Supraglacial weathering crust dynamics inferred from cryoconite hole hydrology

Water levels in cryoconite holes were monitored at high resolution over a 3‐week period on Austre Brøggerbreen (Svalbard). These data were combined with melt and energy balance modelling, providing insights into the evolution of the glacier's near‐surface hydrology and confirming that the hydrology of the near‐surface, porous ice known as the ‘weathering crust’ is dynamic and analogous to a shallow‐perched aquifer. A positive correlation between radiative forcing of melt and drainage efficiency was found within the weathering crust. This likely resulted from diurnal contraction and dilation of interstitial pore spaces driven by variations in radiative and turbulent fluxes in the surface energy balance, occasionally causing ‘sudden drainage events’. A linear decrease in water levels in cryoconite holes was also observed and attributed to cumulative increases in near‐surface ice porosity over the measurement period. The transport of particulate matter and microbes between cryoconite holes through the porous weathering crust is shown to be dependent upon weathering crust hydraulics and particle size. Cryoconite holes therefore yield an indication of the hydrological dynamics of the weathering crust and provide long‐term storage loci for cryoconite at the glacier surface. This study highlights the importance of the weathering crust as a crucial component of the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry of the glacier ecosystem and glacierized regions and demonstrates the utility of cryoconite holes as natural piezometers on glacier surfaces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scales and magnitude of hyporheic,river–aquifer and bank storage exchange fluxes

Many studies have investigated the exchange processes that occur between rivers and groundwater systems and have successfully quantified the water fluxes involved. Specifically, these exchange processes include hyporheic exchange, river–aquifer exchange (groundwater discharge and river loss) and bank storage exchange. Remarkably, there are relatively few examples of field studies where more than one exchange process is quantified, and as a consequence, the relationships between them are not well understood. To compare the relative magnitudes of these common exchange processes, we have collected data from 54 studies that have quantified one or more of these exchange flux types. Each flux value is plotted against river discharge at the time of measurement to allow the different exchange flux types to be compared. We show that there are positive relationships between the magnitude of each exchange flux type and increasing river discharge across the different studies. For every one order of magnitude increase in river discharge, the hyporheic, river–aquifer and bank storage exchange fluxes increase by factors of 2.7, 2.9 and 2.5, respectively. On average, hyporheic exchange fluxes are almost an order of magnitude greater than river–aquifer exchange fluxes, which are, in turn, approximately four times greater than bank storage exchange fluxes for the same river discharge. Unless measurement approaches that can distinguish between different types of exchange flux are used, there is potential for hyporheic exchange fluxes to be misinterpreted as river–aquifer exchange fluxes, with possible implications for water resource management decisions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater mixing between different aquifer types in a complex structural setting discerned by elemental and stable isotope geochemistry

Karst aquifers are well known for their intricate stratigraphy and geologic structures, which make groundwater characterization challenging because flowpaths and recharge sources are complex and difficult to evaluate. Geochemical data, collected from ten closely spaced production wells constructed in two karst aquifers (Bangor Limestone (Mb) and Tuscumbia Limestone/Fort Payne Chert (Mftp)) in Trussville, north‐central Alabama, illustrate two distinctive groundwater end‐members: (1) higher major ion, dissolved inorganic carbon, conductivity, alkalinity concentrations, heavier δ¹³C ratios (max: −10.2 ± 0.2‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB)) and lower residence times (mean: 19.5 ± 2 years, n = 2) of groundwater in the Mb aquifer and (2) lower constituent concentrations, lighter δ¹³C ratios (min: −13.4 ± 0.2‰ PDB) and longer residence times of groundwater (mean: 23.6 ± 2 years, n = 4) in the Mftp aquifer. Summer and fall data and the binary mixing model show aquifer inter‐flow mixing along solution fractures and confirms the distinctive groundwater geochemistry of the two aquifers. Lowering of static water levels over the summer (drawdown from 2 to 5.2 m) leads to more reducing groundwater conditions (lower Eh values) and slightly enriched δ¹⁸O and δD ratios during the fall [δ¹⁸O: −4.8 ± 0.1 to −5.4 ± 0.1‰ Vienna Standard Mean Oceanic Water (VSMOW), n = 9; δD: −25.4 ± 1 to −27.4 ± 1‰ VSMOW, n = 9] when compared with summer season samples (δ¹⁸O: −5.1 ± 0.1 to −5.7 ± 0.1‰ VSMOW, n = 11; δD: −25.0 ± 1 to −30.6 ± 1‰ VSMOW, n = 11). GIS analyses confirm the localized origin of recharge to the investigated aquifers. The combination of GIS, field parameters and geochemistry analyses can be successfully used to identify recharge sources, evaluate groundwater flow and transport pathways and to improve understanding of how groundwater withdrawals impact the sustainability and susceptibility to contamination of karst aquifers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Benthic Carbon Mineralization and Nutrient Turnover in a Scottish Sea Loch: An Integrative In Situ Study

