Physical model experiments for sediment supply to the old Rhine through induced bank erosion

A mobile-bed, undistorted physical model （1：40） has been used to investigate different sediment supply strategies to the Old Rhine through bank protection removal and modifications of groyne dimensions and configuration, which cause bank erosion. This trained channel was previously the main bed of the upper Rhine downstream of Basel （Switzerland）, but it has an artificially low flow regime since the construction of the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, a navigation canal, and a flow control dam at Kembs （France）. Training works and subsequent channel incision have also greatly reduced sediment transport rates and created a heavily armoured bed. The modelled pilot site has a groyne field on the left bank. Results show that the currently existing groynes at the site are not effective in creating high bank-side velocities conducive to bank erosion, even for flow rates significantly higher than the mean annual flow rate. The river bank has also proved to be more resistant than previously thought, allowing long stretches of bank protection to be safely removed. The physical model testing process has produced a new configuration for the groyne field, where two higher, larger island groynes are placed further apart than the three existing attached groynes. This innovative approach has proved effective, causing bank erosion for flow rates below the mean annual flow rate, with consistent erosion being observed. It has also been found that such a configuration does not pose a hazard for the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, which is situated next to the Old Rhine, through excessive bank erosion during high flow events.     

Historical trends in Florida temperature and precipitation

Because of its low topographic relief, unique hydrology, and the large interannual variability of precipitation, Florida is especially vulnerable to climate change. In this paper, we investigate a comprehensive collection of climate metrics to study historical trends in both averages and extremes of precipitation and temperature in the state. The data investigated consist of long‐term records (1892–2008) of precipitation and raw (unadjusted) temperature at 32 stations distributed throughout the state. To evaluate trends in climate metrics, we use an iterative pre‐whitening method, which aims to separate positive autocorrelation from trend present in time series. Results show a general decrease in wet season precipitation, most evident for the month of May and possibly tied to a delayed onset of the wet season. In contrast, there seems to be an increase in the number of wet days during the dry season, especially during November through January. We found that the number of dog days (above 26.7 °C) during the year and during the wet season has increased at many locations. For the post‐1950 period, a widespread decrease in the daily temperature range (DTR) is observed mainly because of increased daily minimum temperature (Tmin). Although we did not attempt to formally attribute these trends to natural versus anthropogenic causes, we find that the urban heat island effect is at least partially responsible for the increase in Tmin and its corresponding decrease in DTR at urbanized stations compared with nearby rural stations. In the future, a formal trend attribution study should be conducted for the region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of palaeolimnology in assessing eutrophication and its impact on lakes

Eutrophication is perhaps the most pervasive form of pollution. Here we first review its effects on lake ecosystems based largely on modern ecological investigation. The longer time scale afforded by palaeolimnological investigation has seen an increase in the number of the publications since 1990 with a disproportionate increase in citations demonstrating the increasing use and usefulness of palaeolimnology to help understand lakes ecosystems and their response to eutrophication. We summarise briefly the history and origins of palaeolimnological investigation into eutrophication and its impacts in lakes. Then we review quantitative and qualitative palaeolimnological methods for tracking change in nutrient concentrations, algal community and abundance, macrophyte community composition and abundance and zooplanktivorous fish density. The usefulness of stable isotope analysis on sediment organic matter to track eutrophication is assessed and alternative methods discussed. A current challenge is to determine the effects of recent climate change on lake ecosystems. The impacts of climate change and eutrophication on the ecology of lakes have many similarities making it difficult to disentangle the impact of one from the other, in particular where the eutrophication impacts are greatest. We review a number of recent palaeolimnological studies, in particular those integrating long term monitoring data, which have gone some way to identifying when nutrients or climate may be having the greatest impact. Finally, we discuss possible future directions for the discipline, such as the greater integration of studies of evolutionary change using molecular techniques.     

