Dissolved organic matter variations in coastal plain wetland watersheds: The integrated role of hydrological connectivity,land use,and seasonality

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is integral to fluvial biogeochemical functions, and wetlands are broadly recognized as substantial sources of aromatic DOM to fluvial networks. Yet how land use change alters biogeochemical connectivity of upland wetlands to streams remains unclear. We studied depressional geographically isolated wetlands on the Delmarva Peninsula (USA) that are seasonally connected to downstream perennial waters via temporary channels. Composition and quantity of DOM from 4 forested, 4 agricultural, and 4 restored wetlands were assessed. Twenty perennial streams with watersheds containing wetlands were also sampled for DOM during times when surface connections were present versus absent. Perennial watersheds had varying amounts of forested wetland (0.4–82%) and agricultural (1–89%) cover. DOM was analysed with ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, and bioassays. Forested wetlands exported more DOM that was more aromatic‐rich compared with agricultural and restored wetlands. DOM from the latter two could not be distinguished suggesting limited recovery of restored wetlands; DOM from both was more protein‐like than forested wetland DOM. Perennial streams with the highest wetland watershed cover had the highest DOC levels during all seasons; however, in fall and winter when temporary streams connect forested wetlands to perennial channels, perennial DOC concentrations peaked, and composition was linked to forested wetlands. In summer, when temporary stream connections were dry, perennial DOC concentrations were the lowest and protein‐like DOM levels the highest. Overall, DOC levels in perennial streams were linked to total wetland land cover, but the timing of peak fluxes of DOM was driven by wetland connectivity to perennial streams. Bioassays showed that DOM linked to wetlands was less available for microbial use than protein‐like DOM linked to agricultural land use. Together, this evidence indicates that geographically isolated wetlands have a significant impact on downstream water quality and ecosystem function mediated by temporary stream surface connections.     

Late Cambrian microbial build-ups,Llano Area,Central Texas: A three-phase morphological evolution

Although Late Cambrian microbial build-ups were recognized in the Point Peak Member of the Wilberns Formation in Central Texas (USA) nearly 70 years ago, only a few studies focused specifically on the build-ups themselves. This study focuses on the interpretation of the regional (15 measured sections described in literature representing an area of 8000 km²) and local (field and drone photogrammetry studies in a 25 km² area from within south Mason County) microbial build-up occurrence, describes their growth phases and details their interactions with the surrounding inter-build-up sediments. The study establishes the occurrence of microbial build-ups in the lower and upper Point Peak members (the Point Peak Member is informally broken up into the lower Point Peak and the upper Point Peak members separated by Plectotrophia zone). The lower Point Peak Member consists of three <1 m thick microbial bioherms and biostrome units, in addition to heterolithic and skeletal/ooid grainstone and packstone beds. One, up to 14 m thick, microbial unit associated with inter-build-up skeletal and ooid grainstone and packstone beds, intercalated with mixed siliciclastic–carbonate silt beds, characterizes the upper Point Peak member. The microbial unit in the upper Point Peak member displays a three-phase growth evolution, from an initial colonization phase on flat based, rip-up clast lenses, to a second aggradation and lateral expansion phase, into a third well-defined capping phase. The ultimate demise of the microbial build-ups is interpreted to have been triggered by an increase of water turbidity caused by a sudden influx of fine siliciclastics. The lower Point Peak member represents inner ramp shallow subtidal and intertidal facies and the upper Point Peak member corresponds to mid-outer ramp subtidal facies. Understanding the morphological architecture and depositional context of these features is of importance for identifying signatures of early life on Earth.     

