Strong slope-aspect control of regolith thickness by bedrock foliation

The porous near-surface layer of the Earth's crust – the critical zone – constitutes a vital reservoir of water for ecosystems, provides baseflow to streams, guides recharge to deep aquifers, filters contaminants from groundwater, and regulates the long-term evolution of landscapes. Recent work suggests that the controls on regolith thickness include climate, tectonics, lithology, and vegetation. However, the relative paucity of observations of regolith structure and properties at landscape scales means that theoretical models of critical zone structure are incompletely tested. Here we present seismic refraction and electrical resistivity surveys that thoroughly characterize subsurface structure in a small catchment in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, USA, where slope-aspect effects on regolith structure are expected based on differences in vegetation. Our results show a stark contrast in physical properties and inferred regolith thickness on opposing slopes, but in the opposite sense of that expected from environmental models and observed vegetation patterns. Although vegetation (as expressed by normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI]) is denser on the north-facing slope, regolith on the south-facing slope is four times thicker (as indicated by lower seismic velocities and resistivities). This contrast cannot be explained by variations in topographic stress or conventional hillslope morphology models. Instead, regolith thickness appears to be controlled by metamorphic foliation: regolith is thicker where foliation dips into the topography, and thinner where foliation is nearly parallel to the surface. We hypothesize that, in this catchment, hydraulic conductivity and infiltration capacity control weathering: infiltration is hindered and regolith is thin where foliation is parallel to the surface topography, whereas water infiltrates deeper and regolith is thicker where foliation intersects topography at a substantial angle. These results suggest that bedrock foliation, and perhaps by extension sedimentary layering, can control regolith thickness and must be accounted for in models of critical zone development. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leaky Aquifer Models to Simulate the Well Flow in Fractured Aquifers with Linear Interporosity Flow

Following Hemker and Maas (1987) the models of two or three leaky aquifers are applied to simulate the flow to vertical wells operating in the fractured or dual porosity aquifers. The software WellTest (WT) (Székely 2015) is used for calculating the drawdown and discharge rate variation. The comparative analysis with the independent analytical solutions by Boulton and Streltsova-Adams (1978), Warren and Root (1963), Kazemi et al. (1969) concluded with acceptable agreement between the WT simulation and the alternate calculation methods. The selected field tests have been conducted in fractured limestone aquifers. The pumping test west of Copenhagen shows an example of fractured aquifer with considerable negative skin effect at the well face. The flowing well Wafra W1 in Kuwait operates in the two-zone aquifer exhibiting sufficient vertical recharge via leakage beyond a circular domain of estimated radius of 2460 m.     

Temporal and spatial variation of soil erosion in wooded rangelands of southwest Spain

Changes in land use are common in Mediterranean areas and are reported as having produced changes in the intensity of soil erosion. Dehesas are rangelands with a disperse tree cover, widespread in the south-western part of the Iberian Peninsula and similar ecosystems are also common in other areas with a Mediterranean climate. The aim of the present study is to analyse temporal and spatial variations of soil erosion rates estimated along three hillsides, located in two farms (Buitrera and Parapuños) in southwest Spain. To understand the temporal variation, soil erosion rates were studied in light of land use-management changes that took place during the last few centuries. Results indicate very low erosion rates prior to the 18^th century in both farms. In Buitrera, a first increase of soil loss rates was identified during the period 1831-1897, amounting to 7.4 t ha^-1 y^-1. A further increase took place during the 20^th century, reaching a mean erosion rate of 29.1 t ha^-1 y^-1. In Parapuños, data points to a significant increase from 1881 onwards, with an estimated mean erosion rate of 18.5 t ha^-1 y^-1. Those increases were presumably connected with an intensification of land use, such as cultivation and excessive livestock populations. Regarding spatial variation, the bare surface and the erosive power of run-off along the hillsides accounts for 76% of the soil erosion rates dispersion. At a local scale, the variability of erosion rates could not be explained, because of (i) uncertainty related to the micromorphology of the past soil surface and (ii) the role of tillage erosion in the past. However, the results obtained offer valuable data on the temporal and spatial variation of erosion rates in dehesas at the hillslope scale and a similar approach could be used for other rangelands with a disperse tree cover. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active channel width as a proxy of sediment supply from mining sites in New Caledonia

