Climate feedbacks determined using radiative kernels in a multi-thousand member ensemble of AOGCMs

The use of radiative kernels to diagnose climate feedbacks is a recent development that may be applied to existing climate change simulations. We apply the radiative kernel technique to transient simulations from a multi-thousand member perturbed physics ensemble of coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models, comparing distributions of model feedbacks with those taken from the CMIP-3 multi GCM ensemble. Although the range of clear sky longwave feedbacks in the perturbed physics ensemble is similar to that seen in the multi-GCM ensemble, the kernel technique underestimates the net clear-sky feedbacks (or the radiative forcing) in some perturbed models with significantly altered humidity distributions. In addition, the compensating relationship between global mean atmospheric lapse rate feedback and water vapor feedback is found to hold in the perturbed physics ensemble, but large differences in relative humidity distributions in the ensemble prevent the compensation from holding at a regional scale. Both ensembles show a similar range of response of global mean net cloud feedback, but the mean of the perturbed physics ensemble is shifted towards more positive values such that none of the perturbed models exhibit a net negative cloud feedback. The perturbed physics ensemble contains fewer models with strong negative shortwave cloud feedbacks and has stronger compensating positive longwave feedbacks. A principal component analysis used to identify dominant modes of feedback variation reveals that the perturbed physics ensemble produces very different modes of climate response to the multi-model ensemble, suggesting that one may not be used as an analog for the other in estimates of uncertainty in future response. Whereas in the multi-model ensemble, the first order variation in cloud feedbacks shows compensation between longwave and shortwave components, in the perturbed physics ensemble the shortwave feedbacks are uncompensated, possibly explaining the larger range of climate sensitivities observed in the perturbed simulations. Regression analysis suggests that the parameters governing cloud formation, convection strength and ice fall speed are the most significant in altering climate feedbacks. Perturbations of oceanic and sulfur cycle parameters have relatively little effect on the atmospheric feedbacks diagnosed by the kernel technique.     

Comparing threshold definition techniques for rainfall‐induced landslides: A national assessment using radar rainfall

Translational landslides and debris flows are often initiated during intense or prolonged rainfall. Empirical thresholds aim to classify the rain conditions that are commonly associated with landslide occurrence and therefore improve understating of these hazards and predictive ability. Objective techniques that are used to determine these thresholds are likely to be affected by the length of the rain record used, yet this is not routinely considered. Moreover, remotely sensed spatially continuous rainfall observations are under‐exploited. This study compares and evaluates the effect of rain record length on two objective threshold selection techniques in a national assessment of Scotland using weather radar data. Thresholds selected by ‘threat score’ are sensitive to rain record length whereas, in a first application to landslides, ‘optimal point’ (OP) thresholds prove relatively consistent. OP thresholds increase landslide detection and may therefore be applicable in early‐warning systems. Thresholds combining 1‐ and 12‐day antecedence variables best distinguish landslide initiation conditions and indicate that Scottish landslides may be initiated by lower rain accumulation and intensities than previously thought. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Seasonality and selectivity in the feeding ecology and reproductive biology of deep-sea bathyal holothurians

Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments were determined from the gut sediments of five species of bathyal holothurian in the NE Atlantic, sampled shortly after the spring/summer phytoplankton bloom in 2001 and prior to the spring bloom in 2002. Three species, Laetmogone violacea, Paroriza pallens and Bathyplotes natans, sampled within a similar depth range (900–1100 m) in the summer of 2001 showed significant differences in their chlorophyll and carotenoid pigment concentrations. This suggests they may select for slightly different components from the available food resource. Four species sampled in early spring 2002, Laetmogone violacea, Paroriza pallens, Benthogone rosea and Benthothuria funebris, also had significant differences in their pigment concentrations. These species were sampled over a wider depth range (1000–3100 m) showing a bathymetric trend in pigment concentrations. There was a distinct seasonal change in the composition and concentration of the pigments, linked to a reduction in the availability of fresh organic material during autumn and winter periods.Ovarian tissue was also examined. The carotenoid pigments found in the ovary also occurred in the OM ingested by the holothurians. The dominant gonadal carotenoid pigments were β-carotene, echinenone and zeaxanthin. The potential for using these carotenoids to gain a competitive advantage through selectivity of chlorophyll and carotenoid pigment biomarkers are discussed in relation to competition for food resources by deposit-feeders. The results were also compared with selectivity in abyssal species.     

