Runoff‐induced sediment yield over dune slopes in the Negev Desert. 2: Texture,carbonate and organic matter

Runoff‐induced sediments were collected in the Hallamish dune field for four years (1990–1994). Runoff and consequently water‐transported sediments were generated on the dunes owing to the presence of a thin microbiotic crust. These sediments were analysed for their particle‐size distribution and carbonate content. In addition, the organic matter content was calculated by measuring the chlorophyll content within the runoff. The results were compared to the slope parent material, i.e. the crust and the underlying sand, as well as to playa sediments, which are scattered within the Hallamish interdunal areas, and which were previously hypothesized to originate from runoff‐induced sediments. Higher amounts of fines (silt and clay) and carbonate characterize the footslopes in comparison to the midslopes. Intermediate contents of fines (17 per cent) and carbonate (8 per cent) characterized the sediments in comparison to the fines (27 per cent) and carbonate (15 per cent) of the crust and to the fines (4 per cent) and carbonate (4 per cent) of the underlying sand. The runoff‐induced fines and carbonate contents were significantly different from those of the playas, suggesting that the playa flats do not originate from runoff‐induced sediments. The sediments were enriched with organic matter. Organic matter which originates from the crust amounted to 0·3–0·4 per cent as compared to ≤0·1 per cent in the bare sand. Nevertheless, the crust was found to be relatively resilient to water flow. Only 0·1–0·5 per cent of the crust was annually eroded off the slope by water, with south‐facing crusts showing higher resilience than north‐facing crusts. The data may thus assist in the evaluation of the crust's residence time. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The characteristics and significance of some lateglacial protalus ramparts in upland Britain

Arcuate and linear protalus ramparts of inferred Loch Lomond Stadial age are widespread in upland Britain outside the limits of contemporaneous glaciers. Survey and analysis of the morphology of nine ramparts suggests that these may have formed at the foot of slowly thickening snowbeds, with rockfall debris accumulating against their distal slopes, and that snowbed melting at the end of the stadial was uninterrupted by prolonged periods of stability or renewed growth. Rampart sediments consist of poorly-sorted assemblages of clasts with a variable infill of fines. Clast size and shape are strongly influenced by lithology, but rampart clasts are characteristically more angular and ‘slabbier’ than those of similar lithology in ice-marginal moraines. Ramparts may also be distinguished from moraines by their location, morphology, lack of a true matrix of fines and absence of erratics, and from talus-foot rock glaciers in terms of their width and the absence of flow structures. The mapped distribution of rampart altitudes across the Scottish Highlands displays a marked regional trend, with the lowest features in the west and south and highest in the Cairngorms. This pattern mirrors that of reconstructed firn line altitudes of Loch Lomond Stadial glaciers, and is inferred to reflect a pronounced eastwards and northwards decline in snowfall during the stadial.     

PROCESS-BASED MODEL OF GRAIN LIFTING FROM RIVER BED TO ESTIMATE SUSPENDED-SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION IN A SMALL HEADWATER BASIN

Suspended sediment is supplied from river bed sediment in Hiyamizusawa Brook, Hokkaido, Japan, during the early snowmelt season. The stirring up of fine grains from the river bed is an important control of the time variation of suspended-sediment flux. In this stream, about 10 per cent of the river bed is covered with sand sediment, 80 per cent with cobbles and/or pebbles and the remaining 10 per cent is exposed bedrock. A model previously used to explain the stirring up of fine grains within a cobble and pebble bed is applied to a sand bed, with the modification that fine grains in a sand bed are assumed to be stirred up from the tractive layer formed on the surface, whereas those in a cobble and pebble bed are assumed to be stirred up from the gaps formed by the selective movement of pebbles on the river bed. The lift force acting at the river bed is estimated from the bed shear stress, and the maximum grain size capable of being stirred up was calculated from the lift force. Consequently, the amount of fine material stirred up from the river bed is estimated from the grain size distribution of river bed sediment, and the suspended-sediment flux is thus calculated. All stirred-up fines are assumed to become suspended sediment. The simulated time variation of suspended-sediment concentration was similar to that obtained in the field study. The calculated grain size of suspended sediment was also equivalent to the field data.     

