Effect of fire on phytolith coloration

Dark‐colored phytoliths are often found preserved in paleosols and archaeological sediments. Some practitioners believe these darkened phytoliths provide evidence of fire histories, while others suggest alternative reasons for their occurrence. This study examines the effect of fire on phytolith appearance and discusses the extent to which color may be used as proxy evidence for fire. The results of this study demonstrate that under oxidative conditions of openair fire, the color of phytoliths can be altered, although dark‐colored phytoliths also occur naturally in some unburned plant species. Despite some overlap observed between burned and unburned color in phytoliths, clear differences are apparent in the way this color appears optically. In particular, transparent and opalescent qualities were found to occur in nature as opposed to a dull opaque appearance of charred phytoliths. Although fire‐induced color change is probably limited to a portion of the phytolith assemblage, phytolith color remains a tool that can be confidently used to indicate the presence of fire in various sedimentary contexts. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Separation of pedogenic and lithogenic components of magnetic susceptibility in the Chinese loess/palaeosol sequence as determined by the CBD procedure and a mixing analysis

Magnetic susceptibility variations in the Chinese loess/palaeosol sequences have been used extensively for palaeoclimatic interpretations. The magnetic signal of these sequences must be divided into lithogenic and pedogenic components because the palaeoclimatic record is primarily reflected in the pedogenic component. In this paper we compare two methods for separating the pedogenic and lithogenic components of the magnetic susceptibility signal: the citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD) extraction procedure, and a mixing analysis. Both methods yield good estimates of the pedogenic component, especially for the palaeosols. The CBD procedure underestimates the lithogenic component and overestimates the pedogenic component. The magnitude of this effect is moderately high in loess layers but almost negligible in palaeosols. The mixing model overestimates the lithogenic component and underestimates the pedogenic component. Both methods can be adjusted to yield better estimates of both components. The lithogenic susceptibility, as determined by either method, suggests that palaeoclimatic interpretations based only on total susceptibility will be in error and that a single estimate of the average lithogenic susceptibility is not an accurate basis for adjusting the total susceptibility. A long-term decline in lithogenic susceptibility with depth in the section suggests more intense or prolonged periods of weathering associated with the formation of the older palaeosols.
The CBD procedure provides the most comprehensive information on the magnitude of the components and magnetic mineralogy of loess and palaeosols. However, the mixing analysis provides a sensitive, rapid, and easily applied alternative to the CBD procedure. A combination of the two approaches provides the most powerful and perhaps the most accurate way of separating the magnetic susceptibility components.     

An assessment of the potential impact of climate change on rice farmers and markets in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the sixth largest rice producer in the world, has been identified as high risk from the effects of climate change. Many of the adverse impacts of climate change such as land inundation and changes in weather patterns and CO₂ levels will impact the agricultural sector. This study develops a partial-equilibrium multi-regional farm household model of Bangladesh rice and non-rice agricultural markets to quantify the impacts of climate change on consumption, production, prices, and farmers’ welfare. The model is calibrated to the Bangladesh rice market using Household Income and Expenditure Survey data. The model is simulated to analyze the impact of land reduction and productivity decline resulting from climate change. The results show that the decline in production in the coastal and northern regions offsets the production increase in the central and eastern regions, and the simulation predicts that total rice production for Bangladesh falls by about 2%. As total rice consumption falls and imports rise, the net effect leads to a rise in the rice price by 5.71% and a decline in farmers’ welfare. Sensitivity analysis shows that more- (less-) effective abatement technology could play a key role in mitigating (exacerbating) the price and welfare effects. The model predicts that many farmers in regions directly impacted by climate change could leave farming in search of off-farm work. Thus, the government can ease this transition by promoting urban development to provide more job options and technical training for farmers.     

