Images and animation of a complex microboring (Pyrodendrina cupra n. igen. and isp.) from the early Paleozoic of Anticosti Island, Canada

Three complementary imaging techniques were used to describe a complex rosette-shaped microboring that penetrates the shells of brachiopods from the Ordovician–Silurian shallow marine limestones of Anticosti Island, Canada. Pyrodendrina cupra n. igen. and isp. is among the oldest dendrinid microborings and consists of shallow and deep penetrating canals that radiate from a central polygonal chamber. The affinity of the tracemaker is unknown, but a foraminiferal origin, as proposed for some dendrinid borings, is rejected. Combining microCT with traditional stereomicroscopy and SEM helped distinguish and quantify fine morphological features while maintaining contextual information of the microboring within the shell substrate. Different imaging techniques inherently bias the description of microborings. These biases must be accounted for as new methods in ichnotaxonomy are integrated with past research based on different methods.

Animation of micro-computed tomography of bioerosion trace Entobia megastoma made by East Australian bioeroding sponge Cliona celata

Endolithic bioerosion is difficult to analyse and to describe, and it usually requires damaging of the sample material. Sponge erosion (Entobia) may be one of the most difficult to evaluate as it is simultaneously macroscopically inhomogeneous and microstructurally intricate. We studied the bioerosion traces of the two Australian sponges Cliona celata Grant, 1826 (sensu Schönberg 2000) and Cliona orientalis Thiele, 1900 with a newly available radiographic technology: high resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (MCT). MCT allows non-destructive visualisation of live and dead structures in three dimensions and was compared to traditional microscopic methods. MCT and microscopy showed that C. celata bioerosion was more intense in the centre and branched out in the periphery. In contrast, C. orientalis produced a dense, even trace meshwork and caused an overall more intense erosion pattern than C. celata. Extended pioneering filaments were not usually found at the margins of the studied sponge erosion, but branches ended abruptly or tapered to points. Results obtained with MCT were similar in quality to observations from transparent optical spar under the dissecting microscope. Microstructures could not be resolved as well as with e.g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Even though sponge scars and sponge chips were easily recognisable on maximum magnification MCT images, they lacked the detail that is available from SEM. Other drawbacks of MCT involve high costs and presently limited access. Even though MCT cannot presently replace traditional techniques such as corrosion casts viewed by SEM, we obtained valuable information. Especially for the possibility to measure endolithic pore volumes, we regard MCT as a very promising tool that will continue to be optimised. A combination of different methods will produce the best results in the study of Entobia.

Animation with all MODIS fire product maps from 2000 to 2011, Yakutia, Siberia

The video FireMovie_2000-2011.avi shows an animation with all MODIS fire product maps of the area sequenced over time. Colors in the video describe MODIS classes as follows: MODIS classification and color scale: Class 0 - not processed - Dark blue (1 frame) Class 3 - water - Light Blue (rivers and some lakes) Class 4 - clouds - Green blue Class 5 - non fire land - Yellow green Class 8 - nominal confidence fire - Red Class 9 - high confidence fire - Dark red

At surface behaviour of adult male southern elephant seals from King George Island from expedition JUB2000

Adult male southern elephant seals instrumented in 2000 on King George Island (n = 13), travelled both to the north (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231580, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231585) and to the east (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231571, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231579, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261708, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261709, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261710, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261711) of the Antarctic Peninsula. Five males (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231571, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231579, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231580, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261710, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231585) remained within 500 km of the island and focusing movements in the Bransfield Strait and around the Antarctic Peninsula. Sea-surface temperatures encountered by these animals showed little variation and they seemed to move about irrespective of sea ice cover, but frequented areas of shallow bathymetry. Three males (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261708, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261709, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.261711) moved as far as 75°S to the east of the peninsula, into the Weddell Sea, with maximum distances of more than 1500 km from King George Island. They travelled into the Weddell Sea along the western continental shelf break until they reached the region of the Filchner Trough outflow. Here the bathymetry consists of canyons and ridges which support the intensive mixing between the warm saline waters of the Weddell Gyre and the very cold outflow waters with Ice Shelf water ingredients at the Antarctic Slope Front. Another five data sets were shorter then 40 days, and excluded from analyses (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231568, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231576, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231572, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.231577, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.264710). A computer animation was developed to visualize the animal movements in relation to the extent and concentration of sea ice (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.509404). The need for re-instrumentation of adult males from King George Island is highlighted to investigate whether males continue to travel to similar areas and to obtain higher resolution data.

