Imaging spectroscopy as a tool to study sediment characteristics on a tidal sandbank in the Westerschelde

This paper focuses on the use of imaging spectroscopy for the mapping of sediment characteristics on a tidal sandbank in the Westerschelde, called the Molenplaat. On June 8, 2004, during low tide, a HyMap™ scanner recorded the Molenplaat at 4 m pixel resolution. The hyperspectral data were radiometrically calibrated, geometrically corrected, and atmospherically corrected to give apparent surface reflectance data. On the calibrated and corrected dataset a supervised binary classification was performed, based on linear discriminant analysis. Simultaneous to the flight, 25 sediment samples were collected in the field and analysed in the lab to define the median grain size, the water content, the total organic matter content and the chlorophyll-a concentration. These four parameters play a crucial role in sediment stability and macrofaunal habitat definition. Prior to the classification, a feature selection, based on sequential floating forward search (SFFS), was performed. For each of the four parameters two to three bands were retained for the classification. These bands were most frequently selected in the visible and near infrared parts of the spectrum, except for the organic matter content where also SWIR bands were used. The overall classification accuracy was highest for the water content (88%), the median grain size (88%) and the chlorophyll-a concentration (84%). The organic matter content, for which three instead of two classes were distinguished, scored somewhat lower but still reached 80%. The classifications were limited to a small number of classes in order to obtain reliable statistics with a small number of training samples. The spatial patterns in the classified images indicated that the four parameters under study are highly correlated. In most cases coarse sediment coincided with dry conditions, low organic matter and low concentrations of chlorophyll-a. The wet and muddy parts of the Molenplaat were in general characterised by a notably higher amount of organic matter and chlorophyll-a. The individual classification results for the median grain size, the water content and the chlorophyll-a concentration were combined to generate a sediment ecotope map. The presented study illustrates how airborne hyperspectral data can be used to achieve accurate classified maps of intertidal sediment ecotope types, applying feature selection and a binary classification approach.     

Vulnerability and adaptation in a dryland community of the Elqui Valley, Chile

Livelihoods in drylands are already challenged by the demands of climate variability, and climate change is expected to have further implications for water resource availability in these regions. This paper characterizes the vulnerability of an irrigation-dependent agricultural community located in the Elqui River Basin of Northern Chile to water and climate-related conditions in light of climate change. The paper documents the exposures and sensitivities faced by the community in light of current water shortages, and identifies their ability to manage these exposures under a changing climate. The IPCC identifies potentially increased aridity in this region with climate change; furthermore, the Elqui River is fed by snowmelt and glaciers, and its flows will be affected by a warming climate. Community vulnerability occurs within a broader physical, economic, political and social context, and vulnerability in the community varies amongst occupations, resource uses and accessibility to water resources, making some more susceptible to changing conditions in the future. This case study highlights the need for adaptation to current land and water management practices to maintain livelihoods in the face of changes many people are not expecting.     

Altersbeziehungen zwischen den Metamorphosezyklen und den orogenen Bewegungen im östlichen Teil des nordrhodesischen Grundgebirges

Zusammenfassung Im Irumiden-Gebirge (E.Ackermann 1950) Nordrhodesiens konnten mit Hilfe von Gefüge-Auswertungen zwei altersverschiedene tektonische Verformungspläne mit jeweils voneinander abweichenden Richtungen herausgestellt werden.Jedem der orogenetischen Abläufe kann ein spezifischer Metamorphose-Zyklus zugeordnet werden.Für die erste Metamorphose ist eine Plagioklas-Blastese mit vermutlicher Natrium- und eventuell auch Kalziumzufuhr, für die letzte eine sehr kräftige Kalizufuhr von größter Bedeutung. Die Plagioklas-reichen Gneise, die Endprodukte der ersten Metamorphose, sind in kleineren reliktischen Komplexen über das gesamte Gebiet verbreitet, während sich die Kalifeldspat-Porphyroblasten-Gneise und Gneis-Granite auf ENE und NE gerichtete und in dieser Richtung vielfach gelängte und durchbewegte Züge verteilen. Zur Sprossung von sehr großen idiomorphen Mikroklinen und zu großen KF-Anreicherungen kommt es zu beiden Seiten der irumidisch-ENE-gerichteten Scheitelzonen (siehe E.Ackermann und A.Forster 1960). Innerhalb dieser hochmetamorphen Gneise und Gneisgranite treten die erstgenannten Plagioklas-betonten Gneise als reliktische, unverdaute Schollen auf. Die Plagioklase und wenigen Kalifeldspäte der älteren Feldspatgeneration werden zusammen mit ihren Biotitsäumen in den bis zu Kinderkopf-großen jüngeren Mikroklinporphyroblasten der sogenannten Mkushi-Gneise eingeschlossen.

