Late Holocene relative sea level rise and the Neoglacial history of the Greenland ice sheet

In West Greenland, early and mid Holocene relative sea level (RSL) fall was replaced by late Holocene RSL rise during the Neoglacial, after 4–3 cal. ka BP (thousand calibrated years before present). Here we present the results of an isolation basin RSL study completed near to the coastal town of Sisimiut, in central West Greenland. RSL fell from 14 m above sea level at 5.7 cal. ka BP to reach a lowstand of ?4.0 m at 2.3–1.2 cal. ka BP, before rising by an equivalent amount to present. Differences in the timing and magnitude of the RSL lowstand between this and other sites in West and South Greenland record the varied interplay of local and non‐Greenland RSL processes, notably the reloading of the Earth's crust caused by a Neoglacial expansion of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) and the subsidence associated with the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet forebulge. This means that the timing of the sea level lowstand cannot be used to infer directly when the GIS advanced during the Neoglacial. The rise in Late Holocene RSL is contrary to recently reported bedrock uplift in the Sisimiut area, based on repeat GPS surveys. This indicates that a belt of peripheral subsidence around the current ice sheet margin was more extensive in the late Holocene, and that there has been a switch from subsidence to uplift at some point in the last thousand years or so. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flare stars and solar bursts: High resolution in time and frequency

Coronal loops on the Sun and nearby stars are investigated using observations at 20 cm wavelength with high resolution in time and frequency. Observations of the dwarf M star AD Leonis with high time resolution using the Arecibo Observatory have resulted in the discovery of a quasi-periodic train of circularly polarized spikes with a mean periodicity of 32 ± 5 ms and a total duration of 150 ms. The individual spikes had rise times of 5 ms, leading to an upper limit to the linear size L 1.5 × 10⁸ cm for the spike emitter. This size is only 0.005 of the estimated radius of AD Leonis. Provided that the emitter is symmetric, it has a brightness temperature of T _B 10¹⁶ K, suggesting a coherent burst mechanism such as an electron-cyclotron maser. Coronal oscillations might modulate the maser output, producing the quasi-periodic spikes. Observations at closely spaced wavelengths, or high frequency resolution, using the Very Large Array have revealed narrow-band structure (v/v 0.01) in solar bursts and in the slowly-varying radiation of the dwarf M star YZ Canis Minoris. The narrow-band emission cannot be explained by continuum emission processes, but it might be attributed to electron-cyclotron maser radiation. Maser action at the second or first harmonic of the gyrofrequency implies magnetic field strengths of 250 and 500 G, respectively. Thus, observations with high resolution in time and frequency suggest coherent processes in the coronae of the Sun and dwarf M stars. The scientific potential of these discoveries may be best fulfilled by the construction of a solar-stellar synthesis radiotelescope.Proceedings of the Workshop on Radio Continua during Solar flares, held at Duino (Trieste), Italy, 27–31 May, 1985.     

Mineralogical sources of the buffer capacity in a granite catchment determined by strontium isotopes

The role of different minerals in base cation release and thus the increase of buffering capacity of groundwater against acid deposition is controversially discussed in the literature. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and base cation concentration were investigated in whole rock leachates, mineral separates, precipitation, soil solution, groundwater and stream water samples in the Lehstenbach catchment (Germany) to identify the weathering sequence of the granite bedrock. Three different approaches were followed in parallel. It was assumed that the contribution of different minerals to base cation supply of the groundwater with increasing weathering intensity would be observed by investigating (1) unweathered rock leachates, deep groundwater and shallow groundwater, (2) groundwater samples from new groundwater wells, reflecting the initial weathering of the drilled bedrock, and groundwater from wells that were drilled in 1988, (3) stream water during baseflow, dominated by deep groundwater, and stream water during high flow, being predominantly shallow groundwater. Whereas the first approach yielded consistent patterns, there was some evidence that groundwater from the new wells initially reflected contamination by the filter gravel rather than cation release in an initial stage of weathering. Time series samples of stream water and groundwater solute concentrations and isotope ratios turned out to reflect varying fractions of soil water and precipitation water at baseflow and high flow conditions rather than varying contributions of different minerals that prevail at different stages of granite weathering.     

The Messinian Sicilian stratigraphy revisited: new insights for the Messinian salinity crisis

Controversies around the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) are because of the difficulties in establishing genetic and stratigraphic relationships between its deep and shallow‐water record. Actually, the Sicilian foreland basin shows both shallow and deep‐water Messinian records, thus offering the chance to reconstruct comprehensive MSC scenarios. The Lower Gypsum of Sicily comprises primary and resedimented evaporites separated in space and time by the intra‐Messinian unconformity. A composite unit including halite, resedimented gypsum and Calcare di Base accumulated between 5.6 and 5.55 Ma in the main depocentres; it records the acme of the Messinian Salinity Crisis during a tectonic phase coupled with sea‐level falls at glacials TG14‐TG12. These deposits fully post‐date primary gypsum, which precipitated in shallow‐water wedge‐top and foreland ramp basins between 5.96 and 5.6 Ma. This new stratigraphic framework results in a three‐stage MSC scenario characterized by different primary evaporite associations: selenite in the first and third stages, carbonate, halite and potash salt in the second one associated with hybrid resedimented evaporites.     

