ALBERT

Description: This paper compares stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) records of early–middle Holocene land snail shells from the archaeological deposits of Grotta di Latronico 3 (LTR3; southern Italy) with modern shell isotopic data. No substantial interspecific variability was observed in shell δ18O (δ18Os) of modern specimens (Pomatias elegans, Cornu aspersum, Eobania vermiculata, Helix ligata and Marmorana fuscolabiata). In contrast, interspecific shell δ13C (δ13Cs) variability was significant, probably due to different feeding behaviour among species. The δ18Os values of living land snails suggest that species hibernate for a long period during colder months, so that the signal of 18O-depleted winter rainfall in their δ18Os is lost. This suggests that δ18Os and δ13Cs values of Pomatias elegans from this archaeological succession provide valuable clues for seasonal (spring–autumn) climatic conditions during the early–middle Holocene. The δ18Os values of fossil specimens are significantly lower than in modern shells and in agreement with other palaeoclimatic records, suggesting a substantial increase of precipitation and/or persistent changes in air mass source trajectories over this region between ca. 8.8 cal ka BP and 6.2–6.7 ka ago. The δ13Cs trend suggests a transition from a slightly 13C-enriched to a 13C-depleted diet between early and middle Holocene compared to present conditions. We postulate that this δ13Cs trend might reflect changes in the C3 vegetation community, potentially combined with other environmental factors such as regional moisture increase and the progressive decrease of atmospheric CO2 concentration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Description: Published

Description: 1347-1359

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Ice of Antarctic ice shelves is assumed to behave on long-term as an incompressible viscous fluid, which is dominated on short time scales by the elastic response. Hence, a viscoelastic material model is required. The thermodynamic pressure is treated differently in elastic and viscous models. For small deformations, the elastic isometric stress for ν → 0.5 gives similar results to those solving for pressure in an incompressible laminar flow model. A viscous model, in which the thermodynamic pressure is approximated by an elastic isometric stress, can be easily extended to viscoelasticity.

Description: Pacific Water (PW) enters the Arctic Ocean through Bering Strait and brings heat, fresh water and nutrients from the northern Bering Sea. The circulation of PW in the central Arctic Ocean is only partially understood due to the lack of observations. In this paper pathways of PW are investigated using simulations with six state-of-the art regional and global Ocean General Circulation Models (OGCMs). In the simulations PW is tracked by a passive tracer, released in Bering Strait. Simulated PW water spreads from the Bering Strait region in three major branches. One of them starts in the Barrow Canyon, bringing PW along continental slope of Alaska into the Canadian Straits and then into Baffin Bay. The other initiates in the vicinity of the Herald Canyon and transports PW along the continental slope of the East-Siberian Sea into the transpolar drift, and then through Fram Strait and the Greenland Sea. The third branch begins near the Herald Shoal and the central Chukchi shelf and brings PW waters into the Beaufort Gyre. Models suggest that the spread of PW through the Arctic Ocean depends on the atmospheric circulation. In the models the wind, acting via Ekman pumping, drives the seasonal and interannual variability of PW in the Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. The wind effects the simulated PW pathways by changing vertical shear of the relative vorticity of the ocean flow in the Canada Basin. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: We demonstrated atmospheric responses to a reduction in Arctic sea ice via simulations in which Arctic sea ice decreased stepwise from the present-day range to an ice-free range. In all cases, the tropospheric response exhibited a negative Arctic Oscillation (AO)-like pattern. An intensification of the climatological planetary-scale wave due to the present-day sea ice reduction on the Atlantic side of the Arctic Ocean induced stratospheric polar vortex weakening and the subsequent negative AO. Conversely, strong Arctic warming due to ice-free conditions across the entire Arctic Ocean induced a weakening of the tropospheric westerlies corresponding to a negative AO without troposphere-stratosphere coupling, for which the planetary-scale wave response to a surface heat source extending to the Pacific side of the Arctic Ocean was responsible. Because the resultant negative AO-like response was accompanied by secondary circulation in the meridional plane, atmospheric heat transport into the Arctic increased, accelerating the Arctic amplification.

Description: Improving the representation of the hydrological cycle in atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) is one of the main challenges in modeling the Earth’s climate system. One way to evaluate model performance is to simulate the transport of water isotopes. Among those available, tritium is an extremely valuable tracer, because its content in the different reservoirs involved in the water cycle (stratosphere, troposphere, and ocean) varies by order of magnitude. Previous work incorporated natural tritium into Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique Zoom (LMDZ)-iso, a version of the LMDZ general circulation model enhanced by water isotope diagnostics. Here for the first time, the anthropogenic tritium injected by each of the atmospheric nuclear bomb tests between 1945 and 1980 has been first estimated and further implemented in the model; it creates an opportunity to evaluate certain aspects of LDMZ over several decades by following the bomb tritium transient signal through the hydrological cycle. Simulations of tritium in water vapor and precipitation for the period 1950–2008, with both natural and anthropogenic components, are presented in this study. LMDZ-iso satisfactorily reproduces the general shape of the temporal evolution of tritium. However, LMDZ-iso simulates too high a bomb tritium peak followed by too strong a decrease of tritium in precipitation. The too diffusive vertical advection in AGCMs crucially affects the residence time of tritium in the stratosphere. This insight into model performance demonstrates that the implementation of tritium in an AGCM provides a new and valuable test of the modeled atmospheric transport, complementing water stable isotope modeling.

Description: Variations in oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) measured from modern precipitation and geologic archives provide a promising tool for understanding modern and past climate dynamics and tracking elevation changes over geologic time. In areas of extreme topography, such as the Tibetan Plateau, the interpretation of δ18O has proven challenging. This study investigates the climate controls on temporal (daily and 6 h intervals) and spatial variations in present-day precipitation δ18O (δ18Op) across the Tibetan Plateau using a 30 year record produced from the European Centre/Hamburg ECHAM5-wiso global atmospheric general circulation model (GCM). Results indicate spatial and temporal agreement between model-predicted δ18Op and observations. Large daily δ18Op variations of 25 to +5‰ occur over the Tibetan Plateau throughout the 30 simulation years, along with interannual δ18Op variations of ~2‰. Analysis of extreme daily δ18Op indicates that extreme low values coincide with extreme highs in precipitation amount. During the summer, monsoon vapor transport from the north and southwest of the plateau generally corresponds with high δ18Op, whereas vapor transport from the Indian Ocean corresponds with average to low δ18Op. Thus, vapor source variations are one important cause of the spatial-temporal differences in δ18Op. Comparison of GCM and Rayleigh Distillation Model (RDM)-predicted δ18Op indicates a modest agreement for the Himalaya region (averaged over 86°–94°E), confirming application of the simpler RDM approach for estimating δ18Op lapse rates across Himalaya.

Description: Sea ice leads in the Arctic are important features that give rise to strong localized atmospheric heating; they provide the opportunity for vigorous biological primary production, and predicting leads may be of relevance for Arctic shipping. It is commonly believed that traditional sea ice models that employ elastic-viscous-plastic (EVP) rheologies are not capable of properly simulating sea ice deformation, including lead formation, and thus, new formulations for sea ice rheologies have been suggested. Here we show that classical sea ice models have skill in simulating the spatial and temporal variation of lead area fraction in the Arctic when horizontal resolution is increased (here 4.5 km in the Arctic) and when numerical convergence in sea ice solvers is considered, which is frequently neglected. The model results are consistent with satellite remote sensing data and discussed in terms of variability and trends of Arctic sea ice leads. It is found, for example, that wintertime lead area fraction during the last three decades has not undergone significant trends.

Description: The density of firn is an important property for monitoring and modeling the ice sheet as well as to model the pore close-off and thus to interpret ice core-based greenhouse gas records. One feature, which is still in debate, is the potential existence of an annual cycle of firn density in low-accumulation regions. Several studies describe or assume seasonally successive density layers, horizontally evenly distributed, as seen in radar data. On the other hand, high-resolution density measurements on firn cores in Antarctica and Greenland showed no clear seasonal cycle in the top few meters. A major caveat of most existing snow-pit and firn-core based studies is that they represent one vertical profile from a laterally heterogeneous density field. To overcome this, we created an extensive dataset of horizontal and vertical density data at Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land on the East Antarctic Plateau. We drilled and analyzed three 90 m long firn cores as well as 160 one meter long vertical profiles from two elongated snow trenches to obtain a two dimensional view of the density variations. The analysis of the 45 m wide and 1 m deep density fields reveals a seasonal cycle in density. However, the seasonality is overprinted by strong stratigraphic noise, making it invisible when analyzing single firn cores. Our density dataset extends the view from the local ice-core perspective to a hundred meter scale and thus supports linking spatially integrating methods such as radar and seismic studies to ice and firn cores.

