Signature of explosive volcanic eruptions in the sediments of a high-altitude Swiss lake

The analysis of 125years of well-dated varved sediments in Lake Silvaplana, located at 1,791m a.s.l. in the Upper Engadine region of south-eastern Switzerland, reveals that 7 out of the 8 climatically relevant explosive volcanic eruptions between A.D. 1880 and 2004 were followed by distinct peaks in median grain-size. Although the underlying mechanisms are yet unclear, an analysis of local meteorological data suggests that this phenomenon is unlikely to be related to any change in air temperature associated with the eruptions, but instead may be related to an increase in autumn precipitation subsequent to the eruptions that led to the erosion and fluvial transport of particles larger than norma

The last 1300years of environmental history recorded in the sediments of Lake Sils (Engadine, Switzerland)

Abstract.: Proglacial Lake Sils is located in the Upper Engadine (south-eastern Swiss Alps) at 1800 m a.s.l. and is the uppermost of four lakes in the valley. A highresolution seismic survey combined with geophysical and chemical data of 22 short sediment cores, and 137Cs, 210Pb, and 14C AMS dating provide insight into the sedimentological development of the lake during the last 1300years. The deposits consist of diffusely laminated clayey silts. In contrast to nearby Lake Silvaplana, no varves could be detected. Sedimentation rates are on average 1.1mm per year (40mg cm−2a−1) which is much lower than in the adjacent Engadine lakes. The most prominent sediment feature is a turbidite that was deposited around cal AD 700, has a thickness of up to more than 6 metres and a total estimated volume of 6.5*106 m3, which is more than the total cumulated sediment mass deposited since that time (4.5 * 106 m3). The sediments deposited after around AD 1880 show higher contents of organic carbon (Corg) and biogenic silica (bSi), which suggests enhanced primary production due to increasing tourism in the area and subsequent higher nutrient supply to the lake. Sediments with distinctly lower Corg and bSi concentrations, but with larger grain-size medians and higher mica concentrations were accumulated between AD 1500 and 1880. These features are related to a late period of the ‘Little Ice Age' when major regional glacier advances occurre

Comparison between chironomid-inferred July temperatures and meteorological data AD 1850-2001 from varved Lake Silvaplana, Switzerland

Inferred temperatures from chironomids preserved in the varved sediment of Lake Silvaplana in the Eastern Swiss Alps were compared with instrumental data obtained from a meteorological station in Sils-Maria, on the shore of Lake Silvaplana, for the time interval 1850-2001. At near-annual resolution, the general patterns of chironomid-inferred temperature changes followed the meteorological record over the last ∼150years (r Pearson=0.65, P=0.01) and 87% of the inferences had deviations from the instrumental data below the root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP). When the inferences were compared with a 2-year running mean in the meteorological data, 94% of the inferences had differences with the instrumental data below the RMSEP, indicating that more than half of the inaccurate inferences may have been due to errors in varve counting. Larger deviations from the instrumental data were also obtained from samples with low percentages of fossil taxa represented in the training set used for temperature reconstruction and/or assemblages with poor fit to temperature. Changes in total phosphorus (TP, as inferred by diatoms) and/or greater precipitation were possible factors affecting the accuracy of the temperature reconstruction. Although these factors might affect the quantitative estimates, obtaining >80% accurate temperature inferences suggests that chironomid analysis is a reliable tool for reconstructing mean July air temperature quantitatively over the last ∼150years in Lake Silvaplan

High-resolution summer temperature reconstruction from Lake Silvaplana based on in-situ reflectance spectroscopy

