Diel patterns in coastal‐stream nitrate concentrations linked to evapotranspiration in the riparian zone of a low‐relief,agricultural catchment

Evapotranspiration (ET) can cause diel fluctuations in the elevation of the water table and the stage in adjacent streams. The diel fluctuations of water levels change head gradients throughout the day, causing specific discharge through near‐stream sediment to fluctuate at the same time scale. In a previous study, we showed that specific discharge controls the residence time of groundwater in streambed sediment that, in turn, exerted the primary control on removal from groundwater passing through the streambed. In this study, we examine the magnitude of diel specific discharge patterns through the streambed driven by ET in the riparian zone with a transient numerical saturated–unsaturated groundwater flow model. On the basis of a first‐order kinetic model for removal, we predicted diel fluctuations in stream concentrations. Model results indicated that ET drove a diel pattern in specific discharge through the streambed and riparian zone (the removal zones). Because specific discharge is inversely proportional to groundwater travel time through the removal zones and travel time determines the extent of removal, diel changes in ET can result in a diel pattern in concentration in the stream. The model predictions generally matched observations made during summertime base‐flow conditions in a small coastal plain stream in Virginia. A more complicated pattern was observed following a seasonal drawdown period, where source components to the stream changed during the receding limb of the hydrograph and resulted in diel fluctuations being superimposed over a multi‐day trend in concentrations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mineralogical analyses and in vitro screening tests for the rapid evaluation of the health hazard of volcanic ash at Rabaul volcano, Papua New Guinea

The continuous ash and gas emissions from the Tavurvur cone in Rabaul caldera, Papua New Guinea, during 2007–08, raised concerns regarding how exposure would affect the respiratory health of nearby populations and impact on the environment. As part of a formal evaluation of the effects of volcanic emissions on public health, we investigated the potential health hazard of the ash using a suite of selected mineralogical analyses and in vitro toxicity screening tests. The trachy-andesitic ash comprised 2.1–6.7 vol.% respirable (sub-4 μm diameter) particles. The crystalline silica content was 1.9–5.0 wt.% cristobalite (in the bulk sample) with trace amounts of quartz and/or tridymite. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the ash particles were angular with sparse, fibre-like particles (∼3–60 μm max. diameter) observed in some samples, which we confirmed to be CaSO₄ (gypsum, at <6 wt.% in the bulk samples) and not asbestiform fibres. The ash specific surface area was low (0.1–2.7 m² g⁻¹). The leached solution from one of the ash samples was slightly acidic (pH 5.6), but did not contain high levels of toxic metals (such as F, Cu, Zn, Mn, As, Ni and Cd) when compared to previously tested volcanic ash leachates. Ash samples generated potentially-harmful hydroxyl radicals through an iron-mediated catalytic reaction, in the range of 0.15–2.47 μmol m⁻² (after 30 min of reaction). However, measurement of particle oxidative capacity (potential oxidative stress reaction using ascorbic acid) and silica-like injury to red blood cells (erythrolysis assay, i.e. measurement of cell death) nevertheless revealed low biological reactivity. The findings suggest that acute exposure to the ash would have a limited potential to exacerbate pre-existing conditions such as asthma or chronic bronchitis, and the potential for chronic exposure leading to silicosis was low.     

Spatial patterns,rates and mechanisms of saltmarsh cycles (Westerschelde,The Netherlands)

Saltmarsh development was studied in a spatial context, in order to understand the mechanisms involved in saltmarsh cycles. A 30-y time-series of very high resolution false colour aerial photographs was studied for eight saltmarsh sites in the Westerschelde estuary (southwest Netherlands). Detailed maps of vegetation cover were produced for each year, based on a supervised classification, and changes in vegetation cover were analysed in a geographical information system.     

Are the smallest fishing vessels the most sustainable?—trade-off analysis of sustainability attributes

This article discusses application of systems engineering principles and trade-off analysis of sustainability in the fishing fleet. Sustainability in the fishing fleet may be characterized by seven attributes measured by performance indicators. Evaluations show that the energy consumption is higher for the Norwegian ocean going fleet than the coastal fleet, whereas the opposite is the case for the number of fatalities. An important part of the systems engineering process is analysis and optimization of system alternatives. Thus, the main objective of the article is to investigate ranking of the sustainability attributes, which implies use of multi-attribute decision-making methods. The analytic hierarchy process was used to interview stakeholders to the fishing fleet about their preferences. The article concludes that if “accident risk” is weighted as the most important attribute, the smallest fishing vessels are not as sustainable as often claimed.     

