Impact of dynamic sedimentation on facies heterogeneities in Lower Cretaceous peritidal deposits of central east Oman

This study, based in the Haushi‐Huqf area of central east Oman, aims to characterize the controls on facies distribution and geometries of some of the best preserved examples of Lower Cretaceous tidal flat facies within the Tethyan epeiric platform. Field, petrographic and geochemical data were acquired from the Barremian–Aptian Jurf and Qishn formations that crop out in a 500 × 1000 m² butte, thus allowing for pseudo three‐dimensional quantitative data acquisition of the dimensions and spatial distributions of discontinuity surfaces and sedimentary bodies. The interpretation presented here suggests that the main processes impacting sedimentation in the Lower Cretaceous peritidal environment of the Haushi‐Huqf were transport and erosion processes related to storm waves and currents. The vertical evolution of the carbonate system is organized into six types of metre‐scale depositional sequences, from subtidal dominated sequences to supratidal‐capped sequences, which are bounded by regional discontinuity surfaces. At subaerial exposure and submarine erosion surfaces associated with a base level shift, sedimentary horizons along the entire depositional profile are cut by scours possibly created by storm events. Chemostratigraphy allows correlation between the Haushi‐Huqf and the age‐equivalent sections logged in the interior of the platform in Oman. The correlation suggests that the change from subtidal to intertidal depositional sequences during the late highstand is coeval with the development of rudist dominated shoals on the shelf. This study is the first to discuss the controls on Lower Cretaceous peritidal carbonate cyclicity of the Arabian epeiric platform. The results presented here also offer a unique quantitative dataset of the distribution and dimensions of peritidal carbonate shoals and storm scours in a regional sequence stratigraphic context.     

Phytolith assemblages as a promising tool for reconstructing Mediterranean Holocene vegetation

The reliability of phytolith assemblage analysis for characterizing Mediterranean vegetation is investigated in this study. Phytolith assemblages are extracted from modern and buried Holocene soils from the middle Rhône valley (France). The relation between modern phytolith assemblages and the surrounding vegetation, as well as between fossil assemblages and contemporaneous vegetation, already reconstructed through other proxies, is discussed. We demonstrate that the main northwestern Mediterranean biomes are well distinguished by soil phytolith assemblage analysis. In particular, the density of pine and nonconiferous trees (densities expressed relatively to the grass cover) and the overall degree of opening of the vegetation appear well recorded by three phytolith indexes. North Mediterranean vegetation changes during the Holocene period, mainly tree line shifts, pine wood development and deforestation are poorly documented, due to the scarcity of proxy-preserving sites. Phytolith assemblage analysis of soils, buried soils, and sediments appears to be a promising technique to fill this gap.     

北大西洋气候记录中末次冰消期的年代确定

为了确定控制末次冰消期的机制以及引起冰消期事件的顺序，最重要的是获得应用于大陆和海洋两者的气候记录的时间结构。放射性碳测年已经广泛应用于海洋沉积物的日历测年，但它是建立在表层水的表观年龄 (相对于大气层来说 )保持不变的假设上的。这里我们提出了北大西洋 40° N以北的表层水的表观年龄 (或储层年龄 )在过去 20 ka中的变化证据，在两个岩心中，我们发现了在 Heinrich 1 (15 ka BP)结束的地方，表层水表观年龄比今天大 1230± 600 a和 1940± 750 a，在新仙女木冷期结束的地方比今天大 820± 430 a 和 1010± 340 a。在 Bolling_Allerod暖期，两个老的储层年龄之间，表层水表观年龄可以与目前的值进行比较。我们的研究结果证实冰心年代学和整个冰消期的北大西洋海洋记录是一致的。因此，这表示了 40° N以北的北大西洋海洋碳测年需要作这些明显可变效应的校正。     

