Geochemistry of shallow ground water in coastal plain environments in the southeastern United States: implications for aquifer susceptibility

Ground-water chemistry data from coastal plain environments have been examined to determine the geochemical conditions and processes that occur in these areas and assess their implications for aquifer susceptibility. Two distinct geochemical environments were studied to represent a range of conditions: an inner coastal plain setting having more well-drained soils and lower organic carbon (C) content and an outer coastal plain environment that has more poorly drained soils and high organic C content. Higher concentrations of most major ions and dissolved inorganic and organic C in the outer coastal plain setting indicate a greater degree of mineral dissolution and organic matter oxidation. Accordingly, outer coastal plain waters are more reducing than inner coastal plain waters. Low dissolved oxygen (O₂) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) concentrations and high iron (Fe) concentrations indicate that ferric iron (Fe (III)) is an important electron acceptor in this setting, while dissolved O₂ is the most common terminal electron acceptor in the inner coastal plain setting.The presence of a wide range of redox conditions in the shallow aquifer system examined here underscores the importance of providing a detailed geochemical characterization of ground water when assessing the intrinsic susceptibility of coastal plain settings. The greater prevalence of aerobic conditions in the inner coastal plain setting makes this region more susceptible to contamination by constituents that are more stable under these conditions and is consistent with the significantly (p<0.05) higher concentrations of NO₃⁻ found in this setting. Herbicides and their transformation products were frequently detected (36% of wells sampled), however concentrations were typically low (<0.1 μg/L). Shallow water table depths often found in coastal plain settings may result in an increased risk of the detection of pesticides (e.g., alachlor) that degrade rapidly in the unsaturated zone.     

210Pb and 137Cs measurements in the Circum Bohai Sea coastal region: sedimentation rates and implications

The representative ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs age-depth profiles were selected from more than 100 sites in the Circum Bohai Sea (CBS) coastal region to examine the sedimentation rates and associated environmental changes. There are three unique ²¹⁰Pb_exc distribution patterns: 1) ideal-decaying type, representing relatively constant sediment supply and quieter environmental setting; 2) wiggling type, but with approximately equivalent amplitude, representing coarser sediments and associated stronger flow current environment; and 3) episodic-eventinfluencing type, each representing typhoon storm-influenced depositional environment. Our results also show that there is a lower sedimentation rate (ca. 0.1 cm/a) in the coastal lowlands, a higher sedimentation rate (ca. 0.5–3 cm/a) in the intertidal flat and an intermediate rate of ca. 0.58 cm/a in the subtidal zone near the Huanghua Harbor. The interbedded silt layer occurring in the core sediment reveals lower ²¹⁰Pb activities, indicating a discontinuous sedimentation mostly due to typhoon events which dwarfs against ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs applicability. Overall, the ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs measurements of the present study provide physical insight into the evaluation of the coastal-marine ecological environment and associated management.     

Recent trends in estuarine fisheries: Predictions of fish production and yield

Trends in global and United States fish catches were examined to determine the status of estuarine fisheries yields relative to those from other ecosystems. Potential marine fish production, based upon primary production relationships, was estimated globally and for specific marine ecosystems, including estuaries. While global fish catches increased substantially during the past two decades and continued to increase through 1989, catches of estuarine-dependent species have peaked or stabilized. In the United States, total catches have increased but many estuarine-dependent fisheries have declined, although the declines in catches are no more dramatic than those of heavily-fished continental shelf species. Overfishing probably is the primary cause of declines in estuarine and shelf fisheries. A few estuarine-dependent species of the United States have experienced substantial increases in harvests since 1970, for example, Pacific salmons, menhaden, and penaeid shrimps. The percentage contribution of major estuarine fisheries to the United States commercial catch declined between 1970 and 1990, although the yield of these species increased substantially. Global marine fisheries production at trophic level 2.5 was estimated to be 1,359 million tons. Potential yield was estimated to be 307 million tons, but the 1989 world marine catch was only 86.5 million tons. The major fraction, 196 million tons, of the estimated potential yeild was for the open ocean where technological constraints may prevent its full realization. Of the remaining 111 million tons of the potential, 18.0 million tons (16.2%) may come from estuaries and probably already is fully exploited. The potential catches from shelves, 68.5 million tons (61.6%), and upwelling areas, 24.8 million tons (22.2%), while considerably larger than those from estuaries, are lower in a relative sense (per unit area) than fisheries production and potential catch in estuarine zones. Relationships between fish production, fish harvest, and primary production were examined in specific estuaries. The developing role of aquaculture and its effect on estuarine fisheries are discussed.     

