Stable hydrogen isotopic composition (dD) and stable carbon isotopic composition (d13C) of sediment core GeoB9508-5 off Senegal

To reconstruct variability of the West African monsoon and associated vegetation changes on precessional and millennial time scales, we analyzed a marine sediment core from the continental slope off Senegal spanning the past 44,000 years (44 ka). We used the stable hydrogen isotopic composition (dD) of individual terrestrial plant wax n-alkanes as a proxy for past rainfall variability. The abundance and stable carbon isotopic composition (d13C) of the same compounds were analyzed to assess changes in vegetation composition (C3/C4 plants) and density. The dD record reveals two wet periods that coincide with local maximum summer insolation from 38 to 28 ka and 15 to 4 ka and that are separated by a less wet period during minimum summer insolation. Our data indicate that rainfall intensity during the rainy season throughout both wet humid periods was similar, whereas the length of the rainy season was presumably shorter during the last glacial than during the Holocene. Additional dry intervals are identified that coincide with North Atlantic Heinrich stadials and the Younger Dryas interval, indicating that the West African monsoon over tropical northwest Africa is linked to both insolation forcing and high-latitude climate variability. The d13C record indicates that vegetation of the western Sahel was consistently dominated by C4 plants during the past 44 ka, whereas C3-type vegetation increased during the Holocene. Moreover, we observe a gradual ending of the Holocene humid period together with unchanging ratio of C3 to C4 plants, indicating that an abrupt aridification due to vegetation feedbacks is not a general characteristic of this time interval.

(Table 1) Age, fork length, tissue d15N and d13C and mercury content of arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) across the Canadian Arctic

Among-lake variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations in landlocked Arctic char was examined in 27 char populations from remote lakes across the Canadian Arctic. A total of 520 landlocked Arctic char were collected from 27 lakes, as well as sediments and surface water from a subset of lakes in 1999, 2002, and 2005 to 2007. Size, length, age, and trophic position (d15N) of individual char were determined and relationships with total Hg (THg) concentrations investigated, to identify a common covariate for adjustment using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). A subset of 216 char from 24 populations was used for spatial comparison, after length-adjustment. The influence of trophic position and food web length and abiotic characteristics such as location, geomorphology, lake area, catchment area, catchment-to-lake area ratio of the lakes on adjusted THg concentrations in char muscle tissue were then evaluated. Arctic char from Amituk Lake (Cornwallis Island) had the highest Hg concentrations (1.31 µg/g wet wt), while Tessisoak Lake (Labrador, 0.07 µg/g wet wt) had the lowest. Concentrations of THg were positively correlated with size, d15N, and age, respectively, in 88,71, and 58% of 24 char populations. Length and d15N were correlated in 67% of 24 char populations. Food chain length did not explain the differences in length-adjusted THg concentrations in char. No relationships between adjusted THg concentrations in char and latitude or longitude were found, however, THg concentrations in char showed a positive correlation with catchment-to-lake area ratio. Furthermore, we conclude that inputs from the surrounding environment may influence THg concentrations, and will ultimately affect THg concentrations in char as a result of predicted climate-driven changes that may occur in Arctic lake watersheds.

Natural remanent magnetization (NRM) from ODP Site 1263 covering magnetochron C20r and C21n and high-resolution bulk carbon isotope (d13C) records from Sites 702 and 1263

To explore cause and consequences of past climate change, very accurate age models such as those provided by the astronomical timescale (ATS) are needed. Beyond 40 million years the accuracy of the ATS critically depends on the correctness of orbital models and radioisotopic dating techniques. Discrepancies in the age dating of sedimentary successions and the lack of suitable records spanning the middle Eocene have prevented development of a continuous astronomically calibrated geological timescale for the entire Cenozoic Era. We now solve this problem by constructing an independent astrochronological stratigraphy based on Earth's stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle between 41 and 48 million years ago (Ma) with new data from deep-sea sedimentary sequences in the South Atlantic Ocean. This new link completes the Paleogene astronomical timescale and confirms the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods back through the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.930 Ma) and the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (66.022 Ma). Coupling of the Paleogene 405 kyr cyclostratigraphic frameworks across the middle Eocene further paves the way for extending the ATS into the Mesozoic.

Persistent organic pollutants, d13C and d15N in zooplankton, fish and bird species in Kongsfjorden according to season

Seasonality in biomagnification of persistent organic pollutants (POPs; polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated pesticides, and brominated flame retardants) in Arctic marine pelagic food webs was investigated in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Norway. Trophic magnification factors (TMFs; average factor change in concentration between two trophic levels) were used to measure food web biomagnification in biota in May, July, and October 2007. Pelagic zooplankton (seven species), fish (five species), and seabirds (two species) were included in the study. For most POP compounds, highest TMFs were found in July and lowest were in May. Seasonally changing TMFs were a result of seasonally changing POP concentrations and the d15N-derived trophic positions of the species included in the food web. These seasonal differences in TMFs were independent of inclusion/exclusion of organisms based on physiology (i.e., warm- versus cold-blooded organisms) in the food web. The higher TMFs in July, when the food web consisted of a higher degree of boreal species, suggest that future warming of the Arctic and increased invasion by boreal species can result in increased food web magnification. Knowledge of the seasonal variation in POP biomagnification is a prerequisite for understanding changes in POP biomagnification caused by climate change.