Stratospheric OClO and NO2 measured by groundbased UV/Vis-spectroscopy in Greenland in January and February 1990 and 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, A.; Perner, D.

1994-01-01

Groundbased UV/Vis-spectroscopy of zenith scattered sunlight was performed at Sondre Stromfjord (Greenland) during Jan/Feb 1990 and Jan/Feb 1991. Considerable amounts of OClO were observed during both campaigns. Maximum OClO vertical column densities at 92 deg solar zenith angle (SZA) were 7.4 x 10(exp 13) molec/sq cm in 1990 and 5.7 x 10(exp 13) molec/sq cm in 1991 (chemical enhancement is included in the calculation of the air mass factor (AMF)). A threshold seems to exist for OClO detection: OClO was detected on every day when the potential vorticity at the 475 K level of potential temperature was higher than 35 x 10(exp -6)Km(exp 2)kg(exp -1)s(exp -1). NO2 vertical columns lower than 1 x 10(exp 15) molec/sq cm were frequently observed in both winters.

New and bioactive compounds from Streptomyces strains residing in the wood of Celastraceae.

PubMed

Pullen, Christian; Schmitz, Petra; Meurer, Kristina; Bamberg, Daniel D v; Lohmann, Stephanie; De Castro França, Suzelei; Groth, Ingrid; Schlegel, Brigitte; Möllmann, Ute; Gollmick, Friedrich; Gräfe, Udo; Leistner, Eckhard

2002-11-01

Wood from three different plants of the Celastraceae growing in their natural habitats in Brazil (Maytenus aquifolia Mart.) and South Africa [Putterlickia retrospinosa van Wyk and Mostert, P. verrucosa (E. Meyer ex Sonder) Szyszyl.] was established as a source of endophytic bacteria using a medium selective for actinomycetes. Two isolates were identified as Streptomyces setonii and S. sampsonii whereas two others were not assignable to any of the known Streptomyces species. They were preliminarily named Streptomyces Q21 and Streptomyces MaB-QuH-8. The latter strain produces a new chloropyrrol and chlorinated anthracyclinone. The chloropyrrol showed high activity against a series of multiresistent bacteria and mycobacteria.

Greenland elders and high school students offer perspectives on climate change and science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2011-08-01

KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND—This small town in central western Greenland, which has a population of about 650 and a major airstrip dating from World War II, is a center for scientific research and a starting point for scientists working in the region and on Greenland's ice sheet to study climate change and other issues. The town, just north of the Arctic Circle, sits at the edge of the 190-kilometer-long Kangerlussuaq Fjord and straddles the Qinnguata Kuussua River estuary, whose source water is the Russell Glacier, about 20 kilometers to the east. Between Kanger—as some refer to the town—and the glacier, some Eskimo-Kalaallit elders held a traditional gathering last month and also offered their perspectives on climate change during an impromptu 14 July meeting with high school students and other visitors. The evening before that meeting, Ole Olsvig, Kurt Olsen, Avaruna Mathaeussen, and other high schoolers from Greenland were in a makeshift classroom at the back of a renovated former U.S. Army barracks in Kanger, which had served as a U.S. military base. The students, who said they care deeply about their traditional culture and also are very aware of recent changes in climate, were helping to make presentations about their summer science projects. A total of 16 high schoolers from Greenland, 3 from Denmark, and 5 from the United States were there, participating in Joint Science Education Project (JSEP) activities; JSEP is an international collaborative polar science education effort between Greenland, Denmark, and the United States that receives support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

Relationship of the interplanetary electric field to the high-latitude ionospheric electric field and currents Observations and model simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clauer, C. R.; Banks, P. M.

1986-01-01

The electrical coupling between the solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere is studied. The coupling is analyzed using observations of high-latitude ion convection measured by the Sondre Stromfjord radar in Greenland and a computer simulation. The computer simulation calculates the ionospheric electric potential distribution for a given configuration of field-aligned currents and conductivity distribution. The technique for measuring F-region in velocities at high time resolution over a large range of latitudes is described. Variations in the currents on ionospheric plasma convection are examined using a model of field-aligned currents linking the solar wind with the dayside, high-latitude ionosphere. The data reveal that high-latitude ionospheric convection patterns, electric fields, and field-aligned currents are dependent on IMF orientation; it is observed that the electric field, which drives the F-region plasma curve, responds within about 14 minutes to IMF variations in the magnetopause. Comparisons of the simulated plasma convection with the ion velocity measurements reveal good correlation between the data.

Increases in Growing Season Length and Changes in Precipitation at Six Different Arctic and Subarctic Ecosystems from 1906-Present

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Culler, L. E.; Finger, R.; Plane, E.; Ayres, M.; Virginia, R. A.

2015-12-01

Ecological dynamics across the Arctic are responding to rapid changes in climate. As a whole, the Arctic has warmed at approximately twice the rate of the rest of the world, but changes in temperature and precipitation experienced at regional and local scales are most important for coupled human-natural systems. In addition, biologically-relevant climate indices are necessary for quantifying ecological responses of terrestrial and aquatic systems to varying climate. We compared climatic changes at six different Arctic and sub-Arctic locations, including two in Greenland (Kangerlussuaq, Sisimiut), one in Sweden (Abisko), and three in Alaska (Barrow, Nome, Fairbanks). We amassed weather data (daily temperature and precipitation), dating as far back as 1906, from public-access databases and used these data to calculate indices such as length of growing season, growing season degree days (GDD), and growing season precipitation. Annual GDD increased at all locations (average of 13% increase in GDD since 1980), but especially in western Greenland (16 and 37% in Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut, respectively). Changes in growing season precipitation were more variable, with only Barrow, AK and Abisko, Sweden experiencing increased precipitation. All other sites experienced stable or slightly declining precipitation. Increasing temperatures and relatively stable precipitation translates to increased evapotranspiration potential, which influences soil moisture, lake depth, vegetation, carbon emissions, and fire susceptibility. Understanding local and regional trends in temperature and precipitation can help explain observed phenological changes and other processes at population, community, and ecosystem levels. In addition, identification of locations most susceptible to future change will allow scientists to closely monitor their ecological dynamics, anticipate changes in coupled human-natural systems, and consider adaptation plans for the most rapidly changing systems.

Hydrologic exchange and chemical weathering in a proglacial watershed near Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deuerling, Kelly M.; Martin, Jonathan B.; Martin, Ellen E.; Scribner, Cecilia A.

2018-01-01

The exchange of proglacial river water with active layer pore water could alter water chemical compositions in glacial outwash plains and oceanic solute fluxes. To evaluate effects of this exchange, we sampled Watson River and adjacent pore water during the 2013 melt season at two sandurs in western Greenland; one in Sandflugtdalen and the other near the confluence with Søndre Strømfjord. We measured temperature, specific conductivity, and head gradients between the river and bank over a week-long period at Sandflugtdalen, as well as sediment hydraulic conductivity and chemical compositions of waters from both sites. Specific conductivity of pore water is four to ten times greater than river water as solutes are concentrated from weathering reactions, cryoconcentration, and evaporation. Pore water compositions are predominantly altered by carbonate dissolution and sulfide mineral oxidation. High concentrations of HCO3 and SO4 result from solute recycling and dissolution of secondary Ca-Mg carbonate/sulfate salts initially formed by near-surface evaporation in the summer and at depth by freeze-in of the active layer and cryoconcentration in the winter. High hydraulic conductivity (10-5 to 10-4 m/s) and diurnal fluctuations of river stage during our study caused exchange of river and pore water immediately adjacent to the river channel, with a net loss of river water to the bank. Pore water >6 m from the river continuously flowed away from the river. Approximately 1-8% of the river discharge through the Sandflugtdalen was lost to the river bank during our 6.75 day study based on calculations using Darcy's Law. Although not sampled, some of this water should discharge to the river during low river stage early and late in the melt season. Elevated pore water solute concentrations in sandurs and water exchange at diurnal and seasonal frequency should impact fluxes of solutes to the ocean, although understanding the magnitude of this effect will require long-term evaluation throughout the melt season.

Thermospheric gravity waves near the source - Comparison of variations in neutral temperature and vertical velocity at Sondre Stromfjord

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herrero, F. A.; Mayr, H. G.; Harris, I.; Varosi, F.; Meriwether, J. W., Jr.

1984-01-01

Theoretical predictions of thermospheric gravity wave oscillations are compared with observed neutral temperatures and velocities. The data were taken in February 1983 using a Fabry-Perot interferometer located on Greenland, close to impulse heat sources in the auroral oval. The phenomenon was modeled in terms of linearized equations of motion of the atmosphere on a slowly rotating sphere. Legendre polynomials were used as eigenfunctions and the transfer function amplitude surface was characterized by maxima in the wavenumber frequency plane. Good agreement for predicted and observed velocities and temperatures was attained in the 250-300 km altitude. The amplitude of the vertical velocity, however, was not accurately predicted, nor was the temperature variability. The vertical velocity did exhibit maxima and minima in response to corresponding temperature changes.

Thermospheric gravity waves near the source - Comparison of variations in neutral temperature and vertical velocity at Sondre Stromfjord

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrero, F. A.; Mayr, H. G.; Harris, I.; Varosi, F.; Meriwether, J. W., Jr.

1984-09-01

Theoretical predictions of thermospheric gravity wave oscillations are compared with observed neutral temperatures and velocities. The data were taken in February 1983 using a Fabry-Perot interferometer located on Greenland, close to impulse heat sources in the auroral oval. The phenomenon was modeled in terms of linearized equations of motion of the atmosphere on a slowly rotating sphere. Legendre polynomials were used as eigenfunctions and the transfer function amplitude surface was characterized by maxima in the wavenumber frequency plane. Good agreement for predicted and observed velocities and temperatures was attained in the 250-300 km altitude. The amplitude of the vertical velocity, however, was not accurately predicted, nor was the temperature variability. The vertical velocity did exhibit maxima and minima in response to corresponding temperature changes.

The Role of Biological Soil Crusts in Nitrogen Cycling and Soil Deflation in West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heindel, R. C.; Governali, F. C.; Spickard, A. M.; Virginia, R. A.

2017-12-01

Although shrub expansion has been observed across the Arctic in moist tundra habitat, shrubs may be prevented from expanding in arid Arctic regions due to low soil moisture or soil erosion. This may be the case in Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland, where katabatic winds off the Greenland Ice Sheet have eroded distinct patches of mixed shrub tundra, resulting in nearly barren low productivity areas dominated by biological soil crusts (biocrusts) and graminoids. The future trajectory of these bare patches - persisting in a low biomass state or returning to a shrub-dominated state - depends on the role of the biocrust as either a long-term landscape cover limiting revegetation or as a successional facilitator. Prior to this study, little was known about the physical and ecological development of West Greenland biocrusts and how they may influence future vegetation dynamics. We found that biocrusts took 230 ± 48 years to fully develop, and that later stages of biocrust development were related to increased thickness and penetration resistance and decreased soil moisture, factors limiting shrub seedling establishment. The nitrogen (N) fixing lichen Stereocaulon sp. was found throughout the study region at all stages of biocrust development. Natural 15N abundance suggests that Stereocaulon sp. obtains about half of its N from biological fixation, and that some biologically-fixed N is incorporated into the underlying soils over time. Although soil N and C concentrations increased slightly with biocrust development, their levels under the most developed biocrusts remained low compared to the surrounding shrub and graminoid tundra. Our results suggest that deflation patches, triggered by long-term variations in climate, may remain in a low-productivity ecosystem state for hundreds to thousands of years, if precipitation and temperature regimes do not dramatically alter the vegetation potential of the region. However, if future climate change in the Arctic favors greater

2011 Joint Science Education Project: Research Experience in Polar Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkening, J.; Ader, V.

2011-12-01

The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP), sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is a two-part program that brings together students and teachers from the United States, Greenland, and Denmark, for a unique cross-cultural, first-hand experience of the realities of polar science field research in Greenland. During JSEP, students experienced research being conducted on and near the Greenland ice sheet by attending researcher presentations, visiting NSF-funded field sites (including Summit and NEEM field stations, both located on the Greenland ice sheet), and designing and conducting research projects in international teams. The results of two of these projects will be highlighted. The atmospheric project investigated the differences in CO2, UVA, UVB, temperature, and albedo in different Arctic microenvironments, while also examining the interaction between the atmosphere and water present in the given environments. It was found that the carbon dioxide levels varied: glacial environments having the lowest levels, with an average concentration of 272.500 ppm, and non-vegetated, terrestrial environments having the highest, with an average concentration of 395.143 ppm. Following up on these results, it is planned to further investigate the interaction of the water and atmosphere, including water's role in the uptake of carbon dioxide. The ecology project investigated the occurrence of unusual large blooms of Nostoc cyanobacteria in Kangerlussuaq area lakes. The water chemistry of the lakes which contained the cyanobacteria and the lakes that did not were compared. The only noticeable difference was of the lakes' acidity, lakes containing the blooms had an average pH value of 8.58, whereas lakes without the blooms had an average pH value of 6.60. Further investigation of these results is needed to determine whether or not this was a cause or effect of the cyanobacteria blooms. As a next step, it is planned to attempt to grow the blooms to monitor their effects on

Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations during the lower thermosphere coupling study - September 21-26, 1987

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. M.

1991-02-01

The incoherent scatter radar located at Sondre Stromfjord (Greenland) obtained E and F region measurements during the first Lower Thermosphere Coupling Study (LTCS 1), September 21-26, 1987. Lower thermospheric neutral winds deduced from these measurements show that the neutral dynamics are influenced by both tidal oscillations and magnetospheric forcing. During an interval which was relatively quiet geomagnetically, September 23-24, a semidiurnal oscillation dominated the neutral motion. The model equinox tidal amplitudes and phases of Forbes (1982) for the diurnal tide are roughly in agreement with the observed diurnal oscillation for the first four days of the experiment. Vertical variations in the observed diurnal phases are consistent with the results of Forbes and Hagan (1988) and may provide evidence of dissipation of the propagating (1, 1) tidal mode. The semidiurnal motion observed during this period is not well represented by the recent theoretical results for the amplitude and phase of the semidiurnal tide (Forbes and Vial, 1991). Neutral winds obtained during a geomagnetically active interval, September 25-26, displayed a flow pattern that was significantly distorted from that observed during the preceding, relatively quiet interval.

