(Appendix A) Sedimentation rate, geochemical and environmental magnetic proxies of the samples of the Metochia section, on the island of Gavdos, south of Crete

The upper Tortonian Metochia marls on the island of Gavdos provide an ideal geological archive to trace variations in Aegean sediment supply as well as changes in the North African monsoon system. A fuzzy-cluster analysis on the multiproxy geochemical and rock magnetic dataset of the astronomically tuned sedimentary succession shows a dramatic shift in the dominance of 'Aegean tectonic' clusters to 'North African climate' clusters. The tectonic signature, traced by the starvation of the Cretan sediment, now enables to date the late Tortonian basin foundering on Crete, related to the tectonic break-up of the Aegean landmass, at c. 8.2 Ma. The synchronous decrease in the North African climate proxies is interpreted to indicate a change in the depositional conditions of the sink rather than a climatic change in the African source. This illustrates that interpretations of climate proxies require a multiproxy approach which also assesses possible contributions of regional tectonism.

Stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of Miocene to Recent foraminifera from the Rio Grande Rise, South Atlantic

Miocene to Recent species of planktic foraminifera in the Globorotalia (Globoconella) lineage evolved entirely within the thermocline. All species are most abundant within subtropical-temperate watermasses throughout their history. The near stasis in distribution within the thermocline and the subtropical convergence suggests the major morphological changes in Globorotalia (Globoconella) may have occurred through habitat subdivision rather than by vicariant shifts into new watermasses. At the Rio Grande Rise, in the South Atlantic, modern G. inflata is 0.66-0.84? more positive for delta18O than the most enriched coexisting Globigerinoides sacculifer and probably grows in the mid thermocline deeper than 325 m. All extinct globoconellid species have mean delta18O ratios 0.5-0.8? more positive than Globigerinoides trilobus and G. sacculifer and probably lived within the thermocline as well. Major events in skeletal evolution are poorly correlated with changes in delta18O in this group. These include evolutionary transitions to compressed, smooth-walled tests and acquisition of keels. In addition, morphological reversals from the umbilically-inflated G. conomiozea to biconvex G. pliozea and to unkeeled G. puncticulata occur in the absence of changes in delta18O signature. Instead, the ranges of delta18O between different species almost completely overlap once corrected for temporal changes in delta18O of sea water. Foraminifera morphologies have been widely considered to evolve in response to changes in watermasses or depth habitats. However, the variety of skeletal shapes in the globoconellid lineage apparently are not adaptations to a progressive radiation from the surface mixed layer into deeper waters.

Effects of high CO2 levels on the ecophysiology of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii differ depending on the iron nutritional status

Iron availability in seawater, namely the concentration of dissolved inorganic iron ([Fe']), is affected by changes in pH. Such changes in the availability of iron should be taken into account when investigating the effects of ocean acidification on phytoplankton ecophysiology because iron plays a key role in phytoplankton metabolism. However, changes in iron availability in response to changes in ocean acidity are difficult to quantify specifically using natural seawater because these factors change simultaneously. In the present study, the availability of iron and carbonate chemistry were manipulated individually and simultaneously in the laboratory to examine the effect of each factor on phytoplankton ecophysiology. The effects of various pCO2 conditions (390, 600, and 800 µatm) on the growth, cell size, and elemental stoichiometry (carbon [C], nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], and silicon [Si]) of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii under high iron ([Fe'] = 240 pmol/l) and low iron ([Fe'] = 24 pmol/l) conditions were investigated. Cell volume decreased with increasing pCO2, whereas intracellular C, N, and P concentrations increased with increasing pCO2 only under high iron conditions. Si:C, Si:N, and Si:P ratios decreased with increasing pCO2. It reflects higher production of net C, N, and P with no corresponding change in net Si production under high pCO2 and high iron conditions. In contrast, significant linear relationships between measured parameters and pCO2 were rarely detected under low iron conditions. We conclude that the increasing CO2 levels could affect on the biogeochemical cycling of bioelements selectively under the iron-replete conditions in the coastal ecosystems.

(Table 2, Page 106-107) Composition of the HCl-soluble fraction in Barents Sea iron-manganese deposits

Ferromanganese concretions from ten stations in the Barents Sea have been analysed for 24 elements. The deposits occur as discoidal and flat concretions and as coatings, in the latter case on lithified or detrital material or as extensive pavements on the Svalbard shelf. The concretions are compositionally similar to Baltic concretions but differ considerably from deep-ocean nodules, particularly in Cu, Ni and Co contents. Statistical analyses reveal distinct correlations between Mn, Na, Ba, Ni and Cu; the Mn-rich coatings showed enrichment of Mo, Zn and possibly Co in a Mn-phase. The iron phase holds high concretions of P and As. Two iron-rich concretions with high contents of P, Ca, Sr, Y, Yb and La were found east and northeast of Spitsbergen Banken, probably indicating upwelling of nutrient-rich, cold polar water along the Svalbard shelf.

(Tables 1-3) Water chemistry of cloud forest streams at baseflow conditions, Rio San Francisco, Ecuador

We investigated controls on the water chemistry of a South Ecuadorian cloud forest catchment which is partly pristine, and partly converted to extensive pasture. From April 2007 to May 2008 water samples were taken weekly to biweekly at nine different subcatchments, and were screened for differences in electric conductivity, pH, anion, as well as element composition. A principal component analysis was conducted to reduce dimensionality of the data set and define major factors explaining variation in the data. Three main factors were isolated by a subset of 10 elements (Ca2+, Ce, Gd, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Nd, Rb, Sr, Y), explaining around 90% of the data variation. Land-use was the major factor controlling and changing water chemistry of the subcatchments. A second factor was associated with the concentration of rare earth elements in water, presumably highlighting other anthropogenic influences such as gravel excavation or road construction. Around 12% of the variation was explained by the third component, which was defined by the occurrence of Rb and K and represents the influence of vegetation dynamics on element accumulation and wash-out. Comparison of base- and fast flow concentrations led to the assumption that a significant portion of soil water from around 30 cm depth contributes to storm flow, as revealed by increased rare earth element concentrations in fast flow samples. Our findings demonstrate the utility of multi-tracer principal component analysis to study tropical headwater streams, and emphasize the need for effective land management in cloud forest catchments.