Characteristics of Autumn Precipitation Trends in the Northeastern United States

Previous research has shown that the northeastern United States experienced a significant increase in precipitation during the twentieth century, especially during the autumn. This shift toward wetter conditions can be explained by examining trends in daily precipitation characteristics. Early season precipitation changes in the western portion of the study area were associated with increases in the frequency of precipitation‐days. Later in the season a coincident increase in precipitation‐day intensity enhanced these trends. Tropical storms had little influence on autumn precipitation increases. The study suggests that, instead, changes in regional atmospheric circulation may be responsible for changing precipitation characteristics.     

Advection and removal of Pb and stable Pb isotopes in the oceans: a general circulation model study

Natural Pb-isotope variability in the oceans encodes information about the sources of continental material to the oceans, about ocean circulation, and about Pb removal. In order to use this information, we must understand the natural cycle of Pb in the oceans, which is overprinted by large anthropogenic input. In this study we use ²¹⁰Pb, which has not been significantly anthropogenically perturbed, to investigate oceanic Pb. GEOSECS ²²⁶Ra and model-derived atmospheric fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb are used to input ²¹⁰Pb into an ocean general circulation model. Irreversible scavenging of this ²¹⁰Pb onto settling biogenic particles and at the seafloor are tuned so that the model replicates the observed pattern of ²¹⁰Pb in the oceans. The best-fit model run provides a map of the variability of residence time for Pb. The global average residence time of Pb in this model is 48 yr, but there is over an order of magnitude variation between areas of high and low productivity. This is expected to enhance provinciality of Pb isotope ratios in the oceans. Because stable Pb isotopes are expected to behave in seawater in a similar fashion to ²¹⁰Pb, the pattern of removal of ²¹⁰Pb derived by the model can be used to investigate the behavior of stable Pb isotopes. We use a simplified input of Pb consisting of five point sources representing major rivers and a disseminated dust input. Although this simplified input scheme does not allow precise reconstruction of Pb concentration and isotopes in the oceans, it allows us to answer some first-order questions about the behavior of Pb as an ocean tracer. With a total Pb input of 6.3 × 10⁷ mol/yr (Chow T. J. and Patterson C. C., “The occurrence and significance of Pb isotopes in pelagic sediments,” Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta26, 263-308, 1962), the model predicts natural seawater Pb concentrations averaging 2.2 pmol/kg. Even in the absence of anthropogenic input, the model ocean exhibits a near-surface maximum in Pb concentration. And the model suggests natural Pb concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere an order of magnitude higher than in the Southern Hemisphere. A point source of Pb is suggested to dominate the seawater Pb inventory close to the source but is reduced to typically less than 10% of the inventory by the time that Pb is advected out of the originating ocean. This length scale of advection for Pb isotope signals confirms their potential as tracers of ocean circulation. Assuming an 8% dissolution of dust, their input to the open ocean are seen to be a significant portion of Pb inventory throughout the oceans and make up >50% of the Pb inventory in the model’s Southern Ocean. Finally, a preliminary investigation of the response of Pb-isotope distributions to changes in boundary conditions between glacial and interglacial times illustrates that significant variation in the Pb isotopes are expected in some regions, even for reasonably small changes in climate conditions.     

Extent, timing, and climatic implications of glacier advances Mount Rainier, Washington, U.S.A., at the pleistocene/holocene transition

The North Atlantic Younger Dryas climatic reversal did not cause a glacier advance on Mount Rainier. The glaciers on Mount Rainier seem to have advanced in response to regional or local shifts in climate. However, the Younger Dryas climatic reversal may have affected the Mount Rainier area, causing a cold, but dry, climate unfavorable to glacier advances. Glaciers in the vicinity of Mount Rainier advanced twice during late glacial/early Holocene time. Radiocarbon dates obtained from lake sediments adjacent to the corresponding moraines are concordant, indicating that the ages for the advances are closely limiting. The first advance occurred before 11,300 ¹⁴C yr BP (13,200 cal yr BP). During the North Atlantic Younger Dryas event, between 11,000 and 10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP (12,900 and 11,600 cal yr BP), glaciers retreated on Mount Rainier, probably due to a lack of available moisture, but conditions may have remained cold. The onset of warmer conditions on Mount Rainier occurred around 10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP (11,600 cal yr BP). Organic sedimentation lasted for at least 700 years before glaciers readvanced between 9800 and 8950 ¹⁴C yr BP (10,900 and 9950 cal yr BP).     

Benthic metabolism and nutrient cycling in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts

To gain insight into the importance of the benthos in carbon and nutrient budgets of Boston Harbor and surrounding bays, we measured sediment-water exchanges of oxygen, total carbon dioxide (DIC), nitrogen (ammonium, nitrate+nitrite, urea, N₂O), silicate, and phosphorus at several stations in different sedimentary environments just prior to and subsequent to cessation of sewage sludge disposal in the harbor. The ratio of the average annual DIC release to O₂ uptake at three primary stations ranged from 0.84 to 1.99. Annual average DIC:DIN flux ratios were consistently greater than predicted from the Redfield ratio, suggesting substantial losses of mineralized N. The pattern was less clear for P: some stations showed evidence that the sediments were a sink for P while others appeared to be a net source to the water column over the study period. In general, temporal and spatial patterns of respiration, nutrient fluxes, and flux ratios were not consistently related to measures of sediment oxidation-reduction status such as Eh or dissolved sulfide. Sediments from Boston Harbor metabolize a relatively high percentage (46%) of the organic matter inputs from phytoplankton production and allochthonous inputs when compared to most estuarine systems. Nutrient regeneration from the benthos is equivalent to 40% of the N, 29% of the P, and more than 60% of the Si demand of the phytoplankton. However, the role of the benthos in supporting primary production at the present time may be minor as nutrient inputs from sewage and other sources exceed benthic fluxes of N and P by 10-fold and Si by 4-fold. Our estimates of denitrification from DIC:DIN fluxes suggests that about 45% of the N mineralized in the sediments is denitrified, which accounts for about 17% of the N inputs from land.     

