Spatial and temporal analysis of hillslope–channel coupling and implications for the longitudinal profile in a dryland basin

The long‐term evolution of channel longitudinal profiles within drainage basins is partly determined by the relative balance of hillslope sediment supply to channels and the evacuation of channel sediment. However, the lack of theoretical understanding of the physical processes of hillslope–channel coupling makes it challenging to determine whether hillslope sediment supply or channel sediment evacuation dominates over different timescales and how this balance affects bed elevation locally along the longitudinal profile. In this paper, we develop a framework for inferring the relative dominance of hillslope sediment supply to the channel versus channel sediment evacuation, over a range of temporal and spatial scales. The framework combines distinct local flow distributions on hillslopes and in the channel with surface grain‐size distributions. We use these to compute local hydraulic stresses at various hillslope‐channel coupling locations within the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) in southeast Arizona, USA. These stresses are then assessed as a local net balance of geomorphic work between hillslopes and channel for a range of flow conditions generalizing decadal historical records. Our analysis reveals that, although the magnitude of hydraulic stress in the channel is consistently higher than that on hillslopes, the product of stress magnitude and frequency results in a close balance between hillslope supply and channel evacuation for the most frequent flows. Only at less frequent, high‐magnitude flows do channel hydraulic stresses exceed those on hillslopes, and channel evacuation dominates the net balance. This result suggests that WGEW exists mostly (~50% of the time) in an equilibrium condition of sediment balance between hillslopes and channels, which helps to explain the observed straight longitudinal profile. We illustrate how this balance can be upset by climate changes that differentially affect relative flow regimes on slopes and in channels. Such changes can push the long profile into a convex or concave condition. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Coastal ridge constructive processes at a multi-decadal scale in Barreta Island (southern Portugal)

Multiple ridges across prograding coasts may display variable geometries, commonly expressed through varying elevations. Changes in ridge elevation have been traditionally related to the occurrence of fluctuating progradation rates, which might, in turn, be driven by shifting environmental conditions. Here, we explore the geometry and growth mechanisms of multiple ridges, generated at Barreta Island (Ria Formosa, southern Portugal), as a consequence of the rapid progradation of the island over the last 70 years, following the artificial fixation of the downdrift Faro-Olhão inlet with jetties in 1955. The variability in the morphology of these features was analysed in combination with available wind and wave data, in order to better distinguish growth mechanisms and understand the main parameters determining the final geometry of the observed ridges. The results suggest that (1) most of the identified ridges fall in the beach ridge classification, as they have been mostly built by marine processes, and (2) the parameters derived from, or closely related to wave climate variability (e.g. progradation rates, storm occurrence) can jointly explain most of the observed morphological changes, while aeolian processes played a secondary role. Indeed, ridge geometry appears mainly controlled by progradation rates, with higher ridges associated with lower progradation rates. Progradation rate, in turn, is mostly related to longshore wave power, storminess, and the occurrence storm groups. Yet, the final configuration of ridges can also be affected by runup levels and onshore winds. Therefore, establishing the relation between ridge geometry and wave climate is not a straightforward task, because of the complex processes and interactions that control coastal morphodynamics. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the effects of Zostera noltei meadows on sediment dynamics: application to the Arcachon lagoon

A three-dimensional model has been modified to describe the complex interactions between hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics and biological parameters in the presence of Zostera noltei. The model treats seagrass leafs as flexible blades that bend under hydrodynamic forcing and alter the local momentum and turbulence fluxes and, therefore, the benthic shear conditions; these changes cause related changes to the mass balance at the boundary of the bed, in turn affecting the suspended matter in the column and ultimately primary productivity and the growth of the dwarf-grass. Modelling parameters related to the impact of Z. noltei to the local flow and to erosion and deposition rates were calibrated using flume experimental measurements; results from the calibration of the model are presented and discussed. The coupled model is applied in the Arcachon Bay, an area with high environmental significance and large abundance of dwarf-grass meadows. In the present paper, results from preliminary applications of the model are presented and discussed; the effectiveness of the coupled model is assessed comparing modelling results with available field measurements of suspended sediment concentrations and seagrass growth parameters. The model generally reproduces sediment dynamics and dwarf-grass seasonal growth in the domain efficiently. Investigations regarding the effects of the vegetation to the near-bed hydrodynamics and to the sediment suspension in the domain show that dwarf-grass meadows play an important part to velocity attenuation and to sediment stabilisation, with flow and suspended sediment concentrations damping, compared to an unvegetated state, to reach 35–50 and 65 %, respectively, at peak seagrass growth.     

