Low-frequency variability and CO2 transient climate change

Results from a global coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (GCM) are used to perform the first in a series of studies of the various time and space scales of climate anomalies in an environment of gradually increasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) (a linear transient increase of 1% per year in the coupled model). Since observed climate anomaly patterns often are computed as time-averaged differences between two periods, climate-change signals in the coupled model are defined using differences of various averaging intervals between the transient and control integrations. Annual mean surface air temperature differences for several regions show that the Northern Hemisphere warms faster than the Southern Hemisphere and that land areas warm faster than ocean. The high northern latitudes outside the North Atlantic contribute most to global warming but also exhibit great variability, while the high southern latitudes contribute the least. The equatorial tropics warm more slowly than the subtropics due to strong upwelling and mixing in the ocean. The globally averaged surface air temperature trend computed from annual mean differences for years 23–60 is 0.03 C per year. Projecting this trend to the time of CO₂ doubling in year 100 produces a warming of 2.3° C. By chance, one particular northern winter five-year average geographical difference pattern in the Northern Hemisphere from the coupled model resembles the recent observed pattern of surface temperature and sea-level pressure anomalies. This pattern is not consistent from one five-year period to the next in any season in the model. However, multidecadal averages in the coupled model show that the North Atlantic warms less than the rest of the high northern latitudes, and recent observations may be a manifestation of this phenomenon. Consistent geographic patterns of climate anomalies forced by increased CO₂ in the model are more evident with a longer averaging interval. There is also the possibility that the CO₂ climate-change signal may itself be a function of time and space. The general pattern of zonal mean temperature anomalies for all periods in the model shows warming in the troposphere and cooling in the stratosphere. This pattern (or one similar to it taking into account the rest of the trace gases) could be looked for in observations to verify the enhanced greenhouse effect. A zonal mean pattern, however, could prove scientifically satisfactory but of little value to policymakers seeking regional climate-change forecasts. These results from the coupled model underscore the difficulty in identifying a time- and space-dependent fingerprint of greenhouse warming that has some practical use from short climatic records and point to the need to understand the mechanisms of decadal-scale variability.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Subduction of lithospheric upper mantle recorded by solid phase inclusions and compositional zoning in garnet: Example from the Bohemian Massif

This paper presents monomineral and multiphase inclusions in garnet from eclogites and clinopyroxenites, which form layers and boudins in garnet peridotites from two areas in the Moldanubian zone of the Bohemian Massif. The garnet peridotites occur in felsic granulites and reached UHP conditions prior to their granulite facies overprint. In addition to complex compositional zoning, garnets from hosting eclogites and clinopyroxenites preserve inclusions of hydrous phases and alkali silicate minerals including: amphiboles, chlorites, micas and feldspars. Amphibole, biotite and apatite inclusions in garnet have a high concentration of halogens; CO₂ and sulfur are involved in carbonates and sulfide inclusions, respectively. The inclusion patterns and compositional zoning in garnet in combination with textural relations among minerals, suggest that the ultramafic and mafic bodies are derived from lithospheric mantle above the subduction zone and were transformed into garnet pyroxenites and eclogites in the subduction zone. Based on compositional, mineral and textural relations, all of these rocks along with the surrounding crustal material were overprinted by granulite facies metamorphism during their exhumation.     

Changes in ice phenology characteristics of two Central European steppe lakes from 1926 to 2012 - influences of local weather and large scale oscillation patterns

This paper investigates how the role of climate in tourist destination choice has changed over the last 15 years. To this end, a demand model for international tourism is estimated, including the main classic determinants but allowing a time-varying climatic sensitivity of tourists. Moreover, a complete database considering international tourism movement between 178 countries for the period 1995 to 2010 is used. Results show how turning point temperatures in origin and destination countries have changed over the period of analysis, evidencing a loss of competitiveness for traditional warm destinations. Additionally, using data for the projected growth of Gross Domestic Product per capita and climatic conditions within A2, B1 and B2 scenarios, an updated vision of their expected impact on international tourism flows is assessed, evaluating how climate change would imply a greater loss of attractiveness for traditional warm destinations around the world but would increase attractiveness for high latitude countries.     

