More than 200 meters of lake ice above subglacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica

Isotope studies show that the Vostok ice core consists of ice refrozen from Lake Vostok water, from 3539 meters below the surface of the Antarctic ice sheet to its bottom at about 3750 meters. Additional evidence comes from the total gas content, crystal size, and electrical conductivity of the ice. The Vostok site is a likely place for water freezing at the lake-ice interface, because this interface occurs at a higher level here than anywhere else above the lake. Isotopic data suggest that subglacial Lake Vostok is an open system with an efficient circulation of water that was formed during periods that were slightly warmer than those of the past 420,000 years. Lake ice recovered by deep drilling is of interest for preliminary investigations of lake chemistry and bedrock properties and for the search for indigenous lake microorganisms. This latter aspect is of potential importance for the exploration of icy planets and moons.     

Geochronology of wadi tushka: lost tributary of the nile

The Sadat Canal, now under construction, is designed to drain excess water from Lake Nasser to the Western Desert by way of Wadi Tushka, a sand-filled, dry-wash tributary of the Nile 34 kilometers north of Abu Simbel. Core-drilling logs made by the Aswan High Dam Authority prior to excavation of the Sadat Canal and along 48 kilometers of its axis reveal as much as 33 meters of unconsolidated sand and gravel over Mesozoic bedrock and under surficial dune sand and playa muds of Holocene age. Excavation of the canal revealed Acheulean artifacts 6.7 meters below the surface in fluvial sediments capped by a buried, red calcic paleosol. These data are interpreted as evidence for the existence of a major tributary of the Nile during the late middle Pleistocene. The tributary drained the Kiseiba-Dungul Depression and possibly the Kharga Depression as well. Chalcedony-armored mudstones in the depressions are believed to be saline lake deposits possibly related to a lake that drained to the Nile by way of Wadi Tushka, thus entrenching the divide between the depression and the valley. Gross correlations with Pleistocene deposits of the Nile Valley and the Kharga Depression are based upon archeological evidence only until more precise geochronology can be applied to the problem.     

Physical conditions at the base of a fast moving antarctic ice stream

Boreholes drilled to the bottom of ice stream B in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet reveal that the base of the ice stream is at the melting point and the basal water pressure is within about 1.6 bars of the ice overburden pressure. These conditions allow the rapid ice streaming motion to occur by basal sliding or by shear deformation of unconsolidated sediments that underlie the ice in a layer at least 2 meters thick. The mechanics of ice streaming plays a role in the response of the ice sheet to climatic change.     

Fallout plutonium in an alkaline, saline lake

Plutonium isotopes, derived from global fallout following atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, have been measured in the water and sediments of a natural alkaline, saline lake. The activities of fallout plutonium in the water column are about two orders of magnitude greater than in most freshwater lakes, where these nuclides are found predominantly in the sediments.     

Evidence from Western north america for rapid shifts in climate during the last glacial maximum

The Estancia basin in southwestern United States contains evidence for strong and rapid pulsations in the supply of moisture brought into the region during the last ice age. The pulses were recorded during episodes of stream discharge that spread plumes of fresh water laden with quartz sand over the saline lake. The largest pulses in stream discharge lasted only a few decades, were organized into cycles that were spaced approximately 200 to 250 and 2000 years apart, and were of sufficient magnitude to freshen and maintain the lake at its maximum recorded elevation.     

安徽省湖泊富营养化现状调查与评价

对安徽省境内17个湖泊的水质状况和沉积物营养盐水平进行调查与评价。水质评价结果表明,1个湖泊为V类水,16个湖泊为IV类水;富营养化评价结果表明,2个湖泊为中营养,14个湖泊为轻度富营养化,1个湖泊为中度富营养化。     

Glacial survival of boreal trees in northern Scandinavia

It is commonly believed that trees were absent in Scandinavia during the last glaciation and first recolonized the Scandinavian Peninsula with the retreat of its ice sheet some 9000 years ago. Here, we show the presence of a rare mitochondrial DNA haplotype of spruce that appears unique to Scandinavia and with its highest frequency to the west-an area believed to sustain ice-free refugia during most of the last ice age. We further show the survival of DNA from this haplotype in lake sediments and pollen of Tr?ndelag in central Norway dating back ~10,300 years and chloroplast DNA of pine and spruce in lake sediments adjacent to the ice-free And?ya refugium in northwestern Norway as early as ~22,000 and 17,700 years ago, respectively. Our findings imply that conifer trees survived in ice-free refugia of Scandinavia during the last glaciation, challenging current views on survival and spread of trees as a response to climate changes.     

