ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Previous conclusions concerning eustatic movements in the Falkland Islands are reviewed. New evidence of 6 metre (18-10 ft.) early Recent raised beaches at Yorke Bay, Port William, and Shell Point, Fitzroy, East Falkland Island, is given. Sub-fossils from the shell limestone beach deposits are listed and discussed in relation to climatic changes since the time of uplift.

Description / Table of Contents: A commercial deep-freeze unit was modified to serve as a laboratory for growing single crystals, cutting specimens of a given orientation, testing these specimens in compressive creep, and studying thin-sections of the results on a universal stage. A method of growing single crystals of adequate size was developed by adapting the Bridgman method. Fortyone creep tests were made at temperatures ranging from -1° to -18°C. These gave an unexpected form of creep-curve in which the rate of strain continuously increases with time. The mechanism of deformation is dominantly basal translation—consistent with earlier work. The dependence on temperature and stress is expressed empirically.

Description / Table of Contents: Inhalt: Ziel und Tat. - Jugend und Entfaltung. - Erste Reise (26.VIII. 1768 - 12.VII.1771). - Zweite Reise (21. VI.1772 - 30. VII.1775). - Dritte Reise (24.VI. 1776 - 14.II.1779). - Charakter. - Zeitbedingte Erschwerungen. - Ergebnisse. - Schrittum.

Description / Table of Contents: Inhaltsübersicht: Vorwort. - Einleitung. - I. Klimaklassifikation. - II. Teilklassifikationen. - III. Betrachtung des Gesamtproblems. - IV. Vergleich einiger Klassifikationen. - Zusammenfassung. - Literaturverzeichnis

Description / Table of Contents: Inhalt: Vorwort. - 1. Lomonossow und die erste russische Expedition zur Entdeckung einer nordöstlichen Durchfahrt. - 2. Die ersten russischen Auslandsreisen. - 3. Die ersten Russen in England. - 4. Die ersten russischen Nachrichten über Amerika. - 5. Die frühesten Nachrichten über den äußersten Norden von Sibirien. - 6. Die Entdeckung der Beringstraße durch Semen Deshnew (1648). - 7. S. P. Krascheninnikows Reisen durch Kamtschatka (1737-1741). - 8. Die ersten russischen Weltreisenden. - 9. Die russischen Entdeckungen im Stillen Ozean. - 10. Die russischen Entdeckungen in der Antarktis. - 11. A. I. Butakow, der Erforscher des Aralsees. - 12. Die Forschungen Miklucho-Maklais in Neuguinea. - 13. A. I. Wojeikow. - 14. W. L. Komarows Reisen auf Kamtschatka. - 15. Die ersten russischen Karten des Kaspischen Meeres und ihr Zusammenhang mit den Schwankungen des Meeresspiegels. - 16. Iwan Kirilows Atlas des ganzen Russischen Reiches. - 17. P. A. Slowzow und das Baersche Gesetz. - 18. Atlantis und Ägäis. - 19. Peter Petrowitsch Semjonow-Tjanschanski als Geograph. - 20. N. M. Prshewalski als Reisender. - 21. W. W. Dokutschajew und die Lehre von den geographischen Zonen. - 22. Die Bedeutung der Arbeiten W. I. Wernadskis für die Geographie. - 23. Dmitri Nikolajewitsch Anutschin. - 24. Über die geographischen Forschungen an der Akademie der Wissenschaften der UdSSR. - 25. Die geographischen Entdeckungen der Sowjetzeit. - Verzeichnis der Personennamen. - Verzeichnis der Völkernamen.

Description / Table of Contents: Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1. Das Nest des Seeadlers. - 2. Lehrzeit auf See. - 3. Erste Überwinterung in der Antarktis. - 4. Die Nord-West-Passage. - 5. Der Südpol. - 6. Trübe Zeit. - 7. Forschertaten, die mehr oder weniger Fehlschläge bedeuteten. - 8. Der bittere Kelch wird bis zur Neige geleert. - 9. Den Größten ebenbürtig. - 10. Der Sarg aus Kristall.