Palaeoenvironments and site formation processes at the Neolithic lakeside settlement of Dispilio,Kastoria, Northern Greece

Dispilio is a lakeside settlement by the Orestias Lake, Kastoria, northern Greece. The site was inhabited from the Middle Neolithic to the Chalcolithic, with some surface evidence of Bronze Age occupation. Microfacies analysis of the sediments, supported by a suite of environmental indices, has provided detailed paleoenvironmental data and elucidated the main processes involved in the formation of the site and its history of occupation. The settlement was established on the lakeshore, on a shallow sand ridge and a shore marsh. Initially, houses were built on raised platforms above the water. After a major conflagration, a range of depositional microenvironments were established that caused local changes in the sedimentation rate. Therefore, some areas quickly emerged and became dry land, while some others continued to be flooded as part of the transitional supra‐littoral environment. On the dry land, houses were built directly on the ground, whereas in the transitional areas houses continued to be built on raised platforms. Thus, gradually, a mound was formed and further shaped by subsequent lake‐level fluctuations. One of the lake‐level rises is tentatively related to the abandonment of the mound in the Chalcolithic and the development of a hardpan on its surface. There is also evidence of later occupation during the Bronze Age in the form of a few, mostly surface, archaeological remains. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Tracing sediment redistribution across a break in slope using rare earth elements

Experimentally determined spatial patterns of soil redistribution across a break in slope derived using 10 rare earth element (REE) oxides as sediment tracers are presented. An erosion experiment was conducted using simulated rainfall within a laboratory slope model measuring 2·5 m wide by 6 m long with a gradient of 15° declining to 2°. Soil was tagged with multiple REE and placed in different locations over the slope and at the end of the experiment REE concentrations were measured in samples collected spatially. A new method was developed to quantify the erosion and deposition depths spatially, the relative source contributions to deposited sediment and the sediment transport distances. Particle‐size selectivity over an area of net deposition was also investigated, by combining downslope changes in particle‐size distributions with changes in sediment REE composition within a flow pathway. During the experiment, the surface morphology evolved through upslope propagation of rill headcuts, which gradually incised the different REE‐tagged zones and led to sediment deposition at the break in slope and the development of a fan extending over the shallow slope segment. The spatial patterns in REE concentrations, the derived erosion and deposition depths, the relative source contributions to deposition zones and the sediment transport distances, corroborate the morphological observations and demonstrate the potential of using REE for quantifying sediment transport processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Continental and oceanic precipitation régime in Europe

This work considers continentality from the point of view of an annual course of precipitation. It assesses continentality according to percentage of precipitation in summer and winter half year, ratio of precipitation in summer to winter half year and the period of half year precipitation in the area of WMO Region VI (Europe). Region VI can be divided into five main regions according to their annual course of precipitation. These regions are: Northwestern Europe with precipitation in all seasons, a predominance of winter precipitation and maximum precipitation in December and January; Central Europe with precipitation in all seasons, a predominance of summer precipitation and maximum precipitation in July; Eastern Europe with less precipitation over the year than in Northwestern Europe, a predominance of summer precipitation and maximum precipitation in July; the Mediterranean region with a predominance of winter precipitation, a dry season in summer and maximum precipitation in November and December; and Western Asia with a variable climate, a predominance of winter precipitation and maximum precipitation in December and January. Continentality from the point of view of precipitation rises towards the east. In comparison with thermal continentality, according to Gorczynski, it unexpectedly reaches its maximum in the centre of Europe (especially in northeast of the Czech Republic and south of Poland).     

Short-term seaward fish migration in the Messolonghi–Etoliko lagoons (Western Greek coast) in relation to climatic variables and the lunar cycle

In the present study we analysed the daily seaward migratory behaviour of four dominant euryhaline fish species (Mugilidae: Liza saliens, Liza aurata, Mugil cephalus and Sparidae: Sparus aurata) in the Messolonghi–Etoliko lagoon system (Western Greek coast) based on the daily landings' time series of barrier traps and assessed the relationship between their migratory behaviour and various climatic variables (air temperature and atmospheric pressure) and the lunar cycle. A 2-year time series of daily fish landings (1993 and 1994), a long time series of daily air temperature and daily temperature range (1991–1998) as well as a 4-year time series of the daily atmospheric pressure (1994–1997) and daily pressure range were used. Harmonic models (HM) consisting of annual and lunar cycle harmonic components explained most (R² > 0.80) of the mean daily species landings and temperature variations, while a rather low part of the variation (0.18 < R² < 0.27) was explained for pressure, daily pressure range and daily temperature range. In all the time series sets the amplitude of the annual component was highest. The model values of all species revealed two important migration periods (summer and winter) corresponding to the spawning and refuge migrations. The lunar cycle effect on species' daily migration rates and the short-term fluctuation of daily migration rates were rather low. However, the short-term fluctuation of some species' daily migration rates during winter was greater than during summer. In all species, the main migration was the spawning migration. The model lunar components of the species landings showed a monthly oscillation synchronous to the full moon (S. aurata and M. cephalus) or a semi-monthly oscillation synchronous to the new and full moon (L. aurata and L. saliens). Bispectral analysis of the model values and the model residuals' time series revealed that the species daily migration were correlated (coherencies > 0.6) to the daily fluctuations of the climatic variables at seasonal, mid and short-term scales.     

