Changes in water chemistry along the newly formed High Arctic fluvial–lacustrine system of the Brattegg Valley (SW Spitsbergen,Svalbard)

Changes in water chemistry along the High Arctic fluvial–lacustrine system located in Wedel Jarlsberg Land in the SW Spitsbergen (Svalbard) were investigated during the summer season of 2010 and 2011. The newly formed river–lake system consists of three lakes connected with the Brattegg River. The first bathymetric measurements of these lakes were made by the authors in 2010. The Brattegg River catchment represents a partly glaciered Arctic water system. The studied lakes are characterized by low mineralization and temperature of water. The value of the electrolytic conductivity (EC) ranges from 30.2 to 50.5 μS cm^?1 and the temperature of surface water from 1.5 to 7.8 °C. The temperature increase takes place downstream starting from Upper Lake to the outflow from Myrktjørna Lake. The waters of lakes have higher temperatures than the stream. The predominant ions are HCO₃ ^? (up to 16.5 mg L^?1), Cl^? (6.66–8.53 mg L^?1), Ca²⁺ (2.40–4.45 mg L^?1) and Na⁺ (2.65–3.36 mg L^?1). The highest values of ammonium and DOC found in the lowest Myrktjørna Lake seem to be related to the presence of aquatic organisms and also birds. From the group of 10 analyzed microelements, increased concentrations of aluminum, up to almost 500 μg L^?1, are present in the lakes’ water. Water isotopic composition ranges for δ¹⁸O and δ²H, from ?10.6 to ?10.9‰ and from ?70.8 to ?72.3‰, respectively. The vertical zonality of lake waters is manifested in a decrease in the temperature and increase in EC and chemical elements concentrations.     

On the Use of CloudSat and MODIS Data for Estimating Hurricane Intensity

This letter presents preliminary results concerning the use of new observations from the A-Train Constellation for testing a new technique of remotely sensing hurricane intensity from space based on modeling a hurricane as a balanced, convectively neutral vortex. The key observational requirements are simultaneous, accurate measurements of cloud-top height, cloudtop temperature, and cloud profiling information across the center of the storm, although there are ways to bypass the need for cloud-top temperature. In this letter, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard Aqua provides an estimation of the cloud-top temperature, and the near-simultaneous CloudSat observations provide the essential cloud-top height and cloud profiling information. Initial results indicate that the new technique is a promising method for estimating storm intensity when compared post facto to the best track database. Potential uncertainties and room for further refinement of the technique are discussed.     

Interpretation of Nd,Sr and Pb isotope data from Archean migmatites in Lofoten-Vesterålen,Norway

Sm-Nd data for the Archean granulite and amphibolite facies migmatites of Langøy and Hinnøy in Vesterålen are presented which indicate that their protoliths formed ～2.6 AE ago. Rubidium and U loss during a granulite facies metamorphism at ～1.8 AE caused serious disturbance of total-rock U-Pb and Rb-Sr systems. Therefore these systems do not provide any precise age information for the granulite facies migmatites. For the amphibolite facies migmatites of Vesterålen both SmNd, RbSr and PbPb total-rock systems give model ages of ～2.6 AE. The results on both granulite and amphibolite facies rocks are thus in agreement. Previous interpretations based on PbPb data, which indicated an age of 3.41 AE for the Archean terrane of Vesterålen, are not valid.One SmNd model age from the granulite facies migmatites at Moskenesøy in Lofoten indicates that the protoliths of these migmatites formed ～2.0 AE ago and are thus not related to the Vesterålen migmatites.     

Observations of polar patches generated by solar wind Alfvén wave coupling to the dayside magnetosphere

A long series of polar patches was observed by ionosondes and an all-sky imager during a disturbed period (K_p = 7- and IMF B_z <0). The ionosondes measured electron densities of up to 9 × 10¹¹ m⁻³ in the patch center, an increase above the density minimum between patches by a factor of ≈4.5. Bands of F-region irregularities generated at the equatorward edge of the patches were tracked by HF radars. The backscatter bands were swept northward and eastward across the polar cap in a fan-like formation as the afternoon convection cell expanded due to the IMF B_y > 0. Near the north magnetic pole, an all-sky imager observed the 630-nm emission patches of a distinctly band-like shape drifting northeastward to eastward. The 630-nm emission patches were associated with the density patches and backscatter bands. The patches originated in, or near, the cusp footprint where they were formed by convection bursts (flow channel events, FCEs) structuring the solar EUV-produced photoionization and the particle-produced auroral/cusp ionization by segmenting it into elongated patches. Just equatorward of the cusp footprint Pc5 field line resonances (FLRs) were observed by magnetometers, riometers and VHF/HF radars. The AC electric field associated with the FLRs resulted in a poleward-progressing zonal flow pattern and backscatter bands. The VHF radar Doppler spectra indicated the presence of steep electron density gradients which, through the gradient drift instability, can lead to the generation of the ionospheric irregularities found in patches. The FLRs and FCEs were associated with poleward-progressing DPY currents (Hall currents modulated by the IMF B_y) and riometer absorption enhancements. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the VHF backscatter and associated riometer absorptions closely resembled those of poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs). In the solar wind, IMP 8 observed large amplitude Alfvén waves that were correlated with Pc5 pulsations observed by the ground magnetometers, riometers and radars. It is concluded that the FLRs and FCEs that produced patches were driven by solar wind Alfvén waves coupling to the dayside magnetosphere. During a period of southward IMF the dawn-dusk electric field associated with the Alfvén waves modulated the subsolar magnetic reconnection into pulses that resulted in convection flow bursts mapping to the ionospheric footprint of the cusp.     

