Bathymetry grids and maps of Mozambique Ridge compiled from cruises 64PE305, 64PE306, SO-87, SO-182, SO-183, ME-33/2, ME-63/1 bathymetry

Based on data from R.V. Pelagia, R.V. Sonne and R.V. Meteor multibeam sonar surveys, a high resolution bathymetry was generated for the Mozambique Ridge. The mapping area is divided into five sheets, one overview and four sub-sheets. The boundaries are (west/east/south/north): Sheet 1: 28°30' E/37°00' E/36°20' S/24°50' S; Sheet 2: 32°45' E/36°45' E/28°20' S/25°20' S; Sheet 3: 31°30' E/36°45' E/30°20' S/28°10' S; Sheet 4: 30°30' E/36°30' E/33°15' S/30°15' S; Sheet 5: 28°30' E/36°10' E/36°20' S/33°10' S. Each sheet was generated twice: one from swath sonar bathymetry only, the other one is completed with depths from ETOPO2 predicted bathymetry. Basic outcome of the investigation are Digital Terrain Models (DTM), one for each sheet with 0.05 arcmin (~91 meter) grid spacing and one for the entire area (sheet 1) with 0.1 arcmin grid spacing. The DTM's were utilized for contouring and generating maps. The grid formats are NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) and ASCII (ESRI ArcGIS exchange format). The Maps are formatted as jpg-images and as small sized PNG (Portable Network Graphics) preview images. The provided maps have a paper size of DIN A0 (1189 x 841 mm).

Distribution of planktonic foraminifera in the Southern Ocean (maps)

There are about 30 species of planktonic Foraminifera, as contrasted with the more than 4200 benthic species in the oceans of the world. Most of the planktonic species belong to the families Globigerinidae and Globorotaliidae. Of the 30 species, 9 occur in Antarctic and Subantarctic waters; however, none of these cold-water species are restricted to the Southern Ocean, except possibly the newly recognized Globorotalia cavernula (Be, 1967b). These species are distributed in broad zones of similar temperature in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Hence, it is not possible to refer to these species as endemic to the Antarctic or Subantarctic, although some of them do appear in very high concentrations of 10 specimens/m**3 or more in the Antarctic regions. The plankton samples upon which the accompanying maps are based were collected between 1960 and 1965 on the research vessels Eltanin of the National Science Foundation (U.S. Antarctic Research Program), and Vema and Conrad of the Lamont Geological Observatory. All surface (0 m to 10 m) and vertical (0 m to 300 m) tows were obtained with plankton nets of uniform mesh size and material (NITEX202 = 202 µm mesh-aperture width) and were provided with flowmeters for quantitative readings of amounts of water filtered.

Bathymetry grids and maps of Mozambique Basin compiled from cruise SO183 bathymetry

Based on data from R/V Sonne multibeam sonar surveys in 2005 a high resolution bathymetry was generated for the Mozambique Basin. The area covers approx. 466,475 sqkm. The mapping area is divided into four sheets with boundaries (west/east/south/north): Sheet I (north-west), 37:00/39:45/-24:00/-20:20; Sheet II (north-east), 39:45/42:30/-24:00/-20:20; Sheet III (south-west), 37:00/39:45/-27:40/-24:00; Sheet IV (south-east), 39:45/42:30/-27:40/-24:00. Basic outcome of the investigation are Digital Terrain Models (DTM), one for each sheet with 0.05 arcmin (~91 meter) grid spacing and one for the entire area with 0.1 arcmin grid spacing. The DTM's were utilized for contouring and generating maps. Moreover the measured bathymetry was combined and compared with GEBCO bathymetry and predicted bathymetry, derived from altimeter satellites. The provided maps have a paper size of DIN A0 (1188.9 x 841 mm).

Maps of Waxeggkees glacier 1950-2000

Photogrammetric surveys have been made and maps drawn of a number of glaciers in the eastern Alps, among them the Waxeggkees in the Zillertal Alps of Tyrol, at approximately ten-year intervals since 1950. Terrestrial photogrammetry was used for the pictures taken in 1950, 1960, 1980, 1989 and 2000, while aerial photogrammetry was employed for the 1969 photo. These maps were subsequently used to calculate the changes in area, elevation and volume for elevational zones of 50 m. The numeric values are given in two tables. The illustration of surface changes in Waxeggkees is continued cartographically on 5 map sheets at the scale of 1 : 15.000 and a vertical interval of the contour lines of 50 m. Changes in glacier area are marked in light red to indicate a decrease in area, and in light blue for an increase. Changes in elevation can only be indicated indirectly, namely in the form of vertical interval bands, referring to the surface areas that arise due to the relocation of the contour lines, resulting from an elevational change. Decrease in elevation is indicated in red, increase in blue, on 100 m contour lines.