Genesis of post-hotspot,A-type rhyolite of the Eastern Snake River Plain volcanic field by extreme fractional crystallization of olivine tholeiite

Rhyolites occur as a subordinate component of the basalt-dominated Eastern Snake River Plain volcanic field. The basalt-dominated volcanic field spatially overlaps and post-dates voluminous late Miocene to Pliocene rhyolites of the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain hotspot track. In some areas the basalt lavas are intruded, interlayered or overlain by ~15 km³ of cryptodomes, domes and flows of high-silica rhyolite. These post-hotspot rhyolites have distinctive A-type geochemical signatures including high whole-rock FeO_tot/(FeO_tot+MgO), high Rb/Sr, low Sr (0.5–10 ppm) and are either aphyric, or contain an anhydrous phenocryst assemblage of sodic sanidine ± plagioclase + quartz > fayalite + ferroaugite > magnetite > ilmenite + accessory zircon + apatite + chevkinite. Nd- and Sr-isotopic compositions overlap with coeval olivine tholeiites (ɛ_Nd = −4 to −6; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.7080–0.7102) and contrast markedly with isotopically evolved Archean country rocks. In at least two cases, the rhyolite lavas occur as cogenetic parts of compositionally zoned (~55–75% SiO₂) shield volcanoes. Both consist dominantly of intermediate composition lavas and have cumulative volumes of several 10’s of km³ each. They exhibit two distinct, systematic and continuous types of compositional trends: (1) At Cedar Butte (0.4 Ma) the volcanic rocks are characterized by prominent curvilinear patterns of whole-rock chemical covariation. Whole-rock compositions correlate systematically with changes in phenocryst compositions and assemblages. (2) At Unnamed Butte (1.4 Ma) the lavas are dominated by linear patterns of whole-rock chemical covariation, disequilibrium phenocryst assemblages, and magmatic enclaves. Intermediate compositions in this group resulted from variable amounts of mixing and hybridization of olivine tholeiite and rhyolite parent magmas. Interestingly, models of rhyolite genesis that involve large degrees of melting of Archean crust or previously consolidated mafic or silicic Tertiary intrusions do not produce observed ranges of Nd- and Sr-isotopes, extreme depletions in Sr-concentration, and cogenetic spectra of intermediate rock compositions for both groups. Instead, least-squares mass-balance, energy-constrained assimilation and fractional crystallization modeling, and mineral thermobarometry can explain rhyolite production by 77% low-pressure fractional crystallization of a basaltic trachyandesite parent magma (~55% SiO₂), accompanied by minor (0.03–7%) assimilation of Archean upper crust. We present a physical model that links the rhyolites and parental intermediate magmas to primitive olivine tholeiite by fractional crystallization. Assimilation, recharge, mixing and fractional melting occur to limited degrees, but are not essential parts of the rhyolite formation process. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. This paper constitutes part of a special issue dedicated to Bill Bonnichsen on the petrogenesis and volcanology of anorogenic rhyolites.     

Geophysical Characterization of Smelting Wastes: A Case History

The thicknesses of slag piles at a smelling site in Midvale. Utah, were determined using geophysical methods; this information was needed to estimate the cost of removing or isolating slag that has the potential to contaminate ground water. From a small-scale preliminary investigation that, included terrain-conductivity profiling, low-frequency resistivity measurements, and induction logging, the electrical resistivities of the slag and the underlying sediment were determined to be approximately 100 Ω-m and 15 Ω-m, respectively. Because electromagnetic measurements are affected by such significant contrasts, terrain-conductivity profiling and time-domain electromagnetic soundings were used to determine the thicknesses of the slag piles. Generally, the estimated thicknesses from both methods were consistent and geologically plausible. In some instances, reliable estimates of the thicknesses could not be obtained because, for example, the measurements were affected by buried metal objects.
In this case study, we emphasize three principles that might help investigators at other smelter sites. First, a small-scale preliminary investigation saves time and money because those geophysical methods that have the greatest likelihood of success can be determined. Second, when the results from several geophysical methods are consistent, the confidence in the interpretation increases. Third, geophysical characterization is not always successful. Nonetheless, because of its outstanding advantages, it should be used before other more expensive characterization methods arc tried.     

