Borehole diffusive flux apparatus for characterizing diffusive mass-transfer in subsurface systems

The concept of the Borehole Diffusive Flux Apparatus (BDFA) is presented herein. The BDFA is an innovative apparatus designed to provide continuous direct access to an undisturbed column of sediment that can be monitored at multiple discrete vertical intervals to provide high-resolution characterization of local-scale mass transfer and attenuation. The conceptual basis and technical design of the device are presented, along with an example of borehole design and installation at a field site. Mathematical simulations are used to illustrate its application for two scenarios. The results of these simulations indicate that test periods of several weeks to a few months should be sufficient to obtain robust results. The device has the potential to improve our ability to characterize critical mass-transfer and attenuation processes and to quantify the associated rates. This information is key to the evaluation of remediation alternatives, for enhancing the accuracy of mathematical models, and to support more effective long-term management of large groundwater contaminant plumes present at many sites.     

Crystal nucleation and growth produced by continuous decompression of Pinatubo magma

High-temperature decompression experiments demonstrate that crystal textures preserve a record of the style and rate of magmatic ascent. To reinforce this link, we performed a suite of isothermal decompression experiments using starting material from the climactic 1991 Pinatubo eruption. We decompressed experiments from 220 MPa to final, quench pressures of 75 or 30 MPa using continuous decompression rates of 100, 30, 10, 3, 1, and 0.3 MPa h^?1. Amphibole, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase crystallized during the experiments, with plagioclase microlites dominating the assemblage. Total microlite number densities range from 10^7.6±0.4 up to 10^8.2±0.2 cm^?3, with plagioclase accounting for up to 65% of the total number. Plagioclase microlite area increased systematically from 19?±?8 to 937?±?487 µm² with increasing experiment duration. Our textures provide time-integrated records of crystal kinetics. Average nucleation and areal growth rates of plagioclase are highest in the fastest decompressions (~?10^7.5 cm^?3 h^?1 and 10.1?±?4.1 µm² h^?1, respectively) and more than an order of magnitude lower in the slowest experiments (~?10^5.5 cm^?3 h^?1 and 0.8?±?0.2 µm² h^?1, respectively). Both nucleation and growth rates are highest at high degrees of disequilibrium. We find that peak supersaturation-dependent instantaneous rates are generally more than an order of magnitude faster than average rates. We use those instantaneous nucleation and growth rates to introduce an iterative model to evaluate the effects of different decompression rates, decompression paths (continuous, single-step or multistep), and the presence of phenocrysts on final crystallinity and microlite size distribution.     

Object‐oriented tracking of thematic and spatial behaviors of urban heat islands

Modeling thematic and spatial dynamic behaviors of urban heat islands (UHIs) over time is important for understanding the evolution of this phenomenon to mitigate the warming effect in urban areas. Although previous studies conceptualized that a UHI only has a single life cycle with spatial behaviors, a UHI can be detected to appear and disappear several times periodically in terms of thematic and spatial integrated behaviors. Such multiple behaviors have not yet been illustrated with proof or evidence. This study conceptualizes a UHI as an object which has thematic and spatial behaviors simultaneously and proposes several graphs to depict periodic life‐cycle transitions triggered by behaviors. The conceptualized behaviors have been modeled and implemented in an object‐relational database management system and temperature readings collected from numerous weather stations were interpolated as temperature images per hour. The results of this study indicate that the model could track the spatial and thematic evolution of UHIs continuously and reveal their periodical patterns and abnormal cases.     

Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep,tectonically active margin,southern California,USA

Small, steep, uplifting coastal watersheds are prolific sediment producers that contribute significantly to the global marine sediment budget. This study illustrates how sedimentation evolves in one such system where the continental shelf is largely sediment-starved, with most terrestrial sediment bypassing the shelf in favor of deposition in deeper basins. The Santa Barbara–Ventura coast of southern California, USA, is considered a classic area for the study of active tectonics and of Tertiary and Quaternary climatic evolution, interpretations of which depend upon an understanding of sedimentation patterns. High-resolution seismic-reflection data over >570 km² of this shelf show that sediment production is concentrated in a few drainage basins, with the Ventura and Santa Clara River deltas containing most of the upper Pleistocene to Holocene sediment on the shelf. Away from those deltas, the major factor controlling shelf sedimentation is the interaction of wave energy with coastline geometry. Depocenters containing sediment 5–20 m thick exist opposite broad coastal embayments, whereas relict material (bedrock below a regional unconformity) is exposed at the sea floor in areas of the shelf opposite coastal headlands. Locally, natural hydrocarbon seeps interact with sediment deposition either to produce elevated tar-and-sediment mounds or as gas plumes that hinder sediment settling. As much as 80% of fluvial sediment delivered by the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers is transported off the shelf (some into the Santa Barbara Basin and some into the Santa Monica Basin via Hueneme Canyon), leaving a shelf with relatively little recent sediment accumulation. Understanding factors that control large-scale sediment dispersal along a rapidly uplifting coast that produces substantial quantities of sediment has implications for interpreting the ancient stratigraphic record of active and transform continental margins, and for inferring the distribution of hydrocarbon resources in relict shelf deposits.     

