Meridional eddy flux of enthalpy in the Southern Hemisphere during the IGY

Summary From meteorological IGY data for the calendar year 1958, the mean meridional eddy transport of enthalpy was evaluated for the Southern Hemisphere. Levels chosen for the study were 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 200, 150 and 100 mb. Data from 84 Southern Hemisphere and 25 equatorial Northern Hemisphere stations were used. Yearly mean quantities related to meridional eddy enthalpy flux were computed and analyzed.It was found that around 40° S there is a double-maximum zone of poleward, meridional, transient eddy enthalpy flux, the stronger transport occurring at 850 mb, and the weaker near 200 mb. The countergradient transient eddy flux regions in the low latitude mid-troposphere and in the middle and upper latitude lower stratosphere, found in previous Northern Hemisphere investigations, were observed to exist in the Southern Hemisphere also. The standing eddy heat transport, as expected, was very weak except at high latitudes where Antarctic continentality effected a large double-maximum poleward flux centered near the surface and in the lower stratosphere. The total vertically integrated enthalpy transport by the eddies was found to be poleward everywhere, reaching a maximum between 35° and 40° S.     

Wind profiles over complex terrain

A large set of routine wind profiles has been analyzed at three towers, located in various types of complex terrain in New England. After allowing for effects of roughness change, uphill flow and stability, roughness lengths have been estimated. In general, the profiles and roughness lengths could be explained by differences in terrain features and stability.     

Determination of hydrocarbon distributions in oils and sediment extracts by gas chromatography—high resolution mass spectrometry

The distributions of steroid and triterpenoid hydrocarbons in crude oils and sedimentary rock extracts can be routinely determined by the direct injection of the sample into a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The mass spectrometer is operated at a resolution of about 2500 (10% valley), and only the ion intensities at selected accurate mass values, diagnostic of the structural types of interest, are monitored throughout the analysis. The distributions, so obtained, find application in the assessment of the source and thermal maturity of crude oil accumulations in the subsurface. This technique eliminates chromatographic separation steps and combines two analyses in one. Thus, more geological samples and reference mixtures may be analyzed in a given time.     

Sulfur geochemistry of hydrothermal waters in Yellowstone National Park,Wyoming, USA. III. An anion-exchange resin technique for sampling and preservation of sulfoxyanions in natural waters

A sampling protocol for the retention, extraction, and analysis of sulfoxyanions in hydrothermal waters has been developed in the laboratory and tested at Yellowstone National Park and Green Lake, NY. Initial laboratory testing of the anion-exchange resin Bio-Rad™ AG1-X8 indicated that the resin was well suited for the sampling, preservation, and extraction of sulfate and thiosulfate. Synthetic solutions containing sulfate and thiosulfate were passed through AG1-X8 resin columns and eluted with 1 and 3 M KCl, respectively. Recovery ranged from 89 to 100%. Comparison of results for water samples collected from five pools in Yellowstone National Park between on-site IC analysis (U.S. Geological Survey mobile lab) and IC analysis of resin-stored sample at SUNY-Stony Brook indicates 96 to 100% agreement for three pools (Cinder, Cistern, and an unnamed pool near Cistern) and 76 and 63% agreement for two pools (Sulfur Dust and Frying Pan). Attempts to extract polythionates from the AG1-X8 resin were made using HCl solutions, but were unsuccessful. Bio-Rad™ AG2-X8, an anion-exchange resin with weaker binding sites than the AG1-X8 resin, is better suited for polythionate extraction. Sulfate and thiosulfate extraction with this resin has been accomplished with KCl solutions of 0.1 and 0.5 M, respectively. Trithionate and tetrathionate can be extracted with 4 M KCl. Higher polythionates can be extracted with 9 M hydrochloric acid. Polythionate concentrations can then be determined directly using ion chromatographic methods, and laboratory results indicate recovery of up to 90% for synthetic polythionate solutions using AG2-X8 resin columns.     