Recent shallow marine ostracods from high latitudes: implications for late Pliocene and Quaternary palaeoclimatology

New information about modern high-latitude marine ostracod faunas and about their occurrence in late Pliocene and Quaternary sequences promotes the application of these microfossils to palaeoenvironmental, palaeobiogeographical and palaeoclimatological problems. Five poorly known species (Cluthia cluthae, Finmarchinella logani, Roundstonia globulifera, Roundstonia macchesneyi and Semicytherura complanata) from North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic areas are confirmed as extant and are used to demonstrate the potential of marine ostracods as tools for palaeoclimate studies. The genus Bonnyannella Athersuch, 1982 is shown to be a junior synonym of Roundstonia Neale, 1973.     

Oxygenation of shallow marine environments and chemical sedimentation in Palaeoproterozoic peritidal settings: Frere Formation,Western Australia

The Palaeoproterozoic Frere Formation (ca 1.89 Gyr old) of the Earaheedy Basin, Western Australia, is a ca 600 m thick succession of iron formation and fine‐grained, clastic sedimentary rocks that accumulated on an unrimmed continental margin with oceanic upwelling. Lithofacies stacking patterns suggest that deposition occurred during a marine transgression punctuated by higher frequency relative sea‐level fluctuations that produced five parasequences. Decametre‐scale parasequences are defined by flooding surfaces overlain by either laminated magnetite or magnetite‐bearing, hummocky cross‐stratified sandstone that grades upward into interbedded hematite‐rich mudstone and trough cross‐stratified granular iron formation. Each aggradational cycle is interpreted to record progradation of intertidal and tidal channel sediments over shallow subtidal and storm‐generated deposits of the middle shelf. The presence of aeolian deposits, mud cracks and absence of coarse clastics indicate deposition along an arid coastline with significant wind‐blown sediment input. Iron formation in the Frere Formation, in contrast to most other Palaeoproterozoic examples, was deposited almost exclusively in peritidal environments. These other continental margin iron formations also reflect upwelling of anoxic, Fe‐rich sea water, but accumulated in the full spectrum of shelf environments. Dilution by fine‐grained, windblown terrigenous clastic sediment probably prevented the Frere iron formation from forming in deeper settings. Lithofacies associations and interpreted paragenetic pathways of Fe‐rich lithofacies further suggest precipitation in sea water with a prominent oxygen chemocline. Although essentially unmetamorphosed, the complex diagenetic history of the Frere Formation demonstrates that understanding the alteration of iron formation is a prerequisite for any investigation seeking to interpret ocean‐atmosphere evolution. Unlike studies that focus exclusively on their chemistry, an approach that also considers palaeoenvironment and oceanography, as well the effects of post‐depositional fluid flow and alteration, mitigates the potential for incorrectly interpreting geochemical data.     

Recent trends of temperature and precipitation proxies in Saudi Arabia: implications for climate change

The objective of the present study was to reconstruct a short-term (12–14 years) trend of surface temperature and precipitation patterns using their surrogates as provided by satellite images for selected locations along the Red Sea mountains in Saudi Arabia. Time series land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data acquired from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite were temporally plotted to delineate the trend and the decadal rates of change of both parameters. Results showed that real climate change is reported in the study area during the study period. There is a net increasing in the surface temperatures by 0.45 to 1.2 °C/decade and a net decrease in annual rainfall between 2001 and 2014. Findings of the present study show that the region is under a warming of the climate and a declining of wetness, which coincide with the air temperature and rainfall trends obtained from meteorological stations.     

Numerical modelling of coastal inundation from Cascadia Subduction Zone tsunamis and implications for coastal communities on western Vancouver Island,Canada

Natural Hazards - In the present study, numerical simulations were conducted to estimate the spatio-temporal characteristics of tsunami inundation for municipalities on Vancouver Island, Canada, as...     

