Ostracode fauna of sediment core GIK23414-9 in the northeast Atlantic

Sediment core M23414 from the Rockall Plateau (North Atlantic) covering the last two climatic cycles, marine isotope stages (MIS) 7 to 1, was investigated for glacial-interglacial variations in the deep-sea benthic ostracode fauna. A highly diversified ostracode fauna including 98 species was found. Two climate-related assemblages were identified, associated with interglacial and peak glacial periods, respectively. The 'interglacial' group occurs during the end of MIS 7, 5 and 1 and is composed of the genera Henryhowella, Pelecocythere, Echinocythereis, Cytherella, Bradleya, Aversovalva and Eucytherura. The 'glacial' group consists of the genera Acetabulastoma (which is known as 'sea ice indicator' in the modern Arctic Ocean), Polycope, Bythoceratina, ?Rhombobythere, and some species possibly belonging to the genus Pseudocythere and is found during MIS 6, 4 and 2. These longer-term variations within the ostracode fauna seem related to the particular glacial and interglacial climate conditions that affected both deep-water production as well as primary production in the surface waters. However, a detailed comparison of ostracode abundances with the occurrence of events marked by increased ice-rafted debris reveals also much shorter-term climate related changes in the ostracode fauna. Thus, the temporal fluctuations within ostracode assemblages reflect long- and short-term alterations of the deep-sea environment that are clearly linked to climate changes.

(Table 2) Radiocarbon ages on Arctic box and multicores

Paleo-sea-ice history in the Arctic Ocean was reconstructed using the sea-ice dwelling ostracode Acetabulastoma arcticum from late Quaternary sediments from the Mendeleyev, Lomonosov, and Gakkel Ridges, the Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau. Results suggest intermittently high levels of perennial sea ice in the central Arctic Ocean during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (25-45 ka), minimal sea ice during the last deglacial (16-11 ka) and early Holocene thermal maximum (11-5 ka) and increasing sea ice during the mid-to-late Holocene (5-0 ka). Sediment core records from the Iceland and Rockall Plateaus show that perennial sea ice existed in these regions only during glacial intervals MIS 2, 4, and 6. These results show that sea ice exhibits complex temporal and spatial variability during different climatic regimes and that the development of modern perennial sea ice may be a relatively recent phenomenon.

Ostracoda in surface sediments of the Arctic Ocean

Ostracodes were studied from deep Arctic Ocean cores obtained during the Arctic 91 expedition of the Polarstern to the Nansen, Amundsen and Makarov Basins, the Lomonosov Ridge, Morris Jesup Rise and Yermak Plateau, in order to investigate their distribution in Arctic Ocean deep water (AODW) and apply these data to paleoceanographic reconstruction of bottom water masses during the Quaternary. Analyses of coretop assemblages from Arctic 91 boxcores indicate the following: ostracodes are common at all depths between 1000 and 4500 m, and species distribution is strongly influenced by water mass characteristics and bathymetry; quantitative analyses comparing Eurasian and Canada Basin assemblages indicate that distinct assemblages inhabit regions east and west of the Lomonosov Ridge, a barrier especially important to species living in lower AODW; deep Eurasian Basin assemblages are more similar to those living in Greenland Sea deep water (GSDW) than those in Canada Basin deep water; two upper AODW assemblages were recognized throughout the Arctic Ocean, one living between 1000 and 1500 m, and the other, having high species diversity, at 1500-3000 m. Downcore quantitative analyses of species' abundances and the squared chord distance coefficient of similarity reveals a distinct series of abundance peaks in key indicator taxa interpreted to signify the following late Quaternary deep water history of the Eurasian Basin. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a GSDW/AODW assemblage, characteristic of cold, well oxygenated deep water > 3000 m today, inhabited the Lomonosov Ridge to depths as shallow as 1000 m, perhaps indicating the influence of GSDW at mid-depths in the central Arctic Ocean. During Termination 1, a period of high organic productivity associated with a strong inflowing warm North Atlantic layer occurred. During the mid-Holocene, several key faunal events indicate a period of warming and/or enhanced flow between the Canada and Eurasian Basins. A long-term record of ostracode assemblages from kastenlot core PS2200-5 (1073 m water depth) from the Morris Jesup Rise indicates a quasi-cyclic pattern of water mass changes during the last 300 kyr. Interglacial ostracode assemblages corresponding to oxygen isotope stages 1, 5, and 7 indicate rapid changes in dissolved oxygen and productivity during glacial-interglacial transitions.

