Temporal variability of three different macrofauna communities in the northern North Sea

In 1999, 2003 and 2007 macrofauna communities were sampled in three different areas (“Boxes”) of 10 × 10 nautical miles in the northern North Sea in order to study the temporal changes in community structure in relation to changes in temperature or changes in hydrography.     

Sediment budgeting of short-term backfilling processes: The erosional collapse of a Carolingian canal construction

Sediment budgeting concepts serve as quantification tools to decipher the erosion and accumulation processes within a catchment and help to understand these relocation processes through time. While sediment budgets are widely used in geomorphological catchment-based studies, such quantification approaches are rarely applied in geoarchaeological studies. The case of Charlemagne's summit canal (also known as Fossa Carolina) and its erosional collapse provides an example for which we can use this geomorphological concept and understand the abandonment of the Carolingian construction site. The Fossa Carolina is one of the largest hydro-engineering projects in Medieval Europe. It is situated in Southern Franconia (48.9876°N, 10.9267°E; Bavaria, southern Germany) between the Altmühl and Swabian Rezat rivers. It should have bridged the Central European watershed and connected the Rhine–Main and Danube river systems. According to our dendrochronological analyses and historical sources, the excavation and construction of the Carolingian canal took place in AD 792 and 793. Contemporary written sources describe an intense backfill of excavated sediment in autumn AD 793. This short-term erosion event has been proposed as the principal reason for the collapse and abandonment of the hydro-engineering project. We use subsurface data (drillings, archaeological excavations, and direct-push sensing) and geospatial data (a LiDAR digital terrain model (DTM), a pre-modern DTM, and a 3D model of the Fossa Carolina] for the identification and sediment budgeting of the backfills. Dendrochronological findings and radiocarbon ages of macro remains within the backfills give clear evidence for the erosional collapse of the canal project during or directly after the construction period. Moreover, our quantification approach allows the detection of the major sedimentary collapse zone. The exceedance of the manpower tipping point may have caused the abandonment of the entire construction site. The spatial distribution of the dendrochronological results indicates a north–south direction of the early medieval construction progress. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

A simple model of seasonal open ocean convection

 Aspects of open ocean deep convection variability are explored with a two-box model. In order to place the model in a region of parameter space relevant to the real ocean, it is fitted to observational data from the Labrador Sea. A systematic fit to OWS Bravo data allows us to determine the model parameters and to locate the position of the Labrador Sea on a stability diagram. The model suggests that the Labrador Sea is in a bistable regime where winter convection can be either “on” or “off ”, with both these possibilities being stable climate states. When shifting the surface buoyancy forcing slightly to warmer or fresher conditions, the only steady solution is one without winter convection.  We then introduce short-term variability by adding a noise term to the surface temperature forcing, turning the box model into a stochastic climate model. The surface forcing anomalies generated in this way induce jumps between the two model states. These state transitions occur on the interannual to decadal time scale. Changing the average surface forcing towards more buoyant conditions lowers the frequency of convection. However, convection becomes more frequent with stronger variability in the surface forcing. As part of the natural variability, there is a non-negligible probability for decadal interruptions of convection. The results highlight the role of surface forcing variability for the persistence of convection in the ocean.     

Validation of the small-scale performance of a climate model

A canonical correlation analysis is used to study the simulation of the relationship between small-scale precipitation patterns near the Alps and large-scale flow patterns by the ECHAM (ECMWF model, HAMburg version) climate model. The analysis is performed on a monthly mean time scale for the winter months of ECHAM1/T21, ECHAM3/T21 (improved model physics) and ECHAM3/T42 (increased resolution) simulations. The obtained patterns are compared with an identical analysis of observational data. The coarse structures of the observed relationships seem to be reasonably well simulated by the ECHAM3/T42 model version despite the simple shape of the model Alps (hereafter the model Alps), while the results for the ECHAM1/T21 and ECHAM3/T21 are not as good. This appears to be not only due to the increased resolution but also to the improved model physics, since some indication of the relationship can be found in the simulation of the ECHAM3/T21, but not in the simulation of the ECHAM1/T21 model version.Paper presented in session OA19/ST15, Simulation of climates using comprehensive global models at the XIX General Assembly of the EGS, Grenoble, 25–29 April 1994     

