A large encrusting clionaid sponge in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

An excavating sponge, which covers extensive areas of limestone rock, has been found at several locations of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. This zooxanthellate clionaid, brown with yellow oscula, may have an extension of several square meters under the β-form, similar to what has been described in coral reef areas. It has been observed at 3–30 m depth, generally in clear water in the Ionian Sea, Crete, Cyprus and Lebanon. The gross morphology and the spicule characters are described from all the collected specimens. The spicule complement, with variable tylostyles and rare, sometimes absent, thin spirasters, is compared with that of Cliona parenzani Corriero & Scalera-Liaci 1997 from the Apulian coast (Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea), and of several Caribbean and Indo-Pacific clionaid species, which display the same morphology and rather similar spicule characters. The sponge is tentatively identified as C. parenzani , although there are some differences with the type specimens in the highly variable spiculation, suggesting that it may represent a species complex similar to what is known for other species in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific areas. Although the sponge appears to be closely related to large brown spreading clionaids from tropical areas and was previously practically overlooked in the Eastern Mediterranean, it does not appear to be a recent introduction. It is suggested that it could be a survivor in the warmer area of the Mediterranean of an ancient thermophilous fauna, which did not survive in the colder Western Basin during glacial episodes of the Pleistocene.     

Multifractal features of the particle-size distribution of suspended sediment in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR)in China is the largest hydroelectric project in the world,but the threat of sediment affecting ecological sustainability of the reservoir is a topic of concern.Sediment particlesize distribution(PSD)is informative in understanding sediment transport dynamics and biochemical functions.It is,therefore,important to quantitatively characterize the distribution of sediment particles.In the current study,fractal theory is applied to determine the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.The results show that the volumetric fractal dimension(D_v)exhibits a significant seasonal difference(p<0.05),reflecting sediment source and hydrodynamic sorting control the granularity of suspended sediment in the TGR.More specifically,suspended sediment particles are coarser in the wet season than in the dry season for the Yangtze River,and the opposite is true for the Ruxi River,an important tributary.The generalized dimension spectrum,D(q)-q,and multifractal singularity spectrum,f[α(q)]-α(q),were calculated for each suspended sediment sample.Thereafter,the parameters,D(0),D(1),D(2),α(0),Δα(q),andΔf[α(q)],were determined to characterize the PSD.As a result,the coarser suspended sediment during the wet season is characterised by a more complex PSD pattern,with a wider range of particle sizes,greater heterogeneity,and greater homogeneity of distribution over the measurement interval.However,the multifractal structure of the PSD of suspended sediment is more complex during the dry season than during the wet season,with higher local dispersion and variability.The findings of the current study highlight that multifractal analysis provides important insight for understanding the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.     

贵州惠水仰天窝竖井大熊猫化石的发现及其意义

晚更新世的大熊猫广泛分布于中国华南地区,化石分布点众多,但完整保存的骨骼材料相对较少。文中报道了贵州惠水县仰天窝竖井新发现的完整大熊猫头骨化石,仰天窝竖井—白马洞因其特殊的洞穴环境为化石的保藏创造了有利条件。根据测量数据,仰天窝大熊猫个体牙齿比现生大熊猫略大,应属于巴氏大熊猫。AMS—14 C测年结果为22887~22431 a BP,时代处于末次盛冰期前后,新材料的发现为推断大熊猫在晚更新世末期的分布范围、生存演化等问题提供了难得的实证。     

Modeling piecewise planar fault discontinuities without element-partitioning in 3D reservoir-geomechanical models

Using the extended finite element method, faults can be introduced into a three-dimensional reservoir-geomechanical model without meshing to assess the potential for fault reactivation associated with industrial activities such as disposal of CO₂ or fluid extraction. The residuals to the governing equations include basis functions formed from the enrichment functions for strong and weak discontinuities. The traditional spatial integration scheme is based on an algorithm that partitions each enriched element into a collection of subtetrahedra, which is time and storage intensive. To avoid element partitioning, we adopt the homogeneous numerical integration scheme (referred as HNI hereafter) where the integration of homogeneous monomials over each polyhedron is converted into the integration of the same monomials over the one-dimensional edges of the polyhedron by using Stokes's theorem and Euler's homogeneous function theorem. The integrands for the strong and weak discontinuities are derived to implement the integration scheme in the three-dimensional reservoir-geomechanical model. An example of a jagged fault is presented to reveal the advantages of HNI scheme over the standard element partitioning approach. Several other examples that involve fluid flow, fault sliding, and fault sliding triggered by injection pressure are also presented to demonstrate that accurate and efficient computations are realized by the new integration scheme.     

