Permafrost Monthly Alerts (PMAs)

2018006684 Luo Dongliang (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Lanzhou, China); Jin Huijun; Marchenko, Sergey S. and Romanovsky, Vladimir E. Difference between near-surface air, land surface and ground surface temperatures and their influences on the frozen ground on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Geoderma, 312, p. 74-85, illus. incl. 5 tables, sketch map, 40 ref., February 15, 2018.

Surface temperature is critical for the simulation of climate change impacts on the ecology, environment, and particularly permafrost in the cryosphere. Virtually, surface temperatures are different in the near-surface air temperature (T_a) measured at a screen-height of 1.5-2 m, the land surface temperature (LST) on the top canopy layer, and the ground surface temperature (GST) 0-5 cm beneath the surface cover. However, not enough attention has been concentrated on the difference in these surface temperatures. This study aims at quantifying the distinction of surface temperatures by the comparisons and numerical simulations of observational field data collected in a discontinuous permafrost region on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). We compared the hourly, seasonal and yearly differences between T_a, LST, GST, and ground temperatures, as well as the freezing and thawing indices, the N-factors, and the surface and thermal offsets derived from these temperatures. The results showed that the peak hourly LST was reached earliest, closely followed by the hourly T_a. Mean annual LST (MALST) was moderately comparable to mean annual T_a (MAAT), and both were lower than mean annual GST (MAGST). Surface offsets (MAGST-MAAT) were all within 3.5 °C, which are somewhat consistent with other parts of the QTP but smaller than those in the Arctic and Subarctic regions with dense vegetation and thick, long-duration snow cover. Thermal offsets, the mean annual differences between the ground surface and the permafrost surface, were within -0.3 °C, and one site was even reversed, which may be relevant to equally thawed to frozen thermal conductivities of the soils. Even with identical T_a (comparable to MAAT of -3.27 and -3.17 °C), the freezing and thawing processes of the active layer were distinctly different, due to the complex influence of surface characteristics and soil textures. Furthermore, we employed the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Lab (GIPL) model to numerically simulate the dynamics of ground temperature driven by T_a, LST, and GST, respectively. Simulated results demonstrated that GST was a reliable driving indicator for the thermal regime of frozen ground, even if no thermal effects of surface characteristics were taken into account. However, great biases of mean annual ground temperatures, being as large as 3 °C, were induced on the basis of simulations with LST and T_a when the thermal effect of surface characteristics was neglected. We conclude that quantitative calculation of the thermal effect of surface characteristics on GST is indispensable for the permafrost simulations based on the T_a datasets and the LST products that derived from thermal infrared remote sensing.

DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.09.037

2018006577 Cui, Ying (Dartmouth College, Department of Earth Sciences, Hanover, NH) and Schubert, Brian A. Atmospheric pCO₂ reconstructed across five early Eocene global warming events: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 478, p. 225-233, illus. incl. sketch map, 74 ref., November 15, 2017. Includes appendix.

Multiple short-lived global warming events, known as hyperthermals, occurred during the early Eocene (56-52 Ma). Five of these events - the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM or ETM1), H1 (or ETM2), H2, I1, and I2 - are marked by a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) within both marine and terrestrial sediments. The magnitude of CIE, which is a function of the amount and isotopic composition of carbon added to the ocean-atmosphere system, varies significantly between marine versus terrestrial substrates. Here we use the increase in carbon isotope fractionation by C₃ land plants in response to increased pCO₂ to reconcile this difference and reconstruct a range of background pCO₂ and peak pCO₂ for each CIE, provided two potential carbon sources: methane hydrate destabilization and permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation. Although the uncertainty on each pCO₂ estimate using this approach is low (e.g., median uncertainty = +23%/-18%), this work highlights the potential for significant systematic bias in the pCO₂ estimate resulting from sampling resolution, substrate type, diagenesis, and environmental change. Careful consideration of each of these factors is required especially when applying this approach to a single marine-terrestrial CIE pair. Given these limitations, we provide an upper estimate for background early Eocene pCO₂ of 463 +248/-131 ppmv (methane hydrate scenario) to 806 +127/-104 ppmv (permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation scenario). These results, which represent the first pCO₂ proxy estimates directly tied to the Eocene hyperthermals, demonstrate that early Eocene warmth was supported by background pCO₂ less than ~3.5´ preindustrial levels and that pCO₂ > 1000 ppmv may have occurred only briefly, during hyperthermal events.

DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.08.038

2018006650 Lapointe El Mrabti, Lyna (Universite de Montreal, Department of Geography, Outremont, QC, Canada); Talbot, Julie; Fortier, Daniel; Frechette, Bianca; Strauss, Jens; Kanevskiy, Mikhail and Shur, Yuri. Middle to late Wisconsinan climate and ecological changes in northern Alaska; evidences from the Itkillik River yedoma: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 485, p. 906-916, illus. incl. 1 table, sketch map, 81 ref., November 1, 2017.

Continuous paleoenvironmental records covering the period prior to the Last Glacial Maximum in northeastern Beringia are sparse. This study presents a multi-proxy analysis of a 35-m-high yedoma exposure located on the right bank of the Itkillik River in Alaska. The exposure accumulated over 39 thousand years (kyr) during the Middle Wisconsinan Interstadial and the Late Wisconsinan glacial advance. We identified five stratigraphic units based on pollen, carbon and ice content, and isotopic composition (d¹⁸O) of the sediments. Middle Wisconsinan climate in northern Alaska promoted peat accumulation prior to 33.6 cal kyr BP (calibrated kyr before present). Reconstructed July air temperatures were 1-2 °C lower than current at 34.8 cal kyr BP, consistent with the timing of the interstadial climatic optimum in interior Alaska and Yukon. Colder (by up to 4 °C) and drier conditions characterize the transition from interstadial to glacial conditions between 33.6 and 29.8 cal kyr BP. Late Wisconsinan (29.8-17.9 cal kyr BP) July air temperatures were 2-3 °C lower than today, with grassland vegetation dominated by Poaceae, Artemisia and forbs, in contrast to the modern Cyperaceae dominance. Moister and warmer environmental conditions after 17.9 cal kyr BP correspond to the Late Glacial to Early Holocene interval.

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.08.006

2018003397 Rickli, Jörg (University of Bristol, School of Earth Sciences, Bristol, United Kingdom); Hindshaw, Ruth S.; Leuthold, Julien; Wadham, Jemma L.; Burton, Kevin W. and Vance, Derek. Impact of glacial activity on the weathering of Hf isotopes; observations from southwest Greenland: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 215, p. 295-316, illus. incl. 4 tables, geol. sketch map, 94 ref., October 15, 2017. Includes appendices.

