Sediment source changes over the last 250 years in a dry-tropical catchment, central Queensland, Australia

Rivers draining to the Great Barrier Reef are receiving increased attention with the realisation that European land use changes over the last  150 years may have increased river sediment yields, and that these may have adversely affected the reef environment. Mitigation of the effects associated with such changes is only possible if information on the spatial provenance and dominant types of erosion is known. To date, very few field-based studies have attempted to provide this information. This study uses fallout radionuclide (¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex) and geochemical tracing of river bed and floodplain sediments to examine sources over the last  250 years for Theresa Creek, a subcatchment of the Fitzroy River basin, central Queensland, Australia. A Monte Carlo style mixing model is used to predict the relative contribution of both the spatial (geological) sources and erosion types. The results indicate that sheetwash and rill erosion from cultivated basaltic land and channel erosion from non-basaltic parts of the catchment are currently contributing most sediment to the river system. Evidence indicates that the dominant form of channel erosion is gully headcut and sidewall erosion. Sheetwash and rill erosion from uncultivated land (i.e., grazed pasture/woodland) is a comparatively minor contributor of sediment to the river network. Analysis of the spatial provenance of floodplain core sediments, in conjunction with optical dating and ¹³⁷Cs depth profile data, suggests that a phase of channel erosion was initiated in the late nineteenth century. With the development of land underlain by basalt in the mid-twentieth century the dominant source of erosion shifted to cultivated land, although improvements in land management practices have probably resulted in a decrease in sediment yield from cultivated areas in the later half of the twentieth century. On a basin-wide scale, because of the limited spatial extent of cultivation, channel sources are likely to be the largest contributor of sediment to the Fitzroy River. Accordingly, catchment management measures focused on reducing sediment delivery to the Great Barrier Reef should focus primarily on decreasing erosion from channel sources.     

干涸尾闾湖盆区泥漠地表磨蚀释尘特征

沙粒的表面磨蚀效应是地表产尘、释尘的重要机制,针对干湖盆泥漠地表开展磨蚀释尘实验研究,对理解干湖盆地表风蚀过程及盐碱尘暴形成机理具有重要意义。对采自西居延海干涸湖盆泥漠地表土样进行室内磨蚀模拟实验,研究了不同粒级（细、中、粗）沙粒不同落沙角度（30°,45°,60°）的磨蚀效应。结果表明：（1）泥漠地表磨蚀实验中能够产生明显释尘效应的沙粒粒级阈值为中沙（0.25 mm<M_d<0.50 mm）;（2）磨蚀粒径粒级相同时,磨蚀角度会对泥漠地表磨蚀释尘速率产生影响,磨蚀量的角度排序为60°>30°>45°,但同一粒级3种角度下的磨蚀释尘率差异不显著。（3）磨蚀角度为45°时,计算了泥漠地表的质量磨蚀率与能量磨蚀率,其中中沙为0.04 g·kg^-1、0.43 g·J^-1,粗沙为0.08 g·kg^-1、0.74 g·J^-1,极粗沙为0.26 g·kg^-1、2.54 g·J^-1;在磨蚀沙粒粒级倍增而磨蚀角度不变情况下,泥漠地表磨蚀释尘率与能量磨蚀率未发生正比例线性增长变化。     

沙漠绿洲不同下垫面夏季能量收支对比分析

利用"绿洲系统能量与水分循环过程观测试验"2005年在甘肃金塔不同下垫面的观测资料,对绿洲、戈壁和沙漠不同下垫面夏季辐射和地表能量收支及闭合特征进行了全面的时空对比分析,结果表明:(1)不同下垫面太阳向下短波辐射没有明显差距,地面短波向上辐射差别较大,大气长波向下辐射变化较小,地表长波辐射差异显著.另外,地表吸收辐射戈壁沙漠日变化较绿洲显著.(2)沙漠与戈壁各通量特征相似,而与绿洲上的有很大差异.(3)能量通量测量存在明显的不确定性:影响能量通量不闭合的原因,主要是超声和土壤热通量的测量误差.     

