Increasing temperature and flow management alter mercury dynamics in East Fork Poplar Creek

East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) is a mercury (Hg) contaminated creek in east Tennessee, USA. Stream restoration activities included the initiation of a flow management programme in 1996 in which water from a nearby lake was pumped to the head of the creek. We conducted regular water sampling for 2 years along the length of EFPC during active flow management and for 5 years after flow management stopped. Total Hg and total monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentration and flux decreased in the uppermost reaches of EFPC that were closest to the point of water addition. Most water quality parameters, including DOC concentration, remained unchanged after flow management termination. Nevertheless, SUVA₂₅₄, a measure of dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition, increased and coincided with increased dissolved Hg (Hg_D) concentration and flux and decreased Hg solid-water partitioning coefficients throughout EFPC. Higher SUVA₂₅₄ and Hg_D concentration have potential implications for bioavailability and MMHg production. Total and dissolved MMHg concentrations increased in lower reaches of EFPC after the end of flow management and these increases were most pronounced during spring and early summer when biota are more susceptible to exposure and uptake. A general warming trend in the creek after active flow management ended likely acted in concert with higher Hg_D concentration to promote higher MMHg concentration. Total and dissolved MMHg concentrations were positively correlated with water temperature above a threshold value of 10°C. Concentration changes for Hg and MMHg could not be accounted for by changes in creek discharge that accompanied the cessation of flow management. In addition to the changing DOM composition in-stream, other watershed-scale factors likely contributed to the observed patterns, as these changes occurred over months rather than instantaneously after flow management stopped. Nevertheless, similar changes in MMHg have not been observed in a tributary to EFPC.     

Why do certain species dominate? What we can learn from a rare case of Microdictyon dominance on a Caribbean reef

Many Caribbean reefs have shifted from coral dominance to macroalgal dominance, often by brown algae such as Dictyota and Lobophora. However, the north side of Cayman Brac in the Cayman Islands is dominated seasonally by the green macroalga Microdictyon (percent cover of Microdictyon is 4% in the winter and ~40% of the reef in the summer), although it is absent from the south side of the island and the remainder of the country. Indeed, Microdictyon is rare in much of the Caribbean, so this situation on Cayman Brac provides an opportunity to investigate the conditions that facilitate its distribution and dominance. The impact of herbivory, competition, nutrient input and other abiotic conditions were examined as factors that could influence the distribution and dominance of Microdictyon. While herbivory or nutrient input are frequently found to be key drivers of benthic community composition on coral reefs, here consumption of Microdictyon by herbivores was low, and thus, the alga was not subject to strong top-down control by herbivory. So, in this case, neither herbivore abundance nor feeding preference appeared to influence the distribution of Microdictyon. Nutrient input was also similar to both sides of the island suggesting nutrients played little role in differential distribution. But, in a controlled transplant experiment where Microdictyon was protected from herbivory and competition, it experienced almost complete mortality (93.3%) when transplanted to the south side, compared to only 11.8% mortality on the north. The south side was exposed to the strongest wave action 92% of the days in our study and was on average a slight, but significant 0.2°C warmer. Thus, these data suggest physical forcing (i.e. wave exposure) is the most likely factor dictating Microdictyon distribution. Conversely, a combination of reduced herbivory and increased competitive strength may explain the seasonal dominance of Microdictyon on the north side of Cayman Brac. Microdictyon was a competitive inferior to the other common algae in winter but increased in competitive strength to equal other species in summer. These results add to the literature on Microdictyon and on the forces impacting benthic community structure of coral reefs.     

Formation of Trihalomethanes in Soil and Groundwater by the Release of Sodium Hypochlorite

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are formed by the reaction of reactive chlorine species, such as hypochlorous acid, with naturally occurring organic matter. THMs are also found in soil and groundwater at sites where releases of organic solvents have occurred and are often ascribed to the biological degradation chlorinated solvents. This research was prompted by the discovery of THMs in groundwater at a site with a reported discharge of sodium hypochlorite. This paper reports the formation of THMs in soil and water resulting from the reaction of sodium hypochlorite with soil. Soil samples were reacted with dilute bleach solutions (sodium hypochlorite) and the solution collected for analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. All THMs were detected in test samples after treatment. Concentrations of chloroform up to 2450 µg/L in aqueous extracts were detected compared to 40 µg/L in bleach and 1 µg/L in blank samples.     

