Tungsten skarn mineralizations in a regional metamorphic terrain in northern Norway: a possible metamorphic ore deposit

Scheelite- and molybdenite-bearing scapolite skarn and plagioclase skarn occur as stratabound mineralizations in a terrain which has suffered regional metamorphism. Scapolite skarn formed as replacement skarns in plagioclase-bearing hornblendic gneiss whereas plagioclase skarn precipitated in fractures as vein skarn mineralizations. The genesis of these skarn deposits are closely connected to an episode of boudinage on the limbs of a large-scale dome-shaped fold. Fluid inclusion studies revealed that the ore-forming fluids were composed of CO₂ with 2 to 17 mole% CH₄, which formed due to decarbonation reactions during peak metamorphism at the end of the Caledonian orogenesis. Thermodynamic considerations indicate that scapolite and plagioclase formed above 550 °C and 2 Kbar pressure and were followed by precipitation of scheelite between 400 and 570 °C.     

High‐Arctic climate conditions for the last 7000 years inferred from multi‐proxy analysis of the Bliss Lake record,North Greenland

The Arctic is more vulnerable to climate change than are mid latitudes. Therefore, palaeolimnological studies from the High Arctic are important in providing insights into the dynamics of the climate system. Here we present a multi‐proxy study from one of the world's northernmost lakes: Bliss Lake, Peary Land, Greenland. The early Holocene (10 850–10 480 cal. a BP) is characterized by increased erosion and gradually more marine conditions. Full marine conditions developed from 10 480 cal. a BP until the lake was isolated at 7220 cal. a BP. From its marine isolation at 7220 cal. a BP Bliss Lake becomes a lacustrine environment. Evidence from geochemical proxies (δ¹³C and total organic carbon) suggests that warmer conditions prevailed between 7220 and 6500 cal. a BP, corresponding to the Holocene thermal maximum, and from 3300 until 910 cal. a BP. From 850 to 500 cal. a BP colder climate conditions persisted. The transition from warmer to colder climate conditions taking place around 850 cal. a BP may be associated with the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Determination of the Neutral Drag Coefficient in the Convective Boundary Layer

Based on the idea that free convection can be considered as a particular case of forced convection, where the gusts driven by the large-scale eddies are scaled with the Deardorff convective velocity scale, a new formulation for the neutral drag coefficient, C_Dn, in the convective boundary layer (CBL) is derived. It is shown that (i) a concept of C_Dn can still be used under strongly unstable conditions including a pure free-convection regime even when no logarithmic portion in the velocity profile exists; (ii) gustiness corrections must be applied for rational calculations of C_Dn; and (iii) the stratification function used in the derivation of C_Dn should satisfy the theoretical free-convection limit. The new formulation is compared with the traditional relationship for C_Dn, and data collected over the sea (during the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) and the San Clemente Ocean Probing Experiment (SCOPE)) and over land (during the BOREX-95 experiment) are used to illustrate the difference between the new and traditional formulations. Compared to the new approach, the traditional formulation strongly overestimates C_Dn and z_o in the CBL for mean wind speed less than about 2 m s^-1. The new approach also clarifies several contradictory results from earlier works. Some aspects related to an alternate definition of the neutral drag coefficient and the wind speed and the stress averaging procedure are considered.     

Estimating impacts of warming temperatures on California's electricity system

Despite a clear need, little research has been carried out at the regional-level to quantify potential climate-related impacts to electricity production and delivery systems. This paper introduces a bottom-up study of climate change impacts on California's energy infrastructure, including high temperature effects on power plant capacity, transmission lines, substation capacity, and peak electricity demand. End-of-century impacts were projected using the A2 and B1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenarios. The study quantifies the effect of high ambient temperatures on electricity generation, the capacity of substations and transmission lines, and the demand for peak power for a set of climate scenarios. Based on these scenarios, atmospheric warming and associated peak demand increases would necessitate up to 38% of additional peak generation capacity and up to 31% additional transmission capacity, assuming current infrastructure. These findings, although based on a limited number of scenarios, suggest that additional funding could be put to good use by supporting R&D into next generation cooling equipment technologies, diversifying the power generation mix without compromising the system's operational flexibility, and designing effective demand side management programs.     