Description / Table of Contents: Der zentralasiatische Naturraum, wie er sich uns heute präsentiert, ist das Ergebnis eines Zusammenwirkens vieler verschiedener Faktoren über Jahrmillionen hinweg. Im aktuellen Kontext des Klimawandels zeigt sich jedoch, wie stark sich Stoffflüsse auch kurzfristig ändern und dabei das Gesicht der Landschaft verwandeln können. Die Gobi-Wüste in der Inneren Mongolei (China), als Teil der gleichnamigen Trockenregionen Nordwestchinas, ist aufgrund der Ausgestaltung ihrer landschaftsprägenden Elemente sowie ihrer Landschaftsdynamik, im Zusammenhang mit der Lage zum Tibet-Plateau, in den Fokus der klimageschichtlichen Grundlagenforschung gerückt. Als großes Langzeitarchiv unterschiedlichster fluvialer, lakustriner und äolischer Sedimente stellt sie eine bedeutende Lokalität zur Rekonstruktion von lokalen und regionalen Stoffflüssen dar.. Andererseits ist die Gobi-Wüste zugleich auch eine bedeutende Quelle für den überregionalen Staubtransport, da sie aufgrund der klimatischen Bedingungen insbesondere der Erosion durch Ausblasung preisgegeben wird. Vor diesem Hintergrund erfolgten zwischen 2011 und 2014, im Rahmen des BMBF-Verbundprogramms WTZ Zentralasien – Monsundynamik & Geoökosysteme (Förderkennzeichen 03G0814), mehrere deutsch-chinesische Expeditionen in das Ejina-Becken (Innere Mongolei) und das Qilian Shan-Vorland. Im Zuge dieser Expeditionen wurden für eine Bestimmung potenzieller Sedimentquellen erstmals zahlreiche Oberflächenproben aus dem gesamten Einzugsgebiet des Heihe (schwarzer Fluss) gesammelt. Zudem wurden mit zwei Bohrungen im inneren des Ejina-Beckens, ergänzende Sedimentbohrkerne zum bestehenden Bohrkern D100 (siehe Wünnemann (2005)) abgeteuft, um weit reichende, ergänzende Informationen zur Landschaftsgeschichte und zum überregionalen Sedimenttransfer zu erhalten. Gegenstand und Ziel der vorliegenden Doktorarbeit ist die sedimentologisch-mineralogische Charakterisierung des Untersuchungsgebietes in Bezug auf potenzielle Sedimentquellen und Stoffflüsse des Ejina-Beckens sowie die Rekonstruktion der Ablagerungsgeschichte eines dort erbohrten, 19m langen Sedimentbohrkerns (GN100). Schwerpunkt ist hierbei die Klärung der Sedimentherkunft innerhalb des Bohrkerns sowie die Ausweisung von Herkunftssignalen und möglichen Sedimentquellen bzw. Sedimenttransportpfaden. Die methodische Herangehensweise basiert auf einem Multi-Proxy-Ansatz zur Charakterisierung der klastischen Sedimentfazies anhand von Geländebeobachtungen, lithologisch-granulometrischen und mineralogisch-geochemischen Analysen sowie statistischen Verfahren. Für die mineralogischen Untersuchungen der Sedimente wurde eine neue, rasterelektronenmikroskopische Methode zur automatisierten Partikelanalyse genutzt und den traditionellen Methoden gegenübergestellt. Die synoptische Betrachtung der granulometrischen, geochemischen und mineralogischen Befunde der Oberflächensedimente ergibt für das Untersuchungsgebiet ein logisches Kaskadenmodell mit immer wiederkehrenden Prozessbereichen und ähnlichen Prozesssignalen. Die umfangreichen granulometrischen Analysen deuten dabei auf abnehmende Korngrößen mit zunehmender Entfernung vom Qilian Shan hin und ermöglichen die Identifizierung von vier texturellen Signalen: den fluvialen Sanden, den Dünensanden, den Stillwassersedimenten und Stäuben. Diese Ergebnisse können als Interpretationsgrundlage für die Korngrößenanalysen des Bohrkerns genutzt werden. Somit ist es möglich, die Ablagerungsgeschichte der Bohrkernsedimente zu rekonstruieren und in Verbindung mit eigenen und literaturbasierten Datierungen in einen Gesamtkontext einzuhängen. Für das Untersuchungsgebiet werden somit vier Ablagerungsphasen ausgewiesen, die bis in die Zeit des letzten glazialen Maximums (LGM) zurückreichen. Während dieser Ablagerungsphasen kam es im Zuge unterschiedlicher Aktivitäts- und Stabilitätsphasen zu einer kontinuierlichen Progradation und Überprägung des Schwemmfächers. Eine besonders aktive Phase kann zwischen 8 ka und 4 ka BP festgestellt werden, während der es aufgrund zunehmender fluvialer Aktivitäten zu einer deutlich verstärkten Schwemmfächerdynamik gekommen zu sein scheint. In den Abschnitten davor und danach waren es vor allem äolische Prozesse, die zu einer Überprägung des Schwemmfächers geführt haben. Hinsichtlich der mineralogischen Herkunftssignale gibt es eine große Variabilität. Dies spiegelt die enorme Heterogenität der Geologie des Untersuchungsgebietes wider, wodurch die räumlichen Signale nicht sehr stark ausgeprägt sind. Dennoch, können für das Einzugsgebiet drei größere Bereiche deklariert werden, die als Herkunftsgebiet in Frage kommen. Das östliche Qilian Shan Vorland zeichnet sich dabei durch deutlich höhere Chloritgehalte als primäre Quelle für die Sedimente im Ejina-Becken aus. Sie unterscheiden sich insbesondere durch stark divergierende Chloritgehalte in der Tonmineral- und Gesamtmineralfraktion, was das östliche Qilian Shan Vorland als primäre Quelle für die Sedimente im Ejina-Becken auszeichnet. Dies steht in Zusammenhang mit den Grünschiefern, Ophioliten und Serpentiniten in diesem Bereich. Geochemisch deutet vor allem das Cr/Rb-Verhältnis eine große Variabilität innerhalb des Einzugsgebietes an. Auch hier ist es das östliche Vorland, welches aufgrund seines hohen Anteils an mafischen Gesteinen reich an Chromiten und Spinellen ist und sich somit vom restlichen Untersuchungsgebiet abhebt. Die zeitliche aber auch die generelle Variabilität der Sedimentherkunft lässt sich in den Bohrkernsedimenten nicht so deutlich nachzeichnen. Die mineralogisch-sedimentologischen Eigenschaften der erbohrten klastischen Sedimente zeugen zwar von zwischenzeitlichen Änderungen bei der Sedimentherkunft, diese sind jedoch nicht so deutlich ausgeprägt, wie es die Quellsignale in den Oberflächensedimenten vermuten lassen. Ein Grund dafür scheint die starke Vermischung unterschiedlichster Sedimente während des Transportes zu sein. Die Kombination der Korngrößenergebnisse mit den Befunden der Gesamt- und Schwermineralogie deuten darauf hin, dass es zwischenzeitlich eine Phase mit überwiegend äolischen Prozessen gegeben hat, die mit einem Sedimenteintrag aus dem westlichen Bei Shan in Verbindung stehen. Neben der Zunahme ultrastabiler Schwerminerale wie Zirkon und Granat und der Abnahme opaker Schwerminerale, weisen vor allem die heutigen Verhältnisse darauf hin. Der Vergleich der traditionellen Schwermineralanalyse mit der Computer-Controlled-Scanning-Electron-Microscopy (kurz: CCSEM), die eine automatisierte Partikelauswertung der Proben ermöglicht, zeigt den deutlichen Vorteil der modernen Analysemethode. Neben einem zeitlichen Vorteil, den man durch die automatisierte Abarbeitung der vorbereiteten Proben erlangen kann, steht vor allem die deutlich größere statistische Signifikanz des Ergebnisses im Vordergrund. Zudem können mit dieser Methode auch chemische Varietäten einiger Schwerminerale bestimmt werden, die eine noch feinere Klassifizierung und sicherere Aussagen zu einer möglichen Sedimentherkunft ermöglichen. Damit ergeben sich außerdem verbesserte Aussagen zu Zusammensetzungen und Entstehungsprozessen der abgelagerten Sedimente. Die Studie verdeutlicht, dass die Sedimentherkunft innerhalb des Untersuchungsgebietes sowie die ablaufenden Prozesse zum Teil stark von lokalen Gegebenheiten abhängen. Die Heterogenität der Geologie und die Größe des Einzugsgebietes sowie die daraus resultierende Komplexität der Sedimentgenese, machen exakte Zuordnungen zu klar definierten Sedimentquellen sehr schwer. Dennoch zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass die Sedimentzufuhr in das Ejina-Becken in erster Linie durch fluviale klastische Sedimente des Heihe aus dem Qilian Shan erfolgt sein muss. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse zeigen jedoch ebenso die Notwendigkeit einer ergänzenden Bearbeitung angrenzender Untersuchungsgebiete, wie beispielsweise den Gobi-Altai im Norden oder den Beishan im Westen, sowie die Verdichtung der Oberflächenbeprobung zur feineren Auflösung von lokalen Sedimentquellen.

Description / Table of Contents: In the Anthropocene, the thawing of frozen earth due to global warming has drawn worldwide attention to permafrost. Contemporary scientists define permafrost as ground that maintains a negative temperature for at least two years. But where did this particular conception of permafrost originate, and what alternatives existed? The Life of Permafrost provides an intellectual history of permafrost, placing the phenomenon squarely in the political, social, and material context of Russian and Soviet science. Pey-Yi Chu shows that understandings of frozen earth were shaped by two key experiences in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. On one hand, the colonization and industrialization of Siberia nourished an engineering perspective on frozen earth that viewed the phenomenon as an aggregate physical structure: ground. On the other, a Russian and Soviet tradition of systems thinking encouraged approaching frozen earth as a process, condition, and space tied to planetary exchanges of energy and matter. Aided by the US militarization of the Arctic during the Cold War, the engineering view of frozen earth as an obstacle to construction became dominant. The Life of Permafrost tells the fascinating story of how permafrost came to acquire life as Russian and Soviet scientists studied, named, and defined it.

Description / Table of Contents: Die MOSAiC-Expedition verschiebt die Grenzen des Machbaren und markiert einen historischen Meilenstein der Polarforschung. In den Fußstapfen von Fridtjof Nansens bahnrechender Pionierleistung in den Jahren 1893 bis 1896 mit seinem hölzernen Segelschiff »Fram« bringt sie erstmals einen modernen Forschungseisbrecher im Winter in die direkte Umgebung des Nordpols. 20 Nationen haben sich zusammengetan, um die Geheimnisse des dramatischen Klimawandels der Arktis zu entschlüsseln. Untertützt wird das Flaggschiff der Expedition, der deutsche Forschungseisbrecher »Polarstern«, von sechs weiteren Schiffen und Eisbrechern, Flugzeugen und Helikoptern. Insgesamt fünfhundert Menschen nehmen an den verschiedenen Phasen der Expedition teil. Markus Rex, Kopf des Vorhabens und Expeditionsleiter, berichtet anschaulich vom oft genug dramatischen Verlauf dieser Expedition, aber auch von überwältigend faszinierenden Eindrücken aus der Arktis während der langen winterlichen Polarnacht und während des sommerlichen Polartags. Und er beschreibt die unvorstellbaren Herausforderungen, denen sich die Expeditionsteilnehmer eingefroren im polaren Eis gestellt haben - immer geleitet von dem Ziel, Licht in die Prozesse des globalen Klimawandels zu bringen, der nirgends so auseprägt ist wie in der Arktis.

