Mid-latitude Southern Indian Ocean response to Northern Hemisphere Heinrich events

The lack of temporal resolution and accurate chronology of Southern Ocean marine cores has hampered comparison of glacial millennial-scale oscillations between the Southern Ocean, Antarctic ice and other records from both hemispheres. In this study, glacial climate variability is investigated over the last 50 ka using a multi-proxy approach. A precise chrono-stratigraphy was developed on the high-sedimentation rate core MD94-103 (Indian Southern Ocean, 45°35′S 86°31′E, 3560 m water depth) by geomagnetic synchronization between the later core and NAPIS75, and ¹⁴C dates. High-resolution time-series of δ¹⁸O in planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) estimated from the alkenone U^K′₃₇ index and foraminifera assemblages have been generated. Temporal evolution of the two temperature proxy records is notably different during the last glacial period. While foraminifera data indicate a consistent cooling towards the last glacial maximum, anomalous warm glacial alkenone temperatures suggest a strong advection of warm “detrital” alkenones by surface waters of the Agulhas current. Superimposed to this general trend, during Heinrich events, foraminiferal SSTs point to warmer surface waters, while concurrent alkenone SSTs exhibit apparent coolings probably caused by enhanced local alkenone production. By analogy to modern observations, possible influence of ENSO-like conditions on the subantarctic Southern Ocean SSTs is discussed.     

Reconstructing the Palaeoclimate of Jæren, Southwestern Norway, for the Period 1821–1850, from Historical Documentary Records

Documentary data provide long time series and sometimes high-resolution, detailed data from historical times to the present and can give valuable information about palaeoclimate, and for the prediction of future climates. In this paper, documentary data containing qualitative information on climate, in the form of a diary written by the farmer I.G. Grude, and two newspapers, were used for the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate at Jæren, in the county of Rogaland, in southwestern Norway, during the period 1821–50. An index method to quantify the qualitative climate data was developed and used for a low-resolution reconstruction of winter, summer and annual temperatures. A high-resolution climate reconstruction of temperature and precipitation for the winter of 1837/38 is also presented, making use of a method that keeps the climate data in a qualitative form. The climate reconstructions are compared to an instrumental temperature series from Bergen, for the same period. The two data sets are in good agreement except for summer temperature (annual temperature: r = 0.75, winter temperature: r = 0.77, summer temperature: r = 0.44). Compared to average temperatures during 1961–90, the instrumental data from Bergen during the 1821–50 period show slightly different temperatures: annual average was 0.3°C lower, winter 0.4°C lower, and summer 0.1°C lower than at present, implying conditions consistent with the "Little Ice Age" climate.     

High resolution climatic information from short firn cores,western Dronning Maud Land,antarctica

Ten meter firn cores were collected during the Swedish Antarctic Expedition to Dronning Maud Land, in 1988/89. The oxygen isotope stratigraphy in the cores was used to obtain a proxy-temperature record and a surface accumulation record for the last 15–30 years. The ¹⁸O record from cores on the ice shelf and the escarpment area, below 2000 m a.s.l., show high variability and little year-to-year correspondence to each other or with the temperature record from nearby Halley. A stacked firn core record was produced to avoid local variability and minor dating errors; this record shows more similarities to the Halley temperature record. The ¹⁸O records from high altitude cores show a much better correspondence to the Halley temperature record over the last 30 years, implying that the source of precipitation is more stable compared to the coastal area. The welldeveloped ¹⁸O stratigraphy in the cores from coastal Dronning Maud Land makes it promising for future work using ice cores as paleoclimatic records.     