Data for the modern oceans and their authigenic precipitates suggest incongruent release of hafnium (Hf) isotopes by chemical weathering of the continents. The fact that weathering during recent glacial periods is associated with more congruent release of Hf isotopes has led to the hypothesis that the incongruency may be controlled by retention of unradiogenic Hf by zircons, and that glacial grinding enhances release of Hf from zircons. Here we study the relationship between glacial weathering processes and Hf isotope compositions released to rivers fed by land-terminating glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet, as well as neighbouring non-glacial streams. The weathered source rocks in the studied area mostly consist of gneisses, but also include amphibolites of the same age (1.9 Ga). Hafnium and neodymium isotope compositions in catchment sediments and in the riverine suspended load are consistent with a predominantly gneissic source containing variable trace amounts of zircon and different abundances of hornblende, garnet and titanite. Glacially sourced rivers and non-glacial streams fed by precipitation and lakes show very unradiogenic Nd isotopic compositions, in a narrow range (e_Nd = -42.8 to -37.9). Hafnium isotopes, on the other hand, are much more radiogenic and variable, with e_Hf between -18.3 and -0.9 in glacial rivers, and even more radiogenic values of +15.8 to +46.3 in non-glacial streams. Although relatively unradiogenic Hf is released by glacial weathering, glacial rivers actually fall close to the seawater array in Hf-Nd isotope space and are not distinctly unradiogenic. Based on their abundance in rocks and sediments and their isotope compositions, different minerals contribute to the radiogenic Hf in solution with a decreasing relevance from garnet to titanite, hornblende and apatite. Neodymium isotopes preclude a much stronger representation of titanite, hornblende and apatite in solution, such as might result from differences in dissolution rates, than estimated from mineral abundance. The strong contrast in Hf isotope compositions between glacial rivers and non-glacial streams results mostly from different contributions from garnet and zircon, where zircon weathering is more efficient in the subglacial environment. A key difference between glacial and non-glacial waters is the water-rock interaction time. While glacial rivers receive continuous contributions from long residence time waters of distributed subglacial drainage systems, non-glacial streams are characterized by fast superficial drainage above the permafrost horizon. Therefore, the increased congruency in Hf isotope weathering in glacial systems could simply reflect the hydrological conditions at the base of the ice-sheet and glaciers, with zircon weathering contributions increasing with water-rock interaction time.

DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2017.08.005

2018004421 Gaglioti, Benjamin V. (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY); Mann, Daniel H.; Wooller, Matthew J.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Wiles, Gregory C.; Groves, Pamela; Kunz, Michael L.; Baughman, Carson A. and Reanier, Richard E. Younger-Dryas cooling and sea-ice feedbacks were prominent features of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Arctic Alaska: Quaternary Science Reviews, 169, p. 330-343, illus. incl. sketch map, 99 ref., August 1, 2017.

Declining sea-ice extent is currently amplifying climate warming in the Arctic. Instrumental records at high latitudes are too short-term to provide sufficient historical context for these trends, so paleoclimate archives are needed to better understand the functioning of the sea ice-albedo feedback. Here we use the oxygen isotope values of wood cellulose in living and sub-fossil willow shrubs (d¹⁸O_wc) (Salix spp.) that have been radiocarbon-dated (¹⁴C) to produce a multi-millennial record of climatic change on Alaska's North Slope during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (13,500-7500 calibrated ¹⁴C years before present; 13.5-7.5 ka). We first analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of d¹⁸O_wc in living willows growing at upland sites and found that over the last 30 years d¹⁸O_wc values in individual growth rings correlate with local summer temperature and inter-annual variations in summer sea-ice extent. Deglacial d¹⁸O_wc values from 145 samples of subfossil willows clearly record the Allerod warm period (~13.2 ka), the Younger Dryas cold period (12.9-11.7 ka), and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (11.7-9.0 ka). The magnitudes of isotopic changes over these rapid climate oscillations were ~4.5 ppm, which is about 60% of the differences in d¹⁸O_wc between those willows growing during the last glacial period and today. Modeling of isotope-precipitation relationships based on Rayleigh distillation processes suggests that during the Younger Dryas these large shifts in d¹⁸O_wc values were caused by interactions between local temperature and changes in evaporative moisture sources, the latter controlled by sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. Based on these results and on the effects that sea-ice have on climate today, we infer that ocean-derived feedbacks amplified temperature changes and enhanced precipitation in coastal regions of Arctic Alaska during warm times in the past. Today, isotope values in willows on the North Slope of Alaska are similar to those growing during the warmest times of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, which were times of widespread permafrost thaw and striking ecological changes.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.05.012

2018001404 Schmidt, Logan M. (University of Texas, Institute for Geophysics, Austin, TX) and Levy, Joseph S. Hydraulic conductivity of active layer soils in the McMurdo dry valleys, Antarctica; geological legacy controls modern hill slope connectivity: Geomorphology, 283, p. 61-71, illus. incl. 1 table, sketch map, 62 ref., April 15, 2017. Includes appendices.

Spatial variability in the hydraulic and physical properties of active layer soils influences shallow groundwater flow through cold-desert hydrological systems. This study measures the saturated hydraulic conductivity and grain-size distribution of 90 soil samples from the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica-primarily from Taylor Valley-to determine what processes affect the spatial distribution of saturated hydraulic conductivity in a simple, mineral-soil-dominated natural hillslope laboratory. We find that the saturated hydraulic conductivity and the grain-size distribution of soils are organized longitudinally within Taylor Valley. Soils sampled down-valley near the coast have a higher percentage of fine-sized sediments (fine sand, silt, clay) and lower saturated hydraulic conductivities than soils collected up-valley near Taylor Glacier (1.3´10^-2 vs. 1.2´10^-1 cm/s). Soils collected mid-valley have intermediate amounts of fines and saturated hydraulic conductivity values consistent with a hydrogeologic gradient spanning the valley from high inland to low near the coast. These results suggest the organization of modern soil properties within Taylor Valley is a relict signature from past glaciations that have deposited soils of decreasing age toward the mouth of the valley, modified by fluvial activity acting along temporal and microclimate gradients.

DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.01.038

2018004372 Saini, Jeetendra (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany); Günther, Franziska; Aichner, Bernhard; Mischke, Steffen; Herzschuh, Ulrike; Zhang Chengjun; Mäusbacher, Roland and Gleixner, Gerd. Climate variability in the past ~19,000 yr in NE Tibetan Plateau inferred from biomarker and stable isotope records of Lake Donggi Cona: Quaternary Science Reviews, 157, p. 129-140, illus. incl. sketch map, 104 ref., February 1, 2017.

