Glacier outburst floods reconstructed from lake sediments and their implications for Holocene variations of the plateau glacier Folgefonna in western Norway

A sudden release of large volumes of water during a glacier outburst flood (GLOF) is a major hazard worldwide. Here, we identify the sedimentary signature of glacial and non‐glacial processes, including GLOFs, based on lacustrine sediments from the distal glacier‐fed Lake Buarvatnet in western Norway. Historically documented GLOFs in 2002 CE and during the 1980s CE are identified in the ²¹⁰Pb‐ and ¹⁴C‐dated sediments. These events have the same sedimentary signature as 12 earlier events throughout the Holocene interpreted to represent previous GLOFs in the catchment. The GLOFs are interpreted to have occurred during periods when the glacier extent was similar to the modern positions, and the events are thus used to pinpoint past positions of the glacier terminus and, hence, the equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs). The results indicate that the glacier Svartenutbreen, located at the eastern part of Folgefonna, had a similar size in 2002 CE as c. 8200–8300 cal. a BP, corresponding to the 8.2 ka event in the North Atlantic region. The regrowth of Sørfonna after the Holocene Thermal Optimum occurred at c. 6900 cal. a BP and Svartenutbreen was at modern size and extent in the periods c. 6400, c. 5450, c. 4850, c. 3850, c. 3550 and c. 1650 cal. a BP. Since 1650 cal. a BP, we infer that the glacier was larger than the 2002 CE glacier extent until 1910 CE when a GLOF occurred. Svartenutbreen has been retreating since 1910 CE, which led to the ice damming of the two historical GLOFs in the 1980s and 2002 CE separated by a glacier advance in the 1990s CE. The findings are discussed and compared to other regional glacier reconstructions in Norway, and emphasize the value of identifying and utilizing GLOFs as an indicator of past ELA variability.     

Linking past flood frequencies in Norway to regional atmospheric circulation anomalies

Analysis of two continuous, high‐resolution palaeo‐flood records from southern Norway reveals that the frequency of extreme flood events has changed significantly during the Holocene. During the early and middle Holocene, flood frequency was low; by contrast, it was high over the last 2300 years when the mean flood frequency was about 2.5–3.0 per century. The present regional discharge regime is dominated by spring/summer snowmelt, and our results indicate that the changing flood frequency cannot be explained by local conditions associated with the respective catchments of the two lakes, but rather long‐term variations of solid winter precipitation and related snowmelt. Applying available instrumental winter precipitation data and associated sea‐level pressure re‐analysis data as a modern analogue, we document that atmospheric circulation anomalies, significantly different from the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), have some potential in explaining the variability of the two different palaeo‐flood records. Centennial‐scale patterns in shifting flood frequency might be indicative of shifts in atmospheric circulation and shed light on palaeo‐pressure variations in the North Atlantic region, in areas not influenced by the NAO. Major shifts are found at about 2300, 1200 and 200 years ago (cal. a BP). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A search for rhenium lines in the Fraunhofer spectrum

On the basis of a series of low-noise, high-resolution photometric tracings of the Fraunhofer spectrum a search has been made in the sun for the ultimate lines of neutral rhenium. The records examined show no convincing evidence for the presence of solar Rei lines. For the rhenium content of the photosphere the present investigation gives an upper limit of approximately logN _Re =-0.3, on the standard scale where logN _H = 12.00.     

Soft-bottom macrofauna and responses to organic enrichment in the subarctic wates of Tromsø, northern Norway

The soft-bottom macrofauna (> 1 mm) of Tromsøysund and Sandnessund near Tromsø, northern Norway (69°40′N, 19°0′E) was sampled quantitatively in 1983, 1990 and 1992 in order to assess enrichment effects from discharges of municipal sewage and fish factory effluents. The studies comprised 30 stations between 7 and 40 m depth at varying distances from effluent outfalls. In total 395 species/taxa were recorded. The polychaetes were the most important group both with regard to the numbers of species (146) and specimens (80% of total), but bivalves and amphipods were also common. Most stations had species numbers between 40 and 100 and densities between 2000 and 8000 ind. per m². The species assemblages could be related to organic enrichment, depth and sampling year. Evidence suggests that the organic discharges did not seriously affect the waters surrounding Tromsø, but the generally high abundances, the prevalence of polychaetes and a numerical importance of ‘opportunistic’ species (Polydora, Chaetozone, Heteromastus) might suggest that the whole area was stimulated by the organic inputs. Sharply delimited strongly enriched zones characterized by dense populations of Capitella capitata were found on shallow sites close to large outfalls in Tromsøysund. These local and restricted effects of the discharges may be related to strong tidal currents and wave action that disperse effluent components. The faunal composition remained largely stable from 1983 to 1992 at 9 revisited stations, but the number of small bivalve and crustacean taxa increased and the abundance of the dominant polychaete Polydora socialis strongly decreased. The effluent discharges were supposed to have increased from 1983 to 1992, but the faunal changes did not provide evidence of an increased enrichment of the area during the period.     