MODFLOW 2000 head uncertainty,a first-order second moment method

A computationally efficient method to estimate the variance and covariance in piezometric head results computed through MODFLOW 2000 using a first-order second moment (FOSM) approach is presented. This methodology employs a first-order Taylor series expansion to combine model sensitivity with uncertainty in geologic data. MODFLOW 2000 is used to calculate both the ground water head and the sensitivity of head to changes in input data. From a limited number of samples, geologic data are extrapolated and their associated uncertainties are computed through a conditional probability calculation. Combining the spatially related sensitivity and input uncertainty produces the variance-covariance matrix, the diagonal of which is used to yield the standard deviation in MODFLOW 2000 head. The variance in piezometric head can be used for calibrating the model, estimating confidence intervals, directing exploration, and evaluating the reliability of a design. A case study illustrates the approach, where aquifer transmissivity is the spatially related uncertain geologic input data. The FOSM methodology is shown to be applicable for calculating output uncertainty for (1) spatially related input and output data, and (2) multiple input parameters (transmissivity and recharge).     

Patterns in benthic populations in the Milford Haven waterway following the 'Sea Empress' oil spill with special reference to amphipods

The macrobenthic fauna of the Milford Haven Waterway was studied in detail following the 'Sea Empress' oil spill in 1996. Contamination patterns indicated heaviest contamination of sediments by oil to have occurred in the lower reaches of the waterway, although water borne hydrocarbons are likely to have penetrated throughout the Haven. Generally, the communities showed little impact of contamination by oil, although some changes were evident at the population level. A decline in the amphipod fauna was observed throughout the Haven, with the genera Ampelisca and Harpinia and the family Isaeidae particularly affected. This was accompanied by increases in both the diversity and abundance of polychaete populations as opportunist species took advantage of the decline of the amphipod fauna. However, within five years of the spill the amphipod fauna has shown clear signs of recovery. The use of the polychaete/amphipod ratio as an indicator of oil pollution is discussed.     

Potential Implications of PCM Climate Change Scenarios for Sacramento–San Joaquin River Basin Hydrology and Water Resources

The potential effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Basin were evaluated using ensemble climate simulations generated by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Center for Atmospheric Research Parallel Climate Model (DOE/NCAR PCM). Five PCM scenarios were employed. The first three were ensemble runs from 1995–2099 with a `business as usual' global emissions scenario, eachwith different atmospheric initializations. The fourth was a `control climate'scenario with greenhouse gas emissions set at 1995 levels and run through 2099. The fifth was a historical climate simulation forced with evolving greenhouse gas concentrations from 1870–2000, from which a 50-yearportion is taken for use in bias-correction of the other runs. From these global simulations, transient monthly temperature and precipitation sequences were statistically downscaled to produce continuous daily hydrologic model forcings, which drove a macro-scale hydrology model of theSacramento–San Joaquin River Basins at a 1/8-degree spatial resolution, and produceddaily streamflow sequences for each climate scenario. Each streamflow scenario was used in a water resources system model that simulated current and predicted future performance of the system. The progressive warming of the PCM scenarios (approximately 1.2 °C at midcentury, and 2.2 °C by the 2090s), coupled with reductions in winter and spring precipitation (from 10 to 25%), markedly reduced late spring snowpack (by as much as half on average by the end of the century). Progressive reductions in winter, spring, and summer streamflow were less severe in the northern part of the study domain than in the south, where a seasonality shift was apparent. Results from the water resources system model indicate that achieving and maintaining status quo (control scenario climate) system performance in the future would be nearly impossible, given the altered climate scenario hydrologies. The most comprehensive of the mitigation alternatives examined satisfied only 87–96% of environmental targets in the Sacramento system, and less than 80% in the San Joaquin system. It is evident that demand modification and system infrastructure improvements will be required to account for the volumetric and temporal shifts in flows predicted to occur with future climates in the Sacramento–San JoaquinRiver basins.     

