Grounding-zone wedges on the northern Larsen shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

Prominent quasi-linear or lobate wedge-shaped depositional sedimentary landforms, termed grounding-zone wedges (GZWs), are distributed widely on polar continental shelves. They are regarded as a product of the deposition of mainly subglacially-transported sediment at the grounding-zone of modern and palaeo ice sheets and ice streams (e.g. Shipp et al. 1999; Ottesen et al. 2005; Horgan et al. 2013). GZWs vary in shape, dimensions and regional distribution across the continental shelf, where they can form single or multiple and widely- or closely-spaced depositional features. The presence of these landforms is used to delimit the maximum and retreat positions of former ice-sheet margins on high-latitude continental shelves (e.g. Shipp et al. 1999; Ottesen et al. 2005). During the Late Glacial transition, retreat of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet that covered the shelf of the NE Antarctic Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) produced several distinctive grounding-zone landforms (Evans et al. 2005)

Mapping submarine glacial landforms using acoustic methods

The mapping of submarine glacial landforms is largely dependent on marine geophysical survey methods capable of imaging the seafloor and sub-bottom through the water column. Full global coverage of seafloor mapping, equivalent to that which exists for the Earth's land surface, has, to date, only been achieved by deriving bathymetry from radar altimeters on satellites such as GeoSat and ERS-1 (Smith & Sandwell 1997). The horizontal resolution is limited by the footprint of the satellite sensors and the need to average out local wave and wind effects, resulting in a cell size of about 15 km (Sandwell et al. 2001). A further problem in high latitudes is that the altimeter data are extensively contaminated by the presence of sea ice, which degrades the derived bathymetry (McAdoo & Laxon 1997). Consequently, the satellite altimeter method alone is not suitable for mapping submarine glacial landforms, given that their morphological characterization usually requires a much finer level of detail. Acoustic mapping methods based on marine echo-sounding principles are currently the most widely used techniques for mapping submarine glacial landforms because they are capable of mapping at a much higher resolution

Subglacial Water Flow Over an Antarctic Palaeo‐Ice Stream Bed

The subglacial hydrological system exerts a critical control on the dynamic behavior of the overlying ice because its configuration affects the degree of basal lubrication between the ice and the bed. Yet, this component of the glaciological system is notoriously hard to access and observe, particularly over timescales longer than the satellite era. In Antarctica, abundant evidence for past subglacial water flow over former ice-sheet beds exists around the peripheries of the ice sheet including networks of huge channels carved into bedrock (now submarine) on the Pacific margin of West Antarctica. Here, we combine detailed bathymetric investigations of a channel system in Marguerite Trough, a major palaeo-ice stream bed, with numerical hydrological modeling to explore subglacial water accumulation, routing and potential for erosion over decadal-centennial timescales. Detailed channel morphologies from remotely operated vehicle surveys indicate multiple stages of localized incision, and the occurrence of potholes, some gigantic in scale, suggests incision by turbulent water carrying a significant bedload. Further, the modeling indicates that subglacial water is available during deglaciation and was likely released in episodic drainage events, from subglacial lakes, varying in magnitude over time. Our observations support previous assertions that these huge bedrock channel systems were incised over multiple glacial cycles through episodic subglacial lake drainage events; however, here we present a viable pattern for subglacial drainage at times when the ice sheet existed over the continental shelf and was capable of continuing to erode the bedrock substrate

The local structure of SO2 and SO3 on Ni(1 1 1): a scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction study

O 1s and S 2p scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction (PhD) data, combined with multiple-scattering simulations, have been used to determine the local adsorption geometry of the SO2 and SO3 species on a Ni(1 1 1) surface. For SO2, the application of reasonable constraints on the molecular conformation used in the simulations leads to the conclusion that the molecule is centred over hollow sites on the surface, with the molecular plane essentially parallel to the surface, and with both S and O atoms offset from atop sites by almost the same distance of 0.65 Å. For SO3, the results are consistent with earlier work which concluded that surface bonding is through the O atoms, with the S atom higher above the surface and the molecular symmetry axis almost perpendicular to the surface. Based on the O 1s PhD data alone, three local adsorption geometries are comparably acceptable, but only one of these is consistent with the results of an earlier normal-incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) study. This optimised structural model differs somewhat from that originally proposed in the NIXSW investigation