Enrichment of redox-sensitive trace metals (U,V, Mo,As) associated with the late Hauterivian Faraoni oceanic anoxic event

The Faraoni Level is a short-lived oxygen-deficient event that took place during the latest Hauterivian. In order to improve our understanding of the palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred during this event, we have analysed the contents of several redox-sensitive trace elements (U, V, Mo, As, Co, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr) from bulk limestone samples of late Hauterivian–early Barremian age from three reference sections. U, V, Mo and As show consistent and significant enrichments during the Faraoni event whereas the other redox-sensitive trace elements analysed here are not systematically enriched. In order to explain this discrepant behaviour, we propose that the Faraoni Level was deposited during a period of anoxic conditions near the sediment–water interface. The distinctive peaks in U, V, Mo and As contents are traceable throughout the three studied sections and represent a good correlation tool which helps to identify the Faraoni Level and its equivalents in the western Tethyan realm and outside of the Tethys. For example, a peak in U contents in upper Hauterivian sediments of the northwestern Pacific realm (ODP leg 185, site 1149) may well be an expression of the Faraoni event in this particular basin.     

Distribution of diagenetic alterations in glaciogenic sandstones within a depositional facies and sequence stratigraphic framework: Evidence from the Upper Ordovician of the Murzuq Basin, SW Libya

The spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations has been constrained in relationship to depositional facies and sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Ordovician glaciogenic quartzarenite sandstones in the Murzuq Basin, SW Libya, which were deposited during the Haritanian glaciation when the basin was laying along the continental margin of Gondwana. Eogenetic alterations encountered include: (i) replacement of detrital silicates, mud matrix and pseudomatrix by kaolinite in paraglacial, tide-dominated deltaic, in foreshore to shoreface (highstand systems tract; HST) and in post-glacial, Gilbert-type deltaic (lowstand systems tract; LST) sandstones, particularly below the sequence boundaries (SB). Kaolinite formation is attributed to the influx of meteoric water during relative sea level fall and basinward shift of the shoreline. (ii) Cementation by calcite (δ¹⁸O_VPDB = − 3.1‰ to + 1.1‰ and δ¹³C_VPDB = + 1.7‰ to + 3.5‰) and Mg-rich siderite in the paraglacial, tide-dominated deltaic and foreshore to shoreface HST sandstones, in the glacial, tide-dominated estuarine (transgressive systems tract; TST) sandstones and in the post-glacial, shoreface TST sandstones is interpreted to have occurred from marine pore-waters. (iii) Cementation by Mg-poor siderite, which occurs in the post-glacial, Gilbert-type deltaic LST sandstones and in the paraglacial, tide-dominated deltaic and foreshore to shoreface HST sandstones, is interpreted to have occurred from meteoric waters during relative sea level fall and basinward shift of the shoreline. (iv) Pervasive cementation by iron oxides has occurred in the glacial, shoreface–offshore TST sandstones and post-glacial, shoreface TST sandstones immediately below the maximum flooding surfaces (MFS), which was presumably enhanced by prolonged residence time of the sediments under oxic diagenetic conditions at the seafloor. (v) Formation of grain-coating infiltrated clays mainly in the glacial, fluvial incised-valley LST sandstones and in the post-glacial, Gilbert-type deltaic LST sandstones as well as, less commonly, in the paraglacial, foreshore to shoreface HST sandstones and in the tide-dominated deltaic HST sandstones below the SBs.

Mesogenetic alterations include mainly the formation of abundant quartz overgrowths in the glacial, fluvial incised-valley LST sandstones, post-glacial, Gilbert-type deltaic LST sandstones and glacial, shoreface TST sandstones, in which early carbonate cements are lacking. Illite, chlorite and albitized feldspars, which occur in small amounts, are most common in the glacial, tide-dominated estuarine TST sandstones and paraglacial, shoreface HST sandstones. This study demonstrates that the spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations and their impact on reservoir-quality evolution in glacial, paraglacial and post-glacial sandstones can be better elucidated when linked to the depositional facies and sequence stratigraphic framework.     

