Evolution and preservation potential of fluvial and transgressive deposits on the Louisiana inner shelf: understanding depositional processes to support coastal management

The barrier-island systems of the Mississippi River Delta plain are currently undergoing some of the highest rates of shoreline retreat in North America (~20 m/year). Effective management of this coastal area requires an understanding of the processes involved in shoreline erosion and measures that can be enacted to reduce loss. The dominant stratigraphy of the delta plain is fluvial mud (silts and clays), delivered in suspension via a series of shallow-water delta lobes that prograded across the shelf throughout the Holocene. Abandonment of a delta lobe through avulsion leads to rapid land subsidence through compaction within the muddy framework. As the deltaic headland subsides below sea level, the marine environment transgresses the bays and wetlands, reworking the available sands into transgressive barrier shorelines. This natural process is further complicated by numerous factors: (1) global sea-level rise; (2) reduced sediment load within the Mississippi River; (3) diversion of the sediment load away from the barrier shorelines to the deep shelf; (4) storm-induced erosion; and (5) human alteration of the littoral process through the construction of hardened shorelines, canals, and other activities. This suite of factors has led to the deterioration of the barrier-island systems that protect interior wetlands and human infrastructure from normal wave activity and periodic storm impact. Interior wetland loss results in an increased tidal prism and inlet cross-sectional areas, and expanding ebb-tidal deltas, which removes sand from the littoral processes through diversion and sequestration. Shoreface erosion of the deltaic headlands does not provide sufficient sand to balance the loss, resulting in thinning and dislocation of the islands. Abatement measures include replenishing lost sediment with similar material, excavated from discrete sandy deposits within the muddy delta plain. These sand bodies were deposited by the same cyclical processes that formed the barrier islands, and understanding these processes is necessary to characterize their location, extent, and resource potential. In this paper we demonstrate the dominant fluvial and marine-transgressive depositional processes that occur on the inner shelf, and identify the preservation and resource potential of fluvio-deltaic deposits for coastal management in Louisiana.     

A Customization of the Arc Marine Data Model to Support Whale Tracking via Satellite Telemetry

The Arc Marine data model is a generalized template to guide the implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) projects in the marine environment. It developed out of a collaborative process involving research and industry shareholders in coastal and marine research. This template models and attempts to standardize common ocean and coastal data types to facilitate data sharing and analytical tool development. In this study, Arc Marine is extended from its core model to fit the research goals of the whale satellite-telemetry-tagging program of the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute (MMI). The study sought the best customization of the generic Arc Marine data model to enhance the key advantages of satellite telemetry for mapping the distribution and movement of endangered marine mammal species. It was found that three new groups of object classes were needed (Animal, Telemetry, and Operations). Further customization involved the development of a comprehensive framework for animal tracking with Argos satellite telemetry data. A new multidimensional data cube model was also devised, showing how this extension of Arc Marine serves as an appropriate target schema for the application of on-line analytical processing (OLAP) tools and spatial data mining of satellite telemetry tracking datasets.     

The Application of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Fingerprint Characterization in Site Investigation and Remediation

Tremendous resources have been and continue to be spent investigating and remediating petroleum hydrocarbon compounds (PHCs) in soil and ground water. Investigating and planning a remedial strategy for sites affected by PHCs is often a challenging task because of the complex chemical nature of the PHCs. the complex regulatory environment related to PHC cleanup, and the use of analytical methods that provide quantitation but not identification of PHCs. From a technical standpoint, the PHC impacting soil and/or ground water is frequently inadequately characterised, both in identification as well as in is general properties (solubility, toxicity). From a regulatory standpoint, promulgated or recommended total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) cleanup levels generally relate to assumed properties of specific unweathered products and are inconsistent among different agencies and regions. This produces a prime situation for unwillingly spending more resources on investigation or remediation than may be necessary, especially when the PHC in the subsurface has different properties from unweathered products such as gasoline or diesel.
Accurately identifying the PHC and its nature, a process known as fingerprint characterization, is critical to the determination of appropriate regulatory goals and design of cost-effective remedial approaches. This paper presents several case studies in which fingerprint characterization made a significant difference in the project outcome. In each instance the nature of the organic material was better understood, the regulatory cleanup levels were negotiated based on the nature of the material, and a remedial approach was implemented that differed significantly from and was generally less costly than what would have been required without fingerprint characterization data.     

