Response of a Mediterranean Riparian Forest to a 1 in 400 Year Flood,Ouveze River,Drome-Vaucluse,France

This study provides original data concerning the impact of an exceptional 400-year flood on the riparian forest of a six order French Mediterranean river. Both the restricting effects of the forest on the flood and the hydraulic behaviour of the forest during the flood were studied. Twenty-five per cent of the riparian forest was destroyed or profoundly altered as the flood waters enlarged the channel which was initially less than 200 m wide. However, the forest also reduced the flow capacity of the floodplain (lateral reduction of high water level). It also reduced lateral mineral fluxes (lateral reduction of sediment granulometry) and organic deposition (lateral reduction of coarse woody debris mass). However, the lateral extension and topographic accretion of the forest reduces the flood evacuation capacity of the bed and thereby increases the risk of flooding. Future legislation will have to take into account the nature of antropogenic activity in the area of the study. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring,causality, and uncertainty in a stratospheric context

Our increasingly complex understanding of stratospheric chemistry and transport processes leaves us with various theoretical possibilities of appreciable and perhaps serious environmental impact due to human activities. These possibilities raise policy questions in which the economic and other costs of regulating human activities must be weighed against the possible consequences of no such regulation. The natural variability of the atmosphere, the physical and other limitations on our global sampling and monitoring abilities, and the difficulties in establishing causal connections leave us in a state of uncertainty as to the reality and magnitude of at least some of these theoretical environmental impacts. Policy-makers must make decisions in the face of these uncertainties.The proper role of scientists as such in narrowing and quantifying the uncertainties is discussed, with particular regard to the evidence that cultural and other biases often affect individual scientists' conclusions. Conscious efforts are needed to minimize bias, quantify uncertainties, and speed up the process of scientific consensus-building. A careful distinction should be drawn between scientifically determined probabilities, and cost-benefit analyses which necessarily involve value judgments.     

Ecology of a high Andean stream, Rio Itambi, Otavalo, Ecuador

A high Andean stream in the equatorial zone of Ecuador, the Rio Itambi, located at 2,600 to 4,600 m a.s.l., was studied to describe its physical structure, geomorphology, water chemistry and biodiversity.The Itambi catchment basin is characterized in its upper part by the volcanic sierra with >70% slope, and in its lower part by lake deposits. The length of Rio Itambi is 17 km with a catchment basin of 11,271 ha; the annual flow amounts to 0.07-0.5 m³/s. Stream structure is evaluated using a modification of the German “Geomorphological Structure Classification Method” with six main parameters (development of stream bed, longitudinal profile, transversal profile, bed structure, stream bank structure, and surrounding environment). Nowadays an impact of Rio Itambi's stream structure occurs due to anthropogenic activities. The water quality of Rio Itambi is presented on the basis of a monthly monitoring, and a comparison of rainy and dry season is given. An impact on quality is caused by human activities (sewage input, cattle raising), by landslides with a remodelling of the stream bed and by a low oxygen concentration due to altitude.Flora of stream banks as well as diatoms, macrophytes and fauna of stream bed were determined, and within the stream, biodiversity is low. In the upper part of the stream, this seems to be an effect of low oxygen saturation values and of landslide that remodel the stream bed, and in the lower part of the stream it is due to anthropogenic damage by sewage input.     

Nearshore wave environments around a sandy cay on a platform reef,Torres Strait,Australia

Waves are the primary factor affecting reef-island morphology. This study examines spatial and temporal variations of wave characteristics in the nearshore around Warraber Island, a sandy cay on a platform reef in Torres Strait Australia, based on field measurements during the predominant southeasterly wind season. Water pressure was recorded simultaneously, and transformed to water surface wave spectra, at a location close to the reef edge and across the nearshore at different locations around the island. Wave environments off the reef were estimated based on wave characteristics measured at the reef-edge location and found to be primarily dominated by sea. Low and high wave-energy events were identified, based on wave energy level at the reef-edge location.     

