ALBERT

Description: The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) mass loss has been accelerating at a rate of about 20 ± 10 Gt/yr2 since the end of the 1990's, with around 60 % of this mass loss directly attributed to enhanced surface meltwater runoff. However, in the climate and glaciology communities, different approaches exist on how to model the different surface mass balance (SMB) components using: (1) complex physically-based climate models which are computationally expensive; (2) intermediate complexity energy balance models; (3) simple and fast positive degree day models which base their inferences on statistical principles and are computationally highly efficient. Additionally, many of these models compute the SMB components based on different spatial and temporal resolutions, with different forcing fields as well as different ice sheet topographies and extents, making inter-comparison difficult. In the GrIS SMB model intercomparison project (GrSMBMIP) we address these issues by forcing each model with the same data (i.e., the ERA-Interim reanalysis) except for two global models for which this forcing is limited to the oceanic conditions, and at the same time by interpolating all modelled results onto a common ice sheet mask at 1 km horizontal resolution for the common period 1980–2012. The SMB outputs from 13 models are then compared over the GrIS to (1) SMB estimates using a combination of gravimetric remote sensing data from GRACE and measured ice discharge, (2) ice cores, snow pits, in-situ SMB observations, and (3) remotely sensed bare ice extent from MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Our results reveal that the mean GrIS SMB of all 13 models has been positive between 1980 and 2012 with an average of 340 ± Gt/yr, but has decreased at an average rate of −7.3 Gt/yr2 (with a significance of 96 %), mainly driven by an increase of 8.0 Gt/yr2 (with a significance of 98 %) in meltwater runoff. Spatially, the largest spread among models can be found around the margins of the ice sheet, highlighting the need for accurate representation of the GrIS ablation zone extent and processes driving the surface melt. In addition, a higher density of in-situ SMB observations is required, especially in the south-east accumulation zone, where the model spread can reach 2 mWE/yr due to large discrepancies in modelled snowfall accumulation. Overall, polar regional climate models (RCMs) perform the best compared to observations, in particular for simulating precipitation patterns. However, other simpler and faster models have biases of same order than RCMs with observations and remain then useful tools for long-term simulations. Finally, it is interesting to note that the ensemble mean of the 13 models produces the best estimate of the present day SMB relative to observations, suggesting that biases are not systematic among models.

Description: The design, construction, and properties of an electrical-resistance strain gage consisting of fine wires molded in a laminated plastic are described. The properties of such gages are discussed and also the problems of molding of wires in plastic materials, temperature compensation, and cementing and removal of the gages. Further work to be carried out on the strain gage, together with instrument problems, is discussed.

Description: The San Pedro basin (SPB) is located at the south-eastern margin of Hispaniola Island (Dominican Republic and Haiti). It is the largest offshore basin of the Dominican Republic with an extension of 6000 km2. The basin has a maximum water depth of 1600 m and is positioned to the rear of the Muertos Thrust Belt (MTB). The SPB bounds to the West by The Azua basin which has a proven petroleum system and small oil production has been recovered from the Maleno and Higuerito fields. While in the scientific literature the SPB and the Azua basins have been considered as disconnected sedimentary systems, our current study suggests both are shared a common tectonic evolution and therefore the presence of an untested petroleum system in the SPB can be expected. We have carried out a detailed review and synthesis of the onshore systematic geological mapping (SYSMIN I & II Programs) together with the integration of a large volume of sub-surface geophysical data. This includes analysis of 60 exploration wells provided by Banco Nacional de Datos de Hidrocarburos (BNDH) of the Dominican Republic, processing of new 2D multi-channel seismic data from the Spanish Research Project NORCARIBE, re-processing of legacy seismic profiles and interpretation of gravity and magnetic data. Our results led us to propose a new evolution model for the SPB. Basement of both basins consists of Cretaceous sedimentary and volcanic rocks of intra- and back-arc settings. A change in the stress regime in the Campanian led to partial inversion of the basement units favouring the deposition of two main sequences of Campanian to Maastrichtian and Palaeocene? -Eocene age in a submarine foreland setting. Due to collision between the Carbonate Bahamas Province and Hispaniola in middle Eocene, compressional stresses were transferred to the south where Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments were deformed forming the current configuration of MTB and generating a new accommodation space where SPB was developed since Upper Eocene / Oligocene until Present. While the Azua basin was finally exhumed after Miocene/Pliocene, most of SPB continued as an actively subsiding basin. This new model has allowed identification of the main elements of the petroleum system in the SPB basin: a mature Upper Cretaceous source rock and Oligocene to Miocene carbonate and clastic reservoirs interbedded with sealing shales and marls. Main traps (structural and stratigraphic) are of Oligocene to Miocene age and their formation seems to be synchronous to oil generation. While main elements of the petroleum system seem to be present in the basin, timing is a key issue that must be addressed and assessed in any future exploration in the basin.

