A 160,000-year-old history of tectonically controlled methane seepage in the Arctic.

The geological factors controlling gas release from Arctic deep-water gas reservoirs through seabed methane seeps are poorly constrained. This is partly due to limited data on the precise chronology of past methane emission episodes. Here, we use uranium-thorium dating of seep carbonates sampled from the seabed and from cores drilled at the Vestnesa Ridge, off West Svalbard (79°N, ~1200 m water depth).

Atypical biological features of a new cold seep site on the Lofoten-Vesterålen continental margin (northern Norway).

A newly discovered cold seep from the Lofoten-Vesterålen margin (Norwegian Sea) is dominated by the chemosymbiotrophic siboglinid Oligobrachia haakonmosbiensis like other high latitude seeps, but additionally displays uncharacteristic features. Sulphidic bottom water likely prevents colonization by cnidarians and sponges, resulting in fewer taxa than deeper seeps in the region, representing a deviation from depth-related trends seen among seeps elsewhere. O.

Seep-carbonate lamination controlled by cyclic particle flux.

Authigenic carbonate build-ups develop at seafloor methane-seeps, where microbially mediated sulphate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane facilitates carbonate precipitation. Despite being valuable recorders of past methane seepage events, their role as archives of atmospheric processes has not been examined. Here we show that cyclic sedimentation pulses related to the Indian monsoon in concert with authigenic precipitation of methane-derived aragonite gave rise to a well-laminated carbonate build-up within the oxygen minimum zone off Pakistan (northern Arabian Sea).

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of sterically demanding boronic acids with α-bromocarbonyl compounds.

A catalyst system generated in situ from Pd(dba)(2) and tri(o-tolyl)phosphine mediates the coupling of arylboronic acids with alkyl α-bromoacetates under formation of arylacetic acid esters at unprecedented low loadings. The new protocol, which involves potassium fluoride as the base and catalytic amounts of benzyltriethylammonium bromide as a phase transfer catalyst, is uniquely effective for the synthesis of sterically demanding arylacetic acid derivatives.

Synthesis and antibacterial in vitro activity of novel analogues of nematophin.

The synthesis and in vitro antibacterial activity of new derivatives and analogues of nematophin are described. It was shown that the unsubstituted amide NH-group is essential for bioactivity. Alkyl- or arylsubstitution at the 1-position results in a distinct increase of antibacterial activity.