(Table 1) Strontium concentration and isotope ratios of carbonates from DSDP Holes 69-504B as well as 83-504B and fish debris samples from Indian and Pacific Ocean sediments

Recent revisions of the geological time scale by Kent and Gradstein (in press) suggest that, on the average, Cretaceous magnetic anomalies are approximately 10 m.y. older than in Larson and Hilde's (1975) previous time scale. These revised basement ages change estimates for the duration of alteration in the ocean crust, based on the difference between secondary-mineral isochron ages and magnetic isochron-crustal ages, from 3 to approximately 13 m.y. In addition to the revised time scale, Burke et al.'s (1982) new data on the temporal variation of 87Sr/86Sr in seawater allow a better understanding of the timing of alteration and more realistic determinations of water/rock ratios during seawater-basalt interaction. Carbonates from all DSDP sites which reached Layer 2 of Atlantic crust (Sites 105, 332, 417, and 418) are deposited within 10-15 m.y. of crustal formation from solutions with 87Sr/86Sr ratios identical to unaltered or contemporaneous seawater. Comparisons of the revised seawater curve with the 87Sr/86Sr of basement carbonates is consistent with a duration of approximately 10-15 m.y. for alteration in the ocean crust. Our preliminary Sr and 87Sr/86Sr data for carbonates from Hole 504B, on 5.9-m.y.-old crust south of the Costa Rica Rift, suggest that hydrous solutions from which carbonates precipitated contained substantial amounts of basaltic Sr. For this reason, carbonate 87Sr/86Sr cannot be used to estimate the duration of alteration at this site. A basalt-dominated alteration environment at Hole 504B is consistent with heat-flow evidence which indicates rapid sediment burial of crust at the Costa Rica Rift, sealing it from access by seawater and resulting in unusually low water/rock ratios during alteration.

Stable carbon isotope ratios and accumulation rates of organic carbon and nutrients of DSDP Hole 79-545 (Appendix A)

Future warming is predicted to shift the Earth system into a mode with progressive increase and vigour of extreme climate events possibly stimulating other mechanisms that invigorate global warming. This study provides new data and modelling investigating climatic consequences and biogeochemical feedbacks that happened in a warmer world ~112 Myr ago. Our study focuses on the Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1b and explores how the Earth system responded to a moderate ~25,000 yr lasting climate perturbation that is modelled to be less than 1 °C in global average temperature. Using a new chronological model for OAE 1b we present high-resolution elemental and bulk carbon isotope records from DSDP Site 545 from Mazagan Plateau off NW Africa and combine this information with a coupled atmosphere-land-ocean model. The simulations suggest that a perturbation at the onset of OAE 1b caused almost instantaneous warming of the atmosphere on the order of 0.3 °C followed by a longer (~45,000 yr) period of ~0.8 °C cooling. The marine records from DSDP Site 545 support that these moderate swings in global climate had immediate consequences for African continental supply of mineral matter and nutrients (phosphorous), subsequent oxygen availability, and organic carbon burial in the eastern subtropical Atlantic, however, without turning the ocean anoxic. The match between modelling results and stratigraphic isotopic data support previous studies [summarized in Jenkyns 2003, doi:10.1098/rsta.2003.1240] in that methane emission from marine hydrates, albeit moderate in dimension, may have been the trigger for OAE 1b, though we can not finally rule out alternative mechanisms. Following the hydrate mechanism a total of 1.15 * 10**18 g methane carbon (delta13C=-60 ?), equivalent to about 10% to the total modern gas hydrate inventory, generated the delta13Ccarb profile recorded in the section. Modelling suggests a combination of moderate-scale methane pulses supplemented by continuous methane emission at elevated levels over ~25,000 yr. The proposed mechanism, though difficult to finally confirm in the geological past, is arguably more likely to occur in a warmer world and apparently perturbs global climate and ocean chemistry almost instantaneously. This study shows that, once set-off, this mechanism can maintain Earth's climate in a perturbed mode over geological time leading to pronounced changes in regional climate.

