Stocks of soil organic carbon represent a large component of the carbon cycle that may participate in climate change feedbacks, particularly on decadal and centennial timescales. For Earth system ...models (ESMs), the ability to accurately represent the global distribution of existing soil carbon stocks is a prerequisite for accurately predicting future carbon-climate feedbacks. We compared soil carbon simulations from 11 model centers to empirical data from the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) and the Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database (NCSCD). Model estimates of global soil carbon stocks ranged from 510 to 3040 Pg C, compared to an estimate of 1260 Pg C (with a 95% confidence interval of 890-1660 Pg C) from the HWSD. Model simulations for the high northern latitudes fell between 60 and 820 Pg C, compared to 500 Pg C (with a 95% confidence interval of 380-620 Pg C) for the NCSCD and 290 Pg C for the HWSD. Global soil carbon varied 5.9 fold across models in response to a 2.6-fold variation in global net primary productivity (NPP) and a 3.6-fold variation in global soil carbon turnover times. Model-data agreement was moderate at the biome level (R super(2) values ranged from 0.38 to 0.97 with a mean of 0.75); however, the spatial distribution of soil carbon simulated by the ESMs at the 1 degree scale was not well correlated with the HWSD (Pearson correlation coefficients less than 0.4 and root mean square errors from 9.4 to 20.8 kg C m super(-2)). In northern latitudes where the two data sets overlapped, agreement between the HWSD and the NCSCD was poor (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.33), indicating uncertainty in empirical estimates of soil carbon. We found that a reduced complexity model dependent on NPP and soil temperature explained much of the 1 degree spatial variation in soil carbon within most ESMs (R super(2) values between 0.62 and 0.93 for 9 of 11 model centers). However, the same reduced complexity model only explained 10% of the spatial variation in HWSD soil carbon when driven by observations of NPP and temperature, implying that other drivers or processes may be more important in explaining observed soil carbon distributions. The reduced complexity model also showed that differences in simulated soil carbon across ESMs were driven by differences in simulated NPP and the parameterization of soil heterotrophic respiration (inter-model R super(2) = 0.93), not by structural differences between the models. Overall, our results suggest that despite fair global-scale agreement with observational data and moderate agreement at the biome scale, most ESMs cannot reproduce grid-scale variation in soil carbon and may be missing key processes. Future work should focus on improving the simulation of driving variables for soil carbon stocks and modifying model structures to include additional processes.
The Otavi Group is a Neoproterozoic carbonate-dominated succession up to 4 km thick, which blankets the southern promontory of the Congo craton in northern Namibia. This succession was deposited ...between 770 and 580 Ma in response to north-south crustal stretching and subsequent thermal subsidence. The main shallow-water platform has a well-defined southern limit, beyond which is a distally tapered foreslope wedge of deep-water carbonate facies. The Ghaub Formation represents the younger of two Cryogenian glaciations of the platform and was deposited during the period of thermal subsidence. A deep negative δ¹³C excursion, accompanied by increased size, abundance and variety of stromatolites, occurs in the last 10 to 80 m of shallow-water carbonate on the platform beneath the Ghaub glacial erosion surface. The same phenomena are observed before the older (Sturtian) glaciation in other areas, suggesting temporal proximity of the δ¹³C excursions to glaciation. Growth of ice sheets is manifested by emergence of the platform and development of a falling-stand wedge on the foreslope, composed of upward-coarsening carbonate turbidites and debrites. Rafts of very coarse-grained, well-sorted oolite have no source on the platform. The oolite probably originated at the strandline on the foreslope and was redeposited gravitationally downslope as sea-level fell. The Ghaub Formation is a laterally continuous wedge of carbonate diamictite, limited to the distal foreslope and ca 80 m in average thickness. Tongues of massive to weakly stratified diamictite, representing proglacial rain-out and subglacial tillite, are bounded by thinner, well-bedded units consisting of hypopycnal plume fallout, ice-rafted debris, turbidites and debrites, sorted sands and gravels, and westward-directed contourites. Debris is derived from the falling-stand wedge and the top 80 m of the inner platform. The wedge rests on a laterally continuous erosion surface, presumably cut by ice, and its sedimentary makeup and stratal organization are diagnostic of an ice grounding-line wedge. The subglacial erosion surface cuts a steep-walled trough on the distal foreslope, presumably once occupied by a transverse ice-stream. In the middle of the trough stands a doubly crested moraine composed of amalgamated unstratified diamictites. Terminal deglaciation is recorded by a fining-upward, 10 m thick drape of Fe-rich carbonate debrite