Facies variability of holocene sediments from the yermak plateau (Based on the >0.063-mm-Fraction Data)

New additional indicators proposed to characterize facies zonality of Recent sediments of the Fram Strait include content and composition of biogenic components in the size fraction >0.063 mm, relationship between biogenic and terrigenous components, and sedimentation rate. Spitsbergen predominates among the sedimentary material sources in this region. The first scheme of sedimentation rates is compiled for Yermak Plateau sediments with an age younger than 7 ka     

Y/Ho Ratios in the Late Cenozoic Basalts from the Eastern Tuva, Russia: An ICP-MS Study with Enhanced Data Quality

A set of forty seven Late Cenozoic basaltic rocks from the Eastern Tuva (southern Siberia, Russia) have been studied by ICP-MS using In as an internal standard. Yttrium and Ho concentrations, determined along with other trace elements, varied systematically from one analytical run to another and covered the entire charge-and-radius-controlled field within the range 24 < Y/Ho < 34, so obscuring any geochemical interpretation. A correction procedure was therefore developed in which the Y/Ho ratios were recalculated using concentrations of these elements determined in international and in-house reference materials (BHVO-1, AGV-1, BIR-1 and U-94-5). Statistical analysis of the recalculated data set revealed two groups of samples not related by their genesis but rather by their respective analytical runs. Fourteen samples originally analysed in five different runs were then re-measured by the same instrument in peak-hopping mode using only specific mass peaks (m/z = 89, 115 and 165). All of these samples yielded Y/Ho ratios in a narrow range between 29 and 31, thus illustrating how analytical problems in the determination of Y and Ho by routine ICP-MS procedures can be overcome. Finally, a mean value of Y/Ho = 30.3 ± 1.1 (1s) was derived for the basaltic rocks of the Eastern Tuva. This is close to the value of 28.8 accepted for chondrites and for ocean island basalts. Despite the uniform Y/Ho ratio, the element concentrations in basaltic rocks from the Eastern Tuva show systematic enrichment in heavy rare earth elements and yttrium from the Miocene to the Quaternary.     

The possibilities of paleomagnetic and geohistorical analyses of “tiny wiggles” short-period marine magnetic anomalies

Marine magnetic anomalies of the tiny wiggles (TW) type can be used to solve geohistorical and paleomagnetic problems. The model fields corresponding to Paleocene–Eocene anomalies in the northwestern Indian Ocean, which were formed during the fast-spreading stage, were studied. For these fields, widely used interpretation methods were compared with a method proposed previously by the authors. The testing was performed with first the classical block model and then more complex models reflecting actual processes of oceanic accretion and magnetic field variations in the past. It was shown that the proposed method has advantages for this problem; it gives an error close to the minimum possible error and can adequately be used in interpretations. Spectral and statistical methods are used to estimate the magnetic anomaly resolving power and to study some factors that can exert a distorting influence. In addition, model examples have been used to indicate how the TW determination accuracy is affected by diurnal variations in the main magnetic field (MMF) and by ancient magnetization vector determination errors.     

Microbial processes of the carbon and sulfur cycles in the Kara Sea

The results of microbiological, biogeochemical, and isotope geochemical studies in the Kara Sea are described. The samples for these studies were obtained during the 54th voyage of the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in September 2007. The studied area covered the northern, central, and southwestern parts of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob. The quantitative characteristics of the total bacterial population and the activity of the microbial processes in the water column and bottom sediments were obtained. The total population of the bacterioplankton (BP) varied from 250000 cells/ml in the northern water area to 3000000 cells/ml in the Gulf of Ob. The BP population depended on the content of the water suspension. The net BP production was minimal in the central water area, amounting to 0.15–0.2 μg C/(l day), and maximal (0.5–0.75 μg C/(l day)) in the Gulf of Ob. The organic material at the majority of the stations in the Ob transect predominantly contained light carbon isotopes (−28.0 to −30.18‰) of terrigenous origin. The methane content in the surface water layer varied from 0.18 to 2.0 μl CH₄/l, and the methane oxidation rate changed in the range of 0.1–100 nl CH₄/(l day). The methane concentration in the upper sediment layer varied from 30 to 300 μl CH₄/dm³; the rate of the methanogenesis was 44 to 500 nl CH₄/(dm³ day) and that of the methane oxidation, 30 to 2000 nl CH₄/(dm³ day). The rate of the sulfate reduction varied from 4 to 184 μg S/(dm³ day).     

Changes in the climate and sea ice of the Northern Hemisphere in the 20th and 21st centuries from data of observations and modeling

The shrinking of the area occupied by sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere accelerated at the end of the 1990s, when the record minima of the summer area were successively noted, and its absolute minimum was observed in September 2007. Such a radical decrease is ahead of the projections of global models and provokes interest in the reliability of model calculations of the future of Arctic sea ice. The results of an analysis of the relation between the warming in the Arctic and the ice extent shrinkage from data of observations and modeling by an ensemble of global climate models are presented.     

Investigation of the influence of cyclonic disturbances on the dynamic processes and the evolution of impurities in the Sea of Azov in the presence of stationary currents

A three-dimensional nonlinear mathematical model is used to study the dynamic processes under the action of cyclonic disturbances in the field of stationary wind in the Sea of Azov and the specific features of transformation of the impurities. The results of numerical calculations enable us to conclude that the maximum velocities of currents generated by a cyclone depend on the direction of its motion. It is shown that the cyclones moving westward generate currents with higher maximum velocities than the cyclones of other directions. It is also demonstrated that the motion of atmospheric disturbances leads to a significant enlargement of the area of propagation of pollutants as compared with the case of action solely of stationary currents. The influence of the velocities of stationary currents on the maximum current velocities caused by the passage of a cyclone is also analyzed.     

On model validation for meso/submesoscale currents: Metrics and application to ROMS off Central California

ROMS with horizontal grid spacing of 3.5 km for the region off Central California was compared to RAFOS float observations and satellite altimetry on meso/submesoscales. The approach introduced and used two new metrics for model-data comparison, as well as suggested how to calculate these metrics for different spatio-temporal scales. The first metric consisted of the first two moments of exit time and was used to compare ROMS against RAFOS float observations at mid-depths (between 300 m and 350 m). Exit time is the time a float launched at a point takes to leave a domain for the first time. The second metric was spectral entropy and was used to estimate how well ROMS reproduced variability of the sea surface height (SSH) anomaly field extracted from an AVISO data set (1992–2007) for specified temporal and spatial scales. Calculations showed that ROMS reproduced the mid-depth mesoscale/submesoscale currents next to the coast in a very accurate manner (low-order exit time statistics of floats were reproduced by ROMS with an accuracy better than 95%); but ROMS overestimated the speed of westward drift of floats by as much as 20–30% at distances greater than 350 km from the coastline. ROMS predicted the variability of the mesoscale (100–400 km) SSH anomaly field for temporal scales of 1–12 months with a reasonable accuracy. A wavelet transform modulus maxima technique applied to the spectral entropy of SSH anomaly also demonstrated good agreement between ROMS and satellite altimetry for mesoscales characterized by singular exponents and multi-fractal spectra for 1–12 month time scales.     

Simulation of wind-induced oscillations of the Azov-Sea level

The prognostic fields of the surface winds and atmospheric pressure obtained according to the data of the Skiron prognostic system are used to study the surge phenomena in the Azov Sea by using a three-dimensional nonlinear model. The accumulated numerical results are compared with the data of direct measurements of the sea level at the coastal stations. The degree of sensitivity of the computed levels of surges to the value of the coefficient of surface friction is evaluated. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 53–65, November–December, 2008.