Simulated aeolian abrasion of Pannonian sands and its implications for the origins of Hungarian loess

Quartz sand from southern Hungary was agitated for 128 hours in an abrasion chamber using a constant airstream. The fines produced by abrasion were collected from the exhaust air using an electrostatic precipitator. Analysis of the fines at set intervals by Coulter Counter show particle size distributions after 16 hours with > 50 per cent in the 20-60 μm range (the size range normally associated with loess deposits). Results demonstrate the feasibility of a local, abrasion derived contribution to Hungarian loess.     

Stream channel stability and forest drainage in the new forest,hampshire

The Forestry Commission carry out drainage work in the uninclosed portion of the New Forest which includes cutting artificial drains and deepening and straightening natural channels. This paper, based on observation of operations on 53 channels for periods up to eight years between 1962 and 1975, examines the geomorphic results of such work. Of 24,000 metres of channel inspected, 24 per cent by length showed erosion, 40 per cent deposition and 36 per cent no apparent change since the work was executed. The subsequent pattern of erosion and deposition within the channels is governed largely by channel slope, but also by the nature of the superficial material and the width: depth ratio of the excavated channel. It is suggested that the choice of some preferred width: depth ratio for a given channel slope might reduce erosion. Instances are given where erosion might be described as severe, 0.5 cubic metres of material per metre of channel per year in two cases, but it appears that after a few years channels stabilize and erosion is also arrested by growth of vegetation.     

The structure and sedimentology of relict talus,Trotternish, northern Skye,Scotland

Sections up to 3·5 m deep cut through the upper rectilinear segment of relict, vegetated talus slopes at the foot of the Trotternish escarpment reveal stacked debris-flow deposits intercalated with occasional slopewash horizons and buried organic soils. Radiocarbon dating of buried soil horizons indicates that reworking of sediment by debris flows predates 5·9–5·6 Cal ka BP , and has been intermittently active throughout the late Holocene. Particle size analyses of 18 bulk samples from these units indicates that c. 27–30 per cent of the talus deposit is composed of fine (<2 mm) sediment. Sedimentological comparison with tills excludes a glacigenic origin for the talus debris, and the angularity of constituent clasts suggests that in situ weathering has been insignificant in generating fine material. We conclude that the fine sediment within the talus is derived primarily by granular weathering of the rockwall, with syndepositional accumulation of both fine and coarse debris, implying that c. 27–30 per cent of rockwall retreat since deglaciation reflects granular weathering rather than rockfall. The abundance of fines within the talus deposits is inferred to have been of critical importance in facilitating build-up of porewater pressures during rainstorms, leading to episodic failure and flow of debris on the upper parts of the slope. A wider implication of these findings is that the mechanical properties of talus slopes cannot be regarded as those of free-draining accumulations of coarse clasts, and that models that treat talus slopes as such have limited value in explaining their form and evolution. Our findings lend support to models that envisage the upper straight slope on talus accumulations as the product of mass-transport as well as rockfall, and indicate that episodic debris flow has been the primary agent of mass-transport at this site. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil moisture and texture controls of selected parameters of needle ice growth

Needle ice was grown in the laboratory to determine the limits of soil moisture and texture on the growth of needle ice. As the percentage of fines in the soil increases the lower limit of soil moisture required for growth decreases and may be defined by a linear boundary. The efficiency of conversion of soil water to needle ice in soil samples used, peaked at about 16 per cent soil fines. Contrary to expectations the finer textured soils produced significantly thicker ice crystals. Quantity of soil lifted by needle ice was related to ice height, the ice mass to atmospheric void ratio, soil texture and moisture and soil surface roughness. However, no definite, quantitative relationships could be determined. A test to determine if needle ice is selective in the grain sizes of particles lifted suggested no selectivity.     