Description: Deepwater circulation plays a central role in global climate. Compared with the Atlantic, the Pacific deepwater circulation’s history remains unclear. The Luzon overflow, a branch of the North Pacific deep water, determines the ventilation rate of the South China Sea (SCS) basin. Sedimentary magnetic properties in the SCS reflect millennial-scale fluctuations in deep current intensity and orientation. The data suggest a slightly stronger current at the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the Holocene. But, the most striking increase in deep current occurred during Heinrich stadial 1 (H1) and to a lesser extent during the Younger Dryas (YD). Results of a transient deglacial experiment suggest that the northeastern current strengthening at the entrance of the SCS during H1 and the YD, times of weak North Atlantic Deep Water formation, could be linked to enhanced formation of North Pacific Deep Water.

Description: In recent years extensive studies on the Earth’s climate system have been carried out by means of advanced complex network statistics. The great majority of these studies, however, have been focusing on investigating correlation structures within single climatic fields directly on or parallel to the Earth’s surface. Here, we develop a novel approach of node weighted coupled network measures to study correlations between ocean and atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics and construct 18 coupled climate networks, each consisting of two subnetworks. In all cases, one subnetwork represents monthly sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies, while the other is based on the monthly geopotential height (HGT) of isobaric surfaces at different pressure levels covering the troposphere as well as the lower stratosphere. The weighted cross-degree density proves to be consistent with the leading coupled pattern obtained from maximum covariance analysis. Network measures of higher order allow for a further analysis of the correlation structure between the two fields and consistently indicate that in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics the ocean is correlated with the atmosphere in a hierarchical fashion such that large areas of the ocean surface correlate with multiple statistically dissimilar regions in the atmosphere. Ultimately we show that this observed hierarchy is linked to large-scale atmospheric variability patterns, such as the Pacific North American pattern, forcing the ocean on monthly time scales.

Description: Spectral albedo and transmittance in the range 400-900nm were measured on three separate dates on less than 15 cm thick new Arctic sea ice growing on Kongsfjorden, Svalbard at 78: 9 degrees N, 11: 9 degrees E. Inherent optical properties, including absorption coefficients of particulate and dissolved material, were obtained from ice samples and fed into a radiative transfer model, which was used to analyze spectral albedo and transmittance and to study the influence of clouds and snow on these. Integrated albedo and transmittance for photosynthetically active radiation (400-900 nm) were in the range 0.17-0.21 and 0.77-0.86, respectively. The average albedo and transmittance of the total solar radiation energy were 0.16 and 0.51, respectively. Values inferred from the model indicate that the ice contained possibly up to 40% brine and only 0.6% bubbles. Angular redistribution of solar radiation by clouds and snow was found to influence both the wavelength-integrated value and the spectral shape of albedo and transmittance. In particular, local peaks and depressions in the spectral albedo and spectral transmittance were found for wavelengths within atmospheric absorption bands. Simulated and measured transmittance spectra were within 5% for most of the wavelength range, but deviated up to 25% in the vicinity of 800 nm, indicating the need for more optical laboratory measurements of pure ice, or improved modeling of brine optical properties in this near-infrared wavelength region.

Description: Spectral Radiation Buoys and ice mass balance buoys were deployed on first-year ice near the North Pole in April 2012 and 2013, collecting in-band (350-800nm) solar radiation and ice and snow mass balance data over the complete summer melt seasons. With complementary European ERA-Interim reanalysis, National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate forecast system version 2 (CFSv2) analysis and satellite passive microwave data, we examine the evolution of atmospheric and surface melt conditions in the two differing melt seasons. Prevailing atmospheric conditions contributed to a longer and more continuous melt season in summer 2012 than in 2013, which was corroborated by in situ observations. ERA-Interim reanalysis data showed that longwave radiation likely played a key role in delaying the snowmelt onset in 2013. The earlier melt onset in 2012 reduced the albedo, providing a positive ice-albedo feedback at a time when solar insolation was high. Due to earlier melt onset and later freeze-up in 2012, more solar heat was deposited into the ice-ocean system than in 2013. Summer 2013 was characterized by later melt onset, intermittent freezing events and an earlier fall freeze-up, resulting in considerably fewer effective days of surface melt and a higher average albedo. Calculations for idealized seasonal albedo evolution show that moving the melt onset just 1week earlier in mid-June increases the total absorbed solar radiation by nearly 14% for the summer season. Therefore, the earlier melt onset may have been one of the most important factors driving the more dramatic melt season in 2012 than 2013, though atmospheric circulation patterns, e.g., cyclone in early August 2012, likely contributed as well.

Description: We present spatiotemporal mass balance trends for the Antarctic Ice Sheet from a statistical inversion of satellite altimetry, gravimetry, and elastic-corrected GPS data for the period 2003–2013. Our method simultaneously determines annual trends in ice dynamics, surface mass balance anomalies, and a time-invariant solution for glacio-isostatic adjustment while remaining largely independent of forward models. We establish that over the period 2003–2013, Antarctica has been losing mass at a rate of −84 ± 22 Gt yr−1, with a sustained negative mean trend of dynamic imbalance of −111 ± 13 Gt yr−1. West Antarctica is the largest contributor with −112 ± 10 Gt yr−1, mainly triggered by high thinning rates of glaciers draining into the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a dramatic increase in mass loss in the last decade, with a mean rate of −28 ± 7 Gt yr−1 and significantly higher values for the most recent years following the destabilization of the Southern Antarctic Peninsula around 2010. The total mass loss is partly compensated by a significant mass gain of 56 ± 18 Gt yr−1 in East Antarctica due to a positive trend of surface mass balance anomalies.

Description: Amplification of global warming in Arctic and boreal regions is causing significant changes to permafrost-affected landscapes. The nature and extent of the change is complicated by ecological responses that take place across strong gradients in environmental conditions and disturbance regimes. Emerging remote sensing techniques based on a growing array of satellite and airborne platforms that cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales increasingly allow robust detection of changes in permafrost landscapes. In this review, we summarise recent developments (2010 − 15) in remote sensing applications to detect and monitor landscape changes involving surface temperatures, snow cover, topography, surface water, vegetation cover and structure, and disturbances from fire and human activities. We then focus on indicators of degrading permafrost, including thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, thermokarst bogs and fens, thaw slumps and active-layer detachment slides, thermal erosion gullies, thermokarst pits and troughs, and coastal erosion and flooding. Our review highlights the expanding sensor capabilities, new image processing and multivariate analysis techniques, enhanced public access to data and increasingly long image archives that are facilitating novel insights into the multi-decadal dynamics of permafrost landscapes. Remote sensing methods that appear especially promising for change detection include: repeat light detection and ranging, interferometric synthetic aperture radar and airborne geophysics for detecting topographic and subsurface changes; temporally dense analyses at high spatial resolution; and multi-sensor data fusion. Remotely sensed data are also becoming used more frequently as driving parameters in permafrost model and mapping schemes.

Description: Recent advances in three‐dimensional (3D) imaging of snow and firn combined with numerical modeling of flow through complex geometries have greatly improved the ability to predict permeability values based on microstructure. In this work, we combined 3D reconstructions of polar firn microstructure obtained from microcomputed tomography (mCT) and a 3D lattice‐Boltzmann (LB) model of air flow. We compared the modeled results to measurements of permeability for polar firn with a wide range of grain and pore‐scale characteristics. The results show good agreement between permeability measurements and calculated permeability values from the LB model over a wide range of sample types. The LB model is better at predicting measured permeability values than traditional empirical equations for polar firn.

Description: Glacier-front dynamics is an important control on Greenland's ice mass balance. Warmer ocean waters trigger ice-front retreats of marine-terminating glaciers, and the corresponding loss in resistive stress leads to glacier acceleration and thinning. Here we present an approach to quantify the sensitivity and vulnerability of marine-terminating glaciers to ocean-induced melt. We develop a plan view model of Store Gletscher that includes a level set-based moving boundary capability, a parameterized ocean-induced melt, and a calving law with complete and precise land and fjord topographies to model the response of the glacier to increased melt. We find that the glacier is stabilized by a sill at its terminus. The glacier is dislodged from the sill when ocean-induced melt quadruples, at which point the glacier retreats irreversibly for 27 km into a reverse bed. The model suggests that ice-ocean interactions are the triggering mechanism of glacier retreat, but the bed controls its magnitude.

