Pitx1 enhancer variants in spined and spine-reduced Subarctic European sticklebacks

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Hydrography, circulation, and response to atmospheric forcing in the vicinity of the central Getz Ice Shelf, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

Ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea are thinning rapidly as ocean currents bring warm water into the cavities beneath the floating ice. Although the reported melt rates for the Getz Ice Shelf are comparatively low for the region, its size makes it one of the largest freshwater sources around Antarctica, with potential consequences for, bottom water formation downstream, for example. Here, we use a 2-year-long novel mooring record (2016–2018) and 16-year-long regional model simulations to describe, for the first time, the hydrography and circulation in the vicinity of the ice front between Siple and Carney Island. We find that, throughout the mooring record, temperatures in the trough remain below 0.15 ∘C, more than 1 ∘C lower than in the neighboring Siple and Dotson Trough, and we observe a mean current (0.03 m s−1) directed toward the ice shelf front. The variability in the heat transport toward the ice shelf appears to be governed by nonlocal ocean surface stress over the Amundsen Sea Polynya region, and northward to the continental shelf break, where strengthened westward ocean surface stress leads to increased southward flow at the mooring site. The model simulations suggest that the heat content in the trough during the observed period was lower than normal, possibly owing to anomalously low summertime sea ice concentration and weak winds.publishedVersio

Hydrography and circulation in the Filchner Depression, Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Cold and dense ice shelf water (ISW) emerging from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf cavity in the southwestern Weddell Sea flows northward through the Filchner Depression to eventually descend the con- tinental slope and contribute to the formation of bottom water. New ship-born observations of hydrogra- phy and currents from Filchner Depression in January 2013 suggest that the northward flow of ISW takes place in a middepth jet along the eastern flank of the depression, thus questioning the traditional view with outflow along the western flank. This interpretation of the data is supported by results from a regional numerical model, which shows that ISW flowing northward along the eastern coast of Berkner Island turns eastward and crosses the depression to its eastern side upon reaching the Filchner ice front. The ice front represents a sudden change in the thickness of the water column and thus a potential vorticity barrier. Transport estimates of northward ISW flux based on observations ranges from 0.2 to 1.0 Sv.publishedVersio

Necessary conditions for warm inflow towards the Filchner Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea

Understanding changes in Antarctic ice shelf basal melting is a major challenge for predicting future sea level. Currently, warm Circumpolar Deep Water surrounding Antarctica has limited access to the Weddell Sea continental shelf; consequently, melt‐rates at Filchner‐Ronne Ice Shelf are low. However, large‐scale model projections suggest that changes to the Antarctic Slope Front and the coastal circulation may enhance warm inflows within this century. We use a regional high‐resolution ice shelf cavity and ocean circulation model to explore forcing changes that may trigger this regime shift. Our results suggest two necessary conditions for supporting a sustained warm inflow into the Filchner Ice Shelf cavity; (i) an extreme relaxation of the Antarctic Slope Front density gradient, and (ii) substantial freshening of the dense shelf water. We also find that the on‐shelf transport over the western Weddell Sea shelf is sensitive to the Filchner Trough overflow characteristics

Results From an RCT on Brief Parent Training: Long Term Effects on Parental Quality of Life

Background: Previous research has shown that quality of life for adults decreases when they become parents, remains at a lower level than of non-parents and declines further with each child they have. Consistent with this, parents report that having children leads to more daily struggles and concerns than their work outside the home. In this study, we have investigated how participating in a brief parent training intervention influences parents’ quality of life. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether a brief, six-session version of an evidence-based parent training program (The Incredible Years), delivered in a non-clinical community sample, changed parent quality of life up to four years after the initial intervention.Methods: Data were collected from mothers and fathers in a randomized controlled community trial (N = 117). Children’s mean age was 3.95 years at baseline, and 7.5 years at 4-year follow-up.Results: There were no significant differences in the trajectory of change over the four time points between the intervention and control groups for mothers or fathers. However, results from analysing the linear change from pre to each of the other measurement points, revealed statistically significantly different change on life satisfaction after completing the intervention compared to the control group; immediately following the intervention, t(357) = 2.76, p = 0.006; and the difference between the groups was maintained three years after the intervention, t(360) = 3.14, p = 0.002.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that offering a parenting program focused on building a positive parent-child relation, has the potential to improve mothers’ quality of life. Implications of this are discussed.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02850510. Retrospectively registered 29 July 2016

Results from the intercalibration of optical low light calibration sources 2011

Following the 38th Annual European Meeting on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods in Siuntio in Finland, an intercalibration workshop for optical low light calibration sources was held in Sodankylä, Finland. The main purpose of this workshop was to provide a comparable scale for absolute measurements of aurora and airglow. All sources brought to the intercalibration workshop were compared to the Fritz Peak reference source using the Lindau Calibration Photometer built by Wilhelm Barke and Hans Lauche in 1984. The results were compared to several earlier intercalibration workshops. It was found that most sources were fairly stable over time, with errors in the range of 5–25%. To further validate the results, two sources were also intercalibrated at UNIS, Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Preliminary analysis indicates agreement with the intercalibration in Sodankylä within about 15–25%

The globalizability of temporal discounting

Economic inequality is associated with preferences for smaller, immediate gains over larger, delayed ones. Such temporal discounting may feed into rising global inequality, yet it is unclear whether it is a function of choice preferences or norms, or rather the absence of sufficient resources for immediate needs. It is also not clear whether these reflect true differences in choice patterns between income groups. We tested temporal discounting and five intertemporal choice anomalies using local currencies and value standards in 61 countries (N = 13,629). Across a diverse sample, we found consistent, robust rates of choice anomalies. Lower-income groups were not significantly different, but economic inequality and broader financial circumstances were clearly correlated with population choice patterns

Stabilization of dense Antarctic water supply to the Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation

The lower limb of the Atlantic overturning circulation is resupplied by the sinking of dense Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) that forms via intense air–sea–ice interactions next to Antarctica, especially in the Weddell Sea. In the last three decades, AABW has warmed, freshened and declined in volume across the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere, suggesting an ongoing major reorganization of oceanic overturning. However, the future contributions of AABW to the Atlantic overturning circulation are unclear. Here, using observations of AABW in the Scotia Sea, the most direct pathway from the Weddell Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, we show a recent cessation in the decline of the AABW supply to the Atlantic overturning circulation. The strongest decline was observed in the volume of the densest layers in the AABW throughflow from the early 1990s to 2014; since then, it has stabilized and partially recovered. We link these changes to variability in the densest classes of abyssal waters upstream. Our findings indicate that the previously observed decline in the supply of dense water to the Atlantic Ocean abyss may be stabilizing or reversing and thus call for a reassessment of Antarctic influences on overturning circulation, sea level, planetary-scale heat distribution and global climate