Salinity stress in harpacticoid copepods

Three species of intertidal harpacticoid copepods,Tigriopus japonicus, Tachidius brevicornis andTisbe sp., were tested for their response to salinities ranging from 0‰ to 210‰. At 90‰Tigriopus became dormant, but could be reanimated if placed in 30‰ seawater within 18 hours.Tachidius became dormant at 60‰ but could also be revived if placed in 30‰ seawater.Tisbe died shortly after an exposure to seawater of 45‰. Death was brought about inTigriopus andTachidius by salinities of 150‰. Naupliar, copepodite, and adult stages ofTigriopus withstood the salinities equally well, while egg sacs could tolerate five times the length of exposure of these stages. The respiratory rate ofTigriopus was 3.76 (±1.32) μl 0₂ hr^?1 for active adults and 0.03 (±0.01) nl 0₂ hr^?1 mg dry wt^?1 for adults in the dormant state. The duration of dormancy, with successful revival, appears to be limited to the time before the loss of the vital water content of the tissues due to the high osmotic pressure. The ability to enter dormancy in times of stress may have high survival value to some intertidal copepods.     

Intra-survey reservoir fluctuations – implications for quantitative 4D seismic analysis

During the time taken for seismic data to be acquired, reservoir pressure may fluctuate as a consequence of field production and operational procedures and fluid fronts may move significantly. These variations prevent accurate quantitative measurement of the reservoir change using 4D seismic data. Modelling studies on the Norne field simulation model using acquisition data from ocean-bottom seismometer and towed streamer systems indicate that the pre-stack intra-survey reservoir fluctuations are important and cannot be neglected. Similarly, the time-lapse seismic image in the post-stack domain does not represent a difference between two states of the reservoir at a unique base and monitor time, but is a mixed version of reality that depends on the sequence and timing of seismic shooting. The outcome is a lack of accuracy in the measurement of reservoir changes using the resulting processed and stacked 4D seismic data. Even for perfect spatial repeatability between surveys, a spatially variant noise floor is still anticipated to remain. For our particular North Sea acquisition data, we find that towed streamer data are more affected than the ocean-bottom seismometer data. We think that this may be typical for towed streamers due to their restricted aperture compared to ocean-bottom seismometer acquisitions, even for a favourable time sequence of shooting and spatial repeatability. Importantly, the pressure signals on the near and far offset stacks commonly used in quantitative 4D seismic inversion are found to be inconsistent due to the acquisition timestamp. Saturation changes at the boundaries of fluid fronts appear to show a similar inconsistency across sub-stacks. We recommend that 4D data are shot in a consistent manner to optimize aerial time coverage, and that additionally, the timestamp of the acquisition should be used to optimize pre-stack quantitative reservoir analysis.     

Quantifying potential propagule pressure of aquatic invasive species from the commercial shipping industry in Canada

We quantify and compare different measures of potential propagule pressure (PPP) of aquatic invasive species (AIS) from commercial vessels in Canada. We used ship arrivals and ballast water discharge volumes as proxies for PPP from ballast water organisms, and wetted surface area (WSA) as a proxy for hull fouling PPP, to determine their relative contributions to total PPP. For three regions studied, PPP proxies correlated significantly across ports and some vessel categories. Relative contributions of ship arrivals, ballast discharge, and WSAs to PPP, evidenced by non-significant correlations across these measures, varied across regions, ports, vessel types, and seasons. Flow-through (dominant on east and west coasts) and empty-refill (in Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region) were the major ballast water exchange methods employed by the vessels surveyed. These methods have different biological efficacy for AIS removal, influencing PPP. Our study illustrates benefits and limitations of using different PPP proxies to estimate invasion risk.     

Pre‐drill Groundwater Geochemistry in the Karoo Basin,South Africa

Enhanced production of unconventional hydrocarbons in the United States has driven interest in natural gas development globally, but simultaneously raised concerns regarding water quantity and quality impacts associated with hydrocarbon extraction. We conducted a pre‐development assessment of groundwater geochemistry in the critically water‐restricted Karoo Basin, South Africa. Twenty‐two springs and groundwater samples were analyzed for major dissolved ions, trace elements, water stable isotopes, strontium and boron isotopes, hydrocarbons and helium composition. The data revealed three end‐members: a deep, saline groundwater with a sodium‐chloride composition, an old, deep freshwater with a sodium‐bicarbonate‐chloride composition and a shallow, calcium‐bicarbonate freshwater. In a few cases, we identified direct mixing of the deep saline water and shallow groundwater. Stable water isotopes indicate that the shallow groundwater was controlled by evaporation in arid conditions, while the saline waters were diluted by apparently fossil meteoric water originated under wetter climatic conditions. These geochemical and isotopic data, in combination with elevated helium levels, suggest that exogenous fluids are the source of the saline groundwater and originated from remnant seawater prior to dilution by old meteoric water combined with further modification by water‐rock interactions. Samples with elevated methane concentrations (>14 ccSTP/kg) were strongly associated with the sodium‐chloride water located near dolerite intrusions, which likely provide a preferential pathway for vertical migration of deeply sourced hydrocarbon‐rich saline waters to the surface. This pre‐drill evaluation indicates that the natural migration of methane‐ and salt‐rich waters provides a source of geogenic contamination to shallow aquifers prior to shale gas development in the Karoo Basin.     