Description: Details of the characteristics of upward planetary wave propagation associated with Arctic sea-ice loss under present climate conditions are examined using reanalysis data and simulation results. Recent Arctic sea-ice loss results in increased stratospheric poleward eddy heat fluxes in the eastern and central Eurasia regions and enhanced upward propagation of planetary-scale waves in the stratosphere. A linear decomposition scheme reveals that this modulation of the planetary waves arises from coupling of the climatological planetary wave field with temperature anomalies for the eastern Eurasia region and with meridional wind anomalies for the central Eurasia region. Propagation of stationary Rossby wave packets results in a dynamic link between these temperature and meridional wind anomalies with sea-ice loss over the Barents–Kara Sea. The results provide strong evidence that recent Arctic sea-ice loss significantly modulates atmospheric circulation in winter to modify poleward eddy heat fluxes so as to drive stratosphere–troposphere coupling processes.

Description: A multi-year mooring record (2007-2014) and satellite imagery highlight the strong temperature variability and unique hydrographic nature of the Laptev Sea. This Arctic shelf is a key region for river discharge and sea ice formation and export, and includes submarine permafrost and methane deposits, which emphasizes the need to understand the thermal variability near the seafloor. Recent years were characterized by early ice retreat and a warming near-shore environment. However, warming was not observed on the deeper shelf until year-round under-ice measurements recorded unprecedented warm near-bottom waters of +0.6°C in winter 2012/2013, just after the Arctic sea ice extent featured a record minimum. In the Laptev Sea, early ice retreat in 2012 combined with Lena River heat and solar radiation produced anomalously warm summer surface waters, which were vertically mixed, trapped in the pycnocline, and subsequently transferred toward the bottom until the water column cooled when brine rejection eroded stratification.

Description: Gravity surveying is challenging in Antarctica because of its hostile environment and inaccessibility. Nevertheless, many ground-based, airborne, and shipborne gravity campaigns have been completed by the geophysical and geodetic communities since the 1980s. We present the first modern Antarctic-wide gravity data compilation derived from 13 million data points covering an area of 10 million km2, which corresponds to 73% coverage of the continent. The remove-compute-restore technique was applied for gridding, which facilitated leveling of the different gravity data sets with respect to an Earth gravity model derived from satellite data alone. The resulting free-air and Bouguer gravity anomaly grids of 10 km resolution are publicly available. These grids will enable new high-resolution combined Earth gravity models to be derived and represent a major step forward toward solving the geodetic polar data gap problem. They provide a new tool to investigate continental-scale lithospheric structure and geological evolution of Antarctica.

Description: Skillful sea ice forecasts from days to years ahead are becoming increasingly important for the operation and planning of human activities in the Arctic. Here we analyze the potential predictability of the Arctic sea ice edge in six climate models. We introduce the integrated ice-edge error (IIEE), a user-relevant verification metric defined as the area where the forecast and the “truth” disagree on the ice concentration being above or below 15%. The IIEE lends itself to decomposition into an absolute extent error, corresponding to the common sea ice extent error, and a misplacement error. We find that the often-neglected misplacement error makes up more than half of the climatological IIEE. In idealized forecast ensembles initialized on 1 July, the IIEE grows faster than the absolute extent error. This means that the Arctic sea ice edge is less predictable than sea ice extent, particularly in September, with implications for the potential skill of end-user relevant forecasts.

Description: Ice shelves are important elements of the climate system and sensitive to climate changes. The disintegration of large Antarctic ice shelves is the focus of this fracture mechanical analysis. Ice is a complex material which, depending on the context, can be seen as a viscous fluid or as an elastic solid. A fracture event usually occurs on a rather short time scale, thus the elastic response is important and linear elastic fracture mechanics can be used. The investigation of the stress intensity factor as a measure of crack tip loading is based on a 2-dimensional analysis of a single crack with a mode-I type load and additional body loads. This investigation is performed using configurational forces. Depth dependent density and temperature profiles are considered. The relevant parameters are obtained by literature, remote sensing data analysis and modeling of the ice dynamics. The criticality of wet surface cracks is investigated.

Description: Investigating the interbasin deepwater exchange between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans over glacial-interglacial climate cycles is important for understanding circum-Antarctic Southern Ocean circulation changes and their impact on the global Meridional Overturning Circulation. We use benthic foraminiferal δ13C records from the southern East Pacific Rise to characterize the δ13C composition of Circumpolar Deep Water in the South Pacific, prior to its transit through the Drake Passage into the South Atlantic. A comparison with published South Atlantic deepwater records from the northern Cape Basin suggests a continuous water mass exchange throughout the past 500 ka. Almost identical glacial-interglacial δ13C variations imply a common deepwater evolution in both basins suggesting persistent Circumpolar Deep Water exchange and homogenization. By contrast, deeper abyssal waters occupying the more southern Cape Basin and the southernmost South Atlantic have lower δ13C values during most, but not all, stadial periods. We conclude that these values represent the influence of a more southern water mass, perhaps Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). During many interglacials and some glacial periods, the gradient between Circumpolar Deep Water and the deeper southern Cape Basin bottom water disappears suggesting either no presence of AABW or indistinguishable δ13C values of both water masses.

Description: About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the surface ocean is partly dependent on aggregate sinking velocity which accelerates with increasing aggregate size and density, where the latter is controlled by ballast load and aggregate porosity. In May 2011, we moored nine 25 m deep mesocosms in a Norwegian fjord to assess on a daily basis how plankton community structure affects material properties and sinking velocities of aggregates (Ø 80–400 µm) collected in the mesocosms' sediment traps. We noted that sinking velocity was not necessarily accelerated by opal ballast during diatom blooms, which could be due to relatively high porosity of these rather fresh aggregates. Furthermore, estimated aggregate porosity (Pestimated) decreased as the picoautotroph (0.2–2 µm) fraction of the phytoplankton biomass increased. Thus, picoautotroph-dominated communities may be indicative for food webs promoting a high degree of aggregate repackaging with potential for accelerated sinking. Blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi revealed that cell concentrations of ~1500 cells/mL accelerate sinking by about 35–40%, which we estimate (by one-dimensional modeling) to elevate organic matter transfer efficiency through the mesopelagic from 14 to 24%. Our results indicate that sinking velocities are influenced by the complex interplay between the availability of ballast minerals and aggregate packaging; both of which are controlled by plankton community structure.

Description: Lake Baikal, the world's most voluminous freshwater lake, has experienced unprecedented warming during the last decades. A uniquely diverse amphipod fauna inhabits the littoral zone and can serve as a model system to identify the role of thermal tolerance under climate change. This study aimed to identify sublethal thermal constraints in two of the most abundant endemic Baikal amphipods, Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus, and Gammarus lacustris, a ubiquitous gammarid of the Holarctic. As the latter is only found in some shallow isolated bays of the lake, we further addressed the question whether rising temperatures could promote the widespread invasion of this non-endemic species into the littoral zone. Animals were exposed to gradual temperature increases (4 week, 0.8 °C/d; 24 h, 1 °C/h) starting from the reported annual mean temperature of the Baikal littoral (6 °C). Within the framework of oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance (OCLTT), we used a nonlinear regression approach to determine the points at which the changing temperature-dependence of relevant physiological processes indicates the onset of limitation. Limitations in ventilation representing the first limits of thermal tolerance (pejus (= “getting worse”) temperatures (Tp)) were recorded at 10.6 (95% confidence interval; 9.5, 11.7), 19.1 (17.9, 20.2), and 21.1 (19.8, 22.4) °C in E. verrucosus, E. cyaneus, and G. lacustris, respectively. Field observations revealed that E. verrucosus retreated from the upper littoral to deeper and cooler waters once its Tp was surpassed, identifying Tp as the ecological thermal boundary. Constraints in oxygen consumption at higher than critical temperatures (Tc) led to an exponential increase in mortality in all species. Exposure to short-term warming resulted in higher threshold values, consistent with a time dependence of thermal tolerance. In conclusion, species-specific limits to oxygen supply capacity are likely key in the onset of constraining (beyond pejus) and then life-threatening (beyond critical) conditions. Ecological consequences of these limits are mediated through behavioral plasticity in E. verrucosus. However, similar upper thermal limits in E. cyaneus (endemic, Baikal) and G. lacustris (ubiquitous, Holarctic) indicate that the potential invader G. lacustris would not necessarily benefit from rising temperatures. Secondary effects of increasing temperatures remain to be investigated.

Description: A significant increase in sea surface temperature (SST) is observed over the midlatitude western boundary currents (WBCs) during the past century. However, the mechanism for this phenomenon remains poorly understood due to limited observations. In the present paper, several coupled parameters (i.e., sea surface temperature (SST), ocean surface heat fluxes, ocean water velocity, ocean surface winds and sea level pressure (SLP)) are analyzed to identify the dynamic changes of the WBCs. Three types of independent data sets are used, including reanalysis products, satellite-blended observations. and climate model outputs from the fifth phase of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Based on these broad ranges of data, we find that the WBCs (except the Gulf Stream) are intensifying and shifting toward the poles as long-term effects of global warming. An intensification and poleward shift of near-surface ocean winds, attributed to positive annular mode-like trends, are proposed to be the forcing of such dynamic changes. In contrast to the other WBCs, the Gulf Stream is expected to be weaker under global warming, which is most likely related to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). However, we also notice that the natural variations of WBCs might conceal the long-term effect of global warming in the available observational data sets, especially over the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, long-term observations or proxy data are necessary to further evaluate the dynamics of the WBCs.