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Estuary Habitat Use by American Alligators

Estuarine habitat occupied by Alligator mississippiensis, a primarily freshwater species, is spatially and temporally heterogeneous largely due to a salinity gradient that fluctuates. Using long-term night light survey data, we examined seasonal patterns in alligators’ habitat use by size classes in midstream and downstream estuary zones of Shark River, Everglades National Park, in southern Florida. We observed predominantly large-sized alligators (total length?≥?1.75 m); observations of alligators in the small size classes (0.5 m?≤?total length?<?1.25 m) were rare especially in the higher-salinity downstream zone. The density of alligators in the downstream zone was lower than that of the midstream zone during the dry season when salinity increases due to reduced precipitation. Conversely, the density of the large size alligators was higher in the downstream zone than in the midstream zone during the wet season, likely because of reduced salinity. We also found a significant declining trend over time in the number of alligators in the dry season, which coincides with the reported decline in alligator relative density in southern Florida freshwater wetlands. Our results indicated high adaptability of alligators to the fluctuating habitat conditions. Use of estuaries by alligators is likely driven in part by physiology and possibly by reproductive cycle, and our results supported their opportunistic use of estuary habitat and ontogenetic niche shifts.     

Buckling of ring stiffened domes under external hydrostatic pressure

The paper reports on the buckling of three ring-stiffened prolate domes under external hydrostatic pressure. The study was partly theoretical and partly experimental, where in the case of the latter, the finite element was used. Comparison between experiment and theory was good. The effect of ring stiffening the domes was to increase their buckling resistances by factors varying from 4.43 to 5.72.     

Water-level fluctuations, emersion regimes, and variations of echinoid populations on a Caribbean reef flat

This paper examines fluctuations in water level over a Caribbean reef flat at Punta Galeta, Panamá. In an analysis of approximately ten years of records, the mean diurnal range of the tides was 24·5 cm and varied <2 cm from year to year. Daily mean water levels varied erratically over a range of approximately 30 cm. Monthly mean water levels fluctuated seasonally over a range of about 10 cm and were consistently higher than those at the regional tidal reference station at Cristóbal. On days with more wave action, water levels at Galeta increased relative to those at Cristóbal, suggesting that waves were ‘pumping’ water onto the reef flat. The monthly mean water levels at the two sites were not correlated, indicating that tidal data from conventional stations in deeper water cannot be extrapolated to reef flats, except as estimates of minimum potential water levels.Most of the reef flat was within 6 cm vertical span just below mean lower low water. The highest elevations within this range were exposed above water level for an average of 918 hours per year, as compared with 144 hours per year at the lowest elevation. Most exposures lasted less than 10 hours, with a modal duration of 3–5 hours; however, exposures longer than 12 hours occurred at nearly all elevations in all years. Exposures of the reef flat were most frequent between February and June and between August and November, a pattern apparently caused by a combination of seasonal oscillations of regional sea levels, the annual pattern of the solstitial tides, and waves generated by seasonal trade winds.The fluctuations in water levels apparently affected the abundances of some species of sea urchins on the reef flat. Populations of Lytechinus variegatus and Diadema antillarum declined or disappeared from the reef flat during seasons of repeated subaerial exposures, but recolonized the habitat in periods of higher water levels. Although they are reported to suffer heavy mortality during emersion, Echinometra lucunter and E. viridis did not exhibit reductions in abundance that were synchronous with the seasonal exposures of the reef flat.     

Carbon,nitrogen, and water stable isotopes in plant tissue and soils across a moisture gradient in Puerto Rico

