Low-frequency current variability observed at the shelfbreak in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico: November 2004–May 2005

Fourteen acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) were deployed on the shelf and slope for 1 year just west of the DeSoto Canyon in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) as part of its Slope to Shelf Energetics and Exchange Dynamics (SEED) project. The winter and spring observations are discussed here in regards to the low-frequency current variability and its relation to wind and eddy forcing. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analyses showed that two modes described most of the current variability. Wind-forced variability of the along-shelf flow was the main contributor in Mode 1 while eddies contributed much of the variability in Mode 2. Wind-stress controlled currents on the shelf and slope at time scales of about a week. On longer time scales, variations in the currents on both the outer shelf and slope appear to be related to seasonal variations in the time-cumulated wind stress curl. Winds were dominant in driving the along-shelf transports, particularly along the slope. However, the effective wind stress component was found to be aligned with the west Florida shelf direction rather than the local shelf direction. Eddy intrusions, which were more numerous in winter and spring than in summer and fall, and winds were found to contribute significantly to cross-shelf exchange processes.     

Biological and Molecular Geochemical Evidence for Dinoflagellate Ancestors in the Upper Sinian-Cambrian

Dinoflagellates are single celled organisms that reflect the ecological conditions in modern oceans and lakes. Their earliest undisputed fossil record suggests that dinoflagellates originated from the Middle Triassic (c. 240 Ma ago). However, the presence of molecular biomarkers (dinosterane, 4α-methyl-24-ethylcholestane and tria-romatic dinosteroids) in rock extracts and coccoid dinoflagellate fossils from the upper Sinian to Cambrian of the Tarim basin confirms the hypothesis that dinoflagellates have an ancient origin, and predate the oldest undisputed dinoflagellate fossils at least by 300 Ma, as early as the late Sinian-Cambrian.     

On emission lines of hydrogen,helium and ionized calcium seen on a coronal spectrogram of the March 7, 1970 eclipse

Emission lines of the Balmer series, D₃ and H and K are reported present on a coronal spectrogram obtained at the March 7, 1970 eclipse. Arguments are presented to show that these could not have originated from scattering in the Earth's atmosphere and hence possibly have a coronal origin.     

Late Holocene dispersal and accumulation of terrigenous sediment on Poverty Shelf, New Zealand

We use coupled numerical models (HydroTrend and SedFlux) to investigate the dispersal and accumulation of sediment on Poverty Shelf, North Island, New Zealand, during the past 3 kyr. In this timeframe, we estimate that the Waipaoa River system delivered ∼10 Gt of sediment to Poverty Shelf,  5–10% of which was transported to the outer shelf and continental slope. The domain of the two-dimensional model (SedFlux) is representative of a 30 km traverse across the shelf. Comparing the model output with seismic reflection data and a core obtained from the middle shelf shows that, without extensively modifying the governing equations or imposing unrealistic conditions on the model domain, it is possible to replicate the geometry, grain size and accumulation rate of the late Holocene mud deposit. The replicate depositional record responds to naturally and anthropogenically induced vegetation disturbance, as well as to storms forced by long-period climatic events simulated entirely within the model domain. The model output also suggests that long-term fluctuations in the amount and caliber of river sediment discharge, promoted by wholesale changes in the catchment environment, may be translated directly to the shelf depositional record, whereas short-term fluctuations conditioned by event magnitude and frequency are not. Thus on Poverty Shelf, as well as in depocenters on other active continental margins which retain a much smaller proportion of the terrigeneous sediment delivered to them, flood-generated event beds are not commonplace features in the high-resolution sedimentary record. This is because the shelf sedimentary record is influenced more by the energy available to the coastal ocean which helps keep the sediment in suspension and facilitates its dispersal, than by basin hydrometeorology which determines the turbidity and velocity of the river plume.     

