Size sorting of fine-grained sediments during erosion: Results from the western Gulf of Lions

Sediment cores from the western Gulf of Lions France were subject to known bottom shear stresses with the goal of understanding size-specific sediment erodibility. On cruises in October 2004, February and April 2005, cores with an undisturbed sediment–water interface were collected along a transect extending seaward from the Tet river mouth. The cores were exposed to increasing shear stresses (0.01–0.4 Pa) onboard the vessel shortly after collection by using a Gust erosion chamber. Samples of the suspensate were collected during the erosion experiments and analyzed for disaggregated inorganic grain size (DIGS) using a Coulter Multisizer IIe. Size-specific mobility plots were generated by dividing the proportion of each grain size in suspension at each shear stress by its proportion in the sediment before erosion. If all grain sizes that make up the bottom sediment are eroded equally from the bed, then mobility equals one for all grain sizes. Values >1 indicate that the suspended sediment is enriched in the size class and values <1 indicate that the size class is enriched in the bed. Results show that in non-cohesive, sandy silts, fine grains (clays and fine silts) are eroded preferentially from the bed at low shear stresses. With increasing bottom stress progressively larger grains are eroded from the bed. In cohesive silts, preferential erosion of the finer sizes no longer occurs, with all sizes up to medium silts eroding at approximately the same rate. Effectively, a sandy silt can be winnowed of its fine grain fraction during erosion while cohesive silts cannot. This difference in the sortability of cohesive and non-cohesive sediment during erosion may control the position and maintenance of the sand–mud transition and the sequestration of surface-adsorbed contaminants.     

Cyclic resistance and liquefaction behavior of silt and sandy silt soils

The liquefaction behavior and cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of reconstituted samples of non-plastic silt and sandy silts with 50% and 75% silt content are examined using constant-volume cyclic and monotonic ring shear tests along with bender element shear wave velocity (V_s) measurements. Liquefaction occurred at excess pore water pressure ratios (r_u) between 0.6 and 0.7 associated with cumulative cyclic shear strains (γ) of 4% to 7%, after which cyclic liquefaction ensued with very large shear strains and excess pore water pressure ratio (r_u>0.8). The cyclic ring shear tests demonstrate that cyclic resistance ratio of silt and sandy silts decreases with increasing void ratio, or with decreasing silt content at a certain void ratio. The results also show good agreement with those from cyclic direct simple shear tests on silts and sandy silts. A unique correlation is developed for estimating CRR of silts and sandy silts (with more than 50% silt content) from stress-normalized shear wave velocity measurements (V_s1) with negligible effect of silt content. The results indicate that the existing CRR–V_s1 correlations would underestimate the liquefaction resistance of silts and sandy silt soils.     

Evaluation of Microphytobenthos Productivity in Lake Pleshcheevo Based on Plant Pigment Stock

Results of spectrophotometric determination of plant pigments (chlorophylls, phaeo-pigments, and carotenoids) in the upper 3-cm layer of the littoral and sublittoral lake bottom sediments are presented for the depths corresponding to water transparency of 0.2, 0.5; 1, 2, and 3. Pigment characteristics are analyzed for the conditions, theoretically ensuring the possibility of photosynthesis and development of microphytobenthos. The presence of live algae in the bottom sediments is confirmed by directly counting the cells capable of positive photokinesis. The specific character of pigments' horizontal distribution is determined by a circum-bathymetric structure of the lake sediment complex and by illumination conditions. Potentially active, “pure” chlorophyll prevails in the euphotic area in the zone of light saturation, whereas phaeo-pigments prevail in the area of limited illumination. Regression equations describing relations between pigments concentration and depth have been obtained. The ratio between chlorophyll concentration in microphytobenthos and that of phytoplankton in the lake is estimated.     