Preindustrial, historical, and fertilization simulations using a global ocean carbon model with new parameterizations of iron limitation, calcification, and N2 fixation

The Canadian Model of Ocean Carbon (CMOC) has been developed as part of a global coupled climate carbon model. In a stand-alone integration to preindustrial equilibrium, the model ecosystem and global ocean carbon cycle are in general agreement with estimates based on observations. CMOC reproduces global mean estimates and spatial distributions of various indicators of the strength of the biological pump; the spatial distribution of the air-sea exchange of CO₂ is consistent with present-day estimates. Agreement with the observed distribution of alkalinity is good, consistent with recent estimates of the mean rain ratio that are lower than historic estimates, and with calcification occurring primarily in the lower latitudes. With anthropogenic emissions and climate forcing from a 1850-2000 climate model simulation, anthropogenic CO₂ accumulates at a similar rate and with a similar spatial distribution as estimated from observations. A hypothetical scenario for complete elimination of iron limitation generates maximal rates of uptake of atmospheric CO₂ of less than 1 PgC y⁻¹, or about 11% of 2004 industrial emissions. Even a ‘perfect’ future of sustained fertilization would have a minor impact on atmospheric CO₂ growth. In the long term, the onset of fertilization causes the ocean to take up an additional 77 PgC after several thousand years, compared with about 84 PgC thought to have occurred during the transition into the last glacial maximum due to iron fertilization associated with increased dust deposition.     

Comparison of ecophysiological characteristics between introduced and indigenous mangrove species in China

Due to its rapid growth, the introduced mangrove species Sonneratia apetala from Bangladesh has been widely used in mangrove restoration in southeastern China since 1985. As an indigenous mangrove species in Hainan, China, Sonneratia caseolaris was also planted in Guangdong Province for afforestation purposes. Both species have developed well in their new habitats, but their ecophysiological differences with the native mangrove species have not been studied. In this study, leaf gas exchange, water and nitrogen use efficiencies of two Sonneratia species were compared with those of selected native mangrove species (Avicennia marina, Aegiceras corniculatum, Kandelia candel, and Excoecaria agallocha) in Hainan and Shenzhen. The introduced S. apetala maintained lower carbon assimilation rate (A) and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) than the indigenous S. caseolaris. In Shenzhen, the two introduced Sonneratia had comparable photosynthetic rates and water use efficiency (WUE) with the native mangrove species, except that PNUE in S. caseolaris was significantly higher than in the native mangrove species. The two Sonneratia species showed significant overlap in PNUE and long-term WUE. Photosynthetic parameters derived from leaf photosynthetic light–response curves and A–C_i curves also suggested lower carbon assimilation capacities for the introduced Sonneratia than for the native mangrove species in both study sites. The lower light compensation point (LCP) of two introduced Sonneratia in both study sites also indicated a better adaptation to a low light regime than the native mangrove species. The results of photosynthetic capacities indicated that the introduced mangrove species have little competitive advantage over local native mangrove species in their respective new habitats.     

Shell growth and oxygen isotopes in the topshell Osilinus turbinatus: resolving past inshore sea surface temperatures

Shells of the rocky shore intertidal gastropod Osilinus turbinatus (von Born), often abundant in archaeological deposits in the Mediterranean region, are a potential source of data on palaeotemperature, palaeoseasonality and archaeological seasonality. To evaluate this species as a climate archive, investigations of annual patterns of shell growth and of monthly variations in oxygen isotopes in shell carbonates were made on different populations in NW Sicily. Mark-recapture experiments at San Vito lo Capo and Mazzaforno show that O. turbinatus grows almost continuously throughout the year but at different rates in different seasons. Around 75% of the yearly shell growth occurs in the autumn and winter. On average, larger/older shells produce narrower annual growth increments than smaller/younger ones. Conspicuous growth lines in larger/older shells show that growth stops during the hottest part of the summer. Oxygen isotope analyses on monthly collected shells of O. turbinatus from three shores (Cala Grande, Monte Cofano and Mazzaforno) show that the isotope values record temperature variations through the year. In all the datasets, surface seawater temperatures (SSTs) calculated from δ¹⁸O_SHELL mostly underestimate measured SSTs, offsets being generally greater in summer. Minimum annual offsets range from 0.0°C to 0.7°C and maximum annual offsets from 3.1°C to 8.7°C. δ¹⁸O_SHELL values fail to record temperatures higher than 25°C. Careful selection of shells to be analysed can reduce offsets between δ¹⁸O_SHELL temperature estimates and measured SSTs for many parts of the year, except the hottest. Allowing for this, shells of O. turbinatus offer good potential as climate archives and for archaeological studies of seasonal patterns of human foraging for shellfish.