(Table 1) Elemental mean values of the upper Paleocene and lower Eocene in IODP Hole 302-M0004A

We reconstruct the latest Paleocene and early Eocene (~57-50 Ma) environmental trends in the Arctic Ocean and focus on the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) (~55 Ma), using strata recovered from the Lomonosov Ridge by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 302. The Lomonosov Ridge was still partially subaerial during the latest Paleocene and earliest Eocene and gradually subsided during the early Eocene. Organic dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages point to brackish and productive surface waters throughout the latest Paleocene and early Eocene. Dinocyst assemblages are cosmopolitan during this time interval, suggesting warm conditions, which is corroborated by TEX86'-reconstructed temperatures of 15°-18°C. Inorganic geochemistry generally reflects reducing conditions within the sediment and euxinic conditions during the upper lower Eocene. Spectral analysis reveals that the cyclicity, recorded in X-ray fluorescence scanning Fe data from close to Eocene thermal maximum 2 (~53 Ma, presence confirmed by dinocyst stratigraphy), is related to precession. Within the lower part of the PETM, proxy records indicate enhanced weathering, runoff, anoxia, and productivity along with sea level rise. On the basis of total organic carbon content and variations in sediment accumulation rates, excess organic carbon burial in the Arctic Ocean appears to have contributed significantly to the sequestration of injected carbon during the PETM.

First-year and second-year snow properties on sea ice in the Weddell Sea during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXII/2 (ISPOL) during the drift

Observations of snow properties, superimposed ice, and atmospheric heat fluxes have been performed on first-year and second-year sea ice in the western Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Snow in this region is particular as it does usually survive summer ablation. Measurements were performed during Ice Station Polarstern (ISPOL), a 5-week drift station of the German icebreaker RV Polarstern. Net heat flux to the snowpack was 8 W/m**2, causing only 0.1 to 0.2 m of thinning of both snow cover types, thinner first-year and thicker second-year snow. Snow thinning was dominated by compaction and evaporation, whereas melt was of minor importance and occurred only internally at or close to the surface. Characteristic differences between snow on first-year and second-year ice were found in snow thickness, temperature, and stratigraphy. Snow on second-year ice was thicker, colder, denser, and more layered than on first-year ice. Metamorphism and ablation, and thus mass balance, were similar between both regimes, because they depend more on surface heat fluxes and less on underground properties. Ice freeboard was mostly negative, but flooding occurred mainly on first-year ice. Snow and ice interface temperature did not reach the melting point during the observation period. Nevertheless, formation of discontinuous superimposed ice was observed. Color tracer experiments suggest considerable meltwater percolation within the snow, despite below-melting temperatures of lower layers. Strong meridional gradients of snow and sea-ice properties were found in this region. They suggest similar gradients in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions and implicate their importance for melt processes and the location of the summer ice edge.

(Table 4) Daily mean spectral snow albedo at different wavelengths measured at Neumayer, Antarctica

Spectral albedo in high resolution, from 290 to 1050 nm, has been measured at Neumayer, Antarctica, (70°39' S, 8°15' W) during the austral summer 2003/2004. At 500 nm, the spectral albedo nearly reaches unity, with slightly lower values below and above 500 nm. Above 600 nm, the spectral albedo decreases to values between 0.45 and 0.75 at 1000 nm. For one cloudless case an albedo up to 1.01 at 500 nm could be determined. This can be explained by the larger directional component of the snow reflectivity for direct incidence, combined with a slightly mislevelled sensor and the snow surface not being perfectly horizontal. A possible explanation for an observed decline in albedo is an increase in snow grain size. The theoretically predicted increase in albedo with increasing solar zenith angle (SZA) could not be observed. This is explained by the small range of SZA during albedo measurements, combined with the effect of changing snow conditions outweighing the effect of changing SZA. The measured spectral albedo serves as input for radiative transfer models, describing radiation conditions in Antarctica.

Weighted mean depth of zooplankton measured during various cruises to the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is the largest brackish water area of the world. On the basis of the data from 16 cruises, we show the seasonal and vertical distribution patterns of the appendicularians Fritillaria borealis, Oikopleura dioica and the cyclopoid copepod Oithona similis, in the highly stratified Bornholm Basin. These species live at least temporarily below the permanent halocline and use different life strategies to cope with the brackish environment. The cold-water species F. borealis is abundant in the upper layers of the water column before the thermocline develops. With the formation of the thermocline abundance decreases and the specimens outlast higher temperatures below the halocline. Distribution and strategy suggest that F. borealis might be a glacial relict species in the Baltic Sea. Although Oikopleura dioica is only abundant during summer, O. similis is present all year round. Both species have in common that their vertical distribution is restricted to the waters below the halocline, most likely due to their requirements of higher salinities. We argue that the observed strategies are determined by ecophysiological constraints and life history traits. These species share an omnivorous feeding behaviour and the capability to utilise a spectra of small particles as food. As phytoplankton concentration is negligible below the halocline, we suggest that these species feed on organic material and heterotrophic organisms that accumulate in the density gradient of the halocline. Therefore, the deep haline waters in the Baltic Sea represent a habitat providing shelter from predation and food supply for adapted species that allows them to gather sufficient resources and to maintain populations.

Location and ages of terrestrial peatlands located on continental shelves and in coastal sediments

This synthesis dataset contains records of freshwater peat and lake sediments from continental shelves and coastal areas. Information included is site location (when available), thickness and description of terrestrial sediments as well as underlying and overlying sediments, dates (when available), and references.

Estimates of annual mean surface temperatures in the late Quaternary of the tropical Atlantic

At least two modes of glacial-interglacial climate change have existed within the tropical Atlantic Ocean during the last 20,000 years. The first mode (defined by cold glacial and warm interglacial conditions) occurred symmetrically north and south of the equator and dominated the eastern boundary currents and tropical upwelling areas. This pattern suggests that mode 1 is driven by a glacial modification of surface winds in both hemispheres. The second mode of oceanic climate change, defined by temperature extremes centered on the deglaciation, was hemispherically asymmetrical, with the northern tropical Atlantic relatively cold and the southern tropical Atlantic relatively warm during deglaciation. A likely cause for this pattern of variation is a reduction of the presently northward cross-equatorial heat flux during deglaciation. No single mechanism accounts for all the data. Potential contributors to oceanic climate changes are linkage to high-latitude climates, modification of monsoonal winds by ice sheet and/or insolation changes, atmospheric CO2 and greenhouse effects, indirect effects of glacial meltwater, and variations in thermohaline overturn of the oceans.