Joint Science Education Project: Learning about polar science in Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foshee Reed, Lynn

2014-05-01

The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP) is a successful summer science and culture opportunity in which students and teachers from the United States, Denmark, and Greenland come together to learn about the research conducted in Greenland and the logistics involved in supporting the research. They conduct experiments first-hand and participate in inquiry-based educational activities alongside scientists and graduate students at a variety of locations in and around Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and on the top of the ice sheet at Summit Station. The Joint Committee, a high-level forum involving the Greenlandic, Danish and U.S. governments, established the Joint Science Education Project in 2007, as a collaborative diplomatic effort during the International Polar Year to: • Educate and inspire the next generation of polar scientists; • Build strong networks of students and teachers among the three countries; and • Provide an opportunity to practice language and communication skills Since its inception, JSEP has had 82 student and 22 teacher participants and has involved numerous scientists and field researchers. The JSEP format has evolved over the years into its current state, which consists of two field-based subprograms on site in Greenland: the Greenland-led Kangerlussuaq Science Field School and the U.S.-led Arctic Science Education Week. All travel, transportation, accommodations, and meals are provided to the participants at no cost. During the 2013 Kangerlussuaq Science Field School, students and teachers gathered data in a biodiversity study, created and set geo- and EarthCaches, calculated glacial discharge at a melt-water stream and river, examined microbes and tested for chemical differences in a variety of lakes, measured ablation at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and learned about fossils, plants, animals, minerals and rocks of Greenland. In addition, the students planned and led cultural nights, sharing food, games, stories, and traditions of

Ionospheric traveling convection vortices observed near the polar cleft - A triggered response to sudden changes in the solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friis-Christensen, E.; Vennerstrom, S.; Mchenry, M. A.; Clauer, C. R.

1988-01-01

Analysis of 20-second resolution magnetometer data from an array of temporary stations operated around Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, during the summer of 1986 shows the signatures of localized ionospheric traveling convection vortices. An example of an isolated event of this kind observed near 08 local time is presented in detail. This event consists of a twin vortex pattern of convection consistent with the presence of two field-aligned current filaments separated by about 600 km in the east-west direction. This system of currents is observed to move westward (tailward) past the array of stations at about 4 km/sec. The event is associated with relative quiet time ionospheric convection and occurs during an interval of northward IMF. It is, however, associated with a large fluctuation in both the Z and Y components of the IMF and with a large sudden decrease in the solar wind number density. The propagation of the system is inconsistent with existing models of FTE current systems, but nevertheless appears to be related to a readjustment of the magnetopause boundary to a sudden change in the solar wind dynamic pressure and/or to a change in reconnection brought about by a sudden reorientation of the IMF.

Biomarker signature of Greenland sediments: from modern rivers and soils to MIS 5e and 11 records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupker, M.; Anspach, J.; Haghipour, N.; Eglinton, T. I.

2016-12-01

Better constraining the evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is crucial for a broader understanding of past and future climate changes. Previous studies reported that the GrIS was significantly smaller during interglacial periods MIS 5e and MIS 11 than at present [1,2], which suggests that a bigger fraction of Greenland was covered by vegetation and soils. To investigate whether terrestrial biomarkers provide new constraints on the dynamics of the GrIS over the past interglacials, we characterised the biomarker composition (GDGTs and n-alkanes), as well as the bulk geochemistry (TOC, δ13C, C-14), of modern sediments from southwestern Greenland and of Eirik Drift core IODP-303-U1305 over MIS5e and 11. Rivers in southwestern Greenland constitute the main link between the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the ocean. Understanding the composition of suspended river sediments gives insights into the source of organic carbon that is mobilised and further exported to the ocean. To address these questions, biomarkers in suspended sediments and soils coming from Kangerlussuaq, southwestern Greenland, were measured. Kangerlussuaq is located in the most sensitive region of Greenland with regard to climate change, and is a good analogue for interglacials. Preliminary results (e.g. biomarker concentrations, MAT, CPI, ACL) show that soils or lakes are not the only source of organic matter in these rivers, and suggest that part of the biomarker signature is inherited from older, presently subglacial, organic pools. The Eirik Drift accumulates material that is eroded from the eastern and southern Greenland margin, and it has been shown to record significant environmental changes of the GrIS over MIS 5e and MIS 11 [1,2,3]. However, the GDGT and n-alkane characterisation of drift sediments from IODP-303-U1305 do not show a significant response of the biomarker record to these interglacials. [1] Colville, E. J., et al., 2011 - Science 333, 620-623. [2] Reyes, A. V., et al., 2014

Interdisciplinary Graduate Training in Polar Environmental Change: Field-based learning in Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virginia, R. A.; Holm, K.; Whitecloud, S.; Levy, L.; Kelly, M. A.; Feng, X.; Grenoble, L.

2009-12-01

The objective of the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT) program at Dartmouth College is to develop a new cohort of environmental scientists and engineers with an interdisciplinary understanding of polar regions and their importance to global environmental change. The Dartmouth IGERT challenges Ph.D. students to consider the broader dimensions of their research and to collaborate with scientists from other disciplines, educators, and policy makers. IGERT students will focus on research questions that are relevant to the needs of local people experiencing climate change and on understanding the ethical responsibilities and benefits of conducting research in partnership with northern residents and institutions. Seven Ph.D. students from the departments of Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Dartmouth College make up the first IGERT cohort for the five-year program. The Dartmouth IGERT curriculum will focus on three main components of polar systems responding to recent climate change: the cryosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycles. The integrating experience of the core curriculum is the Greenland Field Seminar that will take place in Kangerlussuaq (terrestrial and aquatic systems), Summit Camp (snow and ice) and Nuuk, Greenland (human dimensions of change). In Nuuk, IGERT students will share their science and develop partnerships with students, educators, and policy makers at the University of Greenland, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), and other Greenlandic institutions. In summer 2009 the authors conducted preliminary fieldwork near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to develop aspects of the science curriculum for the 2010 Greenland Field Seminar and to explore research topics for IGERT Fellows (Levy and Whitecloud). Examples of results presented here are designed to develop field-based learning activities. These include soil and vegetation relationships as a function of aspect

The Arctic in the Twenty-First Century: Changing Biogeochemical Linkages across a Paraglacial Landscape of Greenland.

PubMed

Anderson, N John; Saros, Jasmine E; Bullard, Joanna E; Cahoon, Sean M P; McGowan, Suzanne; Bagshaw, Elizabeth A; Barry, Christopher D; Bindler, Richard; Burpee, Benjamin T; Carrivick, Jonathan L; Fowler, Rachel A; Fox, Anthony D; Fritz, Sherilyn C; Giles, Madeleine E; Hamerlik, Ladislav; Ingeman-Nielsen, Thomas; Law, Antonia C; Mernild, Sebastian H; Northington, Robert M; Osburn, Christopher L; Pla-Rabès, Sergi; Post, Eric; Telling, Jon; Stroud, David A; Whiteford, Erika J; Yallop, Marian L; Yde, Jacob C

2017-02-01

The Kangerlussuaq area of southwest Greenland encompasses diverse ecological, geomorphic, and climate gradients that function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Ecosystems range from the microbial communities on the ice sheet and moisture-stressed terrestrial vegetation (and their associated herbivores) to freshwater and oligosaline lakes. These ecosystems are linked by a dynamic glacio-fluvial-aeolian geomorphic system that transports water, geological material, organic carbon and nutrients from the glacier surface to adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems. This paraglacial system is now subject to substantial change because of rapid regional warming since 2000. Here, we describe changes in the eco- and geomorphic systems at a range of timescales and explore rapid future change in the links that integrate these systems. We highlight the importance of cross-system subsidies at the landscape scale and, importantly, how these might change in the near future as the Arctic is expected to continue to warm.

The Arctic in the Twenty-First Century: Changing Biogeochemical Linkages across a Paraglacial Landscape of Greenland

PubMed Central

Anderson, N. John; Saros, Jasmine E.; Bullard, Joanna E.; Cahoon, Sean M. P.; McGowan, Suzanne; Bagshaw, Elizabeth A.; Barry, Christopher D.; Bindler, Richard; Burpee, Benjamin T.; Carrivick, Jonathan L.; Fowler, Rachel A.; Fox, Anthony D.; Fritz, Sherilyn C.; Giles, Madeleine E.; Hamerlik, Ladislav; Ingeman-Nielsen, Thomas; Law, Antonia C.; Mernild, Sebastian H.; Northington, Robert M.; Osburn, Christopher L.; Pla-Rabès, Sergi; Post, Eric; Telling, Jon; Stroud, David A.; Whiteford, Erika J.; Yallop, Marian L.; Yde, Jacob C.

2017-01-01

Abstract The Kangerlussuaq area of southwest Greenland encompasses diverse ecological, geomorphic, and climate gradients that function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Ecosystems range from the microbial communities on the ice sheet and moisture-stressed terrestrial vegetation (and their associated herbivores) to freshwater and oligosaline lakes. These ecosystems are linked by a dynamic glacio-fluvial-aeolian geomorphic system that transports water, geological material, organic carbon and nutrients from the glacier surface to adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems. This paraglacial system is now subject to substantial change because of rapid regional warming since 2000. Here, we describe changes in the eco- and geomorphic systems at a range of timescales and explore rapid future change in the links that integrate these systems. We highlight the importance of cross-system subsidies at the landscape scale and, importantly, how these might change in the near future as the Arctic is expected to continue to warm. PMID:28596614

Proglacial River Reveals Substantial Greenland Ice Sheet Climate Sensitivity and Meltwater Routing Delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van As, D.; Mikkelsen, A. B.; Holtegaard Nielsen, M.; Claesson Liljedahl, L.; Lindback, K.; Pitcher, L. H.; Hasholt, B.

2016-12-01

A 12.000 km2 area of the Greenland ice sheet discharges meltwater via the proglacial Watson River in west Greenland. In a ten-year time span of continuous monitoring (2006-2015), the river discharged 3.8 km3 to 11.2 km3 yr-1. The large interannual variability is for an important part explained by hypsometric amplification: the flattening of the ice sheet with elevation adds 70% meltwater discharge sensitivity to atmospheric temperature. Comparing river discharge with ice sheet surface meltwater production from an observation-based surface mass balance model we quantify multiple-day routing delays for meltwater transit through the supra-, en-, sub- and proglacial system. This delay increases with ice sheet surface elevation: on average five days for surface water at the previous-known equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of ca. 1550 m, and seven days at the 2009-2015 ELA of ca. 1800 m above sea level. A flooding of the Kangerlussuaq bridge as in July 2012 thus requires a multi-day high-melt episode and can therefore be anticipated by in-situ monitoring of ice sheet melt. No evidence of significant en- or subglacial meltwater retention is found.

Investigations on soil organic carbon stocks and active layer thickness in West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gries, Philipp; Wagner, Julia; Kandolf, Lorenz; Henkner, Jessica; Kühn, Peter; Scholten, Thomas; Schmidt, Karsten

2017-04-01

The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in the first 300 cm of arctic soils includes about 50 % of the estimated global terrestrial belowground organic carbon, which makes about 1024 Pg C and up to 496 Pg within the upper permafrost one meter. Being a sensible ecosystem, the Arctic is sensitive to climate change. Hence, thawing of permafrost-affected soils to greater depth and for longer periods increases the release of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere, which queries soils as an important carbon pool. Especially in arctic environments, sparse soil data and limited knowledge of soil processes cause underestimation of SOC stocks. Due to different regional climatic conditions, changing soil-environmental conditions result in varying soil organic carbon contents in Greenland. In West Greenland, coastal oceanic conditions turn into continental climate at the ice margin showing less precipitation, higher insolation and increasing permafrost thickness. The objectives of this study are (i) to determine SOC stocks and active layer thickness (ALT), (ii) to identify main environmental factors influencing SOC stocks and ALT, and (iii) to specify differences of SOC stocks, ALT and influencing factors induced by a climatic trend in West Greenland. Respecting different climatic conditions, one study area is situated next to the ice margin in the Kangerlussuaq area and the second one is located near Sisimiut at the coast. Both study areas (2 km2) are representative for each region and have similar environmental settings. Soil samples were taken from depth increments (0-25, 25-50, 50-100, and 100-200 cm) at 80 sampling locations in each study area. Additionally, we addressed soil moisture content (TDR-measurements), ALT, and soil horizons, vegetation (types, coverage), and terrain characteristics (aspect, geomorphology) at each sampling point. As a preliminary result, at the coast the average SOC stock is 13.1 kg/m2 in the upper 25 cm and about 35.9 kg/m2 in the first 200 cm. The amount of

Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet - Ice Surface Velocities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, S. B.; Ahlstrom, A. P.; Boncori, J. M.; Dall, J.

2011-12-01

In 2007, the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy launched the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) as an ongoing effort to assess changes in the mass budget of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Iceberg calving from the outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet, often termed the ice-dynamic mass loss, is responsible for an important part of the mass loss during the last decade. To quantify this part of the mass loss, we combine airborne surveys yielding ice-sheet thickness along the entire margin, with surface velocities derived from satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). In order to derive ice sheet surface velocities from SAR a processing chain has been developed for GEUS by DTU Space based on a commercial software package distributed by GAMMA Remote Sensing. The processor, named SUSIE (Scripts and Utilities for SAR Ice-motion Estimation), can use both differential SAR interferometry and offset-tracking techniques to measure the horizontal velocity components, providing also an estimate of the corresponding measurement error. So far surface velocities have been derived for a number of sites including Nioghalvfjerdsfjord Glacier, the Kangerlussuaq region, the Nuuk region, Helheim Glacier and Daugaard-Jensen Glacier using data from ERS-1/ERS-2, ENVISAT ASAR and ALOS Palsar. Here we will present these first results.

Sharing Polar Science with Secondary Students: Polartrec and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, N. E.

2014-12-01

This session will provide a variety of resources and lesson ideas for educators interested in effectively communicating polar science. Ms. Herrmann will share evidence of the direct impacts on secondary students that resulted from her collaboration with polar scientists in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Ms. Herrmann's interest in polar science began in 2009, when she worked as a field assistant in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland for scientists examining the effects of climate change on caribou. In 2011, she was selected to participate in PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating), a professional development program for teachers and researchers, funded by NSF and coordinated by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS). The opportunity provides teachers opportunities to collaborate with scientists and to share real world science with students. Ms. Herrmann will discuss her experience working with researchers at Palmer Station, Antarctica and how it led to her continued professional development with the Palmer Station Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program and with Polar Eduators (PEI), including a recent Master Class she presented with Dr. Richard Alley. She will also discuss her development of a program called Polar Ambassadors, in which older students become mentors to younger students in the field of polar science.

