Using variations in the stable carbon isotope composition of macrophyte remains to quantify nutrient dynamics in lakes

The apparent isotope enrichment factor ε_macrophyte of submerged plants (ε_{macrophyte–DIC} = δ¹³C_macrophyte − δ¹³C_DIC) is indicative of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) supply in neutral to alkaline waters and is related to variations in aquatic productivity (Papadimitriou et al. in Limnol Oceanogr 50:1084–1095, 2005). This paper aims to evaluate the usage of ε_macrophyte inferred from isotopic analyses of submerged plant fossils in addition to analyses of lake carbonate as a palaeolimnological proxy for former HCO₃ ⁻ concentrations. Stable carbon isotopic analysis of modern Potamogeton pectinatus leaves and its host water DIC from the Tibetan Plateau and Central Yakutia (Russia) yielded values between −23.3 and +0.4‰ and between +14.0 and +6.5‰, respectively. Values of ε _{Potamogeton–DIC} (range −15.4 to +1.1‰) from these lakes are significantly correlated with host water HCO₃ ⁻ concentration (range 78–2,200 mg/l) (r = −0.86; P < 0.001), thus allowing for the development of a transfer function. Palaeo-ε _{Potamogeton–ostracods} values from Luanhaizi Lake on the NE Tibetan Plateau, as inferred from the stable carbon isotope measurement of fossil Potamogeton pectinatus seeds (range −24 to +2.8‰) and ostracods (range −7.8 to +7.5%) range between −14.8 and 1.6‰. Phases of assumed disequilibrium between δ¹³C_DIC and δ¹³C_ostracods known to occur in charophyte swards (as indicated by the deposition of charophyte fossils) were excluded from the analysis of palaeo-ε. The application of the ε _{Potamogeton–DIC}-HCO₃ ⁻ transfer function yielded a median palaeo-HCO₃ ⁻ -concentration of 290 mg/l. Variations in the dissolved organic carbon supply compare well with aquatic plant productivity changes and lake level variability as inferred from a multiproxy study of the same record including analyses of plant macrofossils, ostracods, carbonate and organic content.     

Sediment provenance of late Quaternary morainic,fluvial and loess‐like deposits in the southwestern Verkhoyansk Mountains (eastern Siberia) and implications for regional palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

A provenance analysis of late Quaternary deposits from tributaries of the Aldan and Lena rivers in Central Yakutia (eastern Siberia) was carried out using analysis of heavy minerals and clay mineralogy. Cluster analysis revealed one assemblage that is characterized by relatively high proportions of amphibole, orthopyroxene and garnet as well as pedogenic clay minerals, reflecting a sediment provenance from the wide catchment area of the Lena and Aldan rivers. In contrast, the three other clusters are dominated by stable heavy minerals with varying amounts of clinopyroxene, apatite and garnet, as well as high percentages of illite and chlorite that are indicative of source rocks of the Verkhoyansk Mountains. Glacial moraines reveal the local mountain source signal that is overprinted by the Lena‐Aldan signal in the oldest moraines by reworking processes. Alluvial sediments in the Verkhoyansk Foreland show a clear Lena source signal through intervals of the middle and late Pleistocene, related to a stream course closer to the mountains at that time. Loess‐like cover sediments are characterized by the dominant Lena provenance with increasing proportions of local mountain sources towards the mountain valleys. Aeolian sands in an alluvial terrace section at the mountain margin covering the time between 30 ka and 10 ka BP reflect temporarily dominant inputs of aeolian materials from the Lena Plains. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sedimentology,stratigraphy and architecture of the Nicobar Fan (Bengal–Nicobar Fan System), Indian Ocean: Results from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362

