Dramatic decrease of pelagic carbonate production by nannoplankton across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE)

In this account we present estimates of nannofossil fluxes in four sections and one borehole all belonging to the Early Jurassic western Tethys. This study aims to map the distribution of pelagic carbonate production across the Early Toarcian anoxic event (T-OAE), and to understand which environmental parameters did control such production. Our results indicate important changes in carbonate production by nannoplankton occurring within the western Tethys and its variations through time. Nannofossil fluxes (specimens per m² per year) are extremely low during the T-OAE in all the studied settings. Higher fluxes are encountered in the westernmost part of the Tethys Ocean before the T-OAE, whilst pelagic carbonate production shifted towards the northern margin of the Tethys after the recovery from anoxic conditions. The dramatic decrease in nannoplankton production during the T-OAE has been interpreted in previous works as a biocalcification crisis related to high pCO₂ in the atmosphere/hydrosphere system. Although a high pCO₂ may have lowered the carbonate saturation state of Early Jurassic oceans and finally hampered biocalcification, we speculate that the most important effects of CO₂ increase were indirect, and affected pelagic producers via changes on climate and sea-level. Namely, it seems that precipitation/evaporation budgets and continental runoff that controlled nutrient levels and salinity in surface oceanic waters were important factors for pelagic biocalcifiers.     

Probability distributions for carbon emissions and atmospheric response

Probability distributions for carbon burning, atmospheric CO₂, and global average temperature are produced by time series calibration of models of utility optimization and carbon and heat balance using log-linear production functions. Population growth is used to calibrate a logistically evolving index of development that influences production efficiency. Energy production efficiency also includes a coefficient that decreases linearly with decreasing carbon intensity of energy production. This carbon intensity is a piecewise linear function of fossil carbon depletion. That function is calibrated against historical data and extrapolated by sampling a set of hypotheses about the impact on the carbon intensity of energy production of depleting fluid fossil fuel resources and increasing cumulative carbon emissions. Atmospheric carbon balance is determined by a first order differential equation with carbon use rates and cumulative carbon use as drivers. Atmospheric CO₂ is a driver in a similar heat balance. Periodic corrections are included where required to make residuals between data and model results indistinguishable from independently and identically distributed normal distributions according to statistical tests on finite Fourier power spectrum amplitudes and nearest neighbor correlations. Asymptotic approach to a sustainable non-fossil energy production is followed for a global disaggregation into a tropical/developing and temperate/more-developed region. The increase in the uncertainty of global average temperature increases nearly quadratically with the increase in the temperature from the present through the next two centuries.     

Characterizing the U–Pb systematics of baddeleyite through chemical abrasion: application of multi-step digestion methods to baddeleyite geochronology

U–Pb baddeleyite geochronology has become a major tool for dating mafic rocks, especially dikes associated with Large Igneous Provinces. However, in many cases, post-crystallization Pb-loss and intergrowth of baddeleyite and zircon limit the precision and/or accuracy of crystallization ages. We present results from multi-step digestion experiments designed to understand and reduce these effects. Experiments were carried out on Neoproterozoic baddeleyites with zircon inter- and over-growths from the Gannakouriep dike swarm, Namibia, and on fragments of a large Paleoproterozoic baddeleyite from the Phalaborwa carbonatite, South Africa. Multi-step digestion experiments on annealed Phalaborwa baddeleyite were designed to test whether the recently developed chemical abrasion technique for U–Pb zircon geochronology can be applied to baddeleyite. The experiments generated complex results—individual digestion steps were both normally and reversely discordant suggesting that U and Pb were decoupled in the multi-step digestions—and indicate that the current form of multi-step chemical abrasion is not an effective method for reducing the impact of Pb-loss in baddeleyite. A separate set of experiments on the Gannakouriep baddeleyite focused on isolating the zircon and baddeleyite components in composite grains. Conventional single-step digestion experiments for this sample resulted in a discordant suite of analyses with significant scatter attributed to inter- and over-grown zircon and highlight the difficulty of obtaining precise and accurate ages from composite grains. To isolate the baddeleyite and zircon in these grains, a two-step HCl–HF chemical abrasion procedure for annealed grains was developed. This technique was successful at selectively dissolving the baddeleyite and zircon components. Secondary zircon inter- and over-growths of baddeleyite can occur in samples affected by low-temperature alteration to granulite facies metamorphism, and the new HCl–HF chemical abrasion procedure provides a method for resolving both the igneous and metamorphic history of these composite grains.     

