Holocene freshwater diatoms: palaeoenvironmental implications from south Kamchatka,Russia

Holocene palaeolimnological conditions were reconstructed by analysing fossil diatom assemblages within a lacustrine sediment core from Lake Sokoch, southern Kamchatka (Russia). Sediments of this proglacial lake cover the past 9400 years and hence represent almost the whole Holocene history. The biosiliceous muddy sample material was analysed for several geochemical and biological parameters, such as the total organic carbon and biogenic silica content, and the diatom community (quantitative and qualitative changes). Based on changes in the relative abundances of the most frequent species Aulacoseira subarctica, Staurosira martyi and Stephanodiscus alpinus and a depth‐constrained cluster analyses (CONISS), five diatom assemblage zones could be identified. The oldest stage recovered lies between 9400 and 9000 cal. a BP and reflects the initial lake stage after the retreat of local glaciers, with a high detrital sediment supply, shallow‐water conditions and a high diatom diversity. The next zone (9000–6200 cal. a BP) shows a more mature lake system with accumulating biogenic remains and higher water levels during climate amelioration. This is followed by the most obvious change in the diatom assemblage, delineated by an occurrence of S. alpinus, between 6200 and 2700 cal. a BP. Wet conditions in spring probably led to an enhanced fluvial runoff and eutrophic to hypertrophic conditions. The end of this period might reflect climate deterioration related to the Neoglacial epoch of the Holocene. Between 2700 and 1600 cal. a BP the sediments of Lake Sokoch reveal oligotrophic water conditions in a windy high‐energy environment. The youngest interval, between 1600 cal. a BP and the Present, indicates shallow‐water conditions and a very short growing season, which might reflect the Little Ice Age. The results may offer a baseline for the interpretation of Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in Kamchatka and their relation to regional climate change from a palaeoecological perspective.     

Sub‐arctic Holocene climatic and oceanographic variability in Stjernsund,northern Norway: evidence from benthic foraminifera and stable isotopes

A high‐resolution record, covering 9.3–0.2 ka BP, from the sub‐arctic Stjernsund (70°N) was studied for benthic foraminiferal faunas and stable isotopes, revealing three informally named main phases during the Holocene. The Early‐ to Mid‐Holocene (9.3–5.0 ka BP) was characterized by the strong influence of the North Atlantic Current (NAC), which prevented the reflection of the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO) in the bottom‐water temperature. During the Mid‐Holocene Transition (5.0–2.5 ka BP), a turnover of benthic foraminiferal faunas occurred, Atlantic Water species decreased while Arctic‐Polar species increased, and the oxygen isotope record showed larger fluctuations. Those variations correspond to a period of global climate change, to spatially more heterogeneous benthic foraminiferal faunas in the Nordic Seas region, and to regionally diverging terrestrial temperatures. The Cool Late Holocene (2.5–0.2 ka BP) was characterized by increased abundances of Arctic‐Polar species and a steady cooling trend reflected in the oxygen isotopes. In this period, our record differs considerably from those on the SW Barents Sea shelf and locations farther south. Therefore, we argue that regional atmospheric cooling triggered the late Holocene cooling trend. Several cold episodes centred at ～8.3, ～7.8, ～6.5, ～4.9, ～3.9 and ～3.3 ka BP were identified from the benthic foraminiferal faunas and the δ¹⁸O record, which correlated with marine and atmospherically driven proxy records. This suggests that short‐term cold events may result from reduced heat advection via the NAC or from colder air temperatures.     

HydrIS:一个用于地下水管理的开放的GIS决策支持系统——以Morocco为例(英文)

A regional groundwater management system has been elaborated, integrating Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) and various web services. It consists of web geospatial application so-called HydrIS ( Hydrogeological Information System) based on Open Source components and technologies, leading to a feasible and low-cost solution. Therefore, HydrIS permits delivery of data from a number of heterogeneous sources to standards supported by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The protocols used for exchanging data are also derived from OGC standards, i.e., WMS (Web Mapping Service), WFS (Web Feature Service), and WCS (Web Coverage Service). Finally, a geoportal was developed, which consists of client-applications that communicate with different Web Services (WMS, WCS, and WFS) through http-requests. A prototype for web-based GIS application was designed using the deegree Framework to provide systematic interfaces and functions. This system was developed to demonstrate the value of making hydrogeological data more widely accessible through client/server architecture. This experience and knowledge already gained in this project will be a source for technology transfer and policy decisions. Otherwise, this will enable user groups to improve the management of their groundwater resources and contribute to enhanced decision support capabilities.      