The impact of high altitude aircraft on the ozone layer in the stratosphere

The paper discusses the potential effects on the ozone layer of gases released by the engines of proposed high altitude supersonic aircraft. The major problem arises from the emissions of nitrogen oxides which have the potential to destroy significant quantities of ozone in the stratosphere. The magnitude of the perturbation is highly dependent on the cruise altitude of the aircraft. Furthermore, the depletion of ozone is substantially reduced when heterogeneous conversion of nitrogen oxides into nitric acid on sulfate aerosol particles is taken into account in the calculation. The sensitivity of the aerosol load on stratospheric ozone is investigated. First, the model indicates that the aerosol load induced by the SO₂ released by aircraft is increased by about 10–20% above the background aerosols at mid-high latitude of the Northern Hemisphere at 15 km for the NASA emission scenario A (the NASA emission scenarios are explained in Tables I to III). This increase in aerosol has small effects on stratospheric ozone. Second, when the aerosol load is increased following a volcanic eruption similar to the eruption of El Chichon (Mexico, April 1982), the ozone column in spring increases by as much as 9% in response to the injection of NO _x from the aircraft with the NASA emission scenario A. Finally, the modeled suggests that significant ozone depletion could result from the formation of additional polar stratospheric clouds produced by the injection of H₂O and HNO₃ by the aircraft engines.     

Provenance discrimination of fine sediments by mid-infrared spectroscopy: Calibration and application to fluvial palaeo-environmental reconstruction

Determining sediment provenance allows a better understanding of fluvial palaeo-dynamics, and identifying involved watersheds, at broad spatio-temporal scales. Conventional approaches for source identification are usually based on the physical, mineralogical, geochemical, magnetic or isotopic properties of sediments. Rapid, non-destructive and, in well-established contexts, highly accurate, mid-infrared spectroscopy is an alternative method for investigating sediment sources. The present research objectives are: (i) to use the mid-infrared spectroscopy method to discriminate the provenance of fine sediments, by applying discriminant analysis on a large set of reference samples from three different watersheds in the Upper Rhine area (associated with the Rhine, Ill and Vosges tributaries); (ii) to clarify whether the provenance spectra signatures are influenced by riverine depositional contexts (bars versus banks) and, to some extent, by grain size and/or high organic matter content; and (iii) to apply the mid-infrared spectroscopy – discriminant analysis method to a study of fluvial palaeo-dynamics and determine the provenance of palaeo-channel infillings. Three main sedimentary sources, divided into eight sub-categories, have been characterized by 196 modern reference samples from 78 collecting sites. Discriminant analysis displayed a strong separating power by classifying correctly the origin of samples without any inter-group overlap, independently from the geomorphological context (bar or bank) and associated slight changes in organic matter contents or grain size. Mid-infrared spectroscopy – discriminant analysis investigations of the palaeo-channel infill, complemented by radiocarbon dates and mineralogical data, allowed reconstructing general trends for the local morpho-sedimentary dynamics over the last ca 12 millennia.     

Palaeogeographical changes in response to glacial–interglacial cycles,as recorded in Middle and Late Pleistocene seismic stratigraphy,southern North Sea

Offshore stratigraphic records from the North Sea contain information to reconstruct palaeo-ice-sheet extent and understand sedimentary processes and landscape response to Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles. We document three major Middle to Late Pleistocene stratigraphic packages over a 401-km² area (Norfolk Vanguard/Boreas Offshore Wind Farm), offshore East Anglia, UK, through the integration of 2D seismic, borehole and cone penetration test data. The lowermost unit is predominantly fluviatile [Yarmouth Roads Formation, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19–13], including three northward-draining valleys. The middle unit (Swarte Bank Formation) records the southernmost extent of tunnel valley-fills in this area of the North Sea, providing evidence for subglacial conditions most likely during the Anglian stage (MIS 12) glaciation. The Yarmouth Roads and Swarte Bank deposits are truncated and overlain by low-energy estuarine silts and clays (Brown Bank Formation; MIS 5d–4). Smaller scale features, including dune-scale bedforms, and abrupt changes in cone penetration test parameters, provide evidence for episodic changes in relative sea level within MIS 5. The landscape evolution recorded in deposits of ~MIS 19–5 are strongly related to glacial–interglacial cycles, although a distinctive aspect of this low-relief ice-marginal setting are opposing sediment transport directions under contrasting sedimentary process regimes.     

