Modelling Spatial Patterns of Overbank Sedimentation on Embanked Floodplains

This paper presents a GIS-based mathematical model for the simulation of floodplain sedimentation. The model comprises two components: (1) the existing hydrodynamic WAQUA model that calculates two-dimensional water flow patterns; and (2) the SEDIFLUX model that calculates deposition of sediment based on a simple mass balance concept with a limited number of model parameters. The models were applied to simulate floodplain sediment deposition over river reaches of several kilometres in length. The SEDIFLUX model has been calibrated and validated using interpolated raster maps of sediment deposition observed after the large magnitude December 1993 flood on the embanked floodplain of the lower river Rhine in the Netherlands. The model appeared to be an adequate tool to predict patterns of sediment deposition as the product of the complex interaction among river discharge and sediment concentration, floodplain topography, and the resulting water flow patterns during various discharge levels. In the investigated areas, the resulting annual average sedimentation rates varied between 0.5 mm/year and 4.0 mm/year. The role of the most important mechanisms governing the spatial patterns of overbank deposition, i.e. inundation frequency, sediment load, floodplain topography and its influence on the flow patterns over the floodplain, are discussed.     

Nutrients limiting the algal growth potential (AGP) in the Po River plume and an adjacent area, Northwest Adriatic Sea: Enrichment bioassays with the test algaeNitzschia closterium andThalassiosira pseudonana

From April 1993 to March 1994, 135 samples were collected at two sites in the coastal Adriatic Sea, both near (14.5 km) and far (63 km) from the Po River delta. The nutrient(s) limiting algal growth potential (AGP) were estimated by bioassay usingNitzshia closterium (local isolate) andThalassiosira pseudonama (strain 3-H). Estimates were also made by comparing the nutrient molar ratios, ΣN:P and ΣN:Si (whereΣN=NO₃ ^?+NO₂ ^?+NH₄ ⁺+urea), to the Redfield Ratio (16∶1, 1∶1). According to the bioassay results, phosphorus was the sole nutrient limiting AGP in 2% of the samples and was the most limiting nutrient in 69% of the samples; nitrogen was sole limiting nutrient in 18% of the samples. In 11% of samples, nitrogen and phosphorus were equally co-limiting. Omission of phosphorus from spike enrichments allowed, on average, only a 1.6-fold increase in biomass over that in the unenriched controls. Similar omission of nitrogen allowed a 4-fold increase, while silicon, iron, and micronutrients resulted in 14-fold, 18-fold, and >20-fold increases, respectively. In most of the samples, ΣN:P was much greater than 16, indicating a marked phosphorus deficiency, while ΣN:Si values suggested that silicon was the third most limiting nutrient in 35% of samples. In water collected for from the Po delta, the yield ofN. closterium was not limited by any nutrients other than the three major ones: P, N and Si. In these same waters,T. pseudonana was also potentially limited by iron and, to a lesser extent, by vitamins. The role of iron varied. In samples collected near the Po delta, iron acted as the third most limiting nutrient forN. closterium in June and September; it appeared 29 times out of 78 on the list of potentially limiting nutrients forT. pseudonana, including 5 times as the most limiting. Altogether, comparison with published results suggests that the roles of iron and silicon in AGP limitation have increased during the past three decades, and could become even more important if eutrophication in the Adriatic Sea continues to increase.     

Carbonyls and nonmethane hydrocarbons at rural European sites from the mediterranean to the arctic

Results of regular measurements during 1992–1995 of hydrocarbons and carbonyl compounds for a number of rural European monitoring sites are presented. The measurements are part of the EMEP programme for VOC measurements in Europe. In addition, several years of regular measurements are included from the Norwegian stations Birkenes at the south coast, and Zeppelin Mountain on Spitsbergen in the Arctic. The sampling frequency has been about twice per week throughout the years, implying that a substantial amount of measurement data are available. Almost all the chemical analyses have been performed by one laboratory, the EMEP Chemical Co-ordinating Centre located at NILU, which avoids problems of intercomparison and intercalibration among different laboratories. For the measured concentrations both seasonal and geographical variations are shown and discussed. The diurnal cycles of the hydrocarbon concentrations were studied in detail at one site, where the grab samples by EMEP where compared with a parallel continuous sampler, operated by EMPA, Switzerland. Hydrocarbons linked to natural gas and fuel evaporation become well mixed into the Arctic in the winter, whereas combustion products show a latitudinal gradient. The sum of oxygenated species constitutes about 5–15% of the sum of C₂–C₅ hydrocarbons in winter. In summer they are almost equal in magnitude, consistent with an increasing oxidation of hydrocarbons.     