We investigated 4.84-m-long sediment record spanning over the Late Glacial and Holocene from Lake Donggi Cona to be able to reconstruct circulation pattern on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Presently, Lake Donggi Cona is located at the boundaries of Westerlies and Asian monsoon circulations in the northeastern TP. However, the exact timing and stimulating mechanisms for climatic changes and monsoon shifts in this region are still debated. We used a 19-ka-long stable isotope record of sedimentary n-alkanes to address this discrepancy by providing insights into paleohydrological conditions. The dD of nC₂₃ is influenced by lake water evaporation; the dD values of sedimentary nC₂₉ are mainly controlled by moisture source and temperature changes.Long-chain n-alkanes dominate over the core whereas three mean clusters (i.e. microbial, aquatic and terrestrial) can be inferred. Multi-proxies suggest five major episodes in the history of Lake Donggi Cona. The Lake Donggi Cona record indicates that the Late Glacial (18.4-14.8 cal ka BP) was dominated by low productivity of mainly microbial and aquatic organisms. Relatively low dD values suggest low temperatures and moist conditions eventually caused by stronger Westerlies, winter monsoon and melt-water influence. Likely, the shift (~17.9 cal ka BP) from microbial to enhanced aquatic input suggests either a change from deep to shallow water lake or a break in local stratification. Between 14.8 and 13.0 cal ka BP, variable climatic conditions prevailed. Although the Westerlies weekend, the increase in temperature enhanced the permafrost and snow melting (displayed by a high sedimentary accumulation rate). Higher dD values indicate increasingly arid conditions with higher temperatures which eventually lead to high evaporative conditions and lowest lake levels. Low vegetation cover and high erosion rates led to high sediment accumulation resulting in stratification followed by anoxia in the terminal lake. From 13.0 to 9.2 cal ka BP, lowered values of dD along with high contents of terrestrial organic matter marked the early-Holocene warming indicating a further strengthening of summer precipitation and higher lake levels. A cooling trend was observed in the mid-Holocene between 9.2 and 3.0 cal ka BP accompanied by higher moisture availability (displayed by lowered dD values) caused by reduced evaporative conditions due to a drop in temperature and recovering Westerlies. After 3.0 cal ka BP, a decrease in lake productivity and cold and semi-arid conditions prevailed suggesting lower lake levels and reduced moisture from recycled air masses and Westerlies. We propose that the summer monsoon was the predominant moisture source during the Bolling-Allerod warm complex and early-Holocene followed by Westerlies in mid-to-late Holocene period. Stable carbon isotope values ~ - 32 ppm indicate the absence of C₄-type vegetation in the region contradicting with their presence in the Lake Qinghai record. The dD record from lake Donggi Cona highlights the importance of the interplay between Westerlies and summer monsoon circulation at this location, which is highly dynamic in northeastern plateau compared to the North Atlantic circulation and insolation changes. Consequently lake Donggi Cona might be an important anchor point for environmental reconstructions on the Tibetan Plateau.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.12.023

2018003538 Ashastina, Kseniia (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Research Station of Quaternary Palaeontology, Germany); Schirrmeister, Lutz; Fuchs, Margret and Kienast, Frank. Palaeoclimate characteristics in interior Siberia of MIS 6-2; first insights from the Batagay permafrost mega-thaw slump in the Yana Highlands: Climate of the Past, 13(7), p. 795-818, illus. incl. sects., 4 tables, sketch map, 99 ref., 2017.

Syngenetic permafrost deposits formed extensively on and around the arising Beringian subcontinent during the Late Pleistocene sea level lowstands. Syngenetic deposition implies that all material, both mineral and organic, freezes parallel to sedimentation and remains frozen until degradation of the permafrost. Permafrost is therefore a unique archive of Late Pleistocene palaeoclimate. Most studied permafrost outcrops are situated in the coastal lowlands of northeastern Siberia; inland sections are, however, scarcely available. Here, we describe the stratigraphical, cryolithological, and geochronological characteristics of a permafrost sequence near Batagay in the Siberian Yana Highlands, the interior of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, with focus on the Late Pleistocene Yedoma ice complex (YIC). The recently formed Batagay mega-thaw slump exposes permafrost deposits to a depth of up to 80 m and gives insight into a climate record close to Verkhoyansk, which has the most severe continental climate in the Northern Hemisphere. Geochronological dating (optically stimulated luminescence, OSL, and ¹⁴C ages) and stratigraphic implications delivered a temporal frame from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene for our sedimentological interpretations and also revealed interruptions in the deposition. The sequence of lithological units indicates a succession of several distinct climate phases: a Middle Pleistocene ice complex indicates cold stage climate. Then, ice wedge growth stopped due to highly increased sedimentation rates and eventually a rise in temperature. Full interglacial climate conditions existed during accumulation of an organic-rich layer - plant macrofossils reflected open forest vegetation existing under dry conditions during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e. The Late Pleistocene YIC (MIS 4-MIS 2) suggests severe cold-stage climate conditions. No alas deposits, potentially indicating thermokarst processes, were detected at the site. A detailed comparison of the permafrost deposits exposed in the Batagay thaw slump with well-studied permafrost sequences, both coastal and inland, is made to highlight common features and differences in their formation processes and palaeoclimatic histories. Fluvial and lacustrine influence is temporarily common in the majority of permafrost exposures, but has to be excluded for the Batagay sequence. We interpret the characteristics of permafrost deposits at this location as a result of various climatically induced processes that are partly seasonally controlled. Nival deposition might have been dominant during winter time, whereas proluvial and aeolian deposition could have prevailed during the snowmelt period and the dry summer season.

URL: https://www.clim-past.net/13/795/2017/cp-13-795-2017.pdf

2018003555 Keskitalo, Kirsi (Stockholm University, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm, Sweden); Tesi, Tommaso; Broder, Lisa; Andersson, August; Pearce, Christof; Skold, Martin; Semiletov, Igor P.; Dudarev, Oleg V. and Gustafsson, Orjan. Sources and characteristics of terrestrial carbon in Holocene-scale sediments of the East Siberian Sea: Climate of the Past, 13(9), p. 1213-1226, illus. incl. 1 table, 87 ref., 2017.

Thawing of permafrost carbon (PF-C) due to climate warming can remobilise considerable amounts of terrestrial carbon from its long-term storage to the marine environment. PF-C can be then be buried in sediments or remineralised to CO₂ with implications for the carbon-climate feedback. Studying historical sediment records during past natural climate changes can help us to understand the response of permafrost to current climate warming. In this study, two sediment cores collected from the East Siberian Sea were used to study terrestrial organic carbon sources, composition and degradation during the past ~ 9500 cal yrs BP. CuO-derived lignin and cutin products (i.e., compounds solely biosynthesised in terrestrial plants) combined with d¹³C suggest that there was a higher input of terrestrial organic carbon to the East Siberian Sea between ~ 9500 and 8200 cal yrs BP than in all later periods. This high input was likely caused by marine transgression and permafrost destabilisation in the early Holocene climatic optimum. Based on source apportionment modelling using dual-carbon isotope (D¹⁴C, d¹³C) data, coastal erosion releasing old Pleistocene permafrost carbon was identified as a significant source of organic matter translocated to the East Siberian Sea during the Holocene.

URL: https://www.clim-past.net/13/1213/2017/cp-13-1213-2017.pdf

2018002335 Opel, Thomas (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany); Wetterich, Sebastian; Meyer, Hanno; Dereviagin, Alexander Y.; Fuchs, Margret C. and Schirrmeister, Lutz. Ground-ice stable isotopes and cryostratigraphy reflect late Quaternary palaeoclimate in the northeast Siberian Arctic (Oyogos Yar coast, Dmitry Laptev Strait): Climate of the Past, 13(6), p. 587-611, illus. incl. 6 tables, sketch maps, 92 ref., 2017.