Description: The Suvarov Trough is a graben structure that deviates from the Danger Islands Troughs within the Manihiki Plateau, a Large Igneous Province (LIP) located in the Central Pacific. New high resolution seismic reflection data provide evidence that the graben formed in two phases during the Paleocene (65-45 Ma). In a first phase extension occurred in south-westward direction, pulling apart the northern part of the Suvarov Trough and a parallel trending, unnamed trough. In a second phase a change of extensional force direction occurred from southwest to west-northwest, forming the southern part of the Suvarov Trough that extends onto the High Plateau. The formation of the Suvarov Trough is accompanied by a series of normal fault systems that apparently formed simultaneously. Comparing the seismic results to existing Pacific paleo strain reconstructions, the timing of increased strain and local deformation direction fits well to our findings. We thus suggest that the multiple strike directions of the Suvarov Trough represent an extensional structure that was caused by the major, stepwise Pacific Plate reorganization during the Paleocene.

Description: In this paper impact of intensive biomass burning (BB) in North America in July 2015, on aerosol optical and microphysical properties measured in the European Arctic is discussed. This study was made within the framework of the Impact of Absorbing Aerosols on radiating forcing in the European Arctic (iAREA) project. During the BB event aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm exceeded 1.2 in Spitsbergen and 0.7 in Andenes (Norway). Ångström Exponent (AE) exceeded 1.4 while the absorbing Ångström Exponent (AAE) varied between 1 and 1.25. BB aerosols were observed in humid atmosphere with a total water vapor column between 2 and 2.5 cm. In such conditions aerosols are activated and may produce clouds at different altitudes. Vertical structure of aerosol plumes over Svalbard, obtained from ceilometers and lidars, shows variability of range corrected signal between surface and middle and upper troposphere. Aerosol backscattering coefficients show values up to 10 -5m-1sr-1at 532 nm. Aerosol surface observations indicate chemical composition typical for biomass burning particles and very high single scattering properties. Scattering and absorption coefficients at 530 nm were up to 130 and 15 Mm-1, respectively. Single scattering albedo at the surface varied from 0.9 to 0.94. The averaged values over the entire atmospheric column, ranged from 0.93 to 0.99. Preliminary statistics of model and sunphotometer data as well as previous studies indicate that this event, in the Arctic region, must be considered extreme (such AOD was not observed in Svalbard since 2005) with a significant impact on energy budget.

Description: Two full-year mooring records of sea ice, physical and bio-optical parameters illuminate tight temporal coupling between the retreating seasonal ice edge and the summer phytoplankton bloom on the Laptev Sea shelf. Our records showed no sign of pelagic under-ice blooms despite available nutrients and thinning sea ice in early summer; presumably because stratification had not yet developed. Chlorophyll blooms were detected immediately after the ice retreated in late May 2014 and late July 2015. Despite radically different timing, the blooms were similar in both magnitude and length, interpreted as community-level nutrient limitation. Acoustic backscatter records suggest the delayed 2015-bloom resulted in lower zooplankton abundance, perhaps due to a timing mismatch between ice algal and pelagic blooms and unfavorable thermal conditions. Our observations provide classical examples of ice-edge blooms and further emphasize the complexity of high-latitude shelves and the need to understand vertical mixing processes important for stratification and nutrient fluxes.

Description: Multiscale sea ice algae observations are fundamentally important for projecting changes to sea ice ecosystems, as the physical environment continues to change. In this study, we developed upon previously established methodologies for deriving sea ice-algal chlorophyll a concentrations (chl a) from spectral radiation measurements, and applied these to larger-scale spectral surveys. We conducted four different under-ice spectral measurements: irradiance, radiance, transmittance, and transflectance, and applied three statistical approaches: Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF), Normalized Difference Indices (NDI), and multi-NDI. We developed models based on ice core chl a and coincident spectral irradiance/transmittance (N = 49) and radiance/transflectance (N = 50) measurements conducted during two cruises to the central Arctic Ocean in 2011 and 2012. These reference models were ranked based on two criteria: mean robustness R2 and true prediction error estimates. For estimating the biomass of a large-scale data set, the EOF approach performed better than the NDI, due to its ability to account for the high variability of environmental properties experienced over large areas. Based on robustness and true prediction error, the three most reliable models, EOF-transmittance, EOF-transflectance, and NDI-transmittance, were applied to two remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and two Surface and Under-Ice Trawl (SUIT) spectral radiation surveys. In these larger-scale chl a estimates, EOF-transmittance showed the best fit to ice core chl a. Application of our most reliable model, EOF-transmittance, to an 85 m horizontal ROV transect revealed large differences compared to published biomass estimates from the same site with important implications for projections of Arctic-wide ice-algal biomass and primary production.

Description: Stress can undergo rapid temporal changes in volcanic environments, and this is particularly true during eruptions. We use two independent methods, coda wave interferometry (CWI) and shear wave splitting (SWS) analysis to track stress related wave propagation effects during the waning phase of the 2002 NE fissure eruption at Mt Etna. CWI is used to estimate temporal changes in seismic wave velocity, while SWS is employed to monitor changes in elastic anisotropy. We analyse seismic doublets, detecting temporal changes both in wave velocities and anisotropy, consistent with observed eruptive activity. In particular, syn-eruptive wave propagation changes indicate a depressurization of the system, heralding the termination of the eruption, which occurs three days later.

Description: Published

Description: 1779-1788

Description: 1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Stromboli is a 3000 m high island volcano, rising to 900 m above sea-level. It is the most active volcano of the Aeolian Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Major, large volume (1 km3) sector collapses, four occurring in the last 13 kyr, have played an important role in shaping the north-western flank (Sciara del Fuoco) of the volcano, potentially generating a high-risk tsunami hazard for the Aeolian Islands and the Italian coast. However, smaller volume, partial collapses of the Sciara del Fuoco have been shown to be more frequent tsunami-generating events. One such event occurred on 30 December 2002, when a partial collapse of the north-western flank of the island took place. The resulting landslide generated 10 m high tsunami waves that impacted the island. Multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar imaging and visual observations reveal that the landslide deposited 25 to 30 × 106 m3 of sediment on the submerged slope offshore from the Sciara del Fuoco. Two contiguous main deposit facies are recognized: (i) a chaotic, coarse-grained (metre-sized to centimetre-sized clasts) deposit; and (ii) a sand deposit containing a lower, cross-bedded sand layer and an upper structureless pebbly sand bed capped by sea floor ripple bedforms. The sand facies develops adjacent to and partially overlying the coarse deposits. Characteristics of the deposits suggest that they were derived from cohesionless, sandy matrix density flows. Flow rheology and dynamics led to the segregation of the density flow into sand-rich and clast-rich regions. A range of density flow transitions, both in space and in time, caused principally by particle concentration and grain-size partitioning within cohesionless parent flows was identified in the deposits of this relatively small-scale submarine landslide event.

Description: Published

Description: 1488-1504

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: A series of computer microtomography experiments are reported which were performed by using a third-generation synchrotron radiation source on volcanic rocks from various active hazardous volcanoes in Italy and other volcanic areas in the world. The applied technique allowed the internal structure of the investigated material to be accurately imaged at the micrometer scale and three-dimensional views of the investigated samples to be produced as well as three-dimensional quantitative measurements of textural features. Thegeometryof thevesicle (gas-filledvoid) network in volcanic products of both basaltic and trachytic compositions were particularly focused on, as vesicle textures are directly linked to the dynamics of volcano degassing. This investigation provided novel insights into modes of gas exsolution, transport and loss in magmas that were not recognized in previous studies using solely conventional two- dimensional imaging techniques. The results of this study are important to understanding the behaviour of volcanoes and can be combined with other geosciences disciplines to forecast their future activity.

