Silica and the cycle of carbon in the ocean

Silicon is a key element whose major role in the control of the cycle of carbon in the ocean has been recently revealed. This is first illustrated through the resolution of the ‘opal paradox’ in the modern Southern Ocean. Second, the ‘silica hypothesis’ explains why, during the Last Glacial Maximum, the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ was about 40 % below that of the interglacial period. Increased deliveries of wind-borne silica to the surface ocean as well as of riverine inputs favoured the dominance of diatoms over coccolithophorids, resulting in a net emission decrease of CO₂ by coccolithophorids from the ocean surface to the atmosphere. To cite this article: P. Tréguer, C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 3–11     

Last glacial maximum climate inferences from cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling of the western Uinta ice field, Uinta Mountains, Utah

During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the western Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah were occupied by the Western Uinta Ice Field. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface-exposure ages from the terminal moraine in the North Fork Provo Valley and paired ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be ages from striated bedrock at Bald Mountain Pass set limits on the timing of the local LGM. Moraine boulder ages suggest that ice reached its maximum extent by 17.4 ± 0.5 ka (± 2σ). ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al measurements on striated bedrock from Bald Mountain Pass, situated near the former center of the ice field, yield a mean ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratio of 5.7 ± 0.8 and a mean exposure age of 14.0 ± 0.5 ka, which places a minimum-limiting age on when the ice field melted completely. We also applied a mass/energy-balance and ice-flow model to investigate the LGM climate of the western Uinta Mountains. Results suggest that temperatures were likely 5 to 7°C cooler than present and precipitation was 2 to 3.5 times greater than modern, and the western-most glaciers in the range generally received more precipitation when expanding to their maximum extent than glaciers farther east. This scenario is consistent with the hypothesis that precipitation in the western Uintas was enhanced by pluvial Lake Bonneville during the last glaciation.     

Limited modification of mid-latitude landscapes by ice sheets: The case of northeast Scotland

The paper uses a case study in Scotland to examine the amount and processes of landscape modification by Quaternary ice sheets. There is an inverse correlation between the distribution of landforms of glacial erosion and pre-glacial landscape remnants in northeast Scotland. The implication is that in places ice sheets can preserve a pre-glacial landscape unscathed, while elsewhere they remove the pre-glacial weathered rock. The location of glacial protection or erosion is strongly influenced by the topography and its influence on former ice sheet flow and basal thermal regime. The classic glacially eroded landscape of areal scouring can be produced by the removal of only 10–50 m of weathered rock. Furthermore rock basins, often regarded as the hallmark of glacial erosion, may be directly inherited from the pre-glacial pattern of deep weathering.     

西藏喜马拉雅山区危险冰湖及其溃决特征

喜马拉雅山区的冰湖溃决主要属终碛湖溃决。野外考察和编目研究的结果表明，终碛湖占各类高山冰湖总数的1/2和总水体的3/4。鉴别出34个危险终碛湖，其水体容量在10×10~6—30×10~6m~3之间，平均水深31m，实测最大水深在70m左右。危险终碛湖绝大多数形成于小冰期最后一次冰退阶段，由于其形态特征和现代冰川的直接影响而具有潜在的溃决危险；讨论了终碛湖溃决的特征，主要因素及其周期性。     

天山中段及祁连山东段小冰期以来的冰川及环境

本文通过考察、航片判读、及AAR法测算了冰川变化,用地衣、文史资料、及树轮年表进行了小冰期的测年,使用实测资料分析、冰岩芯及树轮资料等估算了小冰期的气温与降水、并进而计算了地表径流的变化。在全部讨论中,还引用了一些试验性的方法和公式。     

Glacial Lake Musselshell: Late Wisconsin slackwater on the Laurentide ice margin in central Montana, USA

Cosmogenic surface exposure ages of glacial boulders deposited in ice-marginal Lake Musselshell suggest that the lake existed between 20 and 11.5 ka during the Late Wisconsin glacial stage (MIS 2), rather than during the Late Illinoian stage (MIS 6) as traditionally thought. The altitude of the highest ice-rafted boulders and the lowest passes on the modern divide indicate that glacial lake water in the Musselshell River basin reached at least 920–930 m above sea level and generally remained below 940 m. Exposures of rhythmically bedded silt and fine sand indicate that Lake Musselshell is best described as a slackwater system, in which the ice-dammed Missouri and Musselshell Rivers rose and fell progressively throughout the existence of the lake rather than establishing a lake surface with a stable elevation. The absence of varves, deltas and shorelines also implies an unstable lake. The changing volume of the lake implies that the Laurentide ice sheet was not stable at its southernmost position in central Montana. A continuous sequence of alternating slackwater lake sediment and lacustrine sheetflood deposits indicates that at least three advances of the Laurentide ice sheet occurred in central Montana between 20 and 11.5 ka. Between each advance, it appears that Lake Musselshell drained to the north and formed two outlet channels that are now occupied by extremely underfit streams. A third outlet formed when the water in Lake Musselshell fully breached the Larb Hills, resulting in the final drainage of the lake. The channel through the Larb Hills is now occupied by the Missouri River, implying that the present Missouri River channel east of the Musselshell River confluence was not created until the Late Wisconsin, possibly as late as 11.5 ka.     