Description / Table of Contents: This thesis investigates how the permafrost microbiota responds to global warming. In detail, the constraints behind methane production in thawing permafrost were linked to methanogenic activity, abundance and composition. Furthermore, this thesis offers new insights into microbial adaptions to the changing environmental conditions during global warming. This was assesed by investigating the potential ecological relevant functions encoded by plasmid DNA within the permafrost microbiota. Permafrost of both interglacial and glacial origin spanning the Holocene to the late Pleistocene, including Eemian, were studied during long-term thaw incubations. Furthermore, several permafrost cores of different stratigraphy, soil type and vegetation cover were used to target the main constraints behind methane production during short-term thaw simulations. Short- and long-term incubations simulating thaw with and without the addition of substrate were combined with activity measurements, amplicon and metagenomic sequencing of permanently frozen and seasonally thawed active layer. Combined, it allowed to address the following questions. i) What constraints methane production when permafrost thaws and how is this linked to methanogenic activity, abundance and composition? ii) How does the methanogenic community composition change during long-term thawing conditions? iii) Which potential ecological relevant functions are encoded by plasmid DNA in active layer soils? The major outcomes of this thesis are as follows. i) Methane production from permafrost after long-term thaw simulation was found to be constrained mainly by the abundance of methanogens and the archaeal community composition. Deposits formed during periods of warmer temperatures and increased precipitation, (here represented by deposits from the Late Pleistocene of both interstadial and interglacial periods) were found to respond strongest to thawing conditions and to contain an archaeal community dominated by methanogenic archaea (40% and 100% of all detected archaea). Methanogenic population size and carbon density were identified as main predictors for potential methane production in thawing permafrost in short-term incubations when substrate was sufficiently available. ii) Besides determining the methanogenic activity after long-term thaw, the paleoenvironmental conditions were also found to influence the response of the methanogenic community composition. Substantial shifts within methanogenic community structure and a drop in diversity were observed in deposits formed during warmer periods, but not in deposits from stadials, when colder and drier conditions occurred. Overall, a shift towards a dominance of hydrogenotrophic methanogens was observed in all samples, except for the oldest interglacial deposits from the Eemian, which displayed a potential dominance of acetoclastic methanogens. The Eemian, which is discussed to serve as an analogue to current climate conditions, contained highly active methanogenic communities. However, all potential limitation of methane production after permafrost thaw, it means methanogenic community structure, methanogenic population size, and substrate pool might be overcome after permafrost had thawed on the long-term. iii) Enrichments with soil from the seasonally thawed active layer revealed that its plasmid DNA (‘metaplasmidome’) carries stress-response genes. In particular it encoded antibiotic resistance genes, heavy metal resistance genes, cold shock proteins and genes encoding UV-protection. Those are functions that are directly involved in the adaptation of microbial communities to stresses in polar environments. It was further found that metaplasmidomes from the Siberian active layer originate mainly from Gammaproteobacteria. By applying enrichment cultures followed by plasmid DNA extraction it was possible to obtain a higher average contigs length and significantly higher recovery of plasmid sequences than from extracting plasmid sequences from metagenomes. The approach of analyzing ‘metaplasmidomes’ established in this thesis is therefore suitable for studying the ecological role of plasmids in polar environments in general. This thesis emphasizes that including microbial community dynamics have the potential to improve permafrost-carbon projections. Microbially mediated methane release from permafrost environments may significantly impact future climate change. This thesis identified drivers of methanogenic composition, abundance and activity in thawing permafrost landscapes. Finally, this thesis underlines the importance to study how the current warming Arctic affects microbial communities in order to gain more insight into microbial response and adaptation strategies.

Description / Table of Contents: The arctic-boreal treeline is a transition zone from taiga to tundra covering a vast area in Siberia. It often features large environmental gradients and reacts sensitively to changes in the environment. For example, the expansion of shrubs and a northward movement of the treeline are observable in Siberia as a response to the warming climate. The changes in vegetation across the treeline are known to influence the water chemistry in the lakes. This causes further alteration to the composition and diversity of sensitive aquatic organisms such as diatoms and macrophytes. Despite the rising awareness of the complex climate-feedback mechanisms of terrestrial plants, the understanding of their assembly rules and about responses of aquatic biomes in the surrounding treeline lakes is still limited. The goal of this thesis is to examine the previous and present biodiversity of terrestrial and freshwater biomes from the Siberian treeline ecotone, as well as their reactions to environmental changes. In particular, this thesis attempts to ...

Description / Table of Contents: В монографии приводятся сведения о составе локальной флоры окрестностей Международной биологической станции 〈〈Лена-Норденшельд», расположенной на территории Усть-Ленского заповедника, относящейся к числу естественных, мало измененных под влиянием человека объектов (98,5 % ее состава представлено аборигенной фракцией, 3 вида - адвентивный компонент, 5 видов - интродуценты), что обеспечивается природоохранными мероприятиями и представляется очень важным для понимания естественных процессов трансформации природы. В ходе обследования данной местности выявлено 266 таксонов сосудистых растений видового и внутривидового ранга. Приводится иллюстрированный фотографиями растений список видов с указанием частоты встречаемости, распределения по высотным поясам растительности и фитоценотической приуроченности. Исследованная локальная флора дополняет и входит в систему региональных флор Хараулахской подпровинции Восточно-Сибирской провинции Арктической флористической области, которая нуждается в дальнейшем изучении. Книга рассчитана на специалистов природоохранной сферы деятельности, учителей биологии, натуралистов-любителей.

Description / Table of Contents: Data about composition of the local flora of the International Biological Station "Lena- Nordenskjöld" vicinities is presented. The station is situated in the Lena River delta, within the territory of the Ust-Lensky Nature Reserve. 266 taxons (255 species, and 9 subspecies, 1 variety, 1 hybrid species) of vascular plants from 109 genera and 42 families were found. The checklist is illustrated with photographs of the plants species and contains information about species frequency and their distribution along altitudinal belts and in various plant communities. The local flora of the International Biological Station is natural and slightly disturbed Ьу men: 98,5 % of its composition are native species, and only 3 species are adventive. Аll the species found there can bе classified in 6 altitudinal groups. 224 species belong to the valley vegetation complex, 161 species grow in the tundra belt, 28 species refer to the epilithic lichen communities belt. The flora belongs to the Кharaulakh subprovince ofthe East-Siberian province ofthe Arctic floristic region, which boundaries need to bе detected. The book is intended for specialists of environmental activities, biology teachers, naturalists and enthusiasts.

Description / Table of Contents: Vegetation change at high latitudes is one of the central issues nowadays with respect to ongoing climate changes and triggered potential feedback. At high latitude ecosystems, the expected changes include boreal treeline advance, compositional, phenological, physiological (plants), biomass (phytomass) and productivity changes. However, the rate and the extent of the changes under climate change are yet poorly understood and projections are necessary for effective adaptive strategies and forehanded minimisation of the possible negative feedbacks. The vegetation itself and environmental conditions, which are playing a great role in its development and distribution are diverse throughout the Subarctic to the Arctic. Among the least investigated areas is central Chukotka in North-Eastern Siberia, Russia. Chukotka has mountainous terrain and a wide variety of vegetation types on the gradient from treeless tundra to northern taiga forests. The treeline there in contrast to subarctic North America and north-western and central Siberia is represented by a deciduous conifer, Larix cajanderi Mayr. The vegetation varies from prostrate lichen Dryas octopetala L. tundra to open graminoid (hummock and non-hummock) tundra to tall Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel shrublands to sparse and dense larch forests. Hence, this thesis presents investigations on recent compositional and above-ground biomass (AGB) changes, as well as potential future changes in AGB in central Chukotka. The aim is to assess how tundra-taiga vegetation develops under changing climate conditions particularly in Fareast Russia, central Chukotka. Therefore, three main research questions were considered: 1) What changes in vegetation composition have recently occurred in central Chukotka? 2) How have the above-ground biomass AGB rates and distribution changed in central Chukotka? 3) What are the spatial dynamics and rates of tree AGB change in the upcoming millennia in the northern tundra-taiga of central Chukotka? Remote sensing provides information on the spatial and temporal variability of vegetation. I used Landsat satellite data together with field data (foliage projective cover and AGB) from two expeditions in 2016 and 2018 to Chukotka to upscale vegetation types and AGB for the study area. More specifically, I used Landsat spectral indices (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalised Difference Snow Index (NDSI)) and constrained ordination (Redundancy analysis, RDA) for further k-means-based land-cover classification and general additive model (GAM)-based AGB maps for 2000/2001/2002 and 2016/2017. I also used Tandem-X DEM data for a topographical correction of the Landsat satellite data and to derive slope, aspect, and Topographical Wetness Index (TWI) data for forecasting AGB. Firstly, in 2016, taxa-specific projective cover data were collected during a Russian-German expedition. I processed the field data and coupled them with Landsat spectral Indices in the RDA model that was used for k-means classification. I could establish four meaningful land-cover classes: (1) larch closed-canopy forest, (2) forest tundra and shrub tundra, (3) graminoid tundra and (4) prostrate herb tundra and barren areas, and accordingly, I produced the land cover maps for 2000/2001/2002 and 2016/20017. Changes in land-cover classes between the beginning of the century (2000/2001/2002) and the present time (2016/2017) were estimated and interpreted as recent compositional changes in central Chukotka. The transition from graminoid tundra to forest tundra and shrub tundra was interpreted as shrubification and amounts to a 20% area increase in the tundra-taiga zone and 40% area increase in the northern taiga. Major contributors of shrubification are alder, dwarf birch and some species of the heather family. Land-cover change from the forest tundra and shrub tundra class to the larch closed-canopy forest class is interpreted as tree infilling and is notable in the northern taiga. We find almost no land-cover changes in the present treeless tundra. Secondly, total AGB state and change were investigated for the same areas. In addition to the total vegetation AGB, I provided estimations for the different taxa present at the field sites. As an outcome, AGB in the study region of central Chukotka ranged from 0 kg m-2 at barren areas to 16 kg m-2 in closed-canopy forests with the larch trees contributing the highest. A comparison of changes in AGB within the investigated period from 2000 to 2016 shows that the greatest changes (up to 1.25 kg m 2 yr 1) occurred in the northern taiga and in areas where land cover changed to larch closed-canopy forest. Our estimations indicate a general increase in total AGB throughout the investigated tundra-taiga and northern taiga, whereas the tundra showed no evidence of change in AGB within the 15 years from 2002 to 2017. In the third manuscript, potential future AGB changes were estimated based on the results of simulations of the individual-based spatially explicit vegetation model LAVESI using different climate scenarios, depending on Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 with or without cooling after 2300 CE. LAVESI-based AGB was simulated for the current state until 3000 CE for the northern tundra-taiga study area for larch species because we expect the most notable changes to occur will be associated with forest expansion in the treeline ecotone. The spatial distribution and current state of tree AGB was validated against AGB field data, AGB extracted from Landsat satellite data and a high spatial resolution image with distinctive trees visible. The simulation results are indicating differences in tree AGB dynamics plot wise, depending on the distance to the current treeline. The simulated tree AGB dynamics are in concordance with fundamental ecological (emigrational and successional) processes: tree stand formation in simulated results starts with seed dispersion, tree stand establishment, tree stand densification and episodic thinning. Our results suggest mostly densification of existing tree stands in the study region within the current century in the study region and a lagged forest expansion (up to 39% of total area in the RCP 8.5) under all considered climate scenarios without cooling in different local areas depending on the closeness to the current treeline. In scenarios with cooling air temperature after 2300 CE, forests stopped expanding at 2300 CE (up to 10%, RCP 8.5) and then gradually retreated to their pre-21st century position. The average tree AGB rates of increase are the strongest in the first 300 years of the 21st century. The rates depend on the RCP scenario, where the highest are as expected under RCP 8.5. Overall, this interdisciplinary thesis shows a successful integration of field data, satellite data and modelling for tracking recent and predicting future vegetation changes in mountainous subarctic regions. The obtained results are unique for the focus area in central Chukotka and overall, for mountainous high latitude ecosystems.