and turbidite, loaded with far-travelled ice-rafted debris of all sizes. If deglaciation began with the collapse of ‘sea-glacier' ice on the tropical ocean, the loss of this buttress could have triggered catastrophic ice-sheet drainage, concomitant with surface ocean ventilation. Complete deglaciation presumably was driven by ice-albedo, ice-elevation and greenhouse-gas feedbacks. The grounding-line wedge and bare upper foreslope and platform are overlain by a transgressive ‘cap dolostone', which features shallow-water sedimentary structures (sorted peloids, low-angle cross-bedding, tubestone stromatolite and giant wave ripples) from the distal foreslope to the inner platform. The structures and isotopic profiles show that it was deposited diachronously on the time scale of ice-sheet melting globally (kyr), implying very high sedimentation rates. Temperature-dependent isotope fractionation could account for the observed secular and lateral δ¹³C changes. This interpretation requires sea water pH lower than 7·3 (high pCO₂) and warming of at least 45°C in the tropics, consistent with the change in planetary albedo accompanying global deglaciation. The thickness of the highstand part of the cap-carbonate sequence on the platform implies >3 to 5 Myr of tectonic subsidence during the glacial period to create permanent accommodation. The highstand sequence prograded inward from the raised rim of the platform, inherited from karstic and glacial erosion. Sea floor cements, formerly aragonitic, are localized over palaeobathymetric highs (ice-stream moraine, platform rim and inner platform highs). Subsequent aggradation of the platform and coeval foreslope shedding were accompanied by a 0·5 km thick stratigraphic interval in which platform strata are depleted in ¹³C by up to 2·5‰, compared with coeval foreslope strata; this again suggests temperature-dependent fractionation at low pH. Above this interval, the δ¹³C gradient reverts to normal (platform strata more enriched in ¹³C than foreslope equivalents), consistent with CO₂ drawdown due to silicate weathering.
Big Time Hoffman, Paul F
Annual review of earth and planetary sciences,
05/2019, Letnik:
47, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The Proterozoic Eon was once regarded as the neglected middle half of Earth history. The name refers to early animals, but they did not appear until the eon (2.5-0.54 Ga) was nearly over. Eukaryotic ...cells and sexual reproduction evolved much earlier in the eon, as did chloroplasts. Molecular dioxygen, the presence of which altered the geochemical behavior of nearly every element essential to life, rose from negligible to near-modern levels, and then plummeted before rising fitfully again. Plate tectonics took on a modern form, and two supercontinents, Nuna and Rodinia, successively congregated and later dispersed. Climate regulatory failures, i.e., Snowball Earth, appear to be a uniquely Proterozoic phenomenon, having occurred twice in rapid succession near the end of the eon (from 717 to 660 Ma and from 650 to 635 Ma) and arguably once near its beginning (ca. 2.43 Ga). Dynamic sea glaciers covered Snowball Earth oceans from pole to pole, and equatorial sublimation drove slow-moving ice sheets on land. Ultimately, the gradual accumulation of CO
2
triggered rapid deglaciation and transient greenhouse aftermaths. Physically based and geologically tested, Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth appears to have molecular legacies in ancient bitumens and modern organisms. This is the story of my love affair with an eon that is now a little less neglected.
The lateral central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA
) and the dorsolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST
) coordinate the expression of shorter- and longer-lasting fears, respectively. Less ...is known about how these structures communicate with each other during fear acquisition. One pathway, from the CeA
to the BNST
, is thought to communicate via corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), but studies have yet to examine its function in fear learning and memory. Thus, we developed an adeno-associated viral-based strategy to selectively target CRF neurons with the optogenetic silencer archaerhodopsin tp009 (CRF-ArchT) to examine the role of CeA
CRF neurons and projections to the BNST
during the acquisition of contextual fear. Expression of our CRF-ArchT vector injected into the amygdala was restricted to CeA
CRF neurons. Furthermore, CRF axonal projections from the CeA
clustered around BNST
CRF cells. Optogenetic silencing of CeA
CRF neurons during contextual fear acquisition disrupted retention test freezing 24 h later, but only at later time points (>6 min) during testing. Silencing CeA
CRF projections in the BNST
during contextual fear acquisition produced a similar effect. Baseline contextual freezing, the rate of fear acquisition, freezing in an alternate context after conditioning and responsivity to foot shock were unaffected by optogenetic silencing. Our results highlight how CeA
CRF neurons and projections to the BNST
consolidate longer-lasting components of a fear memory. Our findings have implications for understanding how discrete amygdalar CRF pathways modulate longer-lasting fear in anxiety- and trauma-related disorders.