Rainfall-frequency curves with a recent urban dense rainfall measurement network

Urban areas are becoming better equipped with dense rainfall measurement networks and there is a growing demand for local specific rainfall-frequency curves. However, the time series from such networks are generally short, often less than 20 yr, and spatially correlated (1 station per 5 or 10 km²) even at small time steps, usually less than 1 h. It is therefore necessary to use a method which takes the available information as much as possible into account in order to minimize the confidence intervals of the estimates. The French Department of Seine-Saint-Denis, covering an area of 236 km² in the eastern part of the Paris area, manages a 17-year-old rainfall data-base which contains about 250 station-years of checked data. These data are considered within a discussion of the issues of homogeneity of correlated time-series on an urban area, and the amount of information such a network includes at small time steps. Local rainfall frequency curves are developed with a regional approach and put into a non-dimensional form. They are compared with those obtained from a long-term series (more than 30 yr) available in Paris and with the curves obtained by the station-year method on 21 independent stations in the north of France.     

K－Ar测年法在确定沉积岩成岩时代中的应用——以鄂尔多斯盆地为例

根据伊利石Ｋ－Ａｒ测年法研究，确定鄂尔多斯盆地存在两期与构造运动有关的成岩作用事件：即与早期燕山运动有关的侏罗纪（１７０—１６０Ｍａ）和与晚期加里东运动有关的志留－泥盆纪（４２０－３７０Ｍａ）成岩作用时代。为了揭示碎屑物质对Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄的影响和伊利石成岩作用的机制，本文提出了一个通过观察Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄随深度变化的趋势来进行判断的模式。在Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄小于地层时代的条件下，Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度呈正相关，或者很相近的Ｋ－Ａｒ年龄与深度变化无关均标志着没有或很少有碎屑物质的影响；同时，前者指示逐渐埋藏条件下的成岩作用，而后者则反映短暂的热事件引起的成岩作用事件。     

Seismic hazard assessment for low-seismicity areas — Case study: Northern Germany

The problem of assessing seismic hazard in low-seismicity areas becomes obvious in many practical applications. A typical low-seismicity area, which experienced damaging earthquakes in historical times, is the North German Plain, for which a case study is presented. It is shown how seismic hazard assessments are influenced by different interpretations of historical key earthquakes, changes in b-value as well as variations of the upper bound magnitude assumed for the seismic source regions. The latter strongly influences the hazard results in the case of very low b-values for long return periods.     

Paleoceanographic changes at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Western Tethys, northeastern Mexico

Mexico is usually considered to have formed the western end of the Tethys during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. The circumstances of the opening of the Gulf of Mexico Basin towards the Tethys and the exact stratigraphic timing, however, are not clear. Four sections covering this time interval, located in northeastern Mexico, have been measured and sampled in detail, in order to clarify their stratigraphic position during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time interval and the paleogeographic and oceanographic changes that accompanied this opening. Our studies include microfacies, micro- and macropaleontology, whole rock and clay-mineral x-ray diffraction and stable isotopes analyses. Our data indicate that the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, as defined by the Lyon-Neuchâtel Colloquium of 1973, cannot be determined precisely in northeastern Mexico due to the near-absence of calpionellids and endemism of ammonite taxa. In the lower and upper Berriasian sediments, we detected Mediterranean ammonite taxa so far unknown from Mexico, corresponding to the appearance of typical calpionellid-rich facies. These faunas allow direct biostratigraphic correlation with European ammonite and calpionellid zones.We propose that a major oceanographic change occurred in the upper part of calpionellid Zone B of the Early Berriasian. At this time, sediments in northeastern Mexico present increasingly pelagic facies, a dramatic appearance of Tethyan microfossils (calpionellids) and ammonites, changes in stable isotopic values, whole rock and clay-mineral mineralogy. We suggest that these changes are due to a global sea-level rise that connected directly northeastern Mexico to the European Tethys and ended the endemic, semi-restricted and anoxic environment of the Late Jurassic La Casita and equivalent La Caja and La Pimienta Formations.     

