Planktic14C Plateaus: A Result of Short-Term Sedimentation Pulses?

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Balmer ◽  
Michael Sarnthein
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Values ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Pulses ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Hemipelagic Sediment ◽  
Absolute Age

AbstractThe tuning of plateaus in glacial and deglacial planktic radiocarbon records to pertinent structures in the atmospheric14C record of Lake Suigetsu results in both a record of surface water reservoir ages and a centennial-scale absolute age model. However, the atmospheric origin of planktic14C plateaus may be questioned. Alternatively, plateaus may result from short pulses of increased hemipelagic sediment deposition, which challenges the technique of14C plateau tuning. To test the two rationales for the interval 23–12 cal ka, we calculated hypothetical sedimentation rates for all14C plateaus identified in five Atlantic sediment cores assuming sediment pulses that either span 10, 100, 200, or 300 yr each. These rates were compared to rates derived by14C plateau tuning that assumes an atmospheric origin of the plateaus. In each plateau suite, our hypothetical sedimentation rates result in at least one or two cases in extreme values that exceed the rates reported for short-lasting pulses of sediment deposition in contourites by a factor of 50 and therefore appear unrealistic. Moreover, they result in entire suites of plateau structures that incidentally appear closely aligned to the pattern of atmospheric14C plateau suites rather than to any pulses of climate-controlled sediment discharge.

115 years of sediment deposition in the Urft reservoir (Eifel Mountains, western Germany)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Stauch ◽  
Alexander Esch ◽  
Lukas Dörwald ◽  
Verena Esser ◽  
Simone Lechthaler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Eifel Mountains ◽  
Western Germany ◽  
Sediment Layers

<p>The sediments of the artificial Urft reservoir represent a unique archive of human influence on late Holocene sediment composition. The Urft dam, located in the Eifel Mountains in western Germany, was built between 1900 and 1905. At the time of its construction, the Urft reservoir was the largest reservoir and, with 12 MW, drove the most powerful water storage power plant in Europe. The reservoir has a length of 12 km and, when fully dammed, has a volume of 45.51 million m³ over an area of 2.16 km². The most important inflow is the river Urft. Today, the Urft Lake is completely enclosed by the Eifel National Park.</p><p>Consequently, sediments were deposited in the lake almost undisturbed over the last 115 years. Due to construction work on the Urft dam and the inspection of the 2.7 km long Kermeter Tunnel, which powers the Heimbach hydroelectric power plant, the reservoir was almost completely drained in November 2020. This offered the rare opportunity to sample the deposits in detail and to record the entire lake area photogrammetrically using an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The work was carried out in cooperation between the Water Board Eifel-Rur (WVER) and the Chair of Physical Geography and Geoecology (PGG) at RWTH Aachen University.</p><p>Within the framework of the project, the sediments in the reservoir will be investigated in detail. The comparison of the high-resolution UAS digital elevation models and historical maps will give insights in the amount of sediment deposition in the different areas of the lake during the last 115 years. Geochemical markers will be used to quantify the anthropogenic influence on the sediments in the form of mining-induced pollutant contamination (e.g., heavy metals) and to relate this to the history of use in the catchment area. Another focus will be on recording the microplastics content of the different sediment layers. Since microplastics have only been introduced into the natural system by humans for the last 70 years since the beginning of mass production around 1950, the sediment layers can also be differentiated in terms of time. For these investigations, a total of ten sediment cores with a length of up to 4 m were taken from the deposits.</p>

scholarly journals Chronology of Lake El'gygytgyn sediments – a combined magnetostratigraphic, palaeoclimatic and orbital tuning study based on multi-parameter analyses

