1,721,068 research outputs found
Palaeoclimatology of the late Palaeocene to middle Eocene: geochemical records of stable and transient climate states
No full textThe late Palaeocene to late Eocene period of Earth's history is characterised by remarkable change. Temperate ice free poles at the beginning of this period gradually cooled until permanent ice formed on Antarctica around 33.5 million years before present (Ma) and sea ice formed in the Arctic. The intervening time was not stable and data, despite relatively low resolution, appear to show that the Eocene climate was dynamic. This period was the most recent time when atmospheric pCO2 concentrations were as high as predicted by models simulating the effects of anthropogenic fossil fuel burning on Earths' climate. The ability to understand the mechanisms of climate change in the Eocene will help to understand potential climate impacts in the future. This thesis examines 3 contrasting periods of climate change. Geochemical data indicate that a 3.5 million year period of high biogenic silica deposition during the Eocene was climatically relatively stable in the Arctic basin with only infrequent communication to the world's oceans outside. This period is correlated with high organic burial in the basin and global siliceous rich deposits which acted to gradually draw down pCO2. This period of `quiet' climate compares to two periods of warming where significant carbon isotope perturbations may indicate the forcing of the Earth's climate into an alternative quasi-stable state. The Palaeocene { Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) represents a significant input of exogenic carbon into the atmosphere over the course of several thousand years and significant warming of the Earth. Records of bulk carbonate isotopes from a section in NE Italy show several other Delta13C perturbations both before and after the PETM event, albeit a quarter to a half of the magnitude of the PETM, and having durations of only 40 { 60 thousand years (kyr). These events are thought to be the result of a re-arrangement of the internal carbon cycle of the Earth - atmosphere and may represent orbitally forced changes in deep water ocean ventilation similar to controls seen on modern day glacial { interglacial cycles. These rapid changes in the carbon cycle are shown to be inverse at the middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO), where gradual warming over 400 kyr is ended abruptly by significant cooling. From the first marginal marine section of this event rapid organic carbon burial occurs over 50 { 100 kyr and is associated with previously unrecorded low oxygen bottom water conditions and high organic burial. We hypothesize that if this burial was extended over significant shelf areas then this could rapidly have returned the middle Eocene to the general cooling trend of the Eocene
Frederick Robert Spofforth, 1880 [picture].
No full textTitle supplied.; Inscriptions: "London Photographic Company, 304 Regent Street W." - printed below image. On reverse: "London Photographic Company, 304 Regent Street, nearly opposite The Polytechnic and 1B Norfolk Terrace Bayswater W." "Fredk. S. D. Phillips" - printed; "No. 10383" - in ink ; "Davis Sporting collection no. 2" stamped in ink ; "Page 182" - writen in biro ink ; "Spofforth" in pencil ; "1017" in pencil.; NLA acquisition file no. 217/02/00575-02; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an21318255; Exhibited: "How's That", Visitors Centre, National Library of Australia, 2 February 2007 - 17 June 2007 AuCNL. Carte de visite, photograph of Spofforth seated in studio
Ecological and evolutionary response of Tethyan planktonic foraminifera to the middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO) from the Alano section (NE Italy)
No full textThe enigmatic middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO) is a transient (~500kyr) warming event that significantly interrupted at ~40 Ma the long-term cooling through the middle and late Eocene, eventually resulting in establishment of permanent Antarctic ice-sheet. This event is still poorly known and data on the biotic response are so far scarce. Here we present a detailed planktonic foraminiferal analysis of the MECO interval from a marginal basin of the central-western Tethys (Alano section, northeastern Italy). The expanded and continuous Alano section provides an excellent record of this event and offers an appealing opportunity to better understand the role of climate upon calcareous plankton evolution. A sapropel-like interval, characterized by excursions in both the carbon and oxygen bulk-carbonate isotope records, represents the lithological expression of the post-MECO event in the study area and follows the δ18O negative shift, interpreted as representing the MECO warming.High-resolution quantitative analysis performed on both >38 μm and >63 μm fractions reveals pronounced and complex changes in planktonic foraminiferal assemblages indicating a strong environmental perturbation that parallels the variations of the stable isotope curves corresponding to the MECO and post-MECO intervals. These changes consist primarily in a marked increase in abundance of the relatively eutrophic subbotinids and of the small, low-oxygen tolerant Streptochilus, Chiloguembelina and Pseudohas-tigerina. At the same time, the arrival of the abundant opportunist eutrophic Jenkinsina and Pseudoglobigerinella bolivariana, typical species of very high-productivity areas, also occurs. The pronounced shift from oligotrophic to more eutrophic, opportunist, low-oxygen tolerant planktonic foraminiferal assemblages suggests increased nutrient input and surface ocean productivity in response to the environmental perturbation associated with the MECO. Particularly critical environmental conditions have been reached during the deposition of the sapropel-like beds as testified by the presence of common giant and/or odd morphotypes. This is interpreted as evidence of transient alteration in the ocean chemistry.The enhanced surface water productivity inferred by planktonic foraminiferal assemblages at the onset of the event should have resulted in heavier δ13C values. The recorded lightening of the carbon stable isotope preceding the maximum warmth therefore represents a robust indication that it derives principally by a conspicuous increase of pCO2. The increased productivity of surface waters, also supported by geochemical data, may have acted as mechanism for pCO2 reduction and returned the climate system to the general Eocene cooling trend. The oxygen-depleted deep waters and the organic carbon burial following the peak of the MECO event represent the local response to the MECO warming and suggest that high sequestration of organic matter, if representing a widespread response to this event, might have contributed to the decrease of pCO2 as well. Though the true mechanisms are still obscure, several lines of evidence indicate a potential pressure on planktonic foraminiferal evolution during the MECO event including permanent changes besides transient and ecologically controlled variations