WL3型稳流电源

一、前言我国现行的地电阻率观测方法,采用的是中常大小极距的四极对称法。测量仪器多使用DDC—2A电子自动补偿仪。供电方式大致可分:1.整流供电,供电时将供电电流调到某一固定值上,测人工电位时,若电网电压,负载电阻发生变化,均会引起供电电流的变化,致使地电阻率观测误差大;2.稳压供电,对供电电流值要进行测量,也会引入误差;3.稳流     

Origin and development of tafoni in Tunnel Spring Tuff,Crystal Peak,Utah, USA

Bedding‐parallel tafoni are well developed over much of the surface of the Tunnel Spring Tuff (Oligocene) exposed in 300‐m‐high Crystal Peak, an inselberg. The Tunnel Spring Tuff is a crudely stratified, non‐welded rhyolite ash‐flow tuff with > 30 per cent porosity. Clasts of Palaeozoic dolomite, limestone and quartzite make up 10 per cent of the tuff. The tafoni are remarkable because of their size (up to 20 m wide but rarely wider than 4 m), shape of the openings (spherical, arch‐like or crescent‐shaped) and abundance (up to 50 per cent of an outcrop face). They are actively forming today. Calcite is abundant (10 to 40 per cent by weight) in tafoni as an efflorescence in spalling flakes of tuff on their roofs and walls. Halite and gypsum generally make up less than 0·01 per cent of the efflorescence. The absence of corroded quartz and feldspar grains in spall fragments indicates that chemical weathering is unimportant in development of the tafoni. Calcite, aragonite, halite and gypsum dust from modern salt pans less than 20 km from Crystal Peak are potential sources of salt in the tuff, but the prevailing winds are in the wrong direction for significant amounts of these evaporite minerals to reach the inselberg. Calcite is the only evaporite mineral present in the tafoni in more than trace amounts, and this mineral is readily available within the tuff itself as a result of rock weathering. We propose that meteoric water containing carbonic acid infiltrates the tuff, dissolves carbonate clasts, and migrates to the steep flanks (>20°) of the peak through abundant megapores and micropores. There it evaporates and precipitates calcite. Crystallization pressure spalls off grains and sheets as the physical manifestation of salt weathering. The quasi‐uniform spacing of tafoni suggests that a self‐organization process is active in the water flow. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of mineral weathering reactions on the chemical composition of soil water,Springs, and ground water,Catoctin Mountains,Maryland

During 1983 and 1984, wet precipitation was primarily a solution of dilute sulphuric acid, whereas calcium and bicarbonate were the major ions in springs and ground water in two small watersheds with a deciduous forest cover in central Maryland. Dominant ions in soil water were calcium, magnesium, and sulphate. The relative importance of mineral weathering reactions on the chemical composition of these subsurface waters was compared to the contribution from wet precipitation, biological processes, and road deicing salts. Mineral reaction models, developed from geochemical mass-balance relationships, involved reactions of primary and secondary minerals in metabasalt and metarhyolite with hydrogen ion. Geochemical weathering reactions account for the majority of total ion equivalents in soil water (46 per cent), springs (51 per cent), and ground water (68 to 77 per cent). The net contribution of total ion equivalents from biological processes was 20 and 16 per cent for soil water and springs, respectively, but less than 10 per cent for ground water. The contribution of total ion equivalents from deicing salts (10 to 20 per cent) was related to proximity to roads. Strong acids in precipitation contributed 44 per cent of the total amount of hydrogen ions involved in mineral-weathering reactions for ground water in contact with metarhyolite compared to 25 per cent for ground water in contact with metabasalt, a less resistant rock type to weathering.     

Spatial variability of floodplain sedimentation at the event scale in the Rhine–Meuse delta,The Netherlands

This article addresses spatial variability of comtemporary floodplain sedimentation at the event scale. Measurements of overbank deposition were carried out using sediment traps on 11 floodplain sections along the rivers Waal and Meuse in The Netherlands during the high-magnitude flood of December 1993. During the flood, sand sheets were locally deposited behind a natural levee. At distances greater than 50 to 100 m from the river channel the deposits consisted mainly of silt- and clay-sized material. Observed patterns of deposition were related to floodplain topography and sediment transporting mechanisms. Though at several sites patterns were observed that suggest transport by turbulent diffusion, convection seems the dominant transporting mechanism, in particular in sections that are bordered by minor embankments. The average deposition of overbank fines ranged between 1·2 and 4·0 kg m⁻² along the river Waal, and between 1·0 and 2·0 kg m⁻² along the river Meuse. The estimated total accumulation of overbank fines (not including sand sheets) on the entire river Waal floodplain was 0·24 Mton, which is 19 per cent of the total suspended sediment load transported through the river Waal during the flood. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preferential groundwater flow through a sorted net landscape,Arctic Canada