Climbing‐ripple successions in turbidite systems: depositional environments,sedimentation rates and accumulation times

Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination is most commonly deposited by turbidity currents when suspended load fallout and bedload transport occur contemporaneously. The angle of ripple climb reflects the ratio of suspended load fallout and bedload sedimentation rates, allowing for the calculation of the flow properties and durations of turbidity currents. Three areas exhibiting thick (>50 m) sections of deep‐water climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination deposits are the focus of this study: (i) the Miocene upper Mount Messenger Formation in the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand; (ii) the Permian Skoorsteenberg Formation in the Tanqua depocentre of the Karoo Basin, South Africa; and (iii) the lower Pleistocene Magnolia Field in the Titan Basin, Gulf of Mexico. Facies distributions and local contextual information indicate that climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in each area was deposited in an ‘off‐axis’ setting where flows were expanding due to loss of confinement or a decrease in slope gradient. The resultant reduction in flow thickness, Reynolds number, shear stress and capacity promoted suspension fallout and thus climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination formation. Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in the New Zealand study area was deposited both outside of and within channels at an inferred break in slope, where flows were decelerating and expanding. In the South Africa study area, climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination was deposited due to a loss of flow confinement. In the Magnolia study area, an abrupt decrease in gradient near a basin sill caused flow deceleration and climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination deposition in off‐axis settings. Sedimentation rate and accumulation time were calculated for 44 climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination sedimentation units from the three areas using TDURE, a mathematical model developed by Baas et al. (2000) . For T_c divisions and T_bc beds averaging 26 cm and 37 cm thick, respectively, average climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination and whole bed sedimentation rates were 0·15 mm sec^?1 and 0·26 mm sec^?1 and average accumulation times were 27 min and 35 min, respectively. In some instances, distinct stratigraphic trends of sedimentation rate give insight into the evolution of the depositional environment. Climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination in the three study areas is developed in very fine‐grained to fine‐grained sand, suggesting a grain size dependence on turbidite climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination formation. Indeed, the calculated sedimentation rates correlate well with the rate of sedimentation due to hindered settling of very fine‐grained and fine‐grained sand–water suspensions at concentrations of up to 20% and 2·5%, respectively. For coarser grains, hindered settling rates at all concentrations are much too high to form climbing‐ripple cross‐lamination, resulting in the formation of massive/structureless S₃ or T_a divisions.     

Coastal peats from northwest Ireland: implications for late-Holocene relative sea-level change and shoreline evolution

Peat and organic rich sediments at coastal sites in extreme northwest Ireland have accumulated in a wide variety of environments, often strongly influenced by late Holocene changes in relative sea level and by geomorphic processes. A deep peat sequence on the coast of Aranmore Island accumulated initially in a lake and subsequently in a freshwater marsh environment. The long pollen record serves as a template for regional events. It extends over much of the Holocene and shows relatively high levels of Pinus pollen up to just before the disappearance of this taxon at c . 3600 BP. Coastal peat occurrences elsewhere are much thinner and have accumulated over shorter periods; they contain further evidence to show that coastal areas were well-wooded compared with today, and that Pinus was an important woodland component prior to c . 4000 BP. At sites in Gweebarra Bay intertidal peats record the closure of small estuaries by geomorphological events during the past 5000 years. Coastal sites at Ballyness, Clonmass, and Trawenagh display regressive stratigraphies ˜ minerogenic marine sediments are overlain by silty peats capped by highly organic freshwater peats. Basal radiocarbon dates range from 4500 to 3300 BP. The silty peats are interpreted as having formed in salt-marsh environments and contain distinctive pollen spectra, marked by high levels of Pinus and Compositae Liguliflorae pollen. The data suggest that relative sea level attained levels close to that of today by the mid-Holocene in this region. The pattern of relative sea-level change agrees well with that predicted by geophysical modelling.     

Residence times of shallow groundwater in West Africa: implications for hydrogeology and resilience to future changes in climate

Although shallow groundwater (<50 mbgl) sustains the vast majority of improved drinking-water supplies in rural Africa, there is little information on how resilient this resource may be to future changes in climate. This study presents results of a groundwater survey using stable isotopes, CFCs, SF₆, and ³H across different climatic zones (annual rainfall 400–2,000 mm/year) in West Africa. The purpose was to quantify the residence times of shallow groundwaters in sedimentary and basement aquifers, and investigate the relationship between groundwater resources and climate. Stable-isotope results indicate that most shallow groundwaters are recharged rapidly following rainfall, showing little evidence of evaporation prior to recharge. Chloride mass-balance results indicate that within the arid areas (<400 mm annual rainfall) there is recharge of up to 20 mm/year. Age tracers show that most groundwaters have mean residence times (MRTs) of 32–65 years, with comparable MRTs in the different climate zones. Similar MRTs measured in both the sedimentary and basement aquifers suggest similar hydraulic diffusivity and significant groundwater storage within the shallow basement. This suggests there is considerable resilience to short-term inter-annual variation in rainfall and recharge, and rural groundwater resources are likely to sustain diffuse, low volume abstraction.     