A model for oxygen and sulfur isotope fractionation in sulfate during bacterial sulfate reduction processes

We present a model of bacterial sulfate reduction that includes equations describing the fractionation relationship between the sulfur and the oxygen isotope composition of residual sulfate (δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual}, δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual}) and the amount of residual sulfate. The model is based exclusively on oxygen isotope exchange between cell-internal sulfur compounds and ambient water as the dominating mechanism controlling oxygen isotope fractionation processes. We show that our model explains δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual} vs. δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual} patterns observed from natural environments and from laboratory experiments, whereas other models, favoring kinetic isotope fractionation processes as dominant process, fail to explain many (but not all) observed δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual} vs. δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual} patterns. Moreover, we show that a “typical” δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual} vs. δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual} slope does not exist. We postulate that measurements of δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual} and δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual} can be used as a tool to determine cell-specific sulfate reduction rates, oxygen isotope exchange rates, and equilibrium oxygen isotope exchange factors. Data from culture experiments are used to determine the range of sulfur isotope fractionation factors in which a simplified set of equations can be used. Numerical examples demonstrate the application of the equations. We postulate that, during denitrification, the oxygen isotope effects in residual nitrate are also the result of oxygen isotope exchange with ambient water. Consequently, the equations for the relationship between δ³⁴S_{SO4_residual}, δ¹⁸O_{SO4_residual}, and the amount of residual sulfate could be modified and used to calculate the fractionation-relationship between δ¹⁵N_{NO3_residual}, δ¹⁸O_{NO3_residual}, and the amount of residual nitrate during denitrification.     

Submarine channel levee shape and sediment waves from physical experiments

Submarine channel levees aggrade through repeated overspill events from the channel axis. The shape of the levees may therefore reflect some characteristic(s) of the overspilling flow. It has been noted that basin floor levees typically have a relatively low-relief and taper exponentially to their termination; in contrast slope channel levees may be much steeper close to the channel. A simple physical experiment was performed where a surge-like sediment-laden current flowed through a curved channel. Significant overspill occurred and generated a deposit flanking the channel on either side. The experiment was repeated 25 times to build up low-relief channel-levees. It was found that in proximal areas, levees were steep and characterised by power-law decays, a transitional zone of logarithmically thinning levee was found a little further down-channel, followed by exponential decays in medial to distal areas. The style of levee decay is a function of spatial variation in overbank sedimentation rates. Where flows rapidly lose momentum and deposit across the grain-size spectrum, i.e., in proximal areas, levees tend to be steep; farther down the channel, the steep levee slope gives way to a more gradually tapering deposit. In more distal parts of the channel, deposition is directly related to sediment settling velocity (rather than the suspended load exceeding flow transport capacity as is the case in proximal areas), the deposit reflects this with relatively simple exponential thickness decays. Additionally, small-scale sediment waves developed under lee wave conditions on the inner-bend overbank. The waves initially migrated slightly towards the channel, but as the style of overspill evolved due to intra-channel deposition, flows moved out of the lee wave window and sedimentation became out of phase with the wavelength of the features and the topography was healed.     

Neoproterozoic chemostratigraphy

Chemostratigraphy has diverse applications to investigating the rock record, such as reconstructing paleoenvironments, determining the tectonic setting of sedimentary basins, indirect dating, and establishing regional or global correlations. Chemostratigraphy is thus an integral component of many investigations of the ancient sedimentary record. In this contribution, we review the principle inorganic geochemical methods that have been applied to the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record. Analysis of the traditional stable and radiogenic isotope systems, such as δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, is routine, particularly in successions rich in carbonate. These mainstay applications have yielded invaluable data and information bearing on the chronology and evolution of this eventful era in Earth history. Alongside the growing database of traditional data, a series of novel geochemical techniques have given rise to important new models and constraints on Neoproterozoic biogeochemical change. In particular, a range of proxies for water column redox, mainly obtained from black shales, have shed light on the pace and tempo of Neoproterozoic oxygenation and its link to the appearance of early animal evolution. Increased integration of diverse geochemical, sedimentological, and paleontological datasets, and the gradual radiometric calibration of the stratigraphic record promise to bring the details of the evolution of the Neoproterozoic Earth system into ever greater focus.     

Ecohydrographic constraints on biodiversity and distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton in coral reefs of the Red Sea,Saudi Arabia

An integral concept of ecological research is the constraint of biodiversity along latitudinal and environmental gradients. The Red Sea features a natural example of a latitudinal gradient of salinity, temperature and nutrient richness. Coral reefs along the Red Sea coasts are supported with allochthonous resources such as oceanic and neritic phytoplankton and zooplankton; however, relatively little is known about how the ecohydrography correlates with plankton biodiversity and abundance. In this article we present the biodiversity of phytoplankton and zooplankton in Red Sea coral reefs. Oceanographic data (temperature, salinity), water samples for nutrient analysis, particulate organic matter, phytoplankton and zooplankton, the latter with special reference to Copepoda (Crustacea), were collected at nine coral reefs over ~1500 km distance along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The trophic state of ambient waters [as indicated by chlorophyll a (Chl a)] changed from strong oligotrophy in the north to mesotrophy in the south and was associated with increasing biomasses of Bacillariophyceae, picoeukaryotes and Synechococcus as indicated by pigment fingerprinting (CHEMTAX) and flow cytometry. Net‐phytoplankton microscopy revealed a Trichodesmium erythraeum (Cyanobacteria) bloom north of the Farasan Islands. Several potentially harmful algae, including Dinophysis miles and Gonyaulax spinifera (Dinophyceae), were encountered in larger numbers in the vicinity of the aquaculture facilities at Al Lith. Changes in zooplankton abundance were mainly correlated to the phytoplankton biomass following the latitudinal gradient. The largest zooplankton abundance was observed at the Farasan Archipelago, despite high abundances of copepodites, veligers (Gastropoda larvae) and Chaetognatha at Al Lith. Although the community composition changed over latitude, biodiversity indices of phytoplankton and zooplankton did not exhibit a systematic pattern. As this study constitutes the first current account of the plankton biodiversity in Red Sea coral reefs at a large spatial scale, the results will be informative for ecosystem‐based management along the coastline of Saudi Arabia.     