Source attribution of urban smog episodes caused by coal combustion

Stable weather conditions together with extensive use of coal combustion often lead to severe smog episodes in certain urban environments, especially in Eastern Europe. In order to identify the specific sources that cause the smog episodes in such environments, and to better understand the mixing state and atmospheric processing of aerosols, both single particle and bulk chemical characterization analysis of aerosols were performed in Krakow, Poland, during winter 2005.Real-time measurements of the bulk PM10 aerosol during a severe smog episode (PM10 mass > 400 µg m^− 3) showed a stable concentration of black carbon in the aerosol, and an increase in the sulphate and chlorine mass contributions towards the end of the episode. Chemical characterization of single particles further helped to identify residential coal burning as the main source that caused this severe smog episode, consisting of single particles with major signals for carbon with simultaneous absence of sulphate, chlorine and calcium. Particles from industrial coal combustion gained importance towards the end of that episode, after residential coal combustion was switched off, indicated by an increase of the percentage of sulphate and chlorine containing particles. Traffic was not a significant source during the severe smog episode. During a lighter smog episode, residential and industrial coal combustion was still predominant, with an increased contribution of traffic and processed/aged aerosols. On a clean day, particle classes containing nitrate were the most abundant. In addition, the aerosol was more internally mixed showing that there were more sources contributing to the total aerosol population.     

Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies

Commercial alpine medicinal plants are collected from the wild by local rural households throughout the Himalaya and sold in order to increase household incomes. Recent studies indicate that this annual trade amounts to thousands of tonnes of roots, rhizomes, tubers, leaves, etc., worth millions of US dollars. The main market is in India. Based on a national survey, including the most commonly traded species, and a village study this paper investigates the importance of the alpine medicinal plant trade at national and local levels in Nepal. The national survey included standardized open-ended interviews with 232 harvesters, 64 local traders, 66 central wholesalers, 47 regional wholesalers, and 16 production companies. The village survey is based on the daily records of household activities in 15 households in a one-year period. The annual Nepalese alpine and sub-alpine medicinal plant trade is conservatively estimated to vary from 480 to 2500 t with a total harvester value of US$0.8–3.3 million; the average harvester value is estimated at US$66.0 ± 99.0. The trade in 1997/98 amounted to 1600 t with a harvester value of US$2.3 million and an export value equivalent to 2.5% of total export from Nepal. Medicinal plant harvesting was found to constitute an integrated part of local livelihood strategies, contributing from 3 to 44% (average of 12%) of the annual household income. Importance at household level depended on land and animal holdings, and the availability of adult male labour. The validity and reliability of methods and analyses is evaluated, and issues of conservation and management of alpine medicinal plant species under the community forestry scheme are discussed.     

Nitrogen and sulfur species in Antarctic aerosols at Mawson,Palmer Station,and Marsh (King George Island)

High volume bulk aerosol samples were collected continuously at three Antarctic sites: Mawson (67.60° S, 62.50° E) from 20 February 1987 to 6 January 1992; Palmer Station (64.77° S, 64.06° W) from 3 April 1990 to 15 June 1991; and Marsh (62.18° S, 58.30° W) from 28 March 1990, to 1 May 1991. All samples were analyzed for Na⁺, SO ₄ ^2– , NO ₃ ^– , methanesulfonate (MSA), NH ₄ ⁺ ,²¹⁰Pb, and⁷Be. At Mawson for which we have a multiple year data set, the annual mean concentration of each species sometimes vary significantly from one year to the next: Na⁺, 68–151 ng m^–3; NO ₃ ^– , 25–30 ng m^–3; nss SO ₄ ^2– , 81–97 ng m^–3; MSA, 19–28 ng m^–3; NH ₄ ⁺ , 16–21 ng m^–3;²¹⁰Pb, 0.75–0.86 fCi m^–3. Results from multiple variable regression of non-sea-salt (nss) SO ₄ ^2– with MSA and NO ₃ ^– as the independent variables indicates that, at Mawson, the nss SO ₄ ^2– /MSA ratio resulting from the oxidation of dimethylsulfide (DMS) is 2.80±0.13, about 13% lower than our earlier estimate (3.22) that was based on 2.5 years of data. A similar analysis indicates that the ratio at Palmer is about 40% lower, 1.71±0.10, and more comparable to previous results over the southern oceans. These results when combined with previously published data suggest that the differences in the ratio may reflect a more rapid loss of MSA relative to nss SO ₄ ^2– during transport over Antarctica from the oceanic source region. The mean²¹⁰Pb concentrations at Palmer and Marsh and the mean NO ₃ ^– concentration at Palmer are about a factor of two lower than those at Mawson. The²¹⁰Pb distributions are consistent with a²¹⁰Pb minimum in the marine boundary layer in the region of 40°–60° S. These features and the similar seasonalities of NO ₃ ^– and²¹⁰Pb at Mawson support the conclusion that the primary source regions for NO ₃ ^– are continental. In contrast, the mean concentrations of MSA, nss SO ₄ ^2– , and NH ₄ ⁺ at Palmer are all higher than those at Mawson: MSA by a factor of 2; nss SO ₄ ^2– by 10%; and NH ₄ ⁺ by more than 50%. However, the factor differences exhibit substantial seasonal variability; the largest differences generally occur during the austral summer when the concentrations of most of the species are highest. NH ₄ ⁺ /(nss SO ₄ ^2– +MSA) equivalent ratios indicate that NH₃ neutralizes about 60% of the sulfur acids during December at both Mawson and Palmer, but only about 30% at Mawson during February and March.     

