ALBERT

Description: The calcium isotopic composition of NIST SRM 915b and 1486 provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology was analysed. The δ44/40Ca values of the two reference materials relative to NIST SRM 915a were: NIST SRM 915b =+0.72 ± 0.04‰ and NIST SRM 1486 =−1.01 ± 0.02‰. NIST SRM 1486 did not require any chemical separation prior to measurement. La composition isotopique du calcium de NIST SRM 915b et 1486, fournis par l'Institut National des Standards et de la Technologie (NIST), a été analysée. Les valeurs du δ44/40Ca obtenues sur ces deux matériaux de référence, relativement au NIST SRM 915a sont: NIST SRM 915b =+0.72 ± 0.04‰ et NIST SRM 1486 =−1.01 ± 0.02‰. Le NIST SRM 1486 n'a nécessité aucune séparation chimique avant analyse.

Description: The hypothesis that the tropical oceans lead the global warming at the Termination I and II by ~2,000 to ~3,000 years (Visser et al. 2003) whereas melting of the northern continental ice masses is lacking behind challenges the Milankovitch theory of climate change and emphasizes the role of the tropics for global climate change. Although the simultaneous multi-proxy approach of planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca, δ18O and δ44/40Ca from tropical sediment core SO-164-03-4 (16° 32.37′ N; 72° 12.31′ W; 2,744 m) from the Caribbean tend to confirm the observation by Visser et al. (2003) we interpret the shift between Mg/Ca and δ18O in core SO-164-03-4 to be due to local changes in sea-surface salinity (SSS) variations triggered by glacial/interglacial related shifts of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Description: A high-resolution multiparameter stratigraphy allows the identification of late Quaternary glacial and interglacial cycles in a central Arctic Ocean sediment core. Distinct sandy layers in the upper part of the otherwise fine-grained sediment core from the Lomonosov Ridge (lat 87.5°N) correlate to four major glacials since ca. 0.7 Ma. The composition of these ice-rafted terrigenous sediments points to a glaciated northern Siberia as the main source. In contrast, lithic carbonates derived from North America are also present in older sediments and indicate a northern North American glaciation since at least 2.8 Ma. We conclude that large-scale northern Siberian glaciation began much later than other Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Description: Here we describe experiments aimed at developing an element-selective ion source for thorium (Th). The technique applied is resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS) with a thermal atom beam. Ionization schemes for isotopically nonselective ionization of Th as well as for isotopically selective ionization of 230Th are proposed. The RIS-scheme used is two-photon two-colour ionization with excitation in the ultraviolet spectral range between 244 nm and 267 nm or in the visible spectral range between 485 nm and 529 nm. Ionization of the excited atoms is performed either by ultraviolet photons or by visible photons, depending on the energy required for this process.

Description: Acidification of the World’s oceans may directly impact reproduction, performance and shell formation of marine calcifying organisms. In addition, since shell production is costly and stress in general draws on an organism’s energy budget, shell growth and stability of bivalves should indirectly be affected by environmental stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a combination of warming and acidification leads to increased physiological stress (lipofuscin accumulation and mortality) and affects the performance [shell growth, shell breaking force, condition index (Ci)] of young Mytilus edulis and Arctica islandica from the Baltic Sea. We cultured the bivalves in a fully-crossed 2-factorial experimental setup (seawater (sw) pCO2 levels “low”, “medium” and “high” for both species, temperature levels 7.5, 10, 16, 20 and 25 °C for M. edulis and 7.5, 10 and 16 °C for A. islandica) for 13 weeks in summer. Mytilus edulis and A. islandica appeared to tolerate wide ranges of sw temperature and pCO2. Lipofuscin accumulation of M. edulis increased with temperature while the Ci decreased, but shell growth of the mussels only sharply decreased while its mortality increased between 20 and 25 °C. In A. islandica, lipofuscin accumulation increased with temperature, whereas the Ci, shell growth and shell breaking force decreased. The pCO2 treatment had only marginal effects on the measured parameters of both bivalve species. Shell growth of both bivalve species was not impaired by under-saturation of the sea water with respect to aragonite and calcite. Furthermore, independently of water temperatures shell breaking force of both species and shell growth of A. islandica remained unaffected by the applied elevated sw pCO2 for several months. Only at the highest temperature (25 °C), growth arrest of M. edulis was recorded at the high sw pCO2 treatment and the Ci of M. edulis was slightly higher at the medium sw pCO2 treatment than at the low and high sw pCO2 treatments. The only effect of elevated sw pCO2 on A. islandica was an increase in lipofuscin accumulation at the high sw pCO2 treatment compared to the medium sw pCO2 treatment. Our results show that, despite this robustness, growth of both M. edulis and A. islandica can be reduced if sw temperatures remain high for several weeks in summer. As large body size constitutes an escape from crab and sea star predation, this can make bivalves presumably more vulnerable to predation—with possible negative consequences on population growth. In M. edulis, but not in A. islandica, this effect is amplified by elevated sw pCO2. We follow that combined effects of elevated sw pCO2 and ocean warming might cause shifts in future Western Baltic Sea community structures and ecosystem services; however, only if predators or other interacting species do not suffer as strong from these stressors.