Description: In press

Description: 2.3. TTC - Laboratori di chimica e fisica delle rocce

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We present a duration-amplitude procedure for rapid determination of a moment magnitude, Mwpd, for large earthquakes using P-wave recordings at teleseismic distances. Mwpd can be obtained within 20 minutes or less after the event origin time as the required data is currently available in near-real time. The procedure determines apparent source durations, T0, from high-frequency, P-wave records, and estimates moments through integration of broadband displacement waveforms over the interval tP to tP+T0, where tP is the P arrival time. We apply the duration-amplitude methodology to 79 recent, large earthquakes (Global Centroid- Moment Tensor magnitude, MwCMT, 6.6 to 9.3) with diverse source types. The results show that a scaling of the moment estimates for interplate thrust and possibly tsunami earthquakes is necessary to best match MwCMT. With this scaling, Mwpd matches MwCMT typically within ±0.2 magnitude units, with a standard deviation of σ=0.11, equaling or outperforming other approaches to rapid magnitude determination. Furthermore, Mwpd does not exhibit saturation; that is, for the largest events, Mwpd does not systematically underestimate MwCMT. The obtained durations and duration-amplitude moments allow rapid estimation of an energy-to-moment parameter Θ* used for identification of tsunami earthquakes. Our results show that Θ* ≤ -5.7 is an appropriate cutoff for this identification, but also show that neither Θ* nor Mw is a good indicator for tsunamigenic events in general. For these events we find that a reliable indicator is simply that the duration T0 is greater than about 50 sec. The explicit use of the source duration for integration of displacement seismograms, the moment scaling, and other characteristics of the duration-amplitude methodology make it an extension of the widely used, Mwp, rapid-magnitude procedure. The need for a moment scaling for interplate thrust and possibly tsunami earthquakes may have important implications for the source physics of these events.

Description: DPC-INGV (2007-2009) S3 Project

Description: Published

Description: 200-214

Description: 3.1. Fisica dei terremoti

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Rapid extension and active normal faulting in the western extremity of the Corinth Gulf are accompanied by fast coastal uplift.We investigate Pleistocene uplift west of Aigion, by attempting to date remains of marine terraces and sedimentary sequences by calcareous nannoplankton and U-series analyses. Net uplift initiated recently, due to abandonment of an older rift-bounding fault zone and increase in activity on the presently active, coastal fault zone. This change apparently coincides with an abrupt slow down (or, termination) of secondary fault block tilting within the broader hangingwall block of the older zone, indicated by an angular unconformity that dates in the early part ofMIS10 ( 390–350 ka BP, preferably, in the earlier part of this period). Net uplift driven by the coastal zone resulted in the formation of MIS9c (330 ka) and younger terraces. The formation of the unconformity and the initiation of net uplift coincide temporally with a 300–400 ka unconformity recognized by recent studies in a wide area offshore Aigion i.e. they could be part of an evolutionary event that affected the entirewestern part of the Corinth Rift or, a large area therein. Uplift rate estimates at four locations are discussed with reference to the morphotectonic context of differential uplift of secondary fault blocks, and the context of possible increase in uplift ratewith time. Themost reliable and most useful estimate for uplift rate at the longitude of the studied transect is 1.74–1.85mm/year (time-averaged estimate for the last 240 ka, based on calcareous nannoplankton and sequence-stratigraphic interpretation)

Description: ‘3HAZ Corinth’ E.U. research project 004043 (GOCE)-3HAZ-Corinth

Description: Published

Description: 78 - 104

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: partially_open

Description: We propose a new quantitative approach for the joint interpretation of velocity and attenuation tomography images, performed through the lateral separation of scattering and intrinsic attenuation. The horizontal P-wave scattering attenuation structure below Campi Flegrei Caldera (CFC) is imaged using the autocorrelation functions (ACF) of P-wave vertical velocity fluctuations. Cluster analysis (CA) is then applied to interpret the images derived from ACF and the available P-wave total attenuation images at 2000m quantitatively. The analysis allows the separation of intrinsic and scattering attenuation on a 2-D plane, adding new geophysical constraints to the present knowledge about this volcanic area. The final result is a new, quantitative image of the past and present tectonic and volcanological state of CFC. P-wave intrinsic dissipation dominates in an area approximately located under the volcanic centre of Solfatara, as expected in a region with a large presence of fluids and gas. A north–south scattering attenuation region is mainly located below the zone of maximum uplift in the 1982–1984 bradiseismic crisis, in the sea side of the Pozzuoli bay, but also extending below Mt Nuovo. This evidence favours the interpretation in terms of a hard but fractured body, contoured by strong S-wave scatterers, corresponding to the Caldera rim: the region is possibly a section of the residual magma body, associated with the 1538 eruption of Mt Nuovo.

Description: Published

Description: 1304-1310

Description: 3.1. Fisica dei terremoti

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: In this study the attenuation mechanism of seismic wave energy in north central Italy is estimated using low-magnitude earthquake local data recorded at six stations managed by INGV. Most of the analysed events are located along the Alpine chain in the zone of Iseo and Garda lakes, while a minor part in the Po valley. The zone investigated is characterized by the occurrence of significantly intense earthquakes (magnitude up to 6.6) the most recent occurred in 2004 close to the city of Sal`o on the coast of the Garda lake (Mw = 5.0). Due to the high population density and presence of industrial activity the investigated area is characterized by a high seismic risk. First, the ordinary Multiple Lapse Time Window Analysis (MLTWA) method is applied in the assumption of uniformvelocity and scattering and the couple of B0, the seismic albedo and Le−1, the extinction length inverse (corresponding to the total attenuation coefficient) is calculated in the frequency bands of 1.5, 3, 6 and 12 Hz. To retrieve more realistic estimates, the obtained values of B0 and Le−1 are corrected taking into account the effects of a depth-dependent earth model, consisting of an earth structure characterized by a transparent upper mantle and a heterogeneous crust. We find that the corrected intrinsic and scattering attenuation parameters (which are proportional to the inverse of the intrinsic/scattering quality factors, QI−1 and Qs−1) are strongly frequency dependent, with a prevalence of scattering attenuation over the intrinsic dissipation. The corrected and uncorrected values of total Q are in agreement with the total Q values obtained with different approaches for the same area.

Description: Published

Description: 3.1. Fisica dei terremoti

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We reply to a comment by Messina et al., who strongly criticized our paper on the San Pio Fault, by showing that in areas of complex geology such as the central Apennines, where the current tectonic setting results from the superposition of different tectonic regimes, the equation: “most visible active fault = major seismogenic fault” can be misleading.

Description: Published

Description: 421-423

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: restricted

Description: This study presents the interpretation of radio echo-sounding (RES) data collected during the 2003 geophysical campaign of PNRA (Italian National Research Project in Antarctica), which focused on the exploration of the Concordia Trench-Lake system in East Antarctica. The data allow us to identify a new lake (ITL-28) at the southern edge of the Concordia Trench and a series of N–S trending subglacial troughs cutting through the Belgica Highlands. We have mapped the bedrock morphology at 3 km resolution, which led to an improved geographical and geomorphological characterization of the Concordia Trench, Concordia Ridge, Concordia Lake and South Hills. Improved knowledge of the Concordia Trench allowed us to model the 3-D geometry of the Concordia fault, suggesting that it played a role in governing the morpho-tectonic evolution of the bedrock in the Dome C region, and to propose a Cenozoic age for its activity. We recognize the importance of catchment basin morphology in hosting subglacial lakes, and discuss the role played by tectonics, glacial scouring and volcanism in the origin of the trench lakes, basin lakes and relief lakes, respectively.

Description: Published

Description: 1305–1314

Description: 3.8. Geofisica per l'ambiente

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: A bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) occurs west of Svalbard in water depths exceeding 600 m, indicating that gas hydrate occurrence in marine sediments is more widespread in this region than anywhere else on the eastern North Atlantic margin. Regional BSR mapping shows the presence of hydrate and free gas in several areas, with the largest area located north of the Knipovich Ridge, a slow-spreading ridge segment of the Mid Atlantic Ridge system. Here, heat flow is high (up to 330 mW m-2), increasing towards the ridge axis. The coinciding maxima in across-margin BSR width and heat flow suggest that the Knipovich Ridge influenced methane generation in this area. This is supported by recent finds of thermogenic methane at cold seeps north of the ridge termination. To evaluate the source rock potential on the western Svalbard margin, we applied 1D petroleum system modeling at three sites. The modeling shows that temperature and burial conditions near the ridge were sufficient to produce hydrocarbons. The bulk petroleum mass produced since the Eocene is at least 5 kt and could be as high as ~0.2 Mt. Most likely, source rocks are Miocene organic-rich sediments and a potential Eocene source rock that may exist in the area if early rifting created sufficiently deep depocenters. Thermogenic methane production could thus explain the more widespread presence of gas hydrates north of the Knipovich Ridge. The presence of microbial methane on the upper continental slope and shelf indicates that the origin of methane on the Svalbard margin varies spatially.