Based on in situ microprofiles, chamber incubations and eddy covariance measurements, we investigated the benthic carbon mineralization and nutrient regeneration in a ~65-m-deep sedimentation basin of Loch Etive, UK. The sediment hosted a considerable amount of infauna that was dominated by the brittle star A. filiformis. The numerous burrows were intensively irrigated enhancing the benthic in situ O₂ uptake by ~50 %, and inducing highly variable redox conditions and O₂ distribution in the surface sediment as also documented by complementary laboratory-based planar optode measurements. The average benthic O₂ exchange as derived by chamber incubations and the eddy covariance approach were similar (14.9 ± 2.5 and 13.1 ± 9.0 mmol m^?2 day^?1) providing confidence in the two measuring approaches. Moreover, the non-invasive eddy approach revealed a flow-dependent benthic O₂ flux that was partly ascribed to enhanced ventilation of infauna burrows during periods of elevated flow rates. The ratio in exchange rates of ΣCO₂ and O₂ was close to unity, confirming that the O₂ uptake was a good proxy for the benthic carbon mineralization in this setting. The infauna activity resulted in highly dynamic redox conditions that presumably facilitated an efficient degradation of both terrestrial and marine-derived organic material. The complex O₂ dynamics of the burrow environment also concurrently stimulated nitrification and coupled denitrification rates making the sediment an efficient sink for bioavailable nitrogen. Furthermore, bioturbation mediated a high efflux of dissolved phosphorus and silicate. The study documents a high spatial and temporal variation in benthic solute exchange with important implications for benthic turnover of organic carbon and nutrients. However, more long-term in situ investigations with like approaches are required to fully understand how environmental events and spatio-temporal variations interrelate to the overall biogeochemical functioning of coastal sediments.     

The constancy of galactic cosmic rays as recorded by cosmogenic nuclides in iron meteorites

We measured the He, Ne, and Ar isotopic concentrations and the ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl, and ⁴¹Ca concentrations in 56 iron meteorites of groups IIIAB, IIAB, IVA, IC, IIA, IIB, and one ungrouped. From ⁴¹Ca and ³⁶Cl data, we calculated terrestrial ages indistinguishable from zero for six samples, indicating recent falls, up to 562 ± 86 ka. Three of the studied meteorites are falls. The data for the other 47 irons confirm that terrestrial ages for iron meteorites can be as long as a few hundred thousand years even in relatively humid conditions. The ³⁶Cl‐³⁶Ar cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages range from 4.3 ± 0.4 Ma to 652 ± 99 Ma. By including literature data, we established a consistent and reliable CRE age database for 67 iron meteorites. The high quality of the CRE ages enables us to study structures in the CRE age histogram more reliably. At first sight, the CRE age histogram shows peaks at about 400 and 630 Ma. After correction for pairing, the updated CRE age histogram comprises 41 individual samples and shows no indications of temporal periodicity, especially not if one considers each iron meteorite group separately. Our study contradicts the hypothesis of periodic GCR intensity variations (Shaviv 2002, 2003), confirming other studies indicating that there are no periodic structures in the CRE age histogram (e.g., Rahmstorf et al. 2004; Jahnke 2005). The data contradict the hypothesis that periodic GCR intensity variations might have triggered periodic Earth climate changes. The ³⁶Cl‐³⁶Ar CRE ages are on average 40% lower than the ⁴¹K‐K CRE ages (e.g., Voshage 1967). This offset can either be due to an offset in the ⁴¹K‐K dating system or due to a significantly lower GCR intensity in the time interval 195–656 Ma compared to the recent past. A 40% lower GCR intensity, however, would have increased the Earth temperature by up to 2 °C, which seems unrealistic and leaves an ill‐defined ⁴¹K‐K CRE age system the most likely explanation. Finally, we present new ²⁶Al/²¹Ne and ¹⁰Be/²¹Ne production rate ratios of 0.32 ± 0.01 and 0.44 ± 0.03, respectively.     

