Radiocarbon dating of subfossil Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the southern Swedish Scandes

Wood samples from above the present-day pine limit were collected from within a limited area in central Sweden. New dates from an intensively investigated part of that area all fall within the period 8550 ± 110 to 4270 ± 90 ¹⁴C years B. P. No evidence at present exists to suggest that any drastic change, or fluctuations, in the pine tree-limit, took place within that period. Some dates support the view that the present-day altitude of the pine tree-limit was established during the historic period and perhaps is still declining.     

Carbon fluxes in the Arctic Ocean—potential impact by climate change

Because of its ice cover the central Arctic Ocean has not been considered as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. With recent observations of decreasing ice cover there is the potential for an increased air–sea carbon dioxide flux. Though the sensitivity of the carbon fluxes to a climate change can at present only be speculated, we know the responses to some of the forcing, including: melting of the sea ice cover make the air–sea flux operate towards equilibrium; increased temperature of the surface water will decrease the solubility and thus the air-sea flux; and an open ocean might increase primary production through better utilization of the nutrients.
The potential change in air-sea CO₂ fluxes caused by different forcing as a result of climate change is quantified based on measured data. If the sea ice melts, the top 100 m water column of the Eurasian Basin has, with the present conditions, a potential to take up close to 50 g C m⁻². The freshening of the surface water caused by a sea ice melt will increase the CO₂ solubility corresponding to an uptake of ∼ g C m⁻², while a temperature increase of 1°C in the same waters will out-gas 8 g C m⁻², and a utilization of all phosphate will increase primary production by 75 g C m⁻².     

Geochemistry of Caledonian metabasalts from some Norwegian ophiolite fragments

Major and trace element analyses of metabasalts from five of the Lower Palaeozoic Caledonian ophiolite fragments along a strike distance of some 800 km of the west Norwegian coast are presented. Characteristically the REE patterns show depletion of both LREE and HREE relative to intermediate REE, giving an upward convex shape, but nearly flat, LREE depleted or enriched patterns occur. The REE patterns of the metabasalts from three of these sequences, i.e. the Lykling, Solund and Stavfjorden ophiolite fragments show little within-sequence but large between-sequence variation. The REE patterns of the metabasalts from the Gullfjellet (Major Bergen Arc) and Skålvær ophiolite fragments, however, show significant within-sequence variations, indicative of local source heterogeneties.When incompatible trace elements such as Ta, Nb, Ce, P, Zr, Hf, Sm, Ti, Y and Yb are normalized against average MORB, the metabasalts can be subdivided into two major groups. One group, geographically comprising the ophiolite fragments north of Bergen (i.e. Solund, Stavfjorden og Skålvær) show trace element ratios similar to average MORB, whereas the other group, defined by the Gullfjellet and Lykling ophiolite fragments (from Bergen southwards) differ significantly with respect to Yb/Y, Ti/Y and Nb/Ce ratios. These features are discussed in terms of trace element patterns in basalts from oceanic islands, island arcs and back-arc basins, and it is tentatively concluded that they reflect partial melts from a mid-oceanic mantle, or probably a back-arc basin mantle, which differed chemically from that of the northwestern Norwegian ophiolite fragments.     

A Younger Dryas Ash Bed in western Norway,and its possible correlations with tephra in cores from the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic

A bed of volcanic ash up to 23 cm thick is found in lacustrine and marine sediments in western Norway. It is formally mamed the Vedde Ash Bed, and its age is approximately 10,600 yr B.P., i.e., mid-Younger Dryas. The bed consits of pure glass having a bimodal basaltic and rhyolitic somposition. The geochemistry of the glass shards suggests an Icelandic source. By means of stratigraphic position and geochemistry, the ash is correlated with ash zones found in cores from the continental shelf, the Norwegian Sea, and the North Atlatic.     

Formation of sapphirine during retrogression of a basic high-pressure granulite,Roan, Western Gneiss Region,Norway

Sapphirine-bearing rocks occur in the northern part of the Western Gneiss Region, Vestranden, central Norway. The sapphirine-bearing rocks are characterized by a high MgO/(MgO + FeO) ratio, high Al₂O₃, MgO and CaO, and low SiO₂ contents. These rocks form layers within larger complexes which originated as layered magmatic rocks. High PT-metamorphism produced a cpx+ky+gt assemblage. The P and T estimates are P = 14.5±2 kbar and T= 870±50° C. During retrogression, the high-P granulite assemblage broke down to form an intermediate-P granulite mineralogy comprising orthopyroxene, spinel, anorthite, andesine, sapphirine and corundum. Textural relationships suggest that sapphirine formed by the reaction: spinel+kyanite sapphirine+corundum, and probably also by a reaction between corundum, spinel and orthopyroxene. All reactions took place within the stability field of kyanite. Textural and micro-chemical relationships indicate equilibrium, conditions during the peak metamorphism, whereas pronounced disequilibrium characterizes the mineral associations formed during the early retrogression at low P _H2O. The investigation shows that parts of the northern segment of the Western Gneiss Region underwent a metamorphic evolution similar to the Caledonian one recorded from eclogite/granulite terrains further south.     

