Rainer Sieger

Radiolarian‐based transfer function for the estimation of sea surface temperatures in the Southern Ocean (Atlantic Sector)

A new radiolarian-based transfer function for sea surface temperature (SST) estimations has been developed from 23 taxa and taxa groups in 53 surface sediment samples recovered between 35° and 72°S in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. For the selection of taxa and taxa groups ecological information from water column studies was considered. The transfer function allows the estimation of austral summer SST (December–March) ranging between −1 and 18°C with a standard error of estimate of 1.2°C. SST estimates from selected late Pleistocene squences were sucessfully compared with independent paleotemperature estimates derived from a diatom transfer function. This shows that radiolarians provide an excellent tool for paleotemperature reconstructions in Pleistocene sediments of the Southern Ocean.

Quaternary surface water temperature estimations: Calibration of a diatom transfer function for the Southern Ocean

The quantitative diatom analysis of 218 surface sediment samples recovered in the Atlantic and western Indian sector of the Southern Ocean is used to define a base of reference data for paleotemperature estimations from diatom assemblages using the Imbrie and Kipp transfer function method. The criteria which justify the exclusion of samples and species out of the raw data set in order to define a reference database are outlined and discussed. Sensitivity tests with eight data sets were achieved evaluating the effects of overall dominance of single species, different methods of species abundance ranking, and no-analog conditions (e.g., Eucampia Antarctica) on the estimated paleotemperatures. The defined transfer functions were applied on a sediment core from the northern Antarctic zone. Overall dominance of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis in the diatom assemblages resulted in a close affinity between paleotemperature curve and relative abundance pattern of this species downcore. Logarithmic conversion of counting data applied with other ranking methods in order to compensate the dominance of F. kerguelensis revealed the best statistical results. A reliable diatom transfer function for future paleotemperature estimations is presented.

New software package available for quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions

The Imbrie and Kipp transfer function method (IKM) and the modern analog technique (MAT) are accepted tools for quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, no uncomplicated, flexible software has been available to apply these methods on modern computer devices. For this reason the software packages PaleoToolBox, MacTransfer, WinTransfer, MacMAT, and PanPlot have been developed. The PaleoToolBox package provides a flexible tool for the preprocessing of microfossil reference and downcore data as well as hydrographic reference parameters. It includes procedures to randomize the raw databases; to switch specific species in or out of the total species list; to establish individual ranking systems and their application on the reference and downcore databasessemi; and to convert the prepared databases into the file formats of IKM and MAT software for estimation of paleohydrographic parameters.

Archiving and distributing earth-science data with the PANGAEA information system

PANGAEA Publishing Network for Geoscientific and Environmental Data (http://www.pangaea.de) is an information system aimed at archiving, publishing, and distributing data related to climate variability, the marine environment, and the solid earth. The system is a public “data library” distributing any kind of data to the scientific community through the Internet. Data are stored in a relational database in a consistent format with related meta-information following international standards. Data are georeferenced in space and/or time, individually configured subsets may be extracted. Any type of information, data and documents may be served (profiles, maps, photos, graphics, text and numbers). Operation by Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) is assured in the long-term. Both institutions provide the technical infrastructure, system management and support for data management of projects as well as for individual scientists. Most important collections from Antarctic research archived in PANGAEA so far are the data of the Cape Roberts Project, geological maps and age determinations of rock outcrops, a complete set of JGOFS, WOCE, DSDP and ODP data including those from the Southern Ocean, any marine sediment cores, documentation and analytical data from German expeditions and an increasing inventory of data published by the running EPICA project.

PanPlot – software to visualize profiles and core logs

The program PanPlot was developed as a visualization tool for the information system PANGAEA. It can be used as a stand-alone application to plot data versus depth or time or in a ternary view. Data input format is tab-delimited ASCII (e.g. by export from MS-Excel or from PANGAEA). The default scales and graphic features can individualy be modified. PanPlot graphs can be exported in platform-specific interchange formats (EMF, PICT) which can be imported by graphic software for further processing.

Data Management of Proxy Parameters with PANGAEA

Specific parameters detennined from marine sediments can be used as proxy data to calculate fonner ocean properties. To use this scientific resource effectively an infonnation system is needed which guarantees consistent longtime storage of the proxy data and provides easy access for the scientific community. An infonnation system to archive proxy data ofpaleociimatic relevance, together with the related meta-infonnation, raw data and evaluated paleoclimatic data, is presented here. The system provides standardized import and export routines, easy access with unifonn retrieval functions, and tools for the visualization of data. The network is designed as a client/server system providing access through the Internet.

Report of the Working Group BSRN - Baseline Surface Radiation Network

The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) and its central archive - the World Radiation Monitoring Center (WRMC) - is a project of the Radiation Panel from the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) under the umbrella of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The BSRN is aimed at detecting important changes in the Earths radiation field at the Earths surface which may be related to climate change. Within this paper a brief description of the network and the services of the archive are described.

PanPlot 2 - software to visualize profiles and time series

The program PanPlot 2 was developed as a visualization tool for the information system PANGAEA. It can be used as a stand-alone application to plot data versus depth or time. Data input format is tab-delimited ASCII (e.g. by export from MS-Excel or from PANGAEA). The default scales and graphic features can individualy be modified. PanPlot 2 graphs can be exported in several image formats (BMP, PNG, PDF, and SVG) which can be imported by graphic software for further processing.

BSRN Toolbox V2.0 – a tool to create quality checked output files from BSRN datasets and station-to-archive files

The quality checks from C. N. Long and E. G. Dutton (http://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.38770.d001) are implemented into the BSRN Toolbox by Holger Schmithusen. More detailed information is given at: http://wiki.pangaea.de/wiki/BSRN_Toolbox#Quality_Check.

PanXML - a tool to create XML files for DOI registration of publications in the catalog DataCite of the German National Library of Science and Technology

The software PanXML is a tool to create XML files needed for DOI registration at the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB). PanXML is distributed as freeware for the operating systems Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and Linux. An XML file created by PanXML is based on the XSD file article-doi_v3.2.xsd. Further schemas may be added on request.