The Natural Resource Management Planning Portal: Perspectives for NRM Planning and Reporting

Natural Resource Management (NRM) is often conducted as a partnership between government and citizens. In Australia, government agencies formulate policy and fund implementation that may be delivered on-ground by community groups (such as Landcare). Since the late 1980s, over AUS$8b of Commonwealth investment has been made in NRM. However, quantitative evidence of environmental improvements is lacking. The NRM Planning Portal has been developed to (1) provide an online spatial information system for sharing Landcare and agency data; and (2) to facilitate NRM priority setting at local and regional planning scales. While the project successfully federates Landcare NRM activity data, challenges included (1) unstructured, non-standardized data, meaning that quantitative reporting against strategic objectives is not currently possible, and (2) a lack of common understanding about the value proposition for adopting the portal approach. Demonstrating the benefit of technology adoption is a key lesson for digital NRM planning.     

Seasonal connections between meteoric water and streamflow generation along a mountain headwater stream

In snowmelt-driven mountain watersheds, the hydrologic connectivity between meteoric waters and stream flow generation varies strongly with the season, reflecting variable connection to soil and groundwater storage within the watershed. This variable connectivity regulates how streamflow generation mechanisms transform the seasonal and elevational variation in oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O and δD) of meteoric precipitation. Thus, water isotopes in stream flow can signal immediate connectivity or more prolonged mixing, especially in high-relief mountainous catchments. We characterized δ¹⁸O and δD values in stream water along an elevational gradient in a mountain headwater catchment in southwestern Montana. Stream water isotopic compositions related most strongly to elevation between February and March, exhibiting higher δ¹⁸O and δD values with decreasing elevation. These elevational isotopic lapse rates likely reflect increased connection between stream flow and proximal snow-derived water sources heavily subject to elevational isotopic effects. These patterns disappeared during summer sampling, when consistently lower δ¹⁸O and δD values of stream water reflected contributions from snowmelt or colder rainfall, despite much higher δ¹⁸O and δD values expected in warmer seasonal rainfall. The consistently low isotopic values and absence of a trend with elevation during summer suggest lower connectivity between summer precipitation and stream flow generation as a consequence of drier soils and greater transpiration. As further evidence of intermittent seasonal connectivity between the stream and adjacent groundwaters, we observed a late-winter flush of nitrate into the stream at higher elevations, consistent with increased connection to accumulating mineralized nitrogen in riparian wetlands. This pattern was distinct from mid-summer patterns of nitrate loading at lower elevations that suggested heightened human recreational activity along the stream corridor. These observations provide insights linking stream flow generation and seasonal water storage in high elevation mountainous watersheds. Greater understanding of the connections between surface water, soil water and groundwater in these environments will help predict how the quality and quantity of mountain runoff will respond to changing climate and allow better informed water management decisions.     

Influence of Inelastic Collisions with Hydrogen Atoms on Non-LTE Oxygen Abundance Determinations

We present the results of our modeling of the O I line formation under non-LTE conditions in the atmospheres of FG stars. The statistical equilibrium of O I has been calculated using Barklem’s quantum-mechanical rates of inelastic collisions with hydrogen atoms. We have determined the non-LTE oxygen abundance from atomic O I lines for the Sun and 46 FG stars in a wide metallicity range, ?2.6 < [Fe/H] < 0.2. The application of accurate atomic data has led to an increase in the departures from LTE and a decrease in the oxygen abundance compared to the use of Drawin’s theoretical approximation. The change in the non-LTE abundance from the infrared O I 7771-5 Å triplet lines is 0.11 dex for solar atmospheric parameters and diminishes in absolute value with decreasing metallicity. We have revised the [O/Fe]–[Fe/H] relationship derived by us previously. The change in [O/Fe] is small in the [Fe/H] range from ?1.5 to 0.2. For stars with [Fe/H] < ?1 the [O/Fe] ratio has increased so that [O/Fe] = 0.60 at [Fe/H] = ?0.8 and rises to [O/Fe] = 0.75 at [Fe/H] = ?2.6.     

