Economic benefit of the protection program for the Steller sea lion

This paper examines willingness to pay (WTP) for an endangered species across geographically nested samples using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The three samples range from (1) the boroughs that contain critical habitat for the Steller sea lion to (2) the state that contains these boroughs to and (3) the entire United States. Depending on the assumptions of the model, WTP varies tremendously from sample to sample. WTP for the United States is the highest and it is the lowest for the boroughs. The null hypotheses that mean WTP estimates are greater then zero were rejected for the boroughs and the state but were not rejected for the United States based on the 95% confidence intervals.     

Effects of pipe outlet blocking on hydrological functioning in a degraded blanket peatland

Peatland restoration practitioners are keen to understand the role of drainage via natural soil pipes, especially where erosion has released large quantities of fluvial carbon in stream waters. However, little is known about pipe-to-stream connectivity and whether blocking methods used to impede flow in open ditch networks and gullies also work on pipe networks. Two streams in a heavily degraded blanket bog (southern Pennines, UK) were used to assess whether impeding drainage from pipe networks alters the streamflow responses to storm events, and how such intervention affects the hydrological functioning of the pipe network and the surrounding peat. Pipeflow was impeded in half of the pipe outlets in one stream, either by inserting a plug-like structure in the pipe-end or by the insertion of a vertical screen at the pipe outlet perpendicular to the direction of the predicted pipe course. Statistical response variable η² showed the overall effects of pipe outlet blocking on stream responses were small with η² = 0.022 for total storm runoff, η² = 0.097 for peak discharge, η² = 0.014 for peak lag, and η² = 0.207 for response index. Both trialled blocking methods either led to new pipe outlets appearing or seepage occurring around blocks within 90 days of blocking. Discharge from four individual pipe outlets was monitored for 17 months before blocking and contributed 11.3% of streamflow. Pipe outlets on streambanks with headward retreat produced significantly larger peak flows and storm contributions to streamflow compared to pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambank sections. We found a distinctive distance-decay effect of the water table around pipe outlets, with deeper water tables around pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambanks sections. We suggest that impeding pipeflow at pipe outlets would exacerbate pipe development in the gully edge zone, and propose that future pipe blocking efforts in peatlands prioritize increasing the residence time of pipe water by forming surface storage higher up the pipe network.     

Investigating mesoscale eddy characteristics in the Luzon Strait region using altimetry

Ocean Dynamics - The circulation in the northern South China Sea (SCS) strongly responds to anticyclonic eddies that shed from the Kuroshio intruding across Luzon Strait. An eddy tracking algorithm...     

A micromorphological analysis of stratigraphic integrity and site formation at Cactus Hill,an Early Paleoindian and hypothesized pre‐Clovis occupation in south‐central Virginia,USA

Twenty thin sections were studied from Cactus Hill, a ca. 20 ka stratified sand dune site in Virginia, USA, with a Clovis and hypothesized pre‐Clovis component. The high‐resolution soil micromorphology investigation focused on testing the integrity of Clovis and pre‐Clovis stratigraphy from one location where there is a high density of artifacts. Site formation processes were dominated by eolian (dune) sand formation. There was also ephemeral topsoil development and associated occupation, along with their penecontemporaneous disturbance and dispersal by scavenging animals (assumed) and localized down‐working by small invertebrate mesofauna (as evidenced by aggregates of fine phytolith‐rich humic soil and fine soil‐coated charcoal fragments). Partial erosion of these occupation soils (deflation?) was followed by successive sand burial. Post‐depositional processes affecting these sand‐buried occupations involved only small‐scale bioturbation and overprinting of clay lamellae, suggesting site stratigraphy has been stable for a long time. Soil micromorphological analysis has defined a difference between occupational units (pre‐Clovis and Clovis) and sterile units found between these units as well as above and below. In summary, according to this analysis, the site appears intact with only minor disturbances affecting the long‐term integrity of the stratigraphy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Coal mining‐derived ochres in the UK: a potential selenium trap

Thanks to the pioneering research of Paul Younger over the past 20 years, acid mine drainage in the UK has been recognized as a major environmental issue. Acid mine drainage and hydrous ferric oxide deposition are environmental hazards resulting from centuries of extensive coal mining activities across the UK. Oxidative weathering of pyrite in coal from spoil heaps and exposed bedrock can liberate trace elements, releasing them into local water systems. In addition to posing an environmental threat through water and ground contamination, ochres can also act as a remediation material, trapping elements such as selenium. Trace elements with a close association to iron oxides, such as selenium, may fix to the fine‐grained ochre materials, resulting in hyper‐enriched ochres. Selenium in coals has been known to cause an environmental issue in areas of North America but is also an important commodity for solar cells and nanotechnologies. Coal‐bearing areas of the UK, such as Northumberland, are known to contain a high selenium content, and coal‐derived ochres in these regions also contain significant selenium. The widespread occurrence of ochres in UK coal‐mining regions may therefore present a unique ‘E tech’ trace element source and prevent a toxicity problem for which they were once thought to be responsible.     

Near‐surface hydraulic conductivity of northern hemisphere glaciers

The hydrology of near‐surface glacier ice remains a neglected aspect of glacier hydrology despite its role in modulating meltwater delivery to downstream environments. To elucidate the hydrological characteristics of this near‐surface glacial weathering crust, we describe the design and operation of a capacitance‐based piezometer that enables rapid, economical deployment across multiple sites and provides an accurate, high‐resolution record of near‐surface water‐level fluctuations. Piezometers were employed at 10 northern hemisphere glaciers, and through the application of standard bail–recharge techniques, we derive hydraulic conductivity (K) values from 0.003 to 3.519 m day^?1, with a mean of 0.185 ± 0.019 m day^?1. These results are comparable to those obtained in other discrete studies of glacier near‐surface ice, and for firn, and indicate that the weathering crust represents a hydrologically inefficient aquifer. Hydraulic conductivity correlated positively with water table height but negatively with altitude and cumulative short‐wave radiation since the last synoptic period of either negative air temperatures or turbulent energy flux dominance. The large range of K observed suggests complex interactions between meteorological influences and differences arising from variability in ice structure and crystallography. Our data demonstrate a greater complexity of near‐surface ice hydrology than hitherto appreciated and support the notion that the weathering crust can regulate the supraglacial discharge response to melt production. The conductivities reported here, coupled with typical supraglacial channel spacing, suggest that meltwater can be retained within the weathering crust for at least several days. Not only does this have implications for the accuracy of predictive meltwater run‐off models, but we also argue for biogeochemical processes and transfers that are strongly conditioned by water residence time and the efficacy of the cascade of sediments, impurities, microbes, and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. Because continued atmospheric warming will incur rising snowline elevations and glacier thinning, the supraglacial hydrological system may assume greater importance in many mountainous regions, and consequently, detailing weathering crust hydraulics represents a research priority because the flow path it represents remains poorly constrained.     

A Mariner 9 atlas of the moons of Mars

This paper contains a complete set of the best enhancements of Mariner 9 high resolution television pictures of Phobos and Deimos, consisting of 27 different views of Phobos, and 9 of Deimos. Pertinent data about the pictures are arranged in convenient tabular and graphical form.