Pollution impacts on Arctic O3 and CO distributions during POLARCAT summer campaign.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pommier, M.; Law, K. S.; Clerbaux, C.; Turquety, S.; Schlager, H.; Ancellet, G.; Paris, J.-D.; NASA Arctas Data Team

2009-04-01

The Arctic ozone budget is not well quantified and global models fail to reproduce seasonal cycles especially in summertime when anthropogenic and boreal forest fire emissions can contribute. One possible explanation is the underestimation of modelled ozone production in forest fires plumes. Long-range transport of anthropogenic pollution to the Arctic is also not well quantified. This study focuses on analysis of the POLARCAT summer campaign which took place in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in July 2008. During the campaign different air masses were sampled including clean northerly air, polluted plumes originating from anthropogenic sources in North American and forest fire plumes from Siberia and Canada. Measurements of O3 and CO collected by the ATR-42 aircraft as part of POLARCAT-France and the German DLR-Falcon aircraft as part of POLARCAT-GRACE are compared to satellite observations from the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) interferometer. Specific IASI validation flights are also used to validate the measurements. Both in-situ and satellite data are compared to results from the LMDz-INCA global chemistry model. Data from other campaigns such as NASA-ARCTAS and YAK flights in Siberia are also available for these comparisons. Preliminary analyses of Lagrangian matches between aircraft measuring in the same air masses using the CiTTyCAT photochemical trajectory model are presented.

Future ice ages and the challenges related to final disposal of nuclear waste: The Greenland Ice Sheet Hydrology Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehtinen, A.; Claesson-Liljedahl, L.; Näslund, J.-O.; Ruskeeniemi, T.

2009-04-01

A deep geological repository for nuclear waste is designed to keep radiotoxic material separated from mankind and the environment for several hundreds of thousands of years. Within this time perspective glacial conditions are expected in high latitudes/Canada and North Europe. Climate induced changes such as the growth of ice sheets and permafrost will influence and alter the ground surface and subsurface environment, which may impact repository safety. In order to understand how climate change, particularly cooling and glaciation, might affect a repository in the long term, the use of present-day analogues helps to reduce the uncertainties and support the assumptions made in safety assessments. There are major uncertainties concerning hydrological processes related to glacial conditions. The impact of glaciations on any planned repository is a key consideration when performing safety assessments as it is one of the strongest perturbations related to climate change in the long term. The main aspects that need to be further investigated include: 1) to what extent does the meltwater produced by an ice sheet penetrates into the bedrock; 2) what is the pressure situation under an ice sheet, driving ground water flow; 3) how much oxygenated water will reach repository depth; 4) to what depth does glacial meltwater penetrate into the bedrock ; 5)what chemical composition does such water has when and if it reaches repository depth; and 6) can taliks (unfrozen ground in a permafrost area) act as concentrated discharge points of deep groundwater potentially transporting radionuclides in case of repository failure? Field data is needed in order to achieve a better and integrated understanding of the problems discussed above. Thus, research in a natural analogue site in Greenland has been planned and initiated by the Finnish (Posiva), Swedish (SKB) and Canadian (NWMO) nuclear waste management companies. The Greenland ice sheet and the Kangerlussuaq area (west Greenland

Albedo and its relationship with seasonal surface roughness using repeat UAV survey across the Kangerlussuaq sector of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, A., II; Ryan, J.; Box, J. E.; Snooke, N.

2015-12-01

Surface albedo is a primary control on absorbed radiation and hence ice surface darkening is a powerful amplifier of melt across the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. To investigate the relationship between ice surface roughness and variations in albedo in space and time at ~dm resolution, a suite of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were deployed from the margin of Russell Glacier between June and August, 2014. The UAVs were equipped with digital and multispectral cameras, GoPros, fast response broadband pyranometers and temperature and humidity sensors. The primary mission was regular repeat longitudinal transects attaining data from the margin to the equilibrium line 80 km into the ice sheet interior and which were complimented by selected watershed and catchment surveys. The pyranometers reliably measure bare ice surface albedo between 0.34 and 0.58 that correlate well against concurrent MODIS data (where available). Repeat digital photogrammetric analysis enables investigation of relationship between changing meso- and micro-scale albedo and melt processes modulated by ice surface roughness that, in turn, are related to the seasonally evolving surface energy balance recorded at three AWS on the flight path.

A comparison of Holocene fluctuations of the eastern and western margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, L.; Kelly, M. A.; Lowell, T. V.; Hall, B. L.; Applegate, P. J.; Howley, J.; Axford, Y.

2013-12-01

Determining how the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) responded to past temperature fluctuations is important for assessing its future stability in a changing climate. We present a record of the Holocene extents of the western GrIS margin near Kangerlussuaq (67.0°N, 50.7°W) and compare this with the past fluctuations of Bregne ice cap (71°N, 25.6° W), a small ice cap in the Scoresby Sund region 90 km from the eastern GrIS margin, to examine the mechanisms that influenced past ice margin fluctuations. The past extents of the Bregne ice cap are a proxy for the climatic conditions that influenced the nearby GrIS margin. We used glacial geomorphic mapping, 10Be dating of boulders and bedrock, and sediment cores from proglacial and non-glacial lakes. In western Greenland, 10Be ages on the Keglen moraines, 13 km west of the current GrIS margin and the Ørkendalen moraines, ≤2 km west of the current ice margin date to 7.3 × 0.1 ka (n=6) and 6.8 × 0.3 ka (n=9), respectively. Fresh moraines, ≤50 m from the current ice margin date to AD 1830-1950 and are likely associated with advances during the Little Ice Age (LIA). In some areas, the LIA moraines lie stratigraphically above the Ørkendalen moraines, indicating the GrIS was inboard of the Ørkendalen limit from 6.8 ka to the 20th century. In eastern Greenland, 10Be ages show that Bregne ice cap retreated within its late Holocene limit by 10.7 ka. A lack of clastic sediment in a proglacial lake suggests the ice cap was smaller or completely absent from ~10-2.6 ka. A snowline analysis indicates that temperatures ~0.5°C warmer than present would render the entire ice cap into an ablation zone. Glacial silts in the proglacial lake at ~2.6 and ~1.9 cal kyr BP to present indicate advances of Bregne ice cap. Fresh moraines ≤200 m of Bregne ice cap were deposited ≤2.6 cal kyr BP and mark the largest advance of the Holocene. Both the western GrIS margin and Bregne ice cap were influenced by Northern Hemisphere summer

Glaciologist studies Greenland snow conditions and helps calibrate CryoSat instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2011-08-01

GREENLAND—On a typically frigid mid-July day at Summit Station, almost smack in the middle of Greenland, with the temperature hovering around -10°C, Elizabeth Morris and John Sweeny were bundled up against the cold atop their black Ski-Doo snowmobiles, which Morris described as being similar to motorcycles on ski tracks. They drove the vehicles—without yet attaching three wooden sleds that would be pulled during their summer scientific traverse across part of central Greenland—on a practice spin along the perimeter of Summit's groomed, approximately 4600-meter × 60-meter snow runway. One of the longest runways in the world, it lies atop 3.2 kilometers of ice, with the horizon stretching in every direction. Morris, a glaciologist who is a senior associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University, United Kingdom, and Sweeny, her polar guide, were taking advantage of an unexpected extra day at Summit, a scientific research station sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), before the traverse began. They hoped that the socked-in visibility just a few hours earlier that morning, 16 July, would not be repeated the following day so that a U.S. Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing C-130 cargo plane would be cleared to fly to Summit from Kangerlussuaq on Greenland's west coast with needed supplies. Morris and Sweeny would load up each sled with about 270 kilograms of gear.

Cyanotoxins in arctic lakes of southwestern Greenland and the potential for toxin transfer within-lake and across the aquatic-terrestrial boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trout-Haney, J. V.; Cottingham, K. L.

2015-12-01

Arctic lakes are often characterized as low-resource environments in which the autotrophic community is limited by factors such as nutrients, temperature, and light. Studies of cyanotoxins have traditionally focused on nutrient-rich lakes with conspicuous blooms, however toxigenic cyanobacteria are confined to neither high nutrient environments nor planktonic taxa. We quantified the occurrence of cyanotoxins across 19 arctic lakes of varying size and depth in the Kangerlussuaq region of southwestern Greenland. Whole lake water microcystins (MC) were detected in all lakes and ranged from low (<5 ng/L) to moderate (>100 ng/L) concentrations. Benthic colonial cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc are a prominent feature of certain lakes in this region, with estimated densities ranging between 500 and >500,000 colonies per lake. MC were present in the tissue of Nostoc colonies (95% CI, 1638.9 - 3237.6 pg MC (g wet weight)-1) and were actively released by colonies into surrounding water in laboratory trials. These results highlight the potential importance of toxic benthic cyanobacteria in lake ecosystems. Further, we investigated the transfer of these cyanotoxins to other organisms in the lake as well as several mechanisms (i.e., emerging insects, aerosols) that may influence the movement of toxins into the terrestrial ecosystem. The presence and movement of cyanotoxins in the coupled terrestrial-aquatic ecosystem demonstrate that high-latitude lakes can support toxigenic cyanobacteria, and that we may be underestimating the potential for these systems to develop high levels of toxicity in the future.

Convection and electrodynamic signatures in the vicinity of a Sun-aligned arc: Results from the Polar Acceleration Regions and Convection Study (Polar ARCS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiss, L. A.; Weber, E. J.; Reiff, P. H.; Sharber, J. R.; Winningham, J. D.; Primdahl, F.; Mikkelsen, I. S.; Seifring, C.; Wescott, Eugene M.

1994-01-01

An experimental campaign designed to study high-latitude auroral arcs was conducted in Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, on February 26, 1987. The Polar Acceleration Regions and Convection Study (Polar ARCS) consisted of a coordinated set of ground-based, airborne, and sounding rocket measurements of a weak, sun-aligned arc system within the duskside polar cap. A rocket-borne barium release experiment, two DMSP satellite overflights, all-sky photography, and incoherent scatter radar measurements provided information on the large-scale plasma convection over the polar cap region while a second rocket instrumented with a DC magnetometer, Langmuir and electric field probes, and an electron spectrometer provided measurements of small-scale electrodynamics. The large-scale data indicate that small, sun-aligned precipitation events formed within a region of antisunward convection between the duskside auroral oval and a large sun-aligned arc further poleward. This convection signature, used to assess the relationship of the sun-aligned arc to the large-scale magnetospheric configuration, is found to be consistent with either a model in which the arc formed on open field lines on the dusk side of a bifurcated polar cap or on closed field lines threading an expanded low-latitude boundary layer, but not a model in which the polar cap arc field lines map to an expanded plasma sheet. The antisunward convection signature may also be explained by a model in which the polar cap arc formed on long field lines recently reconnected through a highly skewed plasma sheet. The small-scale measurements indicate the rocket passed through three narrow (less than 20 km) regions of low-energy (less than 100 eV) electron precipitation in which the electric and magnetic field perturbations were well correlated. These precipitation events are shown to be associated with regions of downward Poynting flux and small-scale upward and downward field-aligned currents of 1-2 micro-A/sq m. The paired field

Increasing Freshwater Runoff and Tidal Action Influences on Spatial Mixing Patterns in Søndre Strømfjord, West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smiley, C. R.; Kamenos, N.; Hoey, T.; Cottier, F.; Ellam, R. M.

2014-12-01

Greenland Ice Sheet melt has the potential to affect global sea levels and the strength of the thermohaline circulation (THC). Investigating spatial mixing patterns of seawater in Greenlandic fjords can help reveal characteristics of changes in runoff from the GrIS; for example higher runoff may be associated with lower salinity within GrIS fjords, which can be recorded by palaeoenvironmental proxies (Kamenos et al 2012). The Kangerlussuaq Drainage Basin mirrors melt patterns of the whole GrIS and drains into Søndre Strømfjord, a 170km long fjord on the west coast of Greenland. Temperature and salinity profiles to 40m depth were obtained at 11 stations along Søndre Strømfjord during the 2014 melt season. Each station was sampled twice once at high KDB runoff and once at low KDB runoff. With increasing freshwater runoff, salinity decreases by 1.65 - 2.91 at each station over a 7 hour time period. Higher salinities occur at low run-off. In addition, with increasing run-off, the disparity between surface and deeper water (30m) becomes greater with a 19.3 difference between the surface and 30m. With higher KDB runoff temperature increases by 0.47oC - 2.34oC. This information will be integrated with oxygen and deuterium isotope patterns to pinpoint the exact source of the runoff causing salinity reductions. Our data show a relationship between KDB runoff and salinity of Søndre Strømfjord, data that will enable further calibration of marine proxies of GrIS melt.

Multi-decadal and seasonal variability of dust observations in West Greenland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bullard, Joanna E.; Mockford, Tom

2017-04-01

Since the early 1900s expedition records from west Greenland have reported local dust storms. The Kangerlussuaq region, near the inland ice, is dry (mean annual precipitation <160 mm) with, on average, 150 snow-free days per year. The main local dust sources are active, proglacial outwash plains although reworking of loess deposits may also be important. This paper presents an analysis of 70-years of dust storm observations (1945-2015) based on WMO weather codes 6 (dust haze), 7 (raised dust or sand) and 9 (distant or past dust storm) and associated wind data. The 70-year average number of dust observations days is 5 per year but variable ranging from 0 observations to 23 observations in 1985. Over the past 7 decades the number of dust days has increased from <30 in 1945-54 to >75 in 1995-2004 and 2005-2015. The seasonality of dust observations has remained consistent throughout most of the period. Dust days occur all year round but are most frequent in May-June and September-October and are associated with minimum snow cover and glacial meltwater-driven sediment supply to the outwash plains during spring and fall flood events. Wind regime is bimodal dominated by katabatic winds from the northeast, which are strongest and most frequent during winter months (Nov-Jan), with less frequent, southwesterly winds generated by Atlantic storms mostly confined to spring (May, June). The southwesterly winds are those most likely to transport dust onto the Greenland ice sheet.