西藏达则错盐湖沉积背景与有机沉积结构

以西藏拟溞(Daphniopsis tibetana Sars)为优势浮游动物物种的低盐度盐湖是西藏湖泊的一个重要类型,以达则错为代表,分析了其沉积背景及沉积物组成。结果如下:(1)湖泊敞水区无机沉积以内生化学沉积为主,可代表深水盐湖无机沉积物的自然沉积过程。(2)达则错盐湖浮游植物以蓝藻、硅藻、裸藻、绿藻为主,总生物量11.35 mg/L;浮游动物生物量为4.92 mg/L,其中西藏拟溞占 82.30%;浮游植物残体受盐梯度影响在盐梯度层之上聚集,而浮游动物残体及粪粒(Fecal pellets)因外表有碳酸盐附着可穿过盐梯度层沉积湖底,生物残体与浮游动物代谢产物构成了沉积有机物的物质基础。(3)表层沉积物平均含水量为66.70%,粒径0.004-0.02 mm范围内的颗粒物含量最大,占20.42%,其次为<0.004 mm的粘土,占4.53%。(4)表层沉积物总有机碳(TOC)平均含量为27.99 mg/g(干重),其中颗粒有机碳(POC)约为18.11 mg/g,占TOC的64.70%;在POC中,西藏拟溞粪粒贡献最大,约占POC的60.48%,占TOC的39.06%,占沉积物总量的1.12%,其次为西藏拟溞残体,占POC的38.85%。分析结果表明盐湖因其独特的水化学和生物学特征具有较强的沉积能力,以化学沉积为主的无机沉积及以西藏拟溞粪粒和残肢碎屑为主的有机沉积构成了该类型盐湖颗粒物沉降及沉积的主要过程。     

Evidence for Glacial Control of Rapid Sea Level Changes in the Early Cretaceous

Lower Cretaceous bulk carbonate from deep sea sediments records sudden inputs of strontium resulting from the exposure of continental shelves. Strontium data from an interval spanning 7 million years in the Berriasian-Valanginian imply that global sea level fluctuated about 50 meters over time scales of 200,000 to 500,000 years, which is in agreement with the Exxon sea level curve. Oxygen isotope measurements indicate that the growth of continental ice sheets caused these rapid sea level changes. If glaciation caused all the rapid sea level changes in the Cretaceous that are indicated by the Exxon curve, then an Antarctic ice sheet may have existed despite overall climatic warmth.     

Fracture propagation to the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet during supraglacial lake drainage

Surface meltwater that reaches the base of an ice sheet creates a mechanism for the rapid response of ice flow to climate change. The process whereby such a pathway is created through thick, cold ice has not, however, been previously observed. We describe the rapid (<2 hours) drainage of a large supraglacial lake down 980 meters through to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet initiated by water-driven fracture propagation evolving into moulin flow. Drainage coincided with increased seismicity, transient acceleration, ice-sheet uplift, and horizontal displacement. Subsidence and deceleration occurred over the subsequent 24 hours. The short-lived dynamic response suggests that an efficient drainage system dispersed the meltwater subglacially. The integrated effect of multiple lake drainages could explain the observed net regional summer ice speedup.     

云南高原湖泊滇池和星云湖pH值特征及其影响因素分析

pH值偏高是云南高原湖泊存在的特征性问题。磷是湖泊富营养化的主要限制因子,研究表明,随着水体pH值的升高,沉积物的释磷量明显增加,增幅甚至可达几百倍。过量的氮、磷从地表水中汇入是造成湖泊富营养化的重要原因,但是磷从底泥中释放造成的影响也不容忽视,这使得用控制沉积物与湖水界面物-化要素限制磷释放的研究更显重要。为了给高原湖泊治理提供依据,从滇池湖区地质背景、浮游藻类、溶解氧、大地热流、水质富营养化等方面研究pH值的时空变化及其影响。     

云南高原湖泊滇池和星云湖pH值特征及其影响因素分析

pH值偏高是云南高原湖泊存在的特征性问题.磷是湖泊富营养化的主要限制因子,研究表明,随着水体pH值的升高,沉积物的释磷量明显增加,增幅甚至可达几百倍.过量的氮、磷从地表水中汇入是造成湖泊富营养化的重要原因,但是磷从底泥中释放造成的影响也不容忽视,这使得用控制沉积物与湖水界面物-化要素限制磷释放的研究更显重要.为了给高原湖泊治理提供依据,从滇池湖区地质背景、浮游藻类、溶解氧、大地热流、水质富营养化等方面研究pH值的时空变化及其影响.     

