Paleoclimatic and diagenetic history of the Late Quaternary sediments in a core from the Southeastern Arabian Sea: geochemical and magnetic signals

Geochemical and rock-magnetic investigations were carried out on a sediment core collected from the SE Arabian Sea at 1420 m depth in oxygenated waters below the present-day oxygen minimum zone. The top 250 cm of the core sediments represent the last 35 kaBP. The δ18O values of Globigerinoides ruber are heaviest during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and appear unaffected by low-saline waters transported from the Bay of Bengal by the strong northeast monsoon and West Indian coastal current. The signatures of Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas events are distinct in the records of magnetic susceptibility, organic carbon (OC) and δ 18O. Glacial sediments show higher OC, CaCO3, Ba, Mo, U and Cd, while the early-to-late Holocene sediments show increasing concentrations of OC, CaCO3, Ba, Cu, Ni and Zn and decreasing concentrations of Mo, U and Cd. Productivity induced low-oxygenated bottom waters and reducing sedimentary conditions during glaciation, and productivity and oxygenated bottom waters in the Holocene are responsible for their variation. The core exhibits different stages of diagenesis at different sediment intervals. The occurrence of fine-grained, low-coercivity, ferrimagnetic mineral during glacial periods is indicative of its formation in organic-rich, anoxic sediments, which may be analogous to the diagenetic magnetic enhancement known in sapropels of the Mediterranean Sea and Japan Sea. The glacial sediments exhibiting reductive diagenesis with anoxic sedimentary environment in this core correspond to reductive diagenesis and intermittent bioturbation (oxygenation) reported in another core in the vicinity. This suggests that the poorly oxygenated bottom water conditions during glacial times should not be generalized, but are influenced locally by productivity, sedimentation rates and sediment reworking

Spatial and temporal variations in basal melting at Nivlisen ice shelf, East Antarctica, derived from phase-sensitive radars

Thinning rates of ice shelves vary widely around Antarctica, and basal melting is a major component of ice shelf mass loss. In this study, we present records of basal melting at a unique spatial and temporal resolution for East Antarctica, derived from autonomous phase-sensitive radars. These records show spatial and temporal variations of basal melting in 2017 and 2018 at Nivlisen, an ice shelf in central Dronning Maud Land. The annually averaged basal melt rates are in general moderate (∼0.8 m yr−1). Radar profiling of the ice shelf shows variable ice thickness from smooth beds to basal crevasses and channels. The highest basal melt rates (3.9 m yr−1) were observed close to a grounded feature near the ice shelf front. Daily time-varying measurements reveal a seasonal melt signal 4 km from the ice shelf front, at an ice draft of 130 m, where the highest daily basal melt rates occurred in summer (up to 5.6 m yr−1). In comparison with wind, air temperatures, and sea ice cover from reanalysis and satellite data, the seasonality in basal melt rates indicates that summer-warmed ocean surface water was pushed by wind beneath the ice shelf front. We observed a different melt regime 35 km into the ice shelf cavity, at an ice draft of 280 m, with considerably lower basal melt rates (annual average of 0.4 m yr−1) and no seasonality. We conclude that warm deep-ocean water at present has a limited effect on the basal melting of Nivlisen. On the other hand, a warming in surface waters, as a result of diminishing sea ice cover, has the potential to increase basal melting near the ice shelf front. Continuous in situ monitoring of Antarctic ice shelves is needed to understand the complex mechanisms involved in ice shelf–ocean interactions

The dominant role of extreme precipitation events in Antarctic snowfall variability

Antarctic snowfall consists of frequent clear‐sky precipitation and heavier falls from intrusions of maritime airmasses associated with amplified planetary waves. We investigate the importance of different precipitation events using the output of the RACMO2 model. Extreme precipitation events consisting of the largest 10% of daily totals are shown to contribute more than 40% of the total annual precipitation across much of the continent, with some areas receiving in excess of 60% of the total from these events. The greatest contribution of extreme precipitation events to the annual total is in the coastal areas and especially on the ice shelves, with the Amery Ice Shelf receiving 50% of its annual precipitation in less than the 10 days of heaviest precipitation. For the continent as a whole, 70% of the variance of the annual precipitation is explained by variability in precipitation from extreme precipitation events, with this figure rising to over 90% in some areas

