Zooplankton research off Peru: A review

A review of zooplankton studies conducted in Peruvian marine waters is given. After a short history of the development of zooplankton research off Peru, we review zooplankton methodology, taxonomy, biodiversity, spatial distribution, seasonal and interannual variability, trophodynamics, secondary production, and modelling. We review studies on several micro-, meso-, macro-, and meroplankton groups, and give a species list from both published and unpublished reports. Three regional zooplankton groups have been identified: (1) a continental shelf group dominated by Acartia tonsa and Centropages brachiatus; (2) a continental slope group characterized by siphonophores, bivalves, foraminifera and radiolaria; (3) and a species-rich oceanic group. The highest zooplankton abundances and biomasses were often found between 4–6°S and 14–16°S, where continental shelves are narrow. Species composition changes with distance from the shore. Species composition and biomass also vary strongly on short time scales due to advection, peaks of larval production, trophic interactions, and community succession. The relation of zooplankton to climatic variability (ENSO and multi-decadal) and fish stocks is discussed in the context of ecological regime shifts. An intermediate upwelling hypothesis is proposed, based on the negative effects of low upwelling intensity in summer or extremely strong and enduring winter upwelling on zooplankton abundance off Peru. According to this hypothesis, intermediate upwelling creates an optimal environmental window for zooplankton communities. Finally, we highlight important knowledge gaps that warrant attention in future.     

Results from a Multi-disciplinary Sedimentary Pilot Study of Tectonic Lake Iznik (NW Turkey) – Geochemistry and Paleolimnology of the Recent Past

A limnogeological reconnaissance study was carried out on Lake Iznik, located in the southeast of the Marmara region of Turkey, involving a seismic survey and collection of short sediment cores. This lake is located on the middle branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), a transform plate boundary between the Eurasian and Anatolian Plates. It is, therefore, tectonically active and offers an opportunity to investigate the interplay of sedimentary and seismo-tectonic processes, as well as climate change and human impact in the region. Short cores of the three sub-basins, maximum length of 35.5 cm, recovered non-laminated, blackish clays and silts with varying amounts of biogenic and minerogenic (allochthonous, autochthonous) material, which documented almost the last 80 years of deposition and environmental history. High sedimentation rates in the deeper core sections are accompanied by changes in land use (conversion of woodland to farmland) in the northern areas of Lake Iznik, which caused the deposition of more weathered material (high K/Na ratios) and higher contents of Mn in the lake. A tendency towards eutrophic conditions within the last 20 years is indicated by high nutrient content (N, TOC, P), decreasing C/N-ratios, and characteristic diatom and cladoceran associations. Also increased pollution is revealed by higher Pb, Cu, and Zn contents and increased supply of human and animal faeces (high coprostanol content) during the last two decades. But simultaneous lower sedimentation rates towards the core tops complicate the reconstruction of recent and past eutrophication and pollution states of Lake Iznik. This requires an extension of the pilot study and deeper sediment cores, to recover non-anthropogenic influenced sediment levels.     

Climate change impact on extreme wave conditions in the North Sea: an ensemble study

An analysis of today’s mean and extreme wave conditions in the North Sea and their possible future changes due to anthropogenic climate change are presented. The sea state was simulated for the 30-year period 2071–2100 using the wave model WAM and an ensemble of wind field data sets for four climate change realizations as driving data. The wind field data sets are based on simulation outputs from two global circulation models (GCMs: HadAM3H and ECHAM4/OPYC3) for two emission scenarios (A2 and B2, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Emission Scenarios). They were regionalized by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute using the regional climate model RCAO. The effects of the climate realizations on the sea state statistics were assessed by analyzing the differences between the patterns in the four CGM/emission scenario combinations and those in two control simulations representing reference wave climate conditions for the 30-year period 1961–1990. The analysis of the four emission scenario/GCM combinations has shown that the future long-term 99 percentile wind speed and significant wave height increase by up to 7% and 18%, respectively, in the North Sea, except for significant wave height off the English coast and to the north in the HadAM3H-driven simulation. The climate change response in the ECHAM4/OPYC3-forced experiments is generally larger than in the HadAM3H-driven simulations. The differences in future significant wave height between the different combinations are in the same order of magnitude as those between the control runs for the two GCMs. Nevertheless, there is agreement among the four combinations that extreme wave heights may increase in large parts in the southern and eastern North Sea by about 0.25 to 0.35 m (5–8% of present values) towards the end of the twenty first century in case of global warming. All combinations also show an increase in future frequency of severe sea state.     