Ecosystem history of Mississippi River-influenced continental shelf revealed through preserved phytoplankton pigments

Pigments determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) provide useful information concerning water column and epibenthic plant and microbial communities in both extant communities and accumulated sediments in lakes, estuaries and the ocean. Chlorophyll and its degradation products provide an estimate of overall biomass, and carotenoid pigments provide taxonomic biomarkers of phytoplankton. We examined the pigments preserved in sediment cores from the Louisiana continental shelf adjacent to the outflow of the Mississippi River system to document changes in phytoplankton community composition, phytoplankton abundance, and conditions of hypoxia over time. Carbon accumulated in sediments from water depths of 20-60 m is primarily derived from marine phytoplankton and represents the history of phytoplankton communities in the overlying water. There is a general increase in chlorophyll a, pheopigments, zeaxanthin, fucoxanthin and most carotenoids over time, with the change gradual from 1955 to 1970, followed by a fairly steady increase to 1997. The highest chloropigment concentrations are in cores from areas more likely to be exposed to seasonal hypoxia. These indicate an increase in eutrophication in the form of greater diatom and cyanobacterial production, or a worsening of hypoxia, or both. This trend expanded westward along the Louisiana shelf in the 1990s.     

Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio in silt pore solution in the Mozhaisk Reservoir

Relationships between within-year variations in Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio in silt pore solution were obtained. The samples to be examined were taken from silts of the channel zone of the Krasnovidovo Pool, the Mozhaisk Reservoir. Specific features of the within-year redistribution of Fe forms in the pore solution of the sediment column were identified.     

High resolution lake sediment record reveals self‐organized criticality in erosion processes regulated by internal feedbacks

Reconstruction of high‐frequency erosion variability beyond the instrumental record requires well‐dated, high‐resolution proxies from sediment archives. We used computed tomography (CT) scans of finely laminated silt layers from a lake‐sediment record in southwest Oregon to quantify the magnitude of natural landscape erosion events over the last 2000 years in order to compare with palaeorecords of climate, forest fire, and seismic triggers. Sedimentation rates were modeled from an age–depth relationship fit through five ¹⁴C dates and the 1964 AD ¹³⁷Cs peak in which deposition time (yr mm^‐1) varied inversely with the proportion of silt sediment measured by the CT profile. This model resulted in pseudo‐annual estimates of silt deposition for the last 2000 years. Silt accumulation during the past 80 years was strongly correlated with river‐discharge at annual and decadal scales, revealing that erosion was highly responsive to precipitation during the logging era (1930–present). Before logging the frequency–magnitude relationship displayed a power‐law distribution that is characteristic of complex feedbacks and self‐regulating mechanisms. The 100‐year and 10‐year erosion magnitude estimated in a 99‐year moving window varied by 1.7 and 1.0 orders of magnitude, respectively. Decadal erosion magnitude was only moderately positively correlated with a summer temperature reconstruction over the period 900–1900 AD. Magnitude of the seven largest events was similar to the cumulative silt accumulation anomaly, suggesting these events ‘returned the system’ to the long‐term mean rate. Instead, the occurrence of most erosion events was related to fire (silt layers preceded by high charcoal concentration) and earthquakes (the seven thickest layers often match paleo‐earthquake dates). Our data show how internal (i.e. sediment production) and external processes (natural fires or more stochastic events such as earthquakes) co‐determine erosion regimes at millennial time scales, and the extent to which such processes can be offset by recent large‐scale deforestation by logging. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Erodibility of soil and organic matter: independence of organic matter resistance to interrill erosion

The enrichment of organic matter in interrill sediment is well documented; however, the respective roles of soil organic matter (SOM) and interrill erosion processes for the enrichment are unclear. In this study, organic matter content of sediment generated on two silts with almost identical textures, but different organic matter contents and aggregations, was tested. Artificial rainfall was applied to the soils in wet, dry and crusted initial conditions to determine the effects of soil moisture and rainfall and drying history on organic matter enrichment in interrill sediment. While erosional response of the soils varied significantly, organic matter enrichment of sediment was not sensitive to initial soil conditions. However, enrichment was higher on the silt with a lower organic matter content and lower interrill erodibility. The results show that enrichment of organic matter in interrill sediment is not directly related to either SOM content or soil interrill erodibility, but is dominated by interrill erosion processes. As a consequence of the complex interaction between soil, organic matter and interrill erosion processes, erodibility of organic matter should be treated as a separate variable in erosion models. Further research on aggregate breakdown, in particular the content and fate of the organic matter in the soil fragments, is required. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminescence from glacimarine sediment-trap samples at the Antarctic Peninsula

Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating yields variable and high reservoir and core-top ages for glacimarine sediments around Antarctica. To test the suitability of luminescence as an alternate dating method we investigated the effectiveness of clock zeroing (by daylight) within fine-silt-size siliciclastic sediments from year-long vertical-array sediment traps in Andvord Bay and Brialmont Cove at the Antarctic Peninsula. Both long-bleach and short-bleach multi-aliquot IR-PSL (infrared photon stimulated luminescence) and single-aliquot, post-IR blue-PSL dating tests were conducted. As well, dual-bandwidth-bleaching thermoluminescence (TL) tests were performed on samples from Brialmont Cove. These TL bleaching tests indicate that silt from the middle and bottom traps at this site has had little or no exposure to daylight, but that silt from the top trap has had some exposure. All 24 samples (representing different seasons and different trap depths) exhibit anomalously old apparent ages (12 ka–60 ka) across annual seasons and depths of deposition when either long-bleach multi-aliquot or late-background-subtraction single-aliquot PSL procedures were employed. Thus regional bottom silts would be unsuited for dating by these two luminescence dating approaches. However, a short-bleach multi-aliquot IR-PSL procedure yields the expected zero ages for several samples, a promising result that requires further exploration.     

Studying the Correlation between the Vegetable Pigments Content of Bottom Deposits and the Trophic Status Indices of the Gor'kovskoe Reservoir

Data on the distribution of vegetable pigments in bottom deposits and water mass is presented to characterize the ecological zones of the reservoir. The concentrations of pigments in the channel deposits are shown to increase from the reservoir head toward the dam in accordance with the difference in phytoplankton production in the zone of backwater pinching out, transient zone, and near-dam zone. It is shown that the space heterogeneity of the pigment characteristics of deposits is controlled by the soil properties and the pigments content of the top 2.5-cm layer of bottom deposits of the reservoir correspond to the average productivity level.     

Temporal variability of contemporary floodplain sedimentation in the Rhine–Meuse delta,The Netherlands

It is often believed that extreme but infrequent events are most important in the development of landforms. When evaluating the overall effect of large floods on floodplain sedimentation, quantitative measurements of both high- and low-magnitude events should be considered. To analyse the role of flood magnitude on floodplain sedimentation, we measured overbank sedimentation during floods of different magnitude and duration. The measurements were carried out on two embanked floodplain sections along the rivers Rhine and Meuse in The Netherlands, using sediment traps made of artificial grass. The results showed an increase in total sediment accumulation with flood magnitude, mainly caused by enhanced accumulation of sand. At low floodplain sections the increase in sediment deposition was smaller than expected from the strong increase in suspended sediment transport in the river. Spatial variability in sediment accumulation was found to depend both on flood magnitude and duration. Deposition of sand on natural levees mainly takes place during high-magnitude floods, whilst low floods and slowly receding floods are important for the deposition of silt and clay in low-lying areas, at greater distance from the main channel. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gross erosion,net erosion and gross deposition of dust by wind: field data from 17 desert surfaces

Wind erosion measurements were carried out in Nellis Dunes Recreation Area, southern Nevada, USA. Gross erosion (the total mass of sediment effectively blown away from a surface), gross deposition (the total mass of sediment effectively depositing on a surface) and net erosion (the difference in sediment mass before and after an event) were measured for 1 year, on 17 different types of surfaces developed on loose dune sand, compacted sand, loose silt, compacted and/or aggregated silt, rock‐covered sands and silts, mixtures of sand, silt and clay, exposed petrocalcic horizons, gravelly substrata and bedrock. Results showed that net erosion, which is the type of erosion measured in field and laboratory experiments, strongly differs from gross erosion. Activity on a surface is much higher than classic net erosion measurements suggest. Future studies on wind erosion should better acknowledge the distinction between the two types of process. Also, a grain diameter of maximum susceptibility to wind erosion (‘optimum deflation diameter’) near 70 µm as proposed by the aeolian literature only exists for net wind erosion. No such optimum diameter was found for gross wind erosion within the particle range 0–100 µm delineating the transport modes of suspension and modified saltation. In addition, desert surfaces predominantly composed of sand did not show an optimum deflation diameter (for net erosion) around 70 µm. Instead, there was a preferential grain size around 15 µm at which particles were most vulnerable to net emission. Desert surfaces poor in sand showed the classic value of 70 µm. This suggests that interactions exist between the type of surface and the susceptibility of particles to wind erosion. This study is solely based on field data. Although results are supported by two previous wind tunnel studies, more wind tunnel experiments documenting the interactions between gross erosion and gross deposition are necessary. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phenological Responses to ENSO in the Global Oceans