(1) Dark was the night the children slept; (2) Little Boy Blew come blow me your horn; (3) A poor soul sat sighing under a sycamore tree; (4) Stay sweet enchanter of the grove leave not so soon thy native tree First line of chorus for (3) O Willow Willow Willow Willow sing o the green Willow [first line]
No full text(1) strophic; (2) through-composed; (3) strophic with chorus; (4) strophicpiano and voiceJohns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection, Box
029, Item 008bSelected and Composed by Benjamin Carr, except for (4), composed by R. Spofforth.(1) Sung by Miss Broadhurst in The Italian Mon
(1) Dark was the night the children slept; (2) Little Boy Blew come blow me your horn; (3) A poor soul sat sighing under a sycamore tree; (4) Stay sweet enchanter of the grove leave not so soon thy native tree First line of chorus for (3) O Willow Willow Willow Willow sing o the green Willow [first line]
No full text(1) strophic; (2) through-composed; (3) strophic with chorus; (4) strophicpiano and voiceJohns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection, Box
029, Item 008bSelected and Composed by Benjamin Carr, except for (4), composed by R. Spofforth.(1) Sung by Miss Broadhurst in The Italian Mon
Organic Carbon Burial following the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) in the central - western Tethys
Get PDFWe present trace metal geochemistry and stable isotope records for the middle Eocene Alano di Piave section, NE Italy, deposited during magnetochron C18n in the marginal Tethys Ocean. We identify a 500 kyr long carbon isotope perturbation event we infer to be the middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) confirming the northern hemisphere expression and global occurrence of MECO. Interpreted peak climatic conditions are followed by the rapid deposition of two organic rich intervals (3\% TOC) and contemporaneous positive C excursions. These two intervals are associated with increases in the concentration of sulphur and redox-sensitive trace metals, and low concentrations of Mn, as well as coupled with the occurrence of pyrite. Together these changes imply low, possibly dysoxic, bottom water O conditions promoting increased organic carbon burial. We hypothesize that this rapid burial of organic carbon lowered global {\it p}CO following the peak warming and returned the climate system to the general Eocene cooling trend
Paleogene record of elemental concentrations in sediments from the Arctic Ocean obtained by XRF analyses
No full textWe present a high-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanner record for the expanded middle Eocene section from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 302 (ACEX) drilled on the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean. The division of the middle Eocene into two units (subunit 1/6 and unit 2) is seen in the cyclical behavior of the elements as well as the changing interelemental correlations and their relationship to physical property measurements of bulk sediment. Al, Ti, and K strongly correlate throughout the record, while the behavior of Fe, Mn, and Si is more complex. Utilizing sediment geochemistry calibration to ground truth the XRF data, we suggest the middle Eocene Arctic Ocean was predominately euxinic, although periodic oxygenation of bottom waters must have occurred during unit 2 (49.7–45.4 Ma). Initially, the sediments are rich in biogenic silica (unit 2), but there is a pronounced shift to terrigenous dominated sediment accumulation in subunit 1/6. We report changes in the elemental concentrations of these elements and investigate the relationship between Fe content and pyrite. Additionally, we explore the potential change in paleoenvironmental conditions across the unit boundary
Modifications in calcareous nannofossil assemblages during the Early Eocene: a tethyan perspective.
Get PDFThe available oxygen isotope records indicate a long-term warming trend from the late Paleocene through the early Eocene (ca. 59-52 Ma) that peaked at the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) (Zachos et al., 2001). This trend was interrupted by at least two or more prominent carbon cycle perturbations, the PETM at ca. 55.5 Ma and the Eocene thermal maximum 2 (ETM2; also referred to as Elmo, H-1) at ca. 53,6 Ma (Kennett and Stott, 1991; Lourens et al., 2005). Here we present calcareous nannofossil data from the hemipelagic Cicogna section located in the Piave River Valley in north eastern Italy (Dallanave et al., 2009). This continuous sedimentary record was studied to reconstruct the main features in the calcareous nannoplankton communities during this critical interval. As is clearly shown by the results, some of the observed prominent modifications are related to short-lived phases of climate perturbation, as for instance the transient and abrupt appearance of odd species during the PETM or the prominent variations in the relative abundance within the assemblages during these events. These short-term changes are usually transitory and calcareous nannoplankton seem to be able to return back to pre-event state. Nonetheless, the overall shape of calcareous nannofossil assemblages showed long lasting or gradual changes, for example the extinction of genera Fasciculithus and Prinsius, the explosion of Zyghrablithus bijugatus and the gradual decrease of heterococcoliths/nannoliths ratio. Either transient or permanent modifications in calcareous nannofossils are associated to dramatic perturbation of paleoenviromental conditions or long trend climate evolution, respectively. References: Dallanave et al., 2009. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 285, 39-51. Kennett and Stott, 1991. Nature, 353, 225-229. Lourens et al., 2005. Nature, 235, 1083-1087. Zachos et al., 2001. Science, 292, 686-693
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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