Appendix A. Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography cross-sectional images of Joergensenium arcticum Ikenoue, Dumitrica and Bjørklund n. sp.

Radiolarians in the Arctic Ocean have been studied lately in both plankton and sediment trap samples in the Chukchi Sea area. These studies have shed light on new radiolarian taxa, especially within the order Entactinaria, including two new species of Joergensenium, Joergensenium arcticum from the western Arctic Ocean, so far restricted to the Pacific Winter Water in the Chukchi Sea, and Joergensenium clevei hitherto found in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea south of the Fram Strait. The taxonomic position of the order Entactinaria is discussed and the genus Joergensenium has been emended. We have also observed in detail the internal structure of J. arcticum using Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography and have utilized three-dimensional imaging for the first time in a species description.

云南吕合中新世木贼属草问荆比较种及其古生态学研究

位于我国西南边陲的云南省今天以丰富的植物种类、复杂的植被类型，被誉为“绿色明珠”和“植物王国”，其现今格局的形成无疑是长期历史演化的结晶。探讨其植物区系成分的由来、植被演替的规律及其与环境的关系已经成为研究的热点问题。 新生代是云南植物王国形成和环境演变过程中的关键地质时期。本论文以新生代晚第三纪中新世吕合地区植物群为研究的切入点，对其中的木贼属（Equisetum L.）化石做了深入研究。 木贼属为早期陆地维管植物楔叶类唯一的现存代表，过去报道和研究的化石记录多集中在古生代和中生代，新生代的较少。 本文首次报道云南吕合中新世地层中发现的以地下根状茎和块茎形式保存的木贼属草问荆比较种（E. cf. pratense Ehrhart）。化石根状茎分明显的节和节间， 节部簇生1-4 串串珠状的块茎（每串块茎数目2-4 个），单个块茎椭圆形、圆球形、卵形或纺锤形，通常位于串珠末端的块茎顶端较尖。 木贼属现存两亚属：问荆亚属（8 个种，气孔与表皮齐平，地上茎一年生， 通常分枝，孢子囊穗顶端钝）和木贼亚属（7 个种，气孔凹陷于表皮，地上茎宿存，通常不分枝，孢子囊穗顶端尖）。问荆亚属中，除溪木贼（E. fluviatile L.） 和E. bogotense Kunth 外，其余6 个种都有块茎，而从未在木贼亚属中发现过块茎。具块茎的问荆亚属6 个种中，仅发现草问荆有2-3 个串联的块茎，其余种均为单个块茎。鉴于吕合发现的化石根状茎上着生块茎之特征和现代草问荆的情形一致，表明二者之间亲缘相近，故将吕合化石标本鉴定为草问荆比较种。 前人在北美、欧洲和亚洲的早白垩世到第三纪地层中，报道过14 种具根状茎和块茎的木贼类化石，其中具串珠状块茎的仅5 种。这些化石种与吕合标本有明显区别，如美国怀俄明州始新世的E. haydenii Lesquereux 根状茎的节部收缩，块茎有分枝。美国蒙大纳州渐新世至中新世的E. cf. arcticum Heer 和中国吉林始新世的E. hunchunense Guo 块茎在根状茎节上轮生。尽管据报道加拿大白垩纪E. perlaevigatum Cockerell 和辽宁北票早白垩世Equisetites longevaginatus Wu 有串珠状块茎结构，但原文提供的照片显示却只有单个块茎。 根据将今论古的原理，似可将化石的现存最近亲缘种草问荆的生境和物候调查结论，推演到发现草问荆比较种的云南吕合中新世地点及相应层位上。这样，不仅可以推测当时环境湿润，而且化石沉积的时间应为块茎形成的秋冬季节。结合前人在该产地发现喜热的亚热带成分壳斗科青冈属、栲属、金缕梅科枫香属等花粉和喜湿的桦木科桤木属花粉、杉科落羽杉型木以及红杉属的枝叶和球果，表明云南吕合中新世植被类型为常绿落叶阔叶混交林，气候类型为温暖湿润的亚热带气候。