Tree Species Composition in European Pristine Forests: Comparison of Stand Data to Model Predictions

The degree of general applicability across Europe currently achieved with several forest succession models is assessed, data needs and steps for further model development are identified and the role physiology based models can play in this process is evaluated. To this end, six forest succession models (DISCFORM, ForClim, FORSKA-M, GUESS, PICUS v1.2, SIERRA) are applied to simulate stand structure and species composition at 5 European pristine forest sites in different climatic regions. The models are initialized with site-specific soil information and driven with climate data from nearby weather stations. Predicted species composition and stand structure are compared to inventory data. Similarity and dissimilarity in the model results under current climatic conditions as well as the predicted responses to six climate change scenarios are discussed. All models produce good results in the prediction of the right tree functional types. In about half the cases, the dominating species are predicted correctly under the current climate. Where deviations occur, they often represent a shift of the species spectrum towards more drought tolerant species. Results for climate change scenarios indicate temperature driven changes in the alpine elevational vegetation belts at humid sites and a high sensitivity of forest composition and biomass of boreal and temperate deciduous forests to changes in precipitation as mediated by summer drought. Restricted generality of the models is found insofar as models originally developed for alpine conditions clearly perform better at alpine sites than at boreal sites, and vice versa. We conclude that both the models and the input data need to be improved before the models can be used for a robust evaluation of forest dynamics under climate change scenarios across Europe. Recommendations for model improvements, further model testing and the use of physiology based succession models are made.     

Zur Bildung und Zusammensetzung der brennbaren Gesteine

Zusammenfassung Vorbedingung für die Bildung von Brennsteinlagerstätten ist die Bildung von Hohlformen der Erdoberfläche. Als solche kommen in erster Linie orogene Vortiefen und Zwischensenken, sowie epirogene Senken in Frage. Je nach Schnelligkeit und Vollständigkeit der Abdichtung bleiben u. U. auch leichter zersetzliche Stoffe erhalten; dementsprechend entstehen aus meerischen Gyttjen unter zunächst oxydativen Bedingungen Brennsteine von der Art des Kuckersits, aus meerischen Sapropelen polybituminöse Gesteine und Erdöl. Festländisch bilden sich die Kohlen, zu denen auch Unterwasserablagerungen (Bogheads=Algengyttjen; Cannels = Dy, Sapropel, Gyttja; beide stets mit Dy-Grundmasse) gehören. Porphyrine und Metallgehalte gestatten eine Unterscheidung der Haupttypen der Brenngesteine und eine Zuweisung des Erdöls zu den Sapropelgesteinen.Bei der Kohlenbildung spielt das Lignin die Hauptrolle, die Zellulose wird im Torf und während früher Braunkohlenstadien abgebaut. Bei der Bildung der Kerogengesteine werden die Eiweißstoffe zersetzt, Fette und Kohlehydrate spielen wohl die Hauptrolle. Nur bei der Bildung der Sapropelite einschl. des Erdöls spielen außer Kohlehydraten (und den geringen Mengen von Fetten und Ölen) die Eiweißstoffe eine wesentliche Rolle. Die erstentstehenden Öle sind Alkane. Oberflächeneinflüsse (z. B. Tiefenstandwasser mit Sauerstoffsalzen) bewirken die Naphtenisierung; infolge der damit verbundenen Temperaturerhöhung entstehen die Aromaten, die sich später wieder in Naphtene zurückbilden.Die qualitative Geochemie verbindet die Anreicherung von Elementen und Molekülen in Gesteinen mit den Vorgängen, die im Ablagerungs- und Umbildungsraum herrschen (Fazies, Diagenese usw.). Sie führt zur Kennzeichnung der Ablagerungs- und Umbildungsräume durch typische Elemente oder Moleküle, bzw. durch deren Vergesellschaftung oder Mengenverhältnis.