Petrography and geochemistry of manganiferous rocks in the Mankwadzi area in the southern Kibi‐Winneba metavolcanic belt,Ghana: Implications for genesis of Mn formations in the Birimian of West Africa

Manganiferous rocks in the Mankwadzi area in the southernmost portion of the Kibi‐Winneba metavolcanic belt, one of several Mn occurrences in the Paleoproterozoic Birimian of Ghana, are hosted in hornblende schist and amphibolite. These rocks are, in places, intruded by hornblende dyke. In outcrop, the manganiferous rocks appear to be conformable with the host schist and amphibolite, are macroscopically dark, fine‐grained and structurally massive to distinctly banded. Observed alternating light and dark occasionally macro‐folded bands suggest post‐depositional deformation of both light and dark bands. Microscopic observations revealed that the light bands are dominantly Si‐rich and the dark bands mainly of opaque minerals. Whole rock analyses of the manganiferous rocks show high contents of MnO (16.75–27.4 wt%) suggesting that the opaque minerals are likely rich in Mn. The analyzed rock samples show moderate to strong enrichments in light rare earth elements compared to heavy rare earth elements. Whereas the manganiferous rocks show perceptibly negative Eu anomaly, host hornblende schist and hornblende dyke do not. Eu anomaly in amphibolite samples is, however, uncertain as the three samples analyzed gave positive, negative and no Eu anomalies. Based on the field characteristics, microscopic and geochemical features, we suggest that the Mn occurrence in the Mankwadzi area originated via sedimentary deposition and was later modified by metamorphism, hydrothermal and/or supergene processes similar to manganiferous occurrences at Nsuta and Tambao in the Birimian of West Africa.     

Decadal Changes in Water Quality and Net Productivity of a Shallow Danish Estuary Following Significant Nutrient Reductions

We utilized an extensive data set (1977–2013) from a water quality monitoring program to investigate the recovery of a Danish estuary following large reductions in total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) loading. Monthly rates of net transport and biogeochemical transformation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) were computed in two basins of the estuary using a box model approach, and oxygen-based rates of net ecosystem production (NEP) were determined. Since 1990, nutrient loading was reduced by 58 % for nitrogen and 80 % for phosphorus, causing significant decreases in DIN (60 %) and DIP (85 %) concentrations. Reductions in nutrient loadings and concentrations reduced annual chlorophyll levels by 50 % in the inner estuary and improved Secchi depth by approximately 1 m during the same period, particularly in the summer period. In the outer, deeper region of the estuary trends in water quality was less evident. Improvements in the inner estuary were strongly coupled to declines in DIN. Thresholds of DIN and DIP concentrations limiting phytoplankton growth indicated that both regions of the estuary were nitrogen limited. NEP rates indicated the development of more net autotrophic conditions over time that were likely associated with higher benthic primary production stimulated by improved light conditions. Box model computations revealed a modest reduction in summer net production of DIP over time, despite the persistence of elevated fluxes for several years after external loads were reduced. Since the mid-1990s, nutrient loading and transformation were stable while nutrient concentrations continued to decline and water quality improved in the inner estuary. The oligotrophication trajectory involved an initial fast transformation and modest retention of nutrients followed by a gradual decline in the rate of improvement towards a new stable condition.     

Lithostratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Provenance of the Balfour Formation (Beaufort Group) in the Fort Beaufort–Alice Area, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract: The Balfour Formation has a pronounced lithological variation that is characterized by alternating sandstone- and mudstone-dominated members. The sandstone-dominated Oudeberg and Barberskrans Members are composed of lithofacies that range from intraformational conglomerates to fine-grained sediments, whereas the mudstone-dominated members (Daggaboersnek, Elandsberg, and Palingkloof) are dominated by the facies Fm and Fl. Petrography, geochemistry, and a paleocurrent analysis indicated that the source rock of the Balfour Formation was to south east and the rocks had a transitional/dissected magmatic arc signature. The sandstones-rich members were deposited by seasonal and ephemeral high-energy, low-sinuous streams, and the fine-grained-rich members were formed by ephemeral meandering streams. The paleoclimates have been equated to present temperate climates; they were semiarid becoming arid towards the top of the Balfour Formation. This has been determined by reconstructing the paleolatitude of the Karoo Basin, geochemistry, paleontology, sedimentary structures, and other rock properties, like color.     

