experiments. The equation of state parameters determined from the pressure-volume data are K _0T = 128.0 (7) GPa, K′₀ = 5.8 (3) for the sample with x = 0.00, K _0T = 131 (2) GPa, K′₀ = 5.5 (4) for x = 0.37, and K _0T = 137.5 (6) GPa, K′₀ = 4 for x = 0.55. The bulk modulus therefore increases with Al content, being 11% higher in the x = 0.55 sample than in the Al-free sample. The unit-cell compression is anisotropic, with the c-axis being stiffer than a or b, and the anisotropy increases with increasing Al content of the structure. The structural response to pressure of all samples is similar. The (Al,Fe)O₄ tetrahedra and the (Al,Fe)O₆ octahedra undergo approximately isotropic compression. There is an increase in the twists of the chains of corner-sharing (Al,Fe)O₄ tetrahedra, and an increase in the tilts of the (Al,Fe)O₆ octahedra, because these framework polyhedra are stiffer than the Ca–O bonds to the extra-framework Ca site. The alignment of the two shortest Ca–O bonds sub-parallel to [001] accounts for the relative stiffness of the c-axis and thus the elastic anisotropy. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Relative rheological evolution of chemically contrasted coeval magmas: example of the Tichka plutonic complex (Morocco)

The Tichka plutonic complex presents many unusual structures related to physical interaction between mafic and felsic coeval magmas. In this paper, a rheological approach is used to attempt to understand the various observed structures. After a general presentation of rheological laws and a discussion about the present state of our understanding of the rheology of suspensions, we analyse the main steps of rheological evolution of magmas during crystallization. Taking into account the effect of cooling, increase of silica content and increase of crystallinity on viscosity during thermal evolution of magma, a general rheological diagram is presented. Two main rheological thresholds at about 35% crystallinity (Th₁) and about 65–70% (Th₂), allow us to distinguish three major steps in the rheological behaviour of magmas during cooling. Comparative study of evolution curves for viscosity of coeval mafic (M) and felsic (F) magmas shows that an inversion temperature Ti exists, at which viscosities of both magmas are the same. This point has major petrologic significance because the viscosity ratio (M/F) inverses during cooling when the temperature of magma falls below the Ti point. A model for the evolution of the Tichka magmas during cooling has been derived from the knowledge of the chemical and mineralogical composition of the different rocks representing the original (M) and (F) magmas as well as some hybrid and differentiated samples. Viscosities and crystal fractions of magmas as functions of temperature have been calculated from chemical and mineralogical data. Curves representing the evolution of apparent viscosity of the three initial magmas of the complex are presented. From these vicosity/temperature curves and from the calculted temperatures corresponding to rheological thresholds Th₁ and Th₂ for the different coeval magmas, five main evolution stages are defined. The different structures observed at the contracts between M and F magmas are developed throughout the entire cooling history of the pluton, each structure being related to one of the main evolution stages.     

Hydrogen peroxide production rates in clean and polluted coastal marine waters of the Mediterranean, Red and Baltic Seas

The main aim of this study was to assess the hydrogen peroxide (HP) production rates (HPPR) related to anthropogenic pollution in coastal waters by laboratory and field experiments. HPPR's were assessed by simultaneous measurements of HP concentrations, cumulative solar UV irradiation and dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescence in the seawater samples at clean and polluted sites in the Mediterranean, Red and the Baltic Seas. The natural HP concentrations at all sites (8–100 nM) fall within the normal range recorded elsewhere, and follows a diurnal pattern. The polluted stations in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas showed higher HPPR (3.2–16.6 nM m² W⁻¹ h⁻¹) than the clean stations, while in the Red Sea no significant differences were found because the station that was considered a priori polluted was actually rather clean (2–3 nM m² W⁻¹ h⁻¹). Laboratory experiments demonstrated that HPPR was positively linearly correlated to DOM fluorescence, however, this relationship was not found in the natural seawater samples examined in the field. The lack of relationship between HPPR and DOM in the field was attributed to enzymatic breakdown of HP as observed in dark decay experiments. HP dark decay rates were highest in polluted stations, probably due to larger bacterioplankton populations in these samples. Moreover, the HP dark decay rates were much lower in filtered than in non-filtered samples. Sun incubation of filtered (0.2 μm) seawater samples were performed to assess whether elimination of particles would yield higher HPPRs than in non-filtered samples. In the Baltic Sea (low UV irradiation) HPPR was higher in the filtered samples, while at sites with relatively high UV irradiation (Mediterranean and Red Seas), filtration of seawater did not stimulate HPPRs, probably due to UV-damage to planktonic microorganisms.     

Spontaneous strain below the I\bar 1 - P\bar 1 transition in anorthite at pressure

The phase transition between the and phases of anorthite has been studied at elevated pressure by single-crystal X-ray diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. The phase transition is shown to be first-order in character for both end-member anorthite (CaAl₂Si₂O₈) and for an anorthite with a small amount of albite component (NaAlSi₃O₈) in solid solution. Reversals of the transition across the phase boundary at three other compositions show that the transition pressure (P _Tr) increases with increasing albite content. This behaviour is compared with that observed at elevated temperatures, and is analysed in terms of Landau theory.