Plant diversity and community structure of Brazilian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Páramos</Emphasis>

In Eastern South America, high altitude grasslands represent a mountain system that has a high number of endemic species. However, studies on the ecology of plant communities in these environments remain scarce. We aimed to evaluate the patterns of biodiversity and structure of plant communities from rocky outcrops in high altitude grasslands of three areas at the Caparaó National Park, southeastern Brazil, by sampling 300 randomly distributed plots. Then, we compared the floristic composition, relative abundance, and biological and vegetation spectra among areas. We classified species as endemic and non-endemic and verified the occurrence of endangered species. Species richness was evaluated by rarefaction analysis on the sampling units. The importance value and species abundance distribution (SAD) models were assessed. We also performed an indicator species analysis. We sampled 58 species belonging to 49 genera and 32 families. The number of species decreased with increasing altitude, with significant differences being observed among areas regarding richness, abundance, and cover. Of the total number of species, 10 are endemic to the Caparaó National Park and 17 are listed on the Brazilian Red List of endangered species. The dominant families on all peaks were Asteraceae and Poaceae. The SAD models showed lognormal and geometric distributions, corroborating the fact that 10 species that were common to all three areas were also the most dominant ones in the communities and showed the highest importance values, which ranged between 35% and 60%. Indicator species analysis revealed that 28 species (48.27%) were indicators. Of these, 42.85% had maximum specificity, meaning that they occurred only in one area. Thus, the number of species per life form ratio was similar among areas, yet vegetation spectra differed, especially for hemicryptophytes. The altimetric difference among the areas showed to be a very important driver in the community assembly, influencing the evaluated variables, however, other drivers as soil depth, slope and water could also influence the community structure on a smaller and local spatial scale.     

Deep-water sediment transport patterns and basin floor topography in early rift basins: Plio-Pleistocene syn-rift of the Corinth Rift,Greece

Our current understanding on sedimentary deep-water environments is mainly built of information obtained from tectonic settings such as passive margins and foreland basins. More observations from extensional settings are particularly needed in order to better constrain the role of active tectonics in controlling sediment pathways, depositional style and stratigraphic stacking patterns. This study focuses on the evolution of a Plio-Pleistocene deep-water sedimentary system (Rethi-Dendro Formation) and its relation to structural activity in the Amphithea fault block in the Corinth Rift, Greece. The Corinth Rift is an active extensional basin in the early stages of rift evolution, providing perfect opportunities for the study of early deep-water syn-rift deposits that are usually eroded from the rift shoulders due to erosion in mature basins like the Red Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic rifted margin. The depocentre is located at the exit of a structurally controlled sediment fairway, approximately 15 km from its main sediment source and 12 km basinwards from the basin margin coastline. Fieldwork, augmented by digital outcrop techniques (LiDAR and photogrammetry) and clast-count compositional analysis allowed identification of 16 stratigraphic units that are grouped into six types of depositional elements: A—mudstone-dominated sheets, B—conglomerate-dominated lobes, C—conglomerate channel belts and sandstone sheets, D—sandstone channel belts, E—sandstone-dominated broad shallow lobes, F—sandstone-dominated sheets with broad shallow channels. The formation represents an axial system sourced by a hinterland-fed Mavro delta, with minor contributions from a transverse system of conglomerate-dominated lobes sourced from intrabasinal highs. The results of clast compositional analysis enable precise attribution for the different sediment sources to the deep-water system and their link to other stratigraphic units in the area. Structures in the Amphithea fault block played a major role in controlling the location and orientation of sedimentary systems by modifying basin-floor gradients due to a combination of hangingwall tilt, displacement of faults internal to the depocentre and folding on top of blind growing faults. Fault activity also promoted large-scale subaqueous landslides and eventual uplift of the whole fault block.     

Local ice caps in Finderup Land,North Greenland,survived the Holocene Thermal Maximum

Local glaciers and ice caps (GICs) comprise only ~5.4% of the total ice volume, but account for ~14–20% of the current ice loss in Greenland. The glacial history of GICs is not well constrained, however, and little is known about how they reacted to Holocene climate changes. Specifically, in North Greenland, there is limited knowledge about past GIC fluctuations and whether they survived the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM, ~8 to 5 ka). In this study, we use proglacial lake records to constrain the ice‐marginal fluctuations of three local ice caps in North Greenland including Flade Isblink, the largest ice cap in Greenland. Additionally, we have radiocarbon dated reworked marine molluscs in Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines adjacent to the Flade Isblink, which reveal when the ice cap was smaller than present. We found that outlet glaciers from Flade Isblink retreated inland of their present extent from ~9.4 to 0.2 cal. ka BP. The proglacial lake records, however, demonstrate that the lakes continued to receive glacial meltwater throughout the entire Holocene. This implies that GICs in Finderup Land survived the HTM. Our results are consistent with other observations from North Greenland but differ from locations in southern Greenland where all records show that the local ice caps at low and intermediate elevations disappeared completely during the HTM. We explain the north–south gradient in glacier response as a result of sensitivity to increased temperature and precipitation. While the increased temperatures during the HTM led to a complete melting of GICs in southern Greenland, GICs remained in North Greenland probably because the melting was counterbalanced by increased precipitation due to a reduction in Arctic sea‐ice extent and/or increased poleward moisture transport.     

