ALBERT

Description: Automatic seismic data interpretation is a significant method in the exploration of geophysics. Complexities of the subsurface structures and the subsurface wave propagation media, make the decision-making process difficult in seismic data interpretation. Nevertheless, the extent of related knowledge and using the expert system method in seismic data interpretation can mitigate this problem. An expert system is a knowledge-based system that applies its knowledge in a complex and specific area and acts as an expert end-user consultant. This study investigates the design of an ANFIS expert system for mud diapirs detection with seismic data analysis in Gorgan plain. This method was applied to seismic attributes from a complex geological mud diapir bearing structure from south of the Caspian Sea. The south of the Caspian Sea is one of the richest area as petroleum reserves, and the Gorgan plain has various mud diapirs, which act as indicators of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The expert system design process to identify mud diapirs on seismic sections was modeled in two approaches including manual and automatic seismic data interpretation. In the first approach, the experience of the expert was collected by manual interpretation of training data and used to create a knowledge base and inference of the expert system in the second approach. The validation verified the accuracy of this method with an average accuracy of 90.1% according to using minimum knowledge to develop a knowledge base of the designed ANFIS expert system.

Description: The annual glacier mass balance of Mullwitzkees in Hohe Tauern is measured since 2006-10-01 with the direct glaciological method in the fixed date system (1st October to 30th September of the following year). The accumulation of snow is measured by determination of the water equivalent in 6 snow pits, the ice ablation is measured with 15 stakes drilled into the ice. Results are the annual net mass balance in kg, the total accumulation and ablation, the glacier area and the portions of the area which are subject to ablation and accumulation, the elevation of the equilibrium line and the specific mass balance in kg/m**3 (= mm w.e.). The accumulation during the winter is determined by the 1st May. The project is funded by the "Hydrographischer Dienst der Abteilung Wasserwirtschaft des Amtes der Tiroler Landesregierung and National Park Hohe Tauern". New data will be added every year.

Description: In this study a radiocarbon-dated pollen record from Lake Billyakh (65°17'N, 126°47'E; 340 m a.s.l.) in the Verkhoyansk Mountains was used to reconstruct vegetation and climate change since about 15 kyr BP (1 kyr=1000 cal. yr). The pollen record and pollen-based biome reconstruction suggest that open cool steppe and grass and sedge tundra communities with Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Selaginella rupestris dominated the area from 15 to 13.5 kyr BP. On the other hand, the constant presence of Larix pollen in quantities comparable to today's values points to the constant presence of boreal deciduous conifer trees in the regional vegetation during the last glaciation. A major spread of shrub tundra communities, including birch (Betula sect. Nanae), alder (Duschekia fruticosa) and willow (Salix) species, is dated to 13.5-12.7 kyr BP, indicating a noticeable increase in precipitation toward the end of the last glaciation, particularly during the Allerød Interstadial. Between 12.7 and 11.4 kyr BP pollen percentages of herbaceous taxa rapidly increased, whereas shrub taxa percentages decreased, suggesting strengthening of the steppe communities associated with the relatively cold and dry Younger Dryas Stadial. However, the pollen data in hand indicate that Younger Dryas climate was less severe than the climate during the earlier interval from 15 to 13.5 kyr BP. The onset of the Holocene is marked in the pollen record by the highest values of shrub and lowest values of herbaceous taxa, suggesting a return of warmer and wetter conditions after 11.4 kyr BP. Percentages of tree taxa increase gradually and reach maximum values after 7 kyr BP, reflecting the spread of boreal cold deciduous and taiga forests in the region. An interval between 7 and 2 kyr BP is noticeable for the highest percentages of Scots spine (Pinus subgen. Diploxylon), spruce (Picea) and fir (Abies) pollen, indicating mid-Holocene spread of boreal forest communities in response to climate amelioration and degradation of the permafrost layer.

Description: Core and outcrop analysis from Lena mouth deposits have been used to reconstruct the Late Quaternary sedimentation history of the Lena Delta. Sediment properties (heavy mineral composition, grain size characteristics, organic carbon content) and age determinations (14C AMS and IR-OSL) are applied to discriminate the main sedimentary units of the three major geomorphic terraces, which form the delta. The development of the terraces is controlled by complex interactions among the following four factors: (1) Channel migration. According to the distribution of 14C and IR-OSL age determinations of Lena mouth sediments, the major river runoff direction shifted from the west during marine isotope stages 5-3 (third terrace deposits) towards the northwest during marine isotope stage 2 and transition to stage 1 (second terrace), to the northeast and east during the Holocene (first terrace deposits). (2) Eustasy. Sea level rise from Last Glacial lowstand to the modern sea level position, reached at 6-5 ka BP, resulted in back-filling and flooding of the palaeovalleys. (3) Neotectonics. The extension of the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge into the Laptev Sea shelf acted as a halfgraben, showing dilatation movements with different subsidence rates. From the continent side, differential neotectonics with uplift and transpression in the Siberian coast ridges are active. Both likely have influenced river behavior by providing sites for preservation, with uplift, in particular, allowing accumulation of deposits in the second terrace in the western sector. The actual delta setting comprises only the eastern sector of the Lena Delta. (4) Peat formation. Polygenetic formation of ice-rich peaty sand (''Ice Complex'') was most extensive (7-11 m in thickness) in the southern part of the delta area between 43 and 14 ka BP (third terrace deposits). In recent times, alluvial peat (5-6 m in thickness) is accumulated on top of the deltaic sequences in the eastern sector (first terrace).

