Flow of winter-transformed Pacific water into the Western Arctic

The dynamics of the flow of dense water through Barrow Canyon is investigated using data from a hydrographic survey in summer 2002. The focus is on the winter-transformed Bering water—the highest volumetric mode of winter water in the Chukchi Sea—which drains northward through the canyon in spring and summer. The transport of this water mass during the time of the survey was 0.2–0.3 Sv. As the layer flowed from the head of the canyon to the mouth, it sank, decelerated, and stretched. Strong cyclonic relative vorticity was generated on the seaward side of the jet, which compensated for the stretching. This adjustment was incomplete, however, in that it did not extend across the entire current, possibly because of internal mixing due to shear instabilities. The resulting vorticity structure of the flow at the canyon mouth was conducive for baroclinic instability and eddy formation. Multiple eddies of winter-transformed Bering water were observed along the Chukchi–Beaufort shelfbreak. Those to the west of Barrow Canyon were in the process of being spawned by the eastward-flowing shelfbreak current emanating from Herald Canyon, while the single eddy observed to the east originated from the Barrow Canyon outflow. It is argued that such an eddy formation is a major source of the ubiquitous cold-core anti-cyclones observed historically throughout the Canada Basin. Implications for the ventilation of the upper halocline of the Western Arctic are discussed.     

秘鲁南部阿雷基帕段海岸岩基带找矿方向探讨

通过详细的岩相学和锆石U-Pb年龄的研究,秘鲁海岸岩基带阿雷基帕段的填图工作得到了补充,该岩基带岩浆活动可分为7个阶段和4个旋回,各阶段都显示出不同的岩浆容量,其地貌主要表现为岩基和岩脉。旋回Ⅰ和旋回Ⅱ代表侏罗纪岩浆活动阶段（201~145Ma）,岩浆分异为辉长岩到花岗岩;旋回Ⅲ和旋回Ⅳ代表白垩纪岩浆,岩浆分异为英云闪长岩-二长花岗岩、闪长岩与花岗闪长岩及英云闪长岩-花岗闪长岩。对角闪石和黑云母矿物晶体的数量关系研究表明,旋回Ⅰ的侵入岩有大量辉石和角闪石结晶,并伴随金-铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅱ有大量的群集角闪石晶体和呈定向排列或群集的六边形黑云母,且伴随铜-金-铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅲ侵入岩内发育角闪石和黑云母,伴随着金-铜和铁成矿作用;旋回Ⅳ发育大量角闪石和六边形黑云母,岩石更偏长英质,并伴随铜-锌-金-银-铁和铜-金-钼成矿作用。     

Gamma-ray bursts with peculiar temporal asymmetry

Based on Link & Epstein's study of temporal asymmetry of 631 gamma-ray bursts from the BATSE 3B catalogue, we identify the population of bursts with rising times that are longer than their decays, thus showing atypical profiles. We analyse their sky distribution, morphology, time–space clustering and other average properties and compare them with those associated with the bulk of the bursts. We show how most of the peculiar bursts analysed are consistent with recent fireball models, but a fraction of bursts (∼4 per cent of the total sample) appear to be inconsistent.     

The international at-sea intercomparison of fCO2 systems during the R/V Meteor Cruise 36/1 in the North Atlantic Ocean

The ‘International Intercomparison Exercise of fCO₂ Systems’ was carried out in 1996 during the R/V Meteor Cruise 36/1 from Bermuda/UK to Gran Canaria/Spain. Nine groups from six countries (Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, USA) participated in this exercise, bringing together 15 participants with seven underway fugacity of carbon dioxide (fCO₂) systems, one discrete fCO₂ system, and two underway pH systems, as well as systems for discrete measurement of total alkalinity and total dissolved inorganic carbon. Here, we compare surface seawater fCO₂ measured synchronously by all participating instruments. A common infrastructure (seawater and calibration gas supply), different quality checks (performance of calibration procedures for CO₂, temperature measurements) and a common procedure for calculation of final fCO₂ were provided to reduce the largest possible amount of controllable sources of error. The results show that under such conditions underway measurements of the fCO₂ in surface seawater and overlying air can be made to a high degree of agreement (±1 μatm) with a variety of possible equilibrator and system designs. Also, discrete fCO₂ measurements can be made in good agreement (±3 μatm) with underway fCO₂ data sets. However, even well-designed systems, which are operated without any obvious sign of malfunction, can show significant differences of the order of 10 μatm. Based on our results, no “best choice” for the type of the equilibrator nor specifics on its dimensions and flow rates of seawater and air can be made in regard to the achievable accuracy of the fCO₂ system. Measurements of equilibrator temperature do not seem to be made with the required accuracy resulting in significant errors in fCO₂ results. Calculation of fCO₂ from high-quality total dissolved inorganic carbon (C_T) and total alkalinity (A_T) measurements does not yield results comparable in accuracy and precision to fCO₂ measurements.     

