Mezen Bay—a key area for understanding Weichselian glaciations in northern Russia

Sediment successions in coastal cliffs around Mezen Bay, southeastern White Sea, record an unusually detailed history of former glaciations, interstadial marine and fluvial events from the Weichselian. A regional glaciation model for the Weichselian is based on new data from the Mezen Bay area and previously published data from adjacent areas. Following the Mikulinian (Eemian) interglacial a shelf‐centred glaciation in the Kara Sea is reflected in proglacial conditions at 100–90 ka. A local ice‐cap over the Timan ridge existed between 75 and 65 ka. Renewed glaciation in the Kara Sea spread southwestwards around 60 ka only, interrupted by a marine inundation, before it advanced to its maximum position at about 55–50 ka. After a prolonged ice‐free period, the Scandinavian ice‐sheet invaded the area from the west and terminated east of Mezen Bay about 17 ka. The previously published evidence of a large ice‐dammed lake in the central Arkhangelsk region, Lake Komi, finds no support in this study. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the structure of oscillatory boundary layers

An empirical analysis is performed on the most detailed, recent measurements of turbulent oscillatory boundary layer flow. The measurements show that throughout elevations where the flow can be considered horizontally uniform, one deficit model is sufficient for describing the fundamental mode. Some general properties of the non dimensional velocity deficit D₁(z) appear with striking consistency. First of all the identity $\text{ln}\text{¦D}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext>}}\text{¦ ≡}\text{Arg}\text{D}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext>}}$, which is a theoretical result for smooth laminar flow, seems to hold with great accuracy for a large range of turbulent flow conditions as well. This is of principal theoretical interest because all previous analytical eddy viscosity models as well as numerical mixing length models predict a consistent and fairly large difference between Arg D₁ and $\text{ln}\text{¦D}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext>}}\text{¦}$. If the identity between $\text{ln}\text{¦D}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext>}}\text{¦}$ and Arg D₁ extends all the way to the bed, it means that the bed shear stress leads the free stream velocity by 45 degrees. It is also found that the structure of smooth turbulent oscillatory flows as measured by Kalkanis (1964) corresponds to a sharp maximum in the normalized energy dissipation rate.     

Post-mid-Cretaceous eastern North Sea evolution inferred from 3D thermo-mechanical modelling

The Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic evolution of the eastern North Sea region is investigated by 3D thermo-mechanical modelling. The model quantifies the integrated effects on basin evolution of large-scale lithospheric processes, rheology, strength heterogeneities, tectonics, eustasy, sedimentation and erosion.

The evolution of the area is influenced by a number of factors: (1) thermal subsidence centred in the central North Sea providing accommodation space for thick sediment deposits; (2) 250-m eustatic fall from the Late Cretaceous to present, which causes exhumation of the North Sea Basin margins; (3) varying sediment supply; (4) isostatic adjustments following erosion and sedimentation; (5) Late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic Alpine compressional phases causing tectonic inversion of the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ) and other weak zones.

The stress field and the lateral variations in lithospheric strength control lithospheric deformation under compression. The lithosphere is relatively weak in areas where Moho is deep and the upper mantle warm and weak. In these areas the lithosphere is thickened during compression producing surface uplift and erosion (e.g., at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High and in the southern part of Sweden). Observed late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic shallow water depths at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High as well as Cenozoic surface uplift in southern Sweden (the South Swedish Dome (SSD)) are explained by this mechanism.

The STZ is a prominent crustal structural weakness zone. Under compression, this zone is inverted and its surface uplifted and eroded. Contemporaneously, marginal depositional troughs develop. Post-compressional relaxation causes a regional uplift of this zone.

The model predicts sediment distributions and paleo-water depths in accordance with observations. Sediment truncation and exhumation at the North Sea Basin margins are explained by fall in global sea level, isostatic adjustments to exhumation, and uplift of the inverted STZ. This underlines the importance of the mechanisms dealt with in this paper for the evolution of intra-cratonic sedimentary basins.     

