Description: Author(s): G. Mazzolo, F. Salemi, M. Drago, V. Necula, C. Pankow, G. A. Prodi, V. Re, V. Tiwari, G. Vedovato, I. Yakushin, and S. Klimenko We estimated the sensitivity of the upcoming advanced ground-based gravitational-wave observatories (the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA interferometers) to coalescing intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHB). We added waveforms modeling the gravitational radiation emitted by IMBHBs to simulated data fr... [Phys. Rev. D 90, 063002] Published Wed Sep 10, 2014

Description: The Lower Danube Basin is one of the most important loess regions from Europe, which have provided excellent archives for long-term high-resolution palaeoclimate studies. The aim of this paper is to derive new information on the Middle–Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironment from a high resolution multiproxy assessment of the iron mineralogical composition at the Costinesti loess-palaeosol sequence located on the western Black Sea shore. It is the easternmost loess section in the Romanian loess region studied and its distinct pattern of the proxy records can be used to correlate the lower Danube loess to other key sites of the Moldavia and Ukraine loess regions. To investigate the climatic control on soft and hard ferromagnetic minerals we used several types of rock magnetic properties: magnetic susceptibility and its frequency dependence, anhysteretic remanent magnetization, isothermal remanent magnetization, hysteresis properties and FORC distributions, an unmixing model for isothermal remanent magnetization curves and high field (up to 8 T) isothermal remanence measurements. Our results show that the palaeosol horizons, formed during interglacials and climatically more favored periods of the Pleistocene, experienced pedogenic alteration, resulting in high amounts of superparamagnetic, single domain and pseudosingle domain magnetite/maghemite grains and hematite. The loess layers, formed during glacial periods, are mainly dominated by multidomain and/or pseudosingle domain oxidized magnetite and some hematite, all probably of aeolian origin. Goethite contribution is probably minor and constant both in loess and palaeosol horizons. We review the correlation of the loess sections from the lower Danube basin concluding that the new results can be interpreted as a support for the transition of a Mediterranean type climate to a steppe type climate in the last two interglacial periods in the western Black Sea. Because the pattern of magnetic susceptibility data from the lower Danube basin is changing relative fast with distance from the Black Sea shore, it probably reflects the local influence of the Black Sea on continental scale climatic oscillations during the last 600 ka. The values of background magnetic susceptibility of the Romanian loess-palaeosol sections indicate that the main source area of the dust changed during this climatic transition. Our analysis also shows that the age of the loess-palaeosol sections from the Eastern European low lands (Moldavia and Ukraine) must be revised to be in agreement with the chronostratigraphy of the sections from the Lower Danube Basin loess area.

Description: East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation received by northern China over the past 800 thousand years (ky) is characterized by dominant 100-ky periodicity, mainly attributed to CO 2 and Northern Hemisphere insolation–driven ice sheet forcing. We established an EASM record in the Late Miocene from lacustrine sediments in the Qaidam Basin, northern China, which appears to exhibit a dominant 100-ky periodicity similar to the EASM records during the Late Quaternary. Because evidence suggests that partial or ephemeral ice existed in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Miocene, we attribute the 100-ky cycles to CO 2 and Southern Hemisphere insolation–driven Antarctic ice sheet forcing. This indicates a 〉6–million year earlier onset of the dominant 100-ky Asian monsoon and, likely, glacial and CO 2 cycles and may indicate dominant forcing of Northern Hemisphere climate by CO 2 and Southern Hemisphere ice sheets in a warm world.

Description: High temporal resolution (three hours) records of temperature, wind speed and sea level pressure recorded at Antarctic research station Neumayer (708S, 88W) during 1982–2011 are analysed to identify oscillations from daily to intraseasonal timescales. The diurnal cycle dominates the three-hourly time series of temperature during the Antarctic summer and is almost absent during winter. In contrast, the three-hourly time series of wind speed and sea level pressure show a weak diurnal cycle. The dominant pattern of the intraseasonal variability of these quantities, which captures the out-of-phase variation of temperature and wind speed with sea level pressure, shows enhanced variability at timescales of , 40 days and , 80 days, respectively. Correlation and composite analysis reveal that these oscillations may be related to tropical intraseasonal oscillations via large-scale eastward propagating atmospheric circulation wave-trains. The second pattern of intraseasonal variability, which captures in-phase variations of temperature, wind and sea level pressure, shows enhanced variability at timescales of , 35, , 60 and , 120 days. These oscillations are attributed to the Southern Annular Mode/Antarctic Oscillation (SAM/AAO) which shows enhanced variability at these timescales. We argue that intraseasonal oscillations of tropical climate and SAM/AAO are related to distinct patterns of climate variables measured at Neumayer.

Description: Possible oscillations in the Antarctic climate are investigated through statistical analysis of meteorological variables recorded at Neumayer polar station, located at Ekström Shelf Ice, Atka Bay, northeastWeddell Sea (7039’S,0815’W). Meteorological variables recorded at this station cover the period 1982 to 2011 with a 3 hours time resolution. At intraseasonal time scales spectral analysis reveals a strong diurnal cycle in the temperature and wind records. A wavelet analysis reveals that diurnal cycle is relatively strong (weak) during the warm (cold) Antarctic season. A persistent oscillation with a period of 35-40 days, with highest amplitude during the cold Antarctic season, was identified also in the temperature record. These oscillations dominate also intraseasonal variability of the wind record. Singular spectrum analysis reveals strong annual and semiannual cycles in the temperature and wind records. The amplitude of semiannual cycle shows decadal variations. Interannual variability of temperature record is dominated by a 5-6 year oscillation. A persistent cycle with a period of about 2 years was identified in the wind record. The origin of intraseasonal to interannual oscillations mentioned above are discussed in connection with the relevant modes of climate variability at these time scales: the Madden-Julian Oscillation, the Antarctic Oscillation, the Quasi-biennial Oscillation and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. The seasonal variability in the strength of diurnal and 35-40 days cycles as well as decadal variability in the amplitude of semiannual and annual cycles are analyzed based both on internal and external forcing with focus on the role of the solar forcing. Possible implications of these results in the interpretation of climatic signal in the Antarctic ice cores are also presented.