Spatial and seasonal patterns in sediment nitrogen remineralization and ammonium concentrations in San Francisco Bay,California

Nitrogen remineralization and extractable ammonium concentrations were measured in sediments from several locations in North and South San Francisco bays. In South Bay, remineralization rates decreased with depth in sediment and were highest in the spring following the seasonal phytoplankton bloom. At the channel stations, peak remineralization lagged peak water-column phytoplankton biomass (as measured by chlorophylla) by a month. Remineralization rates were generally higher in South Bay than North Bay. The lower remineralization rates in North Bay may be a result of anomalously low phytoplankton production and thus reduced deposition to the sediments, as well as low reiverine organic inputs to the upper estuary in recent years. Remineralization rates were positively correlated to carbon and nitrogen content of the sediments. In general, ammonium profiles in South Bay sediments showed no increase in deeper (4–8 cm) sediments. In North Bay, ammonium concentrations were greatest at stations with highest remineralization rates, and, in contrast to South Bay, extractable ammonium increased in deeper sediment. Differences in ammonium pools between North Bay and South Bay may be a result of increased irrigation by deep-dwelling macrofauna, which are more abundant in South Bay.     

Petrogenesis of the magmatic complex at Mount Ascutney,Vermont, USA

The Ascutney Mountain complex of eastern Vermont, USA, is a composite epizonal pluton of genetically related gabbro to granite intrusives. Nd isotopic data are reported for mafic rocks, granites, and nearby country rock. The parental mafic magma producing the complex 122 m.y. ago had ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7039, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.512678 ( _Nd=+3.8) and ¹⁸O=6.1, indicating a mantle source with time-integrated lithophile element depletion. Uniform initial radiogenic isotope ratios for granites, which are undistinguishable from those for the most primitive gabbro, suggest that the granite magma evolved from the mafic magma without crustal contamination and that the increase in ¹⁸O, to about 7.8, is the result of fractional crystallization. Mafic rocks show a large range in initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio, from about 0.51267 to 0.51236 ( _Nd= +3.7 to –2.5), which is correlated with elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and ¹⁸O. These data substantiate the production of mafic lithologies by fractional crystallization of the parental magma accompanied by assimilation of up to about 50% crust. The local country rocks include gneiss and schist and assimilation involved representatives of both rock types. The isotopic and chemical relationships preclude derivation from a single batch of magma undergoing contamination and indicate that a large magma body at depth evolved largely by fractionation with batches of melt issued from this chamber being variably contaminated at higher levels or at the level of emplacement.The Precambrian gneisses of the Chester dome and overlying lower Paleozoic schists have essentially identical Nd isotope systematics which suggest a crustal formation age of about 1.6. b.y. The parental sediments for the schists were apparently derived from a protolith similar to the gneissic basement without appreciable Sm/Nd fractionation.     

High-resolution 40Ar/39Ar chronology of multiple intrusion igneous complexes

The Mount Brome complex of the Monteregian province of southern Quebec, Canada, consits of several major intrusions ranging compositionally from gabbro to syenite. The relative ages of these intrusives have been investigated with high-resolution ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses, including a specially designed irradiation configuration to cancel the effects of fluence gradients. Small yet distinct apparent age differences are observed. While a number of analytical and geological factors could be proposed to explain the small variations, evaluation of these suggests the age differences reflect those in emplacement times. The gabbro and nepheline diorite were emplaced within a short span 123.1 Ma ago. Generally more evolved lithologies (biotite monzodiorite, pulaskite, nordmarkite) appear to have been emplaced within a restricted interval 1.4±0.3 Ma later. Whole-rock Rb-Sr systematics do not give acceptable isochrons because of significant scatter interpreted to reflect initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr heterogeneities resulting from crustal contamination. Considering the variations in initial ratio, the Rb-Sr data are consistent with the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age.     

A comparison of model calculations and measurements of acetone in the troposphere and stratosphere

We present 1-D eddy diffusion model calculations of the distributions of propane and acetone in the atmosphere for continental conditions. The magnitude of the surface seasonal variation in propane mixing ratios that we obtain is in general agreement with measurements at the surface and in the free troposphere. A comparison of the absolute values of the model with propane measurements suggests that a larger surface flux than we have used may be more appropriate for continental conditions. The acetone model results for summer conditions that we obtain are also in reasonable accord with measurements. However, we find serious disagreement between the model winter profiles of acetone and the measurements at the tropopause and in the lower stratosphere. The measured values are lower than the model values at 45° N by a factor of 7–30. In addition, it is also surprising that, given the relatively long lifetime of acetone, free tropospheric values of acetone more representative of surface values have not been measured. The results simulating the decay of elevated levels of propane in the upper troposphere caused by rapid convective transport of boundary layer air indicate that propane will be primarily dispersed by transport rather than destroyed photochemically. Thus, the impact on acetone and PAN is minimal.