Geochemistry and extractable Fe and Al in cold‐temperature soils of northwestern Siberia

The concentrations of major, minor and trace elements in three Cryosols from northwestern Siberia were analysed to determine profiles of geochemical uniformity, element mobility and the release and build‐up of extractable Fe and Al. The scope of this study involves weathering processes over all or part of the Lateglacial to the Holocene Epoch (<10 ka) in a cold environment. Iron and Al extracts are investigated to elicit information regarding profile age and palaeoclimate. ‘Free’ iron (Fe_d) relative to total Fe increases in the Ah + Bw horizons compared with the lower horizons, where oxidation is weaker. Low total Fe reflects reworked felsic deltaic and shallow marine deposits from the Permian to the early Tertiary, thereafter emplaced by episodic flooding of glacial meltwater from the Arctic Urals and/or the Kara Sea Ice Sheet. Organically complexed Al (Al_p), uniformly low in all soils, nevertheless shows trends indicating some downward movement, a rather unique occurrence in Arctic tundra soils. As indicated by the slow increase of oxihydrites, it may not be realistic to estimate the age of a profile by its physical characteristics. However, it appears possible to determine broad age ranges from the isotopic composition of water in soils. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quaternary of Norden

The Nordic countries have experienced multiple glaciations and intervening interglacials during the last ca. 2.5-3 million years. Although evidence from Greenland and Iceland shows that ice sheets started to expand some time before 3 Ma, little is known about the glaciations and intervening interglacials older than the last Glacial Maximum due to repeated phases of glacial erosion and reworking. The extensive Saalian glaciation （c. 140 ka BP） contributed to high sea levels in Greenland and in the Baltic area during the early part of the last interglacial （Eemian）. Temperatures were about 5 ℃ higher during the Eemian than they are today and the Greenland ice sheet was reduced to about half of its present size, causing globally higher sea levels than we have today. Ice extent in Fennoscandia was restricted during early Weichselian stadials, but middle Weichselian ice advances in Scandinavia reached as far as Denmark. During the Last Glacial Maximum, large ice sheets were present in all Nordic countries and coalesced with neighboring ice sheets. Deglaciation commenced around 17-15 ka BP in most areas and was promoted by rapidly rising global sea level and glacial isostasy. The Younger Dryas cold event（c. 12.6-11.5 ka BP） is seen as a short-term re-advance, still-stand or fluctuation of land-based ice sheet margins. Around 7-9 ka BP ice sheets had disappeared or had attained their present size. While uplift is still going on in some regions, others are subject to submergence. The different stages of development of the Baltic Sea are an example of how the intricare interplay between glacial eustasy and isostasy influences sedimentation, basin size and drainage patterns.     

Modeling Fate, Transport, and Biological Uptake of Selenium in North San Francisco Bay

Selenium behavior in North San Francisco Bay, the largest estuary on the US Pacific coast, is simulated using a numerical model. This work builds upon a previously published application for simulating selenium in the bay and considers point and non-point sources, transport and mixing of selenium, transformations between different species of selenium, and biological uptake by phytoplankton, bivalves, and higher organisms. An evaluation of the calibrated model suggests that it is able to represent salinity, suspended material, and chlorophyll a under different flow conditions beyond the calibration period, through comparison against long-term data, and the distribution of different species of dissolved and particulate selenium. Model-calculated selenium concentrations in bivalves compared well to a long-term dataset, capturing the annual and seasonal variations over a 15-year period. In particular, the observed lower bivalve concentrations in the wet flow periods, corresponding to lower average particulate selenium concentrations in the bay, are well represented by the model, demonstrating the role of loading and hydrology in affecting clam concentrations. Simulated selenium concentrations in higher organisms including white sturgeon and greater scaup also compared well to the observed data in the bay. Finally, a simulation of changing riverine inflows into the bay that might occur as a consequence of proposed hydrologic modifications indicated significant increases in dissolved and particulate selenium concentrations in the bay. The modeling framework allows an examination of the relationship between selenium loads, variations in inflow, in-bay concentrations, and biota concentrations to support management for limiting wildlife impacts.     

Perceptions of environmental change in Moorea,French Polynesia: the importance of temporal,spatial, and scalar contexts

Pacific Islands are considered among the most vulnerable geographies and societies to the effects of climate change and variability (CCV). This study addresses the mismatch between global climate change narratives and local perceptions of environmental change in Moorea, French Polynesia. This study builds on CCV risk perception and adaptation research by analyzing how temporal and historical socio-economic, cultural, political, and ecological contexts shape local perceptions of environmental change among a sample of environmental stakeholders in Moorea. The data were collected prior to the widespread global narrative and social amplification of climate change risk and its particular impact on islands. As such, they offer an important portrait of environmental perceptions in French Polynesia prior to the influence of a circumscribed climate change narrative, which has since come to shape government and NGO responses to environmental change in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The data presented in this paper illustrate that perceptions of drivers and effects of environmental change and risk in Moorea are embedded in larger social processes of political economy and ecology, particularly related to contemporary environmental politics, contextualized within the histories of colonialism and tourism-led economic development. Integrating the complexity of local environmental risk perceptions into CCV policy will help to avoid maladaptation, social movements against CCV planning, and may help maximize government and donor investments.     