Sensitivity of the elastic anisotropy and seismic reflection amplitude of the Eagle Ford Shale to the presence of kerogen

The Eagle Ford Shale of Central and South Texas is currently of great interest for oil and gas exploration and production. Laboratory studies show that the Eagle Ford Shale is anisotropic, with a correlation between anisotropy and total organic carbon. Organic materials are usually more compliant than other minerals present in organic‐rich shales, and their shapes and distribution are usually anisotropic. This makes organic materials an important source of anisotropy in organic‐rich shales. Neglecting shale anisotropy may lead to incorrect estimates of rock and fluid properties derived from inversion of amplitude versus offset seismic data. Organic materials have a significant effect on the PP and PS reflection amplitudes from the Austin Chalk/Upper Eagle Ford interface, the Upper Eagle Ford/Lower Eagle Ford interface, and the Lower Eagle Ford/Buda Limestone interface. The higher kerogen content of the Lower Eagle Ford compared with that of the Upper Eagle Ford leads to a negative PP reflection amplitude that dims with offset, whereas the PS reflection coefficient increases in magnitude with increasing offset. The PP and PS reflection coefficients at the Austin Chalk/Upper Eagle Ford interface, the Upper Eagle Ford/Lower Eagle Ford interface, and the Lower Eagle Ford/Buda Limestone interface all increase in magnitude with increasing volume fraction of kerogen.     

Gravel‐bed rivers: from particles to patterns

The papers in this special issue reflect several of the major themes and topics from the 7^th International Workshop on Gravel‐Bed Rivers. The papers focus primarily on aspects of bed material transport in gravel‐bed rivers and larger scale morpho‐dynamics. Research in gravel‐bed rivers is increasingly integrating processes over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales by combining field observation, lab experimentation, numerical modeling and theory testing in a range of river types, aided by new technological developments in particle tracking, computational modeling and high resolution spatial data. This is leading to greater understanding of the processes leading to distinctive morpho‐dynamics of river types and a more reliable basis for river management. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a multi‐temporal,LiDAR‐derived,digital terrain model in a landslide‐volume estimation

Sediments produced by landslides are crucial in the sediment yield of a catchment, debris flow forecasting, and related hazard assessment. On a regional scale, however, it is difficult and time consuming to measure the volumes of such sediment. This paper uses a LiDAR‐derived digital terrain model (DTM) taken in 2005 and 2010 (at 2 m resolution) to accurately obtain landslide‐induced sediment volumes that resulted from a single catastrophic typhoon event in a heavily forested mountainous area of Taiwan. The landslides induced by Typhoon Morakot are mapped by comparison of 25 cm resolution aerial photographs taken before and after the typhoon in an 83.6 km² study area. Each landslide volume is calculated by subtraction of the 2005 DTM from the 2010 DTM, and the scaling relationship between landslide area and its volume are further regressed. The relationship between volume and area are also determined for all the disturbed areas (V_L = 0.452A_L^1.242) and for the crown areas of the landslides (V_L = 2.510A_L^1.206). The uncertainty in estimated volume caused by use of the LiDAR DTMs is discussed, and the error in absolute volume estimation for landslides with an area >10⁵ m² is within 20%. The volume–area relationship obtained in this study is also validated in 11 small to medium‐sized catchments located outside the study area, and there is good agreement between the calculation from DTMs and the regression formula. By comparison of debris volumes estimated in this study with previous work, it is found that a wider volume variation exists that is directly proportional to the landslide area, especially under a higher scaling exponent. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shaking‐table tests of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material

According to Eurocode 8, the seismic design of flat‐bottom circular silos containing grain‐like material is based on a rough estimate of the inertial force imposed on the structure by the ensiled content during an earthquake: 80% of the mass of the content multiplied by the peak ground acceleration. A recent analytical consideration of the horizontal shear force mobilised within the ensiled material during an earthquake proposed by some of the authors has resulted in a radically reduced estimate of this load suggesting that, in practice, the effective mass of the content is significantly less than that specified. This paper describes a series of laboratory tests that featured shaking table and a silo model, which were conducted in order to obtain some experimental data to verify the proposed theoretical formulations and to compare with the established code provisions. Several tests have been performed with different heights of ensiled material – about 0.5 mm diameter Ballotini glass – and different magnitudes of grain–wall friction. The results indicate that in all cases, the effective mass is indeed lower than the Eurocode specification, suggesting that the specification is overly conservative, and that the wall–grain friction coefficient strongly affects the overturning moment at the silo base. At peak ground accelerations up to around 0.35 g, the proposed analytical formulation provides an improved estimate of the inertial force imposed on such structures by their contents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.