The geology of the ice-covered interior of the East Antarctic shield is completely unknown; inferences about its composition and history are based on extrapolating scant outcrops from the coast inland. Although the shield is clearly composite in nature, a large part of its interior has been represented by a single Precambrian block—termed the Mawson block—that includes the ArcheanMesoproterozoi...

The Indian-Atlantic water exchange south of Africa (Agulhas leakage) is a key component of the global ocean circulation. No quantitative estimation of the paleo-Agulhas leakage exists. We quantify the variability in interocean exchange over the past 640,000 years, using planktic foraminiferal assemblage data from two marine sediment records to define an Agulhas leakage efficiency index. We conf...

The reconstruction of paleo wind directions for the Eifel region (Central Europe) during the period 40.3–12.9 ka BP S. Dietrich and K. Seelos Institute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany Received: 26 August 2009 – Accepted: 8 September 2009 – Published: 22 September 2009 Correspondence to: S. Dietrich ([email protected]) Published by Copernicus Publications on b...

Widespread use of petrochemicals often leads to accidental releases in aquatic environments, occasionally with disastrous results. Recent advances in the understanding of selectively wetting surfaces have led to the development of functionalized steel meshes with hydrophobic and oleophilic surfaces. These meshes can perform oil/water separation in situ, continuously, via capillary action. The g...

The concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere continues to rise, hence estimating the climate system’s sensitivity to changes in GHG concentration is of vital importance. Uncertainty in climate sensitivity is a main source of uncertainty in projections of future climate change. Here we present a new approach for constraining this key uncertainty by combining ensemble simulation...

[1] We analyze geophysical data that extend from 0 to 25-Myr-old seafloor on both flanks of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Lineated marine magnetic anomalies are consistent and identifiable within the study area, even over seafloor lacking a basaltic upper crust. The full spreading rate of 14 km/Myr has remained nearly constant since at least 20 Ma, but crustal accretion has been highly asy...

4 A comparison is made between some of the framework used to discuss paleoceanography 5 and parallel situations in modern physical oceanography. A main inference is that too often 6 the paleo literature aims to rationalize why a particular hypothesis remains appropriate, 7 rather than undertaking to deliberately test that hypothesis. 8

Halomonas species are recognized for producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibiting amphiphilic properties that allow these macromolecules to interface with hydrophobic substrates, such as hydrocarbons. There remains a paucity of knowledge, however, on the potential of Halomonas EPS to influence the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. In this study, the well-characterized amphiphilic EPS produced by...