Feminism and the new multi-scaling in employment policy

In the last decades, employment policy design and implementation partly shifted from the national to local and regional scales in most European countries. In addition, the European Union appeared as an important new actor in this policy field in the late 1990s. We argue that the new geographical multi-scaling of employment policy can be used strategically by feminists to promote different aspects of gender equality simultaneously: Feminist claims related to gender equity, i.e., demands to secure equal participation of women and men in the labour market, should be advocated at the national scale. Claims related to the recognition of gender difference, i.e., demands related to typical female and male employment needs and their social recognition should be promoted at the local scale. The regional scale is the most appropriate one to advance gender plurality, i.e., non-traditional employment of women and men. In the empirical part of the paper we discuss how the ideal leverage of claims at different spatial scales and inter-linkage between scales could operate. We will show that the link to EU policy strengthens feminist claims in the highly gender-differentiated societies and political settings of Austria and Germany. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A comparison between subaerial and submarine eruptions at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: implications for the thermal viability of lateral feeder dikes

Eruption styles on the subaerial East Rift Zone (ERZ) of Kilauea volcano are reviewed and a classification scheme for the different types of eruption is proposed. The various eruption types are produced by differing thermal and driving pressure behaviour in the feeder dikes. Existing evidence is reviewed and new evidence presented of the types and volumes of eruptions on the Puna Ridge, which is the submarine extension of the ERZ. Eruptions on the Puna Ridge fall into the same five classes as, and are of comparable volume to, those on the subaerial ERZ. Evidence is presented which suggests that feeder dikes for Puna Ridge eruptions are more thermally viable than those feeding subaerial eruptions, and this difference causes long-lived, large-volume eruptions to be more common on the Puna Ridge than on the subaerial ERZ. This systematic variation in thermal viability may be due to increased dike width for Puna Ridge dikes or increased pressure gradients driving magma flow. Lateral dike emplacement is common to many basaltic systems including on other Hawaiian volcanoes, in Iceland and at mid-ocean ridges. The systematic trend inferred for the ERZ of Kilauea implies that in the other systems large-volume eruptions may also be more common at great distances than they are close to the magma centre.     

Sea‐surface conditions in northernmost Baffin Bay during the Holocene: palynological evidence

The analysis of cores collected in northernmost Baffin Bay, from within the area of the North Water Polynya, permits definition of a composite sedimentary sequence ca. 12 m thick spanning the last 10 000 ¹⁴C yr, with only a few discontinuities. Palynological analyses were performed in order to reconstruct changes in surface water conditions and biogenic production. Transfer functions, using dinocyst assemblages, were applied to estimate sea‐surface temperature (SST) and salinity, as well as the seasonal duration of sea ice cover. At the base of the record, prior to 9300 ¹⁴C yr BP, dinocysts and organic linings of benthic foraminifers are sparse, indicating harsh conditions and low productivity. After ca. 9300 ¹⁴C yr BP, the increased concentration of benthic foraminifers (up to 10³ linings cm^?3) and dinocyst fluxes (10²–10³ cysts cm^?2 yr^?1) reveals high biological productivity related to open‐water conditions. The early to middle Holocene, from ca. 9000 to ca. 3600 ¹⁴C yr BP, is marked by relatively high species diversity in dinocyst assemblages and the significant occurrence of autotrophic taxa such as Spiniferites elongatus, Pentapharsodinium dalei and Impagidinium pallidum. This assemblage suggests conditions at least as warm as at present. From ca. 6400 to ca. 3600 ¹⁴C yr BP, transfer functions indicate warmer conditions than at present, with SST in August fluctuating up to 5.5°C. After 3600 ¹⁴C yr BP, the dinocyst record suggests a trend of decreasing temperature toward modern values, marked by recurrent cooling events. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design method for local load on a geosynthetic reinforced soil structure

This paper presents a method for the design of geosynthetic reinforced soil structures, adapted for the case of a local surcharge load. The load has an important influence on the mechanical behaviour of the reinforcement. The basic calculation method is described and a design calculation method is proposed for the case of a locally loaded structure. This new approach is validated on the basis of experimental results obtained on several full-scale embankments, locally loaded to failure. These experimental results are compared to the results of calculation with partial safety factors from Eurocode 7.