Amplification of gravitational waves in scalar-tensor accelerating lambda-Universes

After reviewing the scalar-tensor lambda-accelerating power-law solutions by Berman (Astrophys. Space Sci. 323:103, 2009a), we obtain solutions for the amplification of gravitational waves in the models. The solutions consider a perfect gas equation of state, with cosmic pressure proportional to the energy density, the proportionality constant being smaller than −2/3.     

North Sea near-surface wind climate and its relation to the large-scale circulation patterns

The North Sea 10-m wind speed (WS10) climate is compared and related to circulation patterns based on the sea level pressure (SLP) extracted from three reanalysis and one high-resolution model dataset. The mean magnitude and the trends of WS10 depend considerably on the selected reanalysis. The variability of WS10 among the three reanalysis datasets is highly correlated in the recent period (1980–2000) but less so in the past period (1960–1980). The WS10 over the North Sea is well represented by the relatively low reanalysis resolution when compared to the high-resolution WS10 model data partially owing to the high spatial correlation of WS10. Exceptions are observed only at the coastal areas. The dominant mode of WS10 explains coherent variability of WS10 over the North Sea and is related to a SLP pattern similar to the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO). The increase of the magnitude of the dominant WS10 pattern is related to the increase of the magnitude of the NAO-like SLP pattern from 1960s to mid-1990s. The second dominant WS10 pattern—a dipole in WS10 to the north and south of Great Britain—is related to the differences in SLP between Scandinavia and Iceland. The relation between the second WS10 and SLP patterns is more prominent in the recent period. The extreme WS10 in the German Bight is related to the low SLP over Scandinavia. The extreme WS10 is strongly increasing from the early 1980s to the beginning of 1990s, which is not observed in the corresponding SLP time series over Scandinavia.     

Mining lakes as groundwater‐dominated hydrological systems: assessment of the water balance of Mining Lake Plessa 117 (Lusatia,Germany) using stable isotopes

In the present study, the stable isotopes δ¹⁸O and δ²H were used for assessment of the water balance in a heterogeneously structured catchment area in the Lusatian Lignite Mining District, in particular, for estimation of the annual groundwater inflow and outflow (I_GW and O_GW) of Mining Lake Plessa 117. The application of stable isotopes was possible since the water exchange in the catchment area had reached steady‐state conditions after the abandonment of mining activities in 1968 and the filling of the voids and aquifers by re‐rising groundwater in the years thereafter. Diverging slopes of the Evaporation Line and the Global Meteoric Water Line manifested as evaporation from the lake catchment area. The calculated isotope water balance was compared with the commonly used surface water balance, which is unable to differentiate between I_GW and O_GW, and with a local groundwater model. The groundwater model calculated an I_GW of about 811 000 m³ yr^?1 and an O_GW close to zero, whereas the isotope water balance showed fluxes of about 914 000 and 140 000 m³ yr^?1, respectively. Considering the contribution of the groundwater inflow to the total annual input into the lake (ΔI_T) and the mean residence time (τ), where the groundwater model and the isotope water balance calculated 42 and 47% for ΔI_T and 4·3 and 3·9 years for τ, respectively, it was shown that both water balance calculation methods led to comparable results despite the differences in I_GW and O_GW. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tropical glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Blanca,Peru between 12.5 and 7.6 ka from cosmogenic 10Be dating

We report cosmogenic surface exposure ¹⁰Be ages of 21 boulders on moraines in the Jeullesh and Tuco Valleys, Cordillera Blanca, Peru (～10°S at altitudes above 4200 m). Ages are based on the sea-level at high-latitude reference production rate and scaling system of Lifton et al. (2005. Addressing solar modulation and long-term uncertainties in scaling secondary cosmic rays for in situ cosmogenic nuclide applications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 239, 140–161) in the CRONUS-Earth online calculator of Balco et al. (2008. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al measurements. Quaternary Geochronology 3, 174–195). Using the Lifton system, large outer lateral moraines in the Jeullesh Valley have a ¹⁰Be exposure age of 12.4 ka, inside of which are smaller moraine systems dated to 10.8, 9.7 and 7.6 ka. Large outer lateral moraines in the Tuco Valley have a ¹⁰Be exposure age of 12.5 ka, with inner moraines dated to 11.3 and 10.7 ka. Collectively, these data indicate that glacier recession from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Cordillera Blanca was punctuated by three to four stillstands or minor advances during the period 12.5–7.6 ka, spanning the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC; ～12.9–11.6 ka) and the cold event identified in Greenland ice cores and many other parts of the world at 8.2 ka. The inferred fluctuations of tropical glaciers at these times, well after their withdrawal from the LGM, indicate an increase in precipitation or a decrease in temperature in this region. Although palaeoenvironmental records show regional and temporal variability, comparison with proxy records (lacustrine sediments and ice cores) indicate that regionally this was a cold, dry period so we ascribe these glacier advances to reduced atmospheric temperature rather than increased precipitation.     