Fine-Scale Detection of Estuarine Water Quality with Managed Freshwater Releases

Freshwater pulses to subtropical estuaries often occur on time scales less than 1 week. In particular, introduction of low-level pulses are potentially important during the dry season (November–April) when freshwater is scarce. Determining potential ecological benefits of pulses requires an innovative method of data acquisition at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales. The South Florida Water Management District conducted a pilot study to assess changes in water column attributes with pulse releases to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary (CRE) from January to April 2012. An average inflow of 450 cfs was targeted for a series of freshwater pulses. This study utilized an onboard, flow-through system to record surface water temperature, salinity (S), pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and in situ chlorophyll a (in situ CHL) at 5 s intervals along the 42-km length of the estuary. On each of seven research cruises, the vessel stopped at multiple stations to conduct vertical water column profiles. Salinity increased throughout the CRE as inflow decreased during the study period. Simple correlation and partial least squares regression were used to determine that the downstream locations of the S?=?10 isohaline and the maximum CHL concentration (in situ CHL_max) were positively related to inflow. While the in situ CHL_max was located 12–20 km downstream on five of the cruises, it was only a few kilometer from the estuary head on the first (1/12) and last (4/11) dates. It is possible that two circumstances related to freshwater inflow accounted for this pattern. First, water column stratification before January could have stimulated remineralization and primary production. Second, inflow ceased as water temperature increased to 26.0 °C by April to promote algal growth. Further study of the relationships among inflow, water level, flushing time, and CHL is warranted. Future efforts will examine the range of wet season discharge by incorporating a sensor for colored dissolved organic matter to fully connect inflow, salinity, submarine light, and phytoplankton attributes in the CRE.     

A 108.83-m ice-core record of atmospheric dust deposition at Mt. Qomolangma (Everest), Central Himalaya

The central Himalaya can be regarded as an ideal site for developing a long-term ice core dust record to reflect the environmental signals from regional to semi-hemispheric scales. Here we present a dust record from segments of a 108.83-m ice core recovered from the East Rongbuk (ER) Glacier (27°59′N, 86°55′E; 6518 m a.s.l.) on the northeast slope of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) in the central Himalaya, covering the period AD 600-1960. Due to rapidly layer thinning and coarse sampling, we primarily discuss the changes in the dust record since AD 1500 in this paper. Results show a significant positive relationship between the dust concentration and reconstructed air temperatures during this period, suggesting a likely cold-humid and warm-dry climatic pattern in the dust source regions, namely Central Asia. This is associated with the variability in the strength of the westerlies and its corresponding precipitation.     

Tracing the interaction of acid mine drainage with coal utilization byproducts in a grouted mine: Strontium isotope study of the inactive Omega Coal Mine,West Virginia (USA)

In order to ameliorate acidic discharge, the inactive Omega Coal Mine, West Virginia was partially filled by injection of a grout consisting of 98% coal utilization byproducts (CUB), including fluidized bed combustion ash and fly ash, and 2% Portland cement. In this study, discharge chemistry and Sr isotope ratios were determined to identify and quantify the extent of interaction between mine waters and the CUB–cement grout. Eight sampling sites were monitored around the downdip perimeter of the mine. The major and trace element chemistry of the discharges was generally not sufficient to distinguish between discharges that interacted with grout and those that did not. Elements that showed the most separation include K and As, which were elevated in some waters that interacted with CUB–cement grout. In contrast, the Sr isotope ratios clearly distinguished discharges from grouted and non-grouted areas. Discharges that bypassed the grouted portions had ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios ranging from 0.71510 to 0.71594, while two discharges that interacted with grout had ratios in the range of 0.71401–0.71456. The Treatment Inlet, which includes both grouted and ungrouted discharges, yielded intermediate isotopic ratios. Leaching experiments on CUB–cement grout, coal and surrounding rocks are consistent with the isotopic trends observed in the discharges. Based on these results, waters that interacted with grout received 30–40% of their Sr from the CUB–cement grout material. These results suggest that the grout material is chemically eroding at a rate of approximately 0.04% per year. This novel application of the Sr isotope system illustrates its ability to sensitively track and quantify fluid interaction with coal and CUB-based grout.