Role of landscape parameters in riverine run-off,and sediment and organic matter yield on Disko Island,West Greenland

Measurements of discharge and suspended sediment and organic matter yield from nine different drainage basins on the island Disko in central West Greenland were carried out in the period 19–30 July 1997. A series of landscape properties (glacier cover, altitude, slope, aspect and vegetation cover) were measured for each drainage basin from a digital elevation model and a satellite image. Principal Component Analysis and regression statistics have been used to examine which landscape parameters dominate the measured discharges and yields. It is concluded that differences in suspended sediment and organic matter yield between the drainage basins can be explained by the measured morphometric properties while differences in water run-off can not. Glacier cover percentage and percent area above 800 m a.s.l. were the most important parameters influencing suspended sediment and organic matter yield in the drainage basins on Disko during the study period.     

Exhumed hydrocarbon traps in East Greenland: A comment on Andrews et al. (2020)

In a recent study, Andrews et al. (2020) describe “exhumed hydrocarbon traps” in North-East Greenland. The basic premise for their interpretation is that dark-coloured, pyrobitumen-bearing sandstones represent the remnants of once buried petroleum reservoirs. We do not see the necessary field or analytical evidence to support a model that has strong implications for resource evaluations. Andrews et al. (2020) have not considered previous published information on diagenetic and thermal maturity history of the area. A more probable model would include the intrusion of dykes and sills into a sedimentary succession with immature petroleum source rocks and reservoir-quality sandstones. The heating caused rapid generation of petroleum components and local hydrothermal circulation systems in adjacent porous sandstones. Any petroleum was rapidly destroyed leaving essentially only black grain-coatings and minor particles of pyrobitumen—essentially in one short-lived continuous process. The existence of new plays in the North Atlantic as proposed by Andrews et al. (2020) is in our opinion not substantiated as this requires analytical data from unaltered oils from the less mature parts of the sedimentary succession and considerations of thermal maturity and basin evolution. To draw conclusions that have a serious impact on resource evaluations based on the dark colouration of sandstones without comprehensive analytical data is, in our opinion, ill advised.     

Meteorological observations 1998 at the arctic station,Qeqertarsuaq (69°15'N), Central West Greenland/Active layer monitoring in two Greenlandic permafrost areas: Zackenberg and Disko Island

An automatic meteorological station has been operating at the Arctic Station (69°15'N, 53°31'W) in West Greenland since 1990. This paper summarises meteorological parameters during 1998, including snow cover, ground temperatures and active layer development, and presents comments on the local permafrost thickness.

Abstract

Active layer monitoring in Greenland was started in 1996 and 1997, and forms part of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) Network of the International Permafrost Association (IPA). The results of the first years of this monitoring of thaw progression and maximum active layer thickness in two Greenlandic permafrost areas are presented. Two sites are in the continuous permafrost zone at Zackenberg in NE Greenland (74 °N), and one at Disko Island in W Greenland (69 °N), at the border between discontinuous and continuous permafrost.

The data collected at Zackenberg demonstrate interannual variation in the timing of thaw progression in the monitoring grid holding a seasonal snowpatch, while there is less variation in the horizontal grid without a snowpatch. The maximum active layer thickness for the two Zackenberg grids is more or less consistent for the first three years with averages from 58 to 66 cm in mid and late August. At Disko the active layer reached 71 cm in mid August 1998. Spatially the distribution of the maximum, annual active layer thickness within the grids is concordant.     

Total sediment budget of a transgressive barrier-spit,Skallingen, SW Denmark: A review

Average sea-level rise in the northern part of the Danish Wadden Sea has been 1.3 mm a^?1 during the last 100 years but during the last 25 years a rise of 4.2 mm a^?1 was observed. Concurrent with the recent sea-level rise the Skallingen barrier spit has migrated landward by 3–5 m a^?1. Long term sediment budgets for each of the morphological units involved in the migration are reviewed (e.g. onshore in the shore face +90.000 m³ a^?1, longshore -641.000 m³ a^?1, foredunes +65,000 m³ a^?1, overwash fan including shorenormal dunes +11,000 m³ a^?1, spit terminus -96,000 m³ a^?1, tidal flat + 10,000 m³ a^?1 and backbarrier salt marsh +33,000 m³ a^?1) and used to establish the relative importance of sediment transport processes involved in barrier migration. Strong interannual variations exist in the long term budget making evaluation of barrier behaviour based on short term measurements doubtful. In a cross shore sense the barrier spit is accreting in spite of the sea level rise. This is specially pronounced at an active overwash fan. However, due to substantial sediment losses to longshore transport the barrier, gets narrower and shorter during its transgressive behaviour. This may indicate that preservation of barriers in the geological record during rapid sea level rise is promoted when sediment loss to longshore transport is insignificant.     