Scenarios for Community-based Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation: a case study from the Wet Tropics,Queensland, Australia

Natural resource management approaches that deliver biodiversity conservation remain elusive, with evidence of a persistent implementation gap between biodiversity science and conservation projects. Scenarios have been identified as potentially useful in addressing the complex issues underlying this implementation gap, but have been infrequently applied to biodiversity conservation. Our paper reports on action co-research to develop, apply and assess the efficacy of scenarios within a community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach to biodiversity conservation at Mission Beach, a key site within the globally significant Wet Tropics bioregion. We focused on the capacity of scenarios to address the issues of contested interests and uncertainty, aiming specifically to engage the community to build a cohesive vision. The scenarios' headline messages included a projected substantial loss of habitat in coastal vegetation communities that are highly valued by all stakeholders. Our assessment identified that the use of scenarios fulfilled the intended aims, resulting in a vision for biodiversity conservation that has substantial community support. Three factors contributed to this efficacy of the scenarios: (1) the focus on threat; (2) biodiversity science integration; and (3) simplicity in presentation. Further investigation of the potential of scenarios as tools to overcome the implementation gap in biodiversity conservation is recommended.     

A deep seismic profile of 800 km length recorded in southern Queensland, Australia

Summary. In 1984, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland recorded a regional seismic reflection profile of over 800 km length from the eastern part of the Eromanga Basin to the Beenleigh Block east of the Clarence Moreton Basin. A relatively transparent upper crustal basement with an underlying, more reflective lower crust is characteristic of much of the region. Prominent westerly dipping reflectors occur well below the sediments of the eastern margin of the Clarence Moreton Basin and the adjacent Beenleigh Block, and provide some of the most interesting features of the entire survey. A wide angle reflection/refraction survey of 192 km length and an expanding reflection spread of 25 km length were recorded across the Nebine Ridge. The only clear deep reflectors are interpreted as P-to-SV or SV-to-P converted reflections from a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km. The combined Nebine Ridge data provide well-constrained P and S wave velocity models of the upper crust, and suggest a crustal structure quite different from that beneath the adjacent Mesozoic basins.     

A Study of Lake Wyara, an episodically filled saline lake in southwest Queensland, Australia

Lake Wyara lies on a tertiary fault, but is much modified geomorphologically by wind and subsequent wave action from the west, so that the eastern shore is smoothed and lined by beaches at various levels, but there is no lunette. When full and overflowing, which has occurred 4–5 times in the last 108 years, it is 3400 ha in area and ca 6m in depth. Most overflows are due to floodwaters from the adjacent Paroo catchment entering the lake via its outflow and then returning again back to the river. During 1987–96, it completely filled and dried once, salinity varying from 2.8 to 350 g L-1. Water was clear, alkaline and strongly dominated by Na and Cl-ions. Macrophytes grew abundantly offshore at lower to moderate salinities, fish were few in variety and limited to low salinities, and waterbirds were usually both diverse and numerous. During the 10 years of study, only 13 zooplankter species and 23 species of littoral inverbebrates (with 3 ostracods common to both lists) were encountered; most lived at lower salinities (<30 g L-1) and none was found >60 g L-1. Dominants were mainly crustaceans and included Boeckella triarticulata and Daphnia angulata when hyposaline, and Daphniopsis queenslandensis, Moina baylyi, Diacypris spp., and Mytilocypris splendida at higher salinities. Insects were generally limited to hyposaline conditions, but Micronecta sp., and Tanytarsus barbitarsis were euryhaline. Overall, the invertebrate fauna is depauperate by comparison with saline lakes elsewhere in Australia, but similar to that in other large saline lakes in the semi-arid and arid zones of central and eastern Australia. This is related to the lake's episode nature which provides an unreliable and unpredictable habitat and therefore not encouraging speciation and also to a relatively homogenous habitat throughout the lake due to strong wind action smoothing shorelines vertically and horizontally.     

Start, end and dry spells of the growing season in semi-arid southern Zimbabwe

Smallholder agriculture in semi-arid Zimbabwe is dependent on the seasonal characteristics of rainfall. The determination of start, end and length of the growing season, and the pattern of dry spells during the season is useful information for planning land preparation and planting activities. This study was designed to assess whether there has been any changes in the start, end and length of growing season and the pattern of 14 and 21 day dry spells during the season. Daily rainfall data were collected from five meteorological stations located in southern Zimbabwe. Results indicated that no significant changes in the start, end and subsequent length of growing season occurred over the past 50-74 years. There was no significant change in the number of wet days per season over the period reviewed. There is a high probability of 14 and 21 day dry spells during the peak rainfall months. The relationship between start and end of growing season is stronger as aridity increases. We conclude that growing seasons have not changed significantly over the past 50-74 years in southern Zimbabwe. As smallholder agriculture continues to be affected by dry spells and droughts, there is scope in exploring rainwater management technologies in rainfed cropping systems.     

