(Table 1) Mean grain sizes and standard deviations of gas hydrate samples

Methane hydrates are present in marine seep systems and occur within the gas hydrate stability zone. Very little is known about their crystallite sizes and size distributions because they are notoriously difficult to measure. Crystal size distributions are usually considered as one of the key petrophysical parameters because they influence mechanical properties and possible compositional changes, which may occur with changing environmental conditions. Variations in grain size are relevant for gas substitution in natural hydrates by replacing CH4 with CO2 for the purpose of carbon dioxide sequestration. Here we show that crystallite sizes of gas hydrates from some locations in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Black Sea are in the range of 200-400 µm; larger values were obtained for deeper-buried samples from ODP Leg 204. The crystallite sizes show generally a log-normal distribution and appear to vary sometimes rapidly with location.

Spatial distribution of key zooplankton species using continuous plankton recorder (CPR) data from the North Atlantic (2000-2009)

The continuous plankton recorder (CPR) survey is an upper layer plankton monitoring program that has regularly collected samples, at monthly intervals, in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas since 1946. Water from approximately 6 m depth enters the CPR through a small aperture at the front of the sampler and travels down a tunnel where it passes through a silk filtering mesh of 270 µm before exiting at the back of the CPR. The plankton filtered on the silk is analyzed in sections corresponding to 10 nautical miles (approx. 3 m**3 of seawater filtered) and the plankton microscopically identified (Richardson et al., 2006 and reference therein). In the present study we used the CPR data to investigate the current basin scale distribution of C. finmarchicus (C5-C6), C. helgolandicus (C5-C6), C. hyperboreus (C5-C6), Pseudocalanus spp. (C6), Oithona spp. (C1-C6), total Euphausiida, total Thecosomata and the presence/absence of Cnidaria and the Phytoplankton Colour Index (PCI). The PCI, which is a visual assessment of the greenness of the silk, is used as an indicator of the distribution of total phytoplankton biomass across the Atlantic basin (Batten et al., 2003). Monthly data collected between 2000 and 2009 were gridded using the inverse-distance interpolation method, in which the interpolated values were the nodes of a 2 degree by 2 degree grid. The resulting twelve monthly matrices were then averaged within the year and in the case of the zooplankton the data were log-transformed (i.e. log10 (x+1).

(Appendix) Grain-size distribution, calcium carbonate content and proportion of cemented aggregates in ODP Site 133-820

The textural and compositional characteristics of the 400 m sequence of Pleistocene wackestones and packstones intersected at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 820 reflect deposition controlled by fluctuations in sea-level, and by variations in the rate of sediment supply. The development of an effective reefal barrier adjacent to Site 820, between 760 k.y. and 1.01 Ma, resulted in a marked reduction in sediment accumulation rates on the central Great Barrier Reef outermost shelf and upper slope. This marked change corresponds with the transition from sigmoidal prograding seismic geometry in the lower 254 m of the sequence, to aggradational geometry in the top 146 m. The reduction in the rate of sediment accumulation that followed development of the reefal barrier also caused a fundamental change in the way in which fluctuations in sea-level controlled sediment deposition. In the lower, progradational portion of the sequence, sea-level cyclicity is represented by superimposed coarsening-upward cycles. Although moderately calcareous throughout (mostly 35%-75% CaCO3), the depositional system acted in a similar manner to siliciclastic shelf depositional systems. Relative sea-level rises resulted in deposition of more condensed, less calcareous, fine, muddy wackestones at the base of each cycle. Sea-level highstands resulted in increased sedimentation rates and greater influx of coarse bioclastic material. Continued high rates of sedimentation of both coarse bioclastic material and mixed carbonate and terrigenous mud marked falling and low sea-levels. This lower part of the sequence therefore is dominated by coarse packstones, with only thin wackestone intervals representing transgressions. In contrast, sea-level fluctuations following formation of an effective reefal barrier produced a markedly different sedimentary record. The more slowly deposited aggradational sequence is characterized by discrete thin interbeds of relatively coarse packstone within a predominantly fine wackestone sequence. These thin packstone beds resulted from relatively low sedimentation rates during falling and low sea-levels, with much higher rates of muddy sediment accumulation during rising and high sea-levels. The transition from progradational to aggradational sequence geometry therefore corresponds to a transition from a "siliciclastic-type" to a "carbonate-type" depositional system.

EUSAAR size distribution analysis database

Two years of harmonized aerosol number size distribution data from 24 European field monitoring sites have been analysed. The results give a comprehensive overview of the European near surface aerosol particle number concentrations and number size distributions between 30 and 500 nm of dry particle diameter. Spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols in the particle sizes most important for climate applications are presented. We also analyse the annual, weekly and diurnal cycles of the aerosol number concentrations, provide log-normal fitting parameters for median number size distributions, and give guidance notes for data users. Emphasis is placed on the usability of results within the aerosol modelling community. We also show that the aerosol number concentrations of Aitken and accumulation mode particles (with 100 nm dry diameter as a cut-off between modes) are related, although there is significant variation in the ratios of the modal number concentrations. Different aerosol and station types are distinguished from this data and this methodology has potential for further categorization of stations aerosol number size distribution types. The European submicron aerosol was divided into characteristic types: Central European aerosol, characterized by single mode median size distributions, unimodal number concentration histograms and low variability in CCN-sized aerosol number concentrations; Nordic aerosol with low number concentrations, although showing pronounced seasonal variation of especially Aitken mode particles; Mountain sites (altitude over 1000 m a.s.l.) with a strong seasonal cycle in aerosol number concentrations, high variability, and very low median number concentrations. Southern and Western European regions had fewer stations, which decreases the regional coverage of these results. Aerosol number concentrations over the Britain and Ireland had very high variance and there are indications of mixed air masses from several source regions; the Mediterranean aerosol exhibit high seasonality, and a strong accumulation mode in the summer. The greatest concentrations were observed at the Ispra station in Northern Italy with high accumulation mode number concentrations in the winter. The aerosol number concentrations at the Arctic station Zeppelin in Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard have also a strong seasonal cycle, with greater concentrations of accumulation mode particles in winter, and dominating summer Aitken mode indicating more recently formed particles. Observed particles did not show any statistically significant regional work-week or weekday related variation in number concentrations studied. Analysis products are made for open-access to the research community, available in a freely accessible internet site. The results give to the modelling community a reliable, easy-to-use and freely available comparison dataset of aerosol size distributions.