Faculty Opinions recommendation of Open-system coral ages reveal persistent suborbital sea-level cycles.

Abstract. Methane release from beneath lowland permafrost represents an important uncertainty in the Arctic greenhouse gas budget. Our current knowledge is arguably best developed in settings where permafrost is being inundated by rising sea level, which means much of the methane is oxidised in the water column before it reaches the atmosphere. Here we provide a different process perspective that is appropriate for Arctic fjord valleys where local deglaciation causes isostatic uplift to out pace rising sea level. We describe how the uplift induces permafrost aggradation in former marine sediments, whose pressurisation results in methane escape directly to the atmosphere via groundwater springs. In Adventdalen, central Spitsbergen, we show how the springs are historic features responsible for the formation of open-system pingos and capable of discharging brackish waters enriched with high concentrations of mostly biogenic methane (average 18 mg L−1). Thermodynamic calculations show that the methane concentrations sometimes marginally exceed the solubility limit for methane in water at 0 ∘C (41 mg L−1). Year-round emissions from the pingos are described. During winter, rapid methane loss to the atmosphere occurs following outburst events from beneath an ice blister. During summer, highly variable emissions occur due to complex surface processes at the seepage point and its inundation by surface runoff. In spite of this complexity, our observations confirm that sub-permafrost methane migration deserves more attention for the improved forecasting of Arctic greenhouse gas emissions.

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Open system pingos as hotspots for sub-permafrost methane emission in Svalbard

10.5194/tc-2020-11 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Jonathan Hodson ◽

Aga Nowak ◽

Kim Senger ◽

Kelly Redeker ◽

Hanne H. Christiansen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Sea Level ◽

Open System ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Methane Flux ◽

Solubility Limit ◽

The Arctic ◽

Biogenic Methane ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Rising Sea Level

Abstract. Methane release from beneath lowland permafrost represents an important uncertainty in the Arctic greenhouse gas budget. Our current knowledge is arguably best-developed in settings where permafrost is being inundated by rising sea level, which means much of the methane is oxidised in the water column before it reaches the atmosphere. Here we provide a different process perspective that is appropriate for Arctic fjord valleys, where local deglaciation causes isostatic uplift to out-pace rising sea level. We show how the uplift induces permafrost aggradation in former marine sediments, whose pressurisation results in methane escape directly to the atmosphere via ground water springs. In Adventdalen, Central Spitsbergen, we show how the springs are historic features, responsible for the formation of open system pingos, and capable of discharging brackish waters enriched with high concentrations of mostly biogenic methane (average 18 mg L−1). Thermodynamic calculations show that the methane concentrations sometimes marginally exceed the solubility limit for methane in water at 0 °C (41 mg L−1). In our case study, emissions from just four pingo springs with a combined discharge of less than 2 L s−1 increase the land-atmosphere methane flux by 16 %. This confirms that sub-permafrost methane migration deserves more attention for improved forecasting of Arctic greenhouse gas emissions.

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Note on Selection of Coordinate Systems for Geodynamics

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100051174 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 395-407

Author(s):

S. Henriksen

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

The Other ◽

Coordinate Systems ◽

Mean Sea Level ◽

The Earth ◽

The One ◽

Static Systems ◽

Selection Of

The first question to be answered, in seeking coordinate systems for geodynamics, is: what is geodynamics? The answer is, of course, that geodynamics is that part of geophysics which is concerned with movements of the Earth, as opposed to geostatics which is the physics of the stationary Earth. But as far as we know, there is no stationary Earth – epur sic monere. So geodynamics is actually coextensive with geophysics, and coordinate systems suitable for the one should be suitable for the other. At the present time, there are not many coordinate systems, if any, that can be identified with a static Earth. Certainly the only coordinate of aeronomic (atmospheric) interest is the height, and this is usually either as geodynamic height or as pressure. In oceanology, the most important coordinate is depth, and this, like heights in the atmosphere, is expressed as metric depth from mean sea level, as geodynamic depth, or as pressure. Only for the earth do we find “static” systems in use, ana even here there is real question as to whether the systems are dynamic or static. So it would seem that our answer to the question, of what kind, of coordinate systems are we seeking, must be that we are looking for the same systems as are used in geophysics, and these systems are dynamic in nature already – that is, their definition involvestime.

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The Late Weichselian sea level history of the Kullen Peninsula in northwest Skåne, southern Sweden

Boreas ◽

10.1080/03009480120569 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 115-130

Author(s):

Per Sandgren, Ian Snowball

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Southern Sweden ◽

History Of ◽

Late Weichselian

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Glacial Contributions to 21st Century Sea Level Rise

Eos ◽

10.1029/2020eo143700 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

Author(s):

Kate Wheeling

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

21St Century ◽

Mass Change ◽

Sources Of Uncertainty

Researchers identify the main sources of uncertainty in projections of global glacier mass change, which is expected to add about 8–16 centimeters to sea level, through this century.

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