Description: The West African monsoon rainfall is essential for regional food production, and decadal predictions are necessary for policy makers and farmers. However, predictions with global climate models reveal precipitation biases. This study addresses the hypotheses that global prediction biases can be reduced by dynamical downscaling with a multimodel ensemble of three regional climate models (RCMs), a RCM coupled to a global ocean model and a RCM applying more realistic soil initialization and boundary conditions, i.e., aerosols, sea surface temperatures (SSTs), vegetation, and land cover. Numerous RCM predictions have been performed with REMO, COSMO-CLM (CCLM), and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) in various versions and for different decades. Global predictions reveal typical positive and negative biases over the Guinea Coast and the Sahel, respectively, related to a southward shifted Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and a positive tropical Atlantic SST bias. These rainfall biases are reduced by some regional predictions in the Sahel but aggravated by all RCMs over the Guinea Coast, resulting from the inherited SST bias, increased westerlies and evaporation over the tropical Atlantic and shifted African easterly waves. The coupled regional predictions simulate high-resolution atmosphere-ocean interactions strongly improving the SST bias, the ITCZ shift and the Guinea Coast and Central Sahel precipitation biases. Some added values in rainfall bias are found for more realistic SST and land cover boundary conditions over the Guinea Coast and improved vegetation in the Central Sahel. Thus, the ability of RCMs and improved boundary conditions to reduce rainfall biases for climate impact research depends on the considered West African region.

Description: Tectonic models predict that following breakup, rift margins undergo only decaying thermal subsidence during their postrift evolution. However, postbreakup stratigraphy beneath the NE Atlantic shelves shows evidence of regional-scale unconformities, commonly cited as outer margin responses to inner margin episodic uplift, including the formation of coastal mountains. The origin of these events remains enigmatic. We present a seismic reflection study from the Greenland Fracture Zone-East Greenland Ridge (GFZ-EGR) and the NE Greenland shelf. We document a regional intra-Miocene seismic unconformity (IMU), which marks the termination of synrift deposition in the deep-sea basins and onset of (i) thermomechanical coupling across the GFZ, (ii) basin compression, and (iii) contourite deposition, north of the EGR. The onset of coupling across the GFZ is constrained by results of 2-D flexural backstripping. We explain the thermomechanical coupling and the deposition of contourites by the formation of a continuous plate boundary along the Mohns and Knipovich ridges, leading to an accelerated widening of the Fram Strait. We demonstrate that the IMU event is linked to onset of uplift and massive shelf progradation on the NE Greenland margin. Given an estimated middle to late Miocene (~15–10Ma) age of the IMU, we speculate that the event is synchronous with uplift of the east and west Greenland margins. The correlation between margin uplift and plate motion changes further indicates that the uplift was triggered by plate tectonic forces, induced perhaps by a change in the Iceland plume (a hot pulse) and/or by changes in intraplate stresses related to global tectonics.

Description: Global climate change affects marine fish through drivers such as ocean warming, acidification and oxygen depletion, causing changes in marine ecosystems and socioeconomic impacts. While experimental and observational results can inform about anticipated effects of different drivers, linking between these results and ecosystem-level changes requires quantitative integration of physiological and ecological processes into models to advance research and inform management. We give an overview of important physiological and ecological processes affected by environmental drivers. We then provide a review of available modelling approaches for marine fish, analysing their capacities for process-based integration of environmental drivers. Building on this, we propose approaches to advance important research questions. Examples of integration of environmental drivers exist for each model class. Recent extensions of modelling frameworks increase the potential for including detailed mechanisms and improving model projections. Experimental results on energy allocation, behaviour and physiological limitations will advance the understanding of organism-level trade-offs and thresholds in response to multiple drivers. More explicit representation of life cycles and biological traits can improve description of population dynamics and adaptation, and data on food web topology and feeding interactions help to detail the conditions for possible regime shifts. Identification of relevant processes will also benefit the coupling of different models to investigate spatial–temporal changes in stock productivity and integrated responses of social–ecological systems. Thus, a more process-informed foundation for models will promote the integration of experimental and observational results and increase the potential for model-based extrapolations into a future under changing environmental conditions.

Description: The South Pacific is a sensitive location for the variability of the global oceanic thermohaline circulation given that deep waters from the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Pacific Basin are exchanged. Here we reconstruct the deep water circulation of the central South Pacific for the last two glacial cycles (from 240,000 years ago to the Holocene) based on radiogenic neodymium (Nd) and lead (Pb) isotope records complemented by benthic stable carbon data obtained from two sediment cores located on the flanks of the East Pacific Rise. The records show small but consistent glacial/interglacial changes in all three isotopic systems with interglacial average values of 5.8 and 18.757 for εNd and 206Pb/204Pb, respectively, whereas glacial averages are 5.3 and 18.744. Comparison of this variability of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) to previously published records along the pathway of the global thermohaline circulation is consistent with reduced admixture of North Atlantic Deep Water to CDW during cold stages. The absolute values and amplitudes of the benthic δ13C variations are essentially indistinguishable from other records of the Southern Hemisphere and confirm that the low central South Pacific sedimentation rates did not result in a significant reduction of the amplitude of any of the measured proxies. In addition, the combined detrital Nd and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope signatures imply that Australian and New Zealand dust has remained the principal contributor of lithogenic material to the central South Pacific.

Description: In Antarctica, ice crystals emerge from ice shelf cavities and accumulate in unconsolidated layers beneath nearby sea ice. Such sub-ice platelet layers form a unique habitat and serve as an indicator for the state of an ice shelf. However, the lack of a suitable methodology impedes an efficient quantification of this phenomenon on scales beyond point measurements. In this study, we inverted multifrequency electromagnetic (EM) induction soundings, obtained on fast ice with an underlying platelet layer along profiles of 〉100 km length in the eastern Weddell Sea. EM-derived platelet layer thickness and conductivity are consistent with other field observations. Our results suggest that platelet layer volume is higher than previously thought in this region and that platelet layer ice volume fraction is proportional to its thickness. We conclude that multifrequency EM is a suitable tool to determine platelet layer volume, with the potential to obtain crucial knowledge of associated processes in otherwise inaccessible ice shelf cavities.

Description: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is considered the major contributor to global sea level rise in the Last Interglacial (LIG) and potentially in the future. Exposed fossil reef terraces suggest sea levels in excess of 7 meters in the last warm era, of which probably not much more than 2 meters are considered to originate from melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. We simulate the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the LIG with a 3D thermomechanical ice sheet model forced by an atmosphere ocean general circulation model (AOGCM). Our results show that high LIG sea levels, cannot be reproduced with the atmosphere-ocean forcing delivered by current AOGCMs. However, when taking reconstructed Southern Ocean temperature anomalies of several degrees, sensitivity studies indicate a Southern Ocean temperature anomaly threshold for total WAIS collapse of 2-3∘C, accounting for a sea level rise of 3-4 meters during the LIG. Potential future Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics range from a moderate retreat to a complete collapse, depending on rate and amplitude of warming.

Description: Substantial quantities of organic carbon (OC) are stored in the thick, ice-rich, and organic-rich sediments called yedoma deposits, distributed in eastern Siberia and Alaska today. Quantifying yedoma carbon stocks during the glacial period is important for understanding how much carbon could have been decomposed during the last deglaciation. Yet processes that yield the formation of thick frozen OC in yedoma deposits are missing in global carbon cycle models. Here we incorporate sedimentation parameterizations into the Organizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE-MICT) land surface model, which leads to reasonable results in OC vertical distribution and regional budgets, compared with site-specific observations and inventories for today's nondegraded yedoma region. Simulated total soil OC stock for the northern permafrost region during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is 1536–1592 Pg C, of which 390–446 Pg C is within today's yedoma region. This result is an underestimation since we did not account for the potentially much larger yedoma area during the LGM than the present day.

Description: In the northern Apennines, the Palaeozoic basement involved in the Late Oligocene–Middle Miocene nappe stack contains metamorphic units for which hypothetical ages have been assigned on the basis of lithological correlations with the Palaeozoic formations of the Variscan chain in Sardinia. This uncertainty concerning the age poses limitations to reconstructing the Palaeozoic stratigraphy, defining the Alpine and pre-Alpine histories and correlations with other domains of the Variscan chain. We present the U-Pb age of detrital zircon and the 40Ar-39Ar age of metamorphic muscovite for the Calamita Schist and Ortano Porphyroid, two metamorphic units of undetermined Palaeozoic age cropping out in the eastern Elba Island. The radioisotopic data allows us to: (i) define the Early Carboniferous and Middle Ordovician ages for the Calamita Schist and Ortano Porphyroid, respectively, as well as their derivation (flysch deposit and magmatic rocks); (ii) pose some constraints concerning their alpine tectonic and metamorphic histories. These new data generate a more precise reconstruction of the Palaeozoic sequence in the northern Apennines, and they document that the Palaeozoic basement involved in the alpine deformation underwent internal stacking with an inversion of the original sequence.