Phytoplankton, nutrients, and transparency in Danish coastal waters

We present a comparative analysis of 1400 data series of water chemistry (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations), phytoplankton biomass as chlorophylla (chla) concentrations, concentrations of suspended matter and Secchi depth transparency collected from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s from 162 stations in 27 Danish fjords and coastal waters. The results demonstrate that Danish coastal waters were heavily eutrophied and had high particle concentrations and turbid waters. Median values were 5.1 μg chla 1⁻¹, 10.0 mg DW 1⁻¹ of suspended particles, and Secchi depth of 3.6 m. Chlorophyll concentration was strongly linked to the total-nitrogen concentration. The strength of this relationship increased from spring to summer as the concentration of total nitrogen declined. During summer, total nitrogen concentrations accounted for about 60% of the variability in chlorophyll concentrations among the different coastal systems. The relationship between chlorophyll and total phosphorus was more consistant over the year and correlations were much weaker than encountered for total nitrogen. Secchi depth could be predicted with good precision from measurements of chlorophyll and suspended matter. In a multiple stepwise regression model with In-transformed values the two variables accounted for most of the variability in water transparency for the different seasons and the period March–October as a whole (c. 80%). We were able to demonstrate a significant relationship between total nitrogen and Secchi depth, with important implications for management purposes.     

Reduction of ground vibration by means of barriers or soil improvement along a railway track

Trains running in built-up areas are a source to ground-borne noise. A careful design of the track may be one way of minimizing the vibrations in the surroundings. For example, open or infilled trenches may be constructed along the track, or the soil underneath the track may be improved. In this work, the influence of the track design and properties on the level of ground vibration due to a vehicle moving with subsonic speed is examined. A coupled finite element-boundary element model of the track and subsoil is employed, adopting a formulation in the moving frame of reference following the vehicle. The computations are carried out in the frequency domain for various combinations of the vehicle speed and the excitation frequency. The analyses indicate that open trenches are more efficient than infilled trenches or soil stiffening–even at low frequencies. However, the direction of the load is of paramount importance. For example, the response outside a shallow open trench may change dramatically when horizontal load is applied instead of vertical load.     

Economic gains of liberalising access to fishing quotas within the European Union

This paper analyses the extent to which specialisation gains can be achieved by liberalising access to fishing quotas within the European Union (EU). Fishing quotas are today exchanged between EU member states at a rate of 4% of total turnover in EU fisheries. Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands are the most active. Only one fourth of these exchanges are permanent. With the management systems in EU fisheries differing among countries, comparative advantages in fisheries exist in member states with the best management practices. Hence, although positive but small specialisation gains exist in EU fisheries today, these gains might potentially be increased by liberalising access to fishing quotas and allowing transferability of quotas between individuals from different countries on a permanent basis. Increasing the gains might, however, affect relative stability.     

Parental melts of melilitolite and origin of alkaline carbonatite: evidence from crystallised melt inclusions, Gardiner complex

Perovskite and melilite crystals from melilitolites of the ultramafic alkaline Gardiner complex (East Greenland) contain crystallised melt inclusions derived from: (1) melilitite; (2) low-alkali carbonatite; (3) natrocarbonatite. The melilitite inclusion (1) homogenisation temperature of 1060 °C is similar to liquidus temperatures of experimentally investigated natural melilitites. The compositions are peralkaline, low in MgO (ca.␣5 wt%), Ni and Cr, and they are low-pressure fractionates of more magnesian larnite-normative ultramafic lamprophyre-type melts of primary mantle origin. Low-alkali carbonatite compositions (2) homogenise at 1060–1030 °C and are compositionally similar to immiscible calcite carbonatite dykes derived from the melilitolite magma. Natrocarbonatite inclusions (3) homogenise between 1030 and 900 °C and are compositionally similar to natrocarbonatite lava from Oldoinyo Lengai. Nephelinitic to phonolitic dykes which are related to the calcite carbonatite dykes, are very Zr-rich and agpaitic (molecular Na₂O + K₂O/Al₂O₃ > 1.2) and resemble nephelinites of Oldoinyo Lengai. The petrographic, geochemical and temporal relationships indicate unmixing of carbonatite compositions (ca. 10% alkalies) from evolving melilitite melt and continued fractionation of melilitite to nephelinite. It is suggested that the natrocarbonatite compositions represent degassed supercritical high temperature fluid formed in a cooling body of strongly larnite-normative nephelinite or evolved melilitite. The Gardiner complex and similar melilitolite and carbonatite-bearing ultramafic alkaline complexes are believed to represent subvolcanic complexes formed beneath volcanoes comparable to Oldoinyo Lengai and that the suggested origin of natrocarbonatite may be applied to natrocarbonatites of Oldoinyo Lengai. Received: 18 January 1996 / Accepted: 2 September 1996