Dynamics of phosphorus exchange between sediment and water in a gravel-bed river

ABSTRACT

Phosphorus (P) stores in gravel-bed rivers are released for uptake by periphyton when pH levels exceed 8.5. The Tukituki River has low alkalinity water and frequently experiences periphyton blooms, and daytime pH?>?9 during summer low-flows. We measured dissolved reactive P (DRP) and EPC₀, the water concentration of DRP at which no net release or sorption from the river bed occurs, in sediment samples from the Tukituki River subject to controlled pH levels before (2014) and after (2017) changes to two wastewater discharges that reduced P release to the river by 95%. DRP released from 2014 sediments at pH 8.5–10 were 30?±?10?mg/m³ above background (pH 8) whereas those released from 2017 sediments were 5?±?3?mg/m³ above background. EPC₀ levels in 2014 and 2017 were 11?±?6 and 7?±?2?mg/m³, respectively. Field estimates of released DRP calculated from continuous pH and the Redfield equation suggested that most of the readily available DRP released from sediments at elevated pH is derived from material attached to recently deposited sediment. Subsequently, a reduction in wastewater inputs or agricultural runoff should reduce sediment DRP stores, and hence sediment fluxes, within a few years and mitigate periphyton blooms in addition to directly lowering water column concentrations.     

Benchmarking sustainability in cities: The role of indicators and future scenarios

Scenarios are a useful tool to help think about and visualise the future and, as such, are utilised by many policymakers and practitioners. Future scenarios have not been used to explore the urban context in much depth, yet have the potential to provide valuable insights into the robustness of decisions being made today in the name of sustainability. As part of a major research project entitled Urban Futures, a toolkit has been developed in the UK to facilitate the use of scenarios in any urban context and at any scale relevant to that context. The toolkit comprises two key components, namely, (i) a series of indicators comprising both generic and topic area-specific indicators (e.g., air quality, biodiversity, density, water) that measure sustainability performance and (ii) a list of characteristics (i.e., 1–2-sentence statements about a feature, issue or small set of issues) that describe four future scenarios. In combination, these two components enable us to measure the performance of any given sustainability indicator, and establish the relative sensitivity or vulnerability of that indicator to the different future scenarios. An important aspect of the methodology underpinning the toolkit is that it is flexible enough to incorporate new scenarios, characteristics and indicators, thereby allowing the long-term performance of our urban environments to be considered in the broadest possible sense.     

滇西北红牛—红山铜矿床斑岩锆石U- Pb年龄、Hf同位素及地球化学特征

滇西北格咱铜多金属矿集区是西南三江特提斯构造域重要的Cu—Mo多金属成矿带之一,燕山期伴随着构造—岩浆—热液作用形成了一系列的斑岩—矽卡岩型Cu（Mo）多金属矿床。其中红牛—红山铜矿床是区内代表性矿床。本文在系统的野外工作基础上对红牛—红山铜矿花岗斑岩—石英二长斑岩复式岩体进行了LA- ICP- MS锆石U- Pb定年、岩石地球化学和锆石Lu—Hf 同位素分析。结果表明,斑岩富硅（SiO2 =59. 19%~72. 20%）、富碱（K2O＋Na2O=6. 65%~12. 33%）,具有较高的稀土元素含量（ΣREE=163×10-6~588×10-6,平均值为272×10-6）,轻重稀土元素分馏程度较高（LREE/HREE=17. 2~31. 7）,负铕异常（δEu=0. 64~0. 84）,相对富集Rb、Th、U、K等大离子亲石元素（LILE）,而相对亏损Nb、Ti、Ta、P等高场强元素（HFSE）,为一套准铝质—过铝质的高钾钙碱性—钾玄岩系列高分异I型花岗岩,有向A型花岗岩演化趋势,具高锶低钇特征。3件花岗斑岩样品锆石LA- ICP- MS U- Pb年龄分别为80. 11±0. 63 Ma、76. 59±0. 53 Ma、76. 49±0. 63 Ma,2件石英二长斑岩锆石LA- ICP- MS U- Pb年龄为77. 27±0. 70 Ma、76. 99±0. 75 Ma,均属于燕山晚期。锆石εHf(t)值为-10. 3~-4. 6,两阶段模式年龄TDM2为1. 277~1. 582 Ga,峰值为1. 35~1. 40 Ga,揭示了红牛—红山花岗斑岩—石英二长斑岩源于中元古代地壳基底的深熔作用。综合认为红牛—红山花岗斑岩—石英二长斑岩的形成与早期形成的印支期格咱岛弧加厚地壳部分熔融密切相关。     

Pre-CME Onset Fuses – Do the STEREO Heliospheric Imagers Hold the Clues to the CME Onset Process?

Understanding the onset of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is surely one of the holy grails of solar physics today. Inspection of data from the Heliospheric Imagers (HI), which are part of the SECCHI instrument suite aboard the two NASA STEREO spacecraft, appears to have revealed pre-eruption signatures which may provide valuable evidence for identifying the CME onset mechanism. Specifically, an examination of the HI images has revealed narrow rays comprised of a series of outward-propagating plasma blobs apparently forming near the edge of the streamer belt prior to many CME eruptions. In this pilot study, we inspect a limited dataset to explore the significance of this phenomenon, which we have termed a pre-CME ‘fuse’. Although, the enhanced expulsion of blobs may be consistent with an increase in the release of outward-propagating blobs from the streamers themselves, it could also be interpreted as evidence for interchange reconnection in the period leading to a CME onset. Indeed, it is argued that the latter could even have implications for the end-of-life of CMEs. Thus, the presence of these pre-CME fuses provides evidence that the CME onset mechanism is either related to streamer reconnection processes or the reconnection between closed field lines in the streamer belt and adjacent, open field lines. We investigate the nature of these fuses, including their timing and location with respect to CME launch sites, as well as their speed and topology.     