Description: We report here the discovery of Miocene, Pliocene, and early Pleistocene shallow-marine carbonates on Mayaguana Island (southeastern Bahamas) that have so far not been observed on any other Bahamian island. Spanning more than 17 m.y., but 〈12 m thick, this stratigraphic succession only occurs along the northern coast of the island, indicating that the Mayaguana Bank underwent minor subsidence throughout the late Cenozoic and was tilted toward the south during the Quaternary. In addition to considerably extending the stratigraphic record of the Bahamas Islands, our findings demonstrate that these carbonate banks were at different elevations and subsided at different rates during the Neogene. The young age of the tilting event detected on Mayaguana further shows that parts of the southeastern margin of North America have recently undergone tectonic activity a long way from its actual boundary with the Caribbean plate.

Description: U-series ages measured by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) are reported for a Last Interglacial (LI) fossil coral core from the Turtle Bay, Houtman Abrolhos islands, western Australia. The core is 33.4 m long the top of which is approximately 5 m a.p.s.l. (above present sea level). From the232Th concentrations and the reliability of the U-series ages, two sections in the core can be distinguished. Calculated U/Th ages in core section I (3.3 m a.p.s.l to 11 m b.p.s.l) vary between 124±1.7 ka BP (3.3 m a.p.s.l.) and 132.5±1.8 ka (4 m b.p.s.l., i.e. below present sea level), and those of section II (11–23 m b.p.s.l.) between 140±3 and 214±5 ka BP, respectively. The ages of core section I are in almost perfect chronological order, whereas for section II no clear age-depth relationship of the samples can be recognised. Further assessments based on the ϖ234U(T) criteria reveal that none of the samples of core section II give reliable ages, whereas for core section I several samples can be considered to be moderately reliable within 2 ka. The data of the Turtle Bay core complement and extend our previous work from the Houtman Abrolhos showing that the sea level reached a height of approximately 4 m b.p.s.l at approximately 134 ka BP and a sea level highstand of at least 3.3 m a.p.s.l. at approximately 124 ka BP. Sea level dropped below its present position at approximately 116 ka BP. Although the new data are in general accord with the Milankovitch theory of climate change, a detailed comparison reveals considerable differences between the Holocene and LI sea level rise as monitored relative to the Houtman Abrolhos islands. These observation apparently add further evidence to the growing set of data that the LI sea level rise started earlier than recognised by SPECMAP chronology. A reconciliation of these contradictionary observations following the line of arguments presented by Crowley (1994) are discussed with respect to the Milankovitch theory.

Description: Isotopes can be characterized to be stable, cosmogenic, radioactive, or radiogenic. Stable isotopes do not change their relative abundance in the environment as long as no isotopes are added or extracted from the system. Cosmogenic isotopes are produced by high energetic cosmic rays in the upper layers of the atmosphere and are usually radioactive also. Radioactive isotopes change their abundance in the environment according to their half-life (T1/2), whereas radiogenic isotopes are not radioactive itself but change their abundance according to the half-life of their mother isotope. There are several important radiogenic systems known, and the most important are 238U/206Pb, 190Pt/186Os, 147Sm/143Nd, 87Rb/87Sr, 187Re/187Os, 176Lu/176Hf, 232Th/208Pb, 40 K/40Ar, 40 K/40Ca, 235U/207Pb, 129I/129Xe, 10Be/10B, 26Al/26 Mg, 36Cl/36Ar, 14C/14 N, etc. For the geological sciences, the most important radiogenic isotope systems are the radiogenic system ...