Regional coda Q in Costa Rica, Central America

Regional seismic apparent attenuation was estimated for Costa Rica, Central America, by using a time domain single scattering model of the shear wave coda decay of local earthquakes. The sensitivity of coda Q (Q_c) measurements with respect to geological differences in the crust is demonstrated in eight sub-regions with a large variety of tectonic and geologic properties. The Q_c estimations were performed for 96 selected local earthquakes recorded at 13 sites during a period of three months. In order to model the scattering as a weak process and to avoid short distance nonlinear effects, we made use of the S-wave coda data only from events within a hypocentral distance of 12 to 106 km with a lapse time between 9 and 53 s. Seismograms were also divided into groups with three different focal depths d, namely d<21 km, 21 kmc values are frequency dependent in the range 1–9 Hz, and are approximated by a least-squares fit to the power law Q_c(f) = Q₀(f/f₀)ⁿ. The estimated parameters of the power-law dependence of Q_c for the whole region, including all depths and possible wave paths, are Q₀ = 91 (± 8.4) and n = 0.72 (±0.071). Differences in the parameter of Q_c for different depths intervals are small, ranging from Q₀ = 90 (±0.7) and n = 0.70 (±0.006) for the uppermost group, with focal depths less than 21 km, to Q₀ = 97 (±0.7) and n = 0.79 (±0.005) for the deepest group with focal depths larger than 43 km. The regional differences in Q_c for the eight sub-regions are significantly larger when compared with the differences between the three focal depth groups. An attempt is made to interpret the variation of Q_c in terms of spatial variations in the geologic and tectonic properties of the crust. Other authors have found that the frequency exponent n might be larger in active tectonic areas and smaller in more stable regions. In the northern region of the Pacific coast we obtain a value of n = 0.52 (±0.011), which might indicate a lower level of tectonic activity when compared with n = 0.85 (±0.015) and 0.83 (±0.031), respectively, for the central and southern sub-regions along the Pacific coast. The latter two sub-regions are located closer to the active area near the Cocos ridge. We obtain the frequency exponent n = 0.72 (±0.052) along a major shear zone in central Costa Rica characterized by high volcanic activity and large geologic complexity. Values of n along the Panamean border are 0.62 (±0.029) in the north and 0.86 (±0.009) and 0.83 (±0.031) in two regions adjacent to the subduction zone and the Cocos Ridge, respectively.     

A 25-year Survey of Geoecological Change in the Scandes Mountains of Sweden

The paper reviews various kinds of geoecological change in the tree-limit ecotone of the Scandes Mountains during the period 1970–95. The focus of the study is a part of a regional network of sites intended for long-term tree-limit monitoring, with special stress on effects of climatic variability. The elevational tree-limits of Betula pubescens sp. Sortuosa, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris, which rose in response to the climatic amelioration earlier this century, now show clear symptoms of increasing climatic stress and disturbance. This manifests as defoliation, growth recession and reproductive failure, locally leading to some initial elevational tree-limit retraction (unbalanced mortality). Defoliation was preceded by decades of weak summer cooling and an increasingly maritime climate, but recently it correlates significantly with low winter soil temperatures, causing death of needles, shoots and buds. In some habitats, Betula pubescens has suffered from mechanical stress and disturbance by increased snow accumulation. Tree-limit decline is paralleled by analogous responses of high-elevation boreal forests as well as the ground cover, encompassing elevational range-limit retraction of certain plant species, deterioration of alpine/subalpine dwarf-shrub heaths and terricolous lichen mats. These processes coincide with indications of enhanced periglacial activity, chiefly wind deflation of frost-heaved top-soils at exposed sites. Presumably, reindeer trampling and grazing play a certain role in the latter context, although this disturbance interacts with climate cooling and increased storminess. Short-term extreme events, particularly concerning winter climate (e.g. ground frost), represent previously underrated disturbance mechanisms in cold-stressed, high-altitude boreal forest. The results suggest mechanisms of tree-layer regression, which lag behind the most severe stresses and disturbances by decades and make cold-marginal trees increasingly sensitive to climatic extremes and, in addition, unable to respond progressively to later positive weather anomalies, due to major defoliation and hypothetical xylem cavitation. The recorded changes are logical in consequence of the irregular climatic cooling and a more maritime climate since the late 1930s. In a wider perspective, the results fit a current pattern of natural geoecological destabilization and rapid vegetation change in the North Atlantic region. In addition, the results are discussed in the perspective of global climate change and biogeographical records over the past few decades.     

Survival of crucian carp,Carassius carassius,exposed to a high low-molecular weight inorganic aluminium challenge

Crucian carp were exposed to three combinations of pH and inorganic aluminium concentrations for 25 days. Mortality, plasma chloride and haematocrit, and gill aluminium content were investigated. No mortality was observed in any of the three exposures. Crucian carp survived acidic Al-rich water (pH 5.17) with a high concentration of low-molecular weight inorganic Al species (242 µgl^–1) for 25 days. These fish had lowered plasma chloride levels and high amounts of aluminium on their gills compared to fish exposed to acidic Al-poor water (pH 5.16 and 12 µgl^–1 Al_i) and control water (pH 6.29 and 4 µgl^–1 Al_i). Haematocrit was the same in all three exposures. Because aluminium was not acutely toxic to the anoxia tolerant crucian carp, the present results give support to the hypothesis that Al polymerization with subsequent hypoxia is of high importance for the mechanism of acute Al toxicity to fish.