Preferential suprapermafrost groundwater flow was observed in deepened channels lying between raised frost mounds. Here, saturated hydraulic conductivity, k, ranged from 90 to 1000 m/day but was only 0·1–1·0 m/day in the mound centres. A high proportion of fines occurs in the frost mound centre due to particle sorting, while channels contain gravels. Three approaches of areal weighting of k and groundwater flow, Q _s, across a wetland–upland boundary were explored. When percentage area covered by channels, mounds or gravel was considered, estimates of water flow on a daily and seasonal basis fell by 30 to 50 per cent. This study is of relevance to northern scientists who require reliable estimates of groundwater flow across patterned ground landscapes. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) of snow‐avalanche impact ramparts in southern Norway: approaches,results and implications for landform age,dynamics and development

Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) was applied to the problem of dating the diachronous surfaces of five distal river‐bank boulder ramparts deposited by snow avalanches plunging into the Jostedøla and Sprongdøla rivers in the Jostedalsbreen region of southern Norway. Approaches to local high‐precision linear age calibration, which controlled in different ways for boulder roundness, were developed. The mean age (SHD_mean) and the maximum age (SHD_max) of surface boulders were estimated for whole ramparts, crests and distal fringes. Interpretation was further assisted by reference to R‐value distributions. SHD_mean ages (with 95% confidence intervals) ranged from 520 ± 270 years to 5375 ± 965 years, whereas SHD_max ages (expected to be exceeded by <5% of surface boulders) ranged from 675 to 9065 years. SHD ages from the Jostedøla ramparts tended to be older than those associated with the Sprongdøla, rampart crests were younger than the respective distal fringes, and use of relatively rounded boulders yielded more consistent SHD ages than angular boulders. The SHD_mean ages indicate differences in recent levels of snow‐avalanche activity between ramparts and provide insights into rampart dynamics as boulders are deposited on rampart crests and, in smaller numbers, on the distal fringes. SHD_max ages provide minimum age estimates of rampart age (i.e. the time elapsed since the ramparts began to form) and suggest that at least some of the ramparts have been developing since the early Holocene. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Instability of sand–silt mixtures

The instability of the sand–silt mixtures with different amount of fines contents were studied in this paper. It showed that the slope of the instability lines increases with the increasing relative densities, and it approaches the slope of the failure line (steady state line) at a high relative density. The relationship between the peak stress ratio and the intergranular void ratio can be described by a common curve for all the mixtures with fines contents less than the transitional fines content. There may also exist a unique curve for the relationship between the peak stress ratio and interfine void ratio for the mixtures with fines contents higher than the transitional fines content. If the yield strength ratio is used instead of the peak stress ratio, the relationships can be characterized in the same way.     

