(Table 1) Gravity and pressure within the Sleipner area relative to ones at the reference station in 2002 and 2005

At Sleipner, CO2 is being separated from natural gas and injected into an underground saline aquifer for environmental purposes. Uncertainty in the aquifer temperature leads to uncertainty in the in situ density of CO2. In this study, gravity measurements were made over the injection site in 2002 and 2005 on top of 30 concrete benchmarks on the seafloor in order to constrain the in situ CO2 density. The gravity measurements have a repeatability of 4.3 µGal for 2003 and 3.5 µGal for 2005. The resulting time-lapse uncertainty is 5.3 µGal. Unexpected benchmark motions due to local sediment scouring contribute to the uncertainty. Forward gravity models are calculated based on both 3D seismic data and reservoir simulation models. The time-lapse gravity observations best fit a high temperature forward model based on the time-lapse 3D seismics, suggesting that the average in situ CO2 density is about to 530kg/m**3. Uncertainty in determining the average density is estimated to be ±65 kg/m**3 (95% confidence), however, this does not include uncertainties in the modeling. Additional seismic surveys and future gravity measurements will put better constraints on the CO2 density and continue to map out the CO2 flow.

Basic measurements of radiation from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) in the years 1992 to 2012, reference list of 6378 datasets

In the framework of the global energy balance, the radiative energy exchanges between Sun, Earth and space are now accurately quantified from new satellite missions. Much less is known about the magnitude of the energy flows within the climate system and at the Earth surface, which cannot be directly measured by satellites. In addition to satellite observations, here we make extensive use of the growing number of surface observations to constrain the global energy balance not only from space, but also from the surface. We combine these observations with the latest modeling efforts performed for the 5th IPCC assessment report to infer best estimates for the global mean surface radiative components. Our analyses favor global mean downward surface solar and thermal radiation values near 185 and 342 Wm**-2, respectively, which are most compatible with surface observations. Combined with an estimated surface absorbed solar radiation and thermal emission of 161 Wm**-2 and 397 Wm**-2, respectively, this leaves 106 Wm**-2 of surface net radiation available for distribution amongst the non-radiative surface energy balance components. The climate models overestimate the downward solar and underestimate the downward thermal radiation, thereby simulating nevertheless an adequate global mean surface net radiation by error compensation. This also suggests that, globally, the simulated surface sensible and latent heat fluxes, around 20 and 85 Wm**-2 on average, state realistic values. The findings of this study are compiled into a new global energy balance diagram, which may be able to reconcile currently disputed inconsistencies between energy and water cycle estimates.

(Table 2) Radiocarbon dates of sediment cores obtained during Bio Hespérides cruise SVAIS and OGS Explora cruise EGLACOM between 2007-2008

A high-resolution paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study has been carried out on sediment cores collected in glaciomarine silty-clay sequences from the continental shelf and slope of the southern Storfjorden trough-mouth fan, on the northwestern Barents Sea continental margin. The Storfjorden sedimentary system was investigated during the SVAIS and EGLACOM cruises, when 10 gravity cores, with a variable length from 1.03 m to 6.41 m, were retrieved. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C analyses on 24 samples indicate that the cores span a time interval that includes the Holocene, the last deglaciation phase and in some cores the last glacial maximum. The sediments carry a well-defined characteristic remanent magnetization and have a valuable potential to reconstruct the paleosecular variation (PSV) of the geomagnetic field, including relative paleointensity (RPI) variations. The paleomagnetic data allow reconstruction of past dynamics and amplitude of the geomagnetic field variations at high northern latitudes (75°-76° N). At the same time, the rock magnetic and paleomagnetic data allow a high-resolution correlation of the sedimentary sequences and a refinement of their preliminary age models. The Holocene PSV and RPI records appear particularly sound, since they are consistent between cores and they can be correlated to the closest regional stacking curves (UK PSV, FENNOSTACK and FENNORPIS) and global geomagnetic model for the last 7 ka (CALS7k.2). The computed amplitude of secular variation is lower than that outlined by some geomagnetic field models, suggesting that it has been almost independent from latitude during the Holocene.