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2413-2432 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Nowaczyk ◽  
E. M. Haltia ◽  
D. Ulbricht ◽  
V. Wennrich ◽  
M. A. Sauerbrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Far East ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Scientific Drilling ◽  
Lake El’Gygytgyn ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Orbital Tuning ◽  
Lake Floor ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A 318-metre-long sedimentary profile drilled by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) at Site 5011-1 in Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic, has been analysed for its sedimentologic response to global climate modes by chronostratigraphic methods. The 12 km wide lake is sited off-centre in an 18 km large crater that was created by the impact of a meteorite 3.58 Ma ago. Since then sediments have been continuously deposited. For establishing their chronology, major reversals of the earth's magnetic field provided initial tie points for the age model, confirming that the impact occurred in the earliest geomagnetic Gauss chron. Various stratigraphic parameters, reflecting redox conditions at the lake floor and climatic conditions in the catchment were tuned synchronously to Northern Hemisphere insolation variations and the marine oxygen isotope stack, respectively. Thus, a robust age model comprising more than 600 tie points could be defined. It could be shown that deposition of sediments in Lake El'gygytgyn occurred in concert with global climatic cycles. The upper ~160 m of sediments represent the past 3.3 Ma, equivalent to sedimentation rates of 4 to 5 cm ka−1, whereas the lower 160 m represent just the first 0.3 Ma after the impact, equivalent to sedimentation rates in the order of 45 cm ka−1. This study also provides orbitally tuned ages for a total of 8 tephras deposited in Lake El'gygytgyn.

scholarly journals Sea surface temperature variability in the central-western Mediterranean Sea during the last 2700 years: a multi-proxy and multi-record approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 5439-5508 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cisneros ◽  
I. Cacho ◽  
J. Frigola ◽  
M. Canals ◽  
P. Masqué ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
General Cooling ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Cooling Trend

Abstract. This study analyses the evolution of sea surface conditions during the last 2700 years in the central-western Mediterranean Sea based on six records as measured on five short sediment cores from two sites north of Minorca (cores MINMC06 and HER-MC-MR3). Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) were obtained from alkenones and Globigerina bulloides-Mg/Ca ratios combined with δ18O measurements to reconstruct changes in the regional Evaporation–Precipitation (E–P) balance. We reviewed the G. bulloides Mg/Ca-SST calibration and re-adjusted it based on a set of core top measurements from the western Mediterranean Sea. According to the regional oceanographic data, the estimated Mg/Ca-SSTs are interpreted to reflect spring seasonal conditions mainly related to the April–May primary productivity bloom. In contrast, the Alkenone-SSTs signal likely integrates the averaged annual signal. A combination of chronological tools allowed synchronizing the records in a common age model. Subsequently a single anomaly stack record was constructed for each proxy, thus easing to identify the most significant and robust patterns. The warmest SSTs occurred during the Roman Period (RP), which was followed by a general cooling trend interrupted by several centennial-scale oscillations. This general cooling trend could be controlled by changes in the annual mean insolation. Whereas some particularly warm SST intervals took place during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) the Little Ice Age (LIA) was markedly unstable with some very cold SST events mostly during its second half. The records of the last centuries suggest that relatively low E–P ratios and cold SSTs dominated during negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phases, although SST records seem to present a close positive connection with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index (AMO).

scholarly journals Structural reliability assessment based on optical monitoring system: case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Mesquita ◽  
P. Antunes ◽  
A. A. Henriques ◽  
A. Arêde ◽  
P. S. André ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Health Monitoring ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Structural Reliability ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reliability Assessment ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Optical Systems ◽  
Structural Health

ABSTRACT Optical systems are recognized to be an important tool for structural health monitoring, especially for real time safety assessment, due to simplified system configuration and low cost when compared to regular systems, namely electrical systems. This work aims to present a case study on structural health monitoring focused on reliability assessment and applying data collected by a simplified optical sensing system. This way, an elevated reinforced concrete water reservoir was instrumented with a bi-axial optical accelerometer and monitored since January 2014. Taking into account acceleration data, the natural frequencies and relative displacements were estimated. The reliability analysis was performed based on generalized extreme values distribution (GEV) and the results were employed to build a forecast of the reliability of the water elevated reservoir for the next 100 years. The results showed that the optical system combined with GEV analysis, implemented in this experimental work, can provide adequate data for structural reliability assessment.

scholarly journals Experimental evidence for foraminiferal calcification under anoxia

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 4029-4038 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Nardelli ◽  
C. Barras ◽  
E. Metzger ◽  
A. Mouret ◽  
H. L. Filipsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Anoxic Conditions ◽  
Inhibition Of Growth ◽  
Foraminiferal Species ◽  
First Time

