Soil, snow, weather, and sub-surface storage data from a mountain catchment in the rain-snow transition zone

A comprehensive hydroclimatic data set is presented for the 2011 water year to improve understanding of hydrologic processes in the rain-snow transition zone. This type of dataset is extremely rare in scientific literature because of the quality and quantity of soil depth, soil texture, soil moisture, and soil temperature data. Standard meteorological and snow cover data for the entire 2011 water year are included, which include several rain-on-snow events. Surface soil textures and soil depths from 57 points are presented as well as soil texture profiles from 14 points. Meteorological data include continuous hourly shielded, unshielded, and wind corrected precipitation, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature, and incoming solar and thermal radiation data. Sub-surface data included are hourly soil moisture data from multiple depths from 7 soil profiles within the catchment, and soil temperatures from multiple depths from 2 soil profiles. Hydrologic response data include hourly stream discharge from the catchment outlet weir, continuous snow depths from one location, intermittent snow depths from 5 locations, and snow depth and density data from ten weekly snow surveys. Though it represents only a single water year, the presentation of both above and below ground hydrologic condition makes it one of the most detailed and complete hydro-climatic datasets from the climatically sensitive rain-snow transition zone for a wide range of modeling and descriptive studies.

Oxygen contents, sulfate concentrations, and changes of IPLs under different storage conditions of samples from ODP Leg 204 and IODP Expedition 311

We have studied the effects of slow infiltration of oxygen on microbial communities in refrigerated legacy samples from ocean drilling expeditions. Storage was in heat-sealed, laminated foil bags with a N2 headspace for geomicrobiological studies. Analysis of microbial lipids suggests that Bacteria were barely detectable in situ but increased remarkably during storage. Detailed molecular examination of a methane-rich sediment horizon showed that refrigeration triggered selective growth of ANME-2 archaea and a drastic change in the bacterial community. Subsequent enrichment targeting methanogens yielded exclusively methylotrophs, which were probably selected for by high sulfate levels caused by oxidation of reduced sulfur species. We provide recommendations for sample storage in future ocean drilling expeditions.

(Table 1) Water storage changes of the 33 world's largest river basins between 2002-2009

Global change in land water storage and its effect on sea level is estimated over a 7-year time span (August 2002 to July 2009) using space gravimetry data from GRACE. The 33 World largest river basins are considered. We focus on the year-to-year variability and construct a total land water storage time series that we further express in equivalent sea level time series. The short-term trend in total water storage adjusted over this 7-year time span is positive and amounts to 80.6 ± 15.7 km**3/yr (net water storage excess). Most of the positive contribution arises from the Amazon and Siberian basins (Lena and Yenisei), followed by the Zambezi, Orinoco and Ob basins. The largest negative contributions (water deficit) come from the Mississippi, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Aral, Euphrates, Indus and Parana. Expressed in terms of equivalent sea level, total water volume change over 2002-2009 leads to a small negative contribution to sea level of -0.22 ± 0.05 mm/yr. The time series for each basin clearly show that year-to-year variability dominates so that the value estimated in this study cannot be considered as representative of a long-term trend. We also compare the interannual variability of total land water storage (removing the mean trend over the studied time span) with interannual variability in sea level (corrected for thermal expansion). A correlation of ~0.6 is found. Phasing, in particular, is correct. Thus, at least part of the interannual variability of the global mean sea level can be attributed to land water storage fluctuations.

Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of ODP Hole 113-690B

High-resolution study of Antarctic planktonic foraminiferal assemblages (Ocean Drilling Program Site 690, Weddell Sea) shows that these microplankton underwent a stepwise series of changes during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Initiation of this response coincides with the onset of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) but precedes the benthic foraminiferal mass extinction. The "top-to-bottom" succession in the biotic response indicates that the surface ocean/atmosphere was affected before the deep sea. The earliest stage of the faunal response entailed a conspicuous turnover within the shallow-dwelling genus Acarinina and a succession of stratigraphic first appearances. The genus Morozovella, large (>180 µm) biserial planktonics, and A. wilcoxensis are all restricted to the lower CIE within this PETM section. Acarininid populations crashed as the ocean/climate system ameliorated during the CIE recovery, reflecting atypical surface water conditions. This transient decline in acarininids is paralleled by a marked increase in carbonate content of sediments. It is postulated that this interval of carbonate enrichment, and its unusual microfauna, reflects enhanced carbon storage within reservoirs of the global carbon cycle other than the marine carbonate system (sensu Broecker et al., 1993, doi:10.1029/93PA00423; Ravizza et al., 2001, doi:10.1029/2000PA000541).

Soil organic carbon storage and soil properties for 50 soil profiles in the Lena River Delta including land form description and map

To project the future development of the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in permafrost environments, the spatial and vertical distribution of key soil properties and their landscape controls needs to be understood. This article reports findings from the Arctic Lena River Delta where we sampled 50 soil pedons. These were classified according to the U.S.D.A. Soil Taxonomy and fall mostly into the Gelisol soil order used for permafrost-affected soils. Soil profiles have been sampled for the active layer (mean depth 58±10 cm) and the upper permafrost to one meter depth. We analyze SOC stocks and key soil properties, i.e. C%, N%, C/N, bulk density, visible ice and water content. These are compared for different landscape groupings of pedons according to geomorphology, soil and land cover and for different vertical depth increments. High vertical resolution plots are used to understand soil development. These show that SOC storage can be highly variable with depth. We recommend the treatment of permafrost-affected soils according to subdivisions into: the surface organic layer, mineral subsoil in the active layer, organic enriched cryoturbated or buried horizons and the mineral subsoil in the permafrost. The major geomorphological units of a subregion of the Lena River Delta were mapped with a land form classification using a data-fusion approach of optical satellite imagery and digital elevation data to upscale SOC storage. Landscape mean SOC storage is estimated to 19.2±2.0 kg C/m**2. Our results show that the geomorphological setting explains more soil variability than soil taxonomy classes or vegetation cover. The soils from the oldest, Pleistocene aged, unit of the delta store the highest amount of SOC per m**2 followed by the Holocene river terrace. The Pleistocene terrace affected by thermal-degradation, the recent floodplain and bare alluvial sediments store considerably less SOC in descending order.