An updated classification scheme for mantle-derived garnet, for use by diamond explorers

Mantle-derived garnets recovered in diamond exploration programs show compositional variations in Cr, Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti that reflect the chemical, physical and lithological environments in which they occur, occasionally together with diamond. The association of diamond with mantle garnet has progressed through a number of geochemical advances, most notably those of Dawson and Stephens (1975) and Gurney (1984), which are integrated in this work with less well known petrological advances made primarily in xenolith and experimental petrology. A simple, robust garnet classification scheme is formulated which accommodates empirical garnet–diamond relationships for peridotitic (G10, G9, G12), megacrystic (G1), Ti-metasomatised (G11), pyroxenitic (G4, G5) and eclogitic (G3) lithologies in eight distinct garnet classes. The calcium-saturation characteristics of harzburgitic (G10), lherzolitic (G9) and wehrlitic (G12) garnets are described by a Ca-intercept projection that also shows promise as a relative barometer for garnet lherzolite (Grütter and Winter, 1997). Thermobarometric aspects of garnet–diamond associations are highlighted in the scheme through the use of the minor elements Mn and Na, though analysis by anything other than an electron microprobe is not required for classification. A “D” suffix is added to the G10, G4, G5 or G3 categories to indicate a strong compositional and pressure–temperature association with diamond. The scheme remains open to improvement, particularly with regard to delineation of pyroxenitic (or websteritic) diamond associations and to advances in Ca-in-garnet and Na-in-garnet thermobarometry.     

Acidification of Earth: An assessment across mechanisms and scales

In this review article, anthropogenic activities that cause acidification of Earth’s air, waters, and soils are examined. Although there are many mechanisms of acidification, the focus is on the major ones, including emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and smelting of ores, mining of coal and metal ores, and application of nitrogen fertilizer to soils, by elucidating the underlying biogeochemical reactions as well as assessing the magnitude of the effects. These widespread activities have resulted in (1) increased CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere that acidifies the oceans; (2) acidic atmospheric deposition that acidifies soils and bodies of freshwater; (3) acid mine drainage that acidifies bodies of freshwater and groundwaters; and (4) nitrification that acidifies soils. Although natural geochemical reactions of mineral weathering and ion exchange work to buffer acidification, the slow reaction rates or the limited abundance of reactant phases are overwhelmed by the onslaught of anthropogenic acid loading. Relatively recent modifications of resource extraction and usage in some regions of the world have begun to ameliorate local acidification, but expanding use of resources in other regions is causing environmental acidification in previously unnoticed places. World maps of coal consumption, Cu mining and smelting, and N fertilizer application are presented to demonstrate the complex spatial heterogeneity of resource consumption as well as the overlap in acidifying potential derived from distinctly different phenomena. Projected population increase by country over the next four decades indicates areas with the highest potential for acidification, so enabling anticipation and planning to offset or mitigate the deleterious environmental effects associated with these global shifts in the consumption of energy, mineral, and food resources.     

Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent:Evidence from the Sφt Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica)

The ～790 ka Australasian (micro)tektite strewn field is one of the most recent and best-known examples of im-pact ejecta emplacement as the result of a large-sc...     

Seasonality of tropospheric ozone and water vapor over Delhi,India: a study based on MOZAIC measurement data

Tropospheric distributions of ozone (O₃) and water vapor (H₂O) have been presented based on the Measurements of OZone and water vapor by Airbus In-Service AirCraft (MOZAIC) data over the metro and capital city of Delhi, India during 1996–2001. The vertical mixing ratios of both O₃ and H₂O show strong seasonal variations. The mixing ratios of O₃ were often below 40 ppbv near the surface and higher values were observed in the free troposphere during the seasons of winter and spring. In the free troposphere, the high mixing ratio of O₃ during the seasons of winter and spring are mainly due to the long-range transport of O₃ and its precursors associated with the westerly-northwesterly circulation. In the lower and middle troposphere, the low mixing ratios of ∼20–30 ppbv observed during the months of July–September are mainly due to prevailing summer monsoon circulation over Indian subcontinent. The summer monsoon circulation, southwest (SW) wind flow, transports the O₃-poor marine air from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. The monthly averages of rainfall and mixing ratio of H₂O show opposite seasonal cycles to that of O₃ mixing ratio in the lower and middle troposphere. The change in the transport pattern also causes substantial seasonal variation in the mixing ratio of H₂O of 3–27 g/kg in the lower troposphere over Delhi. Except for some small-scale anomalies, the similar annual patterns in the mixing ratios of O₃ and H₂O are repeated during the different years of 1996–2001. The case studies based on the profiles of O₃, relative humidity (RH) and temperature show distinct features of vertical distribution over Delhi. The impacts of long range transport of air mass from Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean and intrusions of stratospheric O₃ have also been demonstrated using the back trajectory model and remote sensing data for biomass burning and forest fire activities.     

A novel ATR‐FTIR technique for identifying colloid composition in natural waters

Although understanding colloid composition has been frequently cited as essential to predicting contaminant transport in natural waters, most current methods to collect and identify colloid composition chemically alter the colloids prior to analysis and fail to identify colloid mineralogy and organic components. This paper presents a new, low‐cost method employing attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR) to identify colloids including organic material in concentrated suspensions. The concentration method employing tangential ultrafiltration at a steady temperature prevents redistribution of dissolved phase and suspended sediments into the colloidal fraction through post‐sampling reactions. ATR‐FTIR allows for direct analysis of concentrated suspensions rather than requiring drying that may alter composition in the colloidal phase, for example, by precipitating carbonates in samples from karst waters. The ability of this technique to monitor variation in colloidal composition is demonstrated through the examination of colloids under two different flow conditions in a karst aquifer and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.