Biases in radiocarbon dating of organic fractions in sediments from meromictic and seasonally hypoxic lakes

We present here radiocarbon dating results from two boreal lakes in Finland, which are permanently (meromictic) or seasonally stratified and contain continuous sequences of annually laminated sediments that started to form in the early Holocene. The radiocarbon dating results of different organic components were compared with the varve-based sediment chronologies. The deviation between the Lake Valkiajarvi varve chronology (8400 varve years 2-3% error estimate) and 33 C-14 dates taken from insoluble and soluble organic phases vary inconsistently throughout the Holocene. In extreme cases mean calibrated radiocarbon dates with 95.4% confidence levels (2 sigma) are -2350 and +2040 years offset when compared with the varve chronology. On average, the radiocarbon dates are offset by ca. +550 years. The deviation between the Lake Nautajarvi varve chronology (9898 varve years +/- 1% error estimate) and 26 C-14 dates analyzed with conventional and AMS methods indicates that radiocarbon dates are systematically older by 500-1300 years (about 900 years on average). This significant offset mean that radiocarbon dates obtained from organic bulk sediment of meromictic and seasonally hypoxic lakes must be cautiously interpreted because of the reservoir effect and carbon cycling at the sediment-water interface. Direct evidence was obtained from the dating of soluble fraction and insoluble organic matter from near bottom water in the monimolimnion of Lake Valkiajarvi, which yielded C-14 ages of 560 +/- 80 BP and 2070 +/- 140 BP, respectively. Our study reinforces previous results that age-depth models based on bulk sediment radiocarbon dates obtained on sediments of stratified lakes are of limited value for accurate dating of changes in land use and especially the commence of agriculture.Peer reviewe

Er polvendingen nær? - sandsynligheden palæomagnetisk set

Jordens magnetfelt er aftaget 10 procent over de sidste 170 år. Nye målinger fra blandt andet den danske Ørsted-satellit viser, at de magnetiske poler nu flytter sig ca. 50 km om året. Men er det usædvanligt hurtigt? Nogle forskere mener ja. De tolker ændringerne som tegn på, at Jordens magnetfelt er på vej mod en polvending (se Peter Staunings artikel i GeologiskNyt nr. 5, 2004)

Enviromagnetic study of Late Quaternary environmental evolution in Lower Volga loess sequences, Russia

The late Quaternary development of the Lower Volga region of Russia is characterized by an alternating influence of marine and continental environments resulting from fluctuations in Caspian Sea level during the last glaciation. However, sediments deposited under continental conditions have received very little research attention compared to the under- and overlying marine deposits, such that even their origin is still in debate. Detailed magnetic mineralogical analyses presented here show clear similarities to loess. The results suggest that climate during the time of loess deposition, the Atelian regression (27–80 ka, MIS 4–3), was dry and cool, similar to the modern-day Northern Caspian lowland. The magnetic properties recorded in the loess-paleosol sequences of the Lower Volga also point to short episodes of potentially more humid and warmer climate during the late Atelian. The new findings in regard to the local Caspian climate and environmental evolution support decreased river discharge from the Russian Plain and Siberian Plain as the dominant factor causing the low Caspian sea level stand during the Atelian, although local-regional climate changes might have had an additional influence.The Swedish Research Council is gratefully acknowledged for funding to Thomas Stevens for part of this project (2017-03888). The work of Redzhep Kurbanov was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 19-77-10077). Sofya Yarovaya was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant 18-00-00470). Balázs Bradák acknowledges the financial support of project BU235P18 (Junta de Castilla y Leon, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund

Extreme gas production in anthropogenic fibrous sediments: An overlooked biogenic source of greenhouse gas emissions

Fibrous sediments that originated from old pulp and paper industry emissions are recognized as a potential threat to the aquatic environment because they are highly contaminated. In addition, biogenic degradation of the organic material from so-called "fiberbanks" has a high potential to produce greenhouse gases (GHG). In this study, X-ray tomography, optical sensors and gas analyzers were used to identify and quantify the gas produced and released from samples of two different fiberbanks. We show that a finer fibrous structure allows the formation of larger gas bubbles and higher gas production rates compared to coarser material composed of wood pieces. High contents of methane (average 56% to 65%) and carbon dioxide (average 18% to 20%) were measured in the gas emitted from both types of fiberbank. Measured methane production rates from the fiberbanks samples are one to three orders of magnitude higher than previously reported rates from sediments within the studied temperature range (between 0.03 and 0.51 mu m CH4/h/g dw over 4.7 to 20 degrees C). The potential for methane and carbon dioxide production in the fiberbank volume likely present in Sweden is estimated to correspond to 7% of Sweden's total known GHG emissions for 2019. These findings show that fiberbanks have the potential to be a significant emitter of GHG. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V

Late Quaternary glacial/interglacial variability in Arctic sea ice and related organic carbon flux: A 180 ka record from Yermak Plateau

