Prehistoric soil and water detention structures (gabarbands) at Phang,Sindh Kohistan,Pakistan: An adaptation to environmental change?

Five gabarbands (dams), components of integrated soil and water conservation systems, were investigated in the arid region of Sindh Kohistan. The dams are associated with two prehistoric Kot Dijian settlements, Phang and Kohtrash (3200–2800 B. C.). The dams were constructed with relatively permeable materials. Three of the dams, South, East, and North, close off water gaps and a strike valley, respectively, to form a detention basin. The West Dam, located on Phang Nai, upstream of the detention basin removed the coarser sediment fraction from the flows. Spring Dam, located in a water gap to the north of the detention basin, acted as a low-head weir to distribute flow from a perennial spring onto the floodplain of Baran Nai, where double-cropping was probably practiced. Faulting eliminated the spring, which had probably supported the Kohtrash site, and led to construction of the detection basin for the purposes of subsurface storage of detained flows. Association of both modern and prehistoric sites with springs suggests that there has not been appreciable climate change in Sindh Kohistan in the last 5000 years. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Trace element and molecular markers of organic carbon dynamics along a shelf–basin continuum in sediments of the western Arctic Ocean

Molecular organic biomarkers together with trace element composition were investigated in sediments east of Barrow Canyon in the western Arctic Ocean to determine sources and recycling of organic carbon in a continuum from the shelf to the basin. Algal biomarkers (polyunsaturated and short-chain saturated fatty acids, 24-methylcholesta-5,24(28)-dien-3β-ol, dinosterol) highlight the substantial contribution of organic matter from water column and sea-ice primary productivity in shelf environments, while redox markers such as acid volatile sulfide (AVS), Mn, and Re indicate intense metabolism of this material leading to sediment anoxia. Shelf sediments also receive considerable inputs from terrestrial organic carbon, with biomarker composition suggesting the presence of multiple pools of terrestrial organic matter segregated by age/lability or hydrodynamic sorting. Sedimentary metabolism was not as intense in slope sediments as on the shelf; however, sufficient labile organic matter is present to create suboxic and anoxic conditions, at least intermittently, as organic matter is focused towards the slope. Basin sediments also showed evidence for episodic delivery of labile organic carbon inputs despite the strong physical controls of water depth and sea-ice cover. Principal components analysis of the lipid biomarker data was used to estimate fractions of preserved recalcitrant (of terrestrial origin) and labile (of marine origin) organic matter in the sediments, with ranges of 12–79%, 14–45%, and 37–66% found for the shelf, slope, and basin cores, respectively. On average, the relative preserved terrestrial organic matter in basin sediments was 56%, suggesting exchange of organic carbon between nearshore and basin environments in the western Arctic.     

Late Quaternary megafloods from Glacial Lake Atna, Southcentral Alaska, U.S.A.

Geomorphic, stratigraphic, geotechnical, and biogeographic evidence indicate that failure of a Pleistocene ice dam between 15.5 and 26 ka generated a megaflood from Glacial Lake Atna down the Matanuska Valley. While it has long been recognized that Lake Atna occupied ≥ 9000 km² of south-central Alaska's Copper River Basin, little attention has focused on the lake's discharge locations and behaviors. Digital elevation model and geomorphic analyses suggest that progressive lowering of the lake level by decanting over spillways exposed during glacial retreat led to sequential discharges down the Matanuska, Susitna, Tok, and Copper river valleys. Lake Atna's size, ∼ 50 ka duration, and sequential connection to four major drainages likely made it a regionally important late Pleistocene freshwater refugium. We estimate a catastrophic Matanuska megaflood would have released 500–1400 km³ at a maximum rate of ≥ 3 × 10⁶ m³ s^{− 1}. Volumes for the other outlets ranged from 200 to 2600 km³ and estimated maximum discharges ranged from 0.8 to 11.3 × 10⁶ m³ s^{− 1}, making Lake Atna a serial generator of some of the largest known freshwater megafloods.     

Sunspots with the Strongest Magnetic Fields

The strongest observed solar magnetic fields are found in sunspot umbrae and associated light bridges. We investigate systematic measurements of approximately 32 000 sunspot groups observed from 1917 through 2004 using data from Mt. Wilson, Potsdam, Rome and Crimea observatories. Isolated observations from other observatories are also included. Corrections to Mt. Wilson measurements are required and applied. We found 55 groups (0.2%) with at least one sunspot with one magnetic field measurement of at least 4000 G including five measurements of at least 5000 G and one spot with a record field of 6100 G. Although typical strong-field spots are large and show complex structure in white light, others are simple in form. Sometimes the strongest fields are in light bridges that separate opposite polarity umbras. The distribution of strongest measured fields above 3 kG appears to be continuous, following a steep power law with exponent about −9.5. The observed upper limit of 5 – 6 kG is consistent with the idea that an umbral field has a more or less coherent structure down to some depth and then fragments. We find that odd-numbered sunspot cycles usually contain about 30% more total sunspot groups but 60% fewer >3 kG spots than preceding even-numbered cycles.     

