A Landsat-based evaluation of lake water clarity in Maine lakes

Temporal trends in water clarity and land-use/land-cover (LULC), as well as the relationship between changes in water clarity and LULC, were analyzed using water clarity values extracted from Landsat images from 1986 to 2008, acquired for east-central Maine. Of 40 lakes identified using satellite imagery, our analysis found one lake with a significant decrease in water clarity. In a second data-set, with 99 lakes, we identified two lakes with a significant increase in water clarity. Analyses of the relationship between temporal changes in the water clarity and LULC did not identify any clear, consistent, relationships between changes in the water quality variables and LULC. Overall, the results of this study aid in the identification of the relationship between water clarity and LULC, and identify temporal changes in water clarity. The findings of this study support the previous research that demonstrates the ability of satellite imagery to be used in assessments of water clarity, thus enabling evaluation at broader spatial scales and longer temporal scales than assessments that rely solely on ground-based data.     

Precipitate flotation of copper as the sulfide,using recyclable amphoteric surfactants

An experimental study was made to identify surfactants which are effective for removal of copper from dilute aqueous solution (100–500 ppm) by precipitate flotation as the sulfide, and which at the same time can be recovered from the CuS product for recycle. Batch flotation experiments confirmed that a cationic surfactant was necessary for flotation of CuS from such dilute suspensions; however, no satisfactory way could be found for recovering cationic surfactants from the CuS. This led to consideration of amphoteric surfactants, which are cationic at low pH and anionic at high pH. It was found that a change to negative, rather than simply neutral, charge was required for efficient surfactant recovery. It was further found, through the assistance of experiments in which the CuS suspension was agitated with solvents, that certain functional groups which interact chemically with the CuS surface should also be absent from the surfactant molecule. Following this logic, Amphoterge K-2 (Lonza Chemical Co.) was identified as a suitable surfactant, provided CuS was precipitated with S^2? in excess. Tests established that 95% of adsorbed Amphoterge K-2 could be recovered by raising the pH to 11 and boiling the suspension for one hour, followed by decanting. Surfactant thus recovered was effective in a second flotation test. Foamate solids settled rapidly; such behavior would help reduce the consumption of chemicals for the pH change.Column flotation studies were made using Amphoterge K-2 for removal of Cu²⁺ present at 100 ppm and pH = 2. High removals of CuS could be obtained at concentrations of surfactant above about 25 ppm, for which conditions a substantial fraction of the surfactant remains in solution rather than being adsorbed onto the CuS. The recovery of CuS would be improved by introducing the surfactant in a separate feed, below the feed of CuS suspension. Adding some surfactant in the CuS feed, as well as in a lower feed, gave an even better recovery of CuS (99.8%) at sufficiently high surfactant loadings.     

Quantifying multiple Permian–Recent exhumation events during the break‐up of eastern Gondwana: sonic transit time analysis of the central and southern Perth Basin

The central and southern Perth Basin in southwestern Australia has a geological history involving multiple regional unconformity‐forming events from the Permian to Recent. This study uses sonic transit time analysis to quantify the magnitudes of net and gross exhumation for four stratigraphic periods from 43 wells. Most importantly, we quantify gross exhumation of the Permian–Triassic, Triassic–Jurassic, Valanginian break‐up and post‐Early Cretaceous events. Post‐Early Cretaceous gross exhumation averages 900‐m offshore and 600‐m onshore. Up to 200 m of this exhumation may be attributed to localized fault block rotation during extension in the Late Cretaceous and/or reverse fault re‐activation due to the compressive stresses in Australia in the last 50 Ma. The remainder is attributed to regional exhumation caused by epeirogenic processes either during the Cenozoic or at the Aptian–Albian boundary. Maximum burial depths prior to the Valanginian unconformity‐forming event were less than those reached subsequently, so that the magnitude of Valanginian break‐up exhumation cannot be accurately quantified. Gross exhumation prior to the break‐up of Gondwana was defined by large magnitude differences (up to 2500 m) between adjoining sub‐basins. At the end of Triassic, exhumation is primarily attributed to reverse re‐activation of faults that were driven by short‐wavelength inversion and exhumation at the end Permian is likely caused by uplift of rotated fault blocks during extension. The evidence from quantitative exhumation analysis indicates a switch in regime, from locally heterogeneous before break‐up to more regionally homogeneous after break‐up.     

Managed water levels and the expansion of emergent vegetation along a lakeshore

Water-level fluctuations may be used to promote the expansion of emergent vegetation along lakeshores. We present the case of the lake Volkerak-Zoommeer in the Netherlands, a fresh-water lake created in 1987 after the enclosure of an estuary. Using an experimental area in which the water level could be manipulated, it was shown that partial summer drawdown of the shoreline created suitable conditions for germination and growth of tall emergent species (in particular Phragmites australis). Plant survival and growth depended on subsequent water-level fluctuations and grazing by waterbirds. Based on the experiment and empirical data, a model was developed to predict the effects of the water-level regime on potential reed bed development. The model was applied for four hydrological scenarios that have been considered for the water-level management of the lake.     