Stable isotopes in the water molecule (²H or D and ¹⁸O), carbon, and nitrogen are useful tracers and integrators of processes in plant ecohydrological systems across scales. Over the last few years, there has been growing interest in regional to continental scale synthesis of stable isotope data with a view to elucidating biogeochemical and ecohydrological patterns. Published datasets from the humid tropics, however, are limited. To be able to contribute to bridging the “data gap” in the humid tropics, here, we publish a relatively novel and unique suite of δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H, and δ¹⁸O isotope data from three sites across a moisture gradient and contrasting land use in Puerto Rico. Plant tissue (xylem and leaf) samples from two species of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla and Swietenia mahagoni) and soil samples down to 60 cm in the soil profile were collected in relatively “wet” (July 2012) and “dry” (February 2013) periods at two sites in northeastern (Luquillo) and southwestern (Susua) Puerto Rico. The same sampling suite is also being made available from a highly urbanized site in the capital San Juan. Leaf samples taken in July 2012 and February 2013 were analyzed for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N; all xylem and bulk soil samples were analyzed for δ²H and δ¹⁸O. Soil samples taken in July 2012 were analyzed for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N. Leaf δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C dataset showed patterns that are possibly associated with site differences. While spatial patterns were also apparent in soil δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C dataset, the positively linear δ¹⁵N –δ¹³C relationship tends to weaken with site moisture. Soil depth and site moisture patterns were also observed in the δ²H and δ¹⁸O datasets of bulk soil and xylem samples. The purpose of these datasets is to provide baseline information on soil–plant water (δ²H and δ¹⁸O, N = 319), δ¹³C (N = 272), and δ¹⁵N (N = 269) that may be useful in a wide range of research questions from ecohydrological relations to biogeochemical patterns in soils and vegetation.     

Simultaneous calibration of surface flow and baseflow simulations: a revisit of the SWAT model calibration framework

Accurate analysis of water flow pathways from rainfall to streams is critical for simulating water use, climate change impact, and contaminants transport. In this study, we developed a new scheme to simultaneously calibrate surface flow (SF) and baseflow (BF) simulations of soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) by combing evolutionary multi‐objective optimization (EMO) and BF separation techniques. The application of this scheme demonstrated pronounced trade‐off of SWAT's performance on SF and BF simulations. The simulated major water fluxes and storages variables (e.g. soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and groundwater) using the multiple parameters from EMO span wide ranges. Uncertainty analysis was conducted by Bayesian model averaging of the Pareto optimal solutions. The 90% confidence interval (CI) estimated using all streamflows substantially overestimate the uncertainty of low flows on BF days while underestimating the uncertainty of high flows on SF days. Despite using statistical criteria calculated based on streamflow for model selection, it is important to conduct diagnostic analysis of the agreement of SWAT behaviour and actual watershed dynamics. The new calibration technique can serve as a useful tool to explore the trade‐off between SF and BF simulations and provide candidates for further diagnostic assessment and model identification. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An assessment of large-scale flood modelling based on LiDAR data

Large-scale flood modelling approaches designed for regional to continental scales usually rely on relatively simple assumptions to represent the potentially highly complex river bathymetry at the watershed scale based on digital elevation models (DEMs) with a resolution in the range of 25–30 m. Here, high-resolution (1 m) LiDAR DEMs are employed to present a novel large-scale methodology using a more realistic estimation of bathymetry based on hydrogeomorphological GIS tools to extract water surface slope. The large-scale 1D/2D flood model LISFLOOD-FP is applied to validate the simulated flood levels using detailed water level data in four different watersheds in Quebec (Canada), including continuous profiles over extensive distances measured with the HydroBall technology. A GIS-automated procedure allows to obtain the average width required to run LISFLOOD-FP. The GIS-automated procedure to estimate bathymetry from LiDAR water surface data uses a hydraulic inverse problem based on discharge at the time of acquisition of LiDAR data. A tiling approach, allowing several small independent hydraulic simulations to cover an entire watershed, greatly improves processing time to simulate large watersheds with a 10-m resampled LiDAR DEM. Results show significant improvements to large-scale flood modelling at the watershed scale with standard deviation in the range of 0.30 m and an average fit of around 90%. The main advantage of the proposed approach is to avoid the need to collect expensive bathymetry data to efficiently and accurately simulate flood levels over extensive areas.