PCB contamination from sampling equipment and packaging

Work reported in this paper suggests that there are cases of contamination of soil and water samples by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) from paper and plastic packaging. Soil samples, which have been stored in paper bags for more than 20 years, share a similar congener distribution as the bags. Analyses showed a predominance of light congeners. PCB-analyses of water also indicate that water samples could be contaminated by plastic packaging. All analytical results of solid material packaging, as well as soil stored in the packaging, show a high relative amount of light weight PCB congeners. The paper bags that were analysed are made of strong paper and very popular among geochemists because of their watertight quality. These paper bags were manufactured more than 20 years ago. The plastic packaging that was analysed was produced in 1997 and 2008. The analyses of plastic and paper show that the raw material that has been used in the production at different times contains a wide concentration range of PCB. Re-sealable plastic bags, which contained the highest levels of PCB of the plastic material, are used by researchers world-wide as sampling bags for soils and sediments. This paper raises an important issue that packaging may potentially contaminate the samples that they hold.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of a Holocene beach ridge plain in Northern Jutland, Denmark

This study presents results from 20 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from one of the world's largest beach ridge plains, the Jerup beach ridge plain at the base of the Skagen Spit in the northernmost part of Jutland, Denmark. The OSL ages were obtained using quartz and a SAR protocol, and used to establish a chronology for the beach ridge plain and for the underlying coastal plain. The accuracy of the chronology is tested both by laboratory tests (recuperation, recycling ratio and dose recovery) and by comparison with independent age controls, e.g. previously reported radiocarbon dates, map sources, anecdotal evidence and settlement names. It is concluded that the OSL signals are internally consistent, and that the derived OSL ages are in good agreement with a large range of independent age controls. The ridge plain is shown to cover a time span from 1000 to 2700 years ago; this chronology is more detailed and precise than those previously available, and gives an average beach ridge formation rate of 15 yr/ridge and an average lateral migration rate of 2.0 m/yr. This study adds to the growing knowledge that OSL dating has a large potential for establishing detailed and precise chronologies in coastal marine sediments, including beach ridges.     

Long-term effects of reduced nutrient inputs to the North Sea

The OSPAR Commission has identified a set of Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) to assess eutrophication in the North Sea. In order to assess the long-term effects of different river nutrient reduction scenarios in terms of these EcoQOs, a 3-dimensional coupled physical–chemical–biological model, NORWECOM, has been used. The model results show that there is a decreasing response gradient from near-shore to offshore, where the largest effects are identified along the Dutch coast, and that the full potential of a reduction is seen after 2–3 years. The EcoQOs on winter nutrients and chlorophyll are achieved for most areas. Oxygen concentrations displace no or very low response to the modelled nutrient reductions. The study also shows that the ecological quality is controlled to a large extent by winds and ocean circulation.     

Regulation of eelgrass (Zostera marina) cover along depth gradients in Danish coastal waters

A large data set, collected under the national Danish monitoring program, was used to evaluate the importance of photon flux density (PFD), relative wave exposure (REI), littoral slope, and salinity in regulating eelgrass cover at different depth intervals in Danish coastal waters. Average eelgrass cover exhibited a bell-shaped pattern with depth, reflecting that different factors regulate eelgrass cover at shallow- and deep-water sites. The multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify regulating factors and determine their role in relation to eelgrass cover at different depth intervals. PFD, REI, and salinity were main factors affecting eelgrass cover while littoral slope had no significant effect. Eelgrass cover increased with increasing PFD at water depths of more than 2 m, while cover was in versely related to REI in shallow water. This pattern favored eelgrass cover at intermediate depths where levels of PFD and REI were moderate. Salinity had a minor, but significant, effect on eelgrass cover that is most likely related to the varying costs of osmoregulation with changing salinity. The analysis provided a useful conceptual framework for understanding the factors that regulate eelgrass abundance with depth. Although the regression model was statistically significant and included the factors generally considered most important in regulating eelgrass cover, its explanatory power was low, especially in shallow water. The largest discrepancies between predicted and observed values of cover appeared in cases where no eelgrass occurred despite sufficient light and moderate levels of exposure (almost 50% of all observations). These discrepancies suggest that population losses due to stochastic phenomena, such as extreme wind events, played an important regulating role that is not adequately described by average exposure levels. A more thorough knowledge of the importance of such loss processes and the time scales involved in recovery of seagrass populations after a severe disturbance are necessary if we are to understand the regulation of seagrass distribution in shallow coastal areas more fully.     

Role of landscape parameters in riverine run-off,and sediment and organic matter yield on Disko Island,West Greenland

Measurements of discharge and suspended sediment and organic matter yield from nine different drainage basins on the island Disko in central West Greenland were carried out in the period 19–30 July 1997. A series of landscape properties (glacier cover, altitude, slope, aspect and vegetation cover) were measured for each drainage basin from a digital elevation model and a satellite image. Principal Component Analysis and regression statistics have been used to examine which landscape parameters dominate the measured discharges and yields. It is concluded that differences in suspended sediment and organic matter yield between the drainage basins can be explained by the measured morphometric properties while differences in water run-off can not. Glacier cover percentage and percent area above 800 m a.s.l. were the most important parameters influencing suspended sediment and organic matter yield in the drainage basins on Disko during the study period.     

Petrology and geochemistry of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption,central Iceland: compositional and mineralogical characteristics,temporal variability and magma storage

The 2014–2015 Holuhraun fissure eruption provided a rare opportunity to study in detail the magmatic processes and magma plumbing system dynamics during a 6-month-long, moderate- to large-volume basaltic fissure eruption. In this contribution, we present a comprehensive dataset, including major and trace elements of whole-rock and glassy tephra samples, mineral chemistry, and radiogenic and oxygen isotope analyses from an extensive set of samples (n?=?62) that were collected systematically in several field campaigns throughout the entire eruptive period. We also present the first detailed chemical and isotopic characterization of magmatic sulfides from Iceland. In conjunction with a unique set of geophysical data, our approach provides a detailed temporal and spatial resolution of magmatic processes before and during this eruption. The 2014–2015 Holuhraun magma is compositionally indistinguishable from recent basalts erupted from the Bárðarbunga volcanic system, consistent with seismic observations for magma ascent close to the Bárðarbunga central volcano, followed by dyke propagation to the Holuhraun eruption site. Whole-rock elemental and isotopic compositions are remarkably constant throughout the eruption. Moreover, the inferred depth of the magma reservoir tapped during the eruption is consistently 8?±?5 km, in agreement with geodetic observations and melt inclusion entrapment pressures, but inconsistent with vertically extensive multi-tiered magma storage prior to eruption. The near constancy in the chemical and isotopic composition of the lava is consistent with the efficient homogenization of mantle-derived compositional variability. In contrast, occurrence of different mineral populations, including sulfide globules, which display significant compositional variability, requires a more complex earlier magmatic history. This may include sampling of heterogeneous mantle melts that mixed, crystallized and finally homogenized at mid- to lower-crustal conditions.