Molluscs associated with the macroalgae of the genus Gracilaria (Rhodophyta): importance of algal fronds as microhabitat in a hypersaline mangrove in Northeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Queiroz, R N M; Dias, T L P

2014-08-01

The fronds of marine macroalgae play an important role in coastal ecosystems because the algae banks are utilized as a microhabitat by different taxa, including molluscs, one of the most abundant and diverse animals of marine ecosystems. In this study, we characterized the malacofauna associated with the macroalgae Gracilaria domingensis (Kützing) Sonder ex Dickie 1874 and Gracilaria cuneata Areschoug 1854 of a hypersaline mangrove on the northern coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil. The first alga dominates in the rainy season and it is substituted by second one in the dry period. A total of 1,490 molluscs were surveyed, representing 56 species in 29 families: 1,081 were associated with G. domingensis and 409 with G. cuneata, the latter showing the greater diversity (H'=1.25). Columbellidae, Neritidae, Pyramidellidae and Cerithiidae were among the most representative families in the number of species and individuals. The micromolluscs were dominant in the algal microhabitat, constituting 74.63% of the malacofauna recorded. The columbellid Parvanachis obesa (C. B. Adams, 1845) was the dominant species followed by the neritid Neritina virginea (Linnaeus, 1758) in both algae. In spite of the annual alternated succession of the algae species, at least 15 mollusc species are common for these algae. Furthermore, juveniles of P. obesa were recorded in both seasons, indicating a continuous reproduction. Possible reasons for difference in abundance, diversity and dominance of molluscs living on these algae are discussed. Both species of substrate-algae represent an important microhabitat for refuge, feeding and the reproduction of small-sized mollusc species during rainy and dry seasons.

Vibrations et relaxations dans les molécules biologiques. Apports de la diffusion incohérente inélastique de neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanotti, J.-M.

2005-11-01

Le présent document ne se veut pas un article de revue mais plutôt un élément d'initiation à une technique encore marginale en Biologie. Le lecteur est supposé être un non spécialiste de la diffusion de neutrons poursuivant une thématique à connotation biologique ou biophysique mettant en jeu des phénomènes dynamiques. En raison de la forte section de diffusion incohérente de l'atome d'hydrogène et de l'abondance de cet élément dans les protéines, la diffusion incohérente inélastique de neutrons est une technique irremplaçable pour sonder la dynamique interne des macromolécules biologiques. Après un rappel succinct des éléments théoriques de base, nous décrivons le fonctionnement de différents types de spectromètres inélastiques par temps de vol sur source continue ou pulsée et discutons leurs mérites respectifs. Les deux alternatives utilisées pour décrire la dynamique des protéines sont abordées: (i)l'une en termes de physique statistique, issue de la physique des verres, (ii) la seconde est une interprétation mécanistique. Nous montrons dans ce cas, comment mettre à profit les complémentarités de domaines en vecteur de diffusion et de résolution en énergie de différents spectromètres inélastiques de neutrons (temps de vol, backscattering et spin-écho) pour accéder, à l'aide d'un modèle physique simple, à la dynamique des protéines sur une échelle de temps allant d'une fraction de picoseconde à quelques nanosecondes.

Interaction Between Magmatism and Continental Extension, Insight From an Extensional Terrain in the Iranian Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malekpour Alamdari, A.; Axen, G. J.; Hassanzadeh, J.

2014-12-01

Our knowledge about the spatial and temporal relationship between continental extension and its related magmatism is mainly from the western US where removal of a flat subducting slab from under the continent controlled thermal weakening and some extensional collapse. The Iranian plateau, where flat-slab subduction and its subsequent rollback is suggested for the Tertiary magmatic evolution, is an ideal place to see if a similar interaction exists. Between the Late Cretaceous and, at least, the Early Eocene, large-scale continental extension affected the NE Iranian plateau. An ~100 km-long, SE tilted upper to mid-crustal section was exhumed by slip along a low-angle, NW-dipping detachment fault. From SE to NW (young to old) this section includes late Cretaceous pelagic limestones of the Kashmar ophiolites, Late and Early Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, and the Late Triassic and older crystalline rocks of the Biarjmand-Shotor Kuh metamorphic core complex. Little pre-extensional magmatic activity exists in the tilted sequence and in surrounding regions, as Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dikes. Similarly, syn-extensional magmatism is absent. In contrast, the tilted sequence is unconformably overlain by >4000 m of volcanic rocks with age ranging from the Middle Eocene (explosive, calc-alkaline?) to the Late Eocene (effusive, alkaline). The absence of considerable pre-extensional magmatism in the NE Iranian plateau does not support magma underplating, subsequent thermal weakening and collapse as a mechanism for the extension in this region. It also indicates that the models that consider waning of volcanism as a controlling mechanism for triggering of extensional faulting (Sonder & Jones, 1999) is not applicable for this region. The amagmatic extension may reflect magma crystallization at depth due to reduced confining pressure resulted from active normal faulting and fracturing (Gans & Bohrson, 1998). The extension and related asthenospheric rise may be developed in

Fostering science communication and outreach through video production in Dartmouth's IGERT Polar Environmental Change graduate program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond Wagner, C. R.; McDavid, L. A.; Virginia, R. A.

2013-12-01

Dartmouth's NSF-supported IGERT Polar Environmental Change graduate program has focused on using video media to foster interdisciplinary thinking and to improve student skills in science communication and public outreach. Researchers, educators, and funding organizations alike recognize the value of video media for making research results more accessible and relevant to diverse audiences and across cultures. We present an affordable equipment set and the basic video training needed as well as available Dartmouth institutional support systems for students to produce outreach videos on climate change and its associated impacts on people. We highlight and discuss the successes and challenges of producing three types of video products created by graduate and undergraduate students affiliated with the Dartmouth IGERT. The video projects created include 1) graduate student profile videos, 2) a series of short student-created educational videos for Greenlandic high school students, and 3) an outreach video about women in science based on the experiences of women students conducting research during the IGERT field seminar at Summit Station and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The 'Science in Greenland--It's a Girl Thing' video was featured on The New York Times Dot Earth blog and the Huffington Post Green blog among others and received international recognition. While producing these videos, students 1) identified an audience and created story lines, 2) worked in front of and behind the camera, 3) utilized low-cost digital editing applications, and 4) shared the videos on multiple platforms from social media to live presentations. The three video projects were designed to reach different audiences, and presented unique challenges for content presentation and dissemination. Based on student and faculty assessment, we conclude that the video projects improved student science communication skills and increased public knowledge of polar science and the effects of climate change.

Linking petrology and seismology of the southwest Greenland lithosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lesher, C. E.; Vestergaard, C.; Brown, E.; Schutt, D.

2015-12-01

Mantle xenoliths from late-Proterozoic diamond-bearing kimberlitic dikes in the Kangerlussuaq, Sarfartoq and Maniitsoq areas of southwestern Greenland provide constraints on the composition and thermal state of lithospheric mantle beneath Greenland to depths of ~200 km [1]. Similarly, surface wave tomography studies carried out as part of the GLATIS project use a range of Rayleigh wave periods sensitive to structures at a similar depth interval within southwestern Greenland lithospheric mantle [2]. Here we link petrologic and seismologic constraints on the mantle lithosphere beneath Greenland utilizing methods of [3] that show that inferred chemical and mineralogical stratification inferred from petrology, showing mantle peridotite transitioning from garnet-free harzburgite to garnet lherzolite between ~70 and 180 km, cannot readily be resolved with fundamental mode Rayleigh waves. On the other hand, comparing phase velocities predicted from xenolith compositions, mineralogy and last equilibration temperatures and pressures, defining the continental geotherm during late-Proterozoic time, with those for the present-day mantle lithosphere suggest significant cooling of the cratonic mantle to a modern geotherm characterized by a heat flux of 30 mW/m2 and average crustal heat production of 0.3 mW/m3 [4]. These preliminary findings point to the weak dependence of shear wave velocities on mantle peridotite composition and mineralogy, and further illustrate its strong temperature dependence. Comparison of ancient and modern continental geotherms made possible by combining petrologic and seismological data, as shown here for southwest Greenland, provide additional constraints on secular cooling of cratonic regions linked to large-scale tectonic processes. [1] Bizzarro et al., 2003, CMP, 146; Sand et al., Lithos, 112. [2] Darbyshire et al., 2004, GJI, 158. [3] Schutt and Lesher, 2006, JGR, 111. [4] Meirerbachtol et al., 2015, JGR/ES, 120.

Carbon monoxide transport in the Arctic: A joint study using IASI satellite and aircraft data in spring and summer 2008. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pommier, M.; Law, K.; Clerbaux, C.; Turquety, S.; Hadji-Lazaro, J.; Hurtmans, D.; Coheur, P.; Schlager, H.; Ancellet, G.; Paris, J.; Nédélec, P.; Diskin, G. S.; Podolske, J. R.; Bernath, P.

2009-12-01

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a reactive toxic gas, mainly produced by the combustion of fossil fuels and vegetation burning. It also plays an important role in the budget of tropospheric ozone and can be used a tracer for transport of sources of different origin. The impact of the transport of such pollutants on climate change in the Arctic still remains to be quantified with global models often failing to reproduce seasonal cycles especially in summertime. One possible explanation is the underestimation of modelled ozone production in forest fires plumes. This study focuses on the analysis of the POLARCAT/IPY spring and summer campaigns which took place, in Kiruna, Sweden in April 2008 and in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in July 2008. During the campaigns different air masses were sampled including clean air, polluted plumes originating from anthropogenic sources in Europe and North America, and forest fire plumes from Siberia and Canada. These different transport pathways were well observed by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) interferometer, onboard the METOP-A satellite. Measurements of CO collected by the ATR-42 aircraft as part of POLARCAT-France have been used to validate the satellite measurements. Furthermore, a more general validation procedure was developed to compare IASI with ATR-42, DLR-Falcon, NASA DC-8 and NOAA P3-B CO data. YAK summer flights in Siberia are also available for these comparisons. Both in-situ and satellite data are also compared to simulations from the LMDz-INCA global chemistry model. We will discuss how the good global coverage of IASI and regional flights allow can be used improve estimates of CO emissions and to evaluate the impact of forest fires on CO and O3 (ozone) distributions.

Geomicrobiology of subglacial meltwater samples from Store Landgletscher and Russell Glacier, West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cameron, K. A.; Dieser, M.; Choquette, K.; Christner, B. C.; Hagedorn, B.; Harrold, Z.; Liu, L.; Sletten, R. S.; Junge, K.

2012-12-01

The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet provides direct connections between atmospheric, supraglacial and subglacial environments. The intraglacial hydrological pathways that result are believed to accommodate the microbial colonization of subglacial environments; however, little is known about the abundance, diversity and activity of microorganisms within these niches. The Greenland Ice Sheet (1.7 million square kilometers) and its associated surpaglacial and subglacial ecosystems may contribute significantly to biogeochemical cycling processes. We analyzed subglacial microbial assemblages in subglacial outflows, near Thule and Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland. The investigative approach included correlating microbial diversity, inferred function, abundance, melt water chemistry, O-18 water isotope ratios, alkalinity and sediment load. Using Illumina sequencing, bacterial small subunit ribosomal RNA hypervariable regions have been targeted and amplified from both extracted DNA and reverse transcribed rRNA. Over 3 billion sequence reads have been generated to create a comprehensive diversity profile. Total abundances ranged from 2.24E+04 to 1.58E+06 cells mL-1. In comparison, the total abundance of supraglacial early season snow samples ranged from 3.35E+02 to 2.8E+04 cells mL-1. 65 % of samples incubated with cyano ditoyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC), used to identify actively respiring cells, contained CTC-positive cells. On average, these cells represented 1.9 % of the estimated total abundance (1.86E+02 to 2.19E+03 CTC positive cells mL-1; 1.39E+03 cells mL-1 standard deviation); comparative to those measured in temperate freshwater lakes. The overarching objective of our research is to provide data that indicates the role of microbial communities, associated with ice sheets, in elemental cycling and in the release of biomass and nutrients to the surrounding marine biome.

Meltwater storage in low-density near-surface bare ice in the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Matthew G.; Smith, Laurence C.; Rennermalm, Asa K.; Miège, Clément; Pitcher, Lincoln H.; Ryan, Jonathan C.; Yang, Kang; Cooley, Sarah W.

2018-03-01

We document the density and hydrologic properties of bare, ablating ice in a mid-elevation (1215 m a.s.l.) supraglacial internally drained catchment in the Kangerlussuaq sector of the western Greenland ice sheet. We find low-density (0.43-0.91 g cm-3, μ = 0.69 g cm-3) ice to at least 1.1 m depth below the ice sheet surface. This near-surface, low-density ice consists of alternating layers of water-saturated, porous ice and clear solid ice lenses, overlain by a thin (< 0.5 m), even lower density (0.33-0.56 g cm-3, μ = 0.45 g cm-3) unsaturated weathering crust. Ice density data from 10 shallow (0.9-1.1 m) ice cores along an 800 m transect suggest an average 14-18 cm of specific meltwater storage within this low-density ice. Water saturation of this ice is confirmed through measurable water levels (1-29 cm above hole bottoms, μ = 10 cm) in 84 % of cryoconite holes and rapid refilling of 83 % of 1 m drilled holes sampled along the transect. These findings are consistent with descriptions of shallow, depth-limited aquifers on the weathered surface of glaciers worldwide and confirm the potential for substantial transient meltwater storage within porous low-density ice on the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone surface. A conservative estimate for the ˜ 63 km2 supraglacial catchment yields 0.009-0.012 km3 of liquid meltwater storage in near-surface, porous ice. Further work is required to determine if these findings are representative of broader areas of the Greenland ice sheet ablation zone, and to assess the implications for sub-seasonal mass balance processes, surface lowering observations from airborne and satellite altimetry, and supraglacial runoff processes.

Mesoarchean melting and Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic metasomatism during the formation of the cratonic mantle keel beneath West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Acken, D.; Luguet, A.; Pearson, D. G.; Nowell, G. M.; Fonseca, R. O. C.; Nagel, T. J.; Schulz, T.

2017-04-01

Highly siderophile element (HSE) concentration and 187Os/188Os isotopic heterogeneity has been observed on various scales in the Earth's mantle. Interaction of residual mantle peridotite with infiltrating melts has been suggested to overprint primary bulk rock HSE signatures originating from partial melting, contributing to the heterogeneity seen in the global peridotite database. Here we present a detailed study of harzburgitic xenolith 474527 from the Kangerlussuaq suite, West Greenland, coupling the Re-Os isotope geochemistry with petrography of both base metal sulfides (BMS) and silicates to assess the impact of overprint induced by melt-rock reaction on the Re-Os isotope system. Garnet harzburgite sample 474527 shows considerable heterogeneity in the composition of its major phases, most notably olivine and Cr-rich garnet, suggesting formation through multiple stages of partial melting and subsequent metasomatic events. The major BMS phases show a fairly homogeneous pentlandite-rich composition typical for BMS formed via metasomatic reaction, whereas the 187Os/188Os compositions determined for 17 of these BMS are extremely heterogeneous ranging between 0.1037 and 0.1981. Analyses by LA-ICP-MS reveal at least two populations of BMS grains characterized by contrasting HSE patterns. One type of pattern is strongly enriched in the more compatible HSE Os, Ir, and Ru over the typically incompatible Pt, Pd, and Re, while the other type shows moderate enrichment of the more incompatible HSE and has overall lower compatible HSE/incompatible HSE composition. The small-scale heterogeneity observed in these BMS highlights the need for caution when utilizing the Re-Os system to date mantle events, as even depleted harzburgite samples such as 474527 are likely to have experienced a complex history of metasomatic overprinting, with uncertain effects on the HSE.