To reconstruct palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental conditions in the northeast Siberian Arctic, we studied late Quaternary permafrost at the Oyogos Yar coast (Dmitry Laptev Strait). New infrared-stimulated luminescence ages for distinctive floodplain deposits of the Kuchchugui Suite (112.5 ± 9.6 kyr) and thermokarst-lake deposits of the Krest Yuryakh Suite (102.4 ± 9.7 kyr), respectively, provide new substantial geochronological data and shed light on the landscape history of the Dmitry Laptev Strait region during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. Ground-ice stable-isotope data are presented together with cryolithological information for eight cryostratigraphic units and are complemented by data from nearby Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island. Our combined record of ice-wedge stable isotopes as a proxy for past winter climate conditions covers about 200 000 years and is supplemented by stable isotopes of pore and segregated ice which reflect annual climate conditions overprinted by freezing processes. Our ice-wedge stable-isotope data indicate substantial variations in northeast Siberian Arctic winter climate conditions during the late Quaternary, in particular between glacial and interglacial times but also over the last millennia to centuries. Stable isotope values of ice complex ice wedges indicate cold to very cold winter temperatures about 200 kyr ago (MIS7), very cold winter conditions about 100 kyr ago (MIS5), very cold to moderate winter conditions between about 60 and 30 kyr ago, and extremely cold winter temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS2). Much warmer winter conditions are reflected by extensive thermokarst development during MIS5c and by Holocene ice-wedge stable isotopes. Modern ice-wedge stable isotopes are most enriched and testify to the recent winter warming in the Arctic. Hence, ice-wedge-based reconstructions of changes in winter climate conditions add substantial information to those derived from paleoecological proxies stored in permafrost and allow a distinction between seasonal trends of past climate dynamics. Future progress in ice-wedge dating and an improved temporal resolution of ice-wedge-derived climate information may help to fully explore the palaeoclimatic potential of ice wedges.

URL: http://www.clim-past.net/13/587/2017/cp-13-587-2017.pdf

2018006379 Parnikoza, Ivan (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Kiev, Ukraine); Abakumov, Evgeny; Korsun, Svitlana; Klymenko, Iryna; Netsyk, Maria; Kudinova, Alina and Kozeretska, Iryna. Soils of the Argentine Islands, Antarctica; diversity and characteristics: Polarforschung, 86(2), p. 83-96 (German sum.), illus. incl. 6 tables, sketch maps, 55 ref., 2017.

The Argentine Islands is one of the relatively richly vegetated regions of the maritime Antarctic, with the most developed vegetation type being the Antarctic herb tundra formation. In the present study we address the soils of the central island of this archipelago, Galindez Island, to investigate their morphology, chemistry, trace element contents, microbiological characteristics in order to provide a complex description of the soils of central maritime Antarctica. We found the region to be characterised by ornithic soils (Ornithosols), Leptosols, Gleysols, and Histosols. Their distribution appeared to depend on a number of factors, such as the proximity and size of penguin rookeries, characteristics of the parent rocks, the resident plants communities, and hydrological conditions. The active layer of these soils is shallow (20-40 cm), but is significantly thicker than at King George Island (30-150 cm). The examined soils demonstrate substantial accumulation of carbon and nitrogen, which is not typical for the Antarctic barrens; therefore, they are classified as tundra-type soils. The current and former effects of zoogenic material have played a key role in the soils' enrichment with biogenic elements via both direct deposition and intensification of biological processes. The latter effect is weakest in ornithic soils, but all the other types of the regional soils have been strongly impacted by vegetation. The studied soils were found to be quite heterogeneous in regard to their trace element content, probably caused by both natural sources in the parent rocks and anthropogenic pollution. Ornithic soils were found to have highest abundances in microbiota. The soils of Galindez Island are exposed to ongoing climate changes and anthropogenic impacts; therefore, continued monitoring and conservation are important.

DOI: 10.2312/POLARFORSCHUNG.86.2.83

2018003988 Oldenborger, Greg A. (Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada) and LeBlanc, Anne-Marie. Geophysical characterization of permafrost terrain at Iqaluit international airport, Nunavut: Journal of Applied Geophysics, 123, p. 36-49, illus. incl. sects., 2 tables, geol. sketch maps, 61 ref., December 2015.

Iqaluit International Airport presently suffers from instabilities and subsidence along its runway, taxiways and apron. In particular, asphalt surfaces are significantly impacted by settlement and cracking. These instabilities may be related to permafrost, permafrost degradation and associated drainage conditions. Low induction number electromagnetic measurements along with galvanic and capacitive electrical resistivity surveys were performed over selected areas within the airport boundary and in the near vicinity to assist with permafrost characterization and to investigate active permafrost processes. Electrical resistivity images suggest distinct electrical signatures for different terrain units and sediment types, and for ice-rich material including ice wedges. Anomalous regions are identified that are coincident with localized settlement problems. Repeated resistivity maps reveal seasonal changes indicative of high unfrozen water content and freeze/thaw of groundwater beneath airport infrastructure in distinct regions related to surficial geology. Even with continuous permafrost and cold permafrost temperatures, the resistivity models reveal anomalously conductive material at depth that is not obviously correlated to mapped surficial sediments and that may represent thaw susceptible sediments or significant unfrozen water content. Abstract Copyright (2015) Elsevier, B.V.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jappgeo.2015.09.016

2018000649 Gao Siru (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Lanzhou, China); Wu Qingbai; Zhang Zhongqiong and Xu Xiaoming. Impact of climatic factors on permafrost of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in the time-frequency domain: in Quaternary studies from New Zealand to southern Asia (Catto, Norm, editor), Quaternary International, 374, p. 110-117, illus. incl. 4 tables, geol. sketch maps, 48 ref., July 10, 2015.

A combined time-frequency analysis provides a more profound understanding of the impacts of various climatic factors on permafrost. Morlet wavelet transformation was used to detect multiple periodicities in monthly soil temperatures, as well as data for five climatic factors over the interval from 1996 to 2010 on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. These periodic relationships were further analyzed in the time-frequency domain. Our results indicated that four of the five climatic factors have multiple periods: air temperature has an 18 months period, downward longwave radiation (LWD) had periods of 9, 18,142 and 176 months, downward shortwave radiation (SWD) had periods of 9, 18, 122 and 174 months, precipitation had periods of 9, 18, 68 and 138 months, while wind speed had periods of 9, 18, 28, 58, 122 and 178 months. Soil temperatures had quasi-periodic variations of 9, 18, 41, 110 and 176 months at 0.5 m depth; and had periods of 9, 18, 68-71, 120 and 169-173 months at 6 m depth. A relationship analysis of these periodicities indicated that the multiple periodicities in soil temperature were mainly controlled by periodicities in climate change. In particular, the periodicity in air temperature had the greatest effect on soil temperatures at 0.5 m depth, while LWD had the greatest effect on permafrost temperatures at 6 m depth based on a grey incidence analysis. Abstract Copyright (2015) Elsevier, B.V.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.036

2018009004 Anonymous. Endbericht Permaqua [Permaqua project final report]: Geo.Alp, 12, p. 75-266, illus. incl. sketch maps, 2015. Individual papers are cited separately.