The influence of geological fabric and scale on drainage pattern analysis in a catchment of metamorphic terrain: Laceys Creek, southeast Queensland, Australia

The relationship between geological fabric and drainage patterns in the 81.8 km² Laceys Creek sub-catchment of the North Pine River catchment, southeast Queensland, Australia, is analysed using a new channel–ordination system. The Laceys Creek catchment is situated on the South D'Aguilar Block, which underwent metamorphism, faulting and uplift from the Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic. The catchment drains exposures of two main rock units, the Neranleigh–Fernvale Beds and the Bunya Phyllite. Both units are composed of metamorphosed deep-sea sediments that accumulated as an accretionary wedge during late Palaeozoic subduction of the palaeo-Pacific plate under the eastern margin of the Australian craton. The new channel ordination system used in this study allows improved classification of stream segments of equal prominence or rank in comparison to previous schemes. A 10 m contour digital elevation model (DEM) was produced within which drainage channels were digitised. Planar geological features, including bedding, faults, joints and cleavage, were mapped in the field and collated with data from previous geological mapping programs.Regional and local trends of geological fabric are reflected in the variable orientation of channels of different rank in the catchment. Cleavage and fractures are the dominant planar features of the Bunya Phyllite and these correlate most closely with the orientation of middle-order incised stream segments. In contrast, middle-order channels on the Neranleigh–Fernvale Beds most closely correlate with bedding, which dominates the fabric of this unit. Although anthropogenic factors exert local influence and climatic processes exert broad influence on the catchment, this study focuses on structural and lithological fabrics, which are the apparent dominant controls on middle-order channel orientations. Identification of congruent patterns between bedrock fabric and channel ranks is variable, depending on the scale and number of channels included in the analysis. Many low-rank channels correspond closely to the orientation of fine-scale bedding and foliation and these influences may not be detected by coarse-scale mapping. Understanding the extent of geological controls on the morphology of a catchment may assist geo-hazard identification, land-use planning and civil-engineering projects.     

天山北坡低山丘陵干草原生长季蒸散特征

基于HL20波文比系统获得了天山北坡低山丘陵干草原2013-2015年的能量、气象观测数据,采用波文比-能量平衡法对其生长季（4～10月）蒸散特征进行了分析。结果表明：（1）生长季蒸散日内变化总体呈现中午最高、早晚变小和夜间蒸散微弱的特征,阴雨天蒸散日内变化相对复杂,蒸散强度通常弱于晴天;2013-2015年生长季蒸散量平均值为353.2 mm,生长季蒸散量在不同年份、不同季节和不同月份差异较大;2013-2015年生长季凝结水占降水量的比例分别为9.7%,18.8%和16.8%,日均凝结水量分别为0.177 mm,0.179 mm和0.316 mm。（2）生长季潜热和感热占据了净辐射能的主体且总体上潜热小于感热,白天潜热最大值出现之前,潜热会出现短暂小幅降低的情况。生长季感热和潜热逐日对比变化与植被长势密切相关。（3）波文比在夜间波动较大,变化复杂,白天上午波文比从负值增大到<1的正值,再到>1的正值,中午波文比为>1的正值,20：00左右波文比值开始回落。     

Hydrobiology of a salt pan from the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico

The study site, a salt pan in the northwest of Baja California, Mexico,has a surface area of 33.2 ha and water capacity of 216,072m³. It is intermittently isolated from the adjacent ocean by asand bar, so that flooding via the coastal plain is a low frequency eventassociated with extreme storm conditions. Temporal changes in water volumewere represented by a particular expression of the mass conservationequation having as variables the volumetric capacity of the system, waterinputs by pluvial precipitation, runoff and infiltration, and water loss byevaporation; the numerical model explained over 80 per cent of observedfluctuations. The hydrobiological study covered a three-year period and twohydrological cycles; the first one was of mixed marine and pluvial origin,and the second, continental. Throughout the first cycle, phosphate andnitrate concentrations were up to one order of magnitude higher as weretotal particulate protein, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton abundance. Ingeneral, nannoplankton abundance was up to three orders of magnitude greaterthan the microphlanktonic fraction. In the former, 29 different cell formswere observed; two halophytic bacteria constituted 60–80 per cent ofthat fraction. In the microplankton, there were 27 different forms; mostwere benthic diatoms. The zooplanktonic assemblages of the first cycle hadmarine and continental elements; at 141 per mille, Artemia sp. firstappeared; at 240 per mille, it was the only faunistic element in the system.During the second cycle, Artemia was always present, co-existing with othercontinental species up to a salinity of 99 per mille. The morphology andmorphometry of Artemia were similar to those of Artemia franciscana.     