南海东北部海陆深地震联测与滨海断裂带两侧地壳结构分析

南海东北部首次成功实施海陆联合深地震探测,填补了海陆过渡带深地震探测的空白. 利用该次海陆联测地震数据,通过数据处理、震相分析、射线追踪、走时模拟等方法,获得了滨海断裂带附近的纵波地壳速度结构,探明了海陆联测剖面中滨海断裂带可能位置. 地壳速度结构为陆壳结构,地壳厚度由陆地向海区逐步变薄;在上地壳下部普遍存在一层速度为5.5～5.9km·s-1、厚度为2.5～4.0km的低速层,并向海区方向减薄,该区未发现明显的高速层. 滨海断裂带为一纵向低速带,位于南澳台东南35km处,对应于重、磁异常带,断裂带断至莫霍面,是华南陆区正常型陆壳与海区减薄型陆壳的分界地壳断裂.     

Erratum to: Assessment of coastal communities’ vulnerability to floods using indicator-based approach: a case study of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area,Ghana

In this paper, the extent to which the potentially transit-dependent portion of the population is vulnerable to the effects of a hurricane is estimated. The vulnerability of an area is defined as a composite measure of the proportion of disadvantaged persons, distance to transit, and flooding potential of people within an area. Unlike past studies which have focused on the vulnerability of the population in relatively large geographic areas, this study estimates the vulnerability of the population in 30 m × 30 m areas as defined in the National Land Cover Database. Population estimates from the national census at block level are disaggregated to the 30 m × 30 m units using a modified dasymetric mapping method in ArcGIS. The modified mapping method assigns population to each small areal unit using weights estimated by regressing the area of each land use in a census block against the population in that block. The coefficients in the regression analysis are “weights” associating population with each land use, and are used to distribute the population in each census block to the small geographic units based on their land use. In a case study of New Orleans, the results show that some areas are not well served by the existing transit pickup locations, as evidenced by their high vulnerability scores. Reassignment of pickup point locations to cover higher vulnerability score areas was investigated using integer linear programming. The results show that the optimally located pickup points serve areas with a larger average vulnerability score than the current pickup points in the study area. The method appears to be helpful in identifying vulnerable areas that, subsequently, could receive improved hurricane evacuation service in the future.     

Fast and dynamic generation of linear octrees for geological bodies under hardware acceleration

In the application of 3D Geoscience Modeling,we often need to generate the volumetric representations of geological bodies from their surface representations.Linear octree,as an efficient and easily operated volumetric model,is widely used in 3D Geoscience Modeling.This paper proposes an algorithm for fast and dynamic generation of linear octrees of geological bodies from their surface models under hardware acceleration.The Z-buffers are used to determine the attributes of octants and voxels in a fast way,a...     

The influence of solar‐induced thermal stresses on the mechanical weathering of rocks in humid mid‐latitudes

The role of solar‐induced thermal stresses in the mechanical breakdown of rock in humid‐temperate climates has remained relatively unexplored. In contrast, numerous studies have demonstrated that cracks in rocks found in more arid mid‐latitude locations exhibit preferred northeast orientations that are interpreted to be a consequence of insolation‐related cracking. Here we hypothesize that similar insolation‐related mechanisms may be efficacious in humid temperate climates, possibly in conjunction with other mechanical weathering processes. To test this hypothesis, we collected rock and crack data from a total of 310 rocks at a forested field site in North Carolina (99 rocks, 266 cracks) and at forested and unforested field sites in Pennsylvania (211 rocks, 664 cracks) in the eastern United States. We find that overall, measured cracks exhibit statistically preferred strike orientations (47° ± 16), as well as dip angles (52° ± 24°), that are similar in most respects to comparable datasets from mid‐latitude deserts. There is less variance in strike orientations for larger cracks suggesting that cracks with certain orientations are preferentially propagated through time. We propose that diurnally repeating geometries of solar‐related stresses result in propagation of those cracks whose orientations are favorably oriented with respect to those stresses. We hypothesize that the result is an oriented rock heterogeneity that acts as a zone of weakness much like bedding or foliation that can, in turn, be exploited by other weathering processes. Observed crack orientations vary somewhat by location, consistent with this hypothesis given the different latitude and solar exposure of the field sites. Crack densities vary between field sites and are generally higher on north‐facing boulder‐faces and in forested sites, suggesting that moisture‐availability also plays a role in dictating cracking rates. These data provide evidence that solar‐induced thermal stresses facilitate mechanical weathering in environments where other processes are also likely at play. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.