Field characterization of vertical bromide transport in a fractured glacial till

A study of the fracture distribution, hydraulic properties, groundwater levels and the transport of bromide was conducted to characterize vertical transport in the oxidized and reduced zones of a fractured glacial till. Detailed vertical profiles of groundwater levels and solute concentrations were obtained over a 4.5-year period. Vertical migration occurred at several time scales, as a low concentration front was rapidly transported at rates of 100–500 m/year ahead of a slower moving main plume, which advanced at rates of 0.2–0.8 m/year. Concentrations in the leading edge of the plume displayed a high degree of spatial variability over short vertical distances through day 1,000. Late in the test, the influence of matrix diffusion became apparent as concentration patterns developed from being irregular to more uniform distributions. Calculations show that the mass within the low concentration plume front accounts for less than 1% of the total solute mass. Simulation of the breakthrough curves using a simple one-dimensional advection-dispersion model of transport in porous media indicates that vertical transport is dominated by advection. Furthermore, the results indicate that vertical transport of solutes in oxidized and reduced zones of the till can be adequately simulated using an equivalent porous media.     

Estimating the inundation area of a massive,hypothetical jökulhlaup from northwest Vatnajökull,Iceland

Jökulhlaups are the consequence of a sudden and significant release of meltwater from the edge of a glacier. Such floods are sourced commonly from ice-dammed lakes, but occasional volcanic eruptions beneath ice can produce intense jökulhlaups due to prodigious rates of meltwater release. Globally, volcanogenic jökulhlaups have caused fatalities and damage to infrastructure within effected catchments. Here, we present the results of one-dimensional hydraulic modelling of the inundation area of a massive, hypothetical jökulhlaup on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum River in northeast Iceland; the floodwater source for this simulation is an eruption within the ice-filled caldera of Bárðarbunga: an active volcano beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap. Remotely sensed data were used to derive a digital elevation model and to assign surface-roughness parameters. We used a HEC-RAS/HEC-GeoRAS system to host the hydraulic model; to calculate the steady water-surface elevation; to visualise the flooded area; and to assess flood hazards. Maximum discharge was set notionally at 180,000 m³ s^?1 and the duration and volume of the jökulhlaup were placed at 39 h and 14 km³, respectively. During the simulated rise to maximum discharge, the mean velocity of the jökulhlaup was 2.8 m s^?1 over a distance of 120 km. At the height of the jökulhlaup an area of 460 km² was inundated. Modelling results showed that, along short reaches, stream-power values exceeded 11,000 W m^?2; such energy conditions would have allowed boulders up to 10-m in diameter to be mobilised by the jökulhlaup. Unsteady flow was simulated along a 22-km reach of the flood tract and it revealed strong spatial and temporal variations in flood power. Besides providing insight into the erosional and depositional effects of a volcanogenic jökulhlaup, the modelling results enable estimates of the relative timing and location of likely flooding hazards.     

贡嘎山地区全新世的冰川变化、气候变化与河谷阶地发育

本区冰川变化与河谷阶地发育关系密切，全新世初气候转暖，冰川逐步后退，形成第四级河流阶地（Ｔ４下部），全新世中期的高温期（７５００－４０００ａＢＰ）冰川强烈消融，形成第四级阶地（Ｔ４中上部）＜７４２０±９０ａＢＰ；全新世晚期气候转冷，新冰期可分出三次冰进：前观景台冰进＞３０８０±８０ａＢＰ，观景台冰进１５５０±８０－２３５０±６５ａＢＰ，海螺沟冰进９４０±８５－７８０±９０ａＢＰ，相应出现Ｔ３＞３０００ａＢＰ，Ｔ２１２００±７０－２１７０±６０ａＢＰ，Ｔ１９３０±７０ａＢＰ，现在小冰期最早出现在４００年前，有３次波动，相当于公元１６０３－１６５０；１７５１－１８００；１８５１－１９００；三次气候寒冷期。