Governing resilience building in Thailand's tourism-dependent coastal communities: Conceptualising stakeholder agency in social-ecological systems

In current scientific efforts to harness complementarity between resilience and vulnerability theory, one response is an ‘epistemological shift’ towards an evolutionary, learning based conception of the ‘systems-actor’ relation in social-ecological systems. In this paper, we contribute to this movement regarding the conception of stakeholder agency within social-ecological systems. We examine primary evidence from the governance of post-disaster recovery and disaster risk reduction efforts in Thailand's coastal tourism-dependent communities following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Through an emerging storyline from stakeholders, we construct a new framework for conceptualising stakeholder agency in social-ecological systems, which positions the notion of resilience within a conception of governance as a negotiated normative process. We conclude that if resilience theory is proposed as the preferred approach by which disaster risk reduction is framed and implemented, it needs to acknowledge much more explicitly the role of stakeholder agency and the processes through which legitimate visions of resilience are generated.     

Single frequency processing of Ørsted GPS radio occultation measurements

The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation measurements obtained using the TurboRogue GPS receiver on the Danish satellite Ørsted have been processed using the single frequency method. Atmospheric profiles of refractivity and temperature are derived and validated against numerical weather prediction data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). Results from the Ørsted GPS measurement campaign in February 2000 indicate that the single frequency method can provide retrievals with accuracy comparable to that of using two frequencies. From comparisons between measured dry temperature profiles and corresponding dry temperature profiles derived from ECMWF analysis fields, we find a mean difference of less than 0.5 K and a standard deviation of 2–4 K between 500 and 30 hPa in height. Above 30 hPa the impact of the ionosphere becomes more dominant and more difficult to eliminate using the single frequency method, and the results show degraded accuracy when compared to previous analysis results of occultation data from other missions using the dual frequency method. At latitudes less than 40° (denoted low latitudes), the standard deviation is generally smaller than at latitudes higher than 40° (denoted high latitudes). A small temperature bias is observed centered at 200 hPa for low latitudes and at 300 hPa for high latitudes. This indicates that the ECMWF analyses do not adequately resolve the tropopause temperature minimum. In the lowest part of the troposphere an observed warm bias is thought to be due to erroneous tracking of the GPS signal in cases of atmospheric multipath propagation.     

Katla volcano,Iceland: magma composition,dynamics and eruption frequency as recorded by Holocene tephra layers

The Katla volcano in Iceland is characterized by subglacial explosive eruptions of Fe–Ti basalt composition. Although the nature and products of historical Katla eruptions (i.e. over the last 1,100 years) at the volcano is well-documented, the long term evolution of Katla’s volcanic activity and magma production is less well known. A study of the tephra stratigraphy from a composite soil section to the east of the volcano has been undertaken with emphasis on the prehistoric deposits. The section records ∼8,400 years of explosive activity at Katla volcano and includes 208 tephra layers of which 126 samples were analysed for major-element composition. The age of individual Katla layers was calculated using soil accumulation rates (SAR) derived from soil thicknesses between ¹⁴C-dated marker tephra layers. Temporal variations in major-element compositions of the basaltic tephra divide the ∼8,400-year record into eight intervals with durations of 510–1,750 years. Concentrations of incompatible elements (e.g. K₂O) in individual intervals reveal changes that are characterized as constant, irregular, and increasing. These variations in incompatible elements correlate with changes in other major-element concentrations and suggest that the magmatic evolution of the basalts beneath Katla is primarily controlled by fractional crystallisation. In addition, binary mixing between a basaltic component and a silicic melt is inferred for several tephra layers of intermediate composition. Small to moderate eruptions of silicic tephra (SILK) occur throughout the Holocene. However, these events do not appear to exhibit strong influence on the magmatic evolution of the basalts. Nevertheless, peaks in the frequency of basaltic and silicic eruptions are contemporaneous. The observed pattern of change in tephra composition within individual time intervals suggests different conditions in the plumbing system beneath Katla volcano. At present, the cause of change of the magma plumbing system is not clear, but might be related to eruptions of eight known Holocene lavas around the volcano. Two cycles are observed throughout the Holocene, each involving three stages of plumbing system evolution. A cycle begins with an interval characterized by simple plumbing system, as indicated by uniform major element compositions. This is followed by an interval of sill and dyke system, as depicted by irregular temporal variations in major element compositions. This stage eventually leads to a formation of a magma chamber, represented by an interval with increasing concentrations of incompatible elements with time. The eruption frequency within the cycle increases from the stage of a simple plumbing system to the sill and dyke complex stage and then drops again during magma chamber stage. In accordance with this model, Katla volcano is at present in the first interval (i.e. simple plumbing system) of the third cycle because the activity in historical time has been characterized by uniform magma composition and relatively low eruption frequency.