Influence of the surface microlayer on the flux of nonconservative trace gases (CO,H2, CH4, N2O) across the ocean-atmosphere interface

Gas exchange experiments were conducted in the tropical Atlantic Ocean during a ship expedition with FS Meteor using a small rubber raft. The temporal change of the mixing ratios of CO, H₂, CH₄ and N₂O in the headspace of a floating glass box and the concentrations of these gases in the water phase were measured to determine their transfer velocities across the ocean-atmosphere interface. The ocean acted as a sink for these gases when the water was undersaturated with respect to the mixing ratio in the headspace. The transfer velocities were different for the individual gases and showed still large differences even when normalized for diffusivity. Applying the laminar film model, film thicknesses of 20 to 70 m were calculated for the observed flux rates of the different gas species. When the water was supersaturated with respect to atmospheric CO, H₂, CH₄ and N₂O, the transfer velocities of the emission process were smaller than those determined for the deposition process. In case of H₂ and CH₄, emission was even not calculable although, based on the observed gradient, the laminar film model predicted significant fluxes at the air-sea interface. The results are interpreted by destruction processes active within the surface microlayer.     

Multi-Scale Texture Modeling

Patterns of crystallographic preferred orientation are referred to as texture. The specific subject of texture analysis is the experimental determination and interpretation of the statistical distribution of orientations of crystals within a specimen of polycrystalline material, which could be metals or rocks. The objective is to relate an observed pattern of preferred orientation to its generating processes and vice versa. In geosciences, texture of minerals in rocks is used to infer constraints on their tectono-metamorphic history. Since most physical properties of crystals, such as elastic moduli, the coefficients of thermal expansion, or chemical resistance to etching depends on crystal symmetry and orientation, the presence of texture imparts directional properties to the polycrystalline material. A major issue of mathematical texture analysis is the resolution of the inverse problem to determine a reasonable orientation density function on SO(3) from measured pole intensities on , which relates to the inverse of the totally geodesic Radon transform. This communication introduces a wavelet approach into mathematical texture analysis. Wavelets on the two-dimensional sphere and on the rotational group SO(3) are discussed, and an algorithms for a wavelet decomposition on both domains following the ideas of Ta-Hsin Li is given. The relationship of these wavelets on both domains with respect to the totally geodesic Radon transform is investigated. In particular, it is shown that the Radon transform of these wavelets on SO(3) are again wavelets on . A novel algorithm for the inversion of experimental pole intensities to an orientation density function based on this relationship is developed.     

Development of a modelling methodology for simulation of long-term morphological evolution of the southern Baltic coast

The Darss–Zingst peninsula at the southern Baltic Sea is a typical wave-dominated barrier island system which includes an outer barrier island and an inner lagoon. The formation of the Darss–Zingst peninsula dates back to the Littorina Transgression onset about 8,000 cal BP. It originated from several discrete islands, has been reshaped by littoral currents, wind-induced waves during the last 8,000 years and evolved into a complex barrier island system as today; thus, it may serve as an example to study the coastal evolution under long-term climate change. A methodology for developing a long-term (decadal-to-centennial) process-based morphodynamic model for the southern Baltic coastal environment is presented here. The methodology consists of two main components: (1) a preliminary analysis of the key processes driving the morphological evolution of the study area based on statistical analysis of meteorological data and sensitivity studies; (2) a multi-scale high-resolution process-based model. The process-based model is structured into eight main modules. The two-dimensional vertically integrated circulation module, the wave module, the bottom boundary layer module, the sediment transport module, the cliff erosion module and the nearshore storm module are real-time calculation modules which aim at solving the short-term processes. A bathymetry update module and a long-term control function set, in which the ‘reduction’ concepts and technique for morphological update acceleration are implemented, are integrated to up-scale the effects of short-term processes to a decadal-to-centennial scale. A series of multi-scale modelling strategies are implemented in the application of the model to the research area. Successful hindcast of the coastline change of the Darss–Zingst peninsula for the last 300 years validates the modelling methodology. Model results indicate that the coastline change of the Darss–Zingst peninsula is dominated by mechanisms acting on different time scales. The coastlines of Darss and the island of Hiddensee are mainly reshaped by long-term effects of waves and longshore currents, while the coastline change of the Zingst peninsula is due to a combination of long-term effects of waves and short-term effects caused by wind storms.     

Comparison of Galerkin-type discretization techniques for two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

A comparison of Standard Galerkin, Petrov-Galerkin, and Fully-Upwind Galerkin methods for the simulation of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media is presented. On the basis of the coupled pressure-saturation equations, a generalized formulation for all three finite element methods is derived and analysed. For flow in homogeneous media, the Petrov-Galerkin method gives excellent results. But this method fails miserably for problems with heterogeneous media. This is because it is not able to capture correctly processes that take place at interfaces when, for instance, the capillary pressure-saturation relationship after Brooks and Corey is assumed. The Fully-Upwind Galerkin method is superior to the Petrov-Galerkin approach because it is able to give correct results for flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous media for the two models of van Genuchten and Brooks-Corey. The widely used formulation which is correct for the homogeneous case cannot be used for heterogeneous media. Instead the straightforward approach of gradp_c in combination with a chord-slope technique must be utilized.     