Abstract. Benthic foraminiferal tests are widely used for paleoceanographic reconstructions from a range of different environments with varying dissolved oxygen concentrations in the bottom water. There is ample evidence that foraminifera can live in anoxic sediments. For some species, this is explained by a switch to facultative anaerobic metabolism (i.e. denitrification). Here we show for the first time that adult specimens of three benthic foraminiferal species are not only able to survive, but are also able to calcify under anoxic conditions, at various depths in the sediment, and with or without nitrates. In fact, several specimens of Ammonia tepida (1–4%), Bulimina marginata (8–24%) and Cassidulina laevigata (16–23%) were able to calcify at different redox fronts of sediment cores, under laboratory conditions. This demonstrates ongoing metabolic processes, even in micro-environments where denitrification is not possible. Earlier observations suggest that the disappearance of foraminiferal communities after prolonged anoxia is not due to instantaneous or strongly increased adult mortality. Here we show that it cannot be explained by an inhibition of growth through chamber addition either. Our observations of ongoing calcification under anoxic conditions mean that geochemical proxy data obtained from benthic foraminifera in settings experiencing intermittent anoxia have to be reconsidered. The analysis of whole single specimens or of their successive chambers may provide essential information about short-term environmental variability and/or the causes of anoxia.

scholarly journals Long- to short-term denudation rates in the southern Apennines: geomorphological markers and chronological constraints

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Gioia ◽  
Claudio Martino ◽  
Marcello Schiattarella
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Radiometric Dating ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Southern Apennines ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Small Catchment ◽  
Fluvial Terraces ◽  
Denudation Rates ◽  
Land Surfaces

Long- to short-term denudation rates in the southern Apennines: geomorphological markers and chronological constraints Age constraints of geomorphological markers and consequent estimates of long- to short-term denudation rates from southern Italy are given here. Geomorphic analysis of the valley of the Tanagro River combined with apatite fission track data and radiometric dating provided useful information on the ages and evolution of some significant morphotectonic markers such as regional planated landscapes, erosional land surfaces and fluvial terraces. Reconstruction of paleotopography and estimation of the eroded volumes were perfomed starting from the plano-altimetric distribution of several orders of erosional land surfaces surveyed in the study area. Additional data about denudation rates related to the recent and/or active geomorphological system have been obtained by estimating the amount of suspended sediment yield at the outlet of some catchments using empirical relationships based on the hierarchical arrangement of the drainage network. Denudation rates obtained through these methods have been compared with the sedimentation rates calculated for two adjacent basins (the Pantano di San Gregorio and the Vallo di Diano), on the basis of published tephrochronological constraints. These rates have also been compared with those calculated for the historical sediment accumulation in a small catchment located to the north of the study area, with long-term exhumation data from thermochronometry, and with uplift rates from the study area. Long- and short-term denudation rates are included between 0.1 and 0.2 mm/yr, in good agreement with regional data and long-term sedimentation rates from the Vallo di Diano and the Pantano di San Gregorio Magno basins. On the other hand, higher values of exhumation rates from thermochronometry suggest the existence of past erosional processes faster than the recent and present-day exogenic dismantling. Finally, the comparison between uplift and denudation rates indicates that the fluvial erosion did not match the tectonic uplift during the Quaternary in this sector of the chain. The axial zone of the southern Apennines should therefore be regarded as a landscape in conditions of geomorphological disequilibrium.

Short-Term Extreme Motions of a Spar Floating Wind Turbine Estimated Through a 1:30 At-Sea Experiment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Ruzzo ◽  
Nilanjan Saha ◽  
Felice Arena
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Model Structure ◽  
Ocean Engineering ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Spar Platform ◽  
Six Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Scale Models

The present paper deals with the estimation of the short-term extreme motions of a spar floating wind turbine in parked rotor conditions, through a 1:30 at-sea experiment, carried out at the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory (NOEL) of Reggio Calabria (Italy). Thanks to some favorable local environmental conditions of the site, several wind-generated sea states with relatively low significant wave height (Hs < 0.50 m) have been collected during the experiment. These sea states are scale models of ocean storms, which are relevant hydrodynamic design conditions for the spar platform. The 30-minutes extreme values of the model structure motions have been estimated for all the six degrees of freedom, using the Weibull Tail Method (WTM), and the results obtained are presented in the paper. Such estimations are 1:30 scale models of the 3-hours extreme values of the spar motions in parked rotor conditions and may be directly used for design purposes.