Hydrometeorologische Ergebnisse aus Abflußmessungen im Bereich des Hintereisferners (Ötztaler Alpen) in den Jahren 1957 bis 1959

Zusammenfassung Während der Internationalen Geophysikalischen Jahre 1957 bis 1959 wurde an einer Pegelmeßstelle bei 2287 m Höhe der Abfluß vom Hintereis- und Kesselwandferner registriert. Im vorliegenden Arbeitsbericht sollen spezifischen Merkmale des Abflusses aus dem zu 58% vergleitscherten Einzugsgebiet 26,6 km²) im Zusammenhang mit den meteorologischen Beidingungen dargestellt werden.Der Jahresabfluß betrug im Haushaltsjahr 1957/58 1848 mm und im Haushaltsjahr 1958/59 1770 mm; bedingt durch den stark negative massenhaushat der Gletscher was die Gletscherspende mit 24% bzw. 20% des Jahresabflusses außergewöhnlich hoch. Der winterabfluß (Oktober bis März) betrug nur 5% bzw. 10% des Jahresabflusses; die drei Sommermonate Juli bis September Lieferten dagegen 76% bzw. 72%. Der größte Monatsabfluß wurde im August 1958 mit 575 mm, im Juli 1959 mit 559 mm registriert.Die Häufigkeitsverteilung der Tagesabflußmengen für das Jahr 1957/58 ließ eine Andauer des Niedrigwassers mit Tages-Mittelwerten kleiner als 18,8 l/s km² (0,5 m³/s) von 217 Tagen (Oktober bis Mai, 59% des Jahres) erkennen. Größere Tagesabflüsse als 225 l/s km² (6,0 m³/s) kamen nur im Juli und August vor. Als Maximum wurden Abflußwerte bis zu 640 l/s km² Gletscherfläche im Tagesmittel erreicht, entsprechen 55m Abflußhöhe von den Schnee- und Eisflächen. Der exponentielle Abfall der Abflußganglinie vom Herbst zum Minimum im Frühjahr deutet an, daß es sich bei Winterwasser vorwiegend um das verzögerte Abfließen von in den Gletschern zurückgehaltenem Schmelzwasser aus der vorangegangenen Ablationsperiode handelt. Das Ansteigen der Wasserführung nach dem Beiginn der Schneeschmelze im Frühjahr erfolgt wegen des Wiedergefrierens von Schmelzwasser und wegen des Retentionsvermögens der Schneedecke mit einiger Verzörgerung.Die unperiodischen Schwankungen im Abflußgang stehen in engem Zusammenhang mit Wettervorgängen, wobei Schneeniederschlägen die Größte Bedeutung zukommt, weil die hohe Albedo einer Neuschneedecke die Ablation auf den Gletschern tagelang fast völlig unterbrechen kann. Aus zweistündigen Mittelwerten wurde für die Monate Juni bis September der mittlere Tagesgang der Wasserführung ermittelt. Die Ursache für das frühere Eintreten des taglichen Abflußmaximums im Spätsommer durfte verminderte Abflußverzögerung sein. Die Beziehung zwischen den Abflußwerten der Pegel Steg-Hospiz und Vent läßt einen Jahresgang erkennen.

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Summary During the International Geophysical Years 1957–1959 the run-off from Hintereisferner and Kesselwandferner was recorded by a stream gauge installed at an altitude of 2287 m. a. s. 1. The annual run-off in relation to mass budget and precipitation has already been reported in [10, 11]. In the present report characteristic features of run-off from a catchment area (26.6 km²) glaciated to 58 per cent shall be discussed with regard to the meteorological conditions.In the budget years 1957/58 and 1958/59 the yearly run-off was 1848 mm and 1770 mm, respectively. Owing to the strongly negative mass budget of the glaciers the glacier quota of 24 per cent and of 20 per cent, respectively, of the annual run-off was exceptionally high. Winter run-off (October to March) amounting to 5 per cent and to 10 per cent, respectively, of the yearly run-off was only small while July to September supplied 76 per cent and 72 per cent, respectively. The maximum monthly run-off was recorded in August 1958 with 575 mm, and in July 1959 with 559 mm.The frequency distribution of the daily run-off in 1957/58 showed a period of low run-off during 217 days (October to May, 59 per cent of the year) with daily means below 18.8 l/s km² (0.5 m³/s). Daily run-off exceeding 225 l/s km² (6.0 m³/s) occurred only in July and August. Daily means exceeding 338 l/s km² (9.0 m³/s) were recorded only three times in July. The maximum daily means of run-off were up to 640 l/s km² of glacier surface which corresponds to 55 mm of run-off from the snow and ice surfaces. The highest two hourly mean value was 950 l/s km² of the glacier surface. The exponential decrease of the run-off curve from fall to the minimum in spring indicates that winter water consists mainly of the delayed run-off of melt water stored in the glaciers during the preceding ablation period. Owing to the refreezing of the melt water and to the storage capacity of the snow cover run-off is somewhat delayed after the snow melt has set in.The aperiodic variations in the run-off are closely related to weather conditions. Snow falls are of primary importance as the high albedo of a fresh snow cover may interrupt ablation on glaciers almost completely for days. The mean daily variation of run-off was determined from two-hourly mean values for the period June to September. The early occurrence of the daily run-off. The relation between the run-off values recorded at the water gauges Steg-Hospiz and Vent indicates and annual variation.