Fatty Acid Composition of Muscle, Adipose Tissue and Liver from Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) Living in West Greenland

PubMed Central

Alves, Susana P.; Raundrup, Katrine; Cabo, Ângelo; Bessa, Rui J. B.; Almeida, André M.

2015-01-01

Information about lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatos) edible tissues is very limited in comparison to other meat sources. Thus, this work aims to present the first in-depth characterization of the FA profile of meat, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver of muskoxen living in West Greenland. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate the effect of sex in the FA composition of these edible tissues. Samples from muscle (Longissimus dorsi), subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver were collected from female and male muskoxen, which were delivered at the butchery in Kangerlussuaq (West Greenland) during the winter hunting season. The lipid content of muscle, adipose tissue and liver averaged 284, 846 and 173 mg/g of dry tissue, respectively. This large lipid contents confirms that in late winter, when forage availability is scarce, muskoxen from West Greenland still have high fat reserves, demonstrating that they are well adapted to seasonal feed restriction. A detailed characterization of FA and dimethylacetal composition of muskoxen muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver showed that there are little differences on FA composition between sexes. Nevertheless, the 18:1cis-9 was the most abundant FA in muscle and adipose tissue, reaching 43% of total FA in muscle. The high content of 18:1cis-9 suggests that it can be selectively stored in muskoxen tissues. Regarding the nutritional composition of muskoxen edible tissues, they are not a good source of polyunsaturated FA; however, they may contribute to a higher fat intake. Information about the FA composition of muskoxen meat and liver is scarce, so this work can contribute to the characterization of the nutritional fat properties of muskoxen edible tissues and can be also useful to update food composition databases. PMID:26678792

Dynamics of Plant Flow Interactions for the Seagrass Amphibolis antarctica: Field Observations and Model Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verduin, J. J.; Backhaus, J. O.

2000-02-01

Seagrass canopies influence water flow partly as a consequence of their morphology. Amphibolis antarctica (Labill.) Sonder et Aschers. ex Aschers, an Australian endemic, is different morphologically from more-commonly studied blade-like seagrasses such as Zostera and Thalassia. Field measurements and model predictions were used to characterize water flow within and above an A. antarctica meadow. A series of high resolution three-dimensional velocity measurements were obtained within, above and adjacent to A. antarctica meadows at different heights above the seabed. Field observations on the effect of seagrass canopy on flow show an overall damping effect. Power spectra of the velocity data revealed a reduction in energy from 500 (cm s -1) 2s -1to 10 (cm s -1) 2s -1within the canopy. Profiles of kinetic energy were calculated from in situ velocity measurements at 5 cm increments from 10 cm to 80 cm above the seabed, within and above the seagrass canopy. There was an intensification of flow where the canopy structure was densest (approximately 40 cm above the seabed) and slightly above it. The baffling effect of the canopy was most effective 25 cm above the seabed: here the flow was reduced from 50 cm s -1at free surface to 2-5 cm s -1. A slight increase in flow within the canopy was seen 10 cm above the sediment due to reduced friction exerted by the lower leafless stems of the plants. A high resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was coupled to a ten-layer canopy model for shallow coastal site dimensions. By applying different friction factors to various parts of the plant, mimicking its architecture, water flow was shown to be altered by the plant canopy according to its morphology. The derived computational results were in good agreement with the observed in situ velocity and kinetic energy changes. As a result of this study it is now possible to accurately predict plant-flow interactions determining pollen and particles distribution and dispersal.

Molecular diffusion in disordered interfacial media as probed by pulsed field gradients and nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levitz, P.; Korb, J.-P.; Bryant, R. G.

1999-10-01

We address the question of probing the fluid dynamics in disordered interfacial media by Pulsed field gradient (PFG) and Magnetic relaxation dispersion (MRD) techniques. We show that the PFG method is useful to separate the effects of morphology from the connectivity in disordered macroporous media. We propose simulations of molecular dynamics and spectral density functions, J(ω), in a reconstructed mesoporous medium for different limiting conditions at the pore surface. An algebraic form is found for J(ω) in presence of a surface diffusion and a local exploration of the pore network. A logarithmic form of J(ω) is found in presence of a pure surface diffusion. We present magnetic relaxation dispersion experiments (MRD) for water and acetone in calibrated mesoporous media to support the main results of our simulations and theories. Nous présentons les avantages respectifs des méthodes de gradients de champs pulsés (PFG) et de relaxation magnétique nucléaire en champs cyclés (MRD) pour sonder la dynamique moléculaire dans les milieux interfaciaux désordonnés. La méthode PFG est utile pour séparer la morphologie et la connectivité dans des milieux macroporeux. Des simulations de diffusion moléculaire et de densité spectrale J(ω) en milieux mésoporeux sont présentées dans différentes conditions limites aux interfaces des pores. Nous trouvons une forme de dispersion algébrique de J(ω) pour une diffusion de surface assistée d'une exploration locale du réseau de pores et une forme logarithmique dans le cas d'une simple diffusion de surface. Les résultats expérimentaux de la méthode MRD pour de l'eau et de l'acétone dans des milieux mésoporeux calibrés supportent les résultats principaux de nos simulations et théories.

Helicopter-based Photography for use in SfM over the West Greenland Ablation Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mote, T. L.; Tedesco, M.; Astuti, I.; Cotten, D.; Jordan, T.; Rennermalm, A. K.

2015-12-01

Results of low-elevation high-resolution aerial photography from a helicopter are reported for a supraglacial watershed in West Greenland. Data were collected at the end of July 2015 over a supraglacial watershed terminating in the Kangerlussuaq region of Greenland and following the Utrecht University K-Transect of meteorological stations. The aerial photography reported here were complementary observations used to support hyperspectral measurements of albedo, discussed in the Greenland Ice sheet hydrology session of this AGU Fall meeting. A compact digital camera was installed inside a pod mounted on the side of the helicopter together with gyroscopes and accelerometers that were used to estimate the relative orientation. Continuous video was collected on 19 and 21 July flights, and frames extracted from the videos are used to create a series of aerial photos. Individual geo-located aerial photos were also taken on a 24 July flight. We demonstrate that by maintaining a constant flight elevation and a near constant ground speed, a helicopter with a mounted camera can produce 3-D structure of the ablation zone of the ice sheet at unprecedented spatial resolution of the order of 5 - 10 cm. By setting the intervalometer on the camera to 2 seconds, the images obtained provide sufficient overlap (>60%) for digital image alignment, even at a flight elevation of ~170m. As a result, very accurate point matching between photographs can be achieved and an extremely dense RGB encoded point cloud can be extracted. Overlapping images provide a series of stereopairs that can be used to create point cloud data consisting of 3 position and 3 color variables, X, Y, Z, R, G, and B. This point cloud is then used to create orthophotos or large scale digital elevation models, thus accurately displaying ice structure. The geo-referenced images provide a ground spatial resolution of approximately 6 cm, permitting analysis of detailed features, such as cryoconite holes, evolving small

Influence of the Little Ice Age on the biological structure of lakes in South West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGowan, S.; Hogan, E. J.; Jones, V.; Anderson, N. J.; Simpson, G.

2013-12-01

Arctic lakes are considered to be particularly sensitive to environmental change, with biological remains in lake sediment records being interpreted as reflecting climate forcing. However the influence that differences in catchment properties and lake morphometries have on the sedimentary record is rarely considered. We investigated sediment cores from three lakes located close to the inland ice sheet margin in the Kangerlussuaq area of South West Greenland but within a few kilometres of one another. This regional replication allowed for direct comparisons of biological change in lakes exposed to identical environmental pressures (cooling, increased wind speeds) over the past c.2000 years. Sedimentary pigments were used as a proxy for whole-lake production and to investigate differences in phytoplankton community structure whilst fossil diatom assemblages were studied to determine differences in ecological responses during this time. We noted several major effects of the Little Ice Age cooling (LIA, c. 1400-1850AD). The organic content of sediments in all three lakes declined, and this effect was most pronounced in lakes closest to the inland ice sheet margin, which suggests that aeolian inputs derived from the glacial outwash plains (sandurs), and wind-scouring of the thin catchment soils by strong katabatic winds associated with the regional cooling might have both contributed to this sedimentary change. During the LIA total algal production (as indicated by chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments) was lower in all three lakes, most likely because of extended ice-cover and shorter growing seasons, and the ratio of planktonic: benthic diatom taxa increased, possibly because of lower light availability or fertilization from loess material. Despite this coherence in lake response to the LIA, diatom community composition changes in individual lakes differed, reflecting individual lake morphometry and catchment characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of

Comparison of modelled runoff with observed proglacial discharge across the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moustafa, S.; Rennermalm, A.; van As, D.; Overeem, I.; Tedesco, M.; Mote, T. L.; Koenig, L.; Smith, L. C.; Hagedorn, B.; Sletten, R. S.; Mikkelsen, A. B.; Hasholt, B.; Hall, D. K.; Fettweis, X.; Pitcher, L. H.; Hubbard, A.

2017-12-01

Greenland ice sheet surface ablation now dominates its total mass loss contributions to sea-level rise. Despite the increasing importance of Greenland's sea-level contribution, a quantitative inter-comparison between modeled and measured melt, runoff and discharge across multiple drainage basins is conspicuously lacking. Here we investigate the accuracy of model discharge estimates from the Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR v3.5.2) regional climate model by comparison with in situ proglacial river discharge measurements at three West Greenland drainage basins - North River (Thule), Watson River (Kangerlussuaq), and Naujat Kuat River (Nuuk). At each target catchment, we: 1) determine optimal drainage basin delineations; 2) assess primary drivers of melt; 3) evaluate MAR at daily, 5-, 10- and 20-day time scales; and 4) identify potential sources for model-observation discrepancies. Our results reveal that MAR resolves daily discharge variability poorly in the Nuuk and Thule basins (r2 = 0.4-0.5), but does capture variability over 5-, 10-, and 20-day means (r2 > 0.7). Model agreement with river flow data, though, is reduced during periods of peak discharge, particularly for the exceptional melt and discharge events of July 2012. Daily discharge is best captured by MAR across the Watson River basin, whilst there is lower correspondence between modeled and observed discharge at the Thule and Naujat Kuat River basins. We link the main source of model error to an underestimation of cloud cover, overestimation of surface albedo, and apparent warm bias in near-surface air temperatures. For future inter-comparison, we recommend using observations from catchments that have a self-contained and well-defined drainage area and an accurate discharge record over variable years coincident with a reliable automatic weather station record. Our study highlights the importance of improving MAR modeled surface albedo, cloud cover representation, and delay functions to reduce model

Changing surface-atmosphere energy exchange and refreezing capacity of the lower accumulation area, West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charalampidis, C.; van As, D.; Box, J. E.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Colgan, W. T.; Doyle, S. H.; Hubbard, A. L.; MacFerrin, M.; Machguth, H.; Smeets, C. J. P. P.

2015-11-01

We present 5 years (2009-2013) of automatic weather station measurements from the lower accumulation area (1840 m a.s.l. - above sea level) of the Greenland ice sheet in the Kangerlussuaq region. Here, the summers of 2010 and 2012 were both exceptionally warm, but only 2012 resulted in a strongly negative surface mass budget (SMB) and surface meltwater run-off. The observed run-off was due to a large ice fraction in the upper 10 m of firn that prevented meltwater from percolating to available pore volume below. Analysis reveals an anomalously low 2012 summer-averaged albedo of 0.71 (typically ~ 0.78), as meltwater was present at the ice sheet surface. Consequently, during the 2012 melt season, the ice sheet surface absorbed 28 % (213 MJ m-2) more solar radiation than the average of all other years. A surface energy balance model is used to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes. The model reproduces the observed melt rates as well as the SMB for each season. A sensitivity analysis reveals that 71 % of the additional solar radiation in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 36 % (0.64 m) of the 2012 surface lowering. The remaining 64 % (1.14 m) of surface lowering resulted from high atmospheric temperatures, up to a +2.6 °C daily average, indicating that 2012 would have been a negative SMB year at this site even without the melt-albedo feedback. Longer time series of SMB, regional temperature, and remotely sensed albedo (MODIS) show that 2012 was the first strongly negative SMB year, with the lowest albedo, at this elevation on record. The warm conditions of recent years have resulted in enhanced melt and reduction of the refreezing capacity in the lower accumulation area. If high temperatures continue, the current lower accumulation area will turn into a region with superimposed ice in coming years.

Changing Surface-Atmosphere Energy Exchange and Refreezing Capacity of the Lower Accumulation Area, West Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charalampidis, C.; van As, D.; Machguth, H.; Smeets, P.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Box, J. E.

2014-12-01

We present five years (2009-2013) of automatic weather station (AWS) data from the lower accumulation area (1840 m above sea level) of the Kangerlussuaq region, western Greenland ice sheet. The summers of 2010 and 2012 were both exceptionally warm, but only 2012 resulted in negative surface mass budget (SMB) and surface runoff. The observed runoff was due to a large ice fraction in the upper 10 m of firn that prevented melt water from percolating to available pore space below. Analysis of the in situ data reveals a relatively low 2012 summer albedo of ~0.7 as melt water was present at the surface. Consequently, during the 2012 melt season the surface absorbed 30% (213 MJ m-2) more solar radiation than in 2010. We drive a surface energy balance model with the AWS data to evaluate the seasonal and interannual variability of all surface energy fluxes. The model is able to reproduce the observed melt rates as well as the SMB for each season. While the drive for melt is solar radiation, year-to-year differences are controlled by terrestrial radiation, apart from 2012 when solar radiation dominated melt. Sensitivity tests reveal that 72% of the excess solar energy in 2012 was used for melt, corresponding to 40% (0.67 m) of the 2012 surface ablation. The remaining ablation (0.99 m) was primarily due to the relatively high atmospheric temperatures up to +2.6 °C daily average, indicating that 2012 would have been a negative SMB year in the lower accumulation area even without the melt-albedo feedback. Longer time series of SMB, regional temperature and remotely sensed albedo (MODIS) suggest that 2012 was the first negative SMB year with the lowest albedo at this elevation on record. The warming conditions of the last years resulted in enhanced melt and reduction of the refreezing capacity of the lower accumulation area. If the warming continues the lower accumulation area will be transformed into superimposed ice.