Exposure of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to cadmium sulfide nanoparticles: biological effects and the importance of experimental design.

Effects of nanoparticles on aquatic organisms have been little studied to date and toxicological data are urgently needed for development of regulatory frameworks for these substances. Here, we report the findings of a study exposing sticklebacks to cadmium sulfide (CdS) as bulk material and quantum dots. Fish were exposed for 21 d in a flow through test system to 5, 50 or 500 microg l(-1) CdS nanoparticles (nCdS) coated in thiol terminated methyl polyethylene glycol (MPEG), bulk CdS or MPEG at 500 microg l(-1) (nominal concentrations). With the exception of the highest nCdS exposure, measured concentrations were approximately one order of magnitude below nominal. A single fish from each group (excluding MPEG) was examined using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) to localise cadmium, however, cadmium could not be detected in whole body sections. Elevated levels of oxidized glutathione were measured in the gills of fish exposed to 50 and 500 microg l(-1) nCdS. Induction of vitellogenin synthesis was not detected in any of the treatment groups. The number of males engaged in nest-building behaviour following exposure to 500 microg l(-1) nCdS was reduced and livers of 4/6 fish in the same treatment displayed hepatocellular nuclear pleomorphism. The results are discussed emphasising the fundamental importance of experimental design and the need to understand the behaviour of nanoparticles in the aqueous phase.     

Multicomponent competitive monovalent cation exchange in hierarchical porous media with multimodal reactive mineral facies

This paper presents a stochastic model for multicomponent competitive monovalent cation exchange in hierarchical porous media. Reactive transport in porous media is highly sensitive to heterogeneities in physical and chemical properties, such as hydraulic conductivity (K), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). We use a conceptual model for multimodal reactive mineral facies and develop a Eulerian-based stochastic theory to analyze the transport of multiple cations in heterogeneous media with a hierarchical organization of reactive minerals. Numerical examples investigate the retardation factors and dispersivities in a chemical system made of three monovalent cations (Na⁺, K⁺, and Cs⁺). The results demonstrate how heterogeneity influences the transport of competitive monovalent cations, and highlight the importance of correlations between K and CEC. Further sensitivity analyses are presented investigating how the dispersion and retardation of each cation are affected by the means, variances, and integral scales of K and CEC. The volume fraction of organic matter is shown to be another important parameter. The Eulerian stochastic framework presented in this work clarifies the importance of each system parameters on the migration of cation plumes in formations with hierarchical organization of facies types. Our stochastic approach could be used as an alternative to numerical simulations for 3D reactive transport in hierarchical porous media, which become prohibitively expensive for the multicomponent applications considered in this work.     

Current and turbulence measurements at the FINO1 offshore wind energy site: analysis using 5-beam ADCPs

We report concurrent measurements of ocean currents and turbulence at two sites in the North Sea, one site at upwind of the FINO1 platform and the other 200-m downwind of the Alpha Ventus wind farm. At each site, mean currents, Reynolds stresses, turbulence intensity and production of turbulent kinetic energy are obtained from two bottom-mounted 5-beam Nortek Signature1000s, high-frequency Doppler current profiler, at a water depth of approximately 30 m. Measurements from the two sites are compared to statistically identify the effects of wind farm and waves on ocean current variability and the turbulent structure in the water column. Profiles of Reynolds stresses are found to be sensible to both environmental forcing and the wind farm wake-induced distortions in both boundary layers near the surface and the seabed. Production of turbulent kinetic energy and turbulence intensity exhibit approximately similar, but less pronounced, patterns in the presence of farm wake effects.     

The celestial mechanics approach: theoretical foundations

Gravity field determination using the measurements of Global Positioning receivers onboard low Earth orbiters and inter-satellite measurements in a constellation of satellites is a generalized orbit determination problem involving all satellites of the constellation. The celestial mechanics approach (CMA) is comprehensive in the sense that it encompasses many different methods currently in use, in particular so-called short-arc methods, reduced-dynamic methods, and pure dynamic methods. The method is very flexible because the actual solution type may be selected just prior to the combination of the satellite-, arc- and technique-specific normal equation systems. It is thus possible to generate ensembles of substantially different solutions—essentially at the cost of generating one particular solution. The article outlines the general aspects of orbit and gravity field determination. Then the focus is put on the particularities of the CMA, in particular on the way to use accelerometer data and the statistical information associated with it.