Influence of glacial flour on the primary and secondary production of sockeye salmon nursery lakes: a comparative modern and paleolimnological study

The increasing rate of glacier retreat and turbid glacial runoff can have a strong influence on freshwater ecosystems. Seton and Anderson lakes (British Columbia, Canada) are sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery systems. Since the 1940s, the Bridge River Diversion (BRD) introduced glacially turbid water into Seton Lake. To assess the impact of the BRD on the production of Seton Lake, we combined data from limnological surveys with the analysis of subfossil cladocerans and diatoms from sediment cores, using Anderson Lake as a reference. The modern data indicate that the euphotic zone is 14 m shallower and the cladoceran density and biomass are significantly lower in Seton Lake in comparison with Anderson Lake. The paleo-data indicate that following the BRD, the sedimentary fluxes of cladoceran and diatom declined 2- to 10-fold in Seton Lake and remained low thereafter. Together, our data support declines in primary and secondary producers following the BRD, likely due to changes in light penetration and (or) other indirect influence, and provides insights into the impact of turbid meltwater on the biological production of downstream lakes.

Aluminium in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea (GEOTRACES GA01 section): roles of continental inputs and biogenic particle removal

The distribution of dissolved aluminium (dAl) in the water column of the North Atlantic and Labrador Sea was studied along GEOTRACES section GA01 to unravel the sources and sinks of this element. Surface water dAl concentrations were low (median of 2.5 nM) due to low aerosol deposition and removal by biogenic particles (i.e. phytoplankton cells). However, surface water dAl concentrations were enhanced on the Iberian and Greenland shelves (up to 30.9 nM) due to continental inputs (rivers, glacial flour, and ice melt). Dissolved Al in surface waters scaled negatively with chlorophyll a and biogenic silica (opal) concentrations. The abundance of diatoms exerted a significant (p<0.01) control on the surface particulate Al (pAl) to dAl ratios by decreasing dAl levels and increasing pAl levels. Dissolved Al concentrations generally increased with depth and correlated strongly with silicic acid (R2>0.76) west of the Iberian Basin, suggesting net release of dAl at depth during remineralization of sinking opal-containing particles. Enrichment of dAl at near-bottom depths was observed due to the resuspension of sediments. The highest dAl concentrations (up to 38.7 nM) were observed in Mediterranean Outflow Waters, which act as a major source of dAl to mid-depth waters of the eastern North Atlantic. This study clearly shows that the vertical and lateral distributions of dAl in the North Atlantic differ when compared to other regions of the Atlantic and global oceans. Responsible for these large inter- and intra-basin differences are the large spatial variabilities in the main Al source, atmospheric deposition, and the main Al sink, particle scavenging by biogenic particles.

Iron(III)-induced activation of chloride from artificial sea-salt aerosol

Environmental context Inorganic, natural aerosols (sea-salt, mineral dust, glacial flour) and contributions of anthropogenic components (fly ash, dust from steel production and processing, etc.) contain iron that can be dissolved as FeIII in saline media. This study investigates photochemical processes in clouds and aerosols producing gas-phase Cl as a function of salt- and gas-phase composition employing a simulation chamber. Atomic Cl may contribute to the oxidative capacity of the troposphere, and our findings imply local sources. Abstract Artificial sea-salt aerosol, containing FeIII at various compositions, was investigated in a simulation chamber (made of Teflon) for the influence of pH and of the tropospheric trace gases NO2, O3 and SO2 on the photochemical activation of chloride. Atomic chlorine (Cl) was detected in the gas phase and quantified by the radical clock technique. Dilute brines with known FeIII content were nebulised until the relative humidity reached 70–90%. The resulting droplets (most abundant particle diameter: 0.35–0.46µm, initial surface area: up to 3×10–2cm2cm–3) were irradiated with simulated sunlight, and the consumption of a test mixture of hydrocarbons was evaluated for Cl, Br and OH. The initial rate of atomic Cl production per aerosol surface increased with FeIII and was ~1.9×1018 atoms cm–2s–1atCl–/FeIII=13. The presence of NO2 (~20 ppb) increased it to ~7×1018 atoms cm–2s–1, the presence of O3 (630 ppb) to ~9×1018 atoms cm–2s–1 and the presence of SO2 at 20 and 200 ppb inhibited the release slightly to ~1.7 and ~1.1×1018 atoms cm–2s–1. The observed production of atomic Cl is discussed with respect to pH and speciation of the photolabile aqueous FeIII complexes.

Fingerprinting of glacial silt in lake sediments yields continuous records of alpine glaciation (35–15 ka), western USA

Fingerprinting glacial silt in last glacial-age sediments from Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) and Bear Lake (BL) provides continuous radiocarbon-dated records of glaciation for the southeastern Cascade Range and northwestern Uinta Mountains, respectively. Comparing of these records to cosmogenic exposure ages from moraines suggests that variations in glacial flour largely reflect glacial extent. The two areas are at similar latitudes and yield similar records of glacial growth and recession, even though UKL lies less than 200 km from the ocean and BL is in the continental interior. As sea level began to fall prior to the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), existing glaciers in the UKL area expanded. Near the beginning of the global LGM (26.5 ka), the BL record indicates onset of glaciation and UKL-area glaciers underwent further expansion. Both records indicate that local glaciers reached their maximum extents near the end of the global LGM, remained near their maxima for ~ 1000 yr, and underwent two stages of retreat separated by a short period of expansion.

A loess–paleosol record of climate and glacial history over the past two glacial–interglacial cycles (~ 150 ka), southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Loess accumulated on a Bull Lake outwash terrace of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age in southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The 9 m section displays eight intervals of loess deposition (Loess 1 to Loess 8, oldest), each followed by soil development. Our age-depth model is constrained by thermoluminescence, meteoric 10Be accumulation in soils, and cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages. We use particle size, geochemical, mineral-magnetic, and clay mineralogical data to interpret loess sources and pedogenesis. Deposition of MIS 6 loess was followed by a tripartite soil/thin loess complex (Soils 8, 7, and 6) apparently reflecting the large climatic oscillations of MIS 5. Soil 8 (MIS 5e) shows the strongest development. Loess 5 accumulated during a glacial interval (~ 76–69 ka; MIS 4) followed by soil development under conditions wetter and probably colder than present. Deposition of thick Loess 3 (~ 43–51 ka, MIS 3) was followed by soil development comparable with that observed in Soil 1. Loess 1 (MIS 2) accumulated during the Pinedale glaciation and was followed by development of Soil 1 under a semiarid climate. This record of alternating loess deposition and soil development is compatible with the history of Yellowstone vegetation and the glacial flour record from the Sierra Nevada.