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Résumé Pendant les Années Géophysiques Internationales de 1957 à 1959 l'écoulement du Hintereisferner et du Kesselwandferner a été enregistré par un limnigraphe installé à une altitude 2287 m. Un rapport a déjà été présenté dans [10, 11] sur l'écoulement annuel en rapport avec le bilan hydrologique du bassin. Dans le présent rapoort il sera traité des caractères spécifiques de l'écoulement d'un bassin dont 58% sont recouverts par le glacier, les quels seront mis en rapport avec les conditions météorologiques.L'écoulement annuel au cours de l'année hydrologique 1957/58 a été de 1848 mm et dans l'année hydrologique 1958/59 de 1770 mm. L'eau libérée par la perte de substance glacière représente 24% pour 1957/58 et 20% pour 1958/59 de l'écoulement annuel. Les pourcentages extrêmement élevés doivent être attribués au bilan fortement négatif des glaciers. L'écoulement d'hiver (Octobre à Mars) représentant 5% pour l'année 1957/58 et 10% pour 1958/59 de l'écoulement annuel a été petit tandis que les trois mois d'été (Juillet–Septembre) fournissaient 76% (1957/58) et 72% (1958/59). L'écoulement mensuel le plus élevé a été enregistré en Aôut 1958 avec 575 mm, et, en Juillet 1959 avec 559 mm.La répartition des fréquences des écoulements journaliers pour l'année 1957/58 indique une période d'étiage de 217 jours (Octobre à Mai, 59% de l'année) avec valeurs journalières en dessous de 18.8 l/s km² (0.5 m³/s). Des écoulements dépassant 225 l/s km² (6.0 m³/s) n'ont été enregistrés qu'en Juillet et Aôut. Les moyennes journalières n'ont dépassé les 338 l/s km² (9.0 m³/s) que trois fois en Juillet. Les valeurs maximums des moyennes journalières d'écoulement se sont élevées à 640 l/s km² de la surface des glaciers, correspondant à 55 mm d'écoulement des surfaces de neige et de glace. La valeur maximum d'une moyenne de deux heures a été de 950 l/s km² de la surface des glaciers. La chute exponentielle de la courbe d'écoulement allant de l'automne au minimum enregistré au printemps indique que dans les cas d'étiage il s'agit de l'écoulement retardé des aux de fonte refenues dans les glaciers pendant la période d'ablation précédente. L'accroissement de l'écoulement après le comencement de la fonte de neige au printemps est retardé dans une certaine mesure par le regel des aux de fonte et la capacité de rétention de la couche de neige. Les variations apériodiques dans l'écoulement sont en relations étroites avec les conditions atmospheriques dont les chutes de neige sont de la plus grade importance car l'albédo élevé d'une couche de neige fraîche interrompt parfois et presque complétement l'ablation sur les glaciers pour des jours entiers.L'amplitude moyenne de la variation journalière de l'écoulement a été, pour les mois de Juin à Septembre, détérminée à la base des valeurs moyennes de deux heures. L'apparition précoce du maximum d'écoulement journalier en fin d'été est probablement due à la diminution du retardement de l'écoulement en cette période. La relation entre le valeurs d'écoulement des limnigraphes de Steg-Hospiz et de Vent met en évidence une variation annuelle.

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Die für diesen Bericht erforderliche weitere Bearbeitung der Abflußdaten und die Fertigstellung des Manuskriptes wurde dem Verfasser im Rahmen seiner Tätigkeit bei der Kommission für Glaziologie an der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften ermöglicht, wofür an dieser Stelle gedankt sei.     