Effects of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamark, 1816) harvesting on benthic assemblages. An experimental approach

The effect of harvesting on the diversity and structure of benthic assemblages is nowadays a relevant component of fishery management. Invertebrate harvesting is increasing worldwide and sea urchins are one of the main invertebrate target species. However, current knowledge about the effects of sea urchin harvesting on benthic assemblages is still poor. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamark, 1816) harvesting on tide pool assemblages from intertidal rocky shores. To achieve this objective, a field removal experiment was done for 10 months. Results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed that P. lividus harvesting had a significant effect on the number of taxa and structure of the benthic assemblage. Assemblages from pools where P. lividus were removed showed significant differences against controls; namely, where P. lividus were eliminated, pools showed higher number of taxa than control pools. This result contrasts with previous studies assessing effects of invertebrate harvesting that generally have found a biodiversity reduction in the exploited habitat. Despite this apparently positive effect of P. lividus harvesting, we should be cautious because effects of P. lividus harvesting on higher trophic levels or during long periods of time remain unexplored.     

Late Pleistocene: Holocene record of environmental changes in Lake Zirahuen,Central Mexico

Geochemical data obtained from X-ray fluorescence, physical properties, total organic and inorganic carbon content (TOC/TIC), and diatom analysis from a 6.61-m-long sedimentary sequence near the modern northern shore of Lake Zirahuen (101° 44′ W, 19° 26′ N, 2000 m asl) provide a reconstruction of lacustrine sedimentation during the last approximately 17 cal kyr BP. A time scale is based on ten AMS ¹⁴C dates and by tephra layers from Jorullo (AD 1759-1764) and Paricutin (AD 1943-1952) volcanoes. The multiproxy analyses presented in this study reveal abrupt changes in environmental and climatic conditions. The results are compared to the paleo-record from nearby Lake Patzcuaro. Dry conditions and low lake level are inferred in the late Pleistocene until ca. 15 cal kyr BP, followed by a slight but sustained increase in lake level, as well as a higher productivity, peaking at ca. 12.1 cal kyr BP. This interpretation is consistent with several regional climatic reconstructions in central Mexico, but it is in opposition to record from Lake Patzcuaro. A sediment hiatus bracketed between 12.1 and 7.2 cal kyr BP suggests a drop in lake level in response to a dry early Holocene. A deeper, more eutrophic and turbid lake is recorded after 7.2 cal kyr BP. Lake level at the coring site during the mid Holocene is considered the highest for the past 17 cal kyr BP. The emplacement of the La Magueyera lava flows (LMLF), dated by thermoluminiscence at 6560 ± 950 year, may have reduced basin volume and contributed to the relative deepening of the lake after 7.2 cal kyr BP. The late Holocene (after 3.9 cal kyr BP) climate is characterized by high instability. Extensive erosion, lower lake levels, dry conditions and pulses of high sediment influx due to high rainfall are inferred for this time. Further decrease in lake level and increased erosion are recorded after ca. AD 1050, at the peak of Purepechas occupation (AD 1300–1521), and until the eighteenth century. Few lacustrine records extend back to the late Pleistocene—early Holocene in central Mexico; this paper contributes to the understanding of late Pleistocene-Holocene paleoclimates in this region.     

Organic matter accumulation during the Holocene in the Guadalquivir marshlands (SW Spain)

The distribution of biomarker compounds and magnetic susceptibility observed in the sediment from a 20 m core drilled in the marshlands of the estuarine region of the Guadalquivir River (southwest coast of Spain) has allowed us to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this area during the Holocene. Several organic compounds (n‐alkanes, n‐ketones, n‐alkanols, n‐alkanoic acids and organic sulphur), as well as different biomarker ratios, have been used to show changing environmental conditions through time. These geochemical proxies suggest good preservation of the organic matter, although some diagenesis has occurred to particular organic compounds, especially the n‐alkanoic acids. Our data indicate a major allochthonous supply of terrestrial plants, with less influence from aquatic plants or algae through the core. There are markedly different palaeoenvironmental conditions between the uppermost 5 m (last 6 ka cal. B.P.) and the rest of the core. From 5 m (ca 6 ka cal. B.P.) to 19 m (ca 8 ka cal. B.P.) depth the palaeoenvironmental conditions were almost constant. Based on organic sulphur content and n‐alkane content logs, anoxic conditions prevailed from 8 to 6 ka cal. B.P., while oxic conditions with enhanced convection of water (prevalence of fluvial input), and consequently a greater organic matter supply, predominated in the upper 5 m of the core. Similarly, little variation in the magnetic susceptibility profile below 5 m indicates stable environmental conditions, while in the upper 5 m conditions shifted to one with elevated water input and clastic sediment supply. This is linked to palaeofloral alterations in the Guadiamar/Guadalquivir drainage basins and/or anthropogenic effects. We propose that from ca 8 to 6 ka cal. B.P. a stable landscape physiognomy in the surroundings of the estuarine area of the Guadalquivir River, with a predominance of pines and grassland. However, over the last 6 ka cal. B.P. a variation in the terrestrial plant biomarker compounds suggests an alternation of relatively dry and humid phases and/or the impact of human populations on altering the vegetation community have occurred. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.