2018009008 Losch, Birgit; Tolotti, Monica and Alber, Renate. Permafrost und Gewasserokologie; Quellen und Bache mit Blockgletschereinfluss [Permafrost and ecology of flowing surface waters; springs and streams influenced by rock glaciers]: in Endbericht Permaqua, Geo.Alp, 12, p. 163-182 (English sum.), illus. incl. 3 tables, sketch map, 26 ref., 2015. Includes appendices.

For this project running waters with and without influence of rockglaciers were studied. Various chemical and physical parameters, benthic fauna and diatoms were analysed. Running waters influenced by rockglaciers present low water temperature, high conductivity levels, high concentrations of sulphate, magnesium and calcium and often also high levels of metals. Diversity and abundance of aquatic organisms (macro and meiobenthic fauna and diatoms) in the stretches of water affected by rockglaciers are clearly lower than in reference stretches of water unaffected by them. The macrobenthical fauna in running waters influenced by rockglaciers is very similar to the fauna of running waters fed by glaciers. The most common taxa are larvae of chironomids of the subfamilies of Diamesinae and Orthocladiinae. The high levels of metals represent a clear limiting factor for the macrozoobenthos. In most of the running waters analysed oligotraphentic diatoms dominate. Despite the high concentration of heavy metals no teratological forms were found. Apart from the chemical factors also the geographical position of the sampling points influences the differences in the diatom species composition.

URL: http://www2.uibk.ac.at/downloads/c715/geoalp_12_15/10loesch_et_al.pdf

2018009006 Ribis, Markus (Geo.zt, Poscher Beratende Geologen, Hall in Tirol, Austria) and Krainer, Karl. Die Modellierung der Permafrostverbreitung in vier ausgewählten Bereichen der Otztaler Alpen in Nord- und Südtirol [Modeling permafrost distribution in four selected regions of the Otztal Alps in Tyrol, Austria and Alto Adige, Italy]: in Endbericht Permaqua, Geo.Alp, 12, p. 135-150 (English sum.), illus. incl. sketch map, 20 ref., 2015.

In the present paper the aerial distribution of permafrost in four selected areas of the Otztal Alps in North Tyrol (Windachtal east of Solden and Inneres Hochebenkar southeast of Obergurgl) and South Tyrol (Lazaunkar and Grawand in the upper Schnals Valley) is modeled for present climatic conditions as well as for future climatic scenarios with warming values of +1K and +2K. The modeling was carried out by a combination of query steps of the program PERMAKART (Keller, 1992) and PERM (Imhof, 1996) including the empirical limits for the distribution of permafrost by Haeberli (1975, 1996) and Stotter (1994). The model distinguishes areas where Permafrost is possible and where Permafrost is probable. The results of the modeling agree well with the field observations and ground temperature measurements. A warming of 1-2K will cause a substantial decrease of permafrost, respectively an increase of the lower boundary of permafrost, particularly on south-facing slopes.

URL: http://www2.uibk.ac.at/downloads/c715/geoalp_12_15/08ribis_krainer.pdf

2018009009 Thaler, Berta (Umweltagentur, Biologisches Labor, Laives, Italy); Tait, Danilo and Tolotti, Monica. Permafrost und seine Auswirkungen auf die Okologie von Hochgebirgsseen [Permafrost and its effects on the ecology of lakes in alpine environments]: in Endbericht Permaqua, Geo.Alp, 12, p. 183-234 (English sum.), illus. incl. 5 tables, sketch map, 120 ref., 2015.

The present study, carried out in the framework of the Interreg IV Italy-Austria project "permaqua", investigated the effects of the thawing of permafrost and particularly of rock glaciers on the ecology of high altitude lakes. The ecological structure of 15 lakes influenced by rock glaciers to different extents was compared with the one of 18 unaffected lakes used as a reference. The chemical-physical and biological analyses were performed on samples taken in each lake during a single late summer or autumnal sampling. All lakes influenced by rock glaciers showed surprisingly high concentrations of sulfate, magnesium, calcium, and in the lakes with acidic pH increased concentrations of heavy metals were also found. The species composition of phytoplankton and phytobenthos was mainly determined by pH and nutrient conditions rather than by the abovementioned changes in chemical composition induced by thawing permafrost. Zooplankton densities were unfortunately too low to allow any meaningful comparison. However, differences in the composition of the littoral fauna were found between lakes with and without rock glacier influence. The littoral macrozoobenthos of the lakes not influenced by rock glaciers was generally composed of a higher number of species, additionally showing a more regular distribution. The higher diversity score was found to be due to the presence of EPT taxa (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) and other sensitive species. Together with the lower species diversity, lakes influenced by rock glaciers also showed a different composition of the chironomid communities with dominance of tolerant species. Also the meiozoobenthos showed differences between lakes with and without rock glaciers in the catchment, with the first characterized by the dominance of species with broad ecological valence. The indirect influence of high sulfate concentrations and other substances delivered to the lake by the rock glacier outflows probably produce environmental conditions which provide a competitive advantage to less sensitive species. The present study showed that thawing rock glaciers exert significant chemical changes in high altitude lakes, which induce modifications of the biotic elements and likely affect the ecosystem functioning of these lakes. The data collected during the present study contribute to the knowledge of the local alpine aquatic flora and fauna and will prove useful for future studies, particularly those related to the investigation of the effects of climate change.

URL: http://www2.uibk.ac.at/downloads/c715/geoalp_12_15/11thaler_et_al.pdf

2018009010 Tolotti, Monica (Edmund Mach Fornation, Research and Innovation Centre, San Michelle dell'Adige, Italy); Nickus, Ulrike and Thies, Hansjorg. Sedimente von vier Hochgebirgsseen unter unterschiedlichem Einfluss von Permafrost [Sediments of four alpine lakes under various effects of permafrost]: in Endbericht Permaqua, Geo.Alp, 12, p. 235-266 (English sum.), illus. incl. 3 tables, sketch map, 59 ref., 2015.

A paleolimnological survey of high mountain lakes in North- and South-Tyrol was conducted within the Interreg project Permaqua (permafrost and its effects on water balance and mountain water ecology) aiming at reconstructing the ecological evolution of lakes in permafrost regions since the end of the Little Ice Age (~1850), and to investigate possible effects of permafrost thawing on lake geochemistry and biology. Sediment cores from four lakes located above ~2500 m a.s.l. on crystalline bedrock were radioisotopically dated (²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ¹³⁷Cs and ²⁴¹Am and ¹⁴C) and analyzed for lithological (wet density, water and organic content), geochemical (principal elements and heavy metals), and biological (diatom abundance and species composition) proxies. All the cores studied showed lithological and biological changes between the end of the Little Ice Age and the first decades of the 20th century. Concentrations of heavy metals increased in the studied cores during the last ~150 years and reached highest values after the 1990s. On the contrary, changes in diatom species composition which typically characterize many lower lakes of the northern hemisphere after the economic development in the 1960s were not recorded in the lakes investigated. However, it is not possible to explain these changes as completely related to the presence of active rock glaciers in the lake catchments. The long-term changes of biological and chemical indicators observed in the studied sediment cores appear to be the results of a set of combined factors, such as geochemistry, weathering, or catchment characteristics.