Description / Table of Contents: Two thirds of our planet is covered by oceans and seas. Over recent decades developments in ocean science have dramatically improved our understanding of the key role oceans play in the Earth System, and how vital they are for regulating global climate. Humans depend on the oceans for many resources, but at the same time their impacts on the marine systems around the world are of increasing concern. Introducing Oceanography has been written by two leading oceanographers to provide a succinct overview of the science of the study of the seas for students and for the interested adult wanting a topical guide to this enormous and complex subject. The initial chapters describe the oceans and the forces at work within them. The authors then discuss the effects of light, the chemistry of the seas and the food web before surveying biological oceanography in the main oceanic regions. The final chapter looks at the methodology of ocean study. Copiously illustrated, this book is intended for those whose interest in oceanography has been stimulated, perhaps by media coverage of declining resources or climate change and who want to know more. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and are explained in a glossary.

Description / Table of Contents: Written by two leading oceanographers, Introducing Oceanography has rapidly established itself as a key introductory overview of its subject.

Description / Table of Contents: "Once Upon the Permafrost is a longitudinal climate ethnography about "knowing" a specific culture and the ecosystem that culture physically and spiritually depends on in the twenty-first-century context of climate change. Through careful integration of contemporary narratives, on-site observations, and document analysis, Susan Alexandra Crate shows how local understandings of change and the vernacular knowledge systems they are founded on provide critical information for interdisciplinary collaboration and effective policy prescriptions

Description / Table of Contents: The Arctic is changing rapidly and permafrost is thawing. Especially ice-rich permafrost, such as the late Pleistocene Yedoma, is vulnerable to rapid and deep thaw processes such as surface subsidence after the melting of ground ice. Due to permafrost thaw, the permafrost carbon pool is becoming increasingly accessible to microbes, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions, which enhances the climate warming. The assessment of the molecular structure and biodegradability of permafrost organic matter (OM) is highly needed. My research revolves around the question “how does permafrost thaw affect its OM storage?” More specifically, I assessed (1) how molecular biomarkers can be applied to characterize permafrost OM, (2) greenhouse gas production rates from thawing permafrost, and (3) the quality of OM of frozen and (previously) thawed sediments. I studied deep (max. 55 m) Yedoma and thawed Yedoma permafrost sediments from Yakutia (Sakha Republic). I analyzed sediment cores taken below thermokarst lakes on the Bykovsky Peninsula (southeast of the Lena Delta) and in the Yukechi Alas (Central Yakutia), and headwall samples from the permafrost cliff Sobo-Sise (Lena Delta) and the retrogressive thaw slump Batagay (Yana Uplands). I measured biomarker concentrations of all sediment samples. Furthermore, I carried out incubation experiments to quantify greenhouse gas production in thawing permafrost. I showed that the biomarker proxies are useful to assess the source of the OM and to distinguish between OM derived from terrestrial higher plants, aquatic plants and microbial activity. In addition, I showed that some proxies help to assess the degree of degradation of permafrost OM, especially when combined with sedimentological data in a multi-proxy approach. The OM of Yedoma is generally better preserved than that of thawed Yedoma sediments. The greenhouse gas production was highest in the permafrost sediments that thawed for the first time, meaning that the frozen Yedoma sediments contained most labile OM. Furthermore, I showed that the methanogenic communities had established in the recently thawed sediments, but not yet in the still-frozen sediments. My research provided the first molecular biomarker distributions and organic carbon turnover data as well as insights in the state and processes in deep frozen and thawed Yedoma sediments. These findings show the relevance of studying OM in deep permafrost sediments.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides in-depth information about the sea ice in the Arctic at scales from paleoenvironmental variability to more contemporary changes during the past and present centuries. The book is based on several decades of research related to sea ice in the Arctic and its variability, sea ice process studies as well as implications of the sea ice variability on human activities. The chapters provide an extensive overview of the research results related to sea ice in the Arctic at paleo-scales to more resent scales of variations as well as projections for changes during the 21st century. The authors have pioneered the satellite remote sensing monitoring of sea ice and used other monitoring data in order to study, monitor and model sea ice and its processes

Description / Table of Contents: This book investigates the multifaceted nature of change in today’s Nordic Arctic and the necessary research and policy development required to address the challenges and opportunities currently faced by this region. It focuses its attention on the recent efforts of the Nordic community to create specialized Centers of Excellence in Arctic Research in order to facilitate this process of scientific inquiry and policy articulation. The volume seeks to describe both the steps that lead to this decision and the manner in which this undertaking as evolved. The work highlights the research efforts of the four Centers and their investigations of a variety of issues including those related to ecosystem and wildlife management, the revitalization resource dependent communities, the emergence of new climate-born diseases and the development of adequate modeling techniques to assist northern communities in their efforts at adaptation and resilience building. Major discoveries and insights arising from these and other efforts are detailed and possible policy implications considered. The book also focuses attention on the challenges of creating and supporting multidisciplinary teams of researchers to investigate such concerns and the methods and means for facilitating their collaboration and the integration of their findings to form new and useful perspectives on the nature of change in the contemporary Arctic. It also provides helpful consideration and examples of how local and indigenous communities can be engaged in the co-production of knowledge regarding the region. The volume discusses how such research findings can be best communicated and shared between scientists, policymakers and northern residents. It considers the challenges of building common concern not just among different research disciplines but also between bureaucracies and the public. Only when this bridge-building effort is undertaken can true pathways to action be established. .