Sedimentology and palaeogeomorphology of four large valley systems incising delta plains, western Canada Foreland Basin: implications for mid-Cretaceous sea-level changes

The mid-Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation represents a delta complex deposited on a foreland basin ramp over about 2 my. The Dunvegan is divided into 10 transgressive–regressive allomembers, labelled J–A in ascending order, each defined by regional marine transgressive surfaces. Parasequences within allomembers show an aggradational to offlapping stacking pattern that reflects alternate generation and removal of accommodation. The upper surfaces of allomembers H–E are incised by extensive valley systems traceable for up to 320 km and over about 50 000 km². Valley depths range up to 41 m and can change significantly over short distances. However, the average depth of incision (mean 21 m) shows no systematic variation in longitudinal profiles and no evidence of headward shallowing. Valleys are typically 1–2 km wide, but locally widen to about 8 km. Widening is sometimes associated with confluence zones, but elsewhere it is not. Updip reaches of valleys are dominated by cross-bedded fluvial sandstone forming multistorey point-bar deposits. Sandstones contain widespread but uncommon paired carbonaceous drapes recognizable as tidal bundles. Inclined heterolithic stratification is locally well developed at the top of the valley fill. Downdip reaches of valleys, typically within 50 km of the lowstand shoreline, have a sandstone-dominated lower part and, locally, a mud-rich upper portion consisting of a variety of laminated heterolithic facies with a clear tidal signature. These heterolithic deposits may represent central basin, tidal flat, bayhead delta and point-bar environments. Valley filling took place mainly during the transgressive systems tract (TST) when tidally influenced environments migrated upvalley. Semi-diurnal tidal backwater effects extended at least 30 km landward of the regional maximum transgressive marine shoreline. The aggradational late TST and highstand systems tract (HST) includes deltaic and coastal plain deposits comprising lake and anastomosed river deposits that suggest a very low gradient (≈ 1:3000). Delta parasequences of the falling stage systems tract (FSST) offlap seaward and have no equivalent coastal plain deposits. The FSST has an average width of 60 km and an inferred gradient of 1:2500. The upper surfaces of the HST and FSST are extensively incised by valleys. The lowstand systems tract (LST) is subtly aggradational, lacks valleys and is characterized by large delta lobes fed by major distributaries. The width and inferred slope of the FSST, coupled with the thickness of aggradational TST and HST deposits on the coastal plain, suggest a vertical accommodation of about 35 m per transgressive event. About 11 m of this is attributed to isostatic subsidence resulting from water and sediment loads; the residual 24 m is attributed to eustatic rise. This sea-level change is of the same order of magnitude as the valley depths. The length of valleys, however, does not seem to be explicable solely in terms of downstream forcing by sea-level change, and an additional, upstream-forcing mechanism, possibly related to precipitation cycles in the Milankovitch band, might be inferred.     

Agrarian structures in north western Iberia. Responses and their implications for development

The mesh of several agrarian structures in Galicia, North Western Iberia, are recognized as being, with other factors, key forces which have precluded most sectors of society from reaping rewards from a generally physically well endowed region. Historical factors, such as the region's administration in the past, which managed it more like a colony than an integral part of the state, have contributed to Galicia's problems. The spatial organization of rural society and the rural economy has been transformed in the last century into a closed system referred to as minifundismo which manifests significant regional contrasts, but remains essentially a subsistance system of prodution. It is demonstrated that minifundismo cannot revitalize itself, because of its structure, and contemporary rural policies of the government are achieving little, as effects rather than causes of the difficulties are being tackled. Future prospects in the short and medium term for Galicia remain bleak unless a dynamic sweeping policy of integrated, rural, structural reform is implemented which aims to tackle the problem at several levels.     

