Major changes in glacial and Holocene terrestrial temperatures and sources of organic carbon recorded in the Amazon fan by tetraether lipids

The Amazon basin is a major component of the global carbon and hydrological cycles, a significant natural source of methane, and home to remarkable biodiversity and endemism. Reconstructing past climate changes in the Amazon basin is important for a better understanding of the effect of such changes on these critical functions of the basin. Using a novel biomarker proxy, based on the membrane lipids of soil bacteria with a new regional calibration, we present a reconstruction of changes in mean annual air temperatures for the Amazon catchment during the last 37 kyr B. P. Biomarkers were extracted from Ocean Drilling Program sediment core ODP942 recovered from the Amazon fan. The Amazon fan is a major depository for terrestrial sediments, with the advantage that the terrestrial material captured reflects a regional integration of the whole river catchment. The reconstructed tropical Amazonian temperatures were similar to 5 degrees C cooler at the Last Glacial Maximum (similar to 21 degrees C) compared to modern values (similar to 26 degrees C). This is in agreement with previous estimates of tropical continental temperatures in the tropical Amazon basin and tropical Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum. Moreover, we also illustrate how the soil bacterial membrane lipid record reveals major changes in basin dynamics and sediment provenance during the glacial-Holocene transition, impacting the biomarker reconstructions from similar to 11 kyr onward

Introduction of flat ribbon cable (FRC) sensor for density measurement of road materials using time domain reflectometry (TDR)

Moisture content and density of unbound granular pavement materials are important properties for compaction control providing a great influence on pavement performance. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) usually uses rod probe sensors, which can provide pointwise readings of density. However, pointwise readings might not be representative enough for a complete road section. This paper introduces the application of flat ribbon cable (FRC) sensor, which can be extended up to 6 meter to measure moisture and density of road materials. Soil specific calibration is done in the laboratory considering the variation of moisture and density of materials where sensors of three different lengths are considered to enable the development of length normalized calibration. The electric parameter used to derive soil density is the voltage drop, which occurs after the passage of an electromagnetic wave along the sensor embedded in the soil. Soil moisture is related to the permittivity of the soil sample, which is obtained from the travel time of the TDR signal. Laboratory results indicate that calibration functions are independent of moisture and density. These soil specific calibration functions are useful in measuring long term pavement performance and managing rutting of roads

Cold spells in the Nordic Seas during the early Eocene Greenhouse

Abstract The early Eocene (c. 56 - 48 million years ago) experienced some of the highest global temperatures in Earth’s history since the Mesozoic, with no polar ice. Reports of contradictory ice-rafted erratics and cold water glendonites in the higher latitudes have been largely dismissed due to ambiguity of the significance of these purported cold-climate indicators. Here we apply clumped isotope paleothermometry to a traditionally qualitative abiotic proxy, glendonite calcite, to generate quantitative temperature estimates for northern mid-latitude bottom waters. Our data show that the glendonites of the Danish Basin formed in waters below 5 °C, at water depths of &lt;300 m. Such near-freezing temperatures have not previously been reconstructed from proxy data for anywhere on the early Eocene Earth, and these data therefore suggest that regionalised cool episodes punctuated the background warmth of the early Eocene, likely linked to eruptive phases of the North Atlantic Igneous Province.</jats:p

Transdisciplinary soil hydrology

In this paper, I present an evolutional pathway from disciplinary towards transdisciplinary science and research and offer contemporary examples of interdisciplinary research in soil hydrology. I further explore exciting opportunities that can lead to transdisciplinary research (TDres), as society demands for our science expertise to be increasingly involved in developing solutions in global issues of sustainability, food and water security, as well as in the decision-making process. By way of TDres involvement in public policy, the scientist is going to be working in the trans-science domains for which (s)he is likely not very prepared. Recommendations are presented to better train students and early-career scientists so that they can be effective in participating in TDres and communicating their scientific knowledge to relevant stakeholders, the public, and decision makers as part of the policy-making process

Vadose zone journal: A decade of multidisciplinary research

The first two editors of Vadose Zone Journal reflect about the professed need 10 years ago for a dedicated outlet focusing on vadose zone research, the creation of the journal in 2002 by the Soil Science Society of America in collaboration with the Geological Society of America, the rapid rise of the journal, and a thanks to all those who worked hard to made the journal so successful in a short period of time. © Soil Science Society of America, All rights reserved

A dual-probe heat-pulse sensor with rigid probes for improved soil water content measurement

The dual-probe heat-pulse (DPHP) method is attractive for measuring soil thermal properties and volumetric water content. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a DPHP sensor having rigid probes made from thickwalled stainless steel tubing (2.38-mm outside diameter). The probes of this sensor are much more resistant to deflection than those of conventional DPHP sensors, decreasing measurement error caused by probe deflection during insertion into the soil. Laboratory experiments were conducted across a wide range of saturation levels with glass beads and three soils of different textures. For inferring soil properties from the proposed sensor, we applied the recently developed identical cylindrical perfect conductors (ICPC) model instead of the infinite line source (ILS) model that is typically used. The ICPC model improves solution for heat transport through the probe-soil system by accounting for the heat capacity and radius of the probes. Our results show a root mean square error of 1.4% volumetric water content and elimination of the measurement bias typically encountered with DPHP measurements. We conclude that the improved sensor, in combination with the ICPC model, provides a general, soil-independent water content estimate that is especially suitable for field soil water content monitoring because of its robust design with rigid probes. Because of its simplicity and measurements independent of soil type, we propose the presented DPHP method as an excellent alternative to other available measurement techniques for soil water content

An alternative tensiometer design for deep vadose zone monitoring

The conventional tensiometer is among the most accurate devices for soil water matric potential measurements, as well as for estimations of soil water flux from soil water potential gradients. Uncertainties associated with conventional tensiometers such as caused by ambient temperature effects and the draining of the tensiometer tube, as well as their limitation for deep soil monitoring, has prevented their widespread use for vadose zone monitoring, despite their superior accuracy in general. We introduce an alternative tensiometer design that offers the accuracy of the conventional tensiometer, while minimizing the aforementioned uncertainties and limitations. The proposed alternative tensiometer largely eliminates temperature-induced diurnal fluctuations and uncertainties associated with draining of the tensiometer tube and removes the limitation in installation depth. In addition, the manufacturing costs of this alternative tensiometer design are close to those of the conventional tensiometer, while it is especially suited for monitoring of soil water potential gradients as required for soil water flux measurements