Antarctic ice-free coastal environments, like the Vestfold Hills (East Antarctica), are shaped by a complex interplay of physical processes. This study synthesizes new data and existing research from the Vestfold Hills across marine, terrestrial and cryosphere science, meteorology, geomorphology, coastal oceanography and hydrology to explore interconnected processes ranging from icescape morphology and sediment transport to ocean-floor scouring and ocean-atmosphere interactions. Coastal landforms and habitats result from the interaction of marine dynamics with the aeolian and fluvial transport of glacially derived sediments and geomorphic features. Rocky shorelines dominate the region, and extensive fjords are prominent coastal features, whereas intertidal sediments and beaches are scarce. The marine environment is characterized by slow currents, low-energy waves, annually variable land-fast ice, irregular sedimentation rates and a geomorphologically complex shoreline. Aeolian and fluvial sediment deposition into coastal waters and onto sea ice can significantly impact local ecological and physical processes. Human activity further modifies these dynamics. Ice-free coastal areas such as the Vestfold Hills are predicted to experience substantial environmental shifts due to climate change. Wind speeds, temperature and precipitation are increasing in the Vestfold Hills. Retreating grounded ice sheets are likely to expand this coastal area and increase meltwater and sediment inputs into nearshore marine systems. Concurrently, changes in sea-ice extent, thickness and/or duration may profoundly alter the structure and function of this coastal environment.

The Rio Grande Cone is a major fanlike depositional feature in the continental slope of the Pelotas Basin, Southern Brazil. Two representative sediment cores collected in the Cone area were retrieved using a piston core device. In this work, the organic matter (OM) in the sediments was characterized for a continental vs. marine origin using chemical proxies to help constrain the origin of gas in hydrates. The main contribution of OM was from marine organic carbon based on the stable carbon isotope (δ13C-org) and total organic carbon/total nitrogen ratio (TOC:TN) analyses. In addition, the 14C data showed important information about the origin of the OM and we suggest some factors that could modify the original organic matter and therefore mask the “real” 14C ages: (1) biological activity that could modify the carbon isotopic composition of bulk terrestrial organic matter values, (2) the existence of younger sediments from mass wasting deposits unconformably overlying older sediments, and (3) the deep-sediment-sourced methane contribution due to the input of “old” (>50 ka) organic compounds from migrating fluids.

The recent volcanic eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull 2010 and Grímsvötn 2011 demonstrated the risks that mediumsized explosive Icelandic eruptions pose to the North Atlantic region. Using the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption as a case study, we assess how traceable such eruptions are in the marine sedimentary record at medial distances from the source and investigate which factors have affected the particle transport to the marine sedimentary archive. During R/V Poseidon cruise 457, we recovered 13 box cores at 100–1600 m water depths and distances of 18–180 km southwest, south, and east of Iceland. Volcanic glass shards from the uppermost surface sediment were analyzed for their major element composition by electron microprobe and assigned to their eruptive source by geochemical fingerprinting. The predominantly basaltic particles are mostly derived from the Katla, Grímsvötn-Lakagígar, and Bárðarbunga-Veiðivötn volcanic systems. We also identified rhyolitic particles from the Askja 1875 and Öræfajökull 1362 eruptions. Only three out of almost 900 analyzed glass shards are derived from the recent Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption, suggesting that medium-sized eruptions are only poorly preserved in marine sediments located at medial distances southwest to east of Iceland. We conclude that the frequency of past medium-sized eruptions is likely higher than detectable in this archive.

The Mt. Edgecumbe Volcanic Field (MEVF), located on Kruzof Island near Sitka Sound in southeast Alaska, experienced a large multiple-stage eruption during the last glacial maximum (LGM)-Holocene transition that generated a regionally extensive series of compositionally similar rhyolite tephra horizons and a single well-dated dacite (MEd) tephra. Marine sediment cores collected from adjacent basins to the MEVF contain both tephra-fall and pyroclastic flow deposits that consist primarily of rhyolitic tephra and a minor dacitic tephra unit. The recovered dacite tephra correlates with the MEd tephra, whereas many of the rhyolitic tephras correlate with published MEVF rhyolites. Correlations were based on age constraints and major oxide compositions of glass shards. In addition to LGM-Holocene macroscopic tephra units, four marine cryptotephras were also identified. Three of these units appear to be derived from mid-Holocene MEVF activity, while the youngest cryptotephra corresponds well with the White River Ash eruption at ∼ 1147 cal yr BP. Furthermore, the sedimentology of the Sitka Sound marine core EW0408-40JC and high-resolution SWATH bathymetry both suggest that extensive pyroclastic flow deposits associated with the activity that generated the MEd tephra underlie Sitka Sound, and that any future MEVF activity may pose significant risk to local population centers.

Taiwan is a young and seismically active mountain belt, where a series of strong earthquakes (M>7) have occurred over the past hundred years. Identifying historical earthquakes around Taiwan is a key to better constrain the geodynamic of this active region. Sedimentological and geochemical analyses of surface sediments from one station offshore east Taiwan revealed the presence of coarse-grained layers interpreted as turbidites. The age of these layers have been determined by 210Pb, 137Cs, and 241Am chronology. Dating of the three most recent turbidites provides ages of AD 2001±3, AD 1950±5, and AD 1928±10. The results show striking temporal correspondence of turbidite layers to large (M≥6.8) earthquakes recorded in the region since the 20th century. The chronologies of sediment layers lead us to believe that turbidites resulted from the 2003 Taitung earthquake (M 6.8), the 1951 Chengkong earthquake (M 7.1), and the 1935 Lutao earthquake (M 7.0), respectively. Such a good correlation between turbidites and high-magnitude (M≥6.8) historical and instrumental seismic events suggests that turbidite paleoseismology constitutes a valuable tool for earthquake assessment in the eastern Taiwan margin. Moreover, the modern reservoir radiocarbon age and the regional marine reservoir correction (ΔR) of the Kuroshio Current off Taiwan were estimated by comparing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C ages with ages derived from corrected 210Pb profiles and historical accounts of identifiable seismic events. Such a determination is important to calibrate the 14C ages of marine materials for accurate comparison of marine and continental geological records. Our calculated mean ΔR value of 232±54 14C yr (n=2) is higher than its modern value of 86±40 14C yr. This high value can be explained by the presence of local upwelling cells and turbulence in the Kuroshio Current, north of Green Island. These upwelling cells bring 14C-depleted water to the surface, resulting in an increase of the modern ΔR value in this portion of the Kuroshio Current.

A field experiment investigating the effect of oil contamination on benthic microbial communities was conducted near Casey Station, East Antarctica. Defaunated sediment was treated with a mixture of Special Antarctic Blend diesel and lubricating oil and deployed in three different bays for eleven weeks. A molecular fingerprinting technique, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), was used to investigate the microbial community structure. The variation between replicate samples within treatment groups indicates that the benthic microbial populations are very diverse and evenly distributed. Comparisons to determine the significance of both deployment location and hydrocarbon treatment showed that the greatest effect was from a combination of location and treatment. Detailed analysis suggests that subtle differences may be obscured by variability introduced by PCR and gel stages in DGGE, undermining this experimental approach. It is concluded that both location and hydrocarbon contamination influenced the development of the microbial communities but that the effect of hydrocarbon treatment varied with location. This has important implications for the design of future experiments on the effect of hydrocarbons on benthic communities, especially if it is intended to generalize the conclusions drawn from site specific studies.