The equatorial Pacific High-Productivity Belt: Elements for a Synthesis of Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 85 Resultspaleoceanography

Leg 85 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project operated in the eastern central Pacific in the region of the equatorial highproductivity belt. We recovered uppermost Eocene to Quaternary reference sections amenable to fine-scale stratigraphic and paleoceanographic research, using primarily the hydraulic piston corer. Four sites (572 to 575) were drilled along an east-west (about 114 to 133°W) and north-south (about 0.5 to 6°N) transect across the equatorial belt. At Site 572 an apparently complete lower middle Miocene to Quaternary sequence was recovered: the sediment sections are dominantly siliceous-calcareous oozes and chalks, and sediment accumulation rates were high (30 to 60 m/ m.y.). Sediments at Sites 573 to 575 are similar and dominated by siliceous and calcareous oozes and chalks. Sediment accumulation rates at Site 573 were generally between 10 and 35 m/m.y. The upper Eocene to Quaternary sequence is punctuated by seven hiatuses. At Site 574 a nearly complete upper Eocene to Quaternary sequence was retrieved, including a continuous Eocene to Oligocene transition. At Site 575 a lower Miocene to Quaternary section was cored. The lower to middle Miocene section is characterized by high, constant carbonate contents and sediment accumulation rates of about 20 m/m.y.; the top of the recovered section contains two hiatuses and has accumulated at rates of less than 10 m/m.y. Except for thin, basal metalliferous layers, compositional changes in Leg 85 sediments result from shifts in the relative abundances of the biogenic siliceous or calcareous components. Leg 85 sites subsided and migrated at about 0.3 cm/yr., from about 3000 m in the eastern Pacific, south of the equator, to deeper (4000 to 4600 m), more western locations at or north of the equator. The sedimentary sequences recorded regional changes in productivity (biogenic sedimentation), dissolution, and erosion associated with the equatorial belt, as well as global paleoceanographic events. The most striking regional trend is an east-west decreasing gradient in deposition of biogenic silica, prevailing from middle Miocene to Recent, which mirrors present-day surface-water productivity. A less pronounced middle Miocene to Recent latitudinal trend in deposition appears to be the result of enhanced carbonate solution to the north. The effects of deposition in the equatorial high-productivity belt have not changed since the early Miocene. Below the middle/upper Miocene boundary, the sediments have a relatively constant high carbonate content, whereas above, carbonate percentages are highly variable. The changeover level is generally marked by a hiatus and significant changes in physical, chemical, and magnetic properties of the sediments. Results of Leg 85 contributed to advances in the four elements needed for an eventual paleoceanographic synthesis: (1) a high-resolution, multidisciplinary, and integrated datum-plane scheme and time scale, with an overall resolution of 0.13 to 0.38 m.y., was established; (2) a system of correctable acoustic reflectors was delineated over vast distances, and these reflectors were calibrated against age and physical and chemical properties at Sites 574; (3) a fine-scale geochemical (stable isotope and CaCO3) and micropaleontological climatic reconstruction was developed (discontinuously) from Oligocene to Pleistocene; and (4) broadly correctable hiatuses (NH, PH), defined by previous work, were recognized at Sites 573 to 575. The interval from 8 to 9 Ma serves to outline how integration of the foregoing elements could lead to a future synthesis. In the central basin of the equatorial Pacific, the interval from 8 to 9 Ma is marked by a hiatus (NH5) in siliceous clays. A correlative hiatus occurs in carbonate oozes of the equatorial region and in the northeastern Pacific rim, and may be correlated with the Purple equatorial Pacific reflector. The interval is characterized globally by a regression, by strong carbonate dissolution, and by isotopic and micropaleontological evidence of marked cooling. Further study of these paleoceanographic phenomena in a variety of depositional environments will lead to an understanding of their relationships and functioning

Enhanced Late Holocene ENSO/PDO expression along the margins of the eastern North Pacific

Pacific climate is known to have varied during the Holocene, but spatial patterns remain poorly defined. This paper compiles terrestrial and marine proxy data from sites along the northeastern Pacific margins and proposes that they indicate 1) suppressed ENSO conditions during the middle Holocene between ~8000 and 4000 cal BP with a North Pacific that generally resembled a La Niña-like or more negative PDO phase and 2) a climate transition between ~4200 and 3000 cal BP that appears to be the teleconnected expression to a more modern-like ENSO Pacific. Compared to modern day conditions, the compiled data suggest that during the middle Holocene, the Aleutian Low was generally weaker during the winter and/or located more to the west, while the North Pacific High was stronger during the summer and located more to the north. Coastal upwelling off California was more enhanced during the summer and fall but suppressed during the spring. Oregon and California sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were cooler. The Santa Barbara Basin had an anomalous record, suggesting warmer SSTs. Late Holocene records indicate a more variable, El Niño-like, and more positive PDO Pacific. The Aleutian Low became more intensified during the winter and/or located more to the east. The North Pacific High became weaker and/or displaced more to the south. Coastal upwelling off California intensified during the spring but decreased during the fall. Oregon and California SSTs became warmer, recording the shoreward migration of sub-tropical gyre waters during the fall, while spring upwelling (cooler SST) increased in the Santa Barbara Basin. The high-resolution proxy records indicate enhanced ENSO and PDO variability after ~4000 cal BP off southern California, ~3400 cal BP off northern California, and by ~2000 cal BP in southwestern Yukon. A progressively northward migration of the ENSO teleconnection during the late Holocene is proposed

