Balanced Sediment Fluxes in Southern California’s Mediterranean-Climate Zone Salt Marshes

Salt marsh elevation and geomorphic stability depends on mineral sedimentation. Many Mediterranean-climate salt marshes along southern California, USA coast import sediment during El Niño storm events, but sediment fluxes and mechanisms during dry weather are potentially important for marsh stability. We calculated tidal creek sediment fluxes within a highly modified, sediment-starved, 1.5-km² salt marsh (Seal Beach) and a less modified 1-km² marsh (Mugu) with fluvial sediment supply. We measured salt marsh plain suspended sediment concentration and vertical accretion using single stage samplers and marker horizons. At Seal Beach, a 2014 storm yielded 39 and 28 g/s mean sediment fluxes and imported 12,000 and 8800 kg in a western and eastern channel. Western channel storm imports offset 8700 kg exported during 2 months of dry weather, while eastern channel storm imports augmented 9200 kg imported during dry weather. During the storm at Mugu, suspended sediment concentrations on the marsh plain increased by a factor of four; accretion was 1–2 mm near creek levees. An exceptionally high tide sequence yielded 4.4 g/s mean sediment flux, importing 1700 kg: 20 % of Mugu’s dry weather fluxes. Overall, low sediment fluxes were observed, suggesting that these salt marshes are geomorphically stable during dry weather conditions. Results suggest storms and high lunar tides may play large roles, importing sediment and maintaining dry weather sediment flux balances for southern California salt marshes. However, under future climate change and sea level rise scenarios, results suggest that balanced sediment fluxes lead to marsh elevational instability based on estimated mineral sediment deficits.     

The Role of Sediment Dynamics for Inorganic Accretion Patterns in Southern California’s Mediterranean-Climate Salt Marshes

Salt marsh resilience to sea-level rise depends on marsh plain elevation, tidal range, subsurface processes, as well as surface accretion, of which suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is a critical component. However, spatial and temporal patterns of inorganic sedimentation are poorly quantified within and across Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed)-dominated marshes. We compared vertical accretion rates and re-examined previously published suspended-sediment patterns during dry-weather periods at Seal Beach Wetlands, which is characterized by a mix of Spartina foliosa (cordgrass) and pickleweed, and for Mugu Lagoon, where cordgrass is rare. Mugu Lagoon occurs higher in the tidal frame and receives terrigenous sediment from an adjacent creek. Feldspar marker horizons were established in winter 2013–2014 to measure accretion. Accretion rates at Seal Beach Wetlands and Mugu Lagoon were 6 ± 0.5 mm/year (mean ± SE) and 2 ± 0.3 mm/year. Also, the estimated sediment flux (g/year) across the random feldspar plots was 3.5 times higher at Seal Beach Wetlands. At Mugu Lagoon, accretion was higher near creeks, although not statistically significant. Dry-weather SSC showed similar concentrations at transect locations across sites. During wet weather, however, SSC at Mugu Lagoon increased at all locations, with concentrations decaying farther than 8 m from tidal creek edge. Based on these results from Mugu Lagoon, we conclude accretion patterns are set by infrequent large flooding events in systems where there is a watershed sediment source. Higher accretion rates at Seal Beach Wetlands may be linked to lower-marsh elevations, and thus more frequent inundation, compared with Mugu Lagoon.     

Research of Recycled Salt and Glauber’ Salt Precipitation Rules of Yabulai Salt Lake Brine

正1 Introduction The main production of Yabulai salt lake was original salt and recycled salt many years ago.After decade’s production,the sale lake resource is more and more deficient.Glauber's salt and magnesium salt are concentrated in brine now.It could affect the quality of the salt.In recent years,research had done much work to     

Historical Trends of Benthic Invertebrate Biodiversity Spanning 182 Years in a Southern New England Estuary

Benthic invertebrates support numerous ecosystem functions and services including shellfish production, energy flow to fishes, and biogeochemical cycles. The decline of marine biodiversity worldwide has raised concerns about effects on ecosystems. To examine biodiversity trends of Narragansett Bay over time, a list was compiled of all benthic invertebrate species collected from the bay since 1834. The list covers 104 studies spanning 182 years and currently holds 1214 unique taxa from 21 phyla, the majority of all animal phyla on Earth. A permuted estimator of number of species suggested there are about 300 more yet to be discovered. Widely varying sampling gear and sieve mesh sizes precluded the use of abundance data. Instead, multidimensional scaling and taxonomic distinctness were used with presence-absence data to examine biodiversity trends. The changes in community composition and decline of benthic biodiversity (p?<?0.01) since 1855 are what would be expected of a community that gradually deteriorated in the face of increasing anthropogenic stressors. Taxonomic distinctness had negative correlations (p?<?0.05) with human population in the watershed, total nitrogen inputs, and inputs of metals. This loss of benthic biodiversity has implications for ecosystem functions and services. As some of the stressors waned in the last two or three decades, following passage of environmental legislation in the 1970s, biodiversity appeared to show a partial recovery. An inventory of species, how it has changed over time, and understanding what caused those changes are important for assessing whether remediation programs are achieving improved water quality and ecosystem health.     