FESOM Arctic Ocean sea ice concentration and thickness 1995-2014, links to movies in mp4 format

Northern Hemisphere sea ice from a Finite-Element Sea-Ice Ocean Model (FESOM) 4.5 km resolution simulation carried out by researchers from Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Germany. Concentration is shown with color; thickness is shown with shading. A global 1 degree mesh is used, with the "Arctic Ocean" locally refined to 4.5 km. South of CAA and Fram Strait the resolution is not refined in this simulation. The animation indicates that the 4.5 km model resolution helps to represent the small scale sea ice features, although much higher resolution is required to fully resolve the ice leads. The animation is created by Michael Böttinger from DKRZ (https://www.dkrz.de).

3D models created from ROV videos and their corresponding subtransect dimensions

Underwater video transects have become a common tool for quantitative analysis of the seafloor. However a major difficulty remains in the accurate determination of the area surveyed as underwater navigation can be unreliable and image scaling does not always compensate for distortions due to perspective and topography. Depending on the camera set-up and available instruments, different methods of surface measurement are applied, which make it difficult to compare data obtained by different vehicles. 3-D modelling of the seafloor based on 2-D video data and a reference scale can be used to compute subtransect dimensions. Focussing on the length of the subtransect, the data obtained from 3-D models created with the software PhotoModeler Scanner are compared with those determined from underwater acoustic positioning (ultra short baseline, USBL) and bottom tracking (Doppler velocity log, DVL). 3-D model building and scaling was successfully conducted on all three tested set-ups and the distortion of the reference scales due to substrate roughness was identified as the main source of imprecision. Acoustic positioning was generally inaccurate and bottom tracking unreliable on rough terrain. Subtransect lengths assessed with PhotoModeler were on average 20% longer than those derived from acoustic positioning due to the higher spatial resolution and the inclusion of slope. On a high relief wall bottom tracking and 3-D modelling yielded similar results. At present, 3-D modelling is the most powerful, albeit the most time-consuming, method for accurate determination of video subtransect dimensions.

At surface behaviour of juvenile and female southern elephant seals from King George Island from expeditions JUB1996 and JUB1997

Between December 1996 and February 1997, weaned pups and postmoult female southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were fitted with satellite transmitters at King George Island (South Shetlands). Of the nine adult females tracked for more than two months, three stayed in a localized area between the South Shetlands and the South Orkneys. The other six females travelled southwest along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula up to the Bellingshausen Sea. Two of them then moved far northeast and hauled out on South Georgia in October. One female was last located north of the South Shetlands in March 1998. In total, eight females were again sighted on King George Island and six of the transmitters removed. The tracks of the weaners contrasted with those of the adults. In January, five juveniles left King George Island for the Pacific sector ranging about four weeks in the open sea west of the De Gerlache Seamounts. Three of them returned to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in June, of which one was last located on the Patagonian Shelf in November 1997. A computer animation was developed to visualize the animal movements in relation to the extent and concentration of sea ice. The juveniles avoided sea ice while the adults did not. The latter displayed behavioural differences in using the pack ice habitat during winter. Some females adjusted their movement patterns to the pulsating sea ice fringe in far-distant foraging areas while others ranged in closed pack ice of up to 100 %. The feeding grounds of adult female elephant seals are more closely associated with the pack ice zone than previously assumed.