Helophyte zonation in two regulated estuarine areas in the Netherlands: Vegetation analysis and relationships with hydrological factors

The relationship between hydrological conditions and riparian helophyte vegetation was studied in two freshwater estuaries that differed in tidal regulation in order to assess the effects of large-scale hydrological regulation on the fringe vegetation. Vegetation and environmental variables were sampled for 206 sites in the Rhine-Meuse estuary (146 sites) and the IJsselmeer region (60 sites) in the Netherlands. These samples were classified into 10 vegetation types, all of which were dominated by tall helophytes. The most common vegetation types were dominated byPhragmites australis andTypha angustifolia, which formed both monospecific stands and mixtures. Tall Cyperaceae dominated three vegetation types (dominated individually bySchoenoplectus lacustris, Bolboschoenus maritimus, andSchoenoplectus tabernaemontani).Acorus calamus. Principal components analysis of the species composition of vegetation fringing open-water areas and associated environmental data revealed complex gradients incorporating differences in water depth, water-level fluctuation, were exposure, and sedimentation and/or erosion. The composition of the helophyte belts varied among the areas as the result of the differing times at which regulation occurred. Based on historical data, hydrological regulation of the estuaries has resulted in deterioration of intertidalSchoenoplectus andBolboschoenus stands, due to erosion and predation.P. australis stands have been invaded by terrestrial plant species or have been replaced byT. angustifolia. A scheme is presented of helophyte vegetation development under the influence of changes in the hydrological regime.     

Mesoscale and microscale shock effects in the LL6 S4 chondrites Saint‐Séverin and Elbert: A tale of two breccias

Saint‐Séverin and Elbert, two LL6 chondrite breccias, were systematically studied to evaluate multiple deformation effects on spatial scales ranging from thin section (mesoscale) to micron‐submicron (microscale) using optical microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The different techniques provide consistent results but have complementary strengths, together providing a powerful approach to unravel even complex impact histories. Both meteorites have an S4 conventional shock stage, but interclast areas are more deformed, and clasts are more deformed in Elbert than in Saint‐Séverin. TEM and EBSD data provide compelling evidence that Saint‐Séverin experienced significant shock deformation while already hot, and cooled rapidly afterward, as a result of a major, possibly disruptive impact on the LL chondrite parent body ~4.4 Ga ago. In contrast, Elbert was shocked from a cold initial state but was heated significantly during shock, and cooled in a localized hot impact deposit on the LL asteroid. Both meteorites probably were shocked at least twice; data for Saint‐Séverin are best reconciled with a three‐impact model.     

REMOTE SENSING FOREST BIOMASS: AN EVALUATION USING HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSOR DATA AND LOBLOLLY PINE PLOTS

Eight-year-old Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plots located in South Carolina were evaluated using high resolution aircraft multispectral scanner data to determine if biomass could be accurately measured. Sixteen pine plots located on both sandy and clay soils were treated with 0, 180, or 360 kg. (approximately 0, 400, or 800 lb.) of nitrogen per plot. Indices of biomass from remote sensing data were significantly correlated with in situ biomass measurements made in each plot. A ratio of infrared (.9–1.1 μm) and red (.65–.70 μm) channels yielded the best correlation. The indices were not sensitive to differences in soil type (sandy or clay).     

The spatial ecology of deer–vehicle collisions

Deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) are a constant problem in North America that cost millions of dollars of damage and loss of human life. This study investigated the spatial relationship of DVCs for a county in western Indiana using nearest neighbor analysis, chi-square test of independence, and a landscape metric: the percentage of like adjacencies. The study was able to show that DVCs are not randomly located, and that habitat type and structure may play an important role in the location of DVCs.     

Runoff Scaling in Large Rivers of the World

Runoff and precipitation scaling with respect to drainage area is analyzed for large river basins of the world, those with mean annual runoff in excess of 10 k³/yr. The usefulness of the specific runoff (runoff per unit drainage area, m/yr) to categorize runoff scaling laws across the complete spectrum of climatic and hydrologic conditions is evaluated. It is found that (1) runoff scales with drainage are in those river basins with specific runoff in excess of 0.15 m/yr (r² = 0.88); (2) runoff scaling with drainage area shows remarkably high statistical correlation (r²= 0.97) in river basins with specific runoff equal to or larger than 1.0 m/yr; (3) runoff does not Inc.rease with Inc.reasing drainage area in river basins with specific runoff below 0.15 m/yr, where no discernible statistical association was found between runoff and drainage area; and (4) precipitation depth (m/yr) is inversely proportional to drainage area raised to a fractional exponent in river basins with specific runoff in excess of 0.15 m/yr.     

Anmeldelser

Meyer, Marlene: Settlement Patterns and Land-use in Northern Ghana—A Study of the Changes during the period 1963–1991 based on Historical Surveys and recent SPOT-images. Geografisk Tidsskrift 92:101–104. Copenhagen 1992.

A study by Hunter (1966) describes how large areas along the Red Volta River bank, have been abandoned due to river blindness. The mapping of current land-use status and settlements patterns, using multispectral SPOT-satellite images, shows how the border of settlements continue to retreat, whereas new land is being reclaimed for bush fields in the abandoned areas.