Mesoaccumbens fibers are thought to co-release dopamine and glutamate. However, the mechanism is unclear, and co-release by mesoaccumbens fibers has not been documented. Using electron microcopy, we ...found that some mesoaccumbens fibers have vesicular transporters for dopamine (VMAT2) in axon segments that are continuous with axon terminals that lack VMAT2, but contain vesicular glutamate transporters type 2 (VGluT2). In vivo overexpression of VMAT2 did not change the segregation of the two vesicular types, suggesting the existence of highly regulated mechanisms for maintaining this segregation. The mesoaccumbens axon terminals containing VGluT2 vesicles make asymmetric synapses, commonly associated with excitatory signaling. Using optogenetics, we found that dopamine and glutamate were released from the same mesoaccumbens fibers. These findings reveal a complex type of signaling by mesoaccumbens fibers in which dopamine and glutamate can be released from the same axons, but are not normally released at the same site or from the same synaptic vesicles.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The distributions of 77 Neoproterozoic glacigenic formations are shown on global palaeogeographic maps for 715 Ma (Sturtian), 635 Ma (Marinoan) and 580 Ma (Ediacaran), constructed on grounds ...independent of palaeoclimatic indicators. The meridional distribution of Sturtian and Marinoan deposits is biased in favour of low palaeolatitudes, whereas Ediacaran deposits are biased in favour of high palaeolatitudes. All carbonate-hosted glacigenic formations (
n
=
22) fall within 35° of the palaeoequator. Most (6 of 8) examples of periglacial polygonal sand-wedges occur at palaeolatitudes greater than 30°, whereas most (8 of 9) occurrences of large syn-glacial Fe and Fe–Mn deposits lie within 30° of the palaeoequator. Marinoan syn-deglacial cap dolostones (
n
=
24) decline in maximum thickness with palaeolatitude, consistent with poleward ice retreat, normal meridional temperature gradients and a small-obliquity orbit. Meridional (N–S) mean orientations of giant wave ripples in Marinoan cap dolostones from different regions (
n
=
10) and absence of zonal (W–E) orientations are consistent with zonal wind-driven waves and not with hurricanes. In general, the results support the validity of the palaeogeographic reconstructions and the pan-glacial character of Sturtian and Marinoan ice ages.
Constraints on Paleoproterozoic atmospheric oxygen levels Bellefroid, Eric J.; Hood, Ashleigh v. S.; Hoffman, Paul F. ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
08/2018, Letnik:
115, Številka:
32
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The oxygenation of Earth’s surface environment dramatically altered key biological and geochemical cycles and ultimately ushered in the rise of an ecologically diverse biosphere. However, atmospheric ...oxygen partial pressures (pO₂) estimates for large swaths of the Precambrian remain intensely debated. Here we evaluate and explore the use of carbonate cerium(Ce) anomalies (Ce/Ce*) as a quantitative atmospheric pO₂ proxy and provide estimates of Proterozoic pO₂ using marine carbonates from a unique Precambrian carbonate succession—the Paleoproterozoic Pethei Group. In contrast to most previous work, wemeasure Ce/Ce* on marine carbonate precipitates that formed in situ across a depth gradient, building on previous detailed sedimentology and stratigraphy to constrain the paleo-depth of each sample. Measuring Ce/Ce* across a full platform to basin depth gradient, we found only minor depleted Ce anomalies restricted to the platform and upper slope facies. We combine these results with a Ce oxidation model to provide a quantitative constraint on atmospheric pO₂ 1.87 billion years ago (Ga). Our results suggest Paleoproterozoic atmospheric oxygen concentrations were low, near 0.1% of the present atmospheric level. This work provides another crucial line of empirical evidence that atmospheric oxygen levels returned to low concentrations following the Lomagundi Event, and remained low enough for large portions of the Proterozoic to have impacted the ecology of the earliest complex organisms.
In epidemiologic studies, association estimates of an exposure with disease outcomes are often biased when the uncertainties of exposure are ignored. Consequently, corresponding confidence intervals ...(CIs) will not have correct coverage. This issue is particularly problematic when exposures must be reconstructed from physical measurements, for example, for environmental or occupational radiation doses that were received by a study population for which radiation doses cannot be measured directly. To incorporate complex uncertainties in reconstructed exposures, the two-dimensional Monte Carlo (2DMC) dose estimation method has been proposed and used in various dose reconstruction efforts. The 2DMC method generates multiple exposure realizations from dosimetry models that incorporate various sources of errors to reflect the uncertainty of the dose distribution as well as the uncertainties in individual doses in the exposed population. Traditional measurement-error model approaches, typically based on using mean doses in the dose-exposure analysis, do not fully account exposure uncertainties. A recently developed statistical approach that overcomes many of these limitations by analyzing multiple exposure realizations in relation to disease risk is Bayesian model averaging (BMA). The analytic advantage of the BMA is its ability to better accommodate complex exposure uncertainty in the risk estimation, but a practical. Drawback is its significant computational complexity. In this present paper, we propose a novel frequentist model averaging (FMA) approach which has all the analytical advantages of the BMA method but is much simpler to implement and computationally faster. We show in simulations that, like BMA, FMA yields 95% confidence intervals for association parameters that close to 95% coverage rate. In simulations, the FMA has shorter length of CIs than those of another frequentist approach, the corrected information matrix (CIM) method. We illustrate the similarities in performance of BMA and FMA from a study of exposures from radioactive fallout in Kazakhstan.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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