Sedimentary processes on the continental slope off Kvitøya and Albertini troughs north of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard – The importance of structural-geological setting in trough-mouth fan development

New marine-geophysical data were analyzed to investigate the sedimentary processes operating on the continental slope north of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. Kvitøya Trough terminates in a trough-mouth fan (TMF) on the slope, whereas Albertini Trough incises the shelf edge and a TMF is notably absent. Instead, the continental slope beyond Albertini Trough is dominated by thick, acoustically stratified units likely formed by down-slope and along-slope sedimentological processes combined. The morphological and sedimentological differences between Albertini and Kvitøya troughs may partly be due to the larger dimensions of Kvitøya Trough and its associated glacial catchment area relative to Albertini, suggesting that the transport of a larger volume of glacigenic sediments potentially was a contributing factor in building Kvitøya TMF. By contrast, the downfaulted bedrock below outer Albertini Trough provided larger accommodation space for glacigenic sediments which accumulated in an outer-shelf basin, highlighting the importance of the structural-geological setting in TMF development. Debris-flow deposits and/or channel-levee deposits on the lower continental slope and rise off Kvitøya Trough indicate bypassing of glacigenic sediments from the shelf to the deep ocean, a process that is likely a result of locally steep slope gradients (< 9°). The volume of the Kvitøya TMF is smaller than TMFs along the western Svalbard margin, which may be linked to the more erosion-resistant bedrock of the northern margin and/or the comparatively small drainage basin of Kvitøya Trough compared to drainage basins of ice streams that drained westwards from Barents Sea. In addition, the Kvitøya TMF is incised by gullies indicating that they formed after Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) while larger tributary canyons flanking the Kvitøya TMF likely have developed during a longer time span. High seafloor backscatter values in the tributary canyons and gullies are interpreted as coarse-grained deposits that lead down-slope to debris-flow deposits, suggesting an origin for the tributary canyons and gullies through incision by gravity flows of sediment-laden meltwater during and/or after deglaciation

Geomorphic and shallow-acoustic investigation of an Antarctic Peninsula fjord system using high-resolution ROV and shipboard geophysical observations: Ice dynamics and behaviour since the Last Glacial Maximum

© 2016 Detailed bathymetric and sub-bottom acoustic observations in Bourgeois Fjord (Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula) provide evidence on sedimentary processes and glacier dynamics during the last glacial cycle. Submarine landforms observed in the 50 km-long fjord, from the margins of modern tidewater glaciers to the now ice-distal Marguerite Bay, are described and interpreted. The landforms are grouped into four morpho-sedimentary systems: (i) glacial advance and full-glacial; (ii) subglacial and ice-marginal meltwater; (iii) glacial retreat and neoglaciation; and (iv) Holocene mass-wasting. These morpho-sedimentary systems have been integrated with morphological studies of the Marguerite Bay continental shelf and analysed in terms of the specific sedimentary processes and/or stages of the glacial cycle. They demonstrate the action of an ice-sheet outlet glacier that produced drumlins and crag-and-tail features in the main and outer fjord. Meltwater processes eroded bedrock channels and ponds infilled by fine-grained sediments. Following the last deglaciation of the fjord at about 9000 yr BP, subsequent Holocene neoglacial activity involved minor readvances of a tidewater glacier terminus in Blind Bay. Recent stillstands and/or minor readvances are inferred from the presence of a major transverse moraine that indicates grounded ice stabilization, probably during the Little Ice Age, and a series of smaller landforms that reveal intermittent minor readvances. Mass-wasting processes also affected the walls of the fjord and produced scars and fan-shaped deposits during the Holocene. Glacier-terminus changes during the last six decades, derived from satellite images and aerial photographs, reveal variable behaviour of adjacent tidewater glaciers. The smaller glaciers show the most marked recent retreat, influenced by regional physiography and catchment-area size