Lithium Resources in Brine of China’s Sea Salt Field Operations

正Objective With the rapid development of mobile power and electronic vehicles,the application of lithium is in the ascendant,and the contradiction between its supply and demand is prominent.     

Organic Matter of the Salt Sequence in the Southern Part of the Yakshinskoe Potassium–Magnesium Salt Deposit

Organic component in the Lower Permian salt sequence in the southern part of the Yakshinskoe deposit of the Upper Pechora potassium basin is represented by dispersed organic matter, liquid hydrocarbons in fluid inclusions in halite, as well as inclusions of bacterium, algae, spore and pollen of plants. Analysis of saturated and aromatic bitumen fractions from salts, halopelites, and clayey–silty interbeds revealed the presence of organic matter of type II and mixed type II–III. It is shown that the cover sequence and potassium bed from the southern part of the Yakshinskoe potassium–magnesium salt deposit contain autochthonous immature organic matter, whereas underlying rock salt and host rocks contain significant amount of immature allochthonous components. These migration hydrocarbons are likely immature condensates.     

The World’s Salt Lakes: Today and Tomorrow

正The 12th International Conference on Salt Lake Research,which is organized jointly by International Society of Salt Lake and The Institute of Mineral Resources,Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences,will be held on July 14–18,2014 in Langfang,Hebei Province,China.The conference themes focus on future and global salt lake sustainable research and development and will bring together international specialists in limnology,sedimentology,geology,geochemistry,biology,     

Increased Variability of Microbial Communities in Restored Salt Marshes nearly 30?Years After Tidal Flow Restoration

We analyzed microbial diversity and community composition from four salt marsh sites that were impounded for 40?C50?years and subsequently restored and four unimpounded sites in southeastern Connecticut over one growing season. Community composition and diversity were assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Our results indicated diverse communities, with sequences representing 14 different bacterial divisions. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes dominated clone libraries from both restored and unimpounded sites. Multivariate analysis of the TRFLP data suggest significant site, sample date, and restoration status effects, but the exact causes of these effects are not clear. Composition of clone libraries and abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA genes were not significantly different between restored sites and unimpounded sites, but restored sites showed greater temporal and spatial variability of bacterial communities based on TRFLP profiles compared with unimpounded sites, and variability was greatest at sites more recently restored. In summary, our study suggests there may be long-lasting effects on stability of bacterial communities in restored salt marshes and raises questions about the resilience and ultimate recovery of the communities after chronic disturbance.     

New Zealand’s National Landslide Database

A New Zealand Landslide Database has been developed to hold all of New Zealand’s landslide data and provide factual data for use in landslide hazard and risk assessment, including a probabilistic landslide hazard model for New Zealand, which is currently being developed by GNS Science. Design of a national Landslide Database for New Zealand required consideration of existing landslide data stored in a variety of digital formats and future data yet to be collected. Pre-existing landslide datasets were developed and populated with data reflecting the needs of the landslide or hazard project, and the database structures of the time. Bringing these data into a single database required a new structure capable of containing landslide information at a variety of scales and accuracy, with many different attributes. A unified data model was developed to enable the landslide database to be a repository for New Zealand landslides, irrespective of scale and method of capture. Along with landslide locations, the database may contain information on the timing of landslide events, the type of landslide, the triggering event, volume and area data, and impacts (consequences) for each landslide when this information is available. Information from contributing datasets include a variety of sources including aerial photograph interpretation, field reconnaissance and media accounts. There are currently 22,575 landslide records in the database that include point locations, polygons of landslide source and deposit areas, and linear landslide features. Access to all landslide data is provided with a web application accessible via the Internet. This web application has been developed in-house and is based on open-source software such as the underlying relational database (PostGIS) and the map generating Web Map Server (GeoServer). Future work is to develop automated data-upload routines and mobile applications to allow people to report landslides, adopting a consistent framework.     

