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.     

High-resolution stratigraphy of the northernmost concentric raised bog in Europe: Sellevollmyra, Andøya, northern Norway

From the Sellevollmyra bog at Andøya, northern Norway, a 440‐cm long peat core covering the last c. 7000 calendar years was examined for humification, loss‐on‐ignition, microfossils, macrofossils and tephra. The age model was based on a Bayesian wiggle‐match of 35 ¹⁴C dates and two historically anchored tephra layers. Based on changes in lithology and biostratigraphical climate proxies, several climatic changes were identified (periods of the most fundamental changes in italics): 6410–6380, 6230–6050, 5730–5640, 5470–5430, 5340–5310, 5270–5100, 4790–4710, 4890–4820, 4380–4320, 4220–4120, 4000–3810, 3610–3580, 3370–3340 (regionally 2850–2750; in Sellevollmyra a hiatus between 2960–2520), 2330–2220, 1950, 1530–1450, 1150–840, 730? and c. 600? cal. yr BP. Most of these climate changes are known from other investigations of different palaeoclimate proxies in northern and middle Europe. Some volcanic eruptions seemingly coincide with vegetation changes recorded in the peat, e.g. about 5760 cal. yr BP; however, the known climatic deterioration at the time of the Hekla‐4 tephra layer started some decades before the eruption event.     

Age, origin and significance of a new middle MIS 3 tephra horizon identified within a long-core sequence from Les Echets, France

A new tephra has been identified within a long core (EC 3) sequence recovered from Les Echets, near Lyon, France. This visible tephra was discovered as part of a high resolution multiproxy re-investigation of the Les Echets sequence. Independent chronological information suggests that the tephra is c . 2 000–45 000 years old, and geochemical analysis indicates that it is of basanitic composition. The latter suggests a possible origin in the Eifel; however, as yet, no other volcanic events or deposits can be correlated to the Les Echets tephra. New sedimentological and chronological data are presented indicating that the tephra falls within an interval that most likely correlates with Dansgaard–Oeschger events 12-9. Thus, this tephra could potentially be an important middle MIS 3 marker horizon in central Europe if it can be traced in other palaeorecords.     

Population structure of the sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens within the Curieuse Marine National Park,Seychelles

This study produced the first data on population parameters for sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens at the granitic Seychelles Islands, adding to a limited catalogue of species information. Juveniles at a site in the Curieuse Marine National Park were tagged over two periods, in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, with measurements of length (precaudal, fork and total) and weight, sex, and state of the umbilical opening recorded. Recapture data were used to calculate growth rates and population size. Mean annual growth rate was 5.40 cm y^–1. A mean size at birth of 62.5 cm TL is in line with previous assessments of the species. Population-size estimates were similar for the two sampling periods (comprising 311 and 255 individuals) and higher than anticipated. Movements to outside the lagoon were recorded for early ages, and this, combined with weight loss and a reduction in condition factor as displayed in several individuals, suggests that the study area alone could not support the large number of sharks pupped yearly.     

Expanding spread profile at the northern Jan Mayen Ridge

An expanding spread seismic profile at the central northern Jan Mayen Ridge, ESP-5, has yielded a crustal seismic velocity distribution which is similar to observations from the thinned continental crust at the Norwegian continental margin. The profile reveals a post-early Eocene sedimentary sequence, about 1. 5 km thick, overlying 1 km of volcanic extrusives and interbedded sediments. Below, there are about 3 km of pre-opening sediments above the seismic basement. The results indicate that the main ridge block is underlain by a thinned crust, possibly only 13.5 km thick. The results are compatible with a continental nature for the main ridge complex.     