Description: In press

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: 3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We investigate in detail the crustal layering of the ‘Val di Chiana Basin’ (Northern Apennines, Tuscany, Italy) through receiver functions and seismic anisotropy with hexagonal symmetry. The teleseismic data set is recorded in correspondence of a typical foreland basin resulting by the progressive eastward retreat of a regional-scale subduction zone trapped between two continents. We study the azimuthal variations of the computed and binned receiver functions associated to a harmonic angular analysis to emphasize the presence of the dipping and the anisotropic structures. The resulting S-wave velocity model shows interesting and new results for this area that we discuss in a regional geodynamic contest contributing to the knowledge of the structure of the forearc of the subduction zone. A dipping interface (N192°E strike, 18° dip) has been revealed at about 1.5 km depth, that separates the basin sediments and flysch from the carbonates and evaporites. Moreover, we interpret the two upper-crust anisotropic layers (at about 6 and 17 km depth) as the Hercynian Phyllites and Micaschists, of the Metamorphic Tuscan Basement. At relatively shallow depths, the presence of these metamorphic rocks causes the seismic anisotropy in the upper crust. The presence of shallow anisotropic layers is a new and interesting feature, first revealed in the study area. Beneath the crust–mantle transition (Moho), located about 28 km depth, our analysis reveals a 7-km-thick anisotropic layer.

Description: Published

Description: 545-556

Description: 3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: We present the first application of a time reverse location method in a volcanic setting, for a family of long-period (LP) events recorded on Mt Etna. Results are compared with locations determined using a full moment tensor grid search inversion and cross-correlation method. From 2008 June 18 to July 3, 50 broad-band seismic stations were deployed on Mt Etna, Italy, in close proximity to the summit. Two families of LP events were detected with dominant spectral peaks around 0.9 Hz. The large number of stations close to the summit allowed us to locate all events in both families using a time reversal location method. The method involves taking the seismic signal, reversing it in time, and using it as a seismic source in a numerical seismic wave simulator where the reversed signals propagate through the numerical model, interfere constructively and destructively, and focus on the original source location. The source location is the computational cell with the largest displacement magnitude at the time of maximum energy current density inside the grid. Before we located the two LP families we first applied the method to two synthetic data sets and found a good fit between the time reverse location and true synthetic location for a known velocity model. The time reverse location results of the two families show a shallow seismic region close to the summit in agreement with the locations using a moment tensor full waveform inversion method and a cross-correlation location method.

Description: In press

Description: (11)

Description: 1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: The Arctic sea-ice extent amounted to its record minimum to date in September 2012. Sea-ice decline increases the absorption of solar energy in the Arctic Ocean, affecting primary production and plankton community. How this will modulate the sinking of POC from the ocean surface remains a key question. In this study we use the 234Th/238U and 210Po/210Pb radionuclide pairs to estimate the magnitude of the POC export fluxes in the upper ocean of the central Arctic in summer 2012, covering time scales from weeks to months, respectively. The 234Th/238U proxy reveals that POC fluxes at the base of the euphotic zone were very low (2 ± 2 mmol C m-2 d-1) in August and September. Relationships obtained between the 234Th export fluxes and the phytoplankton community suggest that prasinophytes would have contributed significantly to downward fluxes in late summer, likely via incorporation into sea-ice algal aggregates and zooplankton-derived material. In turn, the magnitude of the depletion of 210Po in the upper water column over the entire study area indicates that particle export fluxes were more relevant before July/August than later in the season. 210Po fluxes and 210Po-derived POC fluxes correlated positively with sea-ice concentration, showing that particle sinking was more important under heavy sea-ice conditions than under partially ice covered regions. Although the POC fluxes were low, a large fraction of primary production (〉30%) was exported at the base of the euphotic zone in most of the study area during summer 2012, indicating a high export efficiency of the biological pump in the central Arctic.

Description: We present the surface wave dispersion results of the application of the ambient noise method to broad-band data recorded at 114 stations from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vul- canologia (INGV) national broad-band network, some stations of the Mediterranean Very Broadband Seismographic Network (MedNet) and of the Austrian Central Institute for Me- teorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG). Vertical-component ambient noise data from 2005 October to 2007 March have been cross-correlated for station-pairs to estimate fundamental mode Rayleigh wave Green’s functions. Cross-correlations are calculated in 1-hr segments, stacked over periods varying between 3 months and 1.5 yr. Rayleigh wave group dispersion curves at periods from 8 to 44 s were determined using the multiple-filter analysis technique. The study region was divided into a 0.2◦ × 0.2◦ grid to invert for group velocity distribu- tions. Checkerboard tests were first carried out, and the lateral resolution was estimated to be about 0.6◦. The resulting group velocity maps from 8 to 36 s show the significant difference of the crustal structure and good correlations with known geological and tectonic features in the study region. The Po Plain and the Southern Alps evidence lower group veloci- ties due to soft alluvial deposits, and thick terrigenous sediments. Our results also clearly showed that the Tyrrhenian Sea is characterized with much higher velocities below 8 km than the Italian peninsula and the Adriatic Sea which indicates a thin oceanic crust beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Description: Published

Description: 1242-1252

Description: 3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: After an earthquake, rapid, real-time assessment of hazards such as ground shaking and tsunami potential is important for early warning and emergency response. Tsunami potential depends on sea floor displacement, which is related to the length, L, width, W, mean slip, D, and depth, z, of earthquake rupture. Currently, the primary discriminant for tsunami potential is the centroid-moment tensor magnitude, MwCMT, representing the seismic potency LWD, and estimated through an indirect, inversion procedure. The obtained MwCMT and the implied LWD value vary with the depth of faulting, assumed earth model and other factors, and is only available 30 min or more after an earthquake. The use of more direct procedures for hazard assessment, when available, could avoid these problems and aid in effective early warning. Here we present a direct procedure for rapid assessment of earthquake tsunami potential using two, simple measures on P-wave seismograms – the dominant period on the velocity records, Td, and the likelihood that the high-frequency, apparent rupture-duration, T0, exceeds 50-55 sec. T0 can be related to the critical parameters L and z, while Td may be related to W, D or z. For a set of recent, large earthquakes, we show that the period-duration product TdT0 gives more information on tsunami impact and size than MwCMT and other currently used discriminants. All discriminants have difficulty in assessing the tsunami potential for oceanic strike-slip and back-arc or upper-plate, intraplate earthquake types. Our analysis and results suggest that tsunami potential is not directly related to the potency LWD from the “seismic” faulting model, as is assumed with the use of the MwCMT discriminant. Instead, knowledge of rupture length, L, and depth, z, alone can constrain well the tsunami potential of an earthquake, with explicit determination of fault width, W, and slip, D, being of secondary importance. With available real-time seismogram data, rapid calculation of the direct, period- duration discriminant can be completed within 6-10 min after an earthquake occurs and thus can aid in effective and reliable tsunami early warning.

Description: In press

Description: 1.1. TTC - Monitoraggio sismico del territorio nazionale

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: The elevation of the Capo Vaticano coastal terraces (Tyrrhenian coast, central Calabria) is the combination of regional uplift and repeated coseismic displacement. We subtract the regional uplift from the total uplift (maximum average uplift rates 0.81-0.97 mm/yr since ~0.7 Ma) and obtain a residual fault-related displacement. Then, we model the residual displacement to provide constraints to the location and geometry of the seismogenic source of the 1905 M7 earthquake, the strongest – and still poorly understood – earthquake of the instrumental era in this area. We test four different potential sources for the dislocation modelling and find that 1) three sources are not compatible with the displacement observed along the terraces, and 2) the only source consistent with the local deformation is the 100°-striking Coccorino Fault. We calculate average long-term vertical slip rates of 0.2-0.3 mm/yr on the Coccorino Fault and estimate an average recurrence time of ~one millennium for a 1905-type earthquake

Description: Published

Description: 378-389

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Naturally deformed ice contains subgrains with characteristic geometries that have recently been identified in etched surfaces using high-resolution light microscopy (LM). The probable slip systems responsible for these subgrain boundary types can be determined using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), providing the etch features imaged with reflected LM can be retained during EBSD data acquisition in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Retention of the etch features requires that the ice surface is stable. Depending on the pressure and temperature, sublimation of ice can occur. The equilibrium temperature for a low pressure SEM operating at 1 × 10^−6 hPa is about −112°C and operating at higher temperatures causes sublimation. Although charging of uncoated ice samples is reduced by sublimation, important information contained in the etch features are removed as the surface sublimes. We developed a method for collecting EBSD data on stable ice surfaces in a low pressure SEM. We found that operating at temperatures of 〈112°C reduced sublimation so that the original etch surface features were retained. Charging, which occurred at low pressures (〈1.5 × 10^−6 to 2.8 × 10^−5 hPa) was reduced by defocusing the beam. At very low pressures (〈1.5 × 10^−6 hPa) the spatial resolution with a defocused beam at 10 kV was about 3 μm in the x-direction at −150°C and 0.5 μm at −120°C, because at higher temperature charging was less and only a small defocus was needed to compensate it. Angular resolution was better than 0.7° after orientation averaging. Excellent agreement was obtained between LM etch features and EBSD mapped microstructures. First results are shown, which indicate subgrain boundary types comprised of basal (tilt and twist) and nonbasal dislocations (tilt boundaries).