Regional moments,energy levels,and a new discriminant

Teleseismic observations of explosions tend to be richer in short-period energy than are earthquakes, thus the effectiveness of them _b M _s discriminant. At regional distances the same basic separation occurs for smaller events in terms ofM _L M ₀ (Woods et al., 1993) andm _b M ₀ (Patton andWalter, 1993). While these studies demonstrate the basic differences in excitation, they suffer in practical application because of the detailed information required in the retrieval ofM ₀ . In this paper, we introduce a new method of discrimination, based on the energy strength (M _E ) from broadband regional records that appears to be effective and efficient. In this method all events are processed as earthquakes, and explosions are distinguished by their stronger energy levels relative to their long-period amplitudes. Results from 29 events recorded by TERRAscope, sampling 15 explosions from NTS and 14 earthquakes from the southwestern United States, are represented, indicating complete separation (45 data points).M _L =3.6 is the smallest event examined to date but the method can probably be extended to even smaller levels in calibrated regions.     

Is the equatorial radius of the earth a primary constant,a derived constant,or a defining constant?

Summary The procedure of determining the equatorial radius of the Earth is briefly described and the problem whether the equatorial radius of the Earth is a primary constant, a derived constant, or a defining constant is discussed from various points of view. Contribution to the I. A. G. Special Commission SC3 Fundamental Constants (SCFC)     

Strandvatn,Northern Norway,a lake with old sea-water

Lake Strandvatn, Northern Norway, was in August 1973 found to have salt water in the bottom layer. The chlorosity of the bottom water is 15.52 g/l. The tables contain hydrographical data, comparision with original sea water of the same chloride content and chemical data of the surface sediments from greatest depth.     

Use of a by-product of peat excavation, cotton grass fibre, as a sorbent for oil-spills

The sorbents used to collect oil in case of oil-spills are mostly synthetic, which limits the possibilities of their disposal. We studied the absorption capacities and rates of cotton grass fibre, a by-product of peat excavation, and cotton grass mats for several oil types and compared them with a synthetic, commercially available oil sorbent. We found cotton grass fibre to have superior absorption properties: Cotton grass sorbent absorbed oil approximately two to three times as much, and two to three times as fast as the synthetic one. Cotton grass fibre absorbed no measurable amount of water in the conditions used in the tests making it ideal for absorbing oil from the surface of water. In removing diesel oil from the surface of water, the efficiency was over 99% up to an absorbing factor of 20 times its own weight. The biodegradable cotton grass fibre proved to be an effective oil sorbent with low raw-material costs.     

Estimating evapotranspiration for a temperate salt marsh,Newcastle, Australia

Evapotranspiration was studied at a salt marsh site in the Hunter River estuary, NSW, Australia, during 1996–8. Estimates of actual evapotranspiration (E_a) were obtained for three sites using the eddy correlation method. These values were compared with results obtained with the Penman and Penman–Monteith equations, and with pan evaporation. The Penman–Monteith method was found to be most reliable in estimating daily and hourly evapotranspiration. Surface resistance values averaging 12 s m^?1 were derived from the eddy correlation estimates. Recent tidal flooding and rainfall were found to decrease surface resistance and increase E_a/E_p ratios. Estimates of evapotranspiration obtained using the Penman–Monteith method were shown to be sensitive to changes in surface resistance, canopy height and the method used to estimate net radiation from incoming solar radiation. These results underline the importance of accurately estimating such parameters based on site‐specific data rather than relying on empirical equations, which are derived primarily for crops and forests. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incursion of a large-volume,spatter-bearing pyroclastic density current into a caldera lake: Pavey Ark ignimbrite,Scafell caldera,England