Antarctic timing of surface water changes off Chile and Patagonian ice sheet response

Marine sediments from the Chilean continental margin are used to infer millennial-scale changes in southeast Pacific surface ocean water properties and Patagonian ice sheet extent since the last glacial period. Our data show a clear "Antarctic" timing of sea surface temperature changes, which appear systematically linked to meridional displacements in sea ice, westerly winds, and the circumpolar current system. Proxy data for ice sheet changes show a similar pattern as oceanographic variations offshore, but reveal a variable glacier-response time of up to approximately 1000 years, which may explain some of the current discrepancies among terrestrial records in southern South America.     

Critical depth for the survival of coral islands: effects on the hawaiian archipelago

Coral islands drown when sea level rise exceeds the maximum potential of coral reefs to grow upward (about 10 millimeters per year). During the Holocene transgression (18,000 years ago to present) sea levels rose at rates of up to 10 to 20 millimeters per year, and most coral island reefs situated deeper than a critical depth of30 to 40 meters below present day sea level drowned. Coral islands that did not drown during the Holocene transgression apparently all developed on antecedent foundations shallower than critical depth. During low stands in sea level during the Pleistocene, these islands were elevated and subject to subaerial erosion. Today, in the Hawaiian Archipelago, the depth of drowned banks is inversely related to summit area; smaller banks are progressively deeper, evidently because of erosional truncation during low sea level stands. Bank summit area may therefore be an important factor determining the failure or success of coral islands.     

Evidence for sediment eruption on deep sea floor, gulf of Mexico

A large crater has been discovered on the sea floor, Gulf of Mexico, in a water depth of 2176 meters. Deep-tow high-resolution imagery shows that the crater is cut into a low hill surrounded by near-surface concentric faults. Approximately 2 million cubic meters of ejected sediment forms a peripheral debris field. The low hill and faults may be related to mud diapirism or intrusion of gas hydrates into near-surface sediments. A recent eruption evacuated sediments from the crater, apparently because of release of overpressured petrogenic gas.     

Radionuclides in mono lake, california

Several radioisotopes of the naturally occurring uranium and thorium decay series, in addition to fallout plutonium, have unusually high concentrations in the water column of Mono Lake, a natural alkaline, saline lake. Complexing by carbonate ions appears to be responsible for the enhanced solubility of actinide elements with oxidation states of IV to VI. In contrast, fallout strontium-90 has been largely removed from the water, probably as a result of coprecipitation with calcium carbonate. The daughter/parent activity ratios of thorium, radium, and uranium isotopes suggest that thorium is removed from the water column to the sediments on time scales substantially longer than a month and that the desorption of thorium from the sediments to the water column requires less than a few years.     

Increased transport of antarctic bottom water in the vema channel during the last ice age

Particle size analyses of surface sediments in the Vema Channel reveal a spatial variation related to the present hydrography. Similar analyses of sediment deposited during the last ice age (18,000 years before the present) indicate a maximum shallowing of the upper limit of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) of about 100 meters, coupled with an increase in velocity, which resulted in an increase in AABW transport.     

Gas exchange-wind speed relation measured with sulfur hexafluoride on a lake

Gas-exchange processes control the uptake and release of various gases in natural systems such as oceans, rivers, and lakes. Not much is known about the effect of wind speed on gas exchange in such systems. In the experiment described here, sulfur hexafluoride was dissolved in lake water, and the rate of escape of the gas with wind speed (at wind speeds up to 6 meters per second) was determined over a 1-month period. A sharp change in the wind speed dependence of the gas-exchange coefficient was found at wind speeds of about 2.4 meters per second, in agreement with the results of wind-tunnel studies. However, the gas-exchange coefficients at wind speeds above 3 meters per second were smaller than those observed in wind tunnels and are in agreement with earlier lake and ocean results.     

Anchor Ice Formation in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and Its Biological Effects

Aggregations of ice platelets accumulate below the annual sea ice (subice platelet layer) and on the bottom (anchor ice) to depths of 33 meters. Observations of ice platelets adhering to submerged lines support the conclusion that 33 meters is the lower limit for ice formation in the water column in this area. The rising anchor ice lifts epibenthic fauna and has a pronounced effect on the distribution of the epibenthic organisms.     

Accelerated sea-level rise from West Antarctica

Recent aircraft and satellite laser altimeter surveys of the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica show that local glaciers are discharging about 250 cubic kilometers of ice per year to the ocean, almost 60% more than is accumulated within their catchment basins. This discharge is sufficient to raise sea level by more than 0.2 millimeters per year. Glacier thinning rates near the coast during 2002-2003 are much larger than those observed during the 1990s. Most of these glaciers flow into floating ice shelves over bedrock up to hundreds of meters deeper than previous estimates, providing exit routes for ice from further inland if ice-sheet collapse is under way.