Short‐time (<10 ka) denudation rates as a marker of active folding in the Zagros Fold Belt (Iran)

Coupling between tectonics and surface processes is usually ill‐quantified as other factors such as climate and lithology affect the later. We provide catchment‐wide ¹⁰Be denudation rates of the Mand catchment in the Zagros Fold Belt (Iran) to infer correlations between these rates and ongoing tectonic shortening in the region. Denudation rates are generally low (~0.05–0.1 mm/a) but increase to ~1 mm/a near the Halikan anticline, where changes in precipitation, lithology or hillslope gradient are insignificant. The denudation rates upstream and downstream of the Halikan anticline are consistent with the GPS convergence rates in these areas. The sharp increase in denudation rates over the Halikan anticline denotes its growth as previously detected from terrace incision. It also reveals small wavelength coupling between crustal deformation and erosion. Denudation rates are therefore a useful and sensitive tool that helps constraining non‐brittle active tectonics such as folding of a sedimentary cover.     

A graphical approach for documenting peatland hydrodiversity and orienting land management strategies

This study focuses on the development of an approach to document the hydrological characteristics of peatlands and understand their potential influence on runoff processes and groundwater flow dynamics. Spatial calculations were performed using geographic information systems data in order to evaluate the distribution of peatlands according to (a) neighbouring hydrogeological units and (b) their position within the hydrographic network. The data obtained from these calculations were plotted in a multiple trilinear diagram (two ternary plots projected into a diamond‐shaped diagram) that illustrates the position of a given peatland within the hydrogeological environment. The data allow for the segregation of peatlands according to groups sharing similarities as well as the identification of peatlands that are most likely to have similar hydrological functions. The approach was tested in a 19,549 km² region of the southern portion of the Barlow‐Ojibway Clay Belt (in Abitibi‐Témiscamingue, Canada) and lead to a conceptual model representing the hydrological interactions between peatlands, aquifers, and surface waters. This approach allows for a geographic information systems‐based differentiation of headwater peatland complexes that are likely to interact with aquifers and to supply continuous baseflow to small streams from lowland peatland complexes of the clay plain that are isolated from surrounding aquifers but that can act as storage reservoirs within the hydrographic network. The typology is further used to discuss land management strategies aimed at preserving peatland hydrodiversity within the study region. The proposed approach relies on widely applicable hydrogeological and hydrographic criteria and provides a tool that could be used for assessing peatland hydrodiversity in other regions of the planet.     

Slip rate of trench‐parallel normal faulting along the Mejillones Fault (Atacama Fault System): Relationships with the northern Chile subduction and implications for seismic hazards

The recent tectonics of the arid northern Chile Andean western forearc is characterized by trench‐parallel normal faults within the Atacama Fault System (AFS). Since the 1995‐Mw 8.1 Antofagasta earthquake, the mechanism driving this recent and localized extension is considered to be associated with the seismic cycle within the subduction zone. Analyzing morphotectonic patterns along these faults allows examining the seismic potential associated with the subduction zone. Using field Digital Elevation Models and in situ‐produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be, we determined a 0.2 mm/a long‐term slip rate along the Mejillones Fault, one of the most prominent structures within the AFS. This result suggests that the AFS corresponds to slow slip rate faults despite the rapid subduction context. However, the size of coseismic slips observed along the AFS faults suggests that larger subduction earthquakes (Mw > 8.1) may occur episodically in the area.     

Importance of river water recharge to the San Joaquin Valley groundwater system

Groundwater is not a sustainable resource, unless abstraction is balanced by recharge. Identifying the sources of recharge in a groundwater basin is critical for sustainable groundwater management. We studied the importance of river water recharge to groundwater in the south‐eastern San Joaquin Valley (24,000 km², population 4 million). We combined dissolved noble gas concentrations, stable isotopes, tritium, and carbon‐14 analyses to analyse the sources, mechanisms, and timescales of groundwater recharge. Area‐representative groundwater sampling and numerical model input data enabled a stable isotope mass balance and quantitative estimates of river and local recharge. River recharge, identified by a lighter stable isotope signature, represents 47 ± 4% of modern groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley (recharged after 1950) but only 26 ± 4% of premodern groundwater (recharged before 1950). This implies that the importance of river water recharge in the San Joaquin valley has nearly doubled and is likely the result of a 40% increase in total recharge, caused by river water irrigation return flows and increased stream depletion and river recharge due to groundwater pumping. Compared with the large and long‐duration capacity for water storage in the subsurface, storage of water in rivers is limited in time and volume, as evidenced by cold river recharge temperatures resulting from fast infiltration and recharge. Groundwater banking of seasonal surface water flows and expansion of managed aquifer recharge practices therefore appear to be a natural and promising method for increasing the resilience of the San Joaquin Valley water supply system.