Annually laminated (varved) sediments of proglacial Lake Silvaplana (46 ̊27’N, 9 ̊48’E, 1791 m a.s.l., Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps) provide an excellent archive for quantitative high-resolution (seasonal – annual) reconstruction of high- and lowfrequency climate signals back to AD 1580. The chronology of the core is based on varve counting, Cs-137, Pb-210 and event stratigraphy. In this study we present a reconstruction based on in-situ reflectance spectroscopy. In situ reflectance spectroscopy is known as a cost- and time-effective non destructtive method for semi-quantitative analysis of pigments (e.g., chlorines and carotenoids) and of lithoclastic sediment fractions. Reflectance-dependent absorption (RDA) was measured with a Gretac Macbeth spectrolino at 2 mm resolution. The spectral coverage ranges from 380 nm to 730 nm at 10 nm band resolution. In proglacial Lake Silvaplana, 99% of the sediment is lithoclastic prior to AD 1950. Therefore, we concentrate on absorption features that are characteristic for lithoclastic sediment fractions. In Lake Silvaplana, two significant correlations that are stable in time were found between RDA typical for lithoclastics and meteorological data: (1) the time series R 570 /R 630 (ratio between RDA at 570 nm and 630 nm) of varves in Lake Silvaplana and May to October temperatures at nearby station of Sils correlate highly significantly (calibration period AD 1864 – 1951, r = 0.74, p < 0.01 for 5ptsmoothed series; RMSE is 0.28 ̊C, RE = 0.41 and CE = 0.38), and (2) the minimum reflectance within the 690nm band (min690) data correlate with May to October (calibration period AD 1864 – 1951, r = 0.68, p < 0.01 for 5pt-smoothed series; RMSE = 0.22 ̊C, RE = 0.5, CE = 0.31). Both proxy series (min690nm and R 570 /R 630 values) are internally highly consistent (r = 0.8, p < 0.001). In proglacial Lake Silvaplana the largest amount of sediment is transported by glacial meltwater. The melting season spans approximately from May to October, which gives us a good understanding of the geophysical processes explaining the correlations between lithoclastic proxies and the meteorological data. The reconstructions were extended back to AD 1580 and show a broad corresponddence with fully independent reconstructions from tree rings and documentary data

Polymer sequencing by molecular machines: A framework for predicting the resolving power of a sliding contact force spectroscopy sequencing method

We evaluate an AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy method for mapping sequences in otherwise difficult to sequence heteropolymers, including glycosylated proteins and glycans. The sliding contact force spectroscopy (SCFS) method exploits a sliding contact made between a nanopore threaded over a polymer axle and an AFM probe. We find that for sliding α- and β- cyclodextrin nanopores over a wide range of hydrophilic monomers, the free energy of sliding is proportional to the sum of two dimensionless, easily calculable parameters representing the relative partitioning of the monomer inside the nanopore or in the aqueous phase, and the friction arising from sliding the nanopore over the monomer. Using this relationship we calculate sliding energies for nucleic acids, amino acids, glycan and synthetic monomers and predict on the basis of these calculations that SCFS will detect N- and O-glycosylation of proteins and patterns of sidechains in glycans. For these applications, SCFS offers an alternative to sequence mapping by mass spectrometry or newly-emerging nanopore technologies that may be easily implemented using a standard AFM

Additional file 7: Table S4. of Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication

The scrm command line used for coalescent simulations of dog and wolf demographic history and Ne estimates and parameters used for the simulations. (DOCX 77 kb

Additional file 3: Table S2. of Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication

Results of Tukey’s range test for ANOVA of Mean Fst in 50kb windows around functional categories of sites with Fst > = 0.75. (DOCX 99 kb

Additional file 6: Figure S2. of Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication

Histogram of mean Fst scores calculated in 500kb windows genome-wide between dogs and wolves. Histogram of mean Fst calculated in 500kb genomic windows across the autosome and X chromosome between dogs and wolves. Counts are included above each bin. The long tail towards positive mean Fst scores is potentially indicative of positive selection. (DOCX 71 kb

Additional file 2: Table S1. of Identification of genomic variants putatively targeted by selection during dog domestication

Results of ANOVA of mean Fst in 50kb windows around functional categories of sites with Fst > = 0.75. (DOCX 41 kb