Erosion and deposition by debris flows at Mt Thomas,North Canterbury,New Zealand

The grass-covered slopes on the southern flank of Mt Thomas, an upfaulted block of highly sheared sandstone and argillite 40 km NW of Christchurch, New Zealand, are presently undergoing severe erosion by a combination of mass-wasting processes. Gully erosion, soil slips, and debris flows have carved out a number of steep, deeply incised ravines, from which coarse debris is transported (primarily by debris flows) to alluvial fans below. Geologic and historical evidence indicates that debris flows have been episodically active here for at least the last 20,000 years and have been the dominant process in fan building. This demonstrates that catastrophic geomorphic processes, rather than processes acting at relatively uniform rates, can be dominant in humid-temperate areas as well as in arid and semi-arid regions. In April 1978, debris flows were triggered in one of two unstable ravines in the Bullock Creek catchment by a moderate intensity, long duration rainstorm with a return period in excess of 20 years. Surges of fluid debris, moving at velocities up to 5 m/s, transported a dense slurry of gravel, sand, and mud up to 3·5 km over a vertical fall of 600 m. Deposition on the alluvial fan occurred when the flows left the confines of an entrenched fan-head channel and spread out as a 0·16 km² sheet averaging 1·2 m thick. In all, 195,000 m³ were deposited, roughly a third of that being reworked sediments from the head of the fan. Sediment yield from this one event would be equivalent to several thousand years worth of erosion at average sediment discharge rates for small South Island mountain catchments. Samples of viscous fluid debris during surges contained up to 84 per cent solids, composed of 70 per cent gravel, 20 per cent silt, and 4 per cent clay. Fluid density of the material ranged between 1·95 and 2·13 g/cm³, and it was extremely poorly sorted. Between surges the fluid was less viscous, less dense, and unable to carry gravel in suspension. Severe fan-head entrenchment of the stream channel (approximately 10 m in less than 24 hours) was accomplished by the erosive action of the surges. Tectonic uplift of the Mt Thomas block and the weak, crushed condition of the bedrock appear to be ultimately responsible for the catastropic erosion of slopes in the Bullock Creek catchment. However, forest clearing within the last few centuries appears to have greatly increased the rate of mass wasting and gully erosion on these slopes.     

Solution of marble in the karst of the Pikikiruna range,Northwest Nelson,New Zealand

The paper reports the first research on karst solution processes and rates in New Zealand. The study area is an IHD representative basin in the northwest corner of the South Island in a mountain range consisting principally of Ordovician marble. The climate is sunny and warm (17°C) in summer and wet and cool (7°C) in winter. Average precipitation is 2,158 mm of which 525 mm evapotranspires, yielding a discharge of 51–75 l/s/km² in the river basin studied. Almost half of the catchment of 45.1 km² consists of karst which occurs mainly as a doline covered plateau at 600–900 m within which most drainage is subterranean. Water tracing is with fluorescein defined drainage patterns. Marble solution was established by estimating inputs, throughputs and outputs of water and dissolved calcium and magnesium in both autogenic and allogenic karst drainage systems. Particular attention was paid to estimating errors. Water samples for chemical analysis were taken irregularly for approximately one year, and a rating curve relating chemical load to discharge was established. The best estimate of solution loss from the basin yields a mean rate of 100 ±M24 m³/km²/a. Of this 80 per cent is derived from solution of marble by autogenic waters, mostly in the top 10–30 m of the marble outcrop. The remaining 20 per cent is accomplished by allogenic stream solution. Approximately 9.9 per cent of the dissolved calcium and magnesium load leaving the basin originates from non-karst rocks and 4.6 per cent is initially introduced by rainfall. River flows that are exceeded only 5 per cent of the time transport approximately 44 per cent of the annual dissolved load, while mean to low flows that occur for 75 per cent of the time transport 35 per cent of the annual solute load. This confirms the importance of low frequency-high magnitude events, but indicates also that in corrosion systems high frequency events of moderate to low magnitude can also accomplish significant work.     

The quantity of stormwater runoff from ten stretches of road,a car park and eight roofs in Hertfordshire,England during 1983