Verteilung und Wanderung von Neunaugen im Elbeästuar (Deutschland)

From March 1989 until May 1995 overall 675 hauls were performed using a commercial stow net vessel to get information concerning spatial and seasonal distribution, length frequency distribution, stock situation and migration patterns of lampreys in the Elbe estuary in northern Germany.2217 river lampreys (Lampetra fluviatilis) and 10 sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) were caught during the whole study period. The river lamprey occurred in 40.3% of the performed stow net hauls. The catch success was highest in the western main channel, whereas the frequency of occurrence of river lampreys was only about 10.9% at the most upstream site in the southern marginal area. In 1989 and 1990 significantly more than 50% of the hauls contained river lampreys. In contrast, from 1991 to 1995 their frequency of occurrence was lower than 40%, in 1991 even lower than 20%. Sea lampreys occurred only at 6 from 9 sampled sites and were only observed in 1990 and 1992-1994.Total lengths of river lampreys varied between 7 and 46 cm. Based on the length frequency distribution, the following three size classes of river lampreys were separated: LF I (7 to 16 cm), LF II (17-26 cm) and LF III (27-46 cm). The majority of the caught individuals could be grouped in size class LF III. Total lengths of sea lampreys ranged between 69 and 85 cm and were restricted to only one size class (PM III).70% of all sea lampreys were caught in April and May. Most of the sea lampreys were observed in the eastern main channel. The maximum average abundance of river lampreys was observed with 6.75 Ind · m⁻³ · 10⁻⁶ in the same area in 1992. However, in 1993 and 1994 the highest average abundances of river lampreys occurred in the western main channel.Based on redundance analysis, a significant correlation between the abundances of lampreys and the environmental variables autumn, spring, summer, salinity, water temperature, grain size, new moon and first moon quarter was found. The downstream migrating river lampreys of size class LF I und the sea lampreys during their anadromous spawning migration showed highest abundances mainly in spring, whereas high abundances of river lampreys of size class LF II in the feeding phase occurred in summer. The presence of both size classes LF I and LF II confirms the successful reproduction of river lampreys in the catchment area of the Elbe. The observation of river lampreys of size class LF III during their anadromous spawning migration was closely correlated with the variable autumn. A spring spawning migration of river lampreys was not observed.     

Formation and chemical evolution of magnesium chloride brines by evaporite dissolution processes—Implications for evaporite geochemistry

The evolution of magnesium chloride brines with high bromide contents via a multistage reaction and dissolution process has been studied in brine seeps of a German potash mine. The observed chemical trends and phase equilibria can be modeled and interpreted in terms of a NaCl solution (cap rock brine) infiltrating into a potash zone characterized by the metamorphic mineral assemblage kieserite + sylvite + halite + anhydrite. Establishment of a persistent, stable equilibrium assemblage and constant fluid composition in the invariant point IP1 of the six component (Na-K-Mg-Ca-Cl-SO₄-H₂O) system of oceanic salts is prevented by the perpetually renewed input of NaCl-brine and by the intermittent exposure of incompatible kieserite. Instead, the solutions develop towards the metastable invariant point IP1(gy), with the mineral assemblage carnallite + polyhalite + sylvite + halite + gypsum, where gypsum takes the place of anhydrite (stage I). The temporary exposure of kieserite and the ensuing formation of polyhalite effectively buffer the solutions along the metastable polyhalite phase boundary during stages II and III. Eventually, in stage IV, polyhalite becomes depleted and admixture of more NaCl brine leads to low sulfate solution compositions, which are now only constrained by carnallite + sylvite + halite, and the once hexary system degenerates to a quaternary one (Na-K-Mg-Cl-H₂O) in point E. Bromide in brines shows equilibrium partitioning with respect to the wall rock minerals. The pattern of evolving brine compositions may serve as a model for similar brine occurrences, which in some cases may have been misinterpreted as remains of fossil, highly concentrated and chemically modified seawater. Similar magnesium chloride brines of salt lakes (e.g., Dead Sea, Dabusun Lake) show subtle differences and are constrained by fewer mineral equilibria (more degrees of freedom), and their low sulfate contents are due to gypsum precipitation, driven by calcium chloride input from dolomitization reactions. Finally, the observed reaction sequence is generalized, and a model for the formation of magnesium sulfate depleted, chloride-type potash salts and bischofite deposits by leaching of sulfate-type evaporites is proposed.     

A novel ozone sensor for direct eddy flux measurements

A small, lightweight (1.5 kg) and fast-response ozone sensor for direct eddy flux measurements has been built. The basis for detection is the chemiluminescence of an organic dye adsorbed on dry silica gel in the reaction with ozone. The chemiluminescence is monitored with a cheap and small blue-sensitive photomultiplier. At a flow rate of 100 l min^-1 the ozone sensor has a 90% response time of significantly better than 0.1 s with a detection limit lower than 50 ppt at S/N=3. There are no interferences from other atmospheric trace gases like NO_x, H₂O₂ and PAN. Water vapour and SO₂ enhance the chemiluminescence efficiency of the ozone sensor. Since their response times are 22 seconds and 30 minutes, respectively, no correlation between rapid ozone fluctuations and those of these two trace gases is noticed by the ozone sensor when operating at a frequency of 10 Hz.The ozone sensor was tested for several weeks in continuous measurements of ozone fluxes and deposition velocities over different croplands using the eddy correlation technique. Good agreement was found between ozone dry deposition velocities derived from profile measurements and by eddy correlation.