Long-term river discharge and multidecadal climate variability inferred from varved sediments, southwest Alaska

Sedimentological analyses of 289 years (AD 1718-2006) of varved sediment from Shadow Bay, southwest Alaska, were used to investigate hydroclimate variability during and prior to the instrumental period. Varve thicknesses relate most strongly to total annual discharge (r² = 0.75, n = 43, p < 0.0001). Maximum annual grain size depends most strongly on maximum spring daily discharge (r² = 0.63, n = 43, p < 0.0001) and maximum annual daily discharge (r² = 0.61, n = 43, p < 0.0001), while varve thickness is poorly correlated with maximum annual grain size (r² = 0.004, n = 287, p = 0.33). Relations between varve thickness and annual climate variables (temperature, precipitation, North Pacific (NP) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices) are insignificant. On multidecadal timescales, however, regime shifts in varve thickness and total annual discharge coincide with shifts in NP and PDO indices. Periods with increased varve thickness and total annual discharge were associated with warm PDO phases and a strengthened Aleutian Low. The varve-inferred record of PDO suggests that any periodicity in the PDO varied over time, and that the early 19th century marked a transition to a more frequent or detectable shifts.     

Downvalley fining of hillslope sediment in an alpine catchment: implications for downstream fining of sediment flux in mountain rivers

The size distributions of sediment delivered from hillslopes to rivers profoundly influence river morphodynamics, including river incision into bedrock and the quality of aquatic habitat. Yet little is known about the factors that influence size distributions of sediment produced by weathering on hillslopes. We present results of a field study of hillslope sediment size distributions at Inyo Creek, a steep catchment in granitic bedrock of the Sierra Nevada, USA. Particles sampled near the base of hillslopes, adjacent to the trunk stream, show a pronounced decrease in sediment size with decreasing sample elevation across all but the coarsest size classes. Measured size distributions become increasingly bimodal with decreasing elevation, exhibiting a coarse, bouldery mode that does not change with elevation and a more abundant finer mode that shifts from cobbles at the highest elevations to gravel at mid elevations and finally to sand at low elevations. We interpret these altitudinal variations in hillslope sediment size to reflect changes in physical, chemical, and biological weathering that can be explained by the catchment's strong altitudinal gradients in topography, climate, and vegetation cover. Because elevation and travel distance to the outlet are closely coupled, the altitudinal trends in sediment size produce a systematic decrease in sediment size along hillslopes parallel to the trunk stream. We refer to this phenomenon as ‘downvalley fining.’ Forward modeling shows that downvalley fining of hillslope sediment is necessary for downstream fining of the long-term average flux of coarse sediment in mountain landscapes where hillslopes and channels are coupled and long-term net sediment deposition is negligible. The model also shows that abrasion plays a secondary role in downstream fining of coarse sediment flux but plays a dominant role in partitioning between the bedload and suspended load. Patterns observed at Inyo Creek may be widespread in mountain ranges around the world. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Meadow fragmentation and reproductive output of the SE Asian seagrass Enhalus acoroides

Flower and fruit production of the abundant, tall, long-lived, dioecious, surface-pollinating seagrass species Enhalus acoroides (L.) Royle were estimated at seven sites in the reef flats off Bolinao (NW Luzon, The Philippines) featuring different fragmentation of the seagrass meadows. Fragmentation of the seagrass meadow was quantified as cover of E. acoroides and all seagrass species present in 20×20 m plots. E. acoroides and overall seagrass cover were correlated positively. The proportion of female flowers of E. acoroides that developed a fruit increased sharply as overall seagrass cover was around 50%. Apparent sex ratio bore no relationship with overall seagrass cover. This threshold-type of relationship suggests that fragmentation of seagrass meadows can have a major effect on the reproductive output of this species. A possible mechanism underlying these results would be a non-linear increase of the efficiency of trapping the surface-dispersed pollen with increasing seagrass canopy density. This provides the first evidence based on real data that fragmentation can affect the population dynamics of seagrass species.     

Morphological variation of Stephanodiscus niagarae Ehrenb. (Bacillariophyta) in a Lake Ontario sediment core

Stephanodiscus niagarae populations in a core from Lake Ontario show systematic variation in radial puncta number and mean valve diameter. Puncta number is stable in specimens from samples deposited between 1720 and 1844. Puncta number gradually increases in samples deposited between 1860 and 1947, then increases rapidly to high numbers in samples deposited after 1964. Mean valve diameter is relatively high in specimens from samples deposited between 1720 and 1959. Diameter of specimens deposited during this period fluctuates around a mean of 63.2 m. Mean diameter of specimens deposited from 1959 to 1980 is only 42.5 m. We conclude that the trend in puncta number reflects the time course of eutrophication in Lake Ontario. We interpret the precipitous decline in mean diameter as an indication that conditions in the lake after the late 1950's did not permit sexual reproduction in this species.