Problems with radiocarbon dating the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy

Radiocarbon dating of material from Late Pleistocene archaeological sites is challenging. Small amounts of modern ¹⁴C-labelled contamination will significantly affect the reliability of dates from the period, producing erroneous results. Recent developments in sample pre-treatment chemistry have shown that problems in reliable age determination during this period are surmountable. In this paper we provide an example of one such case, from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transitional site of the Grotta di Fumane, in northern Italy. We AMS dated two fractions of the same charcoal samples derived from a series of superimposed Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels excavated at the site. One fraction was treated using the routine acid–base–acid (ABA) method, the other with the more rigorous acid–base-oxidation/stepped combustion (ABOx–SC) method. The latter method produced consistently older, and almost certainly more reliable, results. The eruption of the known-age Campanian Ignimbrite from the Phlegrean Fields near present-day Naples at 39.3 ka yr BP seals Ulluzzian and Proto Aurignacian levels in the south of Italy. Equivalent cultural levels are present at Fumane and the results obtained with the ABOx–SC methods are consistent with the ages inferred for sites in the south of Italy based on the presence of the Campanian Ignimbrite. New results from a sample found beneath the Campanian Ignimbrite at the Russian site of Kostenki, obtained using both the ABA and ABOx–SC, methods are also presented. They support the conclusion reached at Fumane by demonstrating that, in many cases, the ABOX–SC treatment effectively removes contamination where the ABA treatment does not. The results of the work offer a sobering examination of the problems inherent in the current radiocarbon database relating to the period, and highlight the dangers of an uncritical use of the corpus of ¹⁴C results obtained over the last few decades. Based on our results, we predict that more than 70% of the 53 previously available determinations from Fumane are erroneously young. A way forward is suggested, using these improved chemical preparation methods, applying analytical methods to characterise the material dated, and testing existing site chronologies to establish which previous determinations are liable to be inaccurate.     

Empirical relationships between aftershock area dimensions and magnitude for earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea region

Fault dimension estimates derived from the aftershock area extent of 36 shallow depth (≤ 31 km) earthquakes that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea region have been used in order to establish empirical relationships between length, width, area and surface-wave/moment magnitude. This dataset consists of events whose aftershock sequence was recorded by a dense local or regional network and the reported location errors did not exceed on average 3–5 km. Surface-wave magnitudes for these events were obtained from the NEIC database and/or published reports, while moment magnitudes as well as focal mechanisms were available from the Harvard/USGS catalogues. Contrary to the results of some previously published studies we found no evidence in our dataset that faulting type may have an effect on the fault dimension estimates and therefore we derived relationships for the whole of the dataset. Comparisons, by means of statistical F-tests, of our relationships with other previously published regional and global relationships were performed in order to check possible similarities or differences. Most such comparisons showed relatively low significance levels (< 95%), since the differences in source dimension estimates were large mainly for magnitudes lower than 6.5, becoming smaller with increasing magnitude. Some degree of similarity, however, could be observed between our fault length relationship and the one derived from aftershock area lengths of events in Greece, while a difference was found between our regional and global fault length relationships. A calculation of the ratio defined as the fault length, derived from our relationships, to the length estimated from regional empirical relationships involving surface ruptures showed that it can take a maximum value of about 7 for small magnitudes while it approaches unity at Ms 7.2. When calculating the same ratio using instead global empirical relationships we see the maximum value not exceeding 1.8, while unity is reached at Mw 7.8, indicating the existence of a strong regional variation in the fault lengths of earthquakes occurring in the Mediterranean Sea region. Also, a relationship between the logarithms of the rupture area and seismic moment is established and it is inferred that there is some variation of stress drop as a function of seismic moment. In particular, it is observed that for magnitudes lower than 6.6 the stress drop fluctuates around 10 bar, while for larger magnitudes the stress drop reaches a value as high as 60 bar.     

Vegetation controls on small‐scale runoff and erosion dynamics in a degrading dryland environment

This paper investigates the controls of vegetation on runoff and erosion dynamics in the dryland environment of Jornada, New Mexico, USA. As the American southwest has seen significant shifts in the dominant vegetation species in the past 150 years, an understanding of the vegetation effects on hydrological and erosional processes is vital for understanding and managing environmental change. Small‐scale rainfall simulations were carried out to identify the hydrological and erosional processes resulting from the grassland and shrubland vegetation species. Results obtained using tree‐regression analysis suggested that the primary vegetation control on runoff and erosion is the shrub type and canopy density, which directly affects the local microtopographic gradient of mounds beneath the shrubs. Significant interactions and feedbacks were found to occur among the local mound gradient, crust cover, soil aggregate stability and antecedent soil moisture between the different vegetation species for both the runoff and erosion responses. Although some of the shrub species were found to produce higher sediment yields than the grass species, the distinguishing feature of the grassland was the significantly higher enrichment in the fine sediment fraction compared to all other surface cover types. This enrichment in fines has important implications for nutrient movement in such environments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.