Crystal field and charge transfer spectrum of (Mg, Fe)SiO3 majorite

Majorite of bulk composition Mg_0.86Fe_0.15SiO₃ was synthesized at 19 GPa and 1900 °C at an oxygen fugacity close to the Re/ReO₂ buffer. Optical absorption spectra of polycrystalline samples were measured from 4000 to 25000cm^?1. The following features were observed: (1) Three bands at 4554, 6005 and 8093 cm^?1 due to the ⁵E_g → ⁵T_2g transition of Fe²⁺ in a distorted dodecahedral site. (2) A band at 9340 cm^?1 due to the transition ⁵T_2g → ⁵E_g of octahedral Fe²⁺. (3) A band at 22784 cm^?1 resulting from Fe³⁺, probably in an octahedral site (⁶A_1g → ⁴A_1g, ⁴E_g). (4) A very intense system of Fe²⁺ → Fe³⁺ intervalence charge transfer bands which can be modelled by two Gaussian components centered at 16542 and 20128 cm^?1. The existence of two components in the charge transfer spectrum could be related to the fact that the tetragonal majorite structure may contain Fe³⁺ in two different octahedral sites. The crystal field splitting Δ of Fe²⁺ in dodecahedral coordination is 5717 cm^?1. If a splitting of the ground state in the order of 1000 cm^?1 is assumed, this yields a crystal field stabilization energy (CFSE) of 3930 cm^?1, comparable to the CFSE of Fe²⁺ in pyrope-rich garnet. However, the splitting of ⁵T_2g is significantly higher than in pyrope. This would be consistent with Fe²⁺ preferentially occupying the more distorted one of the two dodecahedral sites in the majorite structure. For octahedral Fe²⁺, Δ= 9340 cm^?1 and CFSE=3736 cm^?1, assuming negligible splitting of the ground state.     

Geochemistry of recent TOC-rich sediments from the Gulf of California and the Black Sea

Major and minor elements (incl. Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Zn) have been determined in recent sediments from the Gulf of California upwelling area and Black Sea sapropels in order to reinterpret their chemical composition in view of reliable seawater and plankton data. The chemistry of the Gulf of California sediments reflects regeneration processes which occur in the water column; i.e. only a small fraction (<10%) of elements like Cd, which in seawater are coupled to the »labile« nutrients (C, N, P), is buried in the sedimentary column. In contrast, elements like the more resistant nutrients (Si) undergo a deeper regeneration cycle (Ba). Several trace metals which are present in comparatively higher concentrations in seawater (As, Mo, U, V) and at the same time are reactive under reducing conditions and/or are able to form stable Sulfides, are fixed in the sediments during early diagenesis. The early diagenetic behavior of Ba is closely related to bacterial sulfate reduction. The formation of barite concretions is discussed.Anoxic conditions in the water column act as ideal traps for a number of redox sensitive and/or stable sulfide forming elements. A simple trace metal balance calculation shows that the chemical composition of Black Sea sapropels is controlled by fluvial and Mediterranean seawater element input and the accumulation rate of terrigenous detrital material.