The WOCE-era 3-D Pacific Ocean circulation and heat budget

To address questions concerning the intensity and spatial structure of the three-dimensional circulation within the Pacific Ocean and the associated advective and diffusive property flux divergences, data from approximately 3000 high-quality hydrographic stations collected on 40 zonal and meridional cruises have been merged into a physically consistent model. The majority of the stations were occupied as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), which took place in the 1990s. These data are supplemented by a few pre-WOCE surveys of similar quality, and time-averaged direct-velocity and historical hydrographic measurements about the equator.An inverse box model formalism is employed to estimate the absolute along-isopycnal velocity field, the magnitude and spatial distribution of the associated diapycnal flow and the corresponding diapycnal advective and diffusive property flux divergences. The resulting large-scale WOCE Pacific circulation can be described as two shallow overturning cells at mid- to low latitudes, one in each hemisphere, and a single deep cell which brings abyssal waters from the Southern Ocean into the Pacific where they upwell across isopycnals and are returned south as deep waters. Upwelling is seen to occur throughout most of the basin with generally larger dianeutral transport and greater mixing occurring at depth. The derived pattern of ocean heat transport divergence is compared to published results based on air–sea flux estimates. The synthesis suggests a strongly east/west oriented pattern of air–sea heat flux with heat loss to the atmosphere throughout most of the western basins, and a gain of heat throughout the tropics extending poleward through the eastern basins. The calculated meridional heat transport agrees well with previous hydrographic estimates. Consistent with many of the climatologies at a variety of latitudes as well, our meridional heat transport estimates tend toward lower values in both hemispheres.     

Creating an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum from a giant impact

The giant impact hypothesis is the dominant theory explaining the formation of our Moon. However, the inability to produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum has cast a shadow on its validity. Computer-generated impacts have been successful in producing virtual systems that possess many of the observed physical properties. However, addressing the isotopic similarities between the Earth and Moon coupled with correct angular momentum has proven to be challenging. Equilibration and evection resonance have been proposed as means of reconciling the models. In the summer of 2013, the Royal Society called a meeting solely to discuss the formation of the Moon. In this meeting, evection resonance and equilibration were both questioned as viable means of removing the deficiencies from giant impact models. The main concerns were that models were multi-staged and too complex. We present here initial impact conditions that produce an isotopically similar Earth–Moon system with correct angular momentum. This is done in a single-staged simulation. The initial parameters are straightforward and the results evolve solely from the impact. This was accomplished by colliding two roughly half-Earth-sized impactors, rotating in approximately the same plane in a high-energy, off-centered impact, where both impactors spin into the collision.     

Genesis of basalt-hosted massive sulphide deposits from the Trondheim and Sulitjelma districts,Norway: ore lead isotopic considerations

Lead isotopic ratios of bulk sulphides from eleven stratigraphically equivalent deposits from the Köli Nappe sequence in the Trondheim district, and eleven from the Köli sequence at Sulitjelma Norway, have been determined. When plotted on ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagrams, the data define a linear trend extending from the mantle to the upper crustal model growth curves of Doe and Zartman (1979). Moreover, the data from both districts lie on the same trend. This isotopic trend is interpreted as resulting from the mixing of lead from a mantle source (probably the host basalts) with that of an upper-crustal end member (either sialic basement or the terrigenous sediments surrounding the host basalts). It is also concluded that the deposits in both camps formed more or less contemporaneously. The isotopic mixing line is comparable with that obtained from Besshi ore pyrites in Japan, for which an aulacogenic depositional environment, similar to that found today in the Gulf of California, has been proposed (Fox 1984). It is concluded that a similar depositional environment was responsible for the Trondheim and Sulitjelma ores, although an ensialic back-arc basin, or other possible environments, cannot be entirely ruled out.     

The fractal geometry of flow paths in natural fractures in rock and the approach to percolation

The distributions of contact areas in single, natural fractures in quartz monzonite (Stripa granite) are found to have fractal dimensions which decrease fromD=2.00 to values nearD=1.96 as stress normal to the fractures is increased from 3 MPa up to 85 MPa. The effect of stress on fluid flow is studied in the same samples. Fluid transport through a fracture depends on two properties of the fracture void space geometry. the void aperture; and the tortuosity of the flow paths, determined through the distribution of contact area. Each of these quantities change under stress and contribute to changes observed in the flow rate. A general flow law is presented which separates these different effects. The effects of tortuosity on flow are largely governed by the proximity of the flow path distribution to a percolation threshold. A fractal model of correlated continuum percolation is presented which quantitatively reproduces the flow path geometries. The fractal dimension in this model is fit to the measured fractal dimensions of the flow systems to determine how far the flow systems are above the percolation threshold.