Quaternary evolution of Cedar Creek alluvial fan, montana

Cedar Creek alluvial fan is a textbook example of an alluvial fan because of its fan shape with smooth, concentric contours and excellent symmetry. Similar planimetric shapes have been used to infer uniform fan deposition; however, Cedar Creek alluvial fan is composed of four fan deposits of Quaternary age, Qf1 (oldest) to Qf4 (youngest), indicating that fan deposition was nonuniform in both time and space. Field studies indicate that deposition of Cedar Creek alluvial fan is related to glaciofluvial outwash activity during the Pleistocene and upper-fan entrenchment and lower-fan deposition during the Holocene.Qf1 and Qf2 deposits are sub-horizontally bedded, clast-supported sandy gravels uniformly imbricated upfan. Comparison of soil profiles developed in these deposits to radiogenically-dated chronosequences within the region indicates that Qf1 and Qf2 are correlative with Bull Lake and Pinedale-age deposits, respectively. These relationships are substantiated by physical correlation of Qf1 and Qf2 with Bull Lake and Pinedale moraines, respectively, in the Cedar Creek drainage basin. The sedimentology and timing of Qf1 and Qf2 indicate deposition in high-energy, proglacial, braided streams. Furthermore, the present morphology of Cedar Creek alluvial fan was established largely during aggradation of Qf1 and Qf2 when sediment supply to the fan was sufficient to activate 60% to greater than 90% of the total fan area. During Bull Lake glaciation, the apex of Qf1 deposition formed the apex of Cedar Creek alluvial fan as Qf1 covered more than 90% of the present fan area. During Pinedale glaciation, Qf2 deposition shifted downfan; Qf2 is inset into Qf1 above the intersection point, but below the intersection point it eroded and/or buried Qf1 as it activated as much as 60% of the fan area.Qf3 and Qf4, comprising 21% of the fan area, are inset into Qf2 in the lower fan area. Soil development in Qf3 and Qf4 deposits indicate episodic deposition and entrenchment beginning in early Holocene and continuing to present. A post-glacial decrease in sediment supply to Cedar Creek alluvial fan is indicated by sediment storage within the Cedar Creek drainage basin. Decreased sediment supply to the fan resulted in upper-fan entrenchment of Qf2 and deposition of Qf3 and Qf4 in the lower-fan area.     

High-Mg# andesitic lavas of the Shisheisky Complex,Northern Kamchatka: implications for primitive calc-alkaline magmatism

Primitive arc magmatism and mantle wedge processes are investigated through a petrologic and geochemical study of high-Mg# (Mg/Mg + Fe > 0.65) basalts, basaltic andesites and andesites from the Kurile-Kamchatka subduction system. Primitive andesitic samples are from the Shisheisky Complex, a field of Quaternary-age, monogenetic cones located in the Aleutian–Kamchatka junction, north of Shiveluch Volcano, the northernmost active composite volcano in Kamchatka. The Shisheisky lavas have Mg# of 0.66–0.73 at intermediate SiO₂ (54–58 wt%) with low CaO (<8.8%), CaO/Al₂O₃ (<0.54), and relatively high Na₂O (>3.0 wt%) and K₂O (>1.0 wt%). Olivine phenocryst core compositions of Fo90 appear to be in equilibrium with whole-rock ‘melts’, consistent with the sparsely phyric nature of the lavas. Compared to the Shisheisky andesites, primitive basalts from the region (Kuriles, Tolbachik, Kharchinsky) have higher CaO (>9.9 wt%) and CaO/Al₂O₃ (>0.60), and lower whole-rock Na₂O (<2.7 wt%) and K₂O (<1.1 wt%) at similar Mg# (0.66–0.70). Olivine phenocrysts in basalts have in general, higher CaO and Mn/Fe and lower Ni and Ni/Mg at Fo88 compared to the andesites. The absence of plagioclase phenocrysts from the primitive andesitic lavas contrasts the plagioclase-phyric basalts, indicating relatively high pre-eruptive water contents for the primitive andesitic magmas compared to basalts. Estimated temperature and water contents for primitive basaltic andesites and andesites are 984–1,143°C and 4–7 wt% H₂O. For primitive basalts they are 1,149–1,227°C and 2 wt% H₂O. Petrographic and mineral compositions suggest that the primitive andesitic lavas were liquids in equilibrium with mantle peridotite and were not produced by mixing between basalts and felsic crustal melts, contamination by xenocrystic olivine, or crystal fractionation of basalt. Key geochemical features of the Shisheisky primitive lavas (high Ni/MgO, Na₂O, Ni/Yb and Mg# at intermediate SiO₂) combined with the location of the volcanic field above the edge of the subducting Pacific Plate support a genetic model that involves melting of eclogite or pyroxenite at or near the surface of the subducting plate, followed by interaction of that melt with hotter peridotite in the over-lying mantle wedge. The strongly calc-alkaline igneous series at Shiveluch Volcano is interpreted to result from the emplacement and evolution of primitive andesitic magmas similar to those that are present in nearby monogenetic cones of the Shisheisky Complex.     