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In the Irumide-Mountains of Northern Rhodesia, petrofabric analysis shows two intersecting systems of deformations being of different age. Each orogeny can be traced to a specific cycle of metamorphism. The earlier metamorphism was connected with a blastesis of plagioclase and with probable influx of sodium and calcium, the later-one with a strong addition of potassium. Final products of the first cycle occur (as small relict complexes of plagioclase-gneisses) within the whole area of highly metamorphous gneisses of the second phase. Gneisses containing porphyroblasts of potassium feldspars and granitic gneisses strike ENE and NE. At both flanks of the ENE-striking anticlinoria, blastesis of large euhedral microcline crystals and enrichment of potassium feldspars occur. Plagioclases and potassium feldspars of the older generations are found (as big inclusions) within the porphyroblasts of microcline belonging to the younger generation.

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Résumé Dans le massif des Irumides (E.Ackermann 1950) en Rhodésie du Nord on trouve deux systèmes de déformation d'âge différent avec des directions distinctes et un cycle spécifique de métamorphoses. Pour la première métamorphose on constate une blastèse à plagioclase avec probablement un apport de Na et éventuellement de Ca—pour la dernière un fort apport de K. Les produits finaux du premier cycle, sous la forme de complexes résiduels à base de gneiss plagioclasiques, se rencontrent dans toute le région des gneiss fortement métamorphiques de la seconde phase. Des gneiss à porphyroblastes de feldspath de potasse et des granites gneissiques ont une direction ENE et NE. Une blastèse de grands microclines idiomorphes et de grands enrichissements en feldspath de potasse se sont effectués sur les flancs des zones de crête irumidiques de direction ENE. Les plagioclases avec leurs bordures à biotite de la génération plus ancienne sont entourés par des porphyroblastes à microcline dans les gneiss de Mkushi.

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Résultats préliminaires sur la sédimentation pélagique de l'Atlantique tropical au Crétacé et au Tertiaire (plateau de Demerara,Leg ODP 207)

Five sites located on a bathymetric transect of the distal Demerara Rise were studied by ODP Leg 207. Albian sediments of essentially terrigenous nature (clay, siltstone, sandstone) are the oldest drilled stratigraphic levels and form apparently the top of the synrift sequence. They are overlain by Cenomanian to Santonian finely laminated black shales, rich in organic matter of marine origin, which accumulated on a thermally subsiding ramp. Early Campanian hiatuses are thought to be the result of final disjunction of Demerara Rise (South America) from Africa and the onset of deep water communication between the two Atlantic basins (south and central). The overlying Uppermost Cretaceous–Oligocene chalk includes rich and diversified calcareous plankton assemblages, as well as two radiolarian-rich intervals (Late Campanian and Middle Eocene). A complex erosional surface developed during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene. Sedimentation was impeded since then on the intermediate and deep sites of Demerara Rise, possibly due to the action of deep submarine currents. To cite this article: T. Danelian et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Direct and indirect luminescence dating of tephra: A review

In Quaternary studies, tephras are widely used as marker horizons to correlate geological deposits. Therefore, accurate and precise dating is crucial. Among radiometric dating techniques, luminescence dating has the potential to date tephra directly using glass shards, volcanic minerals that formed during the eruption or mineral fragments that originate from the shattered country rock. Moreover, sediments that frame the tephra can be dated to attain an indirect age bracket. A review of numerous luminescence dating studies highlights the method's potential and challenges. While reliable direct dating of volcanic quartz and feldspar as a component in tephra is still methodically difficult mainly due to thermal and athermal signal instability, red thermoluminescence of volcanic quartz and the far-red emission of volcanic feldspar have been used successfully. Furthermore, the dating of xenolithic quartz within tephra shows great potential. Numerous studies date tephra successfully indirectly. Dating surrounding sediments is generally straightforward as long as samples are not taken too close to the tephra horizons. Here, issues arise from the occurrence of glass shards within the sediments or unreliable determination of dose rates. This includes relocation of radioelements, mixing of tephra into the sediment and disregarding different dose rates of adjacent material.     