Spinel assemblages in lunar meteorites Graves Nunataks 06157 and Dhofar 1528: Implications for impact melting and equilibration in the Moon's upper mantle

Magnesium‐rich spinel assemblages occur in the two lunar vitric breccia meteorites—Dhofar (Dho) 1528 and Graves Nunataks (GRA) 06157. Dho 1528 contains up to ~0.7 mm cumulate Mg‐rich spinel crystals associated with Mg‐rich olivine, Mg‐ and Al‐rich pyroxene, plagioclase, and rare cordierite. Using thermodynamic calculations of these mineral assemblages, we constrain equilibration depths and discuss an origin of these lithologies in the upper mantle of the Moon. In contrast, small, 10 to 20 μm spinel phenocryst assemblages in glassy melt rock clasts in Dho 1528 and GRA 06157 formed from the impact melting of Mg‐rich rocks. Some of these spinel phenocrysts match compositional constraints for spinel associated with “pink spinel anorthosites” inferred from remote sensing data. However, such spinel phenocrysts in meteorites and Apollo samples are typically associated with significant amounts of olivine ± pyroxene that exceed the compositional constraints for pink spinel anorthosites. We conclude that the remotely sensed “pink spinel anorthosites” have not been observed in the collections of lunar rocks. Moreover, we discuss impact‐excavation scenarios for the spinel‐bearing assemblages in Dhofar 1528 and compare the bulk rock composition of Dho 1528 to strikingly similar compositions of Luna 20 samples that contain ejecta from the Crisium impact basin.     

Experimental partitioning of trace elements into schreibersite with applications to IIG iron meteorites

Some of the defining characteristics of the IIG iron meteorite group are their high bulk P contents and massive, coarse schreibersite, which have been calculated to make up roughly 11–14 wt% of each specimen. In this study, we produced two data sets to investigate the formation of schreibersites in IIG irons: measurements of trace elements in the IIG iron meteorite Twannberg and experimental determinations of trace element partitioning into schreibersite. The schreibersite‐bearing experiments were conducted with schreibersite in equilibrium with a P‐rich melt and with bulk Ni contents ranging from 0 to 40 wt%. The partitioning behavior for the 20 elements measured in this study did not vary with Ni content. Comparison of the Twannberg measurements with the experimental results required a correction factor to account for the fact that the experiments were conducted in a simplified system that did not contain a solid metal phase. Previously determined solid metal/P‐rich melt partition coefficients were applied to infer schreibersite/solid metal partitioning behavior from the experiments, and once this correction was applied, the two data sets showed broad similarities between the schreibersite/solid metal distribution of elements. However, there were also differences noted, in particular between the Ni and P contents of the solid metal relative to the schreibersite inferred from the experiments compared to that measured in the Twannberg sample. These differences support previous interpretations that subsolidus schreibersite evolution has strongly influenced the Ni and P content now present in the solid metal phase of IIG irons. Quantitative attempts to match the IIG solid metal composition to that of late‐stage IIAB irons through subsolidus schreibersite growth were not successful, but qualitatively, this study corroborates the striking similarities between the IIAB and IIG groups, which are highly suggestive of a possible genetic link between the groups as has been previously proposed.     

Subsurface flow measurements using passive flux meters in variably-saturated cold-regions landscapes

To date, passive flux meters have predominantly been applied in temperate environments for tracking the movement of contaminants in groundwater. This study applies these instruments to reduce uncertainty in (typically instantaneous) flux measurements made in a low-gradient, wetland dominated, discontinuous permafrost environment. This method supports improved estimation of unsaturated and over-winter subsurface flows which are very difficult to quantify using hydraulic gradient-based approaches. Improved subsurface flow estimates can play a key role in understanding the water budget of this landscape.     

Creating an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum from a giant impact

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory explaining the formation of our Moon. However, the inability to produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum has cast a shadow on its validity. Computer-generated impacts have been successful in producing virtual systems that possess many of the observed physical properties. However, addressing the isotopic similarities between the Earth and Moon coupled with correct angular momentum has proven to be challenging. Equilibration and evection resonance have been proposed as means of reconciling the models. In the summer of 2013, the Royal Society called a meeting solely to discuss the formation of the Moon. In this meeting, evection resonance and equilibration were both questioned as viable means of removing the deficiencies from giant impact models. The main concerns were that models were multi-staged and too complex. We present here initial impact conditions that produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum. This is done in a single-staged simulation. The initial parameters are straightforward and the results evolve solely from the impact. This was accomplished by colliding two roughly half-Earth-sized impactors, rotating in approximately the same plane in a high-energy, off-centered impact, where both impactors spin into the collision.