URL: http://www2.uibk.ac.at/downloads/c715/geoalp_12_15/12tolotti_et_al.pdf

2018007406 Sun Wenke (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, Beijing, China) and Zhou Xin. Advances, problems and prospects of modern geodesy applied in Tibetan geodynamic changes: Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 87(2), p. 318-332, illus., 86 ref., April 1, 2013.

Modern geodetic techniques have developed rapidly in recent years, providing reliable observation data and new effective approaches, and greatly enhancing studies of the Tibetan geodynamics. For instance, the well-known GPS technique has been employed to measure seismic slips for many faults in the Tibetan Plateau. GPS data agree well with the hypothesis of a thickening crust and eastward mass flow. Moreover, absolute gravimetric data have been applied to interpret geophysical phenomena such as crust movement, co-seismic gravity change, GIA, and ground water change. The satellite gravity mission GRACE launched in 2002 provided global gravity models with unprecedentedly high precision and high spatial resolution. It has been used in implementing temporal gravity changes and improving our knowledge of the Earth's interior, including lithosphere dynamics, mantle viscosity and rheology, plateau uplift, and subduction processing. It is noteworthy that gravity presents unique advantages for the study of Tibetan geodynamics because of its sensitivity to mass migration and dynamic redistribution. To date, great advances have been made in applying modern geodetic data in studying dynamic changes of Tibetan plateau. For instance, the horizontal displacement field from GPS data revealed dynamical characteristics of the present-day Tibetan plateau. The combination of gravity anomalies and topographic data describe the tectonic characteristics of Tibetan plateau. The combination of gravity data and GPS data show present properties of the Tibetan plateau such as crust thickening, Moho's subsidence, and plateau uplift. GRACE data were used to estimate the distribution of ice/snow melting. These results demonstrate that mere application of integrated geodetic data as well as geophysical methods and numerical simulations can enhance our knowledge of Tibetan plateau dynamics. It must be pointed out that GRACE data include various geophysical signals such as crust vertical movement, denudation, ice and snow melting, GIA, ground water change, and permafrost degradation. To separate the tectonic information from other impulses, each physical signal must be evaluated and corrected carefully from the GRACE data. The Tibetan geodynamic problem is a complicated and synthetic issue that must be addressed through collaboration of workers in many fields. Succinctly put, although great achievements have been made in studying Tibetan plateau dynamics from each field, the dynamical process remains unclear. Some fundamental problems remain unresolved. They should be solved with modern geodetic data, such as GRACE, GPS, and absolute gravity data, combined with meteorological and geological data, for quantitative analysis of Tibetan plateau dynamics affected by respective geophysical sources. This review article introduces and discusses the scientific importance, advances, problems, and prospects of modern geodesy applied to the study of geodynamic changes of the Tibetan plateau.

DOI: 10.1111/1755-6724.12053

2018005345 Zav'yalov, V. A. Osobennosti opredeleniya staticheskikh popravok za vliyaniye verkhney chasti razreza po rabotam MOGT v srednem Priob'ye [Calculation of static corrections for upper parts of seismic profiles obtained with the use of common-depth-point method in the central Ob River basin]: Geofizika (Moscow), 2013(3), p. 28-33 (English sum.), 2013. Based on Publisher-supplied data.

Some key moments of compensation of influence of the upper part of a section which need to be considered, for receiving standard seismic section The accounting of the top part in Western Siberia and in Srednee Priobye territory according to seismic data has the features connected with change of geological and surface conditions that complicates standard work on the correct accounting of superficial not uniformity and finally can lead to ambiguous geological results. Studying of these features: in particular variations of average velocity in a low velocity zone and change of velocity in a permafrost layer, and also allocation of zones of a lens of permafrost and a choice of level of reduction allows to increase efficiency of seismic works.

URL: http://geofdb.com/en/articles/view?id=220

Back to the Top

2018000940 Sycheva, Svetlana (Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography, Moscow, Russian Federation) and Khokhlova, Olga. Genesis, ¹⁴C age, and duration of development of the Bryansk paleosol on the central Russian Upland based on dating of different materials: in Kukla Loessfest (Jary, Zdzislaw, editor; et al.), Quaternary International, 399, p. 111-121, illus. incl. sects., 1 table, sketch map, 64 ref., April 18, 2016. Meeting: International conference on Towards the reconstruction of paleoenvironment of Vinca-Belo Brdo, June 7-9, 2013, Belgrade, Serbia.

The radiocarbon dates for the Bryansk paleosols in different sections of the Central Russian Upland, Alexandrov quarry, Zheleznogorsk, KBS-13, Taneyev quarry, Fatyanovka, Monastyrshchina, Kostenki-14, were obtained for different carbonaceous materials including sum of humic acids, pedogenic carbonates, charcoal, and bone collagen. The morphogenetic analysis of the paleosols including micromorphological observations was also conducted. Palaeosolos are meadow-carbonate or sod-carbonate with evidence of permafrost processes. The interval of the Bryansk paleosols development in the Late Pleistocene was between 33-26 ka BP, formed over 5-7 ka. The majority of radiocarbon dates obtained for humic acids and pedogenic carbonates from the Bryansk paleosols are rejuvenated. This fact was explained by the existence of the soils on the surface for a long time at the maximum of glaciation in MIS 2. The beginning of the last phase of loess accumulation at the Central Russian Upland was 17-15 ka BP. Abstract Copyright (2016) Elsevier, B.V.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.055

2018000936 Zielinski, Pawel (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Department of Geoecology and Palaeogeography, Lublin, Poland); Sokolowski, Robert J.; Woronko, Barbara; Fedorowicz, Stanislaw; Jankowski, Michal and Standzikowski, Karol. Sandy deposition in a small dry valley in the periglacial zone of the last glacial maximum; a case study from the Jozefow site, SE Poland: in Kukla Loessfest (Jary, Zdzislaw, editor; et al.), Quaternary International, 399, p. 58-71, illus. incl. strat. col., 2 tables, geol. sketch maps, 109 ref., April 18, 2016. Meeting: International conference on Towards the reconstruction of paleoenvironment of Vinca-Belo Brdo, June 7-9, 2013, Belgrade, Serbia.

In this paper, we report the results of the research on the fluvio-aeolian deposit succession in the Jozefow site in the region of Roztocze Tomaszowskie (SE Poland). Based on the lithofacial and textural analyses, as well as TL and IR-OLS dating, three lithofacial units have been documented, including their age. They are as follows: 1) a fluvial (lower) unit deposited in the Pleniglacial in the channel of a sandbed braided river under permafrost conditions; 2) a fluvio-aeolian (middle) unit which originated due to alternating aeolian and fluvial deposition and redeposition within a floodplain and/or a zone of abandoned channels at the end of the Pleniglacial and the beginning of the Late Glacial when permafrost was gradually degrading and the climate humidity was decreasing. The top part of the fluvio-aeolian deposits has been reworked by pedogenic processes leading to the development of a soil, which indicates a break in the sediment deposition; 3) an aeolian (upper) unit accumulated due to the development of the sandy aeolian forms (moving dunes) at the end of the Late Glacial and the beginning of the Holocene. Abstract Copyright (2016) Elsevier, B.V.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.089

2018003032 Asch, Kristine (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Germany) and Müller, Alexander. International cross-boundary cooperation and integration; the review of the International Quaternary Map of Europe (IQUAME 2500) [abstr.]: in 35th international geological congress; abstracts, International Geological Congress, Abstracts = Congrès Géologique International, Résumés, 35, Abstract 5439, illus. incl. geol. sketch map, 1 ref., 2016. Meeting: 35th international geological congress, Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2016, Cape Town, South Africa.