Correction to: Spatio-temporal variability of atmospheric rivers and associated atmospheric parameters in the Euro-Atlantic region

Theoretical and Applied Climatology -     

Spatio-temporal variability of atmospheric rivers and associated atmospheric parameters in the Euro-Atlantic region

We study the spatio-temporal variability of Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) and associated integrated water vapor and atmospheric parameters over the Euro-Atlantic region using long-term reanalysis datasets. Winds, temperature, and specific humidity at different pressure levels during 1979–2018 are used to study the water vapor transport integrated between 1000 and 300 hPa (IVT300) in mapping ARs. The intensity of ARs in the North Atlantic has been increasing in recent times (2009–2018) with large decadal variability and poleward shift (~ 5° towards the North) in landfall during 1999–2018. Though different reanalysis datasets show similar spatial patterns of IVT300 in mapping ARs, bias in specific humidity and wind components led to IVT300 mean bias of 50 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹ in different reanalysis products compared to ERA5. The magnitude of winds and specific humidity in the lower atmosphere (below 750 hPa) dominates the total column water vapor and intensity of ARs in the North Atlantic. Reanalysis datasets in the central North Atlantic show an IVT300 standard deviation of 200 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹ which is around 33% of the ARs climatology (~ 600 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹). Though ARs have a higher frequency of landfalling over Western Europe in winter half-year, the intensity of IVT300 in winter ARs is 3% lower than the annual mean. The lower frequency of ARs in the summer half-year shows 3% higher IVT300 than the annual mean. While ARs in the North Atlantic show a strong decadal change in frequency and path, the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Scandinavian blocking on the location of landfall of ARs are significant. Furthermore, there is a strong latitudinal dependence of the source of moisture flux in the open ocean, contributing to the formation and strengthening ARs.

     

From Fish to Jellyfish in the Eutrophicated Limfjorden (Denmark)

The heavily eutrophicated Limfjorden (Denmark) provides a good illustration of the value of long-term monitoring, especially if this is combined with an experimental, interdisciplinary research approach. Here, we first give a short overview of the environmental status of Limfjorden, including the historical development of nutrient overloading and subsequent oxygen depletion in near-bottom water, and how the annual landings of edible bottom-dwelling fish species (plaice, flounder, eel and others) caught in Limfjorden have decreased from about 2,500 t in the early 1920s to only about 20 t in recent years where the fish have been replaced by an increasing number of especially the moon jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, which mainly preys on zooplankton. Next, we evaluate the ecological consequences of the present high number of jellyfish, based on data from recent years’ research on the abundance of jellyfish, their population dynamics and predation impact. In Limfjorden, the benthic polyp stage of A. aurita ensures a large number of small ephyrae in the early spring and subsequently a large population of adult medusae that control the zooplankton during summer and autumn. The holopelagic invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, which was observed in Limfjorden for the first time in 2007, is a second carnivore adding additional predation pressure of the indigenous A. aurita so that copepods and other mesozooplankton organisms may be virtually absent, as observed in 2008 and 2009 where ciliates made up a substantial part of the zooplankton biomass. Marine environmental management programmes should be aware of the increasing importance of both indigenous and new invasive jellyfish species that may show mass occurrence in especially eutrophicated and over-fished areas.     

Observational and model evidence of global emergence of permanent, unprecedented heat in the 20th and 21st centuries

Given the severe impacts of extreme heat on natural and human systems, we attempt to quantify the likelihood that rising greenhouse gas concentrations will result in a new, permanent heat regime in which the coolest warm-season of the 21(st) century is hotter than the hottest warm-season of the late 20(th) century. Our analyses of global climate model experiments and observational data reveal that many areas of the globe are likely to permanently move into such a climate space over the next four decades, should greenhouse gas concentrations continue to increase. In contrast to the common perception that high-latitude areas face the most accelerated response to global warming, our results demonstrate that in fact tropical areas exhibit the most immediate and robust emergence of unprecedented heat, with many tropical areas exhibiting a 50% likelihood of permanently moving into a novel seasonal heat regime in the next two decades. We also find that global climate models are able to capture the observed intensification of seasonal hot conditions, increasing confidence in the projection of imminent, permanent emergence of unprecedented heat.     