Description: New pollen and radiocarbon data from an 8.6-m coastal section, Cape Shpindler (69°43' N; 62°48' E), Yugorski Peninsula, document the latest Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of this low Arctic region. Twelve AMS 14C dates indicate that the deposits accumulated since about 13,000 until 2000 radiocarbon years BP. A thermokarst lake formed ca. 13,000-12,800 years BP, when scarce arctic tundra vegetation dominated the area. By 12,500 years BP, a shallow lake existed at the site, and Arctic tundra with Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Salix, Saxifraga, and Artemisia dominated nearby vegetation. Climate was colder than today. Betula nana became dominant during the Early Preboreal period about 9500 years BP, responding to a warm event, which was one of the warmest during the Holocene. Decline in B. nana and Salix after 9500 years BP reflects a brief event of Preboreal cooling. A subsequent increase in Betula and Alnus fruticosa pollen percentages reflects amelioration of environmental conditions at the end of Preboreal period (ca. 9300 years BP). A decline in arboreal taxa later, with a dramatic increase in herb taxa, reflects a short cold event at about 9200 years BP. The pollen data reflect a northward movement of tree birch, peaking at the middle Boreal period, around 8500 years BP. Open Betula forest existed on the Kara Sea coast of the Yugorski Peninsula during the Atlantic period (8000-4500 years BP), indicating that climate was significantly warmer than today. Deteriorating climate around the Atlantic-Subboreal boundary (ca. 4500 years BP) is recorded by a decline in Betula percentages. Sedimentation slowed at the site, and processes of denudation and/or soil formation started at the beginning of the Subatlantic period, when vegetation cover on Yugorski Peninsula shifted to near-modern assemblages.

Description: The Venedigerkees in the Hohe Tauern National Park is the easternmost tributary glacier to the former tongue of Obersulzbachkees. As a result of the strong retreat of Obersulzbachkees, the glacier disintegrated into several tributary glaciers, with a large lake remaining at the location of a famous serac zone, the 'Türkische Zeltstadt'. Hydrological monitoring of the area is done by the Hydrological Survey of the Federal Government of Salzburg (DI Hans Wiesenegger) who initiated the mass balance monitoring programme together with Heinz Slupetzky and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The mass balance of the Venedigerkees is measured since 2011/12 with the direct or glaciological method. New data will be added every year.

Description: The Lena River Delta, which is the largest delta in the Arctic, extends over an area of 32 000 km**2 and likely holds more than half of the entire soil organic carbon (SOC) mass stored in the seven major deltas in the northern permafrost regions. The geomorphic units of the Lena River Delta which were formed by true deltaic sedimentation processes are a Holocene river terrace and the active floodplains. Their mean SOC stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 29 kg/m**2 ± 10 kg/m**2 and at 14 kg/m**2 ± 7 kg/m**2, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total SOC pool of the Holocene river terrace was estimated at 121 Tg ± 43 Tg, and the SOC pool of the active floodplains was estimated at 120 Tg ± 66 Tg. The mass of SOC stored within the observed seasonally thawed active layer was estimated at about 127 Tg assuming an average maximum active layer depth of 50 cm. The SOC mass which is stored in the perennially frozen ground at the increment 50-100 cm soil depth, which is currently excluded from intense biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere, was estimated at 113 Tg. The mean nitrogen (N) stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 1.2 kg/m**2 ± 0.4 kg/m**2 for the Holocene river terrace and at 0.9 kg/m**2 ± 0.4 kg/m**2 for the active floodplain levels, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total N pool of the river terrace was estimated at 4.8 Tg ± 1.5 Tg, and the total N pool of the floodplains was estimated at 7.7 Tg ± 3.6 Tg. Considering the projections for deepening of the seasonally thawed active layer up to 120 cm in the Lena River Delta region within the 21st century, these large carbon and nitrogen stocks could become increasingly available for decomposition and mineralization processes.

Description: To project the future development of the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in permafrost environments, the spatial and vertical distribution of key soil properties and their landscape controls needs to be understood. This article reports findings from the Arctic Lena River Delta where we sampled 50 soil pedons. These were classified according to the U.S.D.A. Soil Taxonomy and fall mostly into the Gelisol soil order used for permafrost-affected soils. Soil profiles have been sampled for the active layer (mean depth 58 ± 10 cm) and the upper permafrost to one meter depth. We analyze SOC stocks and key soil properties, i.e. C%, N%, C/N, bulk density, visible ice and water content. These are compared for different landscape groupings of pedons according to geomorphology, soil and land cover and for different vertical depth increments. High vertical resolution plots are used to understand soil development. These show that SOC storage can be highly variable with depth. We recommend the treatment of permafrost-affected soils according to subdivisions into: the surface organic layer, mineral subsoil in the active layer, organic enriched cryoturbated or buried horizons and the mineral subsoil in the permafrost. The major geomorphological units of a subregion of the Lena River Delta were mapped with a land form classification using a data-fusion approach of optical satellite imagery and digital elevation data to upscale SOC storage. Landscape mean SOC storage is estimated to 19.2 ± 2.0 kg C/m**2. Our results show that the geomorphological setting explains more soil variability than soil taxonomy classes or vegetation cover. The soils from the oldest, Pleistocene aged, unit of the delta store the highest amount of SOC per m2 followed by the Holocene river terrace. The Pleistocene terrace affected by thermal-degradation, the recent floodplain and bare alluvial sediments store considerably less SOC in descending order.