Major ion chemistry of snow cores along a transect in central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Among the large variety of particulates in the atmosphere, calcic mineral dust particles have highly reactive surfaces that undergo heterogeneous reactions with nitrogen oxides contiguously. The association between Ca2+, an important proxy indicator of mineral dust and NO3-, a dominant anion in the Antarctic snow pack was analysed. A total of 41 snow cores (~ 1 m each) that represent snow deposited during 2008-2009 were studied along coastal-inland transects from two different regions - the Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) and central Dronning Maud Land (cDML) in East Antarctica. Correlation statistics showed a strong association (at 99 % significance level) between NO3- and Ca2+ at the near-coastal sections of both PEL (r = 0.72) and cDML (r = 0.76) transects. Similarly, a strong association between these ions was also observed in snow deposits at the inland sections of PEL (r = 0.8) and cDML (r = 0.85). Such systematic associations between Ca2+ and NO3- is attributed to the interaction between calcic mineral dust and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, leading to the possible formation of calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2). Forward and back trajectory analyses using HYSPLIT model v. 4 revealed that Southern South America (SSA) was an important dust emitting source to the study region, aided by the westerlies. Particle size distribution showed that over 90 % of the dust was in the range < 4 µm, indicating that these dust particles reached the Antarctic region via long range transport from the SSA region. We propose that the association between Ca2+ and NO3- occurs during the long range transport due to the formation of Ca(NO3)2. The Ca(NO3)2 thus formed in the atmosphere undergo deposition over Antarctica under the influence of anticyclonic polar easterlies. However, influence of local dust sources from the nunataks in cDML evidently mask such association in the mountainous region. The study indicates that the input of dust-bound NO3– may contribute a significant fraction of the total NO3- deposited in Antarctic snow

Historische evolutie van de waterkwaliteit in het Schelde-estuarium op Belgisch en Nederlands grondgebied

Indian monsoon precipitation fluctuated significantly during the Holocene and a reliable reconstruction of the timing of the events and their implications is of great benefit to our understanding of the effect and response of low latitude climate systems to the forcing factors. We have carried out high-resolution terrigenous proxy studies on a laminated sediment core from the Oxygen Minimum Zone of the eastern Arabian Sea margin to reconstruct the summer monsoon-controlled precipitation changes during the Holocene. The temporal variation in the terrigenous proxy indicators of this core, in combination with other high-quality cores from the Arabian Sea, suggests several abrupt events in monsoon precipitation throughout the Holocene. The early Holocene monsoon intensification occurred in two abrupt steps at 9500 and 9100 years BP and weakened gradually thereafter, starting at 8500 years BP. A weakening in precipitation recorded at &#8764;7000 years BP, synchronous with similar conditions in India. One of the most significant weak monsoon periods recorded in our studies lies between 6000 and 5500 years BP. Spectral analysis of the precipitation records reveals statistically significant periodicities at 2200, 1350, 950, 750, 470, 320, 220, 156, 126, 113, 104 and 92 years. Most of these millennial-to-centennial cycles exist in various monsoon records as well as the tree ring &#916;14C data and/or other solar proxy records. We suggest that throughout the Holocene, externally, small changes in solar activity controlled the Indian monsoon to a large extent, whereas internally, non-solar causes could have influenced the amplitude of decadal-to-centennial oscillations

Verdine and glaucony facies from surficial sediments of the Eastern continental margin of India

The present paper reports the first mineralogical description of green grains (verdine and glaucony) from sediments of the eastern continental margin of India. Only 24 of the 82 sediment samples studied, at depths between 18 and 247 m, contain green grains and their percentages in the coarse fraction (125–250 μm) range from 6 to 40%. Of these, 13 samples from the inner shelf (18–70 m) contain irregular dark green grains, 6 samples from the outer shelf (70–125 m) contain dark green pellets and a few dark green internal moulds of skeletal materials, and 5 samples from the continental slope (160–247 m) contain dark green moulds and infillings of planktonic and benthic foraminifers. The green grains found at depths between 18 and 125 m consist of poorly crystalline phyllite V with very little detrital clay. At 170 m depth, odinite (young phyllite V) occurs and further seaward between 200 and 247 m, glauconitic smectite is present. All verdine and glaucony grains studied show an early stage of evolution and the colour does not reflect their evolution. The verdine and glaucony from the slope sediments may correspond to the Last Glacial Maximum and the outer shelf verdine facies formed during the subsequent transgression. The inner shelf green grains may represent the present day formation of verdine

Major ion chemistry and selected snow accumulation rates of snow cores along two transects in central Dronning Maud Land and Princess Elizabeth Land

This dataset includes basic information (location and depth) and major ion chemistry (Sodium, Chloride, Calcium, Nitrate) of snow cores from East Antarctic ice sheet. The snow cores were collected from two different regions - central Dronning Maud Land (cDML) and Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) during the austral summer of 2008-09