The Scafell caldera-lake volcaniclastic succession is exceptionally well exposed. At the eastern margin of the caldera, a large andesitic explosive eruption (>5 km³) generated a high-mass-flux pyroclastic density current that flowed into the caldera lake for several hours and deposited the extensive Pavey Ark ignimbrite. The ignimbrite comprises a thick (≤125 m), proximal, spatter- and scoria-rich breccia that grades laterally and upwards into massive lapilli-tuff, which, in turn, is gradationally overlain by massive and normal-graded tuff showing evidence of soft-state disruption. The subaqueous pyroclastic current carried juvenile clasts ranging from fine ash to metre-scale blocks and from dense andesite through variably vesicular scoria to pumice (<10³ kg m⁻³). Extreme ignimbrite lithofacies diversity resulted via particle segregation and selective deposition from the current. The lacustrine proximal ignimbrite breccia mainly comprises clast- to matrix-supported blocks and lapilli of vesicular andesite, but includes several layers rich in spatter (≤1.7 m diameter) that was emplaced in a ductile, hot state. In proximal locations, rapid deposition of the large and dense clasts caused displacement of interstitial fluid with elutriation of low-density lapilli and ash upwards, so that these particles were retained in the current and thus overpassed to medial and distal reaches. Medially, the lithofacies architecture records partial blocking, channelling and reflection of the depletive current by substantial basin-floor topography that included a lava dome and developing fault scarps. Diffuse layers reflect surging of the sustained current, and the overall normal grading reflects gradually waning flow with, finally, a transition to suspension sedimentation from an ash-choked water column. Fine to extremely fine tuff overlying the ignimbrite forms ∼25% of the whole and is the water-settled equivalent of co-ignimbrite ash; its great thickness (≤55 m) formed because the suspended ash was trapped within an enclosed basin and could not drift away. The ignimbrite architecture records widespread caldera subsidence during the eruption, involving volcanotectonic faulting of the lake floor. The eruption was partly driven by explosive disruption of a groundwater-hydrothermal system adjacent to the magma reservoir.     

Three-dimensional primary instabilities of a stratified,dissipative, parallel flow

Abstract

We demonstrate the existence of a class of dissipative, stratified, parallel shear flows which, as a consequence of linear supercritical instability, evolve directly into three-dimensional flows without the requirement for an intermediate two-dimensional finite-amplitude state. This represents a counter-example to a common misinterpretation of Squire's theorm, namely that the fastest-growing unstable mode of a dissipative parallel shear flow must be two-dimensional.     

Dynamics,sediment transport,and morphology in a tide-dominated embayment

Western Port, Victoria, Australia is a tide-dominated embayment with an unusual and complex shape. Bottom currents and circulation and their effects on sediment processes were examined using instrumented tripods to measure currents, tides and wave activity, and to estimate sediment transport at nine locations in the bay. Overall bottom water movement patterns were determined by use of seabed drifters. The characteristics of the bay reflect a small catchment and low freshwater and sediment input. A complex system of channels is flanked by extensive intertidal areas. Tidal range varies up to more than 3 m, generating bottom currents up to 70cm s^?1. Flow directions generally conform to channel alignments but major deviations are important. Net circulation in the bay is clockwise around the large central island. The ratio of tidal range to half-tidal period (ΔH/ΔT) when compared with measured currents gave a method of prediction of the annual frequency distribution of maximum bottom current velocities. Determination of threshold current velocities enabled prediction of annual frequency of bedload movement (generally 50–100 per cent of tide cycles). Bedload mass transport for all observed tide cycles was calculated, and estimates of annual mass transport capacity (between 10² and 10⁶ g cm^?1 a^?1( were obtained from a relationship between predicted tidal conditions and mass transport. Seabed drifters delineated the major bottom water movements in the bay and adjacent Bass Strait, and also detailed circulation patterns. This linked the data from the tripod stations, in particular patterns of ebb- and flood-dominance. A coherent picture of the processes operating in Western Port is presented by integrating these studies with corroborative studies of sediment distribution and morphology, hydrochemistry, and mathematical modelling. Some morphological characteristics related to tide-dominance are discussed.     

Riparian zone, stream, and floodplain issues: a review

In the last two decades, the effects of forest management on streams, riparian zones, and floodplains have become of much interest. In general, there is agreement that such areas should be maintained in a state approximating naturalness, although it is recognised that definition of this state is usually difficult or impossible. A diversity of management effects has been recognised and, in some cases quantified. For upland catchments, issues particularly relate to direct disturbance of the zone, changes in the flow of woody debris into the stream, or disturbance to the environment by effects generated upstream or downstream. For many areas, a particularly important commercial aspect is the definition of a ‘stream’, as this can impose many expensive and severe restrictions on management of the land. For large rivers, a common issue is the effect of river management on flooding forests. In each case, the issues are complex, information is difficult to collect, and there are fundamental difficulties in going from anecdotal observation to data. Currently, most information appears to be at a relatively local level, and there is a very inadequate knowledge base to give a more holistic overview, although the concept of ‘cumulative effects’, with the effects accumulated over both space and time, has much potential value. There are many opportunities for work in this field.     