Continental ridges in the Arctic Ocean: Lorex constraints

Recent multidisciplinary geophysical measurements over the Lomonosov Ridge close to the North Pole support the widely held belief that it was formerly part of Eurasia. The known lithologies, ages, P-wave velocity structure and thickness of the crust along the outer Barents and Kara continental shelves are similar to permitted or measured values of these parameters newly acquired over the Lomonosov Ridge. Seismic, gravity and magnetic data in particular show that the ridge basement is most likely formed of early Mesozoic or older sedimentary or low-grade metasedimentary rocks over a crystalline core that is intermediate to basic in composition. Short-wavelength magnetic anomaly highs along the upper ridge flanks and crest may denote the presence of shallow igneous rocks. Because of the uncertain component of ice-rafted material, seafloor sediments recovered from the ridge by shallow sampling techniques cannot be clearly related to ridge basement lithology without further detailed analysis. The ridge is cut at the surface and at depth by normal faults that appear related to the development of the Makarov Basin. This and other data are consistent with the idea that the Makarov Basin was formed by continental stretching rather than simple seafloor spreading. Hence the flanking Alpha and Lomonosov ridges may originally have been part of the same continental block. It is suggested that in Late Cretaceous time this block was sheared from Eurasia along a trans-Arctic left-lateral offset that may have been associated with the opening of Baffin Bay. The continental block was later separated from Eurasia when the North Altantic rift extended into the Arctic region in the Early Tertiary. The data suggest that the Makarov Basin did not form before the onset of rifting in the Artic.     

Thermal analysis in the laser-heated diamond anvil cell

A new technique actively controls thermal radiation and monitors sample properties during laser-heating in a diamond anvil cell. The technique can be described as a qualitative application of thermal analysis. Discontinuities in temperature, laser power, visible thermal radiation, or in their derivatives as functions of time can be associated with the enthalpy of phase transitions (such as melting) or with changes in maternal properties (such as emissivity).The technique is illustrated with melting experiments on iron-magnesium-silicate perovskite. Temperature corrections associated with these experiments are discussed and the results are briefly reviewed.     

Graben generation of major sedimentary basins

Regional isostatic adjustment to the load that fills the trough of a large graben will produce a surface depression that extends far beyond the boundaries of the load. Sediment infilling of this depression can lead to the development of a major sedimentary basin as the regional adjustment mechanism approaches isostatic equilibrium.     

Persistent organic pollutants and stable isotopes in biopsy samples (2004/2006) from Southern Resident killer whales

“Southern Resident” killer whales include three “pods” (J, K and L) that reside primarily in Puget Sound/Georgia Basin during the spring, summer and fall. This population was listed as “endangered” in the US and Canada following a 20% decline between 1996 and 2001. The current study, using blubber/epidermis biopsy samples, contributes contemporary information about potential factors (i.e., levels of pollutants or changes in diet) that could adversely affect Southern Residents. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes indicated J- and L-pod consumed prey from similar trophic levels in 2004/2006 and also showed no evidence for a large shift in the trophic level of prey consumed by L-pod between 1996 and 2004/2006. ∑PCBs decreased for Southern Residents biopsied in 2004/2006 compared to 1993–1995. Surprisingly, however, a three-year-old male whale (J39) had the highest concentrations of ∑PBDEs, ∑HCHs and HCB. POP ratio differences between J- and L-pod suggested that they occupy different ranges in winter.     

Surface mesoscale features associated with leading convective line-trailing stratiform squall lines over the Gangetic West Bengal

In this paper an attempt is made to identify the mesoscale features in surface pressure pattern, if any, associated with thunderstorm over the Gangetic West Bengal region in India. The study was conducted over Kharagpur and the adjoining area in the Gangetic West Bengal, frequently affected by thunderstorms during the pre-monsoon seasons of April–May. Observations recorded at 50 m instrumented micro-meteorological tower and upper air sounding at Kharagpur under nationally coordinated Severe Thunderstorm Observations and Regional Modeling (STORM) Programme are used to study the variation in surface pressure, wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity associated with the squall lines with trailing stratiform precipitation region. In the surface pressure variation, pre-squall mesolow, mesohigh and wake low are identified with the passage of the squall line at Kharagpur. It is observed that in the squall line with trailing stratiform precipitation shield, the mesohigh is associated with convective line and wake low exists at the rear of the storms. The position of the mesohigh is typically found in the vicinity of the heavy rain directly beneath the downdraft. The mesohigh seems to be initiated by the cooling due to evaporation of precipitation in the downdraft and intensified due to the non-hydrostatic effect because of the rainfall directly beneath the downdraft. It is also observed that the passage of trailing edges of the stratiform precipitation coincided with the wake low. Upper air sounding shows mid-tropospheric cooling and lower tropospheric warming. It may be possible due to the dominance of evaporative cooling in the mid-levels and dynamically forced descending motion leading to adiabatic warming in the low levels which may lead to the formation of the wake low.