Daily pan-Arctic sea-ice lead maps for 2003-2015, with links to maps in netCDF format

The presence of sea-ice leads represents a key feature of the Arctic sea ice cover. Leads promote the flux of sensible and latent heat from the ocean to the cold winter atmosphere and are thereby crucial for air-sea-ice-ocean interactions. We here apply a binary segmentation procedure to identify leads from MODIS thermal infrared imagery on a daily time scale. The method separates identified leads into two uncertainty categories, with the high uncertainty being attributed to artifacts that arise from warm signatures of unrecognized clouds. Based on the obtained lead detections, we compute quasi-daily pan-Arctic lead maps for the months of January to April, 2003-2015. Our results highlight the marginal ice zone in the Fram Strait and Barents Sea as the primary region for lead activity. The spatial distribution of the average pan-Arctic lead frequencies reveals, moreover, distinct patterns of predominant fracture zones in the Beaufort Sea and along the shelf-breaks, mainly in the Siberian sector of the Arctic Ocean as well as the well-known polynya and fast-ice locations. Additionally, a substantial inter-annual variability of lead occurrences in the Arctic is indicated.

Maps of subsoil temperature and active layer depth of Yakutian ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union)

Based on the map of landscapes and permafrost conditions in Yakutia (Merzlotno-landshaftnaya karta Yakutskoi0 ASSR, Gosgeodeziya SSSR, 1991), rasterized maps of permafrost temperature and active-layer thickness of Yakutia, East Siberia were derived. The mean and standard deviation at 0.5-degree grid cell size are estimated by assigning a probability density function at 0.001-degree spatial resolution. Spatial pattern of both variables are dominated by a climatic gradient from north to south, and by mountains and the soil type distribution. Uncertainties are highest in mountains and in the sporadic permafrost zone in the south. The maps are best suited as a benchmark for land surface models which include a permafrost module.

Isopollen maps for 18,000 years B.P. of the offshore of Northwest Africa: Evidence for paleowind circulation

Distribution patterns of the most important pollen types from southern European and northwest African source areas for the 18,000 years B.P. time slice are reconstructed from pollen records of 14 well-dated deep-sea cores located between 37° and 9°N and compared with the modern pollen distribution in this area. It is concluded that the belt with maximum African Easterly Jet transport did not shift latitudinally during the last glacial-interglacial transition but remained at about 20°N. Furthermore, it is substantiated that the trade winds did not shift latitudinally during the last glacial-interglacial transition. This evidence is not compatible with an atmospheric circulation model that assumes a zone of surface westerlies in the northern part of northwest Africa. Trade winds during glacial episodes did, however, intensify, especially from about 36° to 24° N.

(Table 2) Paleoclimate reconstruction for palynology samples of Turkey

Palynofloras of the Kocaçay and Cumaovasi basins in western Turkey that belong to a time-span from the late Early to late Middle Miocene (the late Burdigalian-Serravallian) are studied and compared with published palynofloras of Europe and Turkey. Palynological data and numerical climatic results obtained by the coexistence approach indicate palaeoclimate changed from warm subtropical to temperate during the late Burdigalian-Serravallian. Moreover, the palaeoclimates of the Kocacay and Cumaovasi basins are compared with continental palaeoclimatic records of coal-bearing sediments in western Turkey and current temperatures in the Izmir region. According to this comparison, palaeoclimatic results of these basins and other localities in western Turkey show a distinct difference as a result of orographic change. The palaeovegetation in the Kocaçay and Cumaovasi basins during the studied time-span was affected by palaeotopography and palaeoclimate. In these basins mixed mesophytic, coniferous forests, and swamp palaeovegetation generally predominated during the late Early-early Middle Miocene. The role of the herbaceous taxa increased at the end of the late Middle Miocene (the Serravallian) in the Kocaçay and Cumaovasi basins. It is obvious from the palynomorph data of these basins that grassland palaeovegetation started to expand in the late Middle Miocene. Unlike in Central Europe, where late Burdigalian and Langhian represent a period of outstanding warmth, the so-called Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, cold month mean temperatures reconstructed in this study point to an ongoing cooling trend, already from the late Burdigalian onwards, possibly related to increasing terrestrial conditions in the study area.