Is there an Insect Signal for the "Little Ice Age"?     

Paul C. Buckland  Pat E. Wagner 《Climatic change》2001,48(1):137-149

The downturn in temperature in the late medieval period is likely to have had significant impact upon insect distribution. Despite the amount of study fossil insect faunas have been afforded, there is presently little convincing evidence of climatic, rather than human impact upon faunas during the "Little Ice Age". This probably reflects as much the paucity of suitable sites, as the overarching scale of habitat destruction by Man.  相似文献   

Constraints on crustal and mantle structure of the oceanic plate south of Iceland from ocean bottom recorded Rayleigh waves     

Frederik J. Tilmann  Torsten Dahm 《Tectonophysics》2008,447(1-4):66

From April to July 2002 we carried out a deployment of 6 ocean bottom seismometers and 4 ocean bottom hydrophones in the North Atlantic south of Iceland. During the deployment period we recorded clear Rayleigh waves from 2 regional and 14 teleseismic earthquakes. This corresponds to a Rayleigh wave detection rate of nearly 92% for events with M_W ≥ 6.06.0 and epicentral distance less than 110°, close to detection rate estimates based on noise level variability. We measured Rayleigh wave event-station group dispersion and inter-station phase dispersion for one Mid-Atlantic Ridge event. The group dispersion curve is sensitive to the structure of the North-East Atlantic with an average age of  39 Myr. The phase dispersion curve is sensitive to the structure just south of Iceland (average plate age 33 Myr). Both dispersion curves indicate faster velocities than previously postulated for oceanic plate generated at the Reykjanes Ridge. A grid search approach was used to constrain the range of models fitting the data. The high velocity seismic lid just south of Iceland in the model for the phase dispersion path is slower or thinner than in the group dispersion model, which averages over a larger area and a somewhat older plate age, but the velocities in the low velocity half space are similar. We further consider the residual bathymetry in the experimental area. The residual anomaly decreases by 300–400 m from the Reykjanes Ridge to the  30 Myr old plate south of Iceland. This decrease can be explained by the disappearance of a mantle thermal anomaly associated with the Iceland plume. Both the residual bathymetry and the surface wave data are thus consistent with the notion that the southward spreading of the Icelandic plume is channelised underneath the Reykjanes Ridge and does not spread far outside this channel.Based on the experience from the pilot experiment, we estimate that a minimum recording time of 13–15 months in favourable weather conditions (April–September) is required to record enough data to map the spreading plume with surface waves, and to produce a tomographic image to a depth of 1000 km using body waves. This can be achieved by a continuous deployment of at least  20 months, or by two or three deployments during the spring and summer of consecutive years.  相似文献   

The Surface Albedo Of The Vatnajökull Ice Cap, Iceland: A Comparison Between Satellite-Derived And Ground-Based Measurements   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Carleen H. Reijmer  Wouter H. Knap  Johannes Oerlemans 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》1999,92(1):123-143

The temporal and spatial variations in the surface albedo of the Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, are investigated. A time series of the surface albedo is composed for the summer of 1996 using satellite radiance measurements from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). This time series is compared with ground measurements carried out during a glacio-meteorological experiment during the same summer on the ice cap. The AVHRR is able to reproduce the development in time of the surface albedo fairly well. The large systematic differences found for some of the stations on the ice are attributed to sub-pixel-scale variations in the albedo. An attempt is made to confirm this hypothesis using satellite radiance measurements carried out by the Thematic Mapper (TM) and measurements made with a portable albedometer. The TM has a pixel size of 30 × 30 m whereas the pixel size of the AVHRR is 1 × 1 km. Although the TM measurements show greater variability in the albedo than do the AVHRR measurements, the large systematic difference remains. Measurements with the portable albedometer show a large spread in the albedo at sites with large systematic differences. This implies that the scale of the albedo variations is smaller than the scale of the AVHRR and TM pixels.  相似文献   

On A Low Cloud Phenomenon At The Breidamerkurjökull Glacier, Iceland     

Rudolf Kaltenböck  Friedrich Obleitner 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》1999,92(1):145-162

An impressive cloud wall has frequently been observed on the southern slopes of the Vatnajökull ice sheet, which is located in south-eastern Iceland. Its optical and dynamic features suggest a delicate balance of the atmospheric agents involved. This has been confirmed by a thorough analysis of a well documented event and by statistics covering a whole summer season. As an exemplary event, the regional development of the associated cloud has basically been documented with synchronous surface data along a suitable transect of the glacier. Data from tethered balloons, radiosoundings and routine synoptic data have also been exploited extensively. Cloud development was generally aided by a high moisture potential because of proximity to the open seas and the remnants of a frontal system. Furthermore the occurrence of the cloud phenomenon was associated with onshore (southerly) surface winds, assisting advection and lifting of the associated air masses above the slopes of the ice sheet. Northward protrusion of the associated cloud was apparently opposed by continuous katabatic winds and topographically induced lee effects.  相似文献   

