Neotectonics, sea-level changes and biological evolution in the Fennoscandian Border Zone of the southern Kattegat Sea

Shallow seismic data and vibrocore information, sequence stratigraphic and faunal evidence have been used for documentation of Late Weichselian reactivation of faulting in the south central Kattegat, southern Scandinavia. The study area is situated on the Fennoscandian Border Zone, where tectonic activity has been recurrent since Early Palaeozoic time and still occurs, as shown by present earthquake activity. New data from the area south of the island of Anholt show that after deglaciation fast isostatic rebound resulted in reactivation of a NW-SE striking normal fault system. This tectonic episode is dated to a period starting shortly before 15.0 cal. ka BP and ending around 13.5 cal. ka BP, after regression had already reached a level of about 30 m b.s.l. The vertical displacement associated with the faulting was in the order of 20 m. More generally, the results support the previously reported late Weichselian sea-level highstand, which was followed by forced regression until the eustatic sea-level rise surpassed the rate of glacio-isostatic rebound in early Preboreal. Our findings further imply that drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake through the Øresund at c. 15 cal. ka BP (Bergsten & Nordberg 1992) may have been triggered by tectonic activity in this region.     

Late- and postglacial history of the Great Belt, Denmark

On the basis of shallow seismic records, vibrocoring, macrofossil analyses and AMS radiocarbon-dating, five stratigraphical units have been distinguished from the deepest parts of the central Great Belt (Storebælt) in southern Scandinavia. Widespread glacial deposits are followed by two lateglacial units confined to deeply incised channels and separated by an erosional boundary. Lateglacial Unit I dates from the time interval from the last deglaciation to the Allerød; lateglacial Unit II is of Younger Dryas age. Early Holocene deposits show a development from river deposits and lake-shore deposits to large lake deposits, corresponding to a rising shore level. Lake deposits are found up to 20 m below the sea floor, and the lake extended over some 200–300 km2. The early Holocene freshwater deposits are dated to the time interval c. 10900 to c. 8800 cal. yr BP and the oldest shells of marine molluscs from the Great Belt are dated to c. 8100 cal. yr BP.     

Determining the hard rock groundwater pathway in Golgohar complex formation using hydrochemical data in AHP

Thirty percent of present industrial water consumption of the Golgohar Iron Ore Mine (GIOM) is supplied from a hard rock well (PW-A15) and the rest from 25 wells located in 4 disconnected alluvial aquifers. This well is drilled in the metamorphic complex of Golgohar formation. Attempts have been made to develop extraction of water from other hard rocks existing in the area with no success. Therefore, extensive researches have been carried out to find the pathway, or a provision pathway of water discharged from this well. To study the hydrochemical similarity of this water with other water resources, 122 water samples from an area of 7132 km² were collected from the existing pumping wells, piezometers, mine exploration bore holes, and three salt pans in the vicinity of the area for hydrochemical analysis. The analyses were performed for concentration of major ions and some minor elements. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of ion concentration was plotted in the GIS to delineate the similarity of the PW-A15 water with other water sources and their hydrochemical neighborhood by analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The AHP was performed in two steps: first, iso-concentration maps of seven major ions, eight minor elements, and TDS were used to produce an AHP map (Map1) using weights for different hydrochemical parameters; and second, a similarity index (SI) map was prepared by performing a suggested clustering approach in SPSS using K-means clustering, which was overlaid on Map1 producing Map2. The result of AHP Map2 was then overlaid on the iso-potential map of the sampled locations in GIS software using a mask operator. Therefore, the zones having the most similarity and higher hydraulic potential than PW-A15 were nominated as the zones which possibly could recharge this well, and the groundwater (GW) pathway was proposed. The result of the study method showed to be successful and will be used as a guide for future exploration drillings.     

Full-glacial — late-glacial palaeoclimate of the Southern Andes: evidence from pollen,beetle and glacial records

Palaeoecological studies carried out in the Chilean Lake District and Chilotan Archipelago (41°–43°S) record full-glacial and late-glacial pollen assemblages beginning just after 21000 and beetle assemblages after 18000, both sets extending until 10000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Pollen records indicate that Subantarctic Parkland, the vegetation of the early millennia of record, changed after about 14000 yr BP to become open woodland and later North Patagonian Evergreen Forest. Assemblages of plants and beetles, responding more or less in unison to a strong rise in temperature (≥ 6°C), behaved in accord at around 14000 until 13000–12500 yr BP, the beetle fauna displaying a marked increase in obligate forest types. During full-glacial conditions (17400–16100 and 15300 and 14400 yr BP) and in the late-glacial interval (after about 13000 yr BP), however, climate evidently coerced populations dissimilarly, the pollen sequence showing an increase in plant taxa indicative of colder climate, whereas the beetle fauna underwent little or no variation. Contrasting climate modes implied by plants and beetles may be attributed to differential responses to apparent low-order temperature changes (≤ 2–3°C).     

Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway

Burki, V., Hansen, L., Fredin, O., Andersen, T. A., Beylich, A. A., Jaboyedoff, M., Larsen, E. & Tønnesen, J.‐ F. 2009: Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 551–566. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00133.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Bødalsbreen is an outlet glacier of the Jostedalsbreen Ice Field in western Norway. Nine moraine ridges formed during and after the maximum extent of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The stratigraphy of proglacial sediments in the Bødalen basin inside the LIA moraines is examined, and corresponding sediment volumes are calculated based on georadar surveys and seismic profiling. The total erosion rates (e_tot) by the glacier are determined for the periods AD 1650–1930 and AD 1930–2005 as 0.8 ± 0.4 mm/yr and 0.7 ± 0.3 mm/yr, respectively. These rates are based on the total amount of sediment delivered to the glacier margin. The values are almost one order of magnitude higher than total erosion rates previously calculated for Norwegian glaciers. This is explained by the large amount of pre‐existing sediment that was recycled by Bødalsbreen. Thus, the total erosion rate must be considered as a composite of eroded bedrock and of removed pre‐existing sediments. The total erosion rate is likely to vary with time owing to a decreasing volume of easily erodible, unconsolidated sediment and till under the glacier. A slight increase in the subglacial bedrock erosion is expected owing to the gradually increasing bedrock surface area exposed to subglacial erosion.     

COOLING RATES, SKY VIEW FACTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTRA-URBAN AIR TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES

Intra‐urban cooling rates were monitored for a year in the centre of Göteborg on the Swedish west coast. Five sites with different building geometry ‐ from dense canyon to open space ‐ within a radius of 300 m were analysed. Results showed two modes of cooling during the night. In the first mode, the cooling was site‐dependent ‐the open space cooled the most and the dense canyon the least. In the second mode, which began about 3–4 hours after sunset, all sites cooled at the same rate. Our hypothesis is that in the early part of the evening both radiative divergence and sensible heat dominate the cooling. However, as the evening progresses, a spatially homogeneous inversion is established which controls the radiative cooling, making the cooling independent of both surface geometry and surface type. From April to November the sites cooled rapidly around sunset and the cooling slowly decreased during the rest of the night. However, between December and March, the cooling was less intense, with an almost constant rate during the entire night. It has been suggested that this might be the result of the draining of stored solar heat during the summer and a continuous flux of anthropogenic heating during the winter.     

The effects of integrals on the totality of solutions of dynamical systems

Regions of possible motions are established for dynamical systems possessing time-independent Hamiltonians or for systems which are reducible to that form by means of integrals of the motion using only extended point transformations. The method is applied to the problem of three bodies in a plane and surfaces of zero velocity are found. The governing parameters are the energy, angular momentum and the masses of the participating bodies. The analytical and geometrical properties of these surfaces provide qualitative results for given constants of the motion.     

Foraminiferal stratigraphy of raised marine deposits, representing isotope stage 5, Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard

Two raised marine sequences from Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard, interpreted to have been deposited during part of isotope substage 5e (Eemian) and substage 5a, were studied for foraminifera content. Time constraints are given by ¹⁴C ages, infrared stimulated luminescence age estimates and amino acid ratios in subfossil marine molluscs. A diamicton (unit B) separates the two marine sequences and reflects an advancement of local glaciers sometime late in isotope stage 5. The two marine sequences contain diverse benthic foraminiferal faunas, indicating periods of a relatively warm and seasonally ice-free marine shelf environment. Compared to the lowermost sequence (unit A), the upper marine sequence (unit C) seems to reflect a more shallow environment that could have resulted from the global lowering of the sea level towards the end of isotope stage 5. Our results further emphasise the problem of biostratigraphic distinction between interglacial and interstadial deposits at high latitudes, with temperature conditions for substage 5a close to those of substage 5e and present conditions.