Metallogeny of deep structures of the Earth’s crust in Southern Sikhote-Alin: Evidence from gravity data

The spatial relations between ore deposits in Sikhote-Alin and deep density inhomogeneities of the Earth??s crust down to a depth of 30 km have been examined. The ore areas and regions show a discrete correlation with the anomalies of the normalized density of the equivalent spherical sources of gravity anomalies at depths of 1 to 2, 4 to 5, 10?C12, and 24 km presumably provoked by magmatic bodies of different compositions. The depth of the magmatic bodies with the intermediate-to-basic composition of the initial magmas and the southeastward-decreasing vertical range of their correlation with the ore regions depend on their structural position. In the case of magmatic bodies of felsic and mixed compositions, the metallogenic specialization of the corresponding ore-magmatic systems is correlated with their inferred vertical range. Tin ore systems are characterized by a smaller vertical range (5?C10 km) of the correlation with density inhomogeneities, whereas tin-tungsten-gold ore systems are marked by a wider range (20?C25 km). Tin-lead-zinc systems occupy an intermediate position (12?C20 km). The ore-controlling role of the boundaries between the lithostructural complexes of the Earth??s crust and the central-type structures in the distribution of deep sources of ore mineralization is shown.     

Manifestations of motions of the Earth’s pole in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation rhythms

We analyze autocorrelations and power spectra of the time series of monthly mean data characterizing sea surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific in the years 1920–2013 and show that the rhythms of El Niño–Southern Oscillation can be interpreted as the responses of the climate system to the external quasi-periodic forcing generated by the motions of the Earth’s pole. We conclude that the ENSO phenomenon has no prediction limits.

     

Structure of the Earth’s crust and tectonic evolution history of the Southern Indian Ocean (Antarctica)

The Southern Indian Ocean comprises large sedimentary basins of the Riiser-Larsen Sea (western sector); the Cosmonauts, Cooperation (Commonwealth), Davis seas (central sector); and the Mawson-d’Urville seas (eastern sector). The main tectonic provinces of the Southern Indian Ocean (Antarctica) have been outlined as a result of comprehensive interpretation of the geophysical data. Special attention is paid to determining the boundary between the rifted continental and oceanic crust. The basin of the Riiser-Larsen Sea was formed in the Early Jurassic under the action of the Karoo mantle plume. The intrusive complex, as a remote manifestation of the mantle plume, occurs along the inner boundary of the marginal rift. Opening of the ocean in the basin of Riiser-Larsen Sea started about 160 Ma ago and was characterized by rearrangement of plate motion and intense volcanic activity at the early stage. In the basin of the Cosmonauts, Cooperation, and Davis seas, the final stage of rifting was accompanied by the rise of the lithospheric mantle and by intrusive magmatism. The opening of the ocean started here 134 Ma ago. Emplacement of the Kerguelen plume resulted in jumping of ridges and detachment of continental crustal blocks from the Indian margin with the formation of the Kerguelen Plateau (microcontinent). The basin of the Mawson-d’Urville seas has evolved under conditions of long-term rifting since the Late Jurassic and is characterized by an extended zone of mantle unroofing. Breakup of the lithosphere between Australia and Antarctica developed asynchronously over a time interval of 95–65 Ma ago with propagation of MOR from the west eastward. The research was carried out using a great body of geophysical information (～140000 km of CDP seismic profiling, more than 250 stations of seismic refraction sounding, and more than 250000 km of magnetic and gravity profiles) obtained by expeditions from many countries over more than 30 years.     

What’s New in Adaptive Management and Restoration of Coasts and Estuaries?

Adaptive learning about nature, based on observations and continual rethinking, dates back to Native Americans in what we call Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Fast forward to 1950+, when Eugene, Howard, and William Odum promoted sound science and its use in managing ecosystems—called adaptive management (AM). What began as an instinctive way of thinking and deciding how to obtain resources using accumulated information became a structured, science-based process that improves over time, given continual critiques of projects, clarification of definitions, and analyses of outcomes. The basic need is still to sustain ecosystem services despite uncertainties, such as climate change. I report recent innovations in the AM of estuaries and coasts that can add knowledge and improve future efforts. Innovations include new guidelines and approaches to confront uncertainty, engage stakeholders, improve governance, prioritize actions, centralize the role of science, and manage holistically. AM has been effective along the coast of Denmark and in several estuaries, and it is evolving elsewhere. In The Netherlands, Spain, California, and Oregon, large field experiments are generating “learning while restoring” (adaptive restoration, AR). AM and AR can help managers of coastal ecosystems and watersheds mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels, sea storms, and human disturbances. Science-based decision-making will become more nimble and protection/restoration more effective as innovations and model approaches are tailored to individual estuaries and coasts.     