White mica 40Ar/39Ar age spectra and the timing of multiple episodes of high‐P metamorphic mineral growth in the Cycladic eclogite–blueschist belt,Syros, Aegean Sea,Greece

New geochronology from Syros in the Cycladic eclogite–blueschist belt, Aegean Sea, Greece, shows that ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology consistently dates microstructural events in metamorphic rocks. We demonstrate that the age spectra depend on microstructure in a predictable and systematic way. Ages can be inferred by applying the method of asymptotes and limits to data from the step ‐ heating experiments. The results are consistent with previously published estimates for the timing of a sequence of distinct and discrete episodes of high ‐ P metamorphic mineral growth observed regionally across this belt. Arrhenius plots from these experiments imply that phengitic white mica is highly retentive of argon, and therefore (if these data can be extrapolated to the natural environment) the ages can be interpreted as recording the timing of episodic deformation and metamorphism. Porphyroblastic growth begins: (i) for omphacite – jadeite–eclogite facies parageneses at c. 53 Ma; and (ii) for garnet – glaucophane facies parageneses at c. 47 Ma. The Kini Shear Zone started as an extensional post ‐ epidote–albite‐transitional–blueschist facies shear zone that had completed operation by c. 31 Ma. The scatter in ages is due to the effect of deformation, recrystallization and multiple growth events in shear zones that continued operating for 3 – 6 million years from the start of each episode.     

The Effects of Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae) Presence and Population Control on the Structure of an Alpine Grassland Bird Community

China’s Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is an important area for bird conservation, with many endemic and Threatened species. Colonial burrowing mammals play an important role in structuring bird communities in arid grasslands around the world. On the QTP, the plateau pika Ocho tona curzoniae builds colonies which provide a dense source of resources for many bird species. However, pikas are regarded as a pest by local pastoralists, and they are the target of a population reduction campaign which could have a significant impact on the bird communities. We surveyed bird communities at Gansu Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve to investigate the differences in community structure between sites with pika colonies (on colony) and sites without them (off colony), and between pika colonies which had been poisoned and those which had not. Using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) combined with permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, we found that there was no significant difference in bird community composition or abundance between the poisoned and untreated colonies. However, there was a very large and statistically significant difference in bird community structures between on- and off-colony sites. Only horned lark Eremophila alpestris was consistently observed at sites without pika colonies, while ten bird species were observed on colonies. Six species were significantly more abundant on colony than off. While we could not claim that the poisoning campaign at Yanchiwan is altering bird communities, the presence of pika colonies seems to be an indispensable resource for the resident birds.     

Ecological evaluation of an experimental beneficial use scheme for dredged sediment disposal in shallow tidal waters

An experiment was performed to test an alternative dredging strategy for the Westerschelde estuary. Clean sand dredged from the navigation channel was disposed seawards of an eroding intertidal flat in order to modify morphology and hydrodynamics, improving the multi-channel system with ecologically productive shallow water habitat. Five years of intensive monitoring revealed that part of the disposed sediment moved slowly towards the flat, increasing the very shallow subtidal and intertidal area, as planned. The sand in the impact zone became gradually finer after disposal, possibly due to reduced current velocities. Nevertheless, no changes in macrobenthic biomass, density, species richness and composition were detected in the subtidal zone, also demonstrating rapid macrobenthic recovery. In the intertidal zone, no ecological effects could be revealed superimposed on trends associated with long-term sediment fining. Thus, despite morphological success and absence of detected negative ecological impacts of the experiment, new beneficial habitat was not created.