Constraining Lipid Biomarker Paleoclimate Proxies in a Small Arctic Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dion-Kirschner, H.; McFarlin, J. M.; Axford, Y.; Osburn, M. R.

2017-12-01

Arctic amplification of climate change renders high-latitude environments unusually sensitive to changes in climatic conditions (Serreze and Barry, 2011). Lipid biomarkers, and their hydrogen and carbon isotopic compositions, can yield valuable paleoclimatic and paleoecological information. However, many variables affect the production and preservation of lipids and their constituent isotopes, including precipitation, plant growth conditions, biosynthesis mechanisms, and sediment depositional processes (Sachse et al., 2012). These variables are particularly poorly constrained for high-latitude environments, where trees are sparse or not present, and plants grow under continuous summer light and cool temperatures during a short growing season. Here we present a source-to-sink study of a single watershed from the Kangerlussuaq region of southwest Greenland. Our analytes from in and around `Little Sugarloaf Lake' (LSL) include terrestrial and aquatic plants, plankton, modern lake water, surface sediments, and a sediment core. This diverse sample set allows us to fulfill three goals: 1) We evaluate the production of lipids and isotopic signatures in the modern watershed in comparison to modern climate. Our data exhibit genus-level trends in leaf wax production and isotopic composition, and help clarify the difference between terrestrial and aquatic signals. 2) We evaluate the surface sediment of LSL to determine how lipid biomarkers from the watershed are incorporated into sediments. We constrain the relative contributions of terrestrial plants, aquatic plants, and other aquatic organisms to the sediment in this watershed. 3) We apply this modern source-to-sink calibration to the analysis of a 65 cm sediment core record. Our core is organic-rich, and relatively high deposition rates allow us to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes with high resolution. Our work will help determine the veracity of these common paleoclimate proxies, specifically for research in

Increasing freshwater runoff and tidal action influences on spatial mixing patterns in Søndre Strømfjord, West Greenland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smiley, Crystal; Kamenos, Nick; Hoey, Trevor; Cottier, Finlo; Ellam, Rob

2015-04-01

Greenland Ice Sheet melt has the potential to affect global sea levels and the strength of the thermohaline circulation (THC). Investigating spatial mixing patterns of seawater in Greenlandic fjords can help reveal characteristics of changes in runoff from the GrIS; for example higher runoff may be associated with lower salinity within GrIS fjords, which can be recorded by palaeoenvironmental proxies (Kamenos et al 2012). The Kangerlussuaq Drainage Basin mirrors melt patterns of the whole GrIS and drains into Søndre Strømfjord, a 170km long fjord on the west coast of Greenland. Temperature and salinity profiles to 40m depth were obtained at 11 stations along Søndre Strømfjord during the 2014 melt season. Each station was sampled twice once at high KDB runoff and once at low KDB runoff. With increasing freshwater runoff, salinity decreased by 1.65 - 2.91 and temperature increased by 0.47oC- 2.34oC at each station over a 7 hour time period. Higher salinities occurred at low run-off. In addition, with increasing run-off, the disparity between surface and deeper water (30m) salinity became greater with a 19.3 difference between the surface and 30m. This information was integrated with oxygen and deuterium isotopic signatures collected at 10 m depth from each station to pinpoint the exact source of the runoff causing salinity reductions. With increasing freshwater runoff, the chemistry of the fjord exhibits an enrichment of the heavier isotope. δ18Ovsmow values enrich by 7.40 permil while δDvsmow enrich 53.26 permil. Our data shows a relationship between KDB runoff, salinity, and oxygen, hydrogen isotopic chemistry of Søndre Strømfjord, data that will enable further calibration of marine proxies of GrIS melt. References Kamenos, N.A, Hoey, T.B, Nienow, P., Fallick, A.E., & Claverie, T., 2012: Reconstructing Greenland Ice Sheet runoff using coralline algae; Geological Society of America, Geology, doi: 10.1130/G33405.1

The GRASP project - a multidisciplinary study of hydrology and biogeochemistry in a periglacial catchment area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, Emma; Lindborg, Tobias

2017-04-01

The Arctic region is sensitive to global warming, and permafrost thaw and release of old carbon are examples of processes that may have a positive feedback effect to the global climate system. Quantification and assumptions on future change are often based on model predictions. Such models require cross-disciplinary data of high quality that often is lacking. Biogeochemical processes in the landscape are highly influenced by the hydrology, which in turn is intimately related to permafrost processes. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach is needed when collecting data and setting up field experiments aiming at increase the understanding of these processes. Here we summarize and present data collected in the GRASP, Greenland Analogue Surface Project. GRASP is a catchment-scale field study of the periglacial area in the Kangerlussuaq region, West Greenland, focusing on hydrological and biogeochemical processes in the landscape. The site investigations were initiated in 2010 and have since then resulted in three separate data sets published in ESSD (Earth system and Science Data) each one focusing on i) meteorological data and hydrology, ii) biogeochemistry and iii) geometries of sediments and the active layer. The three data-sets, which are freely available via the PANGAEA data base, enable conceptual and coupled numerical modeling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes. An important strength with the GRASP data is that all data is collected within the same, relatively small, catchment area. This implies that measurements are more easily linked to the right source area or process. Despite the small catchment area it includes the major units of the periglacial hydrological system; a lake, a talik, a supra- and subpermafrost aquifer and, consequently, biogeochemical processes in each of these units may be studied. The new data from GRASP is both used with the aim to increase the knowledge of present day periglacial hydrology and biogeochemistry but also in order to

An Iterative, Geometric, Tilt Correction Method for Radiation and Albedo Observed by Automatic Weather Stations on Snow-Covered Surfaces: Application to Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, W.; Zender, C. S.; van As, D.; Smeets, P.; van den Broeke, M.

2015-12-01

Surface melt and mass loss of Greenland Ice Sheet may play crucial roles in global climate change due to their positive feedbacks and large fresh water storage. With few other regular meteorological observations available in this extreme environment, measurements from Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) are the primary data source for the surface energy budget studies, and for validating satellite observations and model simulations. However, station tilt, due to surface melt and compaction, results in considerable biases in the radiation and thus albedo measurements by AWS. In this study, we identify the tilt-induced biases in the climatology of surface radiative flux and albedo, and then correct them based on geometrical principles. Over all the AWS from the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net), the Kangerlussuaq transect (K-transect) and the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), only ~15% of clear days have the correct solar noon time, with the largest bias to be 3 hours. Absolute hourly biases in the magnitude of surface insolation can reach up to 200 W/m2, with daily average exceeding 100 W/m2. The biases are larger in the accumulation zone due to the systematic tilt at each station, although variabilities of tilt angles are larger in the ablation zone. Averaged over the whole Greenland Ice Sheet in the melting season, the absolute bias in insolation is ~23 W/m2, enough to melt 0.51 m snow water equivalent. We estimate the tilt angles and their directions by comparing the simulated insolation at a horizontal surface with the observed insolation by these tilted AWS under clear-sky conditions. Our correction reduces the RMSE against satellite measurements and reanalysis by ~30 W/m2 relative to the uncorrected data, with correlation coefficients over 0.95 for both references. The corrected diurnal changes of albedo are more smooth, with consistent semi-smiling patterns (see Fig. 1). The seasonal cycles and annual variabilities of albedo are in

Exposure age and climate controls on weathering in deglaciated watersheds of western Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scribner, C. A.; Martin, E. E.; Martin, J. B.; Deuerling, K. M.; Collazo, D. F.; Marshall, A. T.

2015-12-01

Fine-grained sediments deposited by retreating glaciers weather faster than the global average and this weathering can impact the global carbon cycle and oceanic fluxes of nutrients and radiogenic isotopes. Much work has focused on subglacial and proglacial weathering of continental ice sheets, but little is known about weathering and resulting fluxes from deglacial watersheds, which are disconnected from the ice sheets and discharge only annual precipitation and permafrost melt. We investigate the effects of exposure age and precipitation on weathering intensity in four deglacial watersheds on Greenland that form a transect from the coast near Sisimiut toward the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) near Kangerlussuaq based on evaluations of major ion compositions, Sr isotope ratios, and mineral saturation states of waters and sediments. The transect is underlain by Archean orthogneiss and is characterized by gradients in moraine ages (∼7.5-8.0 ky inland to ∼10 ky at the coast) and water balance (-150 mm/yr inland to +150 mm/yr at the coast). Anion compositions are generally dominated by HCO3, but SO4 becomes increasingly important toward the coast, reflecting a switch from trace carbonate dissolution to sulfide mineral oxidation. Coastal watersheds have a higher proportion of dissolved silica, higher Na/Cl, Si/Ca, and lower Ca/Sr ratios than inland watersheds, indicating an increase in the relative proportion of silicate weathering and an increase in the extent of weathering toward the coast. More extensive weathering near the coast is also apparent in differences in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of stream water and bedload (Δ87Sr/86Sr), which decreases from 0.017 inland to 0.005 at the coast, and in increased saturation states relative to amorphous SiO2 and quartz. The steep weathering gradient from inland to coastal watersheds reflects enhanced weathering compared to that expected from the 2 to 3 ky difference in exposure age caused by elevated coastal precipitation. The

Multi-Instrument Analysis of a Traveling Convection Vortex Event on July 24, 1996 Coordinated with the Polar UVI

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sitar, R. J.; Clauer, C. R.; Baker, J. B.; Ridley, A. J.; Cumnock, J.; Germany, G. A.; Spann, J. F., Jr.; Brittnacher, M. J.; Parks, G. K.

1998-01-01

We present the analysis of a coordinated set of observations from the POLAR Ultraviolet Imager (UVI), ground magnetometers, incoherent scatter radar, solar wind monitors, DMSP and GOES satellites, focused on a traveling convection vortex (TCV) event on 24th July 1996. Starting at approximately 10:48 UT, around magnetometers in Greenland and northern Canada observe pulsations consistent with the passing overhead of a series of alternating TCV filed-aligned current pairs. Azimuthal scans by the Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar located near Kangerlussuaq (formerly Sondrestrom), Greenland, at this time show strong modulation in the strength and direction of ionospheric plasma flow. The magnetometer pulsations grow in magnitude over the next hour, peaking in intensity at 11:39 UT, at which time images form the UVI instrument show a localized intensification of auroral emissions over central and western Greenland. Subsequent images show the intensification grow in strength and propagate westward (tailward) until approximately 11:58 UT at which time the intensification fades. These observations are consistent with the westward passage of two pairs of moderately intense TCVs over central Greenland followed by a third very intense TCV pair. The intensification of auroral emissions at 11:39 UT is associated with the trailing vortex of the third TCV pair, thought to be the result of an upward field aligned current. The modulated flow observed by the radar is the result of the strong electric fields associated with the impulsive TCV related field aligned current systems as they pass through the field of view of the radar. Measurements of the solar wind from the V;IND and IMP-8 spacecraft suggest that a pressure change may be responsible for triggering the first two pairs of TCVS, and that a subsequent sudden change in the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field may have produced the intensification of the third TCV pair and the associated auroral brightening

Land cover heterogeneity and soil respiration in a west Greenland tundra landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley-Cook, J. I.; Burzynski, A.; Hammond, C. R.; Virginia, R. A.

2011-12-01

Multiple direct and indirect pathways underlie the association between land cover classification, temperature and soil respiration. Temperature is a main control of the biological processes that constitute soil respiration, yet the effect of changing atmospheric temperatures on soil carbon flux is unresolved. This study examines associations amongst land cover, soil carbon characteristics, soil respiration, and temperature in an Arctic tundra landscape in western Greenland. We used a 1.34 meter resolution multi-spectral WorldView2 satellite image to conduct an unsupervised multi-staged ISODATA classification to characterize land cover heterogeneity. The four band image was taken on July 10th, 2010, and captures an 18 km by 15 km area in the vicinity of Kangerlussuaq. The four major terrestrial land cover classes identified were: shrub-dominated, graminoid-dominated, mixed vegetation, and bare soil. The bare soil class was comprised of patches where surface soil has been deflated by wind and ridge-top fellfield. We hypothesize that soil respiration and soil carbon storage are associated with land cover classification and temperature. We set up a hierarchical field sampling design to directly observe spatial variation between and within land cover classes along a 20 km temperature gradient extending west from Russell Glacier on the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. We used the land cover classification map and ground verification to select nine sites, each containing patches of the four land cover classes. Within each patch we collected soil samples from a 50 cm pit, quantified vegetation, measured active layer depth and determined landscape characteristics. From a subset of field sites we collected additional 10 cm surface soil samples to estimate soil heterogeneity within patches and measured soil respiration using a LiCor 8100 Infrared Gas Analyzer. Soil respiration rates varied with land cover classes, with values ranging from 0.2 mg C/m^2/hr in the bare soil

Late Cretaceous-Paleocene strike-slip faults along the East Greenland margin (63°N to 75°N): constraints for the North East Atlantic opening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarnieri, P.

2012-04-01

The East Greenland margin is a long stretch starting from 60°N up to 81°N in a distance of almost 3000 km. It represents the conjugate of the European margin now separated by the North East Atlantic (NEA). After a long period of E-W extension and almost N-S oriented rift basins since Early Cretaceous, separation between Greenland and Europe began at 55 Ma following a NE-SW oriented line of breakup and the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Post-breakup thermal subsidence followed in the Eocene, and the Oligocene initiated a period of plate re-organization together with the initial separation of Jan Mayen microcontinent, a complex tectonic history with inversion structures and uplifts along both the East Greenland and European margins. The effect of this history is represented by exhumed sedimentary basins, dyke swarms, fault systems, intrusive centers, shield volcanoes and plateau lavas constituting highest mountain of Greenland with some peaks up to 3700 m (e.g. Watkins Bjerge). During expeditions for fieldwork in East Greenland (2009 to 2011) to collect new geological and structural data related to the North East Atlantic tectonics, four areas were visited: Skjoldungen 63°N, Kangerlussuaq 68°N, Traill Ø 72°N and Wollaston Forland 75°N. More than 1000 measurement of fault-slip data for structural analysis along major faults were collected and helicopter flights to collect oblique pictures for 3D-photogeology and 3D-mapping were taken. Kinematic analysis of brittle deformation associated with Late Cretaceous-Paleocene rift shows strike-slip movements. Palaeo-stress tensors reconstructed from fault-slip data highlight a NE-SW maximum horizontal stress in a strike-slip tectonic setting along the entire East Greenland margin (Guarnieri 2011a; Guarnieri 2011b; Guarnieri et al. 2011). Structural data show clear evidence for oblique rifting that corresponds in time to the "volcanic rift" (61-55 Ma) with in some cases the magmatic

Using Airborne Lidar Data from IcePod to Measure Annual and Seasonal Ice Changes Over Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frearson, N.; Bertinato, C.; Das, I.