Description: Ice-rich permafrost coasts in the Arctic are highly sensitive to climate warming and erode at a pace that exceeds the global average. Permafrost coasts deliver vast amounts of organic carbon into the nearshore zone of the Arctic Ocean. Numbers on flux exist for particulate organic carbon (POC) and total or soil organic carbon (TOC, SOC). However, they do not exist for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which is known to be highly bioavailable. This study aims to estimate DOC stocks in coastal permafrost as well as the annual flux into the ocean. DOC concentrations in ground ice were analyzed along the ice-rich Yukon coast (YC) in the western Canadian Arctic. The annual DOC flux was estimated using available numbers for coast length, cliff height, annual erosion rate, and volumetric ice content in different stratigraphic horizons. Our results showed that DOC concentrations in ground ice range between 0.3 and 347.0 mg L^-1 with an estimated stock of 13.6 ± 3.0 g m^-3 along the YC. An annual DOC flux of 54.9 ± 0.9 Mg yr^-1 was computed. These DOC fluxes are low compared to POC and SOC fluxes from coastal erosion or POC and DOC fluxes from Arctic rivers. We conclude that DOC fluxes from permafrost coasts play a secondary role in the Arctic carbon budget. However, this DOC is assumed to be highly bioavailable. We hypothesize that DOC from coastal erosion is important for ecosystems in the Arctic nearshore zones, particularly in summer when river discharge is low, and in areas where rivers are absent.

Description: We present a phylogenetic analysis of spiders using a dataset of 932 spider species, representing 115 families (only the family Synaphridae is unrepresented), 700 known genera, and additional representatives of 26 unidentified or undescribed genera. Eleven genera of the orders Amblypygi, Palpigradi, Schizomida and Uropygi are included as outgroups. The dataset includes six markers from the mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) and nuclear (histone H3, 18S, 28S) genomes, and was analysed by multiple methods, including constrained analyses using a highly supported backbone tree from transcriptomic data. We recover most of the higher-level structure of the spider tree with good support, including Mesothelae, Opisthothelae, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae. Several of our analyses recover Hypochilidae and Filistatidae as sister groups, as suggested by previous transcriptomic analyses. The Synspermiata are robustly supported, and the families Trogloraptoridae and Caponiidae are found as sister to the Dysderoidea. Our results support the Lost Tracheae clade, including Pholcidae, Tetrablemmidae, Diguetidae, Plectreuridae and the family Pacullidae (restored status) separate from Tetrablemmidae. The Scytodoidea include Ochyroceratidae along with Sicariidae, Scytodidae, Drymusidae and Periegopidae; our results are inconclusive about the separation of these last two families. We did not recover monophyletic Austrochiloidea and Leptonetidae, but our data suggest that both groups are more closely related to the Cylindrical Gland Spigot clade rather than to Synspermiata. Palpimanoidea is not recovered by our analyses, but also not strongly contradicted. We find support for Entelegynae and Oecobioidea (Oecobiidae plus Hersiliidae), and ambiguous placement of cribellate orb-weavers, compatible with their non-monophyly. Nicodamoidea (Nicodamidae plus Megadictynidae) and Araneoidea composition and relationships are consistent with recent analyses. We did not obtain resolution for the titanoecoids (Titanoecidae and Phyxelididae), but the Retrolateral Tibial Apophysis clade is well supported. Penestomidae, and probably Homalonychidae, are part of Zodarioidea, although the latter family was set apart by recent transcriptomic analyses. Our data support a large group that we call the marronoid clade (including the families Amaurobiidae, Desidae, Dictynidae, Hahniidae, Stiphidiidae, Agelenidae and Toxopidae). The circumscription of most marronoid families is redefined here. Amaurobiidae include the Amaurobiinae and provisionally Macrobuninae. We transfer Malenellinae (Malenella, from Anyphaenidae), Chummidae (Chumma) (new syn.) and Tasmarubriinae (Tasmarubrius, Tasmabrochus and Teeatta, from Amphinectidae) to Macrobuninae. Cybaeidae are redefined to include Calymmaria, Cryphoeca, Ethobuella and Willisius (transferred from Hahniidae), and Blabomma and Yorima (transferred from Dictynidae). Cycloctenidae are redefined to include Orepukia (transferred from Agelenidae) and Pakeha and Paravoca (transferred from Amaurobiidae). Desidae are redefined to include five subfamilies: Amphinectinae, with Amphinecta, Mamoea, Maniho, Paramamoea and Rangitata (transferred from Amphinectidae); Ischaleinae, with Bakala and Manjala (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Ischalea (transferred from Stiphidiidae); Metaltellinae, with Austmusia, Buyina, Calacadia, Cunnawarra, Jalkaraburra, Keera, Magua, Metaltella, Penaoola and Quemusia; Porteriinae (new rank), with Baiami, Cambridgea, Corasoides and Nanocambridgea (transferred from Stiphidiidae); and Desinae, with Desis, and provisionally Poaka (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Barahna (transferred from Stiphidiidae). Argyroneta is transferred from Cybaeidae to Dictynidae. Cicurina is transferred from Dictynidae to Hahniidae. The genera Neoramia (from Agelenidae) and Aorangia, Marplesia and Neolana (from Amphinectidae) are transferred to Stiphidiidae. The family Toxopidae (restored status) includes two subfamilies: Myroinae, with Gasparia, Gohia, Hulua, Neomyro, Myro, Ommatauxesis and Otagoa (transferred from Desidae); and Toxopinae, with Midgee and Jamara, formerly Midgeeinae, new syn. (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Hapona, Laestrygones, Lamina, Toxops and Toxopsoides (transferred from Desidae). We obtain a monophyletic Oval Calamistrum clade and Dionycha; Sparassidae, however, are not dionychans, but probably the sister group of those two clades. The composition of the Oval Calamistrum clade is confirmed (including Zoropsidae, Udubidae, Ctenidae, Oxyopidae, Senoculidae, Pisauridae, Trechaleidae, Lycosidae, Psechridae and Thomisidae), affirming previous findings on the uncertain relationships of the \xe2\x80\x9cctenids\xe2\x80\x9d Ancylometes and Cupiennius, although a core group of Ctenidae are well supported. Our data were ambiguous as to the monophyly of Oxyopidae. In Dionycha, we found a first split of core Prodidomidae, excluding the Australian Molycriinae, which fall distantly from core prodidomids, among gnaphosoids. The rest of the dionychans form two main groups, Dionycha part A and part B. The former includes much of the Oblique Median Tapetum clade (Trochanteriidae, Gnaphosidae, Gallieniellidae, Phrurolithidae, Trachelidae, Gnaphosidae, Ammoxenidae, Lamponidae and the Molycriinae), and also Anyphaenidae and Clubionidae. Orthobula is transferred from Phrurolithidae to Trachelidae. Our data did not allow for complete resolution for the gnaphosoid families. Dionycha part B includes the families Salticidae, Eutichuridae, Miturgidae, Philodromidae, Viridasiidae, Selenopidae, Corinnidae and Xenoctenidae (new fam., including Xenoctenus, Paravulsor and Odo, transferred from Miturgidae, as well as Incasoctenus from Ctenidae). We confirm the inclusion of Zora (formerly Zoridae) within Miturgidae.

Description: There is still considerable debate about which mechanisms drive the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF). Although most scientists agree on the existence of two underlying mechanisms, complementarity and selection, experimental studies keep producing contrasting results on the relative contributions of the two effects. We present a spatially explicit resource competition model and investigate how the strength of these effects is influenced by trait and environmental variability, resource distribution, and species pool size. Our results demonstrate that the increase of biomass production with increasing species numbers depends on the concurrence of environmental and trait variability: BEF relationships are stronger if functionally different species coexist in a landscape with heterogeneous resource supply. These large biodiversity effects arise from complementarity effects, whereas selection effects are maximized when broad trait ranges coincide with narrow ranges of resource supply ratios. Our results will therefore help to resolve the debate on complementarity and selection mechanisms.