The Laki (Skaftár Fires) and Grímsvötn eruptions in 1783–1785     

Th Thordarson  S Self 《Bulletin of Volcanology》1993,55(4):233-263

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Seismic Anisotropy In the Crust At the Mid-Atlantic Plate Boundary In South-West Iceland   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

William Menke  Bryndis Brandsdottir  Steinun Jakobsdottir  Ragnar Stefansson 《Geophysical Journal International》1994,119(3):783-790

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An admittance study of the Reykjanes Ridge and elevated plateaux between the Charlie–Gibbs and Senja fracture zones     

Daniel&#;A. Heller  Gabriele Marquart 《Geophysical Journal International》2002,148(1):65-76

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Crustal stress in Iceland     

Bezalel C. Haimson  Barry Voight 《Pure and Applied Geophysics》1977,115(1-2):153-190

Hydrofracturing stress measurements have been carried out to about 0.4 km in two boreholes in Quaternary volcanic rocks in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the flank of the Reykjanes-Langjökull continuation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The measurements indicate a dominant orientation of _{H max} approximately perpendicular to the axial rift zone, in contrast to earthquake focal mechanism solutions from within the axial rift zone of the Reykjanes Peninsula. In one hole (H32) a depth-dependent change in stress orientation is indicated, with ₁ horizontal above a depth of about 0.25 km, and vertical below it; however the orientation of _{H max} remains unchanged. The data thus suggest reconciliation of an apparent conflict between the dominantly compressive indications of shallow overcoring stress measurements and dominant extension as required by focal mechanism solutions. The measured stresses are supported by the more reliable of overcoring measurements from southeast Iceland, and by recent focal mechanism solutions for the intraplate Borgarfjördur area. A fundamental change in crustal stresses appears therefore to occur as a function of distance from the axis of the axial rift zone. The data seem reasonably explicable in terms of a combination of thermoelastic mechanisms associated with accretion and cooling of spreading lithosphere plates. Stresses directly associated with the driving mechanisms of plate tectonics apparently do not dominate the observed stress pattern.  相似文献   

Stratigraphy and paleomagnetism of a 3-km-thick Miocene lava pile in the Mjoifjördur area,eastern Iceland     

Leo Kristjansson  Agust Gudmundsson  Hreinn Haraldsson 《International Journal of Earth Sciences》1995,84(4):813-830

We have carried out stratigraphic mapping in the Upper Miocene basalt lava pile around the fjords Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur, eastern Iceland. The mapping is based on conventional methods including the use of interbasaltic clastic horizons and petrographically distinct lava groups. These units are also used to provide correlations with the Nordfjördur area south of Mjoifjördur. We present a 3-km composite stratigraphic column for the area between Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur. The geology of this area shows some differences from the classical model of Walker for the structure of eastern Iceland partly due to the fact that most of Mjoifjördur is not in the vicinity of central volcanoes. Detailed laboratory measurements of remanent magnetization were carried out on oriented core samples from 363 lavas in 10 selected profiles. The local paleomagnetic polarity stratigraphy supports correlations made on the basis of other criteria. Over 20 geomagnetic reversals are recorded in the eastern Iceland lava pile in a period approximately 13-10 Ma ago. The geomagnetic field during this period averages to a central axial dipole field, and its overall statistical properties resemble those obtained in earlier surveys in Iceland.  相似文献   

Manganese-rich rock coatings from Iceland     

G. R. Douglas 《地球表面变化过程与地形》1987,12(3):301-310

Manganese-rich rock coatings are widespread in Iceland, especially in fractures in basalt lavas. Three common types of coating are described. A thick subsurface coating is found on whaleback forms on high plateaux. The most common type is thinner and occurs in hydrothermal clay-filled fracture systems which are especially well developed in tholeiite lavas. A third type occurs in younger rocks and is associated with tephra-rich, loessic sediment which fills open fractures and vesicles. There are differences in the chemistry, morphology, and mineralogy of these coatings which are interpreted as being due to the different microenvironments in which they form. The fracture microenvironment is regarded as being of much more importance to coating thickness and chemistry than simple age and in this respect the hydrothermal clays seem to favour rapid manganese concentration. On the other hand, there are variations in coating type, both laterally and vertically through the lava succession, which are related to regional distribution of hydrothermal alteration and rock type. The regional patterns are the result of Iceland's lateral drift and as a result there is an incidental connection between coating type and rock age. There is some evidence to suggest that the manganese coatings may be both forming and being degraded rapidly in the present environment.  相似文献