scholarly journals Pollen analysis: state of the art

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon J. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Surface Pollen ◽  
Pollen Stratigraphy ◽  
Better Than

Although nearly 50 years have passed since P.B. Sears introduced pollen analysis to North America, it remains an occult art. Dramatic improvements in sampling and analytic techniques continue to be limited by intractable problems of differential production, dispersal, ballistics, sedimentation, and preservation. It is a basic tenet of pollen stratigraphy that the data set, consisting primarily of microfossils preserved in sediments, is better than anything we have yet been able to do with it. Basic agreement between late- and postglacial pollen records has been confirmed wherever the method has been applied. Quantitative sampling techniques, sample preparation, and analytic procedures, together with multiple radiocarbon dates, permits calculation of sedimentation rates and absolute pollen influx. Of approximately 300 sediment cores from northeastern North America, fewer than 30 have more than 3 radiocarbon determinations from which least squares power curve regressions can be reliably calculated in the determination of sedimentation rates. Analogy with modern environments represented by surface pollen spectra is limited by an insufficient number of samples of uniform quality to characterize a vegetational mosaic covering 40 degrees of latitude (40-80°N) and longitude (60-100°W). The present surface pollen data bank includes about 700 samples, unevenly spaced and of uneven quality, permitting a grid resolution of no better than 10,000 km2.

Non Parametric Probabilistic Approach of Ice Load Peaks on Ship Hulls

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdillah Suyuthi ◽  
Bernt J. Leira ◽  
Kaj Riska
Keyword(s):  
Probabilistic Models ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ship Hulls ◽  
Ice Load ◽  
Non Parametric

Due to its complex phenomenon, ice-induced load process could not be physically possible to be modeled by a specific well established probabilistic model. Therefore, a non parametric approximate probabilistic approach should be performed based on the available data. This paper describes the procedure and also the extrapolation to get the short term and long term extreme values. Comparison with the classical approach, where the initial distribution of ice-induced load is assumed to be one of the well established probabilistic models, was made. The comparisons discussed in this paper were explored by using the same available data of full scale measurement on board a coastal guard vessel KV Svalbard during the winter 2007. There was a tendency that the non parametric approach produces more conservative results.

Long-Term Area Statistics for Maximum Crest Height Under a Fixed Platform Deck

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øistein Hagen ◽  
Jørn Birknes-Berg ◽  
Ida Håøy Grue ◽  
Gunnar Lian ◽  
Kjersti Bruserud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Irregular Waves ◽  
Scatter Diagram ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Wave Impact ◽  
Crest Height

As offshore reservoirs are depleted, the seabed may subside. Furthermore, the extreme crests estimates are now commonly higher than obtained previously due to improved understanding of statistics of non-linear irregular waves. Consequently, bottom fixed installations which have previously had sufficient clearance between the deck and the sea surface may be in a situation where wave impact with the deck must be considered at relevant probability levels. In the present paper, we investigate the long-term area statistics for maximum crest height under a fixed platform deck for 2nd order short crested and long crested sea based on numerical simulations as a function of platform deck dimension for jackets. The results are for one location in the northern North Sea, but some key results are also reported and verified for a more benign southern North Sea location. Time domain simulations for long crested and short crested waves over a spatial domain with dimension of a platform deck are performed, and relevant statistics for airgap assessment determined. Second order waves are simulated for the different cells in the (Hs, Tp) scatter diagram for Torsethaugen two-peak wave spectrum for long-crested and short-crested sea. A total of 1000 3-hour sea states are generated per cell, and time series generated for 160 spatial points under a platform deck. Short-term and long-term statistics are established for the maximum crest height as function of platform dimension; inline and transverse to the wave direction, and over the area. Results are given for the linear sea and for the second order time series. The annual q-probability estimates for the maximum crest height over area as a function of platform dimension is determined for a location at the Norwegian Continental Shelf by weighting the short-term statistics for the individual cells in the scatter diagram with the long-term probability of occurrence of the sea state. To reduce the number of numerical second order simulations, the effect of excluding cells that have a negligible effect on the long term extreme crest estimate is discussed. The percentiles in the distribution of maximum crest (over area) in design sea states that corresponds to the extreme values obtained from the long-term analysis are determined for long crested and short crested sea. The increase in the extreme crest over an area compared to the point in space estimate is estimated for both linear and second order surface elevation.

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