Observations of a fast burst of the deep western boundary undercurrent and sediment transport in South Wilmington Canyon from DSRVAlvin

On October 3 and 4, 1986, DSRVAlvin dives encountered a strong current at 2,300 m in South Wilmington Canyon. The current, estimated at 1 knot, transported surficial sediment and constructed and modified bedforms. It appears to have been constant in its direction of flow from 30 to 40°. The observed current was probably a burst of fast flow in a region of slow average currents in the Deep Western Boundary Undercurrent. Such episodic events may have a greater influence on the stratigraphic record than the temporally longer more tranquil flow conditions.     

Dispersal of river sediments in coastal seas: Six contrasting cases

The fate of sediment seaward of river mouths involves at least four stages: supply via plumes; initial deposition; resuspension and transport by marine processes; and long-term net accumulation. The processes that operate at each stage, and relative roles of each stage in governing the long-term accumulation patterns, vary appreciably with river regime and coastal ocean environment. To illustrate the diversity and illuminate the process of dispersal, information is synthesized for six systems: Amazon, Changjiang, Mississippi, Columbia, Purari, and Huanghe. These systems differ markedly in terms of water discharge, sediment discharge, and coastal energy regime and much of the diversity of dispersal patterns is attributed to these differences as well as to the temporal sequencing of river discharge relative to oceanographic transport processes. Although the sediment: water ratio of the discharge of the Mississippi River is 70 times less than that of the Huanghe, both of these systems exhibit rapid deposition and accumulation of sediments near the river mouths. In contrast, sediments dispersed by, the other four systems are transported greater distances from the mouths by oceanographic processes, and are accumulating over relatively wide areas.     

Aerosols and their influence on radiation partitioning and savanna productivity in northern Australia

Aerosols have been shown to affect the quantity and quality of solar radiation on the Earth’s surface. Savanna regions are subject to frequent burning and release of aerosols that may impact on radiation components and possibly vegetation productivity in this region. Therefore, in this study, we have analyzed the optical properties of aerosols (aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Angstrom coefficient) from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site in Darwin for the periods from April 2002 to June 2005 as measured by a multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer. The influence of aerosols and their effect on surface shortwave incoming solar radiation and savanna productivity were examined for the dry season using sky radiation collection of radiometers and eddy covariance measurements from the Howard Springs flux site. Results indicated that aerosol concentrations in the region were relatively low compared to other savanna regions with the maximum monthly average AOD over the period being the greatest in October (0.29?±?0.003 standard error at 500 nm). The highest monthly average Angstrom exponent was also found in October (1.38?±?0.008). The relatively low aerosol concentration in this region can be attributed to the mixture of smoke aerosols with humidity haze and local circulations. Over a range of AODs from 0.1 to 0.4, we found a modest increase in the fraction of diffuse radiation to total radiation from 11% to 21%. This small increase in diffuse fraction did not affect the carbon flux significantly. However, because the current range of AOD in the region is relatively low, the region could be sensitive to increases in aerosols and diffuse fraction in the future.     

Cosmic-ray positrons: are there primary sources?

Galactic cosmic rays consist of primary and secondary particles. Primary cosmic rays are thought to be energized by first order Fermi acceleration processes at supernova shock fronts within our Galaxy. The cosmic rays that eventually reach the Earth from this source are mainly protons and atomic nuclei, but also include electrons. Secondary cosmic rays are created in collisions of primary particles with the diffuse interstellar gas. They are relatively rare but carry important information on the Galactic propagation of the primary particles. The secondary component includes a small fraction of antimatter particles, positrons and antiprotons. In addition, positrons and antiprotons may also come from unusual sources and possibly provide insight into new physics. For instance, the annihilation of heavy supersymmetric dark matter particles within the Galactic halo could lead to positrons or antiprotons with distinctive energy signatures. With the High-Energy Antimatter Telescope (HEAT) balloon-borne instrument, we have measured the abundances of positrons and electrons at energies between 1 and 50 GeV. The data suggest that indeed a small additional antimatter component may be present that cannot be explained by a purely secondary production mechanism. Here we describe the signature of the effect and discuss its possible origin.     

Morphology and dynamics of the intertidal floodplain along the Amazon tidal river

Depositional environments along the tidal river downstream of Óbidos have been proposed as important sinks for up to one third of the sediment discharge from the Amazon River. However, the morphology of the intertidal floodplain and the dynamics of sediment exchange along this reach have yet to be described. River-bank surveys in five regions along the Amazon tidal river reveal a distinct transition in bank morphology between the upper, central and lower reaches of the tidal river. The upper tidal-river floodplain is defined by prominent natural levees that control the transfer of water and sediment between the mainstem Amazon River and its floodplain. Greater tidal influence in the central tidal river suppresses levee development, and tidal currents increase sediment transport into the distal parts of the floodplain. In the lower tidal river, the floodplain morphology closely resembles marine intertidal environments (e.g. mud flats, salt marshes), with dendritic tidal channels incising elevated vegetated flats. Theory, morphology and geochronology suggest that the dynamics of sediment delivery to the intertidal floodplain of the Amazon tidal river vary along its length due to the relative influence and coupling of fluvial and tidal dynamics. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment accumulation in the western Gulf of Lions,France: The role of Cap de Creus Canyon in linking shelf and slope sediment dispersal systems

Previous work in the Gulf of Lions (western Mediterranean Sea) has suggested that significant amounts of sediment escape through the western part of this tectonically passive margin, despite it being far removed from the primary sediment source (the Rhone River, ∼160 km to the NE). The primary mechanism behind this export is hypothesized to be the interaction of a regional, southwestward sediment-transport path with a canyon deeply incising the southwestern part of the shelf, Cap de Creus Canyon.