The St George Group (Lower Ordovician) of western Newfoundland: tidal flat island model for carbonate sedimentation in shallow epeiric seas

The St George Group consists of peritidal carbonate rocks deposited on the continental shelf of North America bordering the ancient Iapetus Ocean. These Lower Ordovician rocks are similar to other lower Palaeozoic limestones and dolostones that accumulated in epeiric seas and veneer cratonic areas worldwide. A wide variety of facies in the St George is grouped into seven lithotopes, interpreted to represent supratidal, intertidal and shallow, high- and low-energy subtidal environments. Rapid lateral facies changes can be observed in some field exposures, and demonstrated by correlation of closely spaced sections. The stratigraphic array of these lithotopes, although too irregular to be simplified into shallowing-upward cycles, suggests that they were deposited as small tidal flat islands and banks. Shallow subtidal areas around islands generated sediment and permitted tidal exchange. Tidal flat islands were somewhat variable in character at any one time, and evolved with changing regional hydrographic conditions. The St George rocks suggest an alternative theory of carbonate sedimentation in large, shallow epeiric seas, namely as small islands and banks built by processes that operated in a tidal regime. Furthermore, this island model provides a framework for a mechanism of cyclic carbonate sedimentation, by which small-scale, peritidal cycles represent tidal flat islands that accreted vertically and migrated laterally as local sediment supply from neighbouring subtidal areas waxed and waned during relatively constant subsidence.     

Mineralogical and geochemical implications of weathering rates in coastal dunes and beach sands close to a volcanic rock source in the western Gulf of Mexico,Mexico

Coastal dune (CD) and beach sand samples were mineralogically and chemically studied to assess the weathering rates in a coastal area surrounded by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The study area is a narrow coastal plain with sub-humid warm weather and vigorous coastal dynamics located in the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGM). Our results show that the grain size parameters remain homogeneous along nine CD and beach sites, probably due to the hydrodynamic mechanisms prevailing in the area, i.e. wind deflation, longshore currents, and waves. The minerals found in the CD and beach sands are enriched in recycled, highly corroded monocrystalline quartz (Qm), with loss of plagioclase (P) and olivine (ol), with ilmenite fractions (op) especially in the northern sites. The geochemical data show that the sands are controlled by the exhumation of the TMVB rocks composed of a high volcanic lithic content with lathwork, microlithic, and negligible vitric textures. These volcanic fractions are in agreement with the presence of lavas of calc alkaline, andesite, Na-alkaline lavas, and rhyolite tuffs derived from the TMVB. Significant Spearman Rank Correlations (SRCs) resulted from high silica, titanium, iron, magnesium, calcium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, associated with the presence of Qm, ilmenite, clinopyroxene, shell fragments, and volcanic lithics. Monocrystalline quartz enrichments, compared to a quartz dilution effect (<Qm; < Qm) at the northern and southern beach sites, reflect the vigorous coastal dynamics. The presence of ilmenite lag deposits in the northern sites indicate that high energy hydrodynamic conditions prevail at the site. The rare earth element (REE) patterns support the mineralogical and compositional framework of the CD and beach sands as part of the TMVB exhumation. We used various chemical indices such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), the Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), the Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA), and the Weathering Index of Plagioclase (WIP). The WIP values reflect the depletion of mobile elements such as Ca, Na, K, and enrichment of Qm at the northern beach sites, e.g. the Istirinchiá site. The CIA/WIP ratio of 2.13 indicates intermediate weathering under warm climatic conditions and recycling of CD and beach sands.     

Mid-Holocene evolution of a tidal basin in the western Netherlands: a model for future changes in the northern Netherlands under conditions of accelerated sea-level rise?

A scenario for the future development of the Dutch Wadden Sea is derived from an evolutionary model for tidal basins during a rise in sea level. The model is based on the evolution of the Atlantic/Subboreal Holland tidal basin, between 7000 BP and 3500 BP. It emphasizes the balance between the storage capacity created by a sea-level rise and the amount of sediment available.

If the rate of relative sea-level rise exceeds the rate of sediment supply, the innermost (central) portions of the basin will not receive sufficient sediment for an intertidal morphology to be preserved. Eventually, sand will be deposited only in tidal channels and in the flood-tidal delta through which the sediment is supplied, mud deposition will occur in the interchannel areas and salt marshes will disappear.