Drill sites in the southern Bay of Bengal at 3°N 91°E (International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362) have sampled for the first time a complete section of the Nicobar Fan and below to the oceanic crust. This generally overlooked part of the Bengal–Nicobar Fan System may provide new insights into uplift and denudation rates of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. The Nicobar Fan comprises sediment gravity-flow deposits, mostly turbidites, that alternate with hemipelagite drapes and pelagite intervals of varying thicknesses. The decimetre-thick to metre-thick oldest pre-fan sediments (limestones/chalks) dated at 69 Ma are overlain by volcanic material and slowly accumulated pelagites (0.5 g cm⁻² kyr⁻¹). At Expedition 362 Site U1480, terrigenous input began in the early Miocene at ca 22.5 Ma as muds, overlain by very thin-bedded and thin-bedded muddy turbidites at ca 19.5 Ma. From 9.5 Ma, sand content and sediment supply sharply increase (from 1–5 to 10–50 g cm⁻² kyr⁻¹). Despite the abundant normal faulting in the Nicobar Fan compared with the Bengal Fan, it offers a better-preserved and more homogeneous sedimentary record with fewer unconformities. The persistent connection between the two fans ceased at 0.28 Ma when the Nicobar Fan became inactive. The Nicobar Fan is a major sink for Himalaya-derived material. This study presents integrated results of International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362 with older Deep Sea Drilling Project/Ocean Drilling Program/International Ocean Discovery Program sites that show that the Bengal–Nicobar Fan System experienced successive large-scale avulsion processes that switched sediment supply between the Bengal Fan (middle Miocene and late Pleistocene) and the Nicobar Fan (late Miocene to early Pleistocene). A quantitative analysis of the submarine channels of the Nicobar Fan is also presented, including their stratigraphic frequency, showing that channel size/area and abundance peaked at ca 2 to 3 Ma, but with a distinct low at 3 to 7 Ma: the intervening stratigraphic [sub]unit was a time of reduced sediment accumulation rates.     

Weak Summer Monsoon during the Early Holocene Inferred from the Dingxi Lujiagou Floodplain Lake-Eolian Sand Rhythm due to Solar Impacting

正Objective Precipitation was the highest in the loess plateau during the Early Holocene 10–8 ka BP even to the period 10–3.0 ka BP in the Kesang cave stalagmite westward Tianshan, Xinjiang, based on large numbers of records from paleoclimatic proxies(An et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2018). However, we discovered at first time that floodplain lake-eolian stratigraphical rhythm complex     

Evaluation of MODFLOW-LGR in connection with a synthetic regional-scale model

This work studies costs and benefits of utilizing local-grid refinement (LGR) as implemented in MODFLOW-LGR to simulate groundwater flow in a buried tunnel valley interacting with a regional aquifer. Two alternative LGR methods were used: the shared-node (SN) method and the ghost-node (GN) method. To conserve flows the SN method requires correction of sources and sinks in cells at the refined/coarse-grid interface. We found that the optimal correction method is case dependent and difficult to identify in practice. However, the results showed little difference and suggest that identifying the optimal method was of minor importance in our case. The GN method does not require corrections at the models' interface, and it uses a simpler head interpolation scheme than the SN method. The simpler scheme is faster but less accurate so that more iterations may be necessary. However, the GN method solved our flow problem more efficiently than the SN method. The MODFLOW-LGR results were compared with the results obtained using a globally coarse (GC) grid. The LGR simulations required one to two orders of magnitude longer run times than the GC model. However, the improvements of the numerical resolution around the buried valley substantially increased the accuracy of simulated heads and flows compared with the GC simulation. Accuracy further increased locally around the valley flanks when improving the geological resolution using the refined grid. Finally, comparing MODFLOW-LGR simulation with a globally refined (GR) grid showed that the refinement proportion of the model should not exceed 10% to 15% in order to secure method efficiency.     

Statistische Trendanalysen bei marinen Monitoringdaten—Aktuelle Diskussionen

Ocean Dynamics - Ausgangspunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit sind Untersuchungen der ICES-Arbeitsgruppe WGSAEM zur Vereinheitlichung der Trendanalyse von Monitoringzeitreihen. Dabei stehen die folgenden...     

Satellite-based terrestrial production efficiency modeling

Production efficiency models (PEMs) are based on the theory of light use efficiency (LUE) which states that a relatively constant relationship exists between photosynthetic carbon uptake and radiation receipt at the canopy level. Challenges remain however in the application of the PEM methodology to global net primary productivity (NPP) monitoring. The objectives of this review are as follows: 1) to describe the general functioning of six PEMs (CASA; GLO-PEM; TURC; C-Fix; MOD17; and BEAMS) identified in the literature; 2) to review each model to determine potential improvements to the general PEM methodology; 3) to review the related literature on satellite-based gross primary productivity (GPP) and NPP modeling for additional possibilities for improvement; and 4) based on this review, propose items for coordinated research.     

Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Surface-Sediment Carbonate in Bosten Lake (Xinjiang, China) and its Controlling Factors

Bosten Lake is a mid-latitude lake with water mainly supplied by melting ice and snow in the Tianshan Mountains. The depositional environment of the lake is spatially not uniform due to the proximity of the major inlet and the single outlet in the western part of the lake. The analytical results show that the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of recent lake sediments is related to this specific lacustrine depositional environment and to the resulting carbonate mineralogy. In the southwestern lake region between the Kaidu River inlet and the Kongqi River outlet, carbon isotope composition (δ13C) values of the carbonate sediment (-1‰ to -2‰) have no relation to the oxygen isotope composition of the carbonate (δ18O) values (-7‰ to -8‰), with both isotopes showing a low variability. The carbonate content is low (<20%). Carbonate minerals analyzed by X-ray diffraction are mainly composed of calcite, while aragonite was not recorded. The salinity of the lake water is low in the estuary region as a result of the Kaidu River inflow. In comparison, the carbon and oxygen isotope values are higher in the middle and eastern parts of the lake, with δ13C values between approximately +0.5‰ and +3‰, and δ18O values between -1‰ and -5‰. There is a moderate correlation between the stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, with a coefficient of correlation r of approximately 0.63. This implies that the lake water has a relatively short residence time. Carbonate minerals constitute calcite and aragonite in the middle and eastern region of the lake. Aragonite and Mg-calcite are formed at higher lake water salinity and temperatures, and larger evaporation effects. More saline lake water in the middle and eastern region of the lake and the enhanced isotopic equilibrium between water and atmospheric CO2 cause the correlating carbon and oxygen isotope values determined for aragonite and Mg-calcite. Evaporation and biological processes are the main reasons for the salinity and carbonate mineralogy influence of the surface-sediment carbonate in Bosten Lake. The lake water residence time and the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the water body control the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of the carbonate sediment. In addition, organic matter pollution and decomposition result in the abnormally low carbon isotope values of the lake surface-sediment carbonate.     

The radiation budget in a regional climate model

The long- and short-wave components of the radiation budget are among the most important quantities in climate modelling. In this study, we evaluated the radiation budget at the earth??s surface and at the top of atmosphere over Europe as simulated by the regional climate model CLM. This was done by comparisons with radiation budgets as computed by the GEWEX/SRB satellite-based product and as realised in the ECMWF re-analysis ERA40. Our comparisons show that CLM has a tendency to underestimate solar radiation at the surface and the energy loss by thermal emission. We found a clear statistical dependence of radiation budget imprecision on cloud cover and surface albedo uncertainties in the solar spectrum. In contrast to cloud fraction errors, surface temperature errors have a minor impact on radiation budget uncertainties in the long-wave spectrum. We also evaluated the impact of the number of atmospheric layers used in CLM simulations. CLM simulations with 32 layers perform better than do those with 20 layers in terms of the surface radiation budget components but not in terms of the outgoing long-wave radiation and of radiation divergence. Application of the evaluation approach to similar simulations with two additional regional climate models confirmed the results and showed the usefulness of the approach.     

Direct 40Ar/39Ar K‐feldspar dating of Late Permian—Early Triassic brittle faulting in northern Norway

While the offshore post‐Caledonian extensional history of the north Norwegian passive margin is well constrained, the tectonic relationship between onshore and offshore regions is less clear because of limited age constraints on the timing of rifting onshore. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of K‐feldspar from hydrothermally altered fault rocks in a Precambrian gneiss complex in northern Norway was used to study the timing of extensional faulting onshore. In addition, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of K‐feldspar from the host rock provided insight into the regional rock cooling history prior to brittle deformation. Results indicated a dominant Late Permian–Early Triassic (~265–244 Ma) faulting event and found no evidence for later reactivation, which has been documented offshore. The region cooled to below the closure temperature for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar K‐feldspar in the Carboniferous to Early Permian, prior to the main brittle faulting event. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of fault zone K‐feldspar products provided a means to date brittle faulting events.