Food security,remoteness and consolidation of supermarket distribution centres: Factors contributing to food pricing inequalities across Queensland,Australia

There is a clear association between food prices, affordability and issues of food security. Australian food supply chains have lengthened in recent years in response to consolidation policies of the dominant supermarkets, which have reduced the number of distribution centres in order to maximise economic efficiencies. This study presents a spatial analysis of a healthy food basket survey undertaken across Queensland, Australia in order to identify the primary determinants of food pricing. Ambiguity in the academic literature on this subject is largely due to limitations of the utilised methods. Our results indicate that food price variability is directly related to the type of store surveyed, and the distance of the surveyed store to the supermarket distribution centres in Brisbane, or urban centres on the east coast of Australia. Population size of towns and the level of social disadvantage observed in communities were indirect determinants of food prices. Therefore, in order to lessen the disadvantage already encountered by communities located in outer regional and remote areas who pay increasingly more for food than their urban counterparts, policy interventions need to move beyond subsiding food costs and consider the relationship between fuel prices and the lengthening of dominant food supply chains, in addition to the capacity of local supply chains.     

Observations on mass media reporting and individual motivation to obtain a flood inundation map—River Torrens,Adelaide, South Australia

A four-sheet set of flood inundation maps of the River Torrens floodplain in Adelaide, prepared as part of the River Torrens Flood Mitigation Study, was made available by the government in an attempt to inform the public about the flood risk. Prior levels of awareness were low, there not having been a significant flood in the area since 1931.Announcement of the Flood Mitigation Study and the maps' availability was made by news release, ministerial press conference and paid advertisements in the local press. A content analysis of the various news media's coverage of this event shows that the media generally ignored the floodplain maps and concentrated on other aspects of the news release.The maps were available free from state and local government offices, and records were kept of all persons requesting maps. In the first three months only 277 persons requested maps. Approximately two-thirds of these collected maps for personal reasons and the other one-third for occupational reasons. There was no relationship between the numbers of each sheet collected and the number of flood-prone premises on the sheet. One of the sheets shows no flood-affected premises but has been requested as much as any other sheet.The results are compared with sales figures of floodplain maps prepared for Brisbane, Queensland, after a disastrous flood there in 1974. The effect of experience of a flood is evident on both the population and the media in Brisbane when compared to Adelaide. In addition to low prior awareness of flood risk, the low prominence of the story in the mass media, the content of the media reports and the positions of the paid advertisements in the press all contributed to the poor community response to the maps.     

Velocity profile of a sand cloud blowing over a gravel surface

Particle dynamic analyzer (PDA) measurement technology was used to study the turbulent characteristics and the variation with height of the mean horizontal (in the downwind direction) and vertical (in the upward direction) particle velocity of a sand cloud blowing over a gravel surface. The results show that the mean horizontal particle velocity of the cloud increases with height, while the mean vertical velocity decreases with height. The variation of the mean horizontal velocity with height is, to some extent, similar to the wind profile that increases logarithmically with height in the turbulent boundary layer. The variation of the mean vertical velocity with height is much more complex than that of the mean horizontal velocity. The increase of the resultant mean velocity with height can be expressed by a modified power function. Particle turbulence in the downwind direction decreases with height, while that in the vertical direction is complex. For fine sands (0.2–0.3 mm and 0.3–0.4 mm), there is a tendency for the particle turbulence to increase with height. In the very near-surface layer (<4 mm), the movement of blown sand particles is very complex due to the rebound of particles on the bed and the interparticle collisions in the air. Wind starts to accelerate particle movement about 4 mm from the surface. The initial rebound on the bed and the interparticle collisions in the air have a profound effect on particle movement below that height, where particle concentration is very high and wind velocity is very low.     

Spatial variation of early season surface water chemistry in Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

This study examines the spatial variability of early season water chemistry in the arctic-alpine valley of Kärkevagge, Sweden. The data demonstrate the spatially heterogeneous nature of water chemistry and the general patterns of chemical weathering in the valley. Water chemistry in this valley is dominated by two anions, bicarbonate and sulfate. Bicarbonate is derived from the dissolution of atmospheric CO₂ and the weathering of carbonate units in the local metamorphic rocks, while the sulfate is derived from the oxidation of pyrite in the Seve-Koli tectonic nappe. Spatial patterns of chemical constituents reflect the broad effects of local geology on surface water chemistry. In particular, they demonstrate the effects that mineral species present in minor amounts have on basin-wide water chemistry. However, solute flux rates derived from water chemistry and discharge demonstrate less variability.