Synchronization of Radar Observations with Multi-Scale Storm Tracking

The 3-D radar reflectivity data has become increasingly important for use in data assimilation towards convective scale numerical weather prediction as well as next generation precipitation estimation. Typically, reflectivity data from multiple radars are objectively analyzed and mosaiced onto a regional 3-D Cartesian grid prior to being assimilated into the models. One of the scientific issues associated with the mosaic of multi-radar observations is the synchronization of all the observations. Since radar data is usually rapidly updated (～every 5--10 min), it is common in current multi-radar mosaic techniques to combine multiple radar' observations within a time window by assuming that the storms are steady within the window. The assumption holds well for slow evolving precipitation systems, but for fast evolving convective storms, this assumption may be violated and the mosaic of radar observations at different times may result in inaccurate storm structure depictions. This study investigates the impact of synchronization on storm structures in multiple radar data analyses using a multi-scale storm tracking algorithm.     

Multiple factors causing Holocene lake-level change in monsoonal and arid central Asia as identified by model experiments

Lake-level records provide a rich resource of information about past changes in effective moisture, but water-balance fluctuations can be driven by a number of different climate variables and it is often difficult to pinpoint their exact cause. This understanding is essential, however, for reconciling divergent paleo-records or for making predictions about future lake-level variations. This research uses a series of models, the NCAR CCSM3, a lake energy-balance and a lake water-balance model, to examine the reasons for lake-level changes in monsoonal Asia and arid central Asia between the early (8.5 ka), middle (6.0 ka) and late (ca. 1800 AD) Holocene. Our results indicate that the components of the lake water balance responsible for lake-level changes varied by region and through time. High lake levels at 8.5 and 6.0 ka in the monsoon region were caused by the combined effects of low lake evaporation and high precipitation. The low lake evaporation resulted from low winter solar radiation and high summer cloud cover. Precipitation associated with the mid-latitude westerlies increased from the early to middle Holocene and maintained high lake levels throughout most of arid central Asia ca. 6 ka. The modeled evolution of lake level in arid central Asia from the mid to late Holocene was spatially heterogeneous, due to different sensitivities of the northern and southern parts of the region to seasonally-changing insolation, particularly regarding the duration of lake ice cover. The model results do not suggest that precipitation and lake evaporation changes compete with one another in forcing lake-level change, as has been hypothesized.     

Sources of uncertainty in estimating stream solute export from headwater catchments at three sites

Uncertainty in the estimation of hydrologic export of solutes has never been fully evaluated at the scale of a small‐watershed ecosystem. We used data from the Gomadansan Experimental Forest, Japan, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, USA, and Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, USA, to evaluate many sources of uncertainty, including the precision and accuracy of measurements, selection of models, and spatial and temporal variation. Uncertainty in the analysis of stream chemistry samples was generally small but could be large in relative terms for solutes near detection limits, as is common for ammonium and phosphate in forested catchments. Instantaneous flow deviated from the theoretical curve relating height to discharge by up to 10% at Hubbard Brook, but the resulting corrections to the theoretical curve generally amounted to <0.5% of annual flows. Calibrations were limited to low flows; uncertainties at high flows were not evaluated because of the difficulties in performing calibrations during events. However, high flows likely contribute more uncertainty to annual flows because of the greater volume of water that is exported during these events. Uncertainty in catchment area was as much as 5%, based on a comparison of digital elevation maps with ground surveys. Three different interpolation methods are used at the three sites to combine periodic chemistry samples with streamflow to calculate fluxes. The three methods differed by <5% in annual export calculations for calcium, but up to 12% for nitrate exports, when applied to a stream at Hubbard Brook for 1997–2008; nitrate has higher weekly variation at this site. Natural variation was larger than most other sources of uncertainty. Specifically, coefficients of variation across streams or across years, within site, for runoff and weighted annual concentrations of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, sulphate, chloride, and silicate ranged from 5 to 50% and were even higher for nitrate. Uncertainty analysis can be used to guide efforts to improve confidence in estimated stream fluxes and also to optimize design of monitoring programmes. © 2014 The Authors. Hydrological Processes published John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of organic matter in surface sediments of the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada

The particulate organic matter in < 63 µm surface sediments from the Mackenzie River and its main tributaries was studied using Rock-Eval pyrolysis and organic petrology. The organic matter in the sediments is dominated by refractory residual organic carbon (RC) of mainly terrigenous nature, as indicated by abundant inertinite, vitrinite, and type III kerogen. Sediments from the tributaries contained significantly more algal-derived organic matter than from the main channel of the river, highlighting the importance of low-energy system dynamics in the tributaries, which allows modest algal production, more accumulation, and better preservation of autochthonous organic matter. This is particularly true for tributaries fed by lacustrine systems, which showed the highest S1 and S2 fractions, and consequently higher total particulate organic carbon (POC) in the basin. Organic petrology of the sediment samples confirms abundant liptinitic materials (i.e., fat-rich structured algae, spores and pollen, cuticles, and resins). Forest fire and coal deposits are also confirmed to contribute to the basin. Assuming that suspended and fine surfacial sediments have a similar OC composition, the Mackenzie River is estimated to deliver a total POC flux of 1.1 Mt C/yr to its delta, of which 85% is residual carbon with liptinitic OC (S1 + S2) and S3 accounting for another 9% and 6%, respectively.     