Description / Table of Contents: This two-volume book provides a comprehensive, detailed understanding of paleoclimatology beginning by describing the “proxy data” from which quantitative climate parameters are reconstructed and finally by developing a comprehensive Earth system model able to simulate past climates of the Earth. It compiles contributions from specialists in each field who each have an in-depth knowledge of their particular area of expertise. The first volume is devoted to “Finding, dating and interpreting the evidence”. It describes the different geo-chronological technical methods used in paleoclimatology. Different fields of geosciences such as: stratigraphy, magnetism, dendrochronology, sedimentology, are drawn from and proxy reconstructions from ice sheets, terrestrial (speleothems, lakes, and vegetation) and oceanic data, are used to reconstruct the ancient climates of the Earth. The second volume, entitled “Investigation into ancient climates,” focuses on building comprehensive models of past climate evolution. The chapters are based on understanding the processes driving the evolution of each component of the Earth system (atmosphere, ocean, ice). This volume provides both an analytical understanding of each component using a hierarchy of models (from conceptual to very sophisticated 3D general circulation models) and a synthetic approach incorporating all of these components to explore the evolution of the Earth as a global system. As a whole this book provides the reader with a complete view of data reconstruction and modeling of the climate of the Earth from deep time to present day with even an excursion to include impacts on future climate.

Description / Table of Contents: Our realisation of how profoundly glaciers and ice sheets respond to climate change and impact sea level and the environment has propelled their study to the forefront of Earth system science. Aspects of this multidisciplinary endeavour now constitute major areas of research. This book is named after the international summer school held annually in the beautiful alpine village of Karthaus, Northern Italy, and consists of twenty chapters based on lectures from the school. They cover theory, methods, and observations, and introduce readers to essential glaciological topics such as ice-flow dynamics, polar meteorology, mass balance, ice-core analysis, paleoclimatology, remote sensing and geophysical methods, glacial isostatic adjustment, modern and past glacial fluctuations, and ice sheet reconstruction. The chapters were written by thirty-four contributing authors who are leading international authorities in their fields. The book can be used as a graduate-level textbook for a university course, and as a valuable reference guide for practising glaciologists and climate scientists.

Description / Table of Contents: The Arctic nearshore zone plays a key role in the carbon cycle. Organic-rich sediments get eroded off permafrost affected coastlines and can be directly transferred to the nearshore zone. Permafrost in the Arctic stores a high amount of organic matter and is vulnerable to thermo-erosion, which is expected to increase due to climate change. This will likely result in higher sediment loads in nearshore waters and has the potential to alter local ecosystems by limiting light transmission into the water column, thus limiting primary production to the top-most part of it, and increasing nutrient export from coastal erosion. Greater organic matter input could result in the release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Climate change also acts upon the fluvial system, leading to greater discharge to the nearshore zone. It leads to decreasing sea-ice cover as well, which will both increase wave energy and lengthen the open-water season. Yet, knowledge on these processes and the resulting impact on the nearshore zone is scarce, because access to and instrument deployment in the nearshore zone is challenging. Remote sensing can alleviate these issues in providing rapid data delivery in otherwise non-accessible areas. However, the waters in the Arctic nearshore zone are optically complex, with multiple influencing factors, such as organic rich suspended sediments, colored dissolved organic matter (cDOM), and phytoplankton. The goal of this dissertation was to use remotely sensed imagery to monitor processes related to turbidity caused by suspended sediments in the Arctic nearshore zone. In-situ measurements of water-leaving reflectance and surface water turbidity were used to calibrate a semi-empirical algorithm which relates turbidity from satellite imagery. Based on this algorithm and ancillary ocean and climate variables, the mechanisms underpinning nearshore turbidity in the Arctic were identified at a resolution not achieved before. The calibration of the Arctic Nearshore Turbidity Algorithm (ANTA) was based on in-situ measurements from the coastal and inner-shelf waters around Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk (HIQ) in the western Canadian Arctic from the summer seasons 2018 and 2019. It performed better than existing algorithms, developed for global applications, in relating turbidity from remotely sensed imagery. These existing algorithms were lacking validation data from permafrost affected waters, and were thus not able to reflect the complexity of Arctic nearshore waters. The ANTA has a higher sensitivity towards the lowest turbidity values, which is an asset for identifying sediment pathways in the nearshore zone. Its transferability to areas beyond HIQ was successfully demonstrated using turbidity measurements matching satellite image recordings from Adventfjorden, Svalbard. The ANTA is a powerful tool that provides robust turbidity estimations in a variety of Arctic nearshore environments. Drivers of nearshore turbidity in the Arctic were analyzed by combining ANTA results from the summer season 2019 from HIQ with ocean and climate variables obtained from the weather station at HIQ, the ERA5 reanalysis database, and the Mackenzie River discharge. ERA5 reanalysis data were obtained as domain averages over the Canadian Beaufort Shelf. Nearshore turbidity was linearly correlated to wind speed, significant wave height and wave period. Interestingly, nearshore turbidity was only correlated to wind speed at the shelf, but not to the in-situ measurements from the weather station at HIQ. This shows that nearshore turbidity, albeit being of limited spatial extent, gets influenced by the weather conditions multiple kilometers away, rather than in its direct vicinity. The large influence of wave energy on nearshore turbidity indicates that freshly eroded material off the coast is a major contributor to the nearshore sediment load. This contrasts results from the temperate and tropical oceans, where tides and currents are the major drivers of nearshore turbidity. The Mackenzie River discharge was not identified as a driver of nearshore turbidity in 2019, however, the analysis of 30 years of Landsat archive imagery from 1986 to 2016 suggests a direct link between the prevailing wind direction, which heavily influences the Mackenzie River plume extent, and nearshore turbidity around HIQ. This discrepancy could be caused by the abnormal discharge behavior of the Mackenzie River in 2019. This dissertation has substantially advanced the understanding of suspended sediment processes in the Arctic nearshore zone and provided new monitoring tools for future studies. The presented results will help to understand the role of the Arctic nearshore zone in the carbon cycle under a changing climate.

Description / Table of Contents: Throughout the last ~3 million years, the Earth's climate system was characterised by cycles of glacial and interglacial periods. The current warm period, the Holocene, is comparably stable and stands out from this long-term cyclicality. However, since the industrial revolution, the climate has been increasingly affected by a human-induced increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. While instrumental observations are used to describe changes over the past ~200 years, indirect observations via proxy data are the main source of information beyond this instrumental era. These data are indicators of past climatic conditions, stored in palaeoclimate archives around the Earth. The proxy signal is affected by processes independent of the prevailing climatic conditions. In particular, for sedimentary archives such as marine sediments and polar ice sheets, material may be redistributed during or after the initial deposition and subsequent formation of the archive. This leads to noise in the records challenging reliable reconstructions on local or short time scales. This dissertation characterises the initial deposition of the climatic signal and quantifies the resulting archive-internal heterogeneity and its influence on the observed proxy signal to improve the representativity and interpretation of climate reconstructions from marine sediments and ice cores. To this end, the horizontal and vertical variation in radiocarbon content of a box-core from the South China Sea is investigated. The three-dimensional resolution is used to quantify the true uncertainty in radiocarbon age estimates from planktonic foraminifera with an extensive sampling scheme, including different sample volumes and replicated measurements of batches of small and large numbers of specimen. An assessment on the variability stemming from sediment mixing by benthic organisms reveals strong internal heterogeneity. Hence, sediment mixing leads to substantial time uncertainty of proxy-based reconstructions with error terms two to five times larger than previously assumed. A second three-dimensional analysis of the upper snowpack provides insights into the heterogeneous signal deposition and imprint in snow and firn. A new study design which combines a structure-from-motion photogrammetry approach with two-dimensional isotopic data is performed at a study site in the accumulation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The photogrammetry method reveals an intermittent character of snowfall, a layer-wise snow deposition with substantial contributions by wind-driven erosion and redistribution to the final spatially variable accumulation and illustrated the evolution of stratigraphic noise at the surface. The isotopic data show the preservation of stratigraphic noise within the upper firn column, leading to a spatially variable climate signal imprint and heterogeneous layer thicknesses. Additional post-depositional modifications due to snow-air exchange are also investigated, but without a conclusive quantification of the contribution to the final isotopic signature. Finally, this characterisation and quantification of the complex signal formation in marine sediments and polar ice contributes to a better understanding of the signal content in proxy data which is needed to assess the natural climate variability during the Holocene.

