Trace elements in suspended matter from the anoxic hypersaline Tyro and Bannock Basins (eastern Mediterranean)

In the anoxic hypersaline Tyro and Bannock Basins of the eastern Mediterranean, extremely high concentrations of Co (0.015%), Cu (1.35%) and Zn (0.28%) were found in suspended matter collected at the sharp interface between seawater and the anoxic brine. The high particulate Co, Cu and Zn concentrations can be explained by the sharp increase in dissolved sulphide at these interfaces, and the resultant precipitation of metal sulphides. The particulate As, Sb and Mo concentrations also showed a sharp maximum at or close to the interface. However, the contributions of As, Sb and Mo contents in suspended matter to the total concentrations in the water column are small. Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDAX) of suspended particulate matter from the Tyro Basin revealed spherical particles strongly enriched in Fe, Cu and Zn at the seawater-brine interface.     

Experiments on the uptake of zinc and cadmium by manganese oxides

Experiments on the uptake of Zn and Cd by synthetic hydrous Mn oxides were carried out in an ionic medium at pH 3.5 and at pH 4. A slight preference for uptake of Cd²⁺ over Zn²⁺ was observed with both birnessite and nsutite, the Cd/Zn ratio being different for each mineral. Subsequently, the desorption of Zn and Cd from the obtained products in artificial seawater was studied. In this medium Cd is desorbed from the Mn oxides to a much higher extent than is Zn. The latter observations can be satisfactorily explained by the large difference of complex formation for the two metals in seawater, slightly counteracted by the preferential uptake of Cd²⁺ over Zn²⁺. The order of magnitude of the Zn/Cd ratio in natural manganese nodules is compatible with the ratio calculated on the basis of experimental results, taking fair estimates of the actual inorganic Zn/Cd ratio in seawater and of the pH of deep ocean water.     

The use of SfM-photogrammetry to quantify and understand gully degradation at the temporal scale of rainfall events: an example from the Ethiopian drylands

Abstract

With the recent technological advances offered by SfM-photogrammetry, we now have the possibility to study gully erosion at very high spatial and temporal scales from multi-temporal DEMs, and thus to enhance our understanding of both gully erosion processes and controls. Here, we examine gully degradation and aggradation at a gully headcut and at four re-incisions along a gully reach in Northern Ethiopia. Environmental controls recorded are topography rainfall, runoff, land use and cover, land management, and soil characteristics. The overall vulnerability of the catchment to erosion is low as calculated from the RUSLE (average 11.83 t ha^?1 y^?1). This reflects the successful land management of the past years. The runoff coefficient was on average 7.3% (maximum 18.2%). Runoff events caused most geomorphic change in the gully, but slumping of the gully bank also occurred on dry days. Most geomorphic change was caused by one major rainfall event of 54.8 mm d^?1, and smaller runoff events caused both degradation and aggradation, often asynchronous between studied sites. Although most research focuses on gully heads alone, re-incisions at lower locations can still cause important gully degradation, which ultimately will reach the gully head and cause instability.     

Determination of efficiency of Vaseline slide and Wilson and Cooke sediment traps by wind tunnel experiments

The trap efficiency of a catcher in wind erosion measurements plays a significant role, and in many cases suspension trap efficiencies at high wind velocities are still unknown. The sediment trap efficiency generally changes with particles size and with wind speed. In this study, the efficiency of Vaseline Slide (VS) and Modified Wilson and Cooke (MWAC) catchers were determined with different sand particle sizes (<50, <75, 50–75, 200–400, and 400–500 μm) at a fixed wind speed (13.3 ms⁻¹) and with different soil textures at different wind velocities (10.3, 12.3, and 14.3 ms⁻¹) in the wind tunnel of the International Center for Eremology (ICE), Ghent University, Belgium. The traps were placed at different heights (4, 6.5, 13, 20, 120, and 192 cm for VS and 1.5, 3, 5, 8, 11, and 30 cm for MWAC) to catch saltating and suspended sediments in a 12-m long, 1.2-m wide and 3.2-m high working section of the wind tunnel. In the sand particle experiments, the efficiency of the VS catcher was 92% for particles smaller than 50 μm and decreased with increasing particles size, falling to 2.2% for 400–500 μm particle size at 13.4 ms⁻¹. However, the MWAC’s efficiency was 0% for particles smaller than 50 μm and increased with increasing particle size to 69.5% at 400–500 μm. In the experiments with different soil textures, the efficiency of each catcher significantly changed with soil and with wind speed. It also considerably varied with the catchers: for instance, for sand (S), the MWAC efficiency was very high (67.4, 113.4, and 90.5% at 10.3, 12.3, and 14.4 ms⁻¹, respectively) while the efficiency of VS was relatively very low (5.2, 4.4, and 1.9% at 10.3, 12.3, and 14.4 ms⁻¹, respectively). Results indicated that the efficiency depends critically on the particle size, type of catcher, and wind speed, and these could be helpful to increase the robustness of wind erosion measurements.     

Spatial development of X-ray emission during the impulsive phase of a solar flare

The flare of 11 November, 1980, 1725 UT occurred in a magnetically complex region. It was preceded by some ten minutes by a gradual flare originating over the magnetic inversion line, close to a small sunspot. This seems to have triggered the main flare (at 70 000 km distance) which originated between a large sunspot and the inversion line. The main flare started at 172320 UT with a slight enhancement of hard X-rays (E > 30 keV) accompanied by the formation of a dark loop between two H bright ribbons. In 3–8 keV X-rays a southward expansion started at the same time, with - 500 km s ^–1. At the same time a surge-like expansion started. It was observable slightly later in H, with southward velocities of 200 km s^–1. The dark H loop dissolved at 1724 UT at which time several impulsive phenomena started such as a complex of hard X-ray bursts localized in a small area. At the end of the impulsive phase at 172540 UT, a coronal explosion occurred directed southward with an initial expansion velocity of 1800 km s^–1, decreasing in 40 s to 500 km s^–1.Now at Fokker Aircraft Industries, Schiphol, The Netherlands.     