Correlation of the middle Eocene Kellogg Shale of northern California

The Kellogg Shale of northern California has traditionally been considered to be late Eocene in age on the basis of benthic foraminifer, radiolarian, and diatom correlations. The 30-m-thick Kellogg section exposed west of Byron, California, however, contains middle Eocene planktonic foraminifers (Zone P12), coccoliths (Subzones CP13c and CP14a), silicoflagellates (Dictyocha hexacantha Zone), and diatoms. Quantitative studies of the silicoflagellates and diatoms show a general cooling trend through the section which is consistent with paleoclimatic trends for this part of the middle Eocene (ca. 42-45 Ma) from elsewhere in the world. Seven new silicoflagellate taxa (Corbisema angularis. C, exilis, C, hastate miranda, C. inermis ballantina, C. regina, Dictyocha byronalis, Naviculopsis Americana) and one new coccolithophorid species (Helicosphaera neolophota) are described

The Holocene history of the North American Monsoon: 'known knowns' and 'known unknowns' in understanding its spatial and temporal complexity

Evidence for climatic change across the North American Monsoon (NAM) and adjacent areas is reviewed, drawing on continental and marine records and the application of climate models. Patterns of change at 12,000, 9000, 6000 and 4000 cal yr BP are presented to capture the nature of change from the Younger Dryas (YD) and through the mid-Holocene. At the YD, conditions were cooler overall, wetter in the north and drier in the south, while moving into the Holocene wetter conditions became established in the south and then spread north as the NAM strengthened. Until c. 8,000 cal yr BP, the Laurentide Ice Sheet influenced precipitation in the north by pushing the Bermuda High further south. The peak extent of the NAM seems to have occurred around 6000 cal yr BP. 4000 cal yr BP marks the start of important changes across the NAM region, with drying in the north and the establishment of the clear differences between the summer-rain dominated south and central areas and the north, where winter rain is more important. This differentiation between south and north is crucial to understanding many climate responses across the NAM. This increasing variability is coincident with the declining influence of orbital forcing. 4000 cal yr BP also marks the onset of significant anthropogenic activity in many areas. For the last 2000 years, the focus is on higher temporal resolution change, with strong variations across the region. The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) is characterised by centennial scale ‘megadrought’ across the southwest USA, associated with cooler tropical Pacific SSTs and persistent La Niña type conditions. Proxy data from southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean reveal generally wetter conditions, whereas records from the highlands of central Mexico and much of the Yucatan are typified by long -term drought. The Little Ice Age (LIA), in the north, was characterised by cooler, wetter winter conditions that have been linked with increased frequency of El Niño’s. Proxy records in the central and southern regions reveal generally dry LIA conditions, consistent with cooler SSTs in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. This synthesis demonstrates that in some periods, one major forcing can dominate across the whole area (e.g. insolation in the early-mid Holocene), but at other times there is strong variability in patterns of change due to the differential impact of forcings such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on precipitation seasonality

On-the-Job Training

Firms in the U.S. invest billions of dollars annually in workforce training. Growing evidence of the effects of this training on worker productivity, wages, hiring and turnover has led researchers to gradually incorporate the role of training into their analyses. Barron, Berger and Black advance this line of research by offering new evidence on the amount of training provided to workers during the first three months on the job, and the characteristics of those workers who received that training.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1070/thumbnail.jp

Georgia’s Rural Hospital Closures: The Common-Good Approach to Ethical Decision-Making

Background: Critical access hospitals provide several essential services to local communities. Along with the functions associated with providing necessary medical care, they also offer employment opportunities and other economic benefits to the communities they serve. Since 2010, the number of rural hospitals closures has steadily increased. The common-good approach to ethical decision-making provides a framework that aids in evaluation of the effects that hospital closures have on rural residents and communities. Methods: This analysis includes results of a systematic overview of peer-reviewed literature to address the following research questions: 1) How have state policies and the adoption of Medicaid expansion influenced the viability or rural hospitals? 2) What are the ethical implications of Medicaid expansion and state policy reform/adoption pertaining to viability of rural hospitals? and 3) What are the ethical implications of critical access hospitals closures on rural communities in Georgia? Information related to these questions is presented, along with tactics to addressing these in an ethical manner. Results: This descriptive analysis shows that the largest number of state-specific closures have occurred in states with a federal exchange and which chose not to expand Medicaid. Characteristics of the state of Georgia and the counties with recent closures show that these counties typically have smaller populations with a high minority presence, lower education and income levels, and higher numbers of medically uninsured. Conclusions: The common-good approach to ethical decision-making is suitable for evaluating the ethical implications of policy-level decisions impacting the closure of critical access hospitals serving the rural communities of Georgia

Georgia’s Rural Hospital Closures: The Common-Good Approach to Ethical Decision-Making

Background: Critical access hospitals provide several essential services to local communities. Along with the functions associated with providing necessary medical care, they also offer employment opportunities and other economic benefits to the communities they serve. Since 2010, the number of rural hospitals closures has steadily increased. The common-good approach to ethical decision-making provides a framework that aids in evaluation of the effects that hospital closures have on rural residents and communities. Methods: This analysis includes results of a systematic overview of peer-reviewed literature to address the following research questions: 1) How have state policies and the adoption of Medicaid expansion influenced the viability or rural hospitals? 2) What are the ethical implications of Medicaid expansion and state policy reform/adoption pertaining to viability of rural hospitals? and 3) What are the ethical implications of critical access hospitals closures on rural communities in Georgia? Information related to these questions is presented, along with tactics to addressing these in an ethical manner. Results: This descriptive analysis shows that the largest number of state-specific closures have occurred in states with a federal exchange and which chose not to expand Medicaid. Characteristics of the state of Georgia and the counties with recent closures show that these counties typically have smaller populations with a high minority presence, lower education and income levels, and higher numbers of medically uninsured. Conclusions: The common-good approach to ethical decision-making is suitable for evaluating the ethical implications of policy-level decisions impacting the closure of critical access hospitals serving the rural communities of Georgia