Degradation rates and productivity signals of organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst species in surface sediment samples

To understand the role of the ocean within the global carbon cycle, detailed information is required on key-processes within the marine carbon cycle; bio-production in the upper ocean, export of the produced material to the deep ocean and the storage of carbon in oceanic sediments. Quantification of these processes requires the separation of signals of net primary production and the rate of organic matter decay as reflected in fossil sediments. This study examines the large differences in degradation rates of organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst species to separate these degradation and productivity signals. For this, accumulation rates of cyst species known to be resistant (R-cysts) or sensitive (S-cysts) to aerobic degradation of 62 sites are compared to mean annual chlorophyll-a, sea-surface temperature, sea-surface salinity, nitrate and phosphate concentrations of the upper waters and deep-water oxygen concentrations. Furthermore, the degradation of sensitive cysts, as expressed by the degradation constant k and reaction time t, has been related to bottom water [O2]. The studied sediments were taken from the Arabian Sea, north-western African Margin (North Atlantic), western-equatorial Atlantic Ocean/Caraibic, south-western African margin (South Atlantic) and Southern Ocean (Atlantic sector). Significant relationships are observed between (a) accumulation rates of R-cysts and upper water chlorophyll-a concentrations, (b) accumulation rates of S-cysts and bottom water [O2] and (c) degradation rates of S-cysts (kt) and bottom water [O2]. Relationships that are extremely weak or are clearly insignificant on all confidence intervals are between (1) S-cyst accumulation rates and chlorophyll-a concentrations, sea-surface temperature (SST), sea-surface salinity (SSS), phosphate concentrations (P) and nitrate concentrations (N), (2) between R-cyst accumulation rates and bottom water [O2], SST, SSS, P and N, and between (3) kt and water depth. Co-variance is present between the parameters N and P, N, P and chlorophyll-a, oxygen and water depth. Correcting for this co-variance does not influence the significance of the relationship given above. The possible applicability of dinoflagellate cyst degradation to estimate past net primary production and deep ocean ventilation is discussed.

Seawater carbonate chemistry, and Lithophyllum sp. and Feldmannia spp. coverage and dry weight during experiments, 2009

Climate-driven change represents the cumulative effect of global through local-scale conditions, and understanding their manifestation at local scales can empower local management. Change in the dominance of habitats is often the product of local nutrient pollution that occurs at relatively local scales (i.e. catchment scale), a critical scale of management at which global impacts will manifest. We tested whether forecasted global-scale change [elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and subsequent ocean acidification] and local stressors (elevated nutrients) can combine to accelerate the expansion of filamentous turfs at the expense of calcifying algae (kelp understorey). Our results not only support this model of future change, but also highlight the synergistic effects of future CO2 and nutrient concentrations on the abundance of turfs. These results suggest that global and local stressors need to be assessed in meaningful combinations so that the anticipated effects of climate change do not create the false impression that, however complex, climate change will produce smaller effects than reality. These findings empower local managers because they show that policies of reducing local stressors (e.g. nutrient pollution) can reduce the effects of global stressors not under their governance (e.g. ocean acidification). The connection between research and government policy provides an example whereby knowledge (and decision making) across local through global scales provides solutions to some of the most vexing challenges for attaining social goals of sustainability, biological conservation and economic development.

Geological reference standards (JLK-1,JSD-1, JSD-2, JSD-3,JMS-1, JMS-2) measured by Itrax-XRF core scanner in different exposure times

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core-scanning is a fast and nondestructive technique to assess elemental variations of unprocessed sediments. However, although the exposure time of XRF-scanning directly affects the scanning counts and total measurement time, only a few studies have considered the influence of exposure time during the scan. How to select an optimal exposure time to achieve reliable results and reduce the total measurement time is an important issue. To address this question, six geological reference materials from the Geological Survey of Japan (JLK-1, JMS-1, JMS-2, JSD-1, JSD-2, and JSD-3) were scanned by the Itrax-XRF core scanner using the Mo- and the Cr-tube with different exposure times to allow a comparison of scanning counts with absolute concentrations. The regression lines and correlation coefficients of elements that are generally used in paleoenvironmental studies were examined for the different exposure times and X-ray tubes. The results show that for those elements with relatively high concentrations or high detectability, the correlation coefficients are higher than 0.90 for all exposure times. In contrast, for the low detectability or low concentration elements, the correlation coefficients are relatively low, and improve little with increased exposure time. Therefore, we suggest that the influence of different exposure times is insignificant for the accuracy of the measurements. Thus, caution must be taken when interpreting the results of elements with low detectability, even when the exposure times are long and scanning counts are reasonably high.