Drainage and nutrient attenuation in a riparian interception-wetland: southern Minnesota,USA

Riparian wetlands have multiple source waters that require understanding to effectively manage water quantity and quality. Source waters were determined in an interception-wetland located a relatively flat clayey till terrain in southern Minnesota. Data loggers were used to measure precipitation, water stage from monitoring wells and a tile-drain outlet. Over 70 oxygen (δ¹⁸O), hydrogen (δD) and geochemical water samples were collected from seven locations over different seasons (9 events) from 1996 to 1999. Results indicate the dominant source water input to the wetland was drained shallow groundwater beneath intensively managed cropland (P = 0.000). Evapotranspiration was the dominant export pathway. Nitrate–nitrogen (NO₃-N) concentrations significantly decreased (P = 0.000) in the cattail-willow portion of the wetland. Total phosphorous (TP) concentrations were relatively high in the grass portion of the wetland (673 ± 549 μg L⁻¹), and relatively low in the cattail-willow portion of the wetland (139 ± 85 μg L⁻¹) because source waters were low in TP. Overall, the interception-wetland design limited out-of-bank flooding, yet allowed sufficient gradient between the cropland and the wetland outlet to minimize potential crop damage and provide hydraulic storage for nutrient attenuation.     

Tramper perspectives on New Zealand's Great Walks in a time of transition

‘Great Walks’ are highly managed multi‐day experiences established within New Zealand's national parks. We examine their history and promotion asking ‘How have the contexts for recreational walking in the New Zealand wilderness changed?’ and ‘How are these changes regarded by trampers as practitioners of backcountry walking?’ To address these questions, we draw on 703 responses to an online survey. We note a mixed regard for Great Walks among trampers. Some consider the wilderness experience as undermined by the popularity of these branded experiences while others note that they cater for a range of users, despite high costs reducing effective accessibility.     

The Properties of Topological Network Connectivity Measures and Their Application to U.S. Urban Freeway Networks

The mathematical concepts of graph theory were introduced into geography in the early 1960s, providing a means of conceptualizing transport networks as made up of nodes and links. Among the contributions were several measures of topological network connectivity known as α (alpha), β (beta), and γ (gamma). These ratio measures identified the level of connectivity present in a network. These measures attracted considerable attention before fading from view, although they have recently returned to prominence in several applications. Despite this renewed attention, the basic mathematical properties of these measures remain largely unexamined. This research investigates the properties of these three simple ratio measures and explores values and properties that might be typical in urban freeway networks. Although simple correlation reveals little relationship between connectivity and freeway structure, they can be used to identify several groups of freeway networks as well as identifying important details about the use and interpretation of these measures. It is likely that these simple measures will continue to be applied to new situations, and this article provides some guidelines for those applications.     

The Oslo Rift: new palaeomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar age constraints

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar whole-rock and alkali feldspar ages demonstrate that dioritic to monzonitic dykes from Bøverbru and Lunner belong to the youngest recorded magmatic activity in the Oslo Rift region, southeast Norway. These dykes represent the terminal phase of rift and magmatic activity in the Oslo Graben, at the dawn of the Triassic (246–238 Ma).
  The Bøverbru and Lunner dyke ages are statistically concordant. However, the palaeomagnetic signature of the Bøverbru dyke is complex, and directions from the margins and the interior of the dyke differ in polarity. Therefore, the new Early Triassic palaeomagnetic pole for Baltica (Eurasia) is exclusively based on the less complex Lunner dykes and contacts (palaeomagnetic pole: latitude=52.9°N, longitude=164.4°E, dp / dm =4.5 ° /7.3°). The early Triassic palaeomagnetic pole [mean age: 243±5 Ma (2 σ )] is slightly different from the Upper Carboniferous–Permian (294–274 Ma) and Kiaman-aged poles from the Oslo Rift.     

Methodological sensitivity of morphometric estimates of coarse fluvial sediment transport

The estimation of fluvial sediment transport rate from measurements of morphological change has received growing recent interest. The revival of the ‘morphological method’ reflects continuing concern over traditional methods of rate determination but also the availability of new survey methods capable of high-precision, high-resolution topographic monitoring. Remote sensing of river channels through aerial digital photogrammetry is a potentially attractive alternative to labour intensive ground surveys. However, while photogrammetry presents the opportunity to acquire survey data over large areas, data precision and accuracy, particularly in the vertical dimension are lower than in traditional ground survey methods. This paper presents results of recent research in which digital elevation models (DEMs) have been developed for a reach of a large braided gravel-bed river in Scotland using both digital photogrammetry and high-resolution RTK GPS ground surveys. A statistical level of change detection is assessed by comparing surfaces with independent check points. The methodological sensitivity of the annual channel sediment budget (1999–2000) to the threshold is presented. Results suggest that while the remote survey methods employed here can be used to develop qualitatively convincing, moderate precision DEMs of channel topography (RMSE=±0.21 m), the remaining errors imply significant limits on reliable change detection which lead to important information losses. Tests at a 95% confidence interval for change detection show that over 60% of channel deposition and 40% of erosion may be obscured by the lower level of precision associated with photogrammetric monitoring when compared to ground survey measurements. This bias reflects the difficulty of detecting the topographic signature of widespread, but shallow deposition on bar tops.     

