(Table 3) Chemical composition of basalts from Kolbeinsey Ridge and adjacent areas

Petrochemical variations in composition of basalts along the axial part of the Kolbeinsey mid-ocean ridge were studied. It was found that principal mass of these basalts has tholeiitic composition. Alkalinity of these basalts increases near zones of transform transverse faults; it increases likewise toward Iceland, and especially in the direction of Jan Mayen Island.

Database of GPS data collected by surveys on seismic and volcanic areas of Sicily (Italy) from 1994 to 2013

This is a 20-year long database of GPS data collected by geodetic surveys carried out over the seismically and volcanically active eastern Sicily, for a total of more than 6300 measurements. Data have been convertedi nto the international ASCII compressed RINEX standard in order to be imported and processed by any GPS analysis software. Database is provided with an explorer software for navigating into the dataset by spatial (GIS) and temporal queries.

High-resolution dynamical downscaling products for the North Slope of Alaska and surrounding areas, links to model result files

Climatic changes are most pronounced in northern high latitude regions. Yet, there is a paucity of observational data, both spatially and temporally, such that regional-scale dynamics are not fully captured, limiting our ability to make reliable projections. In this study, a group of dynamical downscaling products were created for the period 1950 to 2100 to better understand climate change and its impacts on hydrology, permafrost, and ecosystems at a resolution suitable for northern Alaska. An ERA-interim reanalysis dataset and the Community Earth System Model (CESM) served as the forcing mechanisms in this dynamical downscaling framework, and the Weather Research & Forecast (WRF) model, embedded with an optimization for the Arctic (Polar WRF), served as the Regional Climate Model (RCM). This downscaled output consists of multiple climatic variables (precipitation, temperature, wind speed, dew point temperature, and surface air pressure) for a 10 km grid spacing at three-hour intervals. The modeling products were evaluated and calibrated using a bias-correction approach. The ERA-interim forced WRF (ERA-WRF) produced reasonable climatic variables as a result, yielding a more closely correlated temperature field than precipitation field when long-term monthly climatology was compared with its forcing and observational data. A linear scaling method then further corrected the bias, based on ERA-interim monthly climatology, and bias-corrected ERA-WRF fields were applied as a reference for calibration of both the historical and the projected CESM forced WRF (CESM-WRF) products. Biases, such as, a cold temperature bias during summer and a warm temperature bias during winter as well as a wet bias for annual precipitation that CESM holds over northern Alaska persisted in CESM-WRF runs. The linear scaling of CESM-WRF eventually produced high-resolution downscaling products for the Alaskan North Slope for hydrological and ecological research, together with the calibrated ERA-WRF run, and its capability extends far beyond that. Other climatic research has been proposed, including exploration of historical and projected climatic extreme events and their possible connections to low-frequency sea-atmospheric oscillations, as well as near-surface permafrost degradation and ice regime shifts of lakes. These dynamically downscaled, bias corrected climatic datasets provide improved spatial and temporal resolution data necessary for ongoing modeling efforts in northern Alaska focused on reconstructing and projecting hydrologic changes, ecosystem processes and responses, and permafrost thermal regimes. The dynamical downscaling methods presented in this study can also be used to create more suitable model input datasets for other sub-regions of the Arctic.

Benthic freshwater diatom abundance in streams and seepage areas of northern James Ross Island between 2004-2009

Background and aim - The non-marine diatom communities in the Antarctic Region are characterized by a typical species composition, in close relationship with their environment. Despite the growing interest, the diatom flora of James Ross Island is only poorly known. The present paper discusses the diversity of limnoterrestrial diatoms on this island: seepages and streams. Methods - The diatom flora of 53 samples taken on the eastern side of the Ulu peninsula on James Ross Island has been studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Key results - A total of 69 diatom taxa belonging to 26 genera have been observed. The genera Luticola, Diadesmis, Muelleria and Pinnularia dominated the species composition. The flora shows an interesting mixture of cosmopolitan and Antarctic species containing several species reaching on James Ross Island their most northern distribution in the Antarctic Region. The taxonomical position of one widespread Antarctic species, Psammothidium papilio (D.E.Kellogg, Stuiver, T.B.Kellogg & Denton) Kopalova & Van de Vijver comb. nov., is corrected. Conclusions - The limnoterrestrial diatom flora of James Ross Island has a rather low number of species, of which a large proportion shows a restricted Antarctic distribution.