Assessing the footprint and volume of oil deposited in deep-sea sediments following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The lateral and vertical extents of Macondo oil in deep-sea sediments resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were determined using chemical forensics and geostatistical kriging of data from 2397 sediment samples from 875 cores collected in 2010/2011 and 2014. The total mass of Macondo-derived hopane on the seafloor in 2010/2011 was conservatively estimated between 2.00 and 2.26 metric tons, derived from 219,000 to 247,000 barrels of oil; or 6.9 to 7.7% of the 3.19 million barrels spilled. Macondo-derived hopane was deposited over 1030 to 1910 km² of the seafloor, mostly (> 97%) in surface (0–1 cm) and near-surface (1–3 cm) sediments, which is consistent with short-term oil deposition. Although Macondo oil was still present in surface sediments in 2014, the total mass of Macondo-derived hopane was significantly lower (~ 80 to 90%) than in 2010/2011, affirming an acute impact from the spill and not long-term deposition from natural seeps.     

Radiolarian faunal turnover through the Paleocene-Eocene transition,Mead Stream,New Zealand

The Mead Stream section, northern Clarence Valley, is the most complete Paleocene- early Eocene record of pelagic sedimentation in the mid-latitude (~55° S paleolatitude) Pacific Ocean. Integrated studies of sediments, siliceous and calcareous microfossils and carbon isotopes have shown that major global climate events are recorded by distinct changes in lithofacies and biofacies. The consistent and often abundant occurrence of siliceous microfossils in the section provides a rare opportunity to undertake quantitative analysis of highlatitude radiolarian population changes through the late Paleocene and early Eocene. Late Paleocene assemblages are dominated by spumellarians, although the nassellarian species Buryella tetradica is the most abundant species. The Paleocene-Eocene boundary (= base of Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum) in the Mead Stream section is marked by major faunal turnover, including an abrupt decrease in B. tetradica, first occurrences of several low-latitude species (e.g. Amphicraspedum prolixum s.s., Lychnocanium auxilla, Podocyrtis papalis, Phormocyrtis turgida, Theocorys? phyzella) and increased abundance of large, robust spumellarians relative to small actinommids. Above an 18-m thick, lowermost Eocene interval in which radiolarians are abundant to common, radiolarian abundance declines progressively, falling to <10 individuals per gram in the marl-dominated unit that is correlated with the early Eocene climatic optimum. These trends in siliceous microfossil populations signal major changes in watermass characteristics along the northeastern New Zealand margin in the earliest Eocene. Assemblages typical of cool, eutrophic, watermasses that dominated the Marlborough Paleocene were replaced in the early Eocene by assemblages more characteristic of oligotrophic, stratified, subtropical-tropical watermasses.     

Detrended fluctuation analysis and entropy-complexity causality analysis of temperatures in an urbanized mountain stream

We present the results of applying detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to study correlations in mountain stream temperatures over a 9-year period for impacted and unimpacted conditions. Permutation entropy and complexity are also computed for stream temperature time series at various locations characterized by varying degrees of human impact, and a graphical representation of the “complexity-entropy causality plane” is used to examine the degree of disturbance caused by human activities. Urban development such as canopy removal and urban infrastructure can lead to a higher degree of anti-persistent correlations indicated by lower values of DFA exponents. This effect is more pronounced downstream due to cumulative urbanization effects with downstream distance. Seasonal variations also influence stream temperature dynamics: less anti-persistent behavior is observed in winter months, and stronger anti-persistent correlations during summer. The position in the complexity-entropy plane, reflecting distribution of short term temperature patterns, is also affected, where most sites experience a shift towards higher entropy values after restoration, and only for one site entropy is reduced. Our results indicate the important role urbanization plays on stream evolution greatly influenced by human activities. This information may provide valuable insights for watershed management and water resources management.     

Drivers of interannual and intra‐annual variability of dissolved organic carbon concentration in the River Thames between 1884 and 2013

The world's longest record of river water quality (River Thames—130 years) provides a unique opportunity to understand fluvial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations dynamics. Understanding riverine DOC variability through long‐term studies is crucial to capture patterns and drivers influencing sources of DOC at scales relevant for decision making. The Thames basin (United Kingdom) has undergone massive land‐use change, as well as increased urbanisation and population during the period considered. We aimed to investigate the drivers of intra‐annual to interannual DOC variability, assess the variability due to natural and anthropogenic factors, and understand the causes for the increased DOC variability over the period. Two approaches were used to achieve these aims. The first method was singular spectrum analysis, which was used to reconstruct the major oscillatory modes of DOC, hydroclimatic variables, and atmospheric circulation patterns and to visualise the interaction between these variables. The second approach used was generalised additive modelling, which was used to investigate other non‐natural drivers of DOC variability. Our study shows that DOC variability increased by 80% over the data period, with the greatest increase occurring from the beginning of World War II onwards. The primary driver of the increase in DOC variability was the increase in the average value of fluvial DOC over the period of record, which was itself linked to the increase in basin population and diffuse DOC sources to the river due to land‐use and land‐management changes. Seasonal DOC variability was linked to streamflow and temperature. Our study allows to identify drivers of fluvial intra‐annual and interannual DOC variability and therefore empowers actions to reduce high DOC concentrations.