Magnetic reconnection near the planet as a possible driver of Jupiter's mysterious polar auroras

Auroral emissions have been extensively observed at the Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. These planets all have appreciable atmospheres and strong magnetic fields, and their auroras predominantly originate from a region encircling each magnetic pole. However, Jupiter’s auroras poleward of these “main” emissions are brighter and more dynamic, and the drivers responsible for much of these mysterious polar auroras have eluded identification to date. We propose that part of the solution may stem from Jupiter’s stronger magnetic field. We model large-scale Alfvénic perturbations propagating through the polar magnetosphere towards Jupiter, showing that the resulting <0.1° deflections of the magnetic field closest to the planet could trigger magnetic reconnection as near as ∼0.2 Jupiter radii above the cloud tops. At Earth and Saturn this physics should be negligible, but reconnection electric field strengths above Jupiter’s poles can approach ∼1 V m-1, typical of the solar corona. We suggest this near-planet reconnection could generate beams of high-energy electrons capable of explaining some of Jupiter’s polar auroras

Dynamics of sediment flux to a bathyal continental margin section through the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

The response of the Earth system to greenhouse-gas-driven warming is of critical importance for the future trajectory of our planetary environment. Hyperthermal events – past climate transients with global-scale warming significantly above background climate variability – can provide insights into the nature and magnitude of these responses. The largest hyperthermal of the Cenozoic was the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM ∼ 56 Ma). Here we present new high-resolution bulk sediment stable isotope and major element data for the classic PETM section at Zumaia, Spain. With these data we provide a new detailed stratigraphic correlation to other key deep-ocean and terrestrial PETM reference sections. With this new correlation and age model we are able to demonstrate that detrital sediment accumulation rates within the Zumaia continental margin section increased more than 4-fold during the PETM, representing a radical change in regional hydrology that drove dramatic increases in terrestrial-to-marine sediment flux. Most remarkable is that detrital accumulation rates remain high throughout the body of the PETM, and even reach peak values during the recovery phase of the characteristic PETM carbon isotope excursion (CIE). Using a series of Earth system model inversions, driven by the new Zumaia carbon isotope record, we demonstrate that the silicate weathering feedback alone is insufficient to recover the PETM CIE, and that active organic carbon burial is required to match the observed dynamics of the CIE. Further, we demonstrate that the period of maximum organic carbon sequestration coincides with the peak in detrital accumulation rates observed at Zumaia. Based on these results, we hypothesise that orbital-scale variations in subtropical hydro-climates, and their subsequent impact on sediment dynamics, may contribute to the rapid climate and CIE recovery from peak-PETM conditions

The EU and Asia within an evolving global order: what is Europe? Where is Asia?

The papers in this special edition are a very small selection from those presented at the EU-NESCA (Network of European Studies Centres in Asia) conference on "the EU and East Asia within an Evolving Global Order: Ideas, Actors and Processes" in November 2008 in Brussels. The conference was the culmination of three years of research activity involving workshops and conferences bringing together scholars from both regions primarily to discuss relations between Europe and Asia, perceptions of Europe in Asia, and the relationship between the European regional project and emerging regional forms in Asia. But although this was the last of the three major conferences organised by the consortium, it in many ways represented a starting point rather than the end; an opportunity to reflect on the conclusions of the first phase of collaboration and point towards new and continuing research agendas for the future

A critical evaluation of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: an example of things to come?

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), arguably the most dramatic hyperthermal event recorded to date, occurred approximately 55 million years ago (Ma). During this event thousands of petagrams of carbon were released into the atmosphere and hydrosphere affecting the climate, ocean chemistry and marine and terrestrial ecosystems. With a duration of approximately 100,000 years (though possibly as long as 170,000 years) and global temperature increases of between 4- 8°C, terrestrial and marine faunal turnover occurred including mammalian dispersal, rapid evolutionary and ecological change and transient diversification. The PETM, therefore, offers a valuable insight into shifts in the climate regime and the resultant marine and biotic response that may be relevant to future anthropogenically induced climate change. The mechanisms for delivery of isotopically light carbon into the atmosphere and hydrosphere remain a hotly debated topic. Here we discuss numerous

Tephra deposition and bonding with reactive oxides enhances burial of organic carbon in the Bering Sea

Preservation of organic carbon (OC) in marine sediments exerts a major control on the cycling of carbon in the Earth system. In these marine environments, OC preservation may be enhanced by diagenetic reactions in locations where deposition of fragmental volcanic material called tephra occurs. While the mechanisms by which this process occurs are well understood, site‐specific studies of this process are limited. Here, we report a study of sediments from the Bering Sea (IODP Site U1339D) to investigate the effects of marine tephra deposition on carbon cycling during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results suggest that tephra layers are loci of OC burial with distinct δ13C values, and that this process is primarily linked to bonding of OC with reactive metals, accounting for ∼80% of all OC within tephra layers. In addition, distribution of reactive metals from the tephra into non‐volcanic sediments above and below the tephra layers enhances OC preservation in these sediments, with ∼33% of OC bound to reactive phases. Importantly, OC‐Fe coupling is evident in sediments >700,000 years old. Thus, these interactions may help explain the observed preservation of OC in ancient marine sediments.Plain Language Summary: The burial of organic carbon (OC) in marine sediments is one of the major carbon sinks on Earth, meaning that it removes carbon dioxide from the ocean‐atmosphere system. However, the speed at which burial occurs varies across the globe, and is dependent on a range of factors, from the amount of nutrients in the water column, to the type of sediment. Despite evidence suggesting that when tephra is deposited to the seafloor carbon burial is enhanced, very little work has been done to investigate this process. We have therefore analyzed sediments from the Bering Sea, where volcanoes from the Aleutian Islands and Kamchatka regularly deposit tephra in the ocean. We found that OC burial is indeed associated with ash deposition, and importantly, that OC is preserved in the ash layers themselves. We show here that this carbon is preserved effectively because of chemical reactions between the OC and reactive iron, which is released by the ash, creating conditions which preserve carbon for hundreds of thousands of years.Key Points: Tephra layers are loci of marine organic carbon (OC) burial with distinct carbon isotopic compositions. Preservation primarily linked to association of OC with reactive iron phases, accounting for ∼80% of all OC in tephra layers. OC‐reactive Fe coupling is observed in sediments >700,000 years old, indicating long‐term persistence of these complexes.NER

Globalization, the ambivalence of European integration and the possibilities for a post-disciplinary EU studies

Using the work of Manuel Castells as a starting point, this article explores the ambivalent relationship between globalization and European integration and the variety of ways in which the mainstream political science of the EU has attempted to deal with this issue. The analysis here suggests that various 'mainstreaming' disciplinary norms induce types of work that fail to address fully the somewhat paradoxical and counter-intuitive range of possible relationships between globalization and European integration. The article explores critically four possible analytical ways out of this paradox—abandonment of the concept of globalization, the development of definition precision in globalization studies, the reorientation of work to focus on globalization as discourse, and inter- and post-disciplinarity. The argument suggests that orthodox discussions of the relationship require a notion of social geography that sits at odds with much of the literature on globalization and while greater dialogue between disciplines is to be welcomed, a series of profound epistemological questions need to be confronted if studies of the interplay between global and social process are to be liberated from their disciplinary chains