Remotely sensed seasonality in the spatial distribution of sea-surface suspended particulate matter in the southern North Sea

An algorithm is presented for estimating near-surface SPM concentrations in the turbid Case 2 waters of the southern North Sea. The single band algorithm, named POWERS, was derived by parameterising Gordon's approximation of the radiative transfer model with measurements of Belgian and Dutch inherent optical properties. The algorithm was used to calculate near-surface SPM concentration from 491 SeaWiFS datasets for 2001. It was shown to be a robust algorithm for estimating SPM in the southern North Sea. Regression of annual geometric mean SPM concentration derived from remote sensing (SPM_rs), against in situ (SPM_is) data from 19 Dutch monitoring stations was highly significant with an r² of 0.87. Further comparison and statistical testing against independent datasets for 2000 confirmed the consistency of this relationship. Moreover, time series of SPM_rs concentrations derived from the POWERS algorithm, were shown to follow the same temporal trends as individual SPM_is data recorded during 2001. Composites of annual, winter and summer SPM_rs for 2001 highlight the three dominant water masses in the southern North Sea, as well as their winter–fall and spring–summer variability. The results indicate that wind induced wave action and mixing cause high surface SPM signals in winter in regions where the water column becomes well mixed, whereas in summer stratification leads to a lower SPM surface signal. The presented algorithm gives accurate near-surface SPM concentrations and could easily be adapted for other water masses and seas.     

Petrography and geochemistry of the impact to postimpact transition layer at the El'gygytgyn impact structure in Chukotka,Arctic Russia

The 3.6 Ma El'gygytgyn impact structure, located in northeast Chukotka in Arctic Russia, was largely formed in acidic volcanic rocks. The 18 km diameter circular depression is today filled with Lake El'gygytgyn (diameter of 12 km) that contains a continuous record of lacustrine sediments of the Arctic from the past 3.6 Myr. In 2009, El'gygytgyn became the focus of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) in which a total of 642.4 m of drill core was recovered. Lithostratigraphically, the drill cores comprise lacustrine sediment sequences, impact breccias, and deformed target rocks. The impactite core was recovered from 316.08 to 517.30 meters below lake floor (mblf). Because of the rare, outstanding recovery, the transition zone, ranging from 311.47 to 317.38 m, between the postimpact lacustrine sediments and the impactite sequences, was studied petrographically and geochemically. The transition layer comprises a mixture of about 6 m of loose sedimentary and volcanic material containing isolated clasts of minerals and melt. Shock metamorphic effects, such as planar fractures (PFs) and planar deformation features (PDFs), were observed in a few quartz grains. The discoveries of silica diaplectic glass hosting coesite, kinked micas and amphibole, lechatelierite, numerous impact melt shards and clasts, and spherules are associated with the impact event. The occurrence of spherules, impact melt clasts, silica diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite, about 1 m below the onset of the transition, marks the beginning of the more coherent impact ejecta layer. The results of siderophile interelement ratios of the transition layer spherules give indications of the relative contribution of the meteoritical component.     

Influence of diatoms on copepod reproduction. II. Uncorrelated effects of diatom-derived α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated aldehydes and polyunsaturated fatty acids on Calanus helgolandicus in the field

We set up a survey involving comprehensive chemical analyses of phytoplankton and the simultaneous monitoring of the reproductive response of Calanus helgolandicus. Hatching success and larvae development of C. helgolandicus were monitored weekly with female specimens sampled along with phytoplankton in the coastal waters off Roscoff (Western English Channel) from March/April to October in 2003 and 2004. Polyunsaturated aldehyde (PUA) production and nutritional parameters of phytoplankton [i.e. polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON)] were measured. The hatching success varied between 0% and 80% during the two spring-summer spawning seasons. Neither the nutritional parameters measured nor polyunsaturated aldehydes could be found responsible for the frequently observed hatching failure. However, egg production and hatching rates were strongly positively correlated, suggesting a functional link between these reproductive parameters. PUA production in phytoplankton was mainly determined by Thalassiosira rotula. The occurrence of this diatom species might be used as a marker of PUAs in the study area. Laboratory feeding experiments showed that single species diets of freshly isolated diatoms (T. rotula, Guinardia striata, Guinardia delicatula and Rhizosolenia setigera) caused high or low egg viability and naupliar survival of C. helgolandicus independent of PUA production and PUFA content. The impact of PUA on the hatching success of Calanus among different ecosystems is discussed. The combined approach of feeding experiments and chemical analysis supports the idea that parameters other than PUAs and PUFAs have to be taken into account in order to explain the highly variable hatching rates observed in this environment.     

Observed freshening and warming of the western Pacific Warm Pool

Trends in observed sea surface salinity (SSS) and temperature are analyzed for the tropical Pacific during 1955–2003. Since 1955, the western Pacific Warm Pool has significantly warmed and freshened, whereas SSS has been increasing in the western Coral Sea and part of the subtropical ocean. Waters warmer than 28.5°C warmed on average by 0.29°C, and freshened by 0.34 pss per 50 years. Our study also indicates a significant horizontal extension of the warm and fresh surface waters, an expansion of the warm waters volume, and a notable eastward extension of the SSS fronts located on the equator and under the South Pacific Convergence Zone. Mixed layer depth changes examined along 137°E and 165°E are complex, but suggest an increase in the equatorial barrier layer thickness. Our study also reveals consistency between observed SSS trends and a mean hydrological cycle increase inferred from Clausius–Clapeyron scaling, as predicted under global warming scenarios. Possible implications of these changes for ocean–atmosphere interactions and El Niño events are discussed.     

