Magnetic parameters of rocks from the Red Sea rift zone

Results of detailed geomagnetic and geomorphological studies carried out by R/V Akvanavt together with data obtained by a side-scanning sonar and high-frequency profiles from a towed Zvuk-4 vehicle plus results of visual observations of deep-sea manned Pisces submersible have shown that the spreading axis is divided into segments, whose strike (330°) differs from the overall strike (310°) of the axial magnetic anomaly. In the study area segments are about 1 km long and transform displacements are 0.5 km. Calculations on a model have shown that spreading is asymmetric: during the Brunhes epoch accretion rate of the African Plate was 6 mm/yr and that of the Arabian Plate 7 mm/yr. Earlier it had been 9 and 11 mm/yr, respectively.

Sedimentology of ODP Leg 104 holes

The long-term record of glacial/interglacial cycles indicates three major paleoceanographic regimes in the Norwegian Sea. The period since the first major glaciation over Scandinavia at 2.56 Ma is characterized by high-frequency, low-amplitude oscillations of ice-rafted debris inputs, a lowered salinity, and decreased carbonate shell production in surface waters as well as overall strong carbonate dissolution at the sea floor. These conditions indicate a more zonal circulation pattern in the Northern Hemisphere and a relative isolation of surface and bottom waters in the Norwegian Sea. The generally temperate glacial climate was only interrupted by episodic weak intrusions of warm Atlantic waters. These intrusions have been detected in considerable magnitude only at Site 644, and thus are restricted to areas much closer to the Norwegian shelf than during earlier periods. The interval from 1.2 to 0.6 Ma is characterized by an increase in carbonate shell production and a better preservation, as well as a change in frequency patterns of ice-rafted debris inputs. This pattern reflects increasing meridionality in circulation-strengthening contrasts in the Norwegian Sea between strong glaciations and warm interglacials. The past 0.6 Ma reveal high-amplitude oscillations in carbonate records that are dominated by the 100-k.y. frequency pattern. Glacial/interglacial sedimentary cycles in the ODP Leg 104 drill sites reveal a variety of specific dark lithofacies. These dark diamictons reflect intense iceberg rafting in surface waters fed by surges along the front of marine-based parts of the continental ice sheets in the southeastern sector of the Norwegian Sea and are associated with resuspension of reworked fossil organic carbon and strong dissolution at the sea floor. Piling up of huge iceberg barriers along the Iceland-Faeroe-Scotland Ridge might have partially blocked off surface water connections with the North Atlantic during these periods

Pliocene to Pleistocene calcium carbonate and organic carbon record of ODP Hole 117-722B

Site 722 provides high resolution records of percent CaCO3, magnetic susceptibility, d18O, organic carbon, and coarse fraction for the past 3.4 m.y. from the crest of the Owen Ridge, northwestern Arabian Sea. Within this time interval, most of the carbonate percent variations can be attributed to terrigenous dilution and do not reflect changes in the carbonate system. From the late Pliocene to Present, the average rate of calcium carbonate accumulation increases from 1 to 3 g/cm**2/k.y. and the average accumulation of organic carbon decreases from 75 to 30 mg/cm**2/k.y. The carbonate component is more dissolved in the older interval. The long-term variations in carbonate accumulation may reflect a greater input of organic matter in the late Pliocene, which decomposes to produce CO2 and dissolve carbonate. Magnetic susceptibility and % noncarbonate (100 - CaCO3%) reflect changes in the amount of the lithogenic component in the sediments. The period of variation of lithogenic material is the same period as the original forcing of the regional summer monsoon, however, the timing matches global aridity patterns and global ice volume (sea level) changes. This preliminary analysis suggests that the high frequency variation of lithogenic material persists for at least the last 3.4 m.y. Within the last million years, calcium carbonate accumulation has a large amplitude signal that covaries with major changes in ice volume. Both calcium carbonate and noncarbonate (mostly terrigenous) accumulation are greatest during glacial stages. Interglacial intervals are characterized by low mass accumulation rates, increased foraminifer fragmentation, and increased opal concentration. The accumulation of organic carbon matches the high frequency changes in sedimentation rates. We attribute this high correlation to enhanced preservation of organic carbon by increased sedimentation rate. Of the three major biological components studied, only opal exhibits the variations expected for a biological productivity system forced by monsoonal upwelling driven by changes in northern hemisphere summer radiation.

Table 3: Reproductive viability of Hemichloris antarctica after cycles of cooling und warming

Laboratory experiments show that undercooling to about -5°C occurs in colonized Beacon sandstones of the Ross Desert, Antarctica. High-frequency temperature oscillations between 5°C and -5°C or -10°C (which occur in nature on the rock surface) did not damage Hemichloris antarctica. In a cryomicroscope, H. antarctica appeared to be undamaged after slow or rapid cooling to -50°C. l4CO2 incorporation after freezing to -20°C was unaffected in H. antarctica or in Trebouxia sp. but slightly depressed in Stichococcus sp. (isolated from a less extreme Antarctic habitat). These results suggest that the freezing regime in the Antarctic desert is not injurious to endolithic algae. It is likely that the freezing-point depression inside the rock makes available liquid water for metabolic activity at subzero temperatures. Freezing may occur more frequently on the rock surface and contribute to the abiotic nature of the surface.