Implementation and testing of a lateral boundary scheme as an open boundary condition in a barotropic ocean model

The flow relaxation scheme (FRS) is tested as an open boundary condition (OBC). This scheme was originally designed to relax external solutions (ES) from a large area model towards solutions in a limited area model with a fine mesh. When one uses the FRS as a pure OBC; i.e. the ES are unknown and set equal to zero, the FRS method degenerates to a sponge type OBC. Since a sponge type OBC does not work well in all cases, for instance in the case of an alongshore uniform wind; Chapman (1985) and Røed and Cooper (1987), we introduced local wind induced solutions as a part of the ES.When we also included the tide in the ES, the tests showed that the FRS method handled the tidal input problem very well. Even in the case where noise was added to the tide in the ES, the results were good.The major drawbacks for the FRS method are the required extention of the computer-space and -time.     

Precise Positioning of Ocean Bottom Seismometer by Using Acoustic Transponder and CTD

We have obtained precise estimates of the position of Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) on the sea bottom. Such estimates are usually uncertain due to their free falling deployment. This uncertainty is small enough, or is correctable, with OBS spacing of more than 10 km usually employed in crustal studies. But, for example, if the spacing is only 200 m for OBS reflection studies, estimates of the position with an accuracy of the order of 10 m or more is required.The determination was carried out with the slant range data, ship position data and a 1D acoustic velocity structure calculated from Conductivity–Temperature–Depth (CTD) data, if they are available. The slant range data were obtained by an acoustic transponder system designed for the sinker releasing of the OBS or travel time data of direct water wave arrivals by airgun shooting. The ship position data was obtained by a single GPS or DGPS. The method of calculation was similar to those used for earthquake hypocenter determination.The results indicate that the accuracy of determined OBS positions is enough for present OBS experiments, which becomes order of 1 m by using the DGPS and of less than 10 m by using the single GPS, if we measure the distance from several positions at the sea surface by using a transponder system which is not designed for the precise ranging. The geometry of calling positions is most important to determine the OBS position, even if we use the data with larger error, such as the direct water wave arrival data. The 1D acoustic velocity structure should be required for the correct depth of the OBS. Although it is rare that we use a CTD, even an empirical velocity structure works well.     

Late-Quaternary biogeographic scenarios for the brown bear (Ursus arctos), a wild mammal model species

This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of the matrilineal phylogeography of a uniquely well-studied Holarctic mammal, the brown bear. We extend current knowledge by presenting a DNA sequence derived from one of the earliest known fossils of a polar bear (dated to 115 000 years before present), a species that shares a paraphyletic mitochondrial association with brown bears. A molecular clock analysis of 140 mitochondrial DNA sequences, including our new polar bear sequence, provides novel insights into the times of origin for different brown bear clades. We propose a number of regional biogeographic scenarios based on genetic data, divergence time estimates and paleontological records. The case of the brown bear provides an example for researchers working with less well-studied taxa: it shows clearly that phylogeographic models based on patterns of modern genetic variation alone can be substantially improved by including data on historical patterns of genetic diversity in the form of ancient DNA sequences derived from accurately dated samples and by using an approach to divergence-time estimation that suits the data under analysis. Using such approaches it has been possible to (i) establish that the processes shaping modern genetic diversity in brown bears acted recently, within the last three glacial cycles; (ii) distinguish among hypotheses concerning species’ responses to climatic oscillations in accordance with the lack of phylogeographic structure that existed in brown bears prior to the last glacial maximum (LGM); (iii) reassess theories linking monophyletic brown bear populations to particular LGM refuge areas; and (iv) identify vicariance events and track analogous patterns of migration by brown bears out of Eurasia to North America and Japan.     

Polychaetes from Jan Mayen (Annelida, Polychaeta)

A thorough literature review has been undertaken to establish the first complete account of polychaetes recorded from the area around the volcanic island of Jan Mayen. The annotated checklist lists 121 species-level taxa, representing an increase from the 75 species previously recorded. The checklist is based on existing records, supplemented with material sampled in 1999, from which 42 species new to the area were reported. Some previously reported species from the area have been excluded because of inadequate documentation. The polychaete fauna of Jan Mayen is comparable with that of the mainland Norwegian coast and the Svalbard area. No taxa unique to the island were found. However, knowledge of the marine invertebrate fauna in general at Jan Mayen is sparse because few surveys have been undertaken there. It is expected that future expeditions will reveal further new taxon records for the area.