Description: Ice flow models of the Antarctic ice sheet are commonly used to simulate its future evolution in response to different climate scenarios and assess the mass loss that would contribute to future sea level rise. However, there is currently no consensus on estimates of the future mass balance of the ice sheet, primarily because of differences in the representation of physical processes, forcings employed and initial states of ice sheet models. This study presents results from ice flow model simulations from 13 international groups focusing on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet during the period 2015–2100 as part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). They are forced with outputs from a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), representative of the spread in climate model results. Simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet contribution to sea level rise in response to increased warming during this period varies between −7.8 and 30.0 cm of sea level equivalent (SLE) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario forcing. These numbers are relative to a control experiment with constant climate conditions and should therefore be added to the mass loss contribution under climate conditions similar to present-day conditions over the same period. The simulated evolution of the West Antarctic ice sheet varies widely among models, with an overall mass loss, up to 18.0 cm SLE, in response to changes in oceanic conditions. East Antarctica mass change varies between −6.1 and 8.3 cm SLE in the simulations, with a significant increase in surface mass balance outweighing the increased ice discharge under most RCP 8.5 scenario forcings. The inclusion of ice shelf collapse, here assumed to be caused by large amounts of liquid water ponding at the surface of ice shelves, yields an additional simulated mass loss of 28 mm compared to simulations without ice shelf collapse. The largest sources of uncertainty come from the climate forcing, the ocean-induced melt rates, the calibration of these melt rates based on oceanic conditions taken outside of ice shelf cavities and the ice sheet dynamic response to these oceanic changes. Results under RCP 2.6 scenario based on two CMIP5 climate models show an additional mass loss of 0 and 3 cm of SLE on average compared to simulations done under present-day conditions for the two CMIP5 forcings used and display limited mass gain in East Antarctica.

Description: The Ligurian Basin is located north-west of Corsica at the transition from the western Alpine orogen to the Apennine system. The Back-arc basin was generated by the southeast trench retreat of the Apennines-Calabrian subduction zone. The opening took place from late Oligocene to Miocene. While the extension led to extreme continental thinning little is known about the style of back-arc rifting. Today, the seismic events indicate the closure of this back-arc basin. To shed light on the present day crustal and lithospheric architecture of the Ligurian Basin, active seismic data have been recorded on short period ocean bottom seismometersin the framework of SPP2017 4D-MB, the German component of AlpArray. An amphibious refraction seismicprofile was shot acrossthe Ligurian Basininan E-W direction from the Gulf of Lion to Corsica. The profile extends onshore Corsica to image the necking zone of continental thinning. Local seismicity was recorded on broad band ocean bottom seismometers over a period of 8 month. The majority of the refraction seismic data show mantle phases at offsets up to 70km. The arrivalsof seismic phases were picked and inverted in a travel time tomography. The results show acrust-mantle boundary in the central basin at ~12km depth below seasurface. The mantle shows rather high velocities 〉7.8 km/s.The crust-mantle boundary deepens from ~12 km to ~18 km within 25 -30 kmtowards Corsica. The results do not map an axial valley as expected for oceanic spreading. However, an extremely thinned continental crust indicates a long lasting rifting process that possibly does not initiated oceanic spreading before the opening of the Ligurian Basin stopped. In the centre of the Ligurian Basin, a cluster of 15 seismic events with magnitudes lower than 2.5 occurred in the upper mantle in a depth of 10-15 kmbelow the seismic Moho. The fault plane solutions indicate reverse faulting and a convergence in NW-SE direction.