Description / Table of Contents: This textbook introduces methods of geoscientific data acquisition using MATLAB in combination with inexpensive data acquisition hardware such as sensors in smartphones, sensors that come with the LEGO MINDSTORMS set, webcams with stereo microphones, and affordable spectral and thermal cameras. The text includes 35 exercises in data acquisition, such as using a smartphone to acquire stereo images of rock specimens from which to calculate point clouds, using visible and near-infrared spectral cameras to classify the minerals in rocks, using thermal cameras to differentiate between different types of surface such as between soil and vegetation, localizing a sound source using travel time differences between pairs of microphones to localize a sound source, quantifying the total harmonic distortion and signal-to-noise ratio of acoustic and elastic signals, acquiring and streaming meteorological data using application programming interfaces, wireless networks, and internet of things platforms, determining the spatial resolution of ultrasonic and optical sensors, and detecting magnetic anomalies using a smartphone magnetometer mounted on a LEGO MINDSTORMS scanner. The book’s electronic supplementary material (available online through Springer Link) contains recipes that include all the MATLAB commands featured in the book, the example data, the LEGO construction plans, photos and videos of the measurement procedures.

Description / Table of Contents: The book describes the structure, composition and evolution of the Earth, the main geological processes occurring on it, and how some crucial environmental matters that are amply debated in the media (e.g. pollution, greenhouse effect) can be fully understood by placing them in the holistic context of the system Earth as a whole. It provides basic information on a series of key geological issues, from the structure and composition of the Earth to the large-scale processes that characterize our planet, such as rock alteration and sedimentation, magmatism, geomagnetism, seismicity, plate tectonics, cyclical migration of chemical elements through various Earth reservoirs (Geochemical Cycles), and evolution of the planet from Hadean to present. It intends to reach a wide readership, which is interested in our planet and wish to have a general and comprehensive view of its origin, evolution and activity. Potential readership includes undergraduate and advanced undergraduate students in Geology and other scientific disciplines, and any moderately- to well-educated people interested in the surrounding world and eager to gain a basic knowledge of the Earth and to reach an integrated view of how our planet is working. Includes debated issues of the environmental changes by framing them within the evolution and history of the Earth.

Description / Table of Contents: This book comprehensively summarizes the biological mechanisms of coloration and pattern formation of animals at molecular and cellular level, offering up-to-date knowledge derived from remarkable progress in the last 10 years. The brilliant coloration, conspicuous patterns and spectacular color changes displayed by some vertebrates and invertebrates are generally their strategies of the utmost importance for survival. Consists of mainly three parts, starts with introductory chapter, such as Pigments and Pigment Organelles, Developmental Genetics of Pigment Cell Formation, Adult Pigment Patterns, and Color Changes, this book introduces new pigment compounds in addition to classically known pigments and organelles, explains how the generation of multiple types of pigment cell is genetically controlled, describes the mechanisms underlying the zebrafish stripe formation as well as other animals and also summarizes the mechanism of physiological and morphological color changes of teleost, amphibian and cephalopod. Written by experts in the field, this book will be essential reading for graduate students and researchers in biological fields who are interested in pigmentation mechanisms of animals.

Description / Table of Contents: This book presents current knowledge on chemistry and physics of Arctic atmosphere. Special attention is given to studies of the Arctic haze phenomenon, Arctic tropospheric clouds, Arctic fog, polar stratospheric and mesospheric clouds, atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics and radiative transfer as related to the polar environment. The atmosphere-cryosphere feedbacks and atmospheric remote sensing techniques are presented in detail. The problems of climate change in the Arctic are also addressed.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides examples of pollutants, such as accidental oil spills and non-degradable plastic debris, which affect marine organisms of all taxa. Terrestrial runoff washes large amounts of dissolved organic materials from agriculture and industry, toxic heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and persistent organic pollutants which end up into rivers, coastal habitats, and open waters. While this book is not intended to encyclopaedically list all kinds of pollution, it rather exemplifies the problems by concentrating on a number of serious and prominent recent developments. The chapters in this book also discuss measures to decrease and remove aquatic pollution to mitigate the stress on aquatic organisms. Aquatic ecosystems provide a wide range of ecological and economical services. In addition to providing a large share of the staple diet for a fast growing human population, oceans absorb most of the anthropogenically emitted carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change. As well as rising temperatures and ocean acidification, pollution poses increasing problems for aquatic ecosystems and organisms reducing its functioning and services which are exposed to a plethora of stress factors.

Description / Table of Contents: The book gives an overview of the tectonic, geological, potential fields, etc maps of the Arctic that were compiled during geological and geophysical studies conducted in the Arctic over the past 15 years under the International project “Atlas of Geological Maps of the Circumpolar Arctic at a scale of 5M” and presents the results of geological, geophysical, paleogeographic and tectonic studies carried out in the Arctic Ocean and the Eastern Arctic during the implementation of national mapping and scientific programmes and studies intended to provide scientific substantiation for the extension of the continental shelf (ECS). Given its scope, the book will appeal to a wide range of geologists. .

Description / Table of Contents: MATLAB® is used in a wide range of geoscientific applications, e.g. for image processing in remote sensing, for creating and processing digital elevation models, and for analyzing time series. This book introduces readers to MATLAB-based data analysis methods used in the geosciences, including basic statistics for univariate, bivariate and multivariate datasets, time-series analysis, signal processing, the analysis of spatial and directional data, and image analysis. The revised and updated Fifth Edition includes seven new sections, and the majority of the chapters have been rewritten and significantly expanded. New sections include error analysis, the problem of classical linear regression of log-transformed data, aligning stratigraphic sequences, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Aitchison’s log-ratio transformation, graphical representation of spherical data, and statistics of spherical data. The book also includes numerous examples demonstrating how MATLAB can be used on datasets from the earth sciences. The supplementary electronic material (available online through SpringerLink) contains recipes that include all the MATLAB commands featured in the book and the sample data.

Description / Table of Contents: Dieses Buch bietet einen Überblick über ein komplexes, auch an Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen zunehmend sichtbarer werdendes gesellschaftliches Problem: Sexualisierte Belästigung, Diskriminierung und Gewalt (SBDG). Die vielfältigen Aspekte, rechtlichen Fragen und komplexen Erscheinungsformen machen das Thema in einem hierarchischen Umfeld mit vielfach undurchsichtigen Verantwortungsstrukturen zu einer organisationalen und individuellen Herausforderung. 16 Beiträge nehmen die vielfältigen Erscheinungsformen und Ausprägungen als Forschungsgegenstand und Teil des organisationalen Alltags in den Blick. Sie erläutern den Umgang mit SBDG in verschiedenen Kontexten und Räumen in der Wissenschaft aus verschiedenen Perspektiven und informieren über Strukturen zur Prävention. Dieses Werk ist eine orientierende Handreichung für alle, die im universitären und/oder Forschungsbereich arbeiten, Personalverantwortung tragen, die Entwicklung von akademischen Einrichtungen begleiten und nicht zuletzt für all jene, die von sexualisierter Diskriminierung und Gewalt in hochschulischen Kontexten direkt betroffen oder ihr indirekt begegnet sind. Der Inhalt Kritische Perspektiven auf Recht, Struktur und Daten Perspektiven auf spezifische Herausforderungen von Settings und Hochschultypen Perspektiven auf Strukturen, Umgangsweisen und Lösungsansätze Erweiterung der Perspektive Perspektiven internationaler Hochschulkontexte Die Herausgeberinnen Dr. Heike Pantelmann ist Geschäftsführerin des Margherita-von-Brentano-Zentrums für Geschlechterforschung an der Freien Universität Berlin. Sie leitet den Forschungsschwerpunkt Sexualisierte Belästigung, Diskriminierung und Gewalt (SBDG) des Margherita-von-Brentano-Zentrums. Neben der wissenschaftlichen und hochschulpolitischen Arbeit gibt sie Workshops im Themenfeld. Dr. Sabine Blackmore ist langjährige Gleichstellungsakteurin an Berliner Hochschulen sowie Coach und Trainerin für Wissenschaft und Gleichstellung. Sowohl in ihrer hochschulischen Tätigkeit als auch in ihrer jetzigen Tätigkeit als Coach und Trainerin arbeitet Sabine Blackmore vertieft zu dem Thema SBDG im hochschulischen Kontext. Sie berät Hochschulen und Stiftungen und arbeitet mit Führungskräften, Betroffenen und Bystandern.

