The Hekla 1947 tephra in the north of Ireland: regional distribution,concentration and geochemistry

A cryptotephra layer from the eruption of Hekla in 1947 has recently been discovered in Irish peatlands. This tephra layer represents the most recent deposition of volcanic ash in the UK prior to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Here we examine the concentration and geochemistry of the Hekla 1947 tephra in 14 peat profiles from across Northern Ireland. Electron probe microanalysis of individual tephra shards (n = 91) reveals that the tephra is of dacitic–andesitic geochemistry and is highly similar to the Hekla 1510 tephra, although spheroidal carbonaceous particle profiles can be used for successful discrimination of the two layers. The highest concentrations of Hekla 1947 are found in western sites, probably reflecting the pathway of the ash fall event due to the prevailing wind direction. Comparable tephra concentrations from two cores (1 km apart) from a single bog and from nearby sites may suggest that tephra shard concentrations in peat profiles reflect ash fallout densities across a specific region, rather than site‐specific factors associated with peatlands. This paper firmly establishes Hekla 1947 as a useful chronostratigraphic marker for the twentieth century, although within a restricted zone. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Middle to late Holocene chironomid-inferred July temperatures for the central Northwest Territories,Canada

We analyzed subfossil chironomids, sediment organic matter and sediment particle size data from a 1.11-m-long freeze core collected from Carleton Lake (unofficial name), located approximately 120 km north of the modern treeline. This well-dated core spans the last ca. 6,500 years. Two chironomid transfer functions were applied to infer mean July air temperatures. Our results indicated that the chironomid-inferred temperatures from this lake sediment record did not pass a significance test, suggesting that other factors in addition to temperature may have been important in structuring the chironomid community through time. Although not statistically significant, the chironomid-inferred temperatures from this site do follow a familiar pattern, with highest inferred temperatures occurring during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (~6–4 cal kyr BP), followed by a long-term cooling trend, which is reversed during the last 600 years. The largest change in the chironomid assemblage, which occurred between ca. 4,600 and 3,900 cal yr BP is possibly related to the well-documented northward advance and subsequent retreat of treeline in this region.     

The impact of ditch blocking on the hydrological functioning of blanket peatlands

Ditch blocking in blanket peatlands is common as part of peatland restoration. The effects of ditch blocking on flow regimes and nearby water tables were examined in a field trial. After an initial 6‐month monitoring period, eight ditches had peat dams installed 10 m apart along their entire length (dammed), four of these ditches were also partially infilled through bank reprofiling (reprofiled). Four ditches were left open with no dams or reprofiling (open). These 12 ditches and the surrounding peat were monitored for 4 more years. An initial five‐fold reduction in discharge occurred in the dammed and the reprofiled ditches with the displaced water being diverted to overland flow and pathways away from the ditches. However, there was a gradual change over time in ditch flow regime in subsequent years, with the overall volume of water leaving the dammed and the reprofiled ditches increasing per unit of rainfall to around twice that which occurred in the first year after blocking. Hence, monitoring for greater than one year is important for understanding hydrological impacts of peatland restoration. Overland flow and flow in the upper ~4 cm of peat was common and occurred in the inter‐ditch areas for over half of the time after ditch blocking. There was strong evidence that topographic boundaries of small ditch catchments, despite being defined using a high‐resolution Light Detection And Ranging‐based terrain model, were not always equivalent to actual catchment areas. Hence, caution is needed when upscaling area‐based fluxes, such as aquatic carbon fluxes, from smaller scale studies including those using ditches and small streams. The effect of ditch blocking on local water tables was spatially highly variable but small overall (time‐weighted mean effect <2 cm). Practitioners seeking to raise water tables through peatland restoration should first be informed either by prior measurement of water tables or by spatial modelling to show whether the peatland already has shallow water tables or whether there are locations that could potentially undergo large water‐table recoveries.     

A ~ 40-year paleoenvironmental record from the Swan Oxbow,Yangtze River,China, inferred from testate amoebae and sedimentary pigments

Journal of Paleolimnology - We present a?~?40–year record of environmental change in the Swan Oxbow, Yangtze River, China, inferred from testate amoeba and sedimentary pigment...