Phenology relates to the study of timing of periodic events in the life cycle of plants or animals as influenced by environmental conditions and climatic forcing. Phenological metrics provide information essential to quantify variations in the life cycle of these organisms. The metrics also allow us to estimate the speed at which living organisms respond to environmental changes. At the surface of the oceans, microscopic plant cells, so-called phytoplankton, grow and sometimes form blooms, with concentrations reaching up to 100 million cells per litre and extending over many square kilometres. These blooms can have a huge collective impact on ocean colour, because they contain chlorophyll and other auxiliary pigments, making them visible from space. Phytoplankton populations have a high turnover rate and can respond within hours to days to environmental perturbations. This makes them ideal indicators to study the first-level biological response to environmental changes. In the Earth’s climate system, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dominates large-scale inter-annual variations in environmental conditions. It serves as a natural experiment to study and understand how phytoplankton in the ocean (and hence the organisms at higher trophic levels) respond to climate variability. Here, the ENSO influence on phytoplankton is estimated through variations in chlorophyll concentration, primary production and timings of initiation, peak, termination and duration of the growing period. The phenological variabilities are used to characterise phytoplankton responses to changes in some physical variables: sea surface temperature, sea surface height and wind. It is reported that in oceanic regions experiencing high annual variations in the solar cycle, such as in high latitudes, the influence of ENSO may be readily measured using annual mean anomalies of physical variables. In contrast, in oceanic regions where ENSO modulates a climate system characterised by a seasonal reversal of the wind forcing, such as the monsoon system in the Indian Ocean, phenology-based mean anomalies of physical variables help refine evaluation of the mechanisms driving the biological responses and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the integrated processes.     

Geochemical features of the silt sediment of the Novosibirsk Reservoir

Earlier data on heavy metal concentrations in bottom sediments of the Novosibirsk Reservoir are supplemented by new geochemical characteristics of fine silt sediment in the near-dam part of the reservoir with the list of chemical elements extended to 55. After the beginning of the Ob’s runoff regulation by HPP dam, a new geochemical type of sediment started forming in the new reservoir. This type of sediment features higher concentrations of chemical elements (including heavy metals), reaching the values typical of Baikal silt recorded in the central hollow of the lake.     

The effect of clay mineral content on the dynamic response of reconstituted fine grained soil

Fine grained soils with considerable amount of silt may exhibit sand-like or clay-like behavior depending on several factors such as the amount of fines and clay content, as well as the consistency limits, other variables being kept unchanged. This unpredictable behavior makes silts highly problematic, especially under seismic conditions. This paper describes the laboratory behavior of low plasticity Adapazari silt, known to be highly sensitive to cyclic loading. In the first phase of the basic study reported herein, Adapazari silt was mixed with different percentages of bentonite and kaolin and the behavior of these reconstituted mixtures was investigated in cyclic triaxial and dynamic simple shear tests. The purpose was to identify basic index properties and their threshold values to delineate sand- and clay-like behavior. Such a distinction may make it possible to complement field penetration resistance with appropriate adjustment factors to evaluate the pore pressure development potential, thus the risk of ground failure during an earthquake. The results show that there is a range of liquid limit and plasticity index values above which cyclic failure is significantly mitigated. It can now be stated that silts of intermediate and high plasticity may be deemed of relatively low potential for ground failure during seismic loading.     

富营养水体中沉水植物与浮游藻类相互竞争的研究

本文就沉水植物与浮游藻类在富营养水体中的相互竞争现象及机制作了初步研究。室内外实验结果表明,二者之间存在着复杂的相互竞争关系。在光资源竞争上,浮游藻类占有相对优势;对水中营养盐的竞争是单向的,沉水植物因可以从底泥中得到营养盐而处于优势地位;当光照和营养盐充足时沉水植物对浮游藻类有明显的生化抑制效应,这种抑制可能通过促进藻类沉降而起作用。二者的互竞争受水深、水温及水中营养盐含量的强烈影响,高水温、高营养盐含量及深水均不利于沉水植物,而助长了浮游藻类的竞争优势。沉水植物群落一旦形成较大的密度,就能对浮游藻类产生强烈的抑制,保持自己的优势地位。因此,沉水植被恢复应从水温和水位均较底的冬季开始,严格控制营养盐输入量是非常重要的。     

Modeling the effect of artificial flow and sediment flux on the environment and plankton of an estuary

Estuarine environments are influenced by both river flows and oceanic tidal movement of water, sediment, and nutrients, often forming ecosystems that are rich in resources and biodiversity. The Yellow River once carried the world’s largest sediment load, but artificial structures have transformed its hydrodynamic processes. An annual Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme(WSRS) was introduced to flush accumulated sediment from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, which provides flood control and water storage.Ho...     