Description: Characterizing and isolating microparticles of different sizes is often desirable and essential for biological analysis. In this work, we present a new and straightforward technique to fabricate variable-height glass microchannels for size-based passive trapping of microparticles. The fabrication technique uses controlled non-uniform exposure to an etchant solution to create channels of arbitrary height that vary in a predetermined way from the inlet to the outlet. Channels that vary from 1 μm to over 20 μm in height along a length of approximately 6 cm are shown to effectively and reproducibly separate particles by size including particles whose diameters differ by less than 100 nm when the standard deviation in size is less than 0.66 μm. Additionally, healthy red blood cells and red blood cells chemically modified with glutaraldehyde to reduce their deformability were introduced into different channels. The healthy cells can flow into shallower heights, while the less deformable ones are trapped at deeper heights. The macroscopic visualization of microparticle separation in these devices in addition to their ease of use, simple fabrication, low cost, and small size suggest their viability in the final detection step of many bead-based assay protocols.

Description: Highlights • Total modeled carbon cycling at disturbed sites is lower than at reference sites. • Projected microbial loop functioning is reduced 26 years after sediment disturbance. • Estimated faunal respiration has recovered from sediment disturbance. • Estimated microbial respiration has not recovered from the sediment disturbance. Abstract Due to the predicted future demand for critical metals, abyssal plains covered with polymetallic nodules are currently being prospected for deep-seabed mining. Deep-seabed mining will lead to significant sediment disturbance over large spatial scales and for extended periods of time. The environmental impact of a small-scale sediment disturbance was studied during the ‘DISturbance and reCOLonization’ (DISCOL) experiment in the Peru Basin in 1989 when 10.8 km2 of seafloor were ploughed with a plough harrow. Here, we present a detailed description of carbon-based food-web models constructed from various datasets collected in 2015, 26 years after the experiment. Detailed observations of the benthic food web were made at three distinct sites: inside 26-year old plough tracks (IPT, subjected to direct impact from ploughing), outside the plough tracks (OPT, exposed to settling of resuspended sediment), and at reference sites (REF, no impact). The observations were used to develop highly-resolved food-web models for each site that quantified the carbon (C) fluxes between biotic (ranging from prokaryotes to various functional groups in meio-, macro-, and megafauna) and abiotic (e.g. detritus) compartments. The model outputs were used to estimate total system throughput, i.e., the sum of all C flows in the food web (the ‘ecological size’ of the system), and microbial loop functioning, i.e., the C-cycling through the prokaryotic compartment for each site. Both the estimated total system throughput and the microbial loop cycling were significantly reduced (by 16% and 35%, respectively) inside the plough tracks compared to the other two sites. Site differences in modelled faunal respiration varied among the different faunal compartments. Overall, modelled faunal respiration appeared to have recovered to, or exceeded reference values after 26-years. The model results indicate that food-web functioning, and especially the microbial loop, have not recovered from the disturbance that was inflicted on the abyssal site 26 years ago.

Description: About 25% of the Earth’s mid-ocean ridges spread at ultraslow rates of less than 20 mm/yr. However, most of these ultraslow spreading ridges are located in geographically remote areas, which hamper investigation. Consequently, how the crust forms and ages at such spreading centres, which traditionalmodels predict to be magma-starved and cold, remains poorly understood. One of the most accessible ultra-slow spreading centres is the Mid Cayman Spreading Centre (MCSC), in the Caribbean Sea, with spreading rates of ~15-17 mm/yr.CAYSEIS project was proposed to survey the Cayman Trough area in order to obtain new data that constraints the nature of the crust, tectonic structures, lithologies outcropping and hydrothermal processes taking place in this area. Understanding the sub-seabed geophysical structure of the MCSC is key to understanding not only the lithologies and structures exposed at the seabed, but more fundamentally, how they are related at depth and what role hydrothermal fluid flow plays in the geodynamics of ultraslow spreading. CAYSEIS was a joint and multidisciplinary programme of German, British and US American top tier scientists designed for the obtaining of a new high-quality dataset, including 3D Wide-Angle Seismic (WAS), magnetic, gravimetric and seismological data.During the CAYMAN project, we took leverage of the CAYSEIS dataset to invert a 3D tomographic model of the Cayman Trough lithosphere using the Tomo3D code (Meléndez et al., 2015; 2019). This is one of the first times that the Tomo3D code is used for 3D inversion of real datasets. Thus, we are checking our results comparing them with tomographic inversions of 2D lines and testing the different parameters to obtain the more accurate and higher resolution model as possible. The results of this experiment will show not only the lithospheric structure along and across the MSCS, including the exhumed Ocean Core Complexes in the surrounding areas, but the 3D lithospheric configuration of the region which is important to understand the crustal formation processes and the evolution of ultra-slow spreading settings.