Catastrophic hurricane history revealed by organic geochemical proxies in coastal lake sediments: a case study of Lake Shelby,Alabama (USA)

We developed a new method for reconstructing millennia-long hurricane records from coastal environments that uses Organic Geochemical Proxies (OGPs) of organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations and their δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N compositions. The new method is independent of presence/absence of sand layers and improves significantly the severe-storm history resolution. The subject of this investigation is a 1.5 m long sediment core raised at 2.8 m water depth from the center of Lake Shelby, Alabama, a freshwater lake located approximately 250 m from the Gulf of Mexico, from which an overwash sand-layer based record was previously derived. The core contains two distinct sediment units; an upper 62 cm thick, fine-grained, organic-rich lacustrine sapropel (gyttja) that shows no visible structures except one sand lamina at 23.7 cm depth, and an underlying 90 cm thick, organic-poor lagoon/estuary clay unit. The sapropel unit was deposited over a 682 ± 30 cal year time interval (1320–2002 A.D.) with a mean sedimentation rate of 0.79 ± 0.04 mm/year. Lake Shelby’s water column exhibits two contrasting states based on water chemistry surveys (i) an “isolated”, stratified, mode under calm weather conditions with a relatively low trophic state, and (ii) a “flooded” mode occurring during storm surges when nutrient-rich seawater floods the lake. Statistically significant δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N positive excursions in organic matter, up to maximum values of −25 (‰ PDB) and 4 (‰ Air N₂), respectively, are interpreted as geochemical responses to the marine intrusions that fertilize the lake, increase light availability, and cause eutrophication spikes. Detailed OGPs analyses crossing a sand layer that offers visual evidence of a catastrophic hurricane overwash event at 1717 A.D. exhibit large δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N positive shifts bounded by rapid returns to base values, thus confirming the validity of the hurricane identification by the OGPs model. Our data indicate that 11 catastrophic hurricanes hit the Alabama coast over the past 682 years with a rough recurrence interval of one in 62 years.     

Entanglements of marine mammals and seabirds in central California and the north-west coast of the United States 2001-2005

Entanglement records for seabirds and marine mammals were investigated for the period 2001-2005. The entanglement records were extracted from databases maintained by seven organizations operating along the west coast of the United States of America. Their programmes included beach monitoring surveys, rescue and rehabilitation and regional pinniped censuses. Records of 454 entanglements were documented in live animals and in carcasses for 31 bird species and nine marine mammal species. The most frequently entangled species were Common Murres, Western Gulls and California sea lions. The entanglement materials identified were primarily fishing related. Entanglements were recorded every year suggesting that although the incidence level differs annually, entanglement is a persistent problem. It is recommended that each programme records details in standardized categories to determine entanglement material sources. Numbers of entanglements observed during these surveys are likely to be a conservative view of the actual entanglement rate taking place at sea.     

Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010 (SNOW-V10): a World Weather Research Programme Project

A World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) project entitled the Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010 (SNOW-V10) was developed to be associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games conducted between 12 February and 21 March 2010. The SNOW-V10 international team augmented the instrumentation associated with the Winter Games and several new numerical weather forecasting and nowcasting models were added. Both the additional observational and model data were available to the forecasters in real time. This was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate existing capability in nowcasting and to develop better techniques for short term (0–6 h) nowcasts of winter weather in complex terrain. Better techniques to forecast visibility, low cloud, wind gusts, precipitation rate and type were evaluated. The weather during the games was exceptionally variable with many periods of low visibility, low ceilings and precipitation in the form of both snow and rain. The data collected should improve our understanding of many physical phenomena such as the diabatic effects due to melting snow, wind flow around and over terrain, diurnal flow reversal in valleys associated with daytime heating, and precipitation reductions and increases due to local terrain. Many studies related to these phenomena are described in the Special Issue on SNOW-V10 for which this paper was written. Numerical weather prediction and nowcast models have been evaluated against the unique observational data set now available. It is anticipated that the data set and the knowledge learned as a result of SNOW-V10 will become a resource for other World Meteorological Organization member states who are interested in improving forecasts of winter weather.