On the relationship of thunderstorm ice hydrometeor characteristics and total lightning measurements

Satellite-borne and ground-based devices for the detection of lightning offer the opportunity to explore relationships–on all significant scales up to global–between lightning frequency, f, and other thundercloud parameters. Calculations predict that f is proportional to the product of the downflux p of solid precipitation and the upward mass flux, I, of ice crystals. This prediction has received support from limited computational studies. The physical reasons for such a relationship are explained in terms of the paramount role of ice in the electrification of thunderstorms. Herein, this prediction is subjected to further, preliminary examination through analysis of lightning and dual-polarimetric radar data collected during the STERAO experiment conducted in Northern Colorado during the summer of 1996. The analysis has yielded some highly provisional support for this flux hypothesis. Computed trends of radar derived hydrometeor fractions of solid precipitation and small ice show correlation to the total lightning frequency and raise the possibility of determining values of p and/or I from lightning measurements.It is shown that the extent to which the observed correlations between f and both solid precipitation and small ice trends are or are not strong can provide an indication as to whether the lightning activity is limited by the available concentrations of precipitating or non-precipitating ice in the upper regions of the charging zone of the thundercloud, where most of the charge transfer occurs. It is demonstrated that the most accurate determinations of precipitation rate p from measurements of lighting frequency f are likely to be for conditions where the field-growth is limited by the availability of graupel pellets. It is shown that the simultaneous time variations of f and solid precipitation trends of the type obtained in the STERAO experiment could enable us to determine the nature of the dominant glaciation process operative in the thunderclouds studied.     

Winter Arctic Amplification at the synoptic timescale, 1979–2018, its regional variation and response to tropical and extratropical variability

We investigate winter Arctic Amplification (AA) on synoptic timescales and at regional scales using a daily version of the Arctic Amplification Index (AAI) and examine causes on a synoptic scale. The persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events show significant increases over the Arctic. Similarly, low AAI events are decreasing in frequency, persistence and intensity. In both cases, there are regional variations in these trends, in terms of significance and timing. Significant trends in increasing persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events in winter are concentrated in the period 2000–2009, with few significant trends before and after this. There are some decreases in sea-ice concentration in response to synoptic-scale AA events and these AA events can contribute to the decadal trends in AA found in other studies. A sectoral analysis of the Arctic indicates that in the Beaufort–Chukchi and East Siberian–Laptev Seas, synoptic scale high AAI events can be driven by tropical teleconnections while in other Arctic sectors, it is the intrusion of moisture-transporting synoptic cyclones into the Arctic that is most important in synoptic-scale AA. The presence of Rossby wave breaking during high AAI events is indicative of forcing from lower latitudes, modulated by variations in the jet stream. An important conclusion is that the increased persistence, frequency and intensity of synoptic-scale high AAI events make significant contributions to the interannual trend in AA.