Anthropogenic trace metals in an ice core at Vestfonna,Svalbard, Norway

1　IntroductionAnicecoreobtainedfrom polarglaciersoricesheetsisoneofthemostimportantarchivestoreconstructpaleoclimaticandpaleoatmosphericcondition .Informationonpale o environmentcanbeextractedfromicecoresaschemicaland/orphysicalsignals.Amongthechemicalsignals,heavymetalsarenotedassignalsofterrestrialenvironmentalchangeandanthropogenicpollution (e.g .Murozumietal.1 969;NgandPatterson 1 981 ;Hongetal.1 994) .SinceconcentrationsofmostofthemetalsinpolarsnowincentralGreen landareatorbelowthepptl…     

TEMPORAL TRENDS IN SOIL PRODUCTIVITY EVALUATIONS*

Studies of soil productivity must compensate for the effects of temporal trends in order to examine the pattern of crop yields along spatial gradients. An analysis of the published yield estimates for 30 soils in 233 counties, however, did not find consistent yield increases over the past three decades. On the contrary, the yield estimates for many soils were markedly uniform since 1972. The uniformity appears to have two causes: the acknowledged difficulty of making yield estimates in a time of increasing variability in soil and crop management, both within and between regions, and surveyors' awareness of data stored in a national soils data base. The effect is to cast doubt on soil productivity data reported in county soil surveys published between 1973 and 1988.     

A unique Galactic planetary nebula with a [WN] central star

We report the discovery of the first probable Galactic [WN] central star of a planetary nebula (CSPN). The planetary nebula candidate was found during our systematic scans of the AAO/UKST Hα Survey of the Milky Way. Subsequent confirmatory spectroscopy of the nebula and central star reveals the remarkable nature of this object. The nebular spectrum shows emission lines with large expansion velocities exceeding 150 km s⁻¹, suggesting that perhaps the object is not a conventional planetary nebula. The central star itself is very red and is identified as being of the [WN] class, which makes it unique in the Galaxy. A large body of supplementary observational data supports the hypothesis that this object is indeed a planetary nebula and not a Population I Wolf–Rayet star with a ring nebula.     

MS 1603.6+2600: an accretion disc corona source?

We have observed the eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary MS 1603.6+2600 with Chandra for 7 ks. The X-ray spectrum is well fit with a single absorbed power law with an index of ∼2. We find a clear sinusoidal modulation in the X-ray light curve with a period of  1.7 ± 0.2 h  , consistent with the period of 1.85 h found before. However, no (partial) eclipses were found. We argue that if the X-ray flare observed in earlier X-ray observations was a type I X-ray burst, then the source can only be an accretion disc corona source at a distance of ∼11–24 kpc (implying a height above the Galactic disc of ∼8–17 kpc). It has also been proposed in the literature that MS 1603.76+2600 is a dipper at ∼75 kpc. We argue that, in this dipper scenario, the observed optical properties of MS 1603.6+2600 are difficult to reconcile with the optical properties one would expect on the basis of comparisons with other high-inclination, low-mass X-ray binaries, unless the X-ray flare was not a type I X-ray burst. In that case, the source can be a nearby soft X-ray transient accreting at a quiescent rate, as was proposed by Hakala et al., or a high-inclination source at ∼15–20 kpc.     

North European last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT; 15–9 ka) tephrochronology: extended limits and new events

High‐precision correlation of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records is crucial for testing hypotheses of synchronous change. Although radiocarbon is the traditional method for dating late Quaternary sedimentary sequences, particularly during the last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT; 15–9 ka), there are inherent problems with the method, particularly during periods of climate change which are often accompanied by major perturbations in atmospheric radiocarbon content. An alternative method is the use of tephras that act as time‐parallel marker horizons. Within Europe, numerous volcanic centres are known to have erupted during the LGIT, providing considerable potential for high‐precision correlation independent of past radiocarbon fluctuations. Here we report the first identification of the Vedde Ash and Askja Tephra in Ireland, significantly extending the known provenance of these events. We have also identified two new horizons (the Roddans Port Tephras A and B) and tentatively recognise an additional horizon from Vallensgård Mose (Denmark) that provide crucial additional chronological control for the LGIT. Two phases of the Laacher See Tephra (LST) are reported, the lower Laacher See Tephra (LLST) and probably the C2 phase of the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST‐C2) indicating a more northeasterly distribution of this fan than reported previously. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic susceptibility variations of the Edicaran cap carbonates in the Yangtze platform and their implications for paleoclimate

1 INTRODUCTION One of the most intriguing phenomena in the late Neoproterozoic (~750 to 543 Ma) is the globa occurrence of thin carbonates that directly overlie glacial deposits in almost every continent (Kennedy 1996; Hoffman et al., 1998; Hoffman and Schrag 2002; Brasier and Shields, 2000; James et al., 2001 Jiang et al., 2003; Nogueira et al., 2003). These “cap carbonates”, commonly several to tens of meters thick, have attracted enormous interests because o their unusually negati…     

Decoupling of stalagmite-derived Asian summer monsoon records from North Atlantic temperature change during marine oxygen isotope stage 5d

The Asian monsoon is an important component of the global climate system. Seasonal variations in wind, rainfall, and temperature associated with the Asian monsoon systems affect a vast expanse of tropical and subtropical Asia. Speleothem-derived summer monsoon variation in East Asia was previously found to be closely associated with millennial-scale change in temperature in the North Atlantic region between 75 and 10 ka. New evidence recovered from East Asia, however, suggests that the teleconnection between summer monsoon in East Asia and temperature change in the North Atlantic region may have significantly reduced during 120 to ~ 110 ka, a period directly after the full last interglaciation and corresponding roughly to marine oxygen isotope stage 5d. This reduction may be due to the low ice volume in the North Hemisphere at that time, which makes the millennial-scale change in temperature in the North Atlantic region less effective in influencing the Asian summer monsoon. This is important for investigating the mechanisms controlling the Asian summer monsoon and the paleoclimatic teleconnection between East Asia and the North Atlantic region, and for predicting monsoon-associated precipitation in East Asia under a global-warming trend.     

Possible chemical structures and biological precursors of different vitrinites in coal measure in Northwest China

Chemical structure of Jurassic vitrinites isolated from the coals in basins in NW China have been checked using solid state ¹³C NMR and flash pyrolysis-GC/MS. Study shows some Jurassic collodetrinites are rich in aliphatic products in pyrolysates, consisting with the high amount of methylene carbon in ¹³C NMR spectra. In contrast, pyrolysates of Jurassic collotelinites are rich in phenols and alkylbenzenes. Also one Pennsylvanian and one Permian vitrinite selected from the Ordos basin, NW China have been checked for comparison. The proportion of aliphatics is low in pyrolysates, and aliphatic carbon peak in ¹³C NMR spectrum of Permian vitrinite is mostly composed of gas-prone carbons compared with collodetrinites in those Jurassic basins. But both pyrolysis and ¹³C NMR data shows the Pennsylvanian vitrinite is not only gas-prone but also oil-prone. Relatively high proportion of long chain aliphatic structure of some Jurassic vitrinite in Junggar, Turpan-Hami basins may be due to the contribution of liptodetrinites, which may be included during the formation of vitrinites. And it seems that suberinite is the most possible precursor of long chain aliphatics in the structure of Jurassic collodetrinite.