Precursory seismic quiescence: A preliminary assessment of the hypothesis

Numerous cases of precursory seismic quiescence have been reported in recent years. Some investigators have interpreted these observations as evidence that seismic quiescence is a somewhat reliable precursor to moderate or large earthquakes. However, because failures of the pattern to predict earthquakes may not, in general, be reported, and because numerous earthquakes are not preceded by quiescence, the validity and reliability of the quiescence precursor have not been established.We have analyzed the seismicity rate prior to, and in the source region of, 37 shallow earthquakes (M 5.3–7.0) in central California and Japan for patterns of rate fluctuation, especially precursory quiescence. Nonuniformity in rate for these pre-mainshock sequences is relatively high, and numerous intervals with significant (p<0.10) extrema in rate are observed in some of the sequences. In other sequences, however, the rate remains within normal limits up to the time of the mainshock. Overall, in terms of an observational basis for intermediate-term earthquake prediction, no evidence is found in the cases studied for a systematic, widespread or reliable pattern of quiescence prior to the mainshocks.In earthquake sequences comprising full seismic cycles for 5 sets of (M 3.7–5.1) repeat earthquakes on the San Andreas fault near Bear Valley, California, the seismicity rates are found to be uniform. A composite of the estimated rate fluctuations for the sequences, normalized to the length of the seismic cycle, reveals a weak pattern of a low rate in the first third of the cycle, and a high rate in the last few months. While these observations are qualitative, they may represent weak expressions of physical processes occurring in the source region over the seismic cycle.Re-examination of seismicity rate fluctuations in volumes along the creeping section of the San Andreas fault specified by Wyss and Burford (1985) qualitatively confirms the existence of low-rate intervals in volumes 361, 386, 382, 372 and 401. However, only the quiescence in volume 386 is found by the present study to be statistically significant.     

Seismic evidence of up to 200 m lake‐level change in Southern Patagonia since Marine Isotope Stage 4

Maar lake Laguna Potrok Aike is located north of the Strait of Magellan (south‐eastern Patagonia). Seismic reflection profiles revealed a highly dynamic palaeoclimate history. Dunes were identified in the eastern part of the lake at approximately 30 to 80 m below the lake floor, overlying older lacustrine strata, and suggest that the region experienced dry conditions probably combined with strong westerly winds. It is quite likely that this can be linked to a major dust event recorded in the Antarctic ice cores during Marine Isotope Stage 4. The dunes are overlain by a series of palaeo‐shorelines indicating a stepwise water‐level evolution of a new lake established after this dry period, and thus a change towards wetter conditions. After the initial, rapid and stepwise lake‐level rise, the basin became deeper and wider, and sediments deposited on the lake shoulder at approximately 33 m below present‐day lake level point towards a long period of lake‐level highstand between roughly 53·5 ka cal. bp and 30 ka cal. bp with a maximum lake level some 200 m higher than the desiccation horizon. This highstand was then followed by a regressional phase of uncertain age, although it must have happened some time between approximately 30 ka cal. bp and 6750 yrs cal. bp . Dryer conditions during the Mid‐Holocene are evidenced by a dropping lake level, resulting in a basin‐wide erosional unconformity on the lake shoulder. A second stepwise transgression between ca 5·8 to 5·4 ka cal. bp and ca 4·7 to 4 ka cal. bp with palaeo‐shorelines deposited on the lake shoulder unconformity again indicates a change towards wetter conditions.     

Sexual size dimorphism in calanoid copepods (Centropagidae) from Patagonia (Argentina)

Calanoid copepods of the genus Boeckella and Parabroteas (P. sarsi) are dominant in zooplankton communities of Patagonian lakes and ponds. This study addresses the occurrence of sexual size dimorphism in calanoid copepods of the genus Boeckella and in the monospecific genus Parabroteas occurring in 12 lakes and ponds of Patagonia (Argentina). The morphometric analysis performed showed that in all the species studied the female is larger than the male, although the difference in size among sexes was found to be variable between species. Interestingly, all species showed significant intraspecific stability in their sexual size dimorphism despite potential differences in their environments regarding predation pressure, environmental stability (permanent or temporary waters) and altitude distribution of populations. Finally, we discuss the potential implications of sexual dimorphism in terms of resource use and vulnerability to predation among other environmental forces which may play a role in promoting larger female to male size.