Description / Table of Contents: Moss-microbe associations are often characterised by syntrophic interactions between the microorganisms and their hosts, but the structure of the microbial consortia and their role in peatland development remain unknown. In order to study microbial communities of dominant peatland mosses, Sphagnum and brown mosses, and the respective environmental drivers, four study sites representing different successional stages of natural northern peatlands were chosen on a large geographical scale: two brown moss-dominated, circumneutral peatlands from the Arctic and two Sphagnum-dominated, acidic peat bogs from subarctic and temperate zones. The family Acetobacteraceae represented the dominant bacterial taxon of Sphagnum mosses from various geographical origins and displayed an integral part of the moss core community. This core community was shared among all investigated bryophytes and consisted of few but highly abundant prokaryotes, of which many appear as endophytes of Sphagnum mosses. Moreover, brown mosses and Sphagnum mosses represent habitats for archaea which were not studied in association with peatland mosses so far. Euryarchaeota that are capable of methane production (methanogens) displayed the majority of the moss-associated archaeal communities. Moss-associated methanogenesis was detected for the first time, but it was mostly negligible under laboratory conditions. Contrarily, substantial moss-associated methane oxidation was measured on both, brown mosses and Sphagnum mosses, supporting that methanotrophic bacteria as part of the moss microbiome may contribute to the reduction of methane emissions from pristine and rewetted peatlands of the northern hemisphere. Among the investigated abiotic and biotic environmental parameters, the peatland type and the host moss taxon were identified to have a major impact on the structure of moss-associated bacterial communities, contrarily to archaeal communities whose structures were similar among the investigated bryophytes. For the first time it was shown that different bog development stages harbour distinct bacterial communities, while at the same time a small core community is shared among all investigated bryophytes independent of geography and peatland type. The present thesis displays the first large-scale, systematic assessment of bacterial and archaeal communities associated both with brown mosses and Sphagnum mosses. It suggests that some host-specific moss taxa have the potential to play a key role in host moss establishment and peatland development.

Description / Table of Contents: Während die Beziehungen zwischen Moosen und den mit ihnen assoziierten Mikroorganismen oft durch syntrophische Wechselwirkungen charakterisiert sind, ist die Struktur der Moos-assoziierten mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften sowie deren Rolle bei der Entstehung von Mooren weitgehend unbekannt. Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften, die mit Moosen nördlicher, naturnaher Moore assoziiert sind, sowie mit den Umweltfaktoren, die sie beeinflussen. Entlang eines groß angelegten geographischen Gradienten, der von der Hocharktis bis zur gemäßigten Klimazone reicht, wurden vier naturbelassene Moore als Probenstandorte ausgesucht, die stellvertretend für verschiedene Stadien der Moorentwicklung stehen: zwei Braunmoos-dominierte Niedermoore mit nahezu neutralem pH-Wert sowie zwei Sphagnum-dominierte Torfmoore mit saurem pH-Wert. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit machen deutlich, dass die zu den Bakterien zählenden Acetobacteraceae das vorherrschende mikrobielle Taxon der Sphagnum-Moose gleich welchen geographischen Ursprungs darstellen und insbesondere innerhalb des Wirtsmoosgewebes dominieren. Gleichzeitig gehörten die Acetobacteraceae zum wesentlichen Bestandteil der mikrobiellen Kerngemeinschaft aller untersuchten Moose, die sich aus einigen wenigen Arten, dafür zahlreich vorkommenden Prokaryoten zusammensetzt. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt zudem erstmals, dass sowohl Braunmoose als auch Torfmoose ein Habitat für Archaeen darstellen. Die Mehrheit der Moos-assoziierten Archaeen gehörte dabei zu den methanbildenden Gruppen, wenngleich die metabolischen Aktivitätsraten unter Laborbedingungen meistens kaum messbar waren. Im Gegensatz hierzu konnte die Bakterien-vermittelte Methanoxidation sowohl an Braunmoosen als auch an Sphagnum-Moosen gemessen werden. Dies zeigt eindrucksvoll, dass Moos-assoziierte Bakterien potenziell zur Minderung von Methanemissionen aus nördlichen, aber auch wiedervernässten Mooren beitragen können. Ein weiteres wichtiges Resultat der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Bedeutung des Moortyps (Niedermoor oder Torfmoor), aber auch der Wirtsmoosart selbst für die Struktur der Moos-assoziierten Bakteriengemeinschaften, während die archaeellen Gemeinschaftsstrukturen weder vom Moortyp noch von der Wirtsmoosart beeinflusst wurden und sich insgesamt deutlich ähnlicher waren als die der Bakterien. Darüber hinaus konnte erstmalig gezeigt werden, dass sich die bakteriellen Gemeinschaften innerhalb der unterschiedlichen Moorsukzessionsstadien zwar ganz erheblich voneinander unterscheiden, ein kleiner Teil der Bakterien dennoch Kerngemeinschaften bilden, die mit allen untersuchten Moosarten assoziiert waren. Bei der hier präsentierten Arbeit handelt es sich um die erste systematische Studie, die sich auf einer großen geographischen Skala mit den bakteriellen und archaeellen Gemeinschaften von Braunmoosen und Torfmoosen aus naturbelassenen nördlichen Mooren befasst. Die vorliegenden Ergebnisse machen deutlich, dass die untersuchten Moose ein ganz spezifisches mikrobielles Konsortium beherbergen, welches mutmaßlich eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Etablierung der Wirtspflanzen am Anfang der Moorentwicklung spielt und darüber hinaus das Potential hat, die charakteristischen Eigenschaften von Mooren sowie deren weitere Entwicklung zu prägen.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of the key terrestrial components of the Arctic system, i.e., its hydrology, permafrost, and ecology, drawing on the latest research results from across the circumpolar regions. The Arctic is an integrated system, the elements of which are closely linked by the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Using an integrated system approach, the book’s 30 chapters, written by a diverse team of leading scholars, carefully examine Arctic climate variability/change, large river hydrology, lakes and wetlands, snow cover and ice processes, permafrost characteristics, vegetation/landscape changes, and the future trajectory of Arctic system evolution. The discussions cover the fundamental features of and processes in the Arctic system, with a special focus on critical knowledge gaps, i.e., the interactions and feedbacks between water, permafrost, and ecosystem, such as snow pack and permafrost changes and their impacts on basin hydrology and ecology, river flow, geochemistry, and energy fluxes to the Arctic Ocean, and the structure and function of the Arctic ecosystem in response to past/future changes in climate, hydrology, and permafrost conditions. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, environmentalists, managers, and administrators who are concerned with the northern environment and resources.

Description / Table of Contents: Der exklusive Fotoband zur Jahrhundertexpedition in die Arktis. Im September 2019 legte die Polarstern in Richtung Arktis ab - an Bord das internationale MOSAiC-Forscherteam, das die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf das ewige Eis erkundet. Chronologisch aufgebaut dokumentiert der bildgewaltige Band in bisher ungesehenen Fotografien von Esther Horvath Leben und Arbeiten während der einjährigen Reise unter den extremen Bedingungen am Nordpol. Begleitet von kenntnisreichen Essays und Textbeiträgen von Experten, Wissenschaftlern und Expeditionsteilnehmern ist der Band ein eindrucksvolles Zeugnis der wohl größten klimatischen Herausforderung unserer Zeit und bietet Einblicke in dieses einmalige Forschungsprojekt sowie die spektakuläre, schützenswerte Polarlandschaft.

Description / Table of Contents: Noch nie haben Forschende das Meereis der Arktis so umfassend untersuchen können, wie auf der internationalen MOSAiC-Expedition des Forschungseisbrechers Polarstern. Ein Jahr lang ist das Schiff mit dem Eis durch die zentrale Arktis getrieben; ein Jahr lang haben die Männer und Frauen das Eis mithilfe modernster Technik unter die Lupe genommen. Welche Herausforderungen es dabei zu meistern galt und was sie herausgefunden haben im polaren Hotspot des Klimawandels, erzählen sie in zehn DriftStories, die dieser Band vereint. Faszinierende Arktisforschung zum Anfassen – präsentiert von meereisportal.de.

Description / Table of Contents: Never before have researchers had the chance to explore the Arctic sea ice as comprehensively as on the international MOSAiC expedition. For an entire year, the research icebreaker Polarstern drifted through the Central Arctic with the sea ice; for an entire year, the men and women of the expedition painstakingly investigated the ice with the aid of cutting-edge technologies. In the ten DriftStories gathered here, they share the challenges they had to overcome, and the discoveries they made in this polar hotspot of climate change: fascinating Arctic research at your fingertips - presented by meereisportal.de.