---

Zusammenfassung An rezenten Sedimentproben des Auftriebsgebietes des Golfs von Kalifornien sowie Sapropelen des Schwarzen Meeres wurden sowohl Hauptelement-, als auch Spurenmetall-Gehalte (Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Zn, u. a.) ermittelt und mit neueren Spurenmetall-Daten von Meerwasser und marinem Plankton in Beziehung gesetzt. Im Chemismus der Sedimente des Golfs von Kalifornien spiegeln sich die in der Wassersäule ablaufenden Regenerationsprozesse wider. Elemente (z. B. Cd), die sich im Meerwasser wie die »labilen« Nährstoffe (C, N, P) verhalten, gelangen nur in geringem Ausmaß (<10%) in die Sedimentsäule, im Vergleich zu solchen Elementen (z. B. Ba), deren Verhalten im Meerwasser eher dem von »resistenteren« Nährstoff-Elementen (Si) entspricht. Eine Reihe von Spurenmetallen, die vergleichsweise hohe Konzentrationen im Meerwasser aufweisen (As, Mo, U, V) und redox-sensibel sind und/oder stabile Sulfide zu bilden vermögen, werden frühdiagenetisch im Sediment fixiert. Das frühdiagenetische Verhalten von Ba ist eng mit der bakteriellen Sulfat-Reduktion verknüpft. Die Bildung von Baryt-Konretionen wird diskutiert.Anoxische Bedingungen in der Wassersäule wirken als ideale »Fallen« für viele redox-sensible und/oder stabile Sulfide bildende Elemente. Mit Hilfe von Element-Bilanzen kann nachgewiesen werden, daß der Chemismus der Sapropele des Schwarzen Meeres von der Element-Zufuhr durch Fluß- und Mittelmeerwasser sowie die Sedimentationsrate gesteuert wird.

---

Résumé Des dosages d'éléments majeurs et en trace (notamment: Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Zn) ont été effectués dans des sédiments récents provenant des régions à courants ascendants (upwelling) du Golfe de Californie, ainsi que dans des sapropèles de la Mer Noire, dans le but de rechercher les relations entre leur composition chimique, et celles de l'eau de mer et du plancton. Le chimisme des sédiments du Golfe de Californie reflète les processus de régénération qui se déroulent dans la colonne d'eau. En l'occurrence, les éléments (tels le Cd) qui, dans l'eau de mer, sont associés aux nutrients «labiles» (C, N, P) ne passent qu'en faible quantité (<10%) dans la colonne sédimentaire. L'inverse se présente pour les éléments (Ba, p.ex.) dont le comportement dans l'eau correspond à celui des nutrients «résistants» (Si). Certains métaux en trace, qui existent en proportion relativement élevée dans l'eau de mer (As, Mo, U, V) et qui en même temps sont sensibles au potentiel redox et/ou peuvent former des sulfures stables, sont fixés dans les sédiments au début de la diagenèse. Le comportement diagénétique hatif du Ba est étroitement lié à la réduction du sulfate bactérien. L'auteur discute la formation de concrétions de baryte.Des conditions anoxiques dans la colonne d'eau agissent comme des pièges idéaux pour un certain nombre d'éléments qui sont sensibles au potentiel redox et/ou qui forment des sulfures stables. Un calcul simple du bilan des éléments en trace montre que la composition chimique des sapropèles de la Mer Noire est régie par l'apport des fleuves et de la Méditerrannée ainsi que par le taux d'accumulation des matériaux détritiques terrigènes.

---

(Ag, As, , Cd, , r, u, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, Zn etc.) . , . , .: , , «» , .. C., N, P, , .. 10 %, , .: , , «» , .. . , (As, Mo, U, V), — , . . . «» , - , . , , , , .

     

Multimolecular data processing and display in organic geochemistry: The evaluation of petroporphyrin GC-MS data

A novel method for handling and presenting multimolecular abundance data, derived from gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses (GC-MS), is introduced. The method facilitates carbon number labeling of compounds, specifically in the case of porphyrins, by means of a porphyrin-index, which is part of a novel identification code for porphyrins. Identification code, relative abundance and structure information of each compound recognised are stored in a database, which affords a variety of characteristic displays and tables upon manipulation. The combined facilities allow the direct comparison of samples of different origin, maturity and/or palaeoenvironment. Correlation studies, such as oil/oil or oil/source rock, are also facilitated by comparison of characteristic “fingerprint” histogram patterns. The ability of the method is exemplified through analysis of the porphyrin distributions of Boscan oil, La Luna shale, Gilsonite bitumen and Serpiano shale.