陕北水蚀风蚀交错区两种生物结皮对土壤理化性质的影响

以黄土高原陕北水蚀风蚀交错区六道沟小流域为例,研究了该区以苔藓为主要成分的沙土和黄土两种生物结皮对土壤理化性质的影响。结果显示:(1)两种生物结皮均能显著增加土壤饱和含水量和田间持水量,降低容重和饱和导水率,其中沙土生物结皮还可明显粘化0～25cm土壤质地;(2)两种生物结皮均能不同程度的增加土壤全量养分、速效养分以及有机质含量,降低pH值,但其影响多数集中在表层或结皮层;(3)土壤化学性质中,全氮、速效磷和有机质受生物结皮影响程度较大,而全氮、速效钾和有机质受生物结皮影响土层较深;(4)沙土生物结皮对土壤理化性质的影响程度大于黄土生物结皮。两种类型生物结皮对所研究土壤理化性质的影响总体有利于该区生态环境的改善,且沙土生物结皮较黄土生物结皮具有更为重要的生态功能。

Increased blooms of a dinoflagellate in the NW Atlantic

Sampling by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) over the NW Atlantic from 1960 to 2000 has enabled long-term studies of the larger components of the phytoplankton community, highlighting various changes, particularly during the 1990s. Analysis of an index of phytoplankton biomass, the Phytoplankton Colour Index (PCI) has revealed an increase over the past decade, most marked during the winter (December to February) months. Examination of the structure of the community using multiple linear-regression models indicates that the winter phytoplankton community composition has changed markedly in the 1990s compared to the 1960s. One phytoplankter, the dinoflagellate Ceratium arcticum (Cleve), has undergone dramatic changes in abundance during this period, with pronounced large winter blooms and decreased autumnal levels, and its contribution to the Phytoplankton Colour index values has increased significantly. Other dominant species in the phytoplankton community, both diatoms and dinoflagellates, did not show the same variations over the examined time period. It is suggested that the response of C. arcticum is probably a result of previously reported changes in stratification in the NW Atlantic, due to dynamic hydro-climatic (freshening and cooling) events.

Arctic boreal plankton species in the Northwest Atlantic

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey has sampled regularly in the Northwest Atlantic since the early 1960s. Over the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in the abundance of a number of arctic boreal plankton species, notably Calanus hyperboreus (Kroyer), Calanus glacialis (Jaschnov), and Ceratium arcticum, and a southerly shift of the copepod C. hyperboreus in the CPR survey. In 1998, C. hyperboreus was recorded at its farthest position south in the survey, 39 degrees N, off the Georges Bank shelf edge. Other studies have reported similar parallel biological responses on three trophic levels. During the late 1990s, production of Labrador Sea Water (LSW) has been at a high, a direct response to the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The increase in abundance of these species, up to four standard deviations from the long-term mean, is linked to variability in the hydrography of the area and the driving climatic processes of the North Atlantic.

Investigation of Quaternary diatoms in sediment core CRP-1 from the Ross Sea, Antarctica

In the first season of drilling, the Cape Roberts Project (CRP) recovered one drillcore (CRP-l) from Roberts Ridge in western McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica Diatom biostratigraphy places the upper six lithostratigraphic units (Units 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, and 4.1) of CRP-l (0.0 to 43.15 mbsf) within the Quaternary. Both non-marine and marine Quaternary diatoms occur in variable abundance in the Quaternary interval of CRP- 1 Biostratigraphic data resolve two Quaternary time slices or events within CRP-1. Marine diatom assemblages in Units 4.1 and 3.1 represent sedimentation within the diatom Actinocyclus ingens Zone (1.35 to 0.66 Ma). Further refinement of the age of Unit 3.l places deposition in the interval 1.15 to 0.75 Ma based on the common occurrence of Thalassiosira elliptipora and correlation to the Southern Ocean acme of this taxon The absence of ActiActinocyclus ingens and the presence ot Thalassiosira antarctica in Unit 2.2 require a younger zonal assignment for this interval, within the diatom Thalassiosira lentiginosa Zone (0.66 to 0.0 Ma). A new diatom species. Rouxia leventerae, is described from marine assemblages of Units 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, and 4.l. Lithostratigraphic Unit 3.1 (33.82 to 31.89 mbsf) is a bryozoan-dominated skeletal-carbonate facies. Low abundance of Fragilariopsis curta and Fragilariopsis cylindrus within this unit combined with the relatively high abundance of species associated with open water indicates deposition in waters that remained ice free for much or all of the year Diatom assemblages suggest carbonate deposition in Unit 3.1 is linked to a significant early Pleistocene event in McMurdo Sound, when elevated surface-water temperatures inhibited the formation of sea ice.