Although the channel morphology of upland fluvial systems is known to be strongly controlled by sediment supply from hillslopes, it is still difficult to isolate this effect from the other controlling factors of channel forms, such as the sediment transport capacity (depending notably on the size of the catchment) and local conditions (e.g. confinement, riparian vegetation, valley-floor slope). The rivers in New Caledonia offer an interesting field laboratory to isolate the morphological effect of contrasted sediment supply conditions. Some of these rivers are known to be highly impacted by the coarse sediment waves induced by the mining of nickel deposits that started in the early 1870s, which was particularly intensive between the 1940s and 1970s. The propagation of the sediment pulses from the mining sites can be traced by the presence of wide and aggraded active channels along the stream network of nickel-rich peridotite massifs. A first set of 63 undisturbed catchments in peridotite massifs distributed across the Grande Terre was used to fit a classic scaling law between active channel width and drainage area. A second set of 86 impacted sites, where the presence of sediment waves was clearly attested by recent aerial imagery, showed systematically wider active channels, with a width ratio around 5 (established from the intercept ratio of width–area power laws). More importantly, this second set of disturbed sites confirmed that the residual of active channel widths, computed from the scaling law of undisturbed sites, is statistically positively related to the catchment-scale relative area of major mining sediment sources. It is therefore confirmed that the characterization of sediment supply conditions is crucial for the understanding of spatial patterns of active channel width, and this should be more thoroughly considered in morphological studies of rivers draining environments with contrasted geomorphic activities on hillslopes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multistatic estimation of high-frequency radar surface currents in the region of Toulon

Ocean Dynamics - The high-frequency radar coastal network in Toulon operates in multistatic mode for the monitoring of the ocean circulation in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. With 2...     

Modeling multiple wave systems in the eastern equatorial Pacific

Ocean Dynamics - While moderate wind and wave conditions prevail in the eastern equatorial Pacific, modeling waves in this area remains challenging due to the presence of multiple wave systems...     

A search for microwave emission from CH in Comet Kohoutek (1973f)

A search was conducted for the three 9-cm transitions of the ground state Λ-doublet of CH in comet Kohoutek, using the CSIRO 64-m radio telescope and the Onsala Space Observatory's 25.6-m telescope. No lines were detected during the observing periods, and upper limits are given for the corresponding antenna temperatures.     

Identification of the principal patterns of summer moisture transport in South America and their representation by WCRP/CMIP3 global climate models

The goal of this study is to assess the ability of a set of global climate models (GCMs) to represent the main regional spatial patterns of austral summer moisture transport in South America in order to evaluate if one of the possible causes of GCMs misestimating summer precipitation in this region could be associated with an erroneous representation of these patterns. For this purpose, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and 20 GCMs from the WCRP/CMIP3 multi-model dataset for the period 1960–1999 were considered. Extreme cases of moisture transport patterns were selected to assess their association with rainfall anomalies. Results obtained indicate that only some aspects of water vapor transport and convergence in South America as well as the associated precipitation anomalies can be reproduced adequately by GCMs. Finally, a case study is presented showing that one of the moisture transport patterns identified was observed during December 2008–February 2009.     

Modelling regional effects of artificial groundwater recharge in a multilayer aquifer characterized by perched water tables

This paper presents an approach to estimate the effects of a managed recharge experiment in a multilayer aquifer characterized by the presence of perched water tables in the Medina del Campo groundwater body, Douro basin, central Spain. A numerical model was developed to evaluate the effect of artificial recharge on the shallow sector of a regional-scale aquifer and on formerly active wetlands. The model was developed in the Visual MODFLOW Pro v.2011.1 environment in order to represent and analyse the regional impact of this artificial recharge event. Results suggest that the assumption of a single perched system may prove useful in regional contexts where data is limited. From a study site perspective, managed recharge is observed to increase shallow storage along the riverbanks, which is considered valuable for environmental purposes. However, downstream wetlands are unlikely to experience a significant recovery. Furthermore, only a small percentage of artificial recharge is expected to reach the deep regional aquifer. This method can be exported to settings characterized by the presence of perched aquifers and associated groundwater dependent ecosystems.     

Role of time variant and invariant terms on soil moisture spatio-temporal variability in a subhumid coastal wetland

The knowledge of soil moisture spatio-temporal variability is highly relevant for water resources management. This paper reports an analysis of the spatial–temporal variability of soil moisture data for a small to medium-scale soil-sensors network in a coastal wetland of southwestern Spain. Measurements were taken from five sites located in the Doñana National Park over the time-period of one hydrological year from September 2017 to September 2018. The total area of the soil-sensors network shows an extension about 25 × 3 km. Soil moisture data was separated into time invariant (the temporal mean of the whole period at each site) and time-variant terms (the deviations of soil moisture from the mean, or anomalies). The time-invariant component was generally the main contributor to the total spatial variance of soil moisture and it was mostly controlled by the groundwater levels in the area. Nevertheless, the time variant terms have a huge effect on soil moisture variability in very dry states. Characteristic convex time-dependent patterns for this field site were found between spatially averaged soil moisture and its variability. This information could be used for the up and downscaling of soil moisture from satellite data. Those patterns of relation between spatial mean and variability of soil moisture were only affected by heavy rainfalls giving rise to hysteretic behaviour. This study shows that even though groundwater level is a time-variant variable, it significantly affects soil moisture's time-variant but also time-invariant terms due to the different average groundwater level depths at the different sites.