The chemical changes of DOM from black waters to coastal marine waters by HPLC combined with ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry

How dissolved organic matter (DOM) undergoes chemical changes during its transit from river to ocean remains a challenge due to its complex structure. In this study, DOM along a river transect from black waters to marine waters is characterized using an offline combination of reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled to electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS), as well as tandem ESI-FTICR-MS. In addition, a water extract from degraded wood that mainly consists of lignins is used for comparison to the DOM from this transect. The HPLC chromatograms of all DOM samples and the wood extract show two major well-separated components; one is hydrophilic and the other is hydrophobic, based on their elution order from the C₁₈ column. From the FTICR-MS analysis of the HPLC fractions, the hydrophilic components mainly contain low molecular weight compounds (less than 400 Da), while the hydrophobic fractions contain the vast majority of compounds of the bulk C₁₈ extracted DOM. The wood extract and the DOM samples from the transect of black waters to coastal marine waters show strikingly similar HPLC chromatograms, and the FTICR-MS analysis further indicates that a large fraction of molecular formulas from these samples are the same, existing as lignin-like compounds. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments show that several representative molecules from the lignin-like compounds have similar functional group losses and fragmentation patterns, consistent with modified lignin structural entities in the wood extract and these DOM samples. Taken together, these data suggest that lignin-derived compounds may survive the transit from the river to the coastal ocean and can accumulate there because of their refractory nature.     

Peculiarities of Water Circulation in the Southern Tatar Strait

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Satellite altimetry data have been used to study water circulation in the Tatar Strait region (the northern part of the Sea of Japan) for the time...     

El Niño and decadal effects on sea‐level variability in northern New Zealand: A wavelet analysis

Sea‐level data from two sites in northern New Zealand, along with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), are analysed for interannual and decadal variability using wavelets. The analysis shows, using statistically significant wavelet power, there is a significant relationship between mean sea level (MSL) and SOI. However, the relationship is highly variable, both in magnitude and in the range of time‐scales over which it occurs. This non‐stationarity necessitates the use of techniques such as wavelets for analysis. An interdecadal response in MSL around northern New Zealand has been isolated, with shifts occurring in 1950 and the late 1970s. This behaviour in MSL appears to coincide with shifts in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, thought previously to be largely centred in the North Pacific. A strong correlation between SOI and sea surface temperature (SST) is also demonstrated. This relationship appears to be stable in magnitude (a large change in SOI produces a large change in SST) and to occur over the same range of time‐scales. More SST and MSL data are required for other parts of New Zealand to determine whether these findings apply elsewhere.     

Biogeochemical Modelling of a Seasonally Anoxic Lake: Calibration of Successive and Competitive Pathways and Processes in Lake Aydat,France

A reactive transport model was developed to describe seasonal variations of biogeochemical and physical processes in Lake Aydat. The model includes physical processes such as vertical mixing, sedimentation and advection related to inflows into the lake and biogeochemical conversion processes in the water column and in the sediment surface layer. The reactions described in the model include primary redox reactions such as primary production, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, methanogenesis and secondary reactions established between oxidants and reducers produced by the primary reactions. After adjusting various kinetic constants, the model reasonably reproduced the main features of seasonal variations of dissolved oxygen and nitrate depth profiles and pH. The reactive transport model was also used to quantify the relative importance of different biogeochemical pathways. For instance, ferrous denitrification seems to play an important role when stratification is increasing.     

A mineral equilibria study of the hydrothermal alteration in mafic greenschist facies rocks at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The influx of a H₂O–CO₂‐dominated fluid into actinolite‐bearing metabasic rocks during greenschist facies metamorphism in the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia resulted in a zoned alteration halo around inferred fluid conduits that contain gold mineralisation. The alteration halo is divided into two outer zones, the chlorite zone and the carbonate zone, and an inner pyrite zone adjacent to the inferred fluid conduits. Reaction between the fluid and the protolith resulted in the breakdown of actinolite and the development of chlorite, dolomite, calcite and siderite. In addition, rocks in the pyrite zone developed muscovite‐bearing assemblages as a consequence of the introduction of potassium by the fluid. Mineral equilibria calculations undertaken using the computer software thermocalc in the model system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–CO₂ show that mineral assemblages in the outer zones of the alteration halo are consistent with equilibrium of the protoliths with a fluid of composition X_CO2 = CO₂/(CO₂ + H₂O) = 0.1–0.25 for temperatures of 315–320 °C. The inner zone of the alteration halo reflect equilibrium with a fluid of composition X_CO2≈ 0.25. Fluid‐rock buffering calculations show that the alteration halo is consistent with interaction with a single fluid composition and that the zoned structure of the halo reflects the volume of this fluid with which the rocks reacted. This fluid is likely to have also been the one responsible for the gold mineralisation at Kalgoorlie.