Description: Here we present a detailed radiocarbon-dated 936 cm long pollen record from Lake Billyakh (65°17' N, 126°47' E; 340 m a.s.l.) situated in the western part of the Verkhoyansk Mountains, about 140 km south of the Arctic Circle. A set of 53 surface pollen samples representing tundra, cold deciduous forest and taiga was collected in northern and central Yakutia communities to verify the accuracy of the quantitative biome reconstruction method and to obtain a more precise attribution of the identified pollen taxa to the main regional biomes. The adjusted method is then applied to the pollen record from Lake Billyakh to gain a reconstruction of vegetation and environments since about 50.7 kyr BP. The results of the pollen analysis and pollen-based biome reconstruction suggest that herbaceous tundra and steppe communities dominated the area from 50.7 to 13.5 kyr BP. Relatively low pollen concentrations and high percentages of herbaceous pollen taxa (mainly Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Artemisia) likely indicate a reduced vegetation cover and/or lower pollen production. On the other hand, extremely low percentages of drought-tolerant taxa, such as Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra, and the constant presence of various mesophyllous herbaceous (Thalictrum, Rosaceae, Asteraceae) and shrubby taxa (Betula sect. Nanae/Fruticosae, Duschekia fruticosa, Salix) in the pollen assemblages prevent an interpretation of the last glacial environments around Lake Billyakh as extremely arid. The lowest pollen percentages of woody taxa and the highest values of Artemisia pollen attest that the 31-15 kyr BP period as the driest and coldest interval of the entire record. A relative high content of taxa representing shrub tundra communities and the presence of larch pollen recorded prior to 31 kyr and after 13.5 kyr BP likely indicate interstadial climate amelioration associated with the middle and latest parts of the last glacial. An increase in pollen percentages of herbaceous taxa around 12 kyr BP suggests broader distribution of drier communities in response to the colder and drier than present climate of the Younger Dryas (YD). The onset of the Holocene is marked in the pollen record by the highest values of shrub taxa, mainly B. sect. Nanae/Fruticosae. Pollen percentages of arboreal taxa increase gradually and reach maximum values after 7 kyr BP. The latter maximum mainly reflects the spread of Pinus sylvestris in central Yakutia as a response to the mid-Holocene climatic optimum. The quasi-continuous presence of larch, shrubby birch and alder pollen throughout the whole record is the most striking feature of the pollen record. Noticeable variations in larch pollen percentages point to multiple short-term warming episodes, which might be synchronous with the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles in the North Atlantic records. The Lake Billyakh pollen record suggests that larch possibly survived during the last 50 kyr BP in locally favourable environments in the study region.

Description: Ice rich Yedoma-dominated landscapes store considerable amounts of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and are vulnerable to degradation under climate warming. We investigate the C and N pools in two thermokarst-affected Yedoma landscapes - on Sobo-Sise Island and on Bykovsky Peninsula in the North of East Siberia. Soil cores up to three meters depth were collected along geomorphic gradients and analysed for organic C and N contents. A high vertical sampling density in the profiles allowed the calculation of C and N stocks for short soil column intervals and enhanced understanding of within-core parameter variability. Profile-level C and N stocks were scaled to the landscape level based on landform classifications from five-meter resolution, multispectral RapidEye satellite imagery. Mean landscape C and N storage in the first meter of soil for Sobo-Sise Island is estimated to be 20.2 kg C/m**-2 and 1.8 kg N/m**-2 and for Bykovsky Peninsula 25.9 kg C/m**-2 and 2.2 kg N/m**-2. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates the Holocene age of thermokarst basin deposits but also suggests the presence of thick Holocene aged cover layers which can reach up to two meters on top of intact Yedoma landforms. Reconstructed sedimentation rates of 0.10 mm/yr - 0.57 mm/yr suggest sustained mineral soil accumulation across all investigated landforms. Both Yedoma and thermokarst landforms are characterized by limited accumulation of organic soil layers (peat). We further estimate that an active layer deepening by about 100 cm will increase organic C availability in a seasonally thawed state in the two study areas by ~5.8 Tg (13.2 kg C/m**-2). Our study demonstrates the importance of increasing the number of C and N storage inventories in ice-rich Yedoma and thermokarst environments in order to account for high variability of permafrost and thermokarst environments in pan-permafrost soil C and N pool estimates.