The recent dramatic decline of Arctic sea over the last decades and its controlling processes are still poorly understood. In order to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic processes controlling these changes in sea ice, we have to look back to the past beyond the times of direct measurements. For this purpose, we carried out a multi-proxy approach combining organic-geochemical data (bulk parameters: C/N, TOC, δ13Corg; biomarkers: IP25, sterols, GDGTs) with sedimentological data (core lithology, physical properties, IRD counting, XRF scanning) determined in sediments of Yermak Plateau Core PS92/039-2. This core is situated close to the modern summer ice edge and thus very sensitive for environmental changes. Based on magnetostratigraphy and correlations with dated sediment cores, this core represents the time span from MIS 6 to 1 (ca. 180,000 years) and allows the reconstruction of sea ice variability and related changes in oceanic circulation patterns and the Svalbard Barents Ice Sheet (SBIS) fluctuations during glacial/interglacial changes. As sea ice and phytoplankton biomarkers occur throughout the entire sedimentary section but show some strong variability, a more seasonal sea ice cover was probably predominant during the entire time interval, superimposed by a distinct short-term variability in extent. Significant fluctuations in most of our proxy records indicate highly variable sea ice conditions over the Yermak Plateau during MIS 6. Based on our biomarker data, the SBIS could not have reached the Yermak Plateau during MIS 6. During MIS 4 and 2, coevally elevated concentrations of the sea ice proxy IP25 and the biomarkers for phytoplankton productivity and terrigenous input point to a stationary ice margin above the core position at that time. Strengthened Atlantic Water inflow possibly coupled with katabatic winds from the protruding SBIS may have created this stable ice edge situation and the related sedimentary regime

Using an independent geochronology based on palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) and atmospheric Pb deposition to date Baltic Sea sediments and infer 14C reservoir age

Dating of sediment cores from the Baltic Sea has proven to be difficult due to uncertainties surrounding the C-14 reservoir age and a scarcity of macrofossils suitable for dating. Here we present the results of multiple dating methods carried out on cores in the Gotland Deep area of the Baltic Sea. Particular emphasis is placed on the Littorina stage (8 ka ago to the present) of the Baltic Sea and possible changes in the C-14 reservoir age of our dated samples. Three geochronological methods are used. Firstly, palaeomagnetic secular variations (PSV) are reconstructed, whereby ages are transferred to PSV features through comparison with varved lake sediment based PSV records. Secondly, lead (Pb) content and stable isotope analysis are used to identify past peaks in anthropogenic atmospheric Pb pollution. Lastly, C-14 determinations were carried out on benthic foraminifera (Elphidium spec.) samples from the brackish Littorina stage of the Baltic Sea. Determinations carried out on smaller samples (as low as 4 mu g C) employed an experimental, state-of-the-art method involving the direct measurement of CO2 from samples by a gas ion source without the need for a graphitisation step - the first time this method has been performed on foraminifera in an applied study. The PSV chronology, based on the uppermost Littorina stage sediments, produced ten age constraints between 6.29 and 1.29 cal ka BP, and the Pb depositional analysis produced two age constraints associated with the Medieval pollution peak. Analysis of PSV data shows that adequate directional data can be derived from both the present Littorina saline phase muds and Baltic Ice Lake stage varved glacial sediments. Ferrimagnetic iron sulphides, most likely authigenic greigite (Fe3S4), present in the intermediate Ancylus Lake freshwater stage sediments acquire a gyroremanent magnetisation during static alternating field (AF) demagnetisation, preventing the identification of a primary natural remanent magnetisation for these sediments. An inferred marine reservoir age offset (Delta R) is calculated by comparing the foraminifera C-14 determinations to a PSV & Pb age model. This Delta R is found to trend towards younger values upwards in the core, possibly due to a gradual change in hydrographic conditions brought about by a reduction in marine water exchange from the open sea due to continued isostatic rebound. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Dispersal of persistent organic pollutants from fiber-contaminated sediments: biotic and abiotic pathways

Purpose Numerous sites contaminated with fiber emissions from pulp and paper industries are found in coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, but there is limited knowledge about the magnitude of dispersal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from these anthropogenic, organic-rich sediments called fiberbanks. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare different POP dispersal pathways from such fiberbanks. Dispersal mechanisms studied included abiotic and biotic routes (dissolved in water, particle-bound, and bioaccumulation). Materials and methods Contaminated fibrous sediments located in angstrom ngermanalven River estuary in north-eastern Sweden were studied in sediment types representing different fiber content (i.e., fiberbanks, fiber-rich sediments, and less fiber impacted sediments). Sediment-to-water fluxes of dissolved contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)) were measured in situ using benthic flux chambers. Particle resuspension was measured by sampling bottom water, before and after disturbing the sediment surface. Benthic biota was collected to determine the body burden of contaminants and to determine biota-pore water accumulation factors (BAF(PW)) and biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). In addition, concentrations of dissolved POPs in the water column were measured in field using passive samplers. Instrumental analysis was performed using gas chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). Results and discussion The flux of dissolved sigma(20)PCBs was approximately two times higher from one of the investigated fiberbanks (3.4 ng m(- 2) day(- 1)) compared to the other. The average particle burden of PCBs was also higher at this fiberbank after artificial disturbance (15 ng g(-1) particle), which indicates that larger amounts of contaminants are likely to disperse via particle resuspension from this site compared to the other fiberbank (4.8 ng g(- 1) particle). The difference might be associated with a layer of recently settled minerogenic material that covers one of the fiberbanks, which probably functions as a protective barrier. The lack of benthic biota implies that contaminant release by bioturbation is negligible in the studied fiberbanks. However, benthic biota from fiber-rich sediment showed bioaccumulation and biomagnification of contaminants. Conclusions The importance of diffusive flux from fiberbanks under undisturbed conditions became apparent when the different dispersal pathways were quantified. However, no dispersal pathway could be judged as irrelevant, since even under undisturbed conditions, advective particle transport was significant. Additionally, the uptake by biota and trophic transfer can be considerable. Quantification of dispersal routes and understanding of the relative importance of various pathways is critical for proper risk assessment and management of contaminated sediments

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good