2014-12-01

The IcePod is a multi-sensor airborne science platform that supports a wide suite of instruments, including a Riegl VQ-580 infrared scanning laser, GPS-inertial positioning system, shallow and deep-ice radars, visible-wave and infrared cameras, and upward-looking pyrometer. These instruments allow us to image the ice from top to bottom, including the surface of melt-water plumes that originate at the ice-ocean boundary. In collaboration with the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing, the IcePod is flown on LC-130 aircraft, which presents the unique opportunity to routinely image the Greenland ice sheet several times within a season. This is particularly important for mass balance studies, as we can measure elevation changes during the melt season. During the 2014 summer, laser data was collected via IcePod over the Greenland ice sheet, including Russell Glacier, Jakobshavn Glacier, Eqip Glacier, and Summit Camp. The Icepod will also be routinely operated in Antarctica. We present the initial testing, calibration, and error estimates from the first set of laser data that were collected on IcePod. At a survey altitude of 1000 m, the laser swath covers ~ 1000 m. A Northrop-Grumman LN-200 tactical grade IMU is rigidly attached to the laser scanner to provide attitude data at a rate of 200 Hz. Several methods were used to determine the lever arm between the IMU center of navigation and GPS antenna phase center, terrestrial scanning laser, total station survey, and optimal estimation. Additionally, initial bore sight calibration flights yielded misalignment angles within an accuracy of ±4 cm. We also performed routine passes over the airport ramp in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, comparing the airborne GPS and Lidar data to a reference GPS-based ground survey across the ramp, spot GPS points on the ramp and a nearby GPS base station. Positioning errors can severely impact the accuracy of a laser altimeter when flying over remote regions such as across the ice sheets

Extracting environmental information from lake water isotopes - a novel approac

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopec, B. G.; Feng, X.; Lauder, A. M.; Virginia, R. A.; Posmentier, E. S.

2014-12-01

It is well known that hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic composition in precipitation defines a meteoric water line with a slope close to 8 and an intercept of 10, and that evaporation causes water to deviate from the line, acquiring a d-excess value different from 10. It has also been observed that a group of lakes subject to significant evaporation often define a line, which we refer to as the lake line, with a slope lower than 8. While there has been much discussion about the slope of lake lines and its dependence on relative humidity, little attention has been given to the scatter around these lines. We show that this seemingly random scatter contains systematic environmental information. Water in over 20 lakes around Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, was collected in the summers of 2009 to 2013, and the δD and δ18O values were determined. Each year's isotopic data were used to find: 1) the slope of the lake line; 2) the displacement of each lake parallel to the lake line, which we refer to as the "enrichment"; and 3) the distance between a given lake and the lake line, which we call the "deviance". The enrichment and deviance are the values of the principal components, PC1 and PC2, respectively, of the set of δD and δ18O coordinates. When comparing the climate and environmental variables, we observed the following. A) The lake line slope varies from 4.12 to 4.63 among the 5 years. B) The enrichment is, in some years, significantly correlated with lake size and longitude (which increases along the moisture and temperature gradient). C) The deviance is significantly correlated with both lake size and longitude every year. A simple water and isotopic mass balance model suggests that the enrichment is largely controlled by the lake to basin area ratio, while the deviance is controlled predominantly by the humidity and isotopic ratios of air above the lake. The latter variables systematically change from east to west (glacial margin to coast), so longitude is a

Arctic tundra and mountain landscapes are persistent sinks of atmospheric CH4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christiansen, Jesper; Winkler, Renato; Juncher Jørgensen, Christian

2017-04-01

Recent studies have shown significant rates of net uptake of atmospheric methane (CH4) in Arctic tundra soils. Oxidation of CH4 in these cold, dry soils in the Arctic region can counteract CH4 emissions from wetlands and play a potential important role for the net Arctic CH4 budget. However, significant knowledge gaps exist on the overall magnitude of the net CH4 sink in these cold, dry systems as the spatial and environmental limits for CH4 oxidation has not been determined. In particular, the extent, magnitude and drivers of CH4 oxidation in mountains and alpine landforms, which occupy large land areas in the Arctic and High Arctic has not yet been investigated leaving a potential vast CH4 sink unquantified with major potential implications for our conceptual view of Arctic CH4 budget in a changing climate. Here we present the results from two expeditions in the summers of 2015 and 2016 from Disko Bay and in the pro-glacial landscape in vicinity of the Russell Glacier, Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, respectively. The aim of our work is to determine the magnitude and extent of net uptake of atmospheric CH4 across a variety of previously unexplored dry tundra and post-glacial landforms in the Arctic, i.e. marginal moraines and other glacial features at the Greenland ice sheet as well as mountain tops and outwash plains. We used high-precision, mobile cavity-ring-down spectrometers (e.g. model G4301 GasScouter, Picarro Inc.) to achieve reliable flux estimates in sub-ambient CH4 concentration levels with a 4-minute enclosure time per chamber measurement. Our results show a persistent net uptake of CH4 uptake in these dry, extreme environments that rival the sink strength observed in temperate forest soils, otherwise considered the primary global terrestrial sink of atmospheric CH4. In this dynamic glacial landscape the magnitude of the net CH4 uptake is mainly constrained by recent landscape evolution along glacier margins and meltwater systems. Utilizing the high

Upper Thermosphere Winds and Temperatures in the Geomagnetic Polar Cap: Solar Cycle, Geomagnetic Activity, and Interplanetary Magnetic Field Dependencies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killeen, T. L.; Won, Y.-I.; Niciejewski, R. J.; Burns, A. G.

1995-01-01

Ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers located at Thule, Greenland (76.5 deg. N, 69.0 deg. W, lambda = 86 deg.) and at Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland (67.0 deg. N, 50.9 deg. W, lambda = 74 deg.) have monitored the upper thermospheric (approx. 240-km altitude) neutral wind and temperature over the northern hemisphere geomagnetic polar cap since 1983 and 1985, respectively. The thermospheric observations are obtained by determining the Doppler characteristics of the (OI) 15,867-K (630.0-nm) emission of atomic oxygen. The instruments operate on a routine, automatic, (mostly) untended basis during the winter observing seasons, with data coverage limited only by cloud cover and (occasional) instrument failures. This unique database of geomagnetic polar cap measurements now extends over the complete range of solar activity. We present an analysis of the measurements made between 1985 (near solar minimum) and 1991 (near solar maximum), as part of a long-term study of geomagnetic polar cap thermospheric climatology. The measurements from a total of 902 nights of observations are compared with the predictions of two semiempirical models: the Vector Spherical Harmonic (VSH) model of Killeen et al. (1987) and the Horizontal Wind Model (HWM) of Hedin et al. (1991). The results are also analyzed using calculations of thermospheric momentum forcing terms from the Thermosphere-ionosphere General Circulation Model TGCM) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The experimental results show that upper thermospheric winds in the geomagnetic polar cap have a fundamental diurnal character, with typical wind speeds of about 200 m/s at solar minimum, rising to up to about 800 m/s at solar maximum, depending on geomagnetic activity level. These winds generally blow in the antisunward direction, but are interrupted by episodes of modified wind velocity and altered direction often associated with changes in the orientation of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). The

Impact of the organic coating on nanoparticles stability and reactivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gelabert, A.; Sivry, Y.; Ould Boualy, L.; Roselyne, F.; Juillot, F.; Menguy, N.; Benedetti, M. F.

2010-12-01

hydrophobic-coated NPs at higher concentrations, the isotherm sorption shape shifts from a Langmuir type to a linear increase, thus indicating an important change in the sorption mechanism. To explain these differences in sorption as a function of the coating properties, the NPs aggregation state has been investigated for all three suspensions, and this parameter appears to be one of the major controls for the coated NPs sorbing properties. These physico-chemical aspects of manufactured NPs behaviour in natural systems constitute an essential step with great implications for ecotoxicological studies. Gottshalk F., Sonderer T., Scholz R.W., and Nowack B., Environmental Science and Technology, 2009, 43, 9216-9222

Les fluctuations supraconductrices dans le compose praseodyme-cerium-oxyde de cuivre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renaud, Jacques

Ce travail etudie les fluctuations supraconductrices dans le compose supraconducteur a haute temperature critique dope aux electrons Pr2-xCe xCuO4+delta. La technique utilisee pour sonder ces fluctuations est le transport electrique DC dans le plan ab. Il s'agit, a notre connaissance, de la premiere etude de ce type dans la classe generale des supraconducteurs a haute temperature critique dopes aux electrons et, plus particulierement, dans Pr2-xCe xCuO4+delta. De plus, l'etude est effectuee pour trois regimes de dopage, soit sous-dope x = 0.135, dopage optimal x = 0.15 et surdope x = 0.17. Les echantillons etudies sont des couches minces d'epaisseur plus grande que 100 nm crues par ablation laser. Les mesures electriques DC effectuees dans ce travail sont la resistance en reponse lineaire et les courbes IV en reponse non lineaire en fonction de la temperature. La mise en oeuvre experimentale de ces mesures a necessite une grande attention au filtrage et aux effets de chauffage a haut courant. Nous montrons que, sans cette attention, les donnees experimentales sont toujours erronees dans le regime pertinent pour nos echantillons. Les resultats pour le dopage optimal x = 0.15 sont expliques de facon tres convaincante dans le cadre de fluctuations purement 2D. D'abord, le regime des fluctuations gaussiennes est tres bien decrit par le modele d'Aslamazov-Larkin en deux dimensions. Ensuite, le regime de fluctuations critiques, se trouvant a plus basse temperature que le regime gaussien, est tres bien decrit par la physique 2D de Kosterlitz-Thouless. Dans cette analyse, les deux regimes ont des temperatures critiques coherentes entre elles, ce qui semble confirmer ce scenario 2D. Une analyse des donnees dans le cadre de fluctuations 3D est exploree mais donne des conclusions incoherentes. Les resultats pour les autres dopages sont qualitativement equivalents avec le dopage optimal et permettent donc une explication purement 2D. Par contre, contrairement au dopage optimal

From Outlet Glacier Changes to Ice Sheet Mass Balance - Evolution of Greenland Ice Sheet from Laser Altimetry Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Csatho, B. M.; Schenk, A.; Nagarajan, S.; Babonis, G. S.

2010-12-01

along the NW coast, and thinning expanding to higher elevations in SW and N Greenland. Several outlet glaciers, for example Humboldt and Petermann glaciers in NW Greenland and Kangilerngata Sermia in W Greenland exhibit a complex spatial and temporal pattern of thickening-thinning with regions of thickening observed at lower elevations. We will examine the thickening and thinning history and the record of surface velocity of these glaciers to investigate the processes responsible for initiating and sustaining these changes. Moreover, by analyzing the detailed surface elevation change history along flowlines or across drainage basins, the propagation of thinning following perturbations at the glacier terminus can be investigated. Results, depicting the evolution of surface elevation changes of three major outlet glaciers, Jakobshavn, Helheim and Kangerlussuaq glaciers, will be shown.

The Sondrestrom Research Facility All-sky Imagers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendall, E. A.; Grill, M.; Gudmundsson, E.; Stromme, A.

2010-12-01

The Sondrestrom Upper Atmospheric Research Facility is located near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, just north of the Arctic Circle and 100 km inland from the west coast of Greenland. The facility is operated by SRI International in Menlo Park, California, under the auspices of the U.S. National Science Foundation. Operating in Greenland since 1983, the Sondrestrom facility is host to more than 20 instruments, the majority of which provide unique and complementary information about the arctic upper atmosphere. Together these instruments advance our knowledge of upper atmospheric physics and determine how the tenuous neutral gas interacts with the charged space plasma environment. The suite of instrumentation supports many disciplines of research - from plate tectonics to auroral physics and space weather. The Sondrestrom facility has recently acquired two new all-sky imagers. In this paper, we present images from both new imagers, placing them in context with other instruments at the site and detailing to the community how to gain access to this new data set. The first new camera replaces the intensified auroral system which has been on site for nearly three decades. This new all-sky imager (ASI), designed and assembled by Keo Scientific Ltd., employs a medium format 180° fisheye lens coupled to a set of five 3-inch narrowband interference filters. The current filter suite allows operation at the following wavelengths: 750 nm, 557.7 nm, 777.4 nm, 630.0 nm, and 732/3 nm. Monochromatic images from the ASI are acquired at a specific filter and integration time as determined by a unique configuration file. Integrations as short as 0.5 sec can be commanded for exceptionally bright features. Preview images are posted to the internet in near real-time, with final images posted weeks later. While images are continuously collected in a "patrol mode," users can request special collection sequences for targeted experiments. The second new imager installed at the Sondrestrom

Effect of Advection on Evaporative Fluxes and Vapor Isotopic Ratios: The Lake Size Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, X.; Lauder, A. M.; Kopec, B. G.; Posmentier, E. S.

2015-12-01

It has been reported that advection of air from land can be identified hundreds of kilometers off shore. With advection, moisture builds up downwind, and the evaporative flux decreases and isotopic flux ratios increase with distance. If a lake is small relative to the equilibration distance, the fluxes of all water isotopologues averaged over the lake are different from those calculated using models without advection. The magnitude of the discrepancy depends on the lake size; we refer to this as the "lake size effect". In Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, we observed significant horizontal gradients in concentration, δD, and δ18O of vapor up to 5 km along the wind direction. Over a 0.5 km long lake, the observed average gradients were 1380 ppm/km for vapor content, 21‰/km for δD, 2.4‰/km for δ18O, and 5‰/km for d-excess. These gradients decreased with distance from the upwind shore. Over a stretch of another, much larger lake 4-5 km from the upwind shore, we observed gradients of 354 ppm/km, 1.5‰/km, 0.22‰/km and 0.3‰/km, for vapor concentration, δD, δ18O, and d-excess, respectively. These observations were modeled successfully using a two-dimensional (2-D, horizontal and vertical) steady state advection diffusion model. This model also computes evaporative fluxes. Using the model results, we assess the magnitude of the lake size effect and its impact on water balance calculations. Under the condition of our field observations and for lakes less than 500 m along the wind direction, the mean flux δ18O and δD were at least 2‰ lower than the corresponding values from a 1-D model (vertical only). If using biased isotopic flux values for water balance calculations, the lake size effect would lead to an underestimation of the lake I/E (input to evaporation) ratio. For example, if the lake effect is 1‰, the corresponding underestimation of the I/E ratio is about 10% if using δ18O, and less than 2% if using δD for the computation. This argues for

Halocarbon emissions by selected tropical seaweeds: species-specific and compound-specific responses under changing pH.