A New Video Controlled,Hydraulically Damped Corer for Sediment/Water Interaction Studies

Abstract

A new box-corer is described. Placement and penetration of the box-corer is video-assisted to secure a sample representative of the bottom. The box itself is constructed of fully transparent polycarbonate which allows for video control observation of the sediment/water interface during sampling. The box is open during the descent towards the seabed but closes when the release is triggered. The box-corer is hydraulically damped so that the box after landing is very gently pushed into the seabed to a predetermined depth. A sediment sample with a total length of about 35 cm and with a surface area of 400 cm² (20.0x20.0 cm) is collected in the box together with the near bottom water to a height of about 10 cm above the bed. The box-corer height is 180 cm and the total weight about 200 kg. The legs can be dismounted which makes transportation easy. The box-corer has been operated with success both in coarse sand and in soft silt and clay dominated sediments.     

Denudation and uplift history of the Jameson Land basin, East Greenland—constrained from maturity and apatite fission track data

The Jameson Land basin in East Greenland comprises a well exposed succession of Upper Paleozoic–Mesozoic sediments. During Middle Devonian–Early Permian rifting, 13 km of continental clastics were deposited. In latest Paleozoic to Mesozoic times, 4 km of sediments accumulated during regional subsidence. In the Early Paleocene, during North Atlantic break-up, the basin was covered by a thick volcanic pile. Subsequently, uplift and erosion took place over the whole region. The volcanic cover was completely removed from Jameson Land and erosion cut deeply into the underlying sediments. To assess the exploration potential of Jameson Land, a basin modelling study with 21 1D pseudo-wells was carried out based on all seismic and surface data available. In addition to the calculation of hydrocarbon generation in space and time, the basin modelling provided an opportunity to study the magnitude and timing of uplift and erosion. Basin modelling constrained by apatite fission track data has made it possible to determine a consistent uplift and erosion history of the area. Tectonic backstripping based on a simple Airy type isostatic model has been used to separate the tectonic uplift from the actual uplift. The combined basin modelling and backstripping study has led to the following conclusions: (1) the thickness of the Cretaceous succession varied from 1.3 km in the south to 0.3 km in the north; (2) the volcanic rocks formed a wedge with a thickness of >2 km in the south thinning to <0.1 km in the north; (3) the subsequent erosion of 2–3 km is in response to tectonic uplift with a magnitude of 1 km, and the calculated tectonic uplift shows increasing values to the north. The erosion rate generally accelerated from Late Paleocene up to the present time.     

A New Video Controlled, Hydraulically Damped Corer for Sediment/Water Interaction Studies

A new box-corer is described. Placement and penetration of the box-corer is video-assisted to secure a sample representative of the bottom. The box itself is constructed of fully transparent polycarbonate which allows for video control observation of the sediment/water interface during sampling. The box is open during the descent towards the seabed but closes when the release is triggered. The box-corer is hydraulically damped so that the box after landing is very gently pushed into the seabed to a predetermined depth. A sediment sample with a total length of about 35 cm and with a surface area of 400 cm 2 (20.0 x 20.0 cm) is collected in the box together with the near bottom water to a height of about 10 cm above the bed. The box-corer height is 180 cm and the total weight about 200 kg. The legs can be dismounted which makes transportation easy. The box-corer has been operated with success both in coarse sand and in soft silt and clay dominated sediments.     

Convergence or divergence? Status and prospects for US climate strategy

The objective of this paper is to assess recent developments and prospects for future changes in United States (US) climate strategy. In doing so, the paper explores some of the key factors that have shaped strategies and policies to date, distinguishing between factors related to institutional and governance structures, linkages between science and policy, energy technology and the role of interest groups. Against this background, the paper attempts to explore future development paths for US climate policy. More specifically, the paper assesses opportunities for policy changes compared to the preferences of the current administration, and the prospects for future linkages between US and international climate change strategies. In brief, the paper argues that substantial changes are unlikely to take place in the near to medium term, leaving open, however, the possibility of wide-ranging changes in domestic politics or major incidents that could facilitate a shift in the perceived need for near-term action.     

Estrogenicity of xenobiotics in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using in vivo synthesis of vitellogenin as a biomarker

The estrogenicity of several xenobiotics was evaluated using in vivo vitellogenin (Vtg) synthesis in immature rainbow trout as a biomarker. 17β-estradiol, DES and ethinyl estradiol were tested as positive controls. The xenobiotic compounds tested were technical nonylphenol, bisphenol A, butylbenzylphthalate (BBP) and dibutylphthalate (DBF). Measurements of the Vtg concentration was performed with a direct sandwich ELISA. 17β-estradiol, DES and ethinyl estradiol caused up to 100 000-fold increases in the Vtg-levels. Nonylphenol and bisphenol A had the highest estrogenic potency of the xenobiotics increasing the vitellogenin level approximately 300-fold while BBP was only weakly estrogenic, increasing the concentration about 3 times. DPB did not raise the vitellogenin contration above the detection limit.