Seasonal dynamics of algal biomass and allochthonous input of coarse particulate organic matter in a low-order sandstone stream (Weidlingbach, Lower Austria)

From December 1997 to December 1998, benthic algal biomass and the input of allochthonous coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) were investigated in bi-weekly intervals at two sampling stations (shaded and sunny) of the Weidlingbach, a fourth order sandstone stream in the Wienerwald. A total of 41 benthic algal taxa was collected, belonging to the groups Cyanobacteria (4 taxa), Bacillariophyceae (33), Rhodophyta (1), Chrysophyceae (1) and Chlorophyta (2). At the shaded site, periphyton dry mass ranged from 13 g m⁻² in April to 440 g m⁻² in August (annual mean = 93 g m⁻²), at the sunny site from 3 g m⁻² in May to 512 g m⁻² in late fall (annual mean = 70 g m⁻²). Based on the algal carotenoid pattern, Bacillariophyceae were most abundant in fall and winter while Chlorophyceae dominated during summer. Mean annual standing stock of chlorophyll-a was 8.65 μg cm⁻² at the shaded station and 7.53 μg cm⁻² at the sunny site. Annual allochthonous CPOM input rates ranged from 382 to 665 g dry mass m⁻² for aerial input and from 1006 to 1062 g DM m⁻¹ of stream length for lateral input. Lateral input rates were influenced by the bank inclination; the temporal distribution of aerial input showed an autumnal maximum (61-65% of the total). Direct CPOM input was significantly highest (P<0.05) during the period of defoliation from October to November. In the course of this period, 61.1% (shaded) to 64.9% (sunny) of the annual CPOM dropped into the brook, yielding daily input rates of 6.6 to 4.0 g DM m⁻². From December to September, daily direct input rates decreased to 0.84 g DM m⁻² (shaded) and 0.44 g DM m⁻² (sunny). At both sites, retention capacity was high; 70% of marked leaves released along transects were retained by coarse sediment particles within 40 m from the starting point. The annual mean of periphyton dry mass made up 52% of CPOM standing stock at the shaded site and 39% at the sunny site.     

Progressive development of s-type flanking folds in simple shear

Flanking structures are deflections of planar or linear fabric elements in a rock alongside a crosscutting element (CE), e.g. a vein or fault. This study provides new results from analogue experiments, which test and extend recent numerical models of flanking structures. A linear viscous matrix material (PDMS) was deformed in a ring shear rig that allows continuous observation to large values of shear strain. Rotational behaviour, offset and deflection of marker lines around a predefined, lubricated CE were monitored for different initial orientations of the fault with respect to the shear zone boundary, and the results were compared with numerical results and natural examples. At high initial angles to the shear zone boundary (>135°), a structure previously described as an ‘s-type flanking fold’ develops. During progressive deformation, an initially straight marker line passing through the centre of the CE is offset in a sense synthetic with the bulk sense of shear and shows a shortening displacement across the CE. Simultaneously, this central marker line is deflected and forms symmetrical folds, which are convex in the direction of shear along the CE (i.e. normal drag). Both offset and deflection of the marker lines decrease towards the tips of the fault. Natural examples of s-type flanking folds, directly comparable with the model results, are more common than is generally appreciated.     

Effects of historical mining activities on surface water and groundwater - an example from northwest Arizona

 The focus of this research was to determine the impact of abandoned mines on surface water and groundwater in the historical mining districts of the Cerbat Mountains, Arizona. The surface water in the mining areas was found to be contaminated by various combinations and concentrations of heavy metals. Elevated arsenic, cadmium, and iron concentrations were detected in most surface-water samples, while lead, copper, and zinc contamination differed from region to region, depending on the ore mined. The groundwater was seriously polluted by arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc, iron, and manganese in the immediate vicinity of mines that processed ore on the site, such as the Tennessee Mine near Chloride. Chloride's groundwater, however, showed no evidence of contamination. Three possible explanations are discussed: immobilization of the heavy metals in the soil by chemical reactions and adsorption, dilution effects due to the rainy season in spring, or the existence of different groundwater systems. Received: 17 September 1996 · Accepted: 14 May 1997