Analysis of the record-breaking August 2021 rainfall over the Greenland Ice Sheet

Rainfall was witnessed for the first time at the highest area of the Greenland Ice Sheet on 14 August,2021.The thermodynamic mechanisms supporting the rainfall are revealed by ERA5 reanalysis,in-situ and satellite data.We find that a strong southward intrusion of the polar vortex favored the maintenance of a deep cyclone over Baffin Island and an amplification of anticyclonic circulation over the southeastern ice sheet,which pumped warm and moist air toward Greenland from anomalously warm waters south of Greenland.Across a wide swath of the ice sheet,atmospheric uplift maintained above-melting and rainfall conditions via condensation and enhanced downward infrared irradiance.Without the low-level liquid clouds,the spatial extent and duration of the rainfall would have been smaller.Over the ice sheet topographic summit,the air temperature from the ground to 250 hPa level was~2℃higher than the previous record set on 12 July,2012.Such events may occur more frequently with the decreased temperature contrast between the Arctic and the mid-latitude regions that drives highly amplified jet streams.Thus,this extreme event serves as a harbinger of a more likely wet surface condition across all elevations of the ice sheet.

Organic geochemical and petrographic characteristics of the Cambrian-Ordovician organic-rich marine shales in Scandinavia

This work used organic geochemistry and organic petrology to study the depositional environment,organic matter characteristics,and thermal maturity of the Cambrian-Ordovician organic-rich marine shales in the Baltic Basin.The main macerals in Cambrian samples include alginite,bituminite and solid bitumen,while zooclastic macerals become the major proportion of organic matter in the Ordovician samples.As the maturity increase,solid bitumen becomes abundant and dispersed.Semifusinite-like maceral was observed only in Furongian of well DBH15/73,which probably indicates the local intrusion of Permo-Carboniferous dolerite dikes.The programmed pyrolysis results show that immature,early mature,and over-mature samples are developed.However,the data of high-uranium Furongian samples were greatly altered by igneous intrusives from local dikes.HIo calculation model is simulated based on pyrolysis data and fitted according to the least-square fitting method.The simulated fitting HIo:400mg HC/g TOC(369.5 mg HC/g TOC,430.5 mg HC/g TOC as 95%confidence bounds)is within the worldwide marine shale HI_(o)and indicates a marine anoxia and transgressive sea with shallow water column(organofacies B).

Corundum formation by metasomatic reactions in Archean metapelite,SW Greenland:Exploration vectors for ruby deposits within high-grade greenstone belts

Corundum(ruby-sapphire) is known to have formed in situ within Archean metamorphic rocks at several localities in the North Atlantic Craton of Greenland. Here we present two case studies for such occurrences:(1) Maniitsoq region(Kangerdluarssuk), where kyanite paragneiss hosts ruby corundum, and(2)Nuuk region(Stor?), where sillimanite gneiss hosts ruby corundum. At both occurrences, ultramafic rocks(amphibole-peridotite) are in direct contact with the ruby-bearing zones, which have been transformed to mica schist by metasomatic reactions. The bulk-rock geochemistry of the ruby-bearing rocks is consistent with significant depletion of SiO_2 in combination with addition of Al_2O_3, MgO, K_2O,Th and Sr relative to an assumed aluminous precursor metapelite. Phase equilibria modelling supports ruby genesis from the breakdown of sillimanite and kyanite at elevated temperatures due to the removal of SiO_2. The juxtaposition of relatively silica-and aluminum-rich metasedimentary rocks with low silica ultramafic rocks established a chemical potential gradient that leached/mobilized SiO_2 allowing corundum to stabilize in the former rocks. Furthermore, addition of Al_2O_3 via a metasomatic reaction is required, because Al/Ti is fractionated between the aluminous precursor metapelites and the resulting corundum-bearing mica schist. We propose that Al was mobilized either by complexation with hydroxide at alkaline conditions, or that Al was transported as K-Al-Si-O polymers at deep crustal levels.The three main exploration vectors for corundum within Archean greenstone belts are:(1) amphiboliteto granulite-facies metamorphic conditions,(2) the juxtaposition of ultramafic rocks and aluminous metapelite, and(3) mica-rich reactions zones at their interface.

Benthic Foraminiferal Density,Species Composition and Biomass in Deep-Sea Atlantic Mediterranean Transect(Transmed Cruise,2007):Preliminary Results

Previous studies on deep modern benthic foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea are not abundant and generally are focused at the fossilizing polythalamous component of the foraminiferal assemblages.We present preliminary results of living(Rose Bengal stained)benthic foraminiferal faunas in bathyal and abyssal sediments.Benthic foraminiferal density, species composition and biomass are determined at 10 sites across a transect from the

European Broad-Scale Seabed Habitat Maps Support Implementation of Ecosystem-Based Management

We have analyzed the development of “Broad-Scale Seabed Habitat Maps” (BSHM) and their potential use in a European context with regard to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) implementation, MPA designation and network assessment as well as other applications of BSHMs. The analyses are anchored in BSHMs developed by a series of interlinked EU projects (e.g. UKSeaMap, BALANCE, MESH, Mesh Atlantic, EUSeaMap 2012, and EUSeaMap 2016) and all maps are based on environmental data. Some EU Member States have used BSHMs as part of their MSFD Initial Assessments published in 2012. However, we conclude that BSHMs are a prerequisite for another key MSFD activity, i.e. mapping of potentially cumulative effects of multiple human stressors. Further, BSHMs seem to play a growing role with regard to evidence-based assessments of MPAs. With the upcoming second round of MSFD Initial Assessments due in 2018, including assessment of potentially cumulative pressures, there seems to be an increasing need for more BSHMs nationally, regionally and on a European scale.