The local structure of OH species on the V2O3(0 0 0 1) surface: a scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction study

Scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction (PhD), using O 1s photoemission, together with multiple-scattering simulations, have been used to investigate the structure of the hydroxyl species, OH, adsorbed on a V2O3(0 0 0 1) surface. Surface OH species were obtained by two alternative methods; reaction with molecular water and exposure to atomic H resulted in closely similar PhD spectra. Both qualitative assessment and the results of multiple-scattering calculations are consistent with a model in which only the O atoms of outermost layer of the oxide surface are hydroxylated. These results specifically exclude significant coverage of OH species atop the outermost V atoms, i.e. in vanadyl O atom sites. Ab initio density-functional theory cluster calculations provide partial rationalisation of this result, which is discussed the context of the general understanding of this system

A New Approach to Systematic Uncertainties and Self-Consistency in Helium Abundance Determinations

Tests of big bang nucleosynthesis and early universe cosmology require precision measurements for helium abundance determinations. However, efforts to determine the primordial helium abundance via observations of metal poor H II regions have been limited by significant uncertainties. This work builds upon previous work by providing an updated and extended program in evaluating these uncertainties. Procedural consistency is achieved by integrating the hydrogen based reddening correction with the helium based abundance calculation, i.e., all physical parameters are solved for simultaneously. We include new atomic data for helium recombination and collisional emission based upon recent work by Porter et al. and wavelength dependent corrections to underlying absorption are investigated. The set of physical parameters has been expanded here to include the effects of neutral hydrogen collisional emission. Because of a degeneracy between the solutions for density and temperature, the precision of the helium abundance determinations is limited. Also, at lower temperatures (T \lesssim 13,000 K) the neutral hydrogen fraction is poorly constrained resulting in a larger uncertainty in the helium abundances. Thus the derived errors on the helium abundances for individual objects are larger than those typical of previous studies. The updated emissivities and neutral hydrogen correction generally raise the abundance. From a regression to zero metallicity, we find Y_p as 0.2561 \pm 0.0108, in broad agreement with the WMAP result. Tests with synthetic data show a potential for distinct improvement, via removal of underlying absorption, using higher resolution spectra. A small bias in the abundance determination can be reduced significantly and the calculated helium abundance error can be reduced by \sim 25%.Comment: 51 pages, 13 figure

Tilt Grain-Boundary Effects in S- and D-Wave Superconductors

We calculate the s- and d-wave superconductor order parameter in the vicinity of a tilt grain boundary. We do this self-consistently within the Bogoliubov de Gennes equations, using a realistic microscopic model of the grain boundary. We present the first self-consistent calculations of supercurrent flows in such boundaries, obtaining the current-phase characteristics of grain boundaries in both s-wave and d-wave superconductors

Pkd1 Regulates Lymphatic Vascular Morphogenesis during Development.

Lymphatic vessels arise during development through sprouting of precursor cells from veins, which is regulated by known signaling and transcriptional mechanisms. The ongoing elaboration of vessels to form a network is less well understood. This involves cell polarization, coordinated migration, adhesion, mixing, regression, and shape rearrangements. We identified a zebrafish mutant, lymphatic and cardiac defects 1 (lyc1), with reduced lymphatic vessel development. A mutation in polycystic kidney disease 1a was responsible for the phenotype. PKD1 is the most frequently mutated gene in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Initial lymphatic precursor sprouting is normal in lyc1 mutants, but ongoing migration fails. Loss of Pkd1 in mice has no effect on precursor sprouting but leads to failed morphogenesis of the subcutaneous lymphatic network. Individual lymphatic endothelial cells display defective polarity, elongation, and adherens junctions. This work identifies a highly selective and unexpected role for Pkd1 in lymphatic vessel morphogenesis during development