Advance,deglacial and sea‐level chronology for Foxe Peninsula,Baffin Island,Nunavut

The impact of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) deglaciation on Northern Hemisphere early Holocene climate can be evaluated only once a detailed chronology of ice history and sea‐level change is established. Foxe Peninsula is ideally situated on the northern boundary of Hudson Strait, and preserves a chronostratigraphy that provides important glaciological insights regarding changes in ice‐sheet position and relative sea level before and after the 8.2 ka cooling event. We utilized a combination of radiocarbon ages, adjusted with a new locally derived ΔR, and terrestrial in‐situ cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages to develop a chronology for early‐Holocene events in the northern Hudson Strait. A marine limit at 192 m a.s.l., dated at 8.1–7.9 cal. ka BP, provides the timing of deglaciation following the 8.2 ka event, confirming that ice persisted at least north of Hudson Bay until then. A moraine complex and esker morphosequence, the Foxe Moraine, relates to glaciomarine outwash deltas and beaches at 160 m a.s.l., and is tightly dated at 7.6 cal. ka BP with a combination of shell dates and exposure ages on boulders. The final rapid collapse of Foxe Peninsula ice occurred by 7.1–6.9 cal. ka BP (radiocarbon dates and TCN depth profile age on an outwash delta), which supports the hypothesis that LIS melting contributed to the contemporaneous global sea‐level rise known as the Catastrophic Rise Event 3 (CRE‐3).     

Characteristics of oceanic impact‐induced large water waves—Re‐evaluation of the tsunami hazard

Abstract— The potential hazard of a meteorite impact in the ocean is controversial with respect to the destructive power of generated large ocean waves (tsunamis). We used numerical modeling of hypervelocity impact to investigate the generation mechanism and the characteristics of the resulting waves up to a distance of 100–150 projectile radii. The wave signal is primarily controlled by the ratio between projectile diameter and water depth, and can be roughly classified into deep‐water and shallow‐water impacts. In the latter, the collapse of the crater rim results in a wave signal similar to solitary waves, which propagate and decay in agreement with shallow‐water wave theory. The much more likely scenario for an asteroid impact on Earth is a relatively small body (much smaller than the water depth) striking the deep sea. In this case, the collapse of the transient crater results in a significantly different and much more complex wave signal that is characterized by strong nonlinear behavior. We found that such waves decay much more rapidly than previously assumed and cannot be treated as long waves. For this reason, the shallow‐water theory is not applicable for the computation of wave propagation, and more complex models (full solution of the Boussinesq equations) are required.     

Evaluation of probabilistic flow in two unsaturated soils

A variably saturated flow model is coupled to a first-order reliability algorithm to simulate unsaturated flow in two soils. The unsaturated soil properties are considered as uncertain variables with means, standard deviations, and marginal probability distributions. Thus, each simulation constitutes an unsaturated probability flow event. Sensitivities of the uncertain variables are estimated for each event. The unsaturated hydraulic properties of a fine-textured soil and a coarse-textured soil are used. The properties are based on the van Genuchten model. The flow domain has a recharge surface, a seepage boundary along the bottom, and a no-flow boundary along the sides. The uncertain variables are saturated water content, residual water content, van Genuchten model parameters alpha (α) and n, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The objective is to evaluate the significance of each uncertain variable to the probabilistic flow. Under wet conditions, saturated water content and residual water content are the most significant uncertain variables in the sand. For dry conditions in the sand, however, the van Genuchten model parameters α and n are the most significant. Model parameter n and saturated hydraulic conductivity are the most significant for the wet clay loam. Saturated water content is most significant for the dry clay loam. Electronic Publication