Long-eccentricity regulated climate control on fluvial incision and aggradation in the Palaeocene of north-eastern Montana (USA)

Aggradation and fluvial incision controlled by downstream base-level changes at timescales of 10 to 500 kyr is incorporated in classic sequence stratigraphic models. However, upstream climate control on sediment supply and discharge variability causes fluvial incision and aggradation as well. Orbital forcing often regulates climate change at 10 to 500 kyr timescales while tectonic processes such as flexural (un)loading exert a dominant control at timescales longer than 500 kyr. It remains challenging to attribute fluvial incision and aggradation to upstream or downstream processes or disentangle allogenic from autogenic forcing, because time control is mostly limited in fluvial successions. The Palaeocene outcrops of the fluvial Lebo Shale Member in north-eastern Montana (Williston Basin, USA) constitute an exception. This study uses a distinctive tephra layer and two geomagnetic polarity reversals to create a 15 km long chronostratigraphic framework based on the correlation of twelve sections. Three aggradation–incision sequences are identified with durations of approximately 400 kyr, suggesting a relation with long-eccentricity. This age control further reveals that incision occurred during the approach of – or during – a 405 kyr long-eccentricity minimum. A long-term relaxation of the hydrological cycle related to such an orbital phasing potentially exerts an upstream climate control on river incision. Upstream, an expanding vegetation cover is expected because of an increasingly constant moisture supply to source areas. Entrapping by vegetation led to a significantly reduced sediment supply relative to discharge, especially at times of low evapotranspiration. Hence, high discharges resulted in incision. This study assesses the long-eccentricity regulated climate control on fluvial aggradation and incision in a new aggradation–incision sequence model.     

TBT-pollution in the Gulf of Thailand: A re-inspection of imposex incidence after 10 years

Imposex in neogastropods was used to determine the relative TBT distribution in the Gulf of Thailand in 2006. To identify the imposex prevalence, 8757 specimens, belonging to 22 species from five families of neogastropods, were collected at 56 sites in 13 sample areas. These areas were located between the Bight of Bangkok in the north and the Malaysian border in the south. A contamination model was developed to compensate for differences in TBT sensitivity among species and to make comparisons among areas. At every area imposex was found in neogastropods. The highest incidence was in the east side of the Bight of Bangkok off Si Racha and Pattaya and in the southern part around Pattani. The same areas showed the highest frequency of imposex in 1996. While the frequency of imposex appeared to have slightly decreased in these areas, increases were found elsewhere. In Pattani Province this could be related to dumping of highly polluted harbour sediments in the shallow coastal area. The overall frequency of imposex in the Gulf of Thailand significantly increased from 1996 to 2006.     

Average sand particle trajectory examined by the Raindrop Detachment and Wind‐driven Transport (RD‐WDT) process

Recent studies of soil loss by the integrated action of raindrop impact and wind transport have demonstrated the significance of this mechanism. This paper presents data obtained during wind‐tunnel experiments examining the ‘Raindrop Detachment and Wind‐driven Transport’ (RD‐WDT) process to investigate average sand particle trajectory and the spatial extent at which the process operates. In the experimental design, at the same time as the horizontal wind velocities of 6·4, 10, and 12 m s^–1 passed through the tunnel, rainfall was simulated falling on very well sorted dune sand. The aspect and slope of the sand bed was varied to reproduce both windward (Ww) and leeward (Lw) slopes of 4º and 9º with respect to the prevailing wind direction. The average sand particle trajectories by the RD‐WDT process ( ) were estimated by a mass‐distribution function, which was integrated over a 7‐m uniform slope segment. The results showed that depended statistically upon the wind shear velocity (u*), and the effect of the slope gradient (θ) was insignificant on . This was different from that of the windless rain process ( ), ‘Raindrop Detachment and Splash‐driven Transport’ (RD‐ST), the spatial range of which relies strongly on θ. Additionally, was approximately 2·27 ± 2·2 times greater than the average path of a typical saltating sand particle of the rainless wind ( ), ‘Wind Erosion Saltation Transport’ (WE‐ST). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The nation-state and the river: Spaces and times on Dutch rivers, 1795-1814

Nothing indeed demonstrates more forcefully the extent to which Dutch water management corresponds to the nature and the needs of the Dutch people and their land, and how it has emerged there from in a natural fashion than the fact that the revolutionaries of 1795, despite being so intoxicated by their unexpected victory and sudden power that they overturned everything … nonetheless refrained from laying hands on institutions whose extreme antiquity would in those days have provided more of an excuse to abolish than to preserve them (J.W. Welcker, De Noorder-Lekdijk Bovendams en de doorsteking van den Zuider-Lekdijk bij Culemborg 1803-1813. Een bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van den Nederlandschen Waterstaat geschetst en met onuitgegeven stukken toegelicht (‘s-Gravenhage: 1880), p. 2).     

Ongoing partial reconnection in a limb flare

The limb flare on August 2, 1993 08:30 UT, consisting of two crossed loops, shows evidence of partial X-type reconnection. The observations suggest that partial reconnection was an ongoing process during about 10 min until flare ignition.Visiting Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, on leave from SRON Laboratory for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, Utrecht, The Netherlands.