Geological investigations on sediment core MD07-3128

Glacial millennial-scale paleoceanographic changes in the Southeast Pacific and the adjacent Southern Ocean are poorly known due to the scarcity of well-dated and high resolution sediment records. Here we present new surface water records from sediment core MD07-3128 recovered at 53°S off the Pacific entrance of the Strait of Magellan. The alkenone-derived sea surface temperature (SST) record reveals a very strong warming of ca. 8°C over the last Termination and substantial millennial-scale variability in the glacial section largely consistent with our planktonic foraminifera oxygen isotope (d18O) record of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sin.). The timing and structure of the Termination and some of the millennial-scale SST fluctuations are very similar to those observed in the well-dated SST record from ODP Site 1233 (41°S) and the temperature record from Drowning Maud Land Antarctic ice core supporting the hemispheric-wide Antarctic timing of SST changes. However, differences in our new SST record are also found including a long-term warming trend over Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 followed by a cooling toward the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We suggest that these differences reflect regional cooling related to the proximal location of the southern Patagonian Ice Sheet and related meltwater supply at least during the LGM consistent with the fact that no longer SST cooling trend is observed in ODP Site 1233 or any SST Chilean record. This proximal ice sheet location is documented by generally higher contents of ice rafted debris (IRD) and tetra-unsaturated alkenones, and a slight trend toward lighter planktonic d18O during late MIS 3 and MIS 2.

Physical, chemical and geological properties of sediments from the central equatorial Pacific

The solution rate of biogenic opal in near-surface sediments in the Central Equatorial Pacific is three to eight orders of magnitude lower than similar acid-cleaned samples. Iron, magnesium and calcium aluminosilicates may be the minerals which are forming on the surface of the opal and reducing its solution rate. The scale height of the system studied suggests that diffusive and not advective processes are primarily responsible for the removal of dissolved silica in sediments. Solution budget calculations for this area suggest that 90-99 per cent of the biogenic opal produced in surface waters dissolves before reaching the sediment-water interface; an additional amount dissolves within the sediment and diffuses into bottom waters leaving 0.05-0.15 per cent of the original amount of opal produced by organisms in the sedimentary record. The relative solution potential of the upper 1000 m of the water column varies by more than an order of magnitude from the Antarctic to Equator and may have a pronounced effect on the accumulation rate of biogenic opal in underlying sediments.

Geological mapping of the Heber, Rhüdener Sattel, Northern Germany

This master thesis describes the geological mapping of an 8 km**2 area of the 300 m high elevation HEBER in Northern Germany which is part of the Rhüdener Sattel (Harzvorland). The geology consists of mesozoic rocks from Buntsandstein to Keuper; major parts are Muschelkalk, partly covered with a thin layer of Quaternary loess. The map includes measurements of strike and dip in various outcrops, drafting a scetch of the probable tectonic structure of Rühdener Sattel.

Results of biological and geological bottom investigations carried out during Cruise 43 of R/V Akademik Kurchatov in the South Atlantic

The book is devoted to investigations of benthic fauna and geology of the Southern Atlantic Ocean. These works have been carried out in terms of exploring biological structure of the ocean and are of great importance for development of this fundamental problem. They are based on material collected during Cruise 43 of R/V Akademik Kurchatov in 1985-1986 and Cruise 43 of R/V Dmitry Mendeleev in 1989. Problems of quantitative distribution, group composition and trophic structure of benthos in the Southern Scotia Sea, along the east-west Transatlantic section along 31°30'S, and offshore Namibia in the area of the Benguela upwelling are under consideration in the book. Authors present new data on fauna of several groups of deep-sea bottom animals and their zoogeography. Much attention is paid to analysis of morphological structure of the Scotia Sea floor considered in terms of plate tectonics. Bottom sediments along the Transatlantic section and facial variation of sediments in the area of South Shetland Islands and of the continental margin of Namibia are under consideration.

DATED-1: compilation of dates and time-slice reconstruction of the build-up and retreat of the last Eurasian (British-Irish, Scandinavian, Svalbard-Barents-Kara Seas) Ice Sheets 40-10 ka

DATED-1 comprises a compilation of dates related to the build-up and retreat of the Eurasian (British-Irish, Scandinavian, Svalbard-Barents-Kara Seas) Ice Sheets, and time-slice maps of the Eurasian Ice sheet margins. Dates are sourced from the published literature. Ice margins are based on published geological and chronological data and include uncertainty bounds (maximum, minimum) as well as what we consider to be the most-credible (mc) based on the available evidence. DATED-1 has a census date of 1 January 2013. Full description and caveats for use are given in: Hughes, A.L.C., Gyllencreutz, R., Lohne, Ø.S., Mangerud, J., Svendsen, J.I. (2015) The last Eurasian Ice Sheets - a chronological database and time-slice reconstruction, DATED-1.

Geological, geochemical and biogeochemical data on boundary zones of the Atlantic Ocean

Results of studies in two biogeochemically active zones of the Atlantic Ocean (the Benguela upwelling waters and the region influenced by the Congo River run-off) are reported in the book. A multidisciplinary approach included studies of the major elements of the ocean ecosystem: sea water, plankton, suspended matter, bottom sediments, interstitial waters, aerosols, as well as a wide complex of oceanographic studies carried out under a common program. Such an approach, as well as a use of new methodical solutions led to obtaining principally new information on different aspects of oceanology.