碎石桩加固饱和粉土地基的抗液化特性

除饱和砂土液化外,饱和粉土地震液化问题也是岩土地震工程中一个重要的研究课题。饱和粉土地基的地震液化及变形可以采用多种地基加固方法防治,碎石桩技术是常用方法之一。碎石桩复合地基的抗液化效应,主要是增加桩周土体的密度、利于桩体的排水以及由桩体分担地震水平剪应力（桩体减震作用）。但由于粉土的土质特性,粉土-碎石桩复合地基的抗液化特性与砂土有着明显的差异。本文结合目前国内外碎石桩复合地基抗液化研究的最新进展,对粉土-碎石桩的密实、排水减压和减震作用做了较详细的评述,最后提出了关于碎石柱复合地基抗液化特性需要进一步研究的问题。     

Concentration and fractionation of trace metals in surface sediments of intertidal Bohai Bay, China

Surface sediments from intertidal Bohai Bay were sampled for the geochemical and environmental assessment of six trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn). Results indicate that sediment grain size plays an important role in controlling the distribution and fractionation of them. Metal concentrations in clayey silt sediments are all clearly higher than in sand and silty sand ones. Cd and Pb in clayey silt sediments are more mobile than in sand and silty sand ones. Two sediment quality guidelines and two geochemical normalization methods (index of geoaccumulation and enrichment factor) were used to judge the potential risk and accumulation of metals. According to the mean probable effects level quotient, the combination of studied metals may have a 21% probability of being toxic. The sediments with high fraction of clay and silt have been contaminated by trace metals to various degrees, among which Cr contributes the most to contamination.     

Postliquefaction behavior of low-plasticity silt at various degrees of reconsolidation

During earthquake events, low-plasticity silt undergoes a reduction in shear strength and stiffness due to development of excess pore pressure induced by cyclic loading. With reconsolidation, during which process excess pore pressure is dissipated, the shear strength and stiffness can be regained. However, due to the low permeability of silts (compared to sands), the dissipation of excess pore pressure and the reconsolidation of low-plasticity silt takes much more time. This paper investigates the postliquefaction shear behavior of Mississippi River Valley (MRV) silt at various degrees of reconsolidation using triaxial tests. Test results indicate that there was a steady increase, in shear strength and stiffness, at both large and small deformations, with increase in the degree of reconsolidation. The postliquefaction silt showed the effect of the apparent OCR, which had a close effect on postcyclic shear behavior as did the OCR on the static behavior. The critical state lines of MRV silt were different for pre- and post-liquefaction conditions.     

Modern sediment accumulation on the Po shelf,Adriatic Sea

Sediment accumulation over the past century on the continental shelf near the Po delta varies with distance from the most active distributary channels. Near the Pila and Goro distributaries, sediment accumulation is rapid (1–4 cm yr⁻¹) and occurs in pulses. In these areas, the seabed is dominated by physical sedimentary structures that can be related to flood sedimentation. Between the two distributaries and in the southern portion of the dispersal system, sediment accumulation is slower (rates reach a minimum of 0.23 cm yr⁻¹ at ∼50 km from the Pila mouth) and steady-state, reflecting more continuous dispersal of sediment during non-flood periods. Sedimentary strata in these locations are composed of finer (clayey silt), mottled sediment. The similarity in the spatial distribution of long-term (100-yr) sediment accumulation to deposition resulting from the 2000 flood event suggests that the Po shelf is flood-dominated.About half of the sediment delivered by the Po River on a 100-yr time scale can be accounted for in the seabed deposit within ∼50 km of the Pila mouth. The remaining sediment is likely transported southward by the prevailing circulation, and this sediment coalesces with inputs from the Apennine Rivers.