Observations of a fast burst of the deep western boundary undercurrent and sediment transport in South Wilmington Canyon from DSRVAlvin

On October 3 and 4, 1986, DSRVAlvin dives encountered a strong current at 2,300 m in South Wilmington Canyon. The current, estimated at 1 knot, transported surficial sediment and constructed and modified bedforms. It appears to have been constant in its direction of flow from 30 to 40°. The observed current was probably a burst of fast flow in a region of slow average currents in the Deep Western Boundary Undercurrent. Such episodic events may have a greater influence on the stratigraphic record than the temporally longer more tranquil flow conditions.     

Colonization, succession, and nutrition of macrobenthic assemblages in a restored wetland at Tijuana Estuary, California

Modes of colonization, the successional trajectory, and trophic recovery of a macrofaunal community were analyzed over 19 months in the Friendship marsh, a 20-acre restored wetland in Tijuana Estuary, California. Traditional techniques for quantifying macrofaunal communities were combined with emerging stable isotopic approaches for evaluation of trophic recovery, making comparisons with a nearby natural Spartina foliosa habitat. Life history-based predictions successfully identified major colonization modes, although most taxa employed a variety of tactics for colonizing the restored marsh. The presence of S. foliosa did not seem to affect macrofaunal colonization or succession at the scale of this study. However, soil organic matter content in the restored marsh was positively correlated with insect densities, and high initial salinities may have limited the success of early colonists. Total macrofaunal densities recovered to natural marsh levels after 14 months and diversity, measured as species richness and the Shannon index (H′), was comparable to the natural marsh by 19 months. Some compositional disparities between the natural and created communities persisted after 19 months, including lower percentages of surface-feeding polychaetes (Polydora spp.) and higher percentages of dipteran insects and turbellarians in the Friendship marsh. As surficial structural similarity of infaunal communities between the Friendship and natural habitat was achieved, isotopic analyses revealed a simultaneous trajectory towards recovery of trophic structure. Enriched δ¹³C signatures of benthic microalgae and infauna, observed in the restored marsh shortly after establishment compared to natural Spartina habitat, recovered after 19 months. However, the depletion in δ¹⁵N signatures of macrofauna in the Friendship marsh indicated consumption of microalgae, particularly nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, while macroalgae and Spartina made a larger contribution to macrofaunal diets in the natural habitat. Future successional studies must continue to develop and employ novel combinations of techniques for evaluating structural and functional recovery of disturbed and created habitats.     

Noise storms and the structure of microwave emission of solar active regions

Solar radio and microwave sources were observed with the Very Large Array (VLA) and the RATAN-600, providing high spatial resolution at 91 cm (VLA) and detailed spectral and polarization data at microwave wavelengths (1.7 to 20 cm - RATAN). The radio observations have been compared with images from the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) aboard theYohkoh satellite and with full-disk phoptospheric magnetic field data from the Kislovodsk Station of the Pulkovo Observatory. The VLA observations at 91 cm show fluctuating nonthermal noise storm sources in the middle corona. The active regions that were responsible for the noise storms generally had weaker microwave emission, fainter thermal soft X-ray emission, as well as less intense coronal magnetic fields than those associated with other active regions on the solar disk. The noise storms did, however, originate in active regions whose magnetic fields and radiation properties were evolving on timescales of days or less. We interpret these noise storms in terms of accelerated particles trapped in radiation belts above or near active regions, forming a decimetric coronal halo. The particles trapped in the radiation belts may be the source of other forms of nonthermal radio emission, while also providing a reservoir from which energetic particles may drain down into lower-lying magnetic structures.Presented at the CESRA-Workshop on Coronal Magnetic Energy Release at Caputh near Potsdam in May 1994.     

La Formation glaciaire de la Mambéré (République Centrafricaine): Reconstitution paléogéographique et implications à l'échelle du Paléozoique africain

The Mambéré Formation constitutes a horizontal unit located in the western and southwestern part of the Central African Republic. Stratigraphical and sedimentological study provides strong argument to attribute these deposits a glacial origin. A palaeogeographical reconstruction has been outlined in order to precise the age of the formation. Two main categories of glacial deposits have been recognized:

glaciogenic deposits made of basal tills (with facetted pebbles) and flow tills (with flattened blunt pebbles);

reworked glacial deposits formed of sandstones and conglomeratic sandstones, in continuous beds, lenses or isolated blocks, together with siltstones and bedded sandstones.

The southerly provenance of the detrital material is demonstrated by quartz grain surface analysis and heavy-mineral study. This material results essentially from the dismantling of the Precambrian Schistoquartzitic Complex and secondarily from the Granitogneissic Complex. According to the palaeomagnetic polar paths and the migration of the glacial centers over the African continent during the Palaeozoic, the Mambéré Formation may be attributed a Lower Silurian age by reference to similar formations observed in Cameroon or a Lower Carboniferous age by comparison with the glacial formations reported from Niger and Egypt.