Description / Table of Contents: Stratospheric variability is one of the main potential sources for sub-seasonal to seasonal predictability in mid-latitudes in winter. Stratospheric pathways play an important role for long-range teleconnections between tropical phenomena, such as the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the mid-latitudes on the one hand, and linkages between Arctic climate change and the mid-latitudes on the other hand. In order to move forward in the field of extratropical seasonal predictions, it is essential that an atmospheric model is able to realistically simulate the stratospheric circulation and variability. The numerical weather prediction (NWP) configuration of the ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic atmosphere model ICON is currently being used by the German Meteorological Service for the regular weather forecast, and is intended to produce seasonal predictions in future. This thesis represents the first extensive evaluation of Northern Hemisphere stratospheric winter circulation in ICON-NWP by analysing a ...

Description / Table of Contents: Anthropogenic climate change constitutes one of the main global crises in the 21st century. It manifests itself distinctly in global warming and its effects. Forests play an essential role in mitigating the effects of climate change, improving our knowledge of the distribution and changes of terrestrial carbon stocks is vital to mitigate its consequences. Therefore, remote sensing is recommended as one of the tools to ensure systematic and operational forest monitoring. Forests in the Russian Federation are of particular importance as it is the most forested country in the world and at the same time, it is the country with the highest uncertainty when calculating global carbon stocks. Remote sensing is recommended as one of the tools to ensure systematic and operational forest monitoring. It can acquire data over large areas with a high repetition rate and at a relatively low cost. In particular, microwave sensors are recommended as they can provide weather and sun independent, systematic observations with high temporal frequency. The main goal of this cumulative dissertation was to develop methods using new algorithms for estimating parameters for boreal forests from remote sensing data acquired with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Using the SAR data acquired by the sensor with the longest wavelength available at the moment of writing this dissertation in space, the L-band, methods for estimating the above-ground forest biomass were developed. For this purpose, algorithms for machine learning (ML) were applied and validated. These methods were chosen because they are recommended for large data sets and an incomplete theoretical understanding of processes, e.g., the interaction between the forest and the radar signal, and are relatively new in forest monitoring studies. In addition, efforts have been made to establish improved mapping of large-scale forest cover change

Description / Table of Contents: Eine Medien- und Wissensgeschichte von Biologie und Ozeanographie im Kielwasser der Walfänger. Immer wieder entzieht sich der Wal wissenschaftlicher Klassifikation und Darstellbarkeit. Wale sind buchstäblich nicht zu fassen - als sich die neuen biologischen Wissenschaften im 19. Jahrhundert daran machten, »das Leben« zu erklären, blieb das der Wale ein Problem. Doch Walfänger durchkreuzten auf ihren Spuren im 19. Jahrhundert die Meere der Welt. Kartographen erschlossen auf den Spuren dieser Walfänger die Nordwestpassage und den pazifischen Ozean, während Naturhistoriker und Zoologen sie in die Lebensräume der Wale begleiten. Felix Lüttge erzählt die Geschichte der Walfänger, die den Walen, und der Wissenschaftler, die wiederum den Walfängern folgten.Es ist eine Medien- und Wissensgeschichte des Wals wie auch der Meere, die auf seinen Spuren durchfahren und vermessen wurden. Felix Lüttge beschreibt die komplexen Austauschprozesse, mit denen Walfänger und Wissenschaftler ökonomisches, ozeanographisches, zoologisches und geographisches Wissen hervorbrachten.

Description / Table of Contents: Издание представляет собой новейшую таксономическую обработку флоры Якутии, подготовленную весьма квалифицированным и представительным коллективом авторов (более 50 специалистов, включая 15 докторов и 30 кандидатов наук). Даны ключи для определения 1950 видов, 133 подвидов и 34 разновидностей, а также 46 нотовидов, объединенных в 525 родов, 6 нотородов, 113 семейств сосудистых растений, распространенных или когда-либо отмеченных (в том числе очень редких, заносных или дичающих культурных) на территории региона. При: ведены диагностические признаки растений, сведения об их фитоценотическои или экологической приуроченности и распространении. Книга рассчитана на ботаников широкого профиля, студентов, учителей и преподавателей, ученых, биологов, экологов, работников сельского хозяйства, административных работников, отвечающих за эксплуатацию природных ресурсов.

Description / Table of Contents: English translation of the Russian abstract: The publication is the latest taxonomic processing of the flora of Yakutia, prepared by a highly qualified and representative team of authors (more than 50 specialists, including 15 doctors and 30 candidates of sciences). Keys are given to identify 1950 species, 133 subspecies and 34 varieties, as well as 46 nothospecies, united in 525 genera, 6 nothorodes, 113 families of vascular plants, common or ever recorded (including very rare, adventive or wild cultivated) on the territory of the region. When: diagnostic signs of plants, information about their phytocenotic or ecological confinement and distribution are entered. The book is intended for general botanists, students, teachers and teachers, scientists, biologists, ecologists, agricultural workers, administrative workers responsible for the exploitation of natural resources.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of the key terrestrial components of the Arctic system, i.e., its hydrology, permafrost, and ecology, drawing on the latest research results from across the circumpolar regions. The Arctic is an integrated system, the elements of which are closely linked by the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Using an integrated system approach, the book’s 30 chapters, written by a diverse team of leading scholars, carefully examine Arctic climate variability/change, large river hydrology, lakes and wetlands, snow cover and ice processes, permafrost characteristics, vegetation/landscape changes, and the future trajectory of Arctic system evolution. The discussions cover the fundamental features of and processes in the Arctic system, with a special focus on critical knowledge gaps, i.e., the interactions and feedbacks between water, permafrost, and ecosystem, such as snow pack and permafrost changes and their impacts on basin hydrology and ecology, river flow, geochemistry, and energy fluxes to the Arctic Ocean, and the structure and function of the Arctic ecosystem in response to past/future changes in climate, hydrology, and permafrost conditions. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, environmentalists, managers, and administrators who are concerned with the northern environment and resources.

Description / Table of Contents: The book is based on results from the Russian expedition in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula and Powell Basin in the northern part of the Weddell Sea, as well as on the review of earlier research in the region. The main goal of the research was to collect the newest data and study the physical properties and ecology of this key region of the Southern Ocean. Data analysis is supplemented with numerical modeling of the atmosphere-ocean interaction and circulation in the adjacent region, including research on rogue waves. The focus of the study was the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, currents and water properties in the Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound, properties of seawater, currents, ecosystem and biological communities in the Powell Basin of the northwestern Weddell Sea, and their variations. An attempt is made to reveal the role of various components of the Antarctic environment in the formation of biological productivity and maintenance of the Antarctic krill population. This is especially important as in the last decades the Antarctic environment has experienced significant changes related to the global climatic trends.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides a cross-disciplinary overview of permafrost and the carbon cycle by providing an introduction into the geographical distribution of permafrost, with a focus on the distribution of permafrost and its soil carbon reservoirs. The chapters explain the basic physical properties and processes of permafrost soils: ice, mineral and organic components, and how these interact with climate, vegetation and geomorphological processes. In particular, the book covers the role of the large quantities of ice in many permafrost soils which are crucial to understanding carbon cycle processes. An explanation is given on how permafrost becomes loaded with ice and carbon. Gas hydrates are also introduced. Structures and processes formed by the intense freeze-thaw action in the active layer are considered (e.g. ice wedging, cryoturbation), and the processes that occur as the permafrost thaws, (pond and lake formation, erosion). The book introduces soil carbon accumulation and decomposition mechanisms and how these are modified in a permafrost environment. A separate chapter deals with deep permafrost carbon, gas reservoirs and recently discovered methane emission phenomena from regions such as Northwest Siberia and the Siberian yedoma permafrost.

Description / Table of Contents: This book addresses the improvement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for increasing the sustainability of development by de-coupling growth from natural resources and replacing them with knowledge-based economy, taking into account its economic, environmental and social pillars, as well as methods for assessing and measuring sustainability of development, regarding water and environment. This book gathers scholar and experts in related fields. All attendees from a vast range of companies, universities and government institutions acquire advanced technical knowledge and are introduced to new fields through discussions that focus on their own specialties as well as a variety of interdisciplinary areas. The authors hope most of scholars can find what they really need in this book.