Longitudinal and depth variation of bacterioplankton productivity and related factors in a temperate estuary

Bacterioplankton productivity (BP) spatial variation was investigated in relation to potential resources, including primary productivity and dissolved organic matter, in the micro-tidal Neuse River–Pamlico Sound estuarine system, North Carolina, USA. Estuarine BP was predicted to correlate with the trophic gradient, decreasing along the salinity gradient in parallel with the decrease in organic matter and primary productivity. This prediction was tested over four years at spatial scales ranging from kilometers to meters along the riverine axis and with depth. The general pattern of BP across the salinity gradient was unimodal and matched the phytoplankton patterns in peak location and variability. Peak locations varied with discharge, especially in 2003 when above average discharge moved peaks downstream. Spatial coherence of BP with other variables was much less at short time scales. The effect of temperature, nutrients, and phytoplankton on BP varied by location, especially fresh versus brackish stations, although only temperature explained more than 20% of the BP variation. Depth variation of BP was as great as longitudinal variation and bottom samples were often higher than surface. BP was strongly correlated with particulate organic carbon at the pycnocline and bottom, highlighting the importance of particulate matter as a resource. Station-averaged BP and phytoplankton data corresponded well with two published meta-analyses, although the offset of the freshwater station suggested longitudinal differences in community composition or resource availability.     

Potential mechanistic causes of increased baseflow across northern Eurasia catchments underlain by permafrost

Warming in the Arctic is occurring at twice the rate of the global average, resulting in permafrost thaw and a restructuring of the Arctic hydrologic cycle as indicated by increased stream discharge during low-flow periods. In these cold regions, permafrost thaw is postulated to increase low-flow discharge, or baseflow, through either: (a) localized increases in groundwater storage and discharge to streams due to increased aquifer transmissivity from thickening of the freeze–thaw layer above permafrost known as the active layer or (b) long-term increases in regional groundwater circulation via enhancement of groundwater–surface water interactions due to extensive permafrost loss over decades. While increasing baseflow has been observed throughout northern Eurasia, the precise mechanistic causes remain elusive. In this study, we differentiate between where these two subsurface physical mechanisms of baseflow increase are occurring by performing a baseflow recession analysis using daily streamflow records from 1913 to 2003 for 139 stations in northern Eurasia underlain by varying permafrost areal extents. Results indicate that from 1913 to 2003, the majority of catchments underlain by continuous permafrost have an increasing trend in their recession flow intercepts, a proxy for increasing active layer thickness. Alternatively, the majority of catchments underlain by permafrost types that are less spatially extensive (e.g., discontinuous, sporadic, isolated, or no permafrost) have decreasing trends in their recession flow intercepts, indicating that a potential increase in active layer thickness is not the driving factor of baseflow variations in these catchments. This may indicate that in catchments underlain by continuous permafrost, active layer thickening correlates with increases in baseflow, whereas, in other catchments with less extensive permafrost, increases in baseflow may be caused by wholesale permafrost loss and vertical talik expansion that enhances regional groundwater circulation. The results of this work may inform our understanding of the subsurface mechanisms responsible for the changing Arctic hydrologic cycle.     

Ecometrics and the paleoecological implications of Pleistocene faunas from the western coastal plains of the Cape Floristic Region,South Africa

The Pleistocene ungulate communities from the western coastal plains of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) are diverse and dominated by grazers, in contrast to the region's Holocene and historical faunas, which are relatively species-poor and dominated by small-bodied browsers and mixed feeders. An expansion of grassy habitats is clearly implied by the Pleistocene faunas, but the presence of ruminant grazers that cannot survive the summer dry season typical of the region today suggests other important paleoecological changes. Here we use dental ecometrics to explore the paleoecological implications of the region's Pleistocene faunas. We show that the dental traits (hypsodonty and occlusal topography) of the ungulates that occurred historically in the CFR track annual and summer aridity, and we use these relationships to reconstruct past aridity. Our results indicate that the Pleistocene faunas signal paleoenvironments that were on average less arid than today, including during the summer, consistent with other lines of evidence that suggest a higher water table and expansion of well-watered habitats. Greater water availability can be explained by lower temperature and reduced evapotranspiration during cooler phases of the Pleistocene, probably coupled with enhanced groundwater recharge due to increased winter precipitation.