On the parameterization of biological influences on offshore sand wave dynamics

The bed of the North Sea is covered by sand waves and houses a great number of macrobenthic animals. These bio-engineers are known to have a significant influence on the stability of the bed and thereby on the geomorphology of the seabed. This paper proposes a parameterization of these bio-geomorphological interactions. Given the abundance of three dominant bio-engineers on the Dutch Continental Shelf, the predicted occurrence of sand waves, in which the parameterization is included, shows significantly better results, compared to the prediction for the default case without biology. Therefore, the inclusion of biological activity could be important to predict the occurrence of sand waves.     

Datation par la méthode U/Th d'un travertin quaternaire du Sud-Est marocain : implications paléoclimatiques pendant le Pléistocène moyen et supérieur

A large travertine outcrop south of Errachidia, southern Morocco, was studied and U/Th dated. The carbonate fraction was provided by groundwaters then, as now, from the eastern High Atlas percolating through the regional Infra-Cenomanian aquifer. There were two main periods of accumulation at ca 262 kyr BP and 20–11.5 kyr BP separated by a long discontinuity with some limited weathering and erosion and correlated in part with a period of erosion at 30–20 kyr BP further to the west. The two travertine-deposition periods suggest increased rainfall and/or cooler thermal conditions in the eastern High Atlas source regions. Massive travertine accumulation ceased at the end of the Upper Pleistocene. To cite this article: L. Boudad et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).To cite this article: L. Boudad et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Self-potential and passive seismic monitoring of hydrothermal activity: A case study at Iodine Pool,Waimangu geothermal valley,New Zealand

Iodine geyser, located in the Waimangu Geothermal Valley (New Zealand), has been studied by both passive electrical and seismic methods. The activity of the geyser was monitored at various distances from the vent using self-potential method. The self-potential signals display cyclic negative variations with respect to a baseline drawn when the geyser is quiet. The minimum in the self-potential signals coincides with the maximum overflow. We provide a numerical model able to explain both the polarity and magnitude of the observed signal. This model is based on the fluctuations of the hydraulic head in the conduit of the geyser; the divergence of the streaming current density is created at the interface between the pipe and the surrounding rock. Passive seismic experiments were used to localize ambient noise sources. These signals have been processed with the so-called Matched-Field Processing technique (MFP); a dominant source emerged from this processing, that we characterized in range and depth with a good accuracy.     

Source areas for scalars and scalar fluxes

The spatial resolution of meteorological observations of scalars (such as concentrations or temperature) and scalar fluxes (e.g., water-vapour flux, sensible heat flux) above inhomogeneous surfaces is in general not known. It is determined by the surface area of influence orsource area of the sensor, which for sensors of quantities that are subject to turbulent diffusion, depends on the flow and turbulence conditions.Functions describing the relationship between the spatial distribution of surface sources (or sinks) and a measured signal at height in the surface layer have been termed thefootprint function or thesource weight function. In this paper, the source area of levelP is defined as the integral of the source weight function over the smallest possible domain comprising the fractionP of the total surface influence reflected in the measured signal. Source area models for scalar concentration and for passive scalar fluxes are presented. The results of the models are presented as characteristic dimensions of theP=50% source areas (i.e., the area responsible for 50% of the surface influence): the maximum source location (i.e., the upwind distance of the surface element with the maximum-weight influence), the near and the far end of the source area, and its maximal lateral extension. These numerical model results are related directly to non-dimensional surface-layer scaling variables by a non-linear least squares method in a parameterized model which provides a user-friendly estimate of the surface area responsible for measured concentrations or fluxes. The source area models presented here allow conclusions to be made about the spatial representativeness and the localness (these terms are defined in the text) of flux and concentration measurements.     

Cluster探测到磁尾等离子体注入的特征

利用Cluster卫星2001～2004年磁尾运行期间RAPID仪器的数据,确定了115例磁尾等离子体注入事件,借助时序叠加法统计研究磁尾等离子体注入现象的特征.注入事件主要分布于磁地方时夜晚20时至凌晨04时.与同步轨道区观测到的粒子注入事件类似,可以将磁尾粒子注入事件分成五类：（1）只有离子注入;（2）离子先于电子注入;（3）离子和电子同时注入;（4）电子先于离子注入;（5）只有电子注入.磁尾粒子注入时,质子（能量范围0～40 keV）的温度和数密度同时显著增加,沿地球径向的传播速度也明显增大.统计分析磁尾注入期间同时观测到的晨昏对流电场,发现电场可分为两类：（A）注入后电场突然增大,电场强度为正;（B）注入后电场突然增大,电场强度为负.利用磁层磁场（T89c）和电场（Volland-Stern）模型模拟粒子注入后赤道面的电漂移速度矢量,模拟结果与统计结果基本一致,表明晨昏对流电场引起的电漂移是驱动磁尾（-18R_EE）等离子体沿地球径向注入的机制之一.     

Impacts of sea-level rise on deltas in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean: The importance of pulsing events to sustainability

In deltas, subsidence leads to a relative sea-level rise (RSLR) that is often much greater than eustatic rise alone. Because of high RSLR, deltaic wetlands will be affected early by an acceleration of eustatic sea-level rise. If there is sufficient vertical accretion, wetlands can continue to exist with RSLR; however, lack of sediment input eventually leads to excessive water logging and plant death. Areas with low tidal range, such as the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico, are especially vulnerable to rising water levels because the elevational growth range of coastal vegetation is related to tide range. Reduction of suspended sediments in rivers and prevention of wetland flooding by river dikes and impoundments have reduced sediment input to Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico deltaic wetlands. This sediment deficit will become more important with an acceleration in sea-level rise from global warming. Most sediment input occurs during strong pulsing events such as river floods and storms, and management policies and decisions are especially designed to protect against such events. Management approaches must be reoriented to take advantage of pulsing events to nourish marsh surfaces with sediments. We hypothesize that deltas can be managed to withstand significant rates of sea-level rise by taking advantage of pulsing events leading to high sediment input, and that this type of management approach will enhance ecosystem functioning.     

Sur une typologie des sulfures sédimentaires d'après le rapport 32S/34S

Résumé L'auteur développe une théorie explicative du rapport ³²S/³⁴S basée sur les notions d'obtention ou non obtention de l'équilibre isotopique et de milieu ouvert ou fermé qui permet d'expliquer aussi bien les mesures faites sur les gisements de sulfures que lex expériences de laboratoire.

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The author develops a theory of ³²S/³⁴S ratio, based on notions of isotopic quilibrium obtainment or non obtainment, and of open or closed system, permitting to explain both measurements made on sulfur ore desposits and laboratory experiments. From this theory he deduces a typology of sedimentary sulphide deposits.