Rainfall and runoff were monitored simultaneously for one year from a residential road, a car park, nine sections of road draining to individual gullies, two house roofs, two garage roofs, and three types of factory roof. The sites, which included an automatic weather station, were in Redbourn, Hertfordshire on Flood Studies Report Soil Type 1. The 2906 quality controlled ‘station-storms’ represented 193 rain storms and involved 57.2 per cent of the annual rainfall. 1732 storms were of less than 1.4mm of rain, whilst 77 had over 10mm. The percentage runoff averaged 11.4 per cent for roads and 56.9 per cent for roofs (28.3 per cent and 90.4 per cent respectively for rainfalls >5mm). Percentage runoff from the roads was cyclic with a peak during the summer months but there was a marked variation in monthly percentage runoff within and between sites. Regression analysis to explain percentage runoff was undertaken with various subsets of data for: each site; roads; and roofs. The regression analysis considered all storms; >1 percent runoff events; >5mm rainfalls; and events with > = 4 mm rain and > = 5 per cent runoff. The variable values in percentage runoff could not be explained satisfactorily with statistical methods. Only eight of the 72 equations explained more than 57 per cent of the variance. The most important explanatory variables for roads were short term rainfall intensity and rainfall amount, the former was the most important for roofs. ‘Seasonal’ variables had a positive relation ship for roads which shows that the percentage runoff from roads is higher in summer than winter. The antecedent variables showed that percentage runoff from roads and roofs is increased by antecedent rainfall. Seasonal factors and evaporation were unimportant for the percentage runoff from roofs. Depression storage, assessed by examining rainfalls that did and did not produce runoff, showed a diversity of monthly values. The depression storages derived by the regression intercept method were usually smaller. There were no relationships between depression storage and catchment or roof slope. The mean values for roofs and roads respectively were 0.52 mm and 1.23 mm for the classification method and 0.42 mm and 0.6mm with the regression approach. Peak runoff from the roads showed an attenuation to 12.8 per cent for 1 minute rainfall intensities and 24.2 per cent for 5 minute intensities. For roofs the attenuation averaged 36.8 per cent for 1 minute intensities and 92.6 for 5 minute intensities. Regression for peak runoff coefficients from roofs and roads explained negligible amounts of the variance except when events with 1 minute rainfall intensities of over 30 mm hr^?1 over the roads were analysed. Total rainfall was an important explanatory variable as was the slope of the road. There was evidence that peak coefficients for roads are greater during the summer.     

PLAN FORM AND PROFILE FORM OF HILLSLOPES

For 27 hillslope profiles located within four first-order drainage basins on the dip slope of the South Downs in East Sussex, contour curvature (P), measured in degrees per 100 m, is highly variable within any one hillslope. Hillslopes may be described as wholly concave in plan where P is less than ?40, wholly convex in plan where P is greater than +40 and convexo-concave in plan where P lies between ?40 and +40. One measure of P taken at the profile sampling line is found to give a better estimate of P than measuring P at the steepest point on the hillslope. P is found to be significantly negatively correlated with slope in 38 per cent of cases, correlated with distance from the divide in 55 per cent of cases (positively where P <0 and negatively where P <0) and positively correlated with profile curvature in 70 per cent of cases. Implications of these correlations for hillslope process-response models are discussed.     

Limestone solution rates and processes in the Waitomo District,New Zealand

Karst solution processes are investigated on Oligocene limestones in the Waitomo district, west central North Island, New Zealand. Estimates of the inputs, throughputs and outputs of water and dissolved calcium and magnesium in two drainage basins were used to establish the rate of limestone solution by autogenic waters. The best estimate for solution loss from the basins during the study year is 69 m³/km². The potential measurement errors inherent in each parameter used in the erosion rate computations were assessed and the probable maximum and minimum erosion rates were estimated to be 88 and 61 m³/km². In both basins approximately 67 per cent of the annual solute load is transported by flows greater than the mean annual discharge, over 15 per cent being transported by flood flows that are exceeded only 5 per cent of the time. Almost half of the annual load is transported during the three winter months (June-August), but no one month accounts for more than 18 per cent or less than 2.7 per cent of the annual total. Approximately 37 per cent of solution takes place within the soil profile, and most of the remainder is concentrated in 5–10 m of weathered bedrock (the subcutaneous zone) beneath this. Thus, it is likely that at least 85 per cent of the total solutional erosion contributes to the surface lowering of soil and bedrock.     

A MEASUREMENT OF ALBEDO CHANGES RESULTING FROM AFFORESTATION PRACTICES

ABSTRACT

The measurement of albedo using portable battery-powered logging equipment before and after the ploughing of drainage ditches by the Forestry Commission on a small catchment in Northern England is described. The change in the evaporation brought about by the reduction of the mean basin albedo from 15.2±0.7 per cent to 13.1 ±0.8 per cent would not in itself produce a significant change in the basin's hydrological behaviour.