White mica trace element and boron isotope evidence for distinctive infiltration events during exhumation of deeply subducted continental crust

ABSTRACT

Previous study of subducted continental crust within the Luliang Shan terrane in Northwest China has documented metasomatic formation of thick, hydrated phengite + garnet-rich selvages at the interface between mafic eclogite blocks and quartzofeldspathic host gneiss. Whole rock concentrations of Cs and Ba within the selvage are enriched by two orders of magnitude relative to the eclogite blocks and host gneiss. We performed in situ ion microprobe analyses of Li, Be, B, Rb, Sr, Cs and Ba and δ¹¹B of phengite within the Luliang Shane terrane to better constrain the source(s) of the infiltrating fluid. The phengite within the selvage are enriched in Li, Cs and Ba and yield δ¹¹B values between ?30‰ and ?9‰, values that are lower than mantle values. High Ba/Rb, Cs/Rb coupled with low B/Be, B/Li and highly negative δ¹¹B values indicate that the high-pressure fluid that formed the selvage was derived from highly devolatilized rocks within the subduction channel. In contrast, muscovite, which crystallized in the adjacent host gneiss during a subsequent lower pressure phase of fluid infiltration at approximately 0.9 GPa depths, has much lower Li, Cs and Ba relative to the high-pressure phengite. These retrograde muscovite have very high concentrations of B (up to 5500 ppm) and Be (up to 50 ppm) and high (?2 to +8‰) δ¹¹B values that are consistent with crystallization from a fluid derived from shallower and less devolatilized regions of the subduction zone. Additional host gneiss samples, regionally distributed and kilometres away from the studied area lack the B-rich signature and indicate that the late stage fluids were likely localized to the region near the studied traverse.     

Stratigraphy of the mid-Holocene black bands in Lakes Michigan and Huron: Evidence for possible basin-wide anoxia

The post-glacial history of the Great Lakes has involved several changes in lake levels throughout the latest Pleistocene and Holocene, resulting from the changing position of the retreating Laurentide ice sheet, outlet incision and isostatic rebound. The final lowering of lake levels occurred at approximately 7600 ¹⁴C yr BP, after which lake levels began to rise again to the Nipissing highstand at approximately 4700 ¹⁴C yr BP. During this time of rising lake levels, black bands of iron sulfide were being formed in the sediments of all five of the Great Lakes. These bands signify suboxic to anoxic conditions, at least within the sediments and possibly at the sediment-water interface, during the middle Holocene warm interval. During this interval, the climate was warmer and drier than present, possibly resulting in the occasional absence of seasonal turnover in the lakes. We examined a series of piston cores from northern Lakes Michigan and Huron and found that the black bands are correlatable among cores taken from within the same basin. The observation that the banding can be correlated suggests a basin-wide cause, near-bottom or sub-bottom anoxia in the northern Michigan and northern Huron sediments during the mid-Holocene warm period. The sedimentary and geochemical processes in the Great Lakes during the middle Holocene warm interval are good indicators of possible future scenarios for the lakes as a result of global warming, as 21^st-century temperatures are predicted to reach similar levels due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.     

The influence of Asian summer monsoon variability on the water balance of a Tibetan lake

Past water-balance changes in Tibetan lakes are generally attributed to changes in the strength of the summer monsoon. However, the water balance of a lake reflects many different water fluxes, which are controlled by many climatic and hydrologic processes. In this research, weather data and evaporation models are used to determine the climatic cause of a recent water-balance change in Ahung Co, a lake in central Tibet. Between 1995 and 2001, lake level rose at least 20 cm and the lake began to overflow. Results indicate that an increase in summer monsoon precipitation over the lake and drainage basin is responsible for the rise in lake level. Stronger monsoon conditions between 1995 and 2001 also led to decreased lake evaporation and basin evapotranspiration due to increased clouds and humidity. This contributed to the rise in lake level, but to a much smaller extent than the increase in monsoon precipitation. Lake evaporation during the spring and fall was also reduced between 1995 and 2001 due to longer lasting ice cover. Variations in ice cover play a small role in the overall water balance of Ahung Co, however, because the lake area is small compared to the drainage basin area. If these results hold true for the past, water-balance fluctuations inferred from the geochemistry of sediments from Ahung Co provide a record of variations in monsoon precipitation during the Holocene.