Source and distribution of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater from Alberta’s Southern Oil Sands Regions

Arsenic (As) concentrations as high as 179 μg/L have been observed in shallow groundwater in the Alberta’s Southern Oil Sand Regions. The geology of this area of Alberta includes a thick cover (up to 200 m) of unconsolidated glacial deposits, with a number of regional interglacial sand and gravel aquifers, underlain by marine shale. Arsenic concentrations observed in 216 unconsolidated sediment samples ranged from 1 and 17 ppm. A survey of over 800 water wells sampled for As in the area found that 50% of the wells contained As concentrations exceeding drinking water guidelines of 10 μg/L. Higher As concentrations in groundwater were associated with reducing conditions. Measurements of As speciation from 175 groundwater samples indicate that As(III) was the dominant species in 74% of the wells. Speciation model calculations showed that the majority of groundwater samples were undersaturated with respect to ferrihydrite, suggesting that reductive dissolution of Fe-oxyhydroxides may be the source of some As in groundwater. Detailed mineralogical characterization of sediment samples collected from two formations revealed the presence of fresh framboidal pyrite in the deeper unoxidized sediments. Electron microprobe analysis employing wavelength dispersive spectrometry indicated that the framboidal pyrite had variable As content with an average As concentration of 530 ppm, reaching up to 1840 ppm. In contrast, the oxidized sediments did not contain framboidal pyrite, but exhibited spheroidal Fe-oxyhydroxide grains with elevated As concentrations. The habit and composition suggest that these Fe-oxyhydroxide grains in the oxidized sediment were an alteration product of former framboidal pyrite grains. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) indicated that the oxidized sediments are dominated by As(V) species having spectral features similar to those of goethite or ferrihydrite with adsorbed As, suggesting that Fe-oxyhydroxides are the dominant As carriers. XANES spectra collected on unoxidized sediment samples, in contrast, indicated the presence of a reduced As species (As(−I)) characteristic of arsenopyrite and arsenian pyrite. The results of the mineralogical analyses indicate that the oxidation of framboidal pyrite during weathering may be the source of As released to shallow aquifers in this region.     

New Zircon U-Pb Ages of the Granodiorites in the Southern Great Xing’an Range and their Tectonic Implications

The Southern Great Xing'an Range,Northeast China,is located in the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.It is considered to be one of the most important metallogenic belts,commonly hosting a series of skarn.porphyry and magmatic hydrothermal Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu Mo-Sn polymetallic deposits(Fig.1).Complex tectonic events have occurred in this region,including the closure of the Palco-Asian Ocean in the Late Palaeozoic,the opening and closure of the Mongol Okhotsk Ocean and the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean in the Mesozoic.     

New data on palynostratigraphy of the Lipovtsy formation in the Razdol’naya coal Basin (Southern Primorye)

Palynological samples, plant megafossils, and fossil wood taken from the upper Lipovtsy Subformation (Porechye open-pit coal mine in the Il’ichevka coalfield, Razdol’naya River Basin, southern Primorye), as well as coal samples for determining coal-forming plants from dispersed cuticles are analyzed. The taxonomic composition of the identified palynomorphs from the coals and interstratal clastic sediments indicates the Aptian age of host deposits. The palynological spectra from the lower humic–rhabdopissite coal seam are dominated by Gleicheniaceae and Cyatheaceae accompanied by Dicksoniaceae and Ginkgocycadophytus. In the palynological spectra from the upper coal seam, the share of Gleicheniaceae substantially decreases, though they remain dominant; simultaneously, single angiosperm pollen grains appear in them. The spectra from the clastic rocks are dominated by Polypodiaceae and Cyatheaceae. The taxonomical composition of the gymnosperms is relatively diverse, although their abundance is low. The share of angiosperms increases with respect to both their diversity and abundance. The angiosperm pollen, found for the first time in the Aptian deposits of the Razdol’naya River Basin, provides grounds to assume that these pants appeared earlier than previously thought (early Albian). The coal-forming plants of the Il’ichevka coalfield are determined.     

Connection between variations of the stress-strain state of the Earth’s crust and seismic activity: The example of Southern California

A three-dimensional geomechanical model of Southern California, including mountain relief, fault tectonics, and characteristic internal borders, such as the roof of the consolidated crust and Moho surface, was created. The initial stress state of the model is determined by the gravitational force and horizontal tectonic movement, established on basis of GPS observations. Monitoring of variations in the stress state of the Earth’s crust and lithosphere, which are generated by seismic processes, has shown that the model enables us to predict an increase of seismic activity in a region and to mark the places in which average earthquakes can occur in the following two weeks.     

New Perspectives on China’s Aluminium Utilization and Development

Please refer to the attachment(s) for more details.     

An Insight on Future Development Approaches of Salt Lake Magnesium Resources: from the Current Situation of China’s Magnesium Industry

正Magnesium-bearing minerals discovered on the earth so far occur mainly as solid or liquid.The former include magnesite(Mg CO3),dolomite(Mg CO3·Ca CO3),carnallite(Mg Cl2·KCl·6H2O),bischofite(Mg Cl2·6H2O)and