BGR is leading the review of the International Quaternary Map of Europe (IQUAME 2500) and its transformation into a geographical information system (GIS) under the umbrella of the CGMW and INQUA. The international cooperation within Europe is a long standing policy of BGR as of many other European geological surveys, and particularly well established for projects under the umbrella of organisations such as the CGMW, UNESCO, INQUA, EUG and IUGS. The aim is to build a Quaternary Geological Information system (GIS) of Europe where Quaternary information can be retrieved, combined and used without any political boundary issues. As geology does not know political boundaries, working on geoscience cross-boundary projects poses the specific challenge to display the underlying geology without national border related unconformities. On the base of the BGR and UNESCO International Quaternary Map of Europe, scale 1 : 2,5 Million (1967 - 1995, a paper map series in 14 sheets), BGR started to rework and digitize the sheets in order to review the information with international experts from European geological survey organisations who had also formerly contributed. BGR developed a pragmatic procedure to classify, deliver and join the reviewed Quaternary data in a uniform way [1]. The project is using the vocabularies and data model of the EC Directive INSPIRE Directive but is creating additional vocabularies and definitions for necessary features such as geomorphology (with the EMODNet project) and glaciogenic elements. An academic scientific advisory board is accompanying the process. Eventually, the IQUAME will be summarizing the actual status quo of research on Quaternary geology in Europe in form of a digitally available GIS synthesis. Subjects of the map include: Geological boundaries and classifications of the Quaternary rocks both unconsolidated sediments and young volcanic extrusions, Extension and boundaries of permafrost, Last glacial maxima, Active faults, Genetic descriptions of the rocks; Key locations (geologically and palaeontologically interesting sites, anthropologic sites, impact craters etc.); More detailed off-shore geology (in cooperation with the EMODnet project. In addition it is planned to include: submarine exhalations of gas hydrates (cold seeps), geomorphology/landforms (in cooperation with the EMODnet project), submarine currents and their impact on the ocean floor etc. This presentation will introduce the actual progress but also the challenges of the IQUAME 2500 project, outline the fruitful cooperation with the project partners and advisors and give an outlook on future applications and opportunities linked to such a compilation.

URL: http://www.americangeosciences.org/sites/default/files/igc/5439.pdf

2018001277 Diekmann, Bernhard (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany); Wang, R.; Kühn, H.; Gersonde, R.; Tiedemann, R. and Kuhn, G. Land-ocean linkages of environmental change in the late Quaternary Bering Sea [abstr.]: in 35th international geological congress; abstracts, International Geological Congress, Abstracts = Congrès Géologique International, Résumés, 35, Abstract 5278, 2016. Meeting: 35th international geological congress, Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2016, Cape Town, South Africa.

The reconstruction of terrigenous sediment provenance and dispersal from a sediment record from the northwestern Bering Sea margin (1100 m water depth) provides insights into land-ocean linkages of regional environmental change. The findings are based on clay mineralogy and grain-size measurements. During the last glacial stage (30-16 ka BP), the depositional environment was characterized by hemipelagic background sedimentation with overregional sediment sources. A melt-water pulse appeared during late Heinrich Event 1 (16.0 - 14.7 ka BP), documented by the sudden influx of clay-laden meltwaters from Northern Alaska. For the subsequent deglacial Bolling-Allerod interval, meltwater supply changed from glacial-fluvial to more fluvial, caused by warming that probably led to increased snow melt and permafrost thaw. Enhanced nutrient supply fertilized biological productivity. At the same time, a sustained fresh-water lid might have eased local overturning ventilation in the Bering Sea water that promoted the deposition of laminated sediments and the preservation of organic matter until the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling spell (12.6 to 11.4 ka BP). During early Holocene sea-level rise, the shore line moved far away from the site and reduced terrigenous sediment influx. Strong contour currents established in connection with the opening of the Bering Strait and led to the winnowing of sediments and caused residual sand enrichment.

URL: http://www.americangeosciences.org/sites/default/files/igc/5278.pdf

2018009035 Kaufmann, Viktor (Graz University of Technology, Institute of Geodesy, Graz, Austria). 20 years of geodetic monitoring of Dosen rock glacier (Ankogel Group, Austria); a short review: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 37-44 (German sum.), illus. incl. sketch map, 16 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018009037 Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Geographie und Raumforschung, Arbeitsgruppe Alpine Landschaftsdynamik, Graz, Austria); Wagner, Thomas and Winkler, Gerfried. Inventarisierung von blockgletscherverdächtigen Formen und deren hydrologischen Einzugsgebieten in den steirischen Niederen Tauern mit Hilfe von hochaufgelösten Geländemodellen [Inventorying rock glacier-suspected landforms and their hydrological catchments in the Styrian part of the Niedere Tauern Range using high-resolution digital elevation models]: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 53-62 (English sum.), illus. incl. 1 table, geol. sketch map, 15 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018009031 Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Geographie und Raumforschung, Graz, Austria). 2. permafrost Austria workshop: Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 5-72, illus. incl. tables, sketch maps, 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria. Individual papers are cited separately.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/studienzentrum-naturkunde/geologie-palaeontologie ...

2018009033 Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Geographie und Raumforschungschung, Graz, Austria). Permafrostmonitoring am Messstandort Hochreichart, Seckauer Tauern; Ein Überblick über 11 Jahre Forschungsaktivitäten am östlichsten Messstandort im gesamten Alpenraum [Permafrost monitoring in the Hochreichart area, Seckauer Tauern Range, Austria; a review of 11 years of research activities at the eastern-most monitoring site of the European Alps]: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 17-27 (English sum.), illus. incl. 1 table, geol. sketch map, 24 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018009032 Lieb, Gerhard Karl (University of Graz, Department of Geography and Regional Science, Graz, Austria); Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas; Kaufmann, Viktor and Avian, Michael. The Graz permafrost monitoring network in the Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria): in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 9-16 (German sum.), illus. incl. geol. sketch map, 10 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018009036 Mikl, Thomas (Technische Universität Graz, Institut für Geodäsie, Graz, Austria). Photogrammetrische Dokumentation der Raumzeitlichen Veränderung von ausgewählten Blockgletschern in der Schobergruppe [Photogrammetric documentation of spatiotemporal changes of selected rock glaciers in the Schober Group, Austria]: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 45-52 (English sum.), illus. incl. geol. sketch maps, 6 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018009034 Schnepfleitner, Harald (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Geographie und Raumforschung, Arbeitsgruppe Alpine Landschaftsdynamik, Graz, Austria); Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas and Rode, Matthias. Das Permafrostbohrloch "Koppenkarstein North Face" am Dachsteinmassiv; ein österreichischer Beitrag zum Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) [The permafrost borehole "Koppenkarstein North Face", Dachstein Massif; an Austrian contribution to the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P)]: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 28-36 (English sum.), illus. incl. sketch map, 5 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

2018004221 Syvitski, Jai P. Sediment flux and the Anthropocene; grand challenges for Quaternarists [abstr.]: in 24th biennial meeting of the American Quaternary Association (AMQUA); Retooling the Quaternary to manage the Anthropocene, Program and Abstracts - American Quaternary Association. Conference, 24, 2016. Meeting: 24th biennial meeting of the American Quaternary Association, June 28-July 2, 2016, Santa Fe, NM.