PubMed

Mithoo-Singh, Paramjeet Kaur; Keng, Fiona S-L; Phang, Siew-Moi; Leedham Elvidge, Emma C; Sturges, William T; Malin, Gill; Abd Rahman, Noorsaadah

2017-01-01

Five tropical seaweeds, Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex P.C. Silva, Padina australis Hauck, Sargassum binderi Sonder ex J. Agardh (syn. S. aquifolium (Turner) C. Agardh), Sargassum siliquosum J. Agardh and Turbinaria conoides (J. Agardh) Kützing, were incubated in seawater of pH 8.0, 7.8 (ambient), 7.6, 7.4 and 7.2, to study the effects of changing seawater pH on halocarbon emissions. Eight halocarbon species known to be emitted by seaweeds were investigated: bromoform (CHBr 3 ), dibro-momethane (CH 2 Br 2 ), iodomethane (CH 3 I), diiodomethane (CH 2 I 2 ), bromoiodomethane (CH 2 BrI), bromochlorometh-ane (CH 2 BrCl), bromodichloromethane (CHBrCl 2 ), and dibro-mochloromethane (CHBr 2 Cl). These very short-lived halocarbon gases are believed to contribute to stratospheric halogen concentrations if released in the tropics. It was observed that the seaweeds emit all eight halocarbons assayed, with the exception of K. alvarezii and S. binderi for CH 2 I 2 and CH 3 I respectively, which were not measurable at the achievable limit of detection. The effect of pH on halocarbon emission by the seaweeds was shown to be species-specific and compound specific. The highest percentage changes in emissions for the halocarbons of interest were observed at the lower pH levels of 7.2 and 7.4 especially in Padina australis and Sargassum spp., showing that lower seawater pH causes elevated emissions of some halocarbon compounds. In general the seaweed least affected by pH change in terms of types of halocarbon emission, was P. australis . The commercially farmed seaweed K. alvarezii was very sensitive to pH change as shown by the high increases in most of the compounds in all pH levels relative to ambient. In terms of percentage decrease in maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis ( F v ∕ F m ) prior to and after incubation, there were no significant correlations with the various pH levels tested for all seaweeds. The correlation between percentage decrease in the maximum

Halocarbon emissions by selected tropical seaweeds: species-specific and compound-specific responses under changing pH

PubMed Central

Leedham Elvidge, Emma C.; Sturges, William T.; Malin, Gill; Abd Rahman, Noorsaadah

2017-01-01

Five tropical seaweeds, Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex P.C. Silva, Padina australis Hauck, Sargassum binderi Sonder ex J. Agardh (syn. S. aquifolium (Turner) C. Agardh), Sargassum siliquosum J. Agardh and Turbinaria conoides (J. Agardh) Kützing, were incubated in seawater of pH 8.0, 7.8 (ambient), 7.6, 7.4 and 7.2, to study the effects of changing seawater pH on halocarbon emissions. Eight halocarbon species known to be emitted by seaweeds were investigated: bromoform (CHBr3), dibro­momethane (CH2Br2), iodomethane (CH3I), diiodomethane (CH2I2), bromoiodomethane (CH2BrI), bromochlorometh­ane (CH2BrCl), bromodichloromethane (CHBrCl2), and dibro­mochloromethane (CHBr2Cl). These very short-lived halocarbon gases are believed to contribute to stratospheric halogen concentrations if released in the tropics. It was observed that the seaweeds emit all eight halocarbons assayed, with the exception of K. alvarezii and S. binderi for CH2I2 and CH3I respectively, which were not measurable at the achievable limit of detection. The effect of pH on halocarbon emission by the seaweeds was shown to be species-specific and compound specific. The highest percentage changes in emissions for the halocarbons of interest were observed at the lower pH levels of 7.2 and 7.4 especially in Padina australis and Sargassum spp., showing that lower seawater pH causes elevated emissions of some halocarbon compounds. In general the seaweed least affected by pH change in terms of types of halocarbon emission, was P. australis. The commercially farmed seaweed K. alvarezii was very sensitive to pH change as shown by the high increases in most of the compounds in all pH levels relative to ambient. In terms of percentage decrease in maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis (Fv∕Fm) prior to and after incubation, there were no significant correlations with the various pH levels tested for all seaweeds. The correlation between percentage decrease in the maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis

A Search for Pre-Solar Material Within an Acid-Resistant Residue of Greenland Cryoconite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yates, P. D.; Arden, J. W.; Wright, I. P.; Pillinger, C. T.; Hutchison, R.

1992-07-01

An acid-resistant residue prepared from Greenland cryoconite has been analysed for carbon content and stable isotopic composition in an attempt to determine whether the micrometeorite component contains presolar material (i.e., diamonds and silicon carbide (SiC)) analogous to that found in primitive chondritic meteorites. The cryoconite sample, which was collected ca. 25 km inland of the ice margin at the latitude of Sondre Stromfjord on the west coast of Greenland. was treated with HF/HCl, Cr(sub)2O(sub)7^2- and HClO4 according to normal procedures. The results of the analysis are presented within the figure; the shaded histogram and the left-hand ordinate axis correspond to the carbon yield for each temperature step (as denoted by the abscissa axis), and the delta^13C value of this carbon is illustrated by the open circles and the right hand ordinate. The carbon release profile is dominated by a low-temperature component with a delta^13C of ca. -30o/oo (as indicated by the 0-400 degrees C steps), which is interpreted as terrestrial organic contamination introduced to the sample after the acid treatments. The isotopic departure at 400-500 degrees C to -34.4 +- 0.4oo/o can be interpreted to represent the combustion of meteoritic presolar diamond, which Russell et al. (1991a) deterrnined to have a delta^13C of -38o/oo in the CM2 meteorites. After making some reasonable assumptions, the abundance of this diamond appears to be in excess of the maximum values suggested by Huss (1990) for the primitive meteorites. It is therefore not inconceivable that some micrometeorites might be more primitive than their larger counterparts, i.e., they could be almost pure fine-grained matrix. The elevation in delta^13C at 1000 degrees C to -7.2 +- 1.1o/oo can be interpreted as the combustion of a small amount of SiC. Prombo et al., (1991) have isolated individual SiC grains from cryoconite for ion probe terrestrial. Analyses of bulk milligram-sized aliquots of SiC used in the

Building sustained partnerships in Greenland through shared science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Culler, L. E.; Albert, M. R.; Ayres, M. P.; Grenoble, L. A.; Virginia, R. A.

2013-12-01

(cultural center in Nuuk) and being interviewed for a program that was broadcasted on Kalaallit Nunaat Radio. Third, students in the IGERT program have participated in Arctic science and educational initiatives by the Joint Committee, an international high-level government forum that promotes interactions between government, academic, and private institutions in Greenland, Denmark, and the U.S. Graduate students worked with high-school students and teachers from Greenland, Denmark, and the U.S. during the Joint Committee's scientific field school based in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. We attribute our success in building sustained partnerships to allocating resources for cultural and social connections, working with the Joint Committee, maintaining connections with Greenlandic students, creative and collaborative approaches to communication, and connecting young researchers with high school students. Furthermore, our approach has been to participate in a conversation with Greenlanders rather than simply sharing our science and ideas. This has improved our communication skills and is helping our science become more accessible and relevant to the needs and interests of Greenland.

Communicating climate science to high school students in the Arctic: Adventure Learning @ Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hougham, R. J.; Miller, B.; Cox, C. J.

2012-12-01

Adventure Learning @ Greenland (AL@GL) engaged high school students in atmospheric research in the Arctic and in local environments to enhance climate literacy. The overarching objective for this project was to support climate literacy in high school students, specifically the concept of energy exchange between the Earth, atmosphere, and space. The goal then is to produce a model of education and outreach for remote STEM research that can be used to meaningfully engage K-12 and public communities. Over the course of the program experience, students conducted scientific inquiry associated with their place that supported a more focused science content at a field location. Approximately 45 students participated in the hybrid learning environments as part of this project at multiple locations in Idaho, USA, and Greenland. In Greenland, the Summit Camp research station located on the Greenland Ice Sheet was the primary location. The AL@GL project provided a compelling opportunity to engage students in an inquiry-based curriculum alongside a cutting-edge geophysical experiment at Summit: the Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state, and Precipitation at Summit (ICECAPS) experiment. ICECAPS measures parameters that are closely tied to those identified in student misconceptions. Thus, ICECAPS science and the AL@ approach combined to create a learning environment that was practical, rich, and engaging. Students participating in this project were diverse, rural, and traditionally underrepresented. Groups included: students participating in a field school at Kangerlussuaq, Greenland and Summit Station as members of the JSEP; students at MOSS will were part of the Upward Bound Math Science (UBMS) and HOIST (Helping Orient Indian Students and Teachers) project. These project serve high school students who are first college generation and from low-income families. JSEP is an international group of students from the United States, Greenland, and Denmark

Evaporation and transport of water isotopologues from Greenland lakes: The lake size effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xiahong; Lauder, Alex M.; Posmentier, Eric S.; Kopec, Ben G.; Virginia, Ross A.

2016-01-01

Isotopic compositions of evaporative flux from a lake are used in many hydrological and paleoclimate studies that help constrain the water budget of a lake and/or to infer changes in climate conditions. The isotopic fluxes of evaporation from a water surface are typically computed using a zero dimensional (0-D) model originally conceptualized by Craig and Gordon (1965). Such models generally have laminar and turbulent layers, assume a steady state condition, and neglect horizontal variations. In particular, the effect of advection on isotopic variations is not considered. While this classical treatment can be used for some sections of large open surface water bodies, such as an ocean or a large lake, it may not apply to relatively small water bodies where limited fetch does not allow full equilibration between air from land and the water surface. Both horizontal and vertical gradients in water vapor concentration and isotopic ratios may develop over a lake. These gradients, in turn, affect the evaporative fluxes of water vapor and its isotopic ratios, which is not adequately predicted by a 0-D model. We observed, for the first time, the vertical as well as horizontal components of vapor and isotopic gradients as relatively dry and isotopically depleted air advected over the surfaces of several lakes up to a 5 km fetch under winds of 1-5 m/s in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. We modeled the vapor and isotopic distribution in air above the lake using a steady state 2-D model, in which vertical diffusive transport balances horizontal advection. The model was verified by our observations, and then used to calculate evaporative fluxes of vapor and its isotopic ratios. In the special case of zero wind speed, the model reduces to 1-D. Results from this 1-D model are compared with those from the 2-D model to assess the discrepancy in isotopic fluxes between advection and no advection conditions. Since wind advection above a lake alters the concentrations, gradients, and

Le potentiel de l'asteroseismologie pour les etoiles sous-naines de type B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charpinet, Stephane

és de fer largement suffisantes pour engendrer des pulsations, nous conduisant ainsi à avancer la prédiction que des sdB pulsantes doivent exister. L'annonce, indépendante et pratiquement simultanée, de la découverte de véritables sdB pulsantes ainsi que les premières comparaisons entre théorie et observations nous poussent alors à construire des modèles plus sophistiqués-incluant les effets de la diffusion sur le fer-mieux adaptés pour décrire le mécanisme de déstabilisation propose. Nous constatons alors un très bon accord quantitatif entre les propriétés sismiques déduites des modèles théoriques et celles effectivement observées dans les sdB pulsantes, confirmant dès lors le rôle joué par le mécanisme en question. Nous discutons également des aspects reliés à l'étude astéroséismologique de ces étoiles dont l'objectif, ultimement, est d'en sonder l'intérieur. Bien qu'il soit encore prématuré d'appliquer une telle méthode sur les sdB, nous explorons rapidement les moyens pour y parvenir et nous tentons de préciser quels sont les éléments de la structure des sdB que nous pouvons espérer mesurer avec cette technique. Finalement, suite aux résultats satisfaisants obtenus pour les sdB, nous entreprenons de poursuivre l'étude de stabilité sur les modèles évolutifs en phase post-EHB. Nous constatons alors l'existence de modèles instables, identifiables aux étoiles naines blanches de type DAO, pour lesquels des modes g de faible ordre radial sont excités par un mécanisme ɛ associé à la région de brûlage en couche résiduel de l'hydrogène situé à la base de l'enveloppe des modèles. Ce résultat nous conduit ainsi à proposer l'existence d'une autre classe d'étoiles pulsantes parmi les DAO. Contrairement aux sdB, cette prédiction reste toutefois à confirmer par l'observation.

Study of physical conditions in protoplanetary disks by interferometry. Theory, instrumentation and first observations. -- étude des conditions physiques dans les disques protoplanétaires par interférométrie. Théorie, instrumentation et premières observations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malbet, Fabien

2007-10-01

Les étoiles se forment lors de l'effondrement de nuages de gaz et de poussière. Dans l'environnement proche de l'étoile naissante la matière se concentre dans un plan équatorial que l'on appelle disque protoplanétaire. Les astronomes pensent que les planètes se forment au sein de cette masse de gaz et de poussière orbitant autour de l'étoile. Pour sonder ces disques à des échelles correspondant aux orbites des futures planètes, il convient d'observer dans l'infrarouge à très haute résolution spatiale. L'interférométrie infrarouge est donc un outil idéal pour étudier les conditions physiques des disques protoplanétaires. Dans ce mémoire, je décris les premiers pas de l'interférométrie infrarouge, depuis la mise au point des petits interféromètres PTI et IOTA jusqu'à la construction de l'instrument AMBER au foyer de l'interféromètre du VLT. Je décris aussi les résultats d'une piste de recherche technologique particulièrement attrayante dans le cas de l'interférométrie infrarouge et issue des technologies des autoroutes de l'information: l'optique intégrée appliquée à la combinaison de plusieurs faisceaux en astronomie. Je montre ensuite comment à partir des observations obtenues à partir de ces instruments, il est possible de contraindre la physique des disques autour des étoiles jeunes. Gráce à la résolution spectrale nouvellement disponible sur ces instruments, pour la première fois nous pouvons séparer des phénomènes physiques aussi différents que l'accrétion de matière sur l'étoile et l'éjection de particules par des vents dont l'origine précise est encore mal connue. Les résultats présentés dans ce mémoire ont été obtenus principalement à partir d'observations sur les systèmes jeunes FU Ori et MWC 297 effectuées par AMBER sur le VLTI, mais aussi par les petits interféromètres infrarouges PTI et IOTA. Je développe aussi les travaux de modélisation de la structure verticale des disques associ