Tertiary geodynamics of Sakhalin (NW Pacific) from anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility fabrics and paleomagnetic data

Sakhalin has been affected by several phases of Cretaceous and Tertiary deformation due to the complex interaction of plates in the northwest Pacific region. A detailed understanding of the strain is important because it will provide constraints on plate-scale processes that control the formation and deformation of marginal sedimentary basins. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data were obtained from fine-grained mudstones and siltstones from 22 localities in Sakhalin in order to provide information concerning tectonic strain. AMS data reliably record ancient strain tensor orientations before significant deformation of the sediments occurred. Paleomagnetically determined vertical-axis rotations of crustal rocks allow rotation of the fabrics back to their original orientation. Results from southwest Sakhalin indicate a N035°E-directed net tectonic transport from the mid-Paleocene to the early Miocene, which is consistent with the present-day relative motion between the Okhotsk Sea and Eurasian plates. Reconstruction of early–late Miocene AMS fabrics in east Sakhalin indicates a tectonic transport direction of N040°E. In west Sakhalin, the transport direction appears to have remained relatively consistent from the Oligocene to the late Miocene, but it has a different attitude of N080°E. This suggests local deflection of the stress and strain fields, which was probably associated with opening of the northern Tatar Strait. A northward-directed tectonic transport is observed in Miocene sediments in southeast Sakhalin, mid-Eocene sediments in east Sakhalin, and in Late Cretaceous rocks of west and northern Sakhalin, which may be associated with northwestward motion and subduction of the Pacific Plate in the Tertiary period. The boundaries of the separate regions defined by the AMS data are consistent with present-day plate models and, therefore, provide meaningful constraints on the tectonic evolution of Sakhalin.     

Seismic evidence for preservation of the Archean Uchi granite–greenstone belt by crustal-scale extension

In the westernmost Superior Province of Canada, the east–west alignment of granite–greenstone belts and the adjacent, highly deformed gneiss belts led to the first proposals that plate tectonics existed before 2.5 Ga ago, with the belts thrust against one another by east–west-oriented subduction zones. Here, we present seismic reflection data, which demonstrate that in this region the present juxtaposition of the Uchi granite–greenstone belt and the North Caribou gneiss terrane occurred along a late southeast-dipping extensional shear zone that extends from the surface into the lower crust. The preservation of the Uchi belt and probably the English River metasedimentary belt is directly related to their dropping along extensional shear zones, which limited subsequent erosion. The relative lateral transport of these greenstone rocks implies that they were neither derived from the immediately underlying crust, nor preserved by vertical crustal movements as might occur in the absence of plate tectonics. Extension may have been associated with the emplacement of mantle-derived magmas at 2700 Ma, which has been linked to slab break-off or lithospheric delamination, making the extension approximately coeval with local gold mineralisation. Since crustal-scale faults can facilitate the circulation of gold-bearing fluids, we suggest that greenstone rocks preserved in the hanging walls of syn- to post-accretion extensional shear zones may preferentially host Archean lode-gold deposits. In the westernmost Superior Province, our seismic observations imply that some of the late structures in the well-developed belts defined by surface mapping arose through the collapse of a collage of laterally accreted terranes.     

Gas exchange responses of a desert herbaceous perennial to variable sunlight in contrasting microhabitats

Over the course of a day, aridland plants experience a range of incident photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) spanning three orders of magnitude. Rapid photosynthetic responses to changes in PPF have large effects on individual plant carbon gain and water use patterns, hence are important to plant distribution and success. We investigated the response over time of photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (g), and inter-cellular CO₂ concentration (C_i) to step changes in PPF in a long-lived aridland perennial that typically occurs in two contrasting microhabitats, shade under shrubs of other species and unshaded inter-shrub spaces. An initial rapid response in A and C_i for plants in both microhabitats occurred after abrupt changes in PPF. This was followed by slower changes in these parameters during the rest of the light or dark period. Stomatal conductance responded more gradually to step changes in PPF. The initial increase in A after a dark cycle was significantly greater for plants under shrubs than for plants in inter-shrub spaces, but other changes in A, g and C_i did not differ. We attribute the similar responses in plants from different microhabitats to natural variations in solar radiation and limited selection for differentiation due to population gene pools dominated by plants in the open. Our results support the hypothesis that variable light regimes select for photosynthetic gas exchange processes that closely track changes in incident PPF. Our data also support the hypothesis that gas exchange responses to variable light regimes in aridland plants minimize trade-offs between carbon gain and water loss.