Nonlinear precipitation response to El Niño and global warming in the Indo-Pacific

Precipitation changes over the Indo-Pacific during El Niño events are studied using an Atmospheric General Circulation Model forced with sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies and changes in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Linear increases in the amplitude of the El Niño SST anomaly pattern trigger nonlinear changes in precipitation amounts, resulting in shifts in the location and orientation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). In particular, the maximum precipitation anomaly along the ITCZ and SPCZ shifts eastwards, the ITCZ shifts south towards the equator, and the SPCZ becomes more zonal. Precipitation in the equatorial Pacific also increases nonlinearly. The effect of increasing CO₂ levels and warming SSTs is also investigated. Global warming generally enhances the tropical Pacific precipitation response to El Niño. The precipitation response to El Niño is found to be dominated by changes in the atmospheric mean circulation dynamics, whereas the response to global warming is a balance between dynamic and thermodynamic changes. While the dependence of projected climate change impacts on seasonal variability is well-established, this study reveals that the impact of global warming on Pacific precipitation also depends strongly on the magnitude of the El Niño event. The magnitude and structure of the precipitation changes are also sensitive to the spatial structure of the global warming SST pattern.     

Sediment colour reflectance spectroscopy as a proxy for wet/dry cycles at Lake El'gygytgyn,Far East Russia,during Marine Isotope Stages 8 to 12

Marine Isotope Stage 11 has been proposed as an analogue for the present interglacial interval; yet, terrestrial climate records from both this region and time interval are rare. The sediments deposited at Lake El'gygytgyn (67°30′N, 172°5′E) in Far East Russia contain a 3·56 Ma record of climate variability. This study presents a high‐resolution record of sediment colour change from Marine Isotope Stage 8 to 12 (ca 275 to 475 ka) and demonstrates the link between lake catchment processes and climate variability. The hue colour parameter, calculated from data collected via colour reflectance spectroscopy in the visible spectrum (380 to 720 nm), exhibits correspondence with global climate records. Determining the source of sediment colour changes was achieved through detailed mineralogical and sedimentological methods, and linked to colour changes through a series of colour sensitivity tests. Mineralogical data, measured by X‐ray diffraction, reveal fluctuations in concentrations of clay minerals corresponding to colour changes. Further analyses of the clay mineral assemblages show no change in relative clay mineral abundances, yet demonstrate a lake catchment dominated by physical weathering processes. Using measured mineral abundances, reconstructions of sediment colour based on colour reflectance mineral standards link mineral and clay mineral content to overall sediment colour. Colour sensitivity tests demonstrate the ability of iron oxide minerals to stain sediments red. Additionally, colour sensitivity to organic matter content was tested, suggesting that organic content drives variability in the red portion of the spectrum and darkens the overall colour signal. Sediment colour is then ultimately linked to physical weathering of bedrock minerals, with small amounts of chemical weathering producing iron oxides during wet intervals. Fluctuations in the sediment colour reveal a high‐resolution record of wet/dry cycles, and provide new information about wet periods for the Russian Arctic region not yet understood from other lake proxy records.     

Determination of Precise and Accurate 51V/50V Isotope Ratios by Multi‐Collector ICP‐MS,Part 2: Isotopic Composition of Six Reference Materials plus the Allende Chondrite and Verification Tests

We present the first measurements of vanadium (V) stable isotopes for six reference materials – USGS PCC‐1, BHVO‐2, BCR‐2, BIR‐1a, GSP‐2 and AGV‐2 – plus the widely available carbonaceous chondrite Allende. We present standard addition and matrix spiking tests to assess the robustness and reproducibility of our data. Standard addition utilised an enriched ⁵⁰V solution designated VISSOX (Vanadium Isotope Standard Solution OXford). We further assessed the veracity of the method by spiking collected sample matrices with the same amount of a V standard solution, whose isotopic composition was defined as 0‰. Standard addition and matrix spiking tests recorded no appreciable artificial isotope fractionation. We estimate that the best currently attainable long‐term reproducibility of stable ⁵¹V/⁵⁰V isotope measurements in complex matrices is 0.15‰, which is in the same order as the reproducibility achievable with standard solutions. Finally, a large range of ～ 1.2‰ in stable V isotopic composition was documented, with ～ 0.5‰ of that variation in high temperature igneous materials alone. The range and resolving power of V stable isotopes, with respect to igneous material, compared favourably with the magnitude of fractionation reported for other non‐traditional stable isotope systems, which bodes well for the utility of this new system.     

Towards a heterogeneous environmental responsibility: sustainability and cycling fundamentalism

This article explores the urban governmentalities that are emerging through the discursive constitution of cycling as a form of sustainable transport. It has two main aims. The first is to explore and critique the strategies and discourses used to promote cycling as a sustainable form of transport. We argue that cycling advocacy displays totalising tendencies which obscure social and cultural difference, ignore the embodied and affective dimensions of transport practices and fail in part to apprehend the heterogeneity of environmental responsibility. Our second aim is to tentatively suggest a more productive way of knowing and talking about cycling that might be constitutive of a less exclusionary affective ethical sensibility.     

Defence force activities in marine protected areas: environmental management of Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland, Australia

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), and abutting Queensland’s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) is widely used by the ADF. This paper examines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber (TS) exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.