Interactions between sediment chemistry and frenulate pogonophores (Annelida) in the north-east Atlantic

The small frenulate pogonophores (Annelida: Pogonophora a.k.a. Siboglinidae) typically inhabit muddy sediments on the continental slope, although a few species occur near hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. We present data on the distribution and habitat characteristics of several species on the European continental shelf and slope from 48°N to 75°N and show how the animals interact with the chemistry of the sediments. The environments inhabited include: shallow (30 m), organic-rich, fjord sediments; slope sediments (1000–2200 m) and methane seeps at 330 m depth. All the species studied obtain nutrition from endosymbiotic bacteria. They take up reduced sulphur species, or in one case, methane, through the posterior parts of their tubes buried in the anoxic sediment. We conclude that most species undertake sulphide ‘mining’, a mechanism previously demonstrated in the bivalves Lucinoma borealis and Thyasira sarsi. These pogonophores participate in the sulphur cycle and effectively lower the sulphide content of the sediments. Our results show that the abundance of frenulate pogonophores increases with increasing sedimentation and with decreasing abundance of other benthos, particularly bioturbating organisms. The maximum sustainable carrying capacity of non-seep sediments for frenulate pogonophores is limited by the rate of sulphate reduction.     

Interaction between the controls on fluvial system development: tectonics,climate, base level and river capture – Rio Alias,Southeast Spain

Fluvial systems in uplifting terrain respond to tectonic, climatic, eustatic and local base‐level controls modified by specific local factors, such as river capture. The Rio Alias in southeast Spain is an ephemeral, transverse‐to‐structure fluvial system. The river drains two interconnected Neogene sedimentary basins, the Sorbas and Almeria basins, and crosses two major geological structures, the Sierras de Alhamilla/Cabrera and the Carboneras Fault Zone. Regional epeirogenic uplift resulted in sustained fluvial incision during the Quaternary, punctuated by major climatically driven periods of aggradation and dissection, which created a suite of five river terraces. The river terrace sequence was radically modified in the late Pleistocene by a major river capture (itself a response to regional tectonics), localized tectonic activity and eustatic base‐level change. The Rio Alias is defined by four reaches; within each the climatically‐generated, region‐wide, fluvial response was modified by tectonics, base‐level change or river capture to varying degrees. In the upper part of the basin (Lucainena reach), climate was the dominant control on river development, with limited modification of the sequence by uplift of the Sierra Alhamilla and local drainage reorganization by a local river capture. Downstream of the Sierra Alhamilla in the Polopus reach, the climatic signal is dominant, but its expression is radically modified by the response to a major river capture whereby the Alias system lost up to 70% of its pre‐capture drainage area. In the reach adjacent to the Carboneras Fault Zone (Argamason reach), modification of the terrace sequence by local tectonic activity and a resultant local base‐level fall led to a major local incisional event (propagating c. 3–4 km upstream from the area of tectonic disturbance). At the seaward end of the system (El Saltador reach) Quaternary sea‐level changes modified the patterns of erosion and incision and have resulted in steep incisional terrace profiles. The signals generated by regional tectonics and the Quaternary climate change can be identified throughout the basin but those generated by ongoing local tectonics, river capture and sea‐level change are spatially restricted and define the four reaches. The connectivity of the system from the headwaters to the coast decreased through time as incision progressed, resulting in changes in local coupling characteristics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Systematizing local knowledge using GIS: fisheries management in Bang Saphan Bay, Thailand

Although local knowledge is a crucial source of information for fishery development, its generally unsystematic presentation and nebulous content makes use by policy makers or managers difficult. Based on field data obtained using Participatory Rural Appraisal at Bang Saphan Bay, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Thailand, we attempt to show here how local knowledge can be effectively systematized, analyzed and displayed visually using a Geographical Information System (GIS) for use in fisheries management. PRA data on location fished, time of fishing, techniques and technology used and species targeted were obtained from local fishers then mapped using Arcview (3.1). In this way local fisheries knowledge can be converted into geo-spatial data form via GIS, and the succinct results used easily to guide fishery management and planning, especially by offering directions for rights-based fisheries and co-management.