Quantitative assessment of precipitation seasonality and summer surface wetness using ombrotrophic sediments from an Arctic Norwegian peatland

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Nichols ◽  
Marie Walcott ◽  
Raymond Bradley ◽  
Jon Pilcher ◽  
Yongsong Huang

AbstractSeasonality of precipitation is an important yet elusive climate parameter in paleoclimatological reconstructions. This parameter can be inferred qualitatively from pollen and other paleoecological methods, but is difficult to assess quantitatively. Here, we have assessed seasonality of precipitation and summer surface wetness using compound specific hydrogen and carbon isotope ratios of vascular plant leaf waxes and Sphagnum biomarkers extracted from the sediments of an ombrotrophic peatland, Bøstad Bog, Nordland, Norway. Our reconstructed precipitation seasonality and surface wetness are consistent with regional vegetation reconstructions. During the early Holocene, 11.5–7.5 ka, Fennoscandia experienced a cool, moist climate. The middle Holocene, 7.5–5.5 ka, was warm and dry, transitioning towards cooler and wetter conditions from the mid-Holocene to the present. Changes in seasonality of precipitation during the Holocene show significant coherence with changes in sea surface temperature in the Norwegian Sea, with higher SST corresponding to greater percentage of winter precipitation. Both high SST in the Norwegian Sea and increased moisture delivery to northern Europe during winter are correlated with a strong gradient between the subpolar low and subtropical high over the North Atlantic (positive North Atlantic Oscillation).

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1273-1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Plotkin ◽  
Elena Gerasimova ◽  
Hans Tore Rapp

Polymastiidae (Porifera: Demospongiae) of the Nordic and Siberian Seas are revised and compared with the related species of the North Atlantic based on the morphological data from the type and comparative material and the molecular data from fresh samples. Twenty species from six polymastiid genera are recorded. Two species,Polymastia svensenifrom Western Norway andSpinularia njordifrom the Norwegian Sea, are new to science. One species,Polymastia andrica, is new to the Nordic Seas and two species,Polymastiacf.bartlettiandP. penicillus, are new to the Scandinavian Coast. Distribution of the polymastiids in the North Atlantic and Arctic is discussed and the allegedly wide distribution ofSpinularia sarsiiandS. spinulariais questioned.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 2328-2339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iréne Lake ◽  
Peter Lundberg

Abstract As a joint Nordic project, an upward-looking ADCP has been maintained at the sill of the Faroe Bank Channel from 1995 onward. Records from a period in 1998 with three current meters deployed across the channel were used to demonstrate that the Faroe Bank Channel deep-water transport from the Norwegian Sea into the North Atlantic Ocean proper can be reasonably well estimated from one centrally located ADCP. The long-term average of this transport over the period 1995–2001 was found to be 2.1 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m−3 s−1). The transport record demonstrates a pronounced seasonality. Satellite altimetry shows that this is caused by the northbound Atlantic surface water inflow giving rise to a barotropic modulation of the deep-water flow through the Faroe–Shetland Channel and the southern reaches of the Norwegian Sea.


1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klas S. Lackschewitz ◽  
Karl-Heinz Baumann ◽  
Bettina Gehrke ◽  
Hans-Joachim Wallrabe-Adams ◽  
Jörn Thiede ◽  
...  

Marine records from the Reykjanes Ridge indicate ice sheet variations and abrupt climate changes. One of these records, ice-rafted detritus (IRD), serves as a proxy for iceberg discharges that probably indicates ice sheet fluctuations. The IRD records suggest that iceberg discharge 68,000–10,000 yr B.P. happened more frequently than the 7000- to 10,000-yr spacing of the Heinrich events. An IRD peak 67,000 to 63,000 yr B.P. further suggests that the Middle Weichselian glaciation started about 12,000 yr earlier in the North Atlantic than in the Norwegian Sea. Several later IRD events, in contrast, correlate with Norwegian Sea IRD-rich layers and imply coeval ice sheet advances in the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea. Coccoliths in a core from the Reykjanes Ridge show distinct peaks in species that record occasional inflow of warm surface water during the last glaciation, as previously reported from the eastern Labrador Sea. High abundances of coccoliths, together with a decrease of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sin. and relatively low δ18O values, imply enhanced advection of the North Atlantic Current 69,000–67,000 yr B.P., 56,000–54,000 yr B.P., 35,000–33,000 yr B.P., and 26,000–23,000 yr B.P. This advection provided a regional moisture source for extension of ice sheets onto the shelf. In contrast, most of the IRD events are characterized by cold polar surface water masses indicating rapid variations in ocean surface conditions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-493
Author(s):  
G. Huse ◽  
B. R. MacKenzie ◽  
V. Trenkel ◽  
M. Doray ◽  
L. Nøttestad ◽  
...  

Abstract. The north Atlantic is a productive marine region which has supported important commercial fisheries for centuries. Many of these fisheries have exploited the pelagic species, including herring, blue whiting and tuna. Here we present data on the distribution of herring and blue whiting based on surveys in the Norwegian Sea, the Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea. We also present catch data on bluefin tuna, which has been depleted for decades, but historically used to be a key predator on the other pelagic stocks during summer. The results show that there have been substantial changes in the herring and blue whiting distribution during the 1990s and early 2000s. The earliest bluefin tuna catches noted were in 1907. The catches in the Norwegian Sea area peaked in the 1950s and there have been very small catches since the 1980s. The catches in the Mediterranean on the other hand peaked in the late 1990, and had subsequently a strong reduction.


Author(s):  
Julia Nikolaevna Chizhova

The subject of this article is exmination of the influence of the Arctic air flow on the climatic conditions of the winter period in the center of the European territory of Russia (Moscow). In recent years, the question of the relationship between regional climatic conditions and such global circulation patterns as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AK) has become increasingly important. Based on the data of long-term observations of temperature and precipitation, the relationship with the AK and NAO was considered. For the winter months of the period 2014-2018, the back trajectories of the movement of air masses were computed for each date of precipitation to identify the sources of precipitation. The amount of winter precipitation that forms the snow cover of Moscow has no connection with either the North Atlantic Oscillation or the Arctic Oscillation. The Moscow region is located at the intersection of the zones of influence of positive and negative phases of both cyclonic patterns (AK and NAO), which determine the weather in the Northern Hemisphere. For the winter months, a correlation between the surface air temperature and NAO (r = 0.72) and AK (r = 0.66) was established. Winter precipitation in the center of the European territory of Russiais mainly associated with the unloading of Atlantic air masses. Arctic air masses relatively rarely invade Moscow region and bring little precipitation (their contribution does not exceed 12% of the total winter precipitation).


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