2018001032 Wang Yinghui (Peking University, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China); Xu Yunping and Liu Futing. Chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter in an alpine stream from thawing and collapsing permafrost to Qinghai Lake [abstr.]: in Goldschmidt abstracts 2016, V.M. Goldschmidt Conference - Program and Abstracts, 26, p. 3351, 2016. Meeting: Goldschmidt 2016, June 26-July 1, 2016, Yokohama, Japan.

URL: http://goldschmidt.info/2016/uploads/abstracts/finalPDFs/3351.pdf

2018009038 Winkler, Gerfried (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Erdwissenschaften, Graz, Austria); Wagner, Thomas; Pauritsch, Marcus and Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas. Was kommt nach dem Permafrost? Bedeutung reliktischer Blockgletscher für das Abflussverhalten alpiner Einzugsgebiete [What will occur after permafrost? Relevance of relict rock glaciers for the discharge behaviour of alpine catchments]: in 2. permafrost Austria workshop (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Andreas, editor), Joannea Geologie und Paläontologie, 12, p. 63-72 (English sum.), illus. incl. 1 table, geol. sketch map, 14 ref., 2016. Meeting: 2. permafrost Austria workshop, Oct. 14-16, 2015, Liezen, Austria.

URL: https://www.museum-joanneum.at/fileadmin//user_upload/Stundienzentrum_Naturkunde ...

Back to the Top

2018008698 Bellehumeur-Génier, O.; Oldenborger, G. A. and LeBlanc, A. M. Historical fluctuations of lake shorelines based on geomorphological analysis in the vicinity of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut: Open-File Report - Geological Survey of Canada, Rep. No. 8224, 27 p., illus. incl. tables, 28 ref., 2017.

The purpose of this Open File is to provide information derived from the analysis of lake shorelines in the vicinity of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The analysis focused on three areas of interest located north of Rankin Inlet, with different surficial material mosaics. A total of 220 lakes were digitized from air photos and satellite imagery using a geographical information system (GIS) for the period 1954 to 2014. Lake surface areas were computed using the digitized polygons. A visual assessment of the geomorphological dynamics of individual lakes was undertaken to differentiate normal shoreline behavior from that potentially associated with thermokarst. Results showed that lakes in the areas of interest have experienced significant shoreline fluctuation as part of normal lake behavior. Despite the high degree of normal shoreline variability, the geomorphological analysis revealed that certain lakes demonstrated abnormal increases or decreases in area, along with localized shoreline dynamics.

DOI: 10.4095/301750

2018008655 King, E. L.; Li, M.; Wu, Y.; Forest, A.; Blasco, S.; Harrison, P.; Robertson, A.; Melling, H.; Dallimore, S. R.; Paull, C. K. and Cameron, G. D. M. A belt of seabed erosion along the Beaufort Sea margin, offshore Northwest Territories, governed by Holocene evolution of the Beaufort Shelf-Break Jet; geological evidence, current measurements, and initial oceanographic modelling: Open-File Report - Geological Survey of Canada, Rep. No. 8198, 1 sheet, illus., 3 ref., 2017. Poster.

Removal of several metres thickness of stratified muds is recognized from penetration echosounder data along a narrow belt, 1-8 km wide along the Beaufort Sea shelf break (100-200m water depth). A corresponding zone of non-deposition (bypass) is bound by blankets of mud thickening away from the erosion/non-deposition belt. Long-term oceanographic moorings have previously demonstrated periodic currents capable of mud re-suspension near the shelf break. Seabed instrumented measurement of the current and its effects on the mud behavior are pending. Radiocarbon dating indicates the erosion began about 6000 years ago. A combination of geologic, oceanographic current data and 3-D oceanographic modelling approaches converge to indicate a strong birth/acceleration of the current at that time, presently recognized as the Beaufort Shelf-break Jet (BSJ). The study also helps constrain sediment structural disturbance rates from seabed fluid/gas seeps in the area.

DOI: 10.4095/299691

2018008689 McClenaghan, M. Beth; Paulen, R. C.; Rice, J. M.; Campbell, H. E. and Pyne, M. D. Gold grains in till samples from the southern Core Zone, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador (NTS 23-P and 23-I); potential for undiscovered mineralization: Open-File Report - Geological Survey of Canada, Rep. No. 8222, 21 p., illus., 26 ref., 2017.

This report presents the indicator mineral content of till samples (n=86) collected during the summer of 2016, in the southern sector of the Core Zone located within Woods Lake (NTS 23-I) and Lac Résolution (NTS 23-P) map areas, approximately 50 km east of Shefferville, Quebec. Of potential interest for mineral exploration in this region is the presence of gold grains (7 to 63 grains /10 kg) in 15 till samples principally collected over the Doublet Zone mafic volcanic rocks. One sample located over the Core Zone orthogneiss contains a noticeably large sand-sized gold grain, which is in contrast with the silt-sized gold particles in the other till samples. The source(s) of gold in the till is unknown. The 2016 till sampling survey was the third of three field seasons of reconnaissance-scale surficial mapping and till sampling in the south part of the Core Zone and was conducted as part of the GSC's Core Zone Surficial Activity (2014-2017) of the Geomapping for Energy and Minerals 2 (GEM 2) Program. Indicator mineral results for the 2014 and 2015 till samples, which were originally presented in McClenaghan et al. (2016) and Rice et al. (2017), are included for completeness.

DOI: 10.4095/300657

2018008682 Morse, P. D.; McWade, T. L. and Wolfe, S. A. Thermokarst ponding, north Slave region, Northwest Territories: Open-File Report - Geological Survey of Canada, Rep. No. 8205, 30 p., illus. incl. tables, sketch maps, 25 ref., 2017.

This open file provides an inventory of thermokarst pond development between 1945 and 2005 in a study area that is representative of the southern North Slave region between Behchoko and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The primary purpose of this inventory is to approximate the location and size of thermokarst ponds in a study area representative of the region to assist in better understanding present and future permafrost conditions. Because construction of the GNWT Highway 3 in the mid-1960s utilized locally-available fine-grained materials sourced along the right-of-way, we examine potential thermokarst initiation at those sites and compare ponding adjacent to the highway with results for the region. The inventory and database were prepared to evaluate the dominant controls on the distribution of thermokarst in the region, and the potential influence that highway construction may have had on thermokarst development. The accompanying shapefile format data can be used in a GIS to place areas of thermokarst ponds onto digital maps for referencing.

DOI: 10.4095/300531

Back to the Top