Co-management and the co-production of knowledge: Learning to adapt in Canada's Arctic

Co-management institutional arrangements have an important role in creating conditions for social learning and adaptation in a rapidly changing Arctic environment, although how that works in practice has not been clearly articulated. This paper draws on three co-management cases from the Canadian Arctic to examine the role of knowledge co-production as an institutional trigger or mechanism to enable learning and adapting. Experience with knowledge co-production across the three cases is variable but outcomes illustrate how co-management actors are learning to learn through uncertainty and environmental change, or learning to be adaptive. Policy implications of this analysis are highlighted and include the importance of a long-term commitment to institution building, an enabling policy environment to sustain difficult social processes associated with knowledge co-production, and the value of diverse modes of communication, deliberation and social interaction.     

Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches

To understand the spatial variation in concentrations and compositions of organic micropollutants in marine plastic debris and their sources, we analyzed plastic fragments (∼10 mm) from the open ocean and from remote and urban beaches. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), alkylphenols and bisphenol A were detected in the fragments at concentrations from 1 to 10,000 ng/g. Concentrations showed large piece-to-piece variability. Hydrophobic organic compounds such as PCBs and PAHs were sorbed from seawater to the plastic fragments. PCBs are most probably derived from legacy pollution. PAHs showed a petrogenic signature, suggesting the sorption of PAHs from oil slicks. Nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and PBDEs came mainly from additives and were detected at high concentrations in some fragments both from remote and urban beaches and the open ocean.     

Crystal reaming during the assembly, maturation, and waning of an eleven-million-year crustal magma cycle: thermobarometry of the Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster

Phenocryst assemblages of lavas from the long-lived Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster (AVC) have been probed to assess pressure and temperature conditions of pre-eruptive arc magmas. Andesite to dacite lavas of the AVC erupted throughout an 11-million-year, arc magmatic cycle in the central Andes in northern Chile. Phases targeted for thermobarometry include amphibole, plagioclase, pyroxenes, and Fe–Ti oxides. Overall, crystallization is documented over 1–7.5 kbar (~25 km) of pressure and ~680–1,110 °C of temperature. Pressure estimates range from ~1 to 5 kbar for amphiboles and from ~3 to 7.5 kbar for pyroxenes. Pyroxene temperatures are tightly clustered from ~1,000–1,100 °C, Fe–Ti oxide temperatures range from ~750–1,000 °C, and amphibole temperatures range from ~780–1,050 °C. Although slightly higher, these temperatures correspond well with previously published zircon temperatures ranging from ~670–900 °C. Two different Fe–Ti oxide thermometers (Andersen and Lindsley 1985; Ghiorso and Evans 2008) are compared and agree well. We also compare amphibole and amphibole–plagioclase thermobarometers (Ridolfi et al. 2010; Holland and Blundy 1994; Anderson and Smith 1995), the solutions from which do not agree well. In samples where we employ multiple thermometers, pyroxene temperature estimates are always highest, zircon temperature estimates are lowest, and Fe–Ti oxide and amphibole temperature estimates fall in between. Maximum Fe–Ti oxide and zircon temperatures are observed during the middle stage of AVC activity (~5–3 Ma), a time associated with increased eruption rates. Amphibole temperatures during this time are relatively restricted (~850–1,000 °C). The crystal record presented here offers a time-transgressive view of an evolving, multi-tiered subvolcanic reservoir. Some crystals in AVC lavas are likely to be true phenocrysts, but the diversity of crystallization temperatures and pressures recorded by phases in individual AVC lavas suggests erupting magma extensively reams and accumulates crystals from disparate levels of the middle to upper crust.