ALBERT

Beschreibung: Palaeoglaciological reconstructions of the North Sea sector of the last British Ice Sheet have, as other shelf areas, suffered from a lack of dates directly related to ice-front positions. In the present study new high-resolution TOPAS seismic data, bathymetric records and sediment core data from the Witch Ground Basin, central North Sea, were compiled. This compilation made it possible to map out three ice-marginal positions, partly through identification of terminal moraines and partly through location of glacial-fed debrisflows. The interfingering of the distal parts of the glacial-fed debrisflows with continuous marine sedimentation enabled the development of a chronology for glacial events based on previously published and some new radiocarbon dates on marine molluscs and foraminifera. From these data it is suggested that after the central Witch Ground Basin was deglaciated at c. 27 cal. ka BP, the eastern part was inundated by glacial ice from the east in the Tampen advance at c. 21 cal. ka BP. Subsequently, the basin was inundated by ice from northeast during the Fladen 1 (c. 17.5 cal. ka BP) and the Fladen 2 (16.2 cal. ka BP) events. It should be emphasized that the Fladen 1 and 2 events, individually, may represent dynamics of relatively small lobes of glacial ice at the margin of the British Ice Sheet and that the climatic significance of these may be questioned. However, the Fladen Events probably correlate in time with the Clogher Head and Killard Point re-advances previously documented from Ireland and the Bremanger event from off western Norway, suggesting that the British and Fennoscandian ice sheets both had major advances in their northwestern parts, close to the northwestern European seaboard, at this time.

Beschreibung: Highlights: • Signal detection theory (SDT) was used to assess the BQI (Benthos Quality Index) performance. • BQI (Benthos Quality Index) was found to respond acceptably to eutrophication parameters at the exposed coastal areas. • BQI (Benthos Quality Index) response was affected by estuarine water outflow. • SDT provide a method to assess the accuracy of indicators. • SDT can be helpful for management decisions when planning environment monitoring intensity. Abstract The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires EU Member States to prepare national strategies and manage their seas to achieve good environmental status (GES) by 2020. There are many multimetric indices proposed as indicators of the ecological quality of the benthic environment. Their functionality and utility are extensively discussed in the literature. Different frameworks are suggested for comparative assessments of indicators with no agreement on a standardized way of selecting the most appropriate one. In the current study, we apply signal detection theory (SDT) to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the Benthic Quality Index (BQI), its response to the eutrophication pressure, and its performance under the effects of estuarine water outflow. The BQI showed acceptable response to total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a concentrations in the study area. Based on the results, we suggest using SDT for setting GES thresholds in a standardized way. This aids a robust assessment of the environmental status and supports differentiation between the quality classes.

Beschreibung: Over the last 10 years, hydrothermal activity has been shown to be abundant at the ultraslow spreading Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridges (AMOR). Approximately 20 active and extinct vent sites have been located either at the seafloor, as seawater anomalies, or by dredge sampling hydrothermal deposits. Decreasing spreading rates and decreasing influence of the Icelandic hot spot toward the north along the AMOR result in a north-south change from a shallow and magmatically robust to a deep and magmatically starved ridge system. This contrast gives rise to large variability in the ridge geology and in the nature of the associated hydrothermal systems. The known vent sites at the southern part of the ridge system are either low-temperature or white smoker fields. At the deep, northern parts of the ridge system, a large black smoker field has been located, and seawater anomalies and sulfide deposits suggest that black smoker-type venting is common. Several of these fields may be peridotite-hosted. The hydrothermal activity at parts of the AMOR exceeds by a factor of 2 to 3 what would be expected by extrapolating from observations on faster spreading ridges. Higher fracture/fault area relative to the magma volume extracted seems a likely explanation for this. Many of the vent fields at the AMOR are associated with axial volcanic ridges. Strong focusing of magma toward these ridges, deep rifting of the ridges, and subsequent formation of long-lived detachment faults that are rooted below the ridges may be the major geodynamic mechanisms causing the unexpectedly high hydrothermal activity.