The palaeoflood record of a hyperarid catchment,Nahal Zin,Negev Desert,Israel

The palaeohydrology of Nahal Zin, a 1400 km² catchment in the hyperarid Negev Desert, is inferred from slackwater deposits and palaeostage indicators in a canyon near its lower end. The palaeoflood record, augmented by the instrumental and historical records of the last decade, includes 28 floods ranging from 200 to 1500 m³s⁻¹ over the last 2000 years. This helps to reanalyse the frequency of floods in this drainage system. The clusters of floods around 1000 years BP and again during the last 60 years are characterized by high flow magnitudes. Periods with many floods correspond well to periods with high Dead Sea levels and are probably relatively wet periods, while periods with few floods correspond well to low Dead Sea levels indicating a drier climate. Fluctuations in the frequency of floods are typical of periods of transition from one climate regime to another. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal regime of a headwater stream within a clear‐cut,coastal British Columbia,Canada

This study examined the thermal regime of a headwater stream within a clear‐cut. The stream had a complex morphology dominated by step–pool features, many formed by sediment accumulation upstream of woody debris. Maximum daily temperatures increased up to 5 °C after logging, and were positively associated with maximum daily air temperature and negatively with discharge. Maximum daily temperatures generally increased with downstream distance through the cut block, but decreased with distance in two segments over distances of tens of metres, where the topography indicated relatively concentrated lateral inflow. Localized cool areas within a step–pool unit were associated with zones of concentrated upwelling. Bed temperatures tended to be higher and have greater ranges in areas of downwelling flow into the bed. Heat budget estimates were made using meteorological measurements over the water surface and a model of net radiation using canopy characteristics derived from fisheye photography. Heat exchange driven by hyporheic flow through the channel step was a cooling effect during daytime, with a magnitude up to approximately 25% that of net radiation during the period of maximum daytime warming. Heat budget calculations in these headwater streams are complicated by the heterogeneity of incident solar radiation and channel geometry, as well as uncertainty in estimating heat and water exchanges between the stream and the subsurface via hyporheic exchange and heat conduction. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The digital seismometer, a modern instrument

On the basis of an analysis of the development history of seismometers, the conclusion is made that a new generation of instruments—digital seismometers—should be created. The functions of a digital seismometer and its advantages over other existing instruments are described in brief.     

Biogeochemical evolution of a landfill leachate plume, Norman, Oklahoma

Leachate from municipal landfills can create groundwater contaminant plumes that may last for decades to centuries. The fate of reactive contaminants in leachate-affected aquifers depends on the sustainability of biogeochemical processes affecting contaminant transport. Temporal variations in the configuration of redox zones downgradient from the Norman Landfill were studied for more than a decade. The leachate plume contained elevated concentrations of nonvolatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC) (up to 300 mg/L), methane (16 mg/L), ammonium (650 mg/L as N), iron (23 mg/L), chloride (1030 mg/L), and bicarbonate (4270 mg/L). Chemical and isotopic investigations along a 2D plume transect revealed consumption of solid and aqueous electron acceptors in the aquifer, depleting the natural attenuation capacity. Despite the relative recalcitrance of NVDOC to biodegradation, the center of the plume was depleted in sulfate, which reduces the long-term oxidation capacity of the leachate-affected aquifer. Ammonium and methane were attenuated in the aquifer relative to chloride by different processes: ammonium transport was retarded mainly by physical interaction with aquifer solids, whereas the methane plume was truncated largely by oxidation. Studies near plume boundaries revealed temporal variability in constituent concentrations related in part to hydrologic changes at various time scales. The upper boundary of the plume was a particularly active location where redox reactions responded to recharge events and seasonal water-table fluctuations. Accurately describing the biogeochemical processes that affect the transport of contaminants in this landfill-leachate-affected aquifer required understanding the aquifer's geologic and hydrodynamic framework.