Source and supply of sediment to a shoreline salient in a fringing reef environment

Reef-associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection can make reef-fronted coastlines sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any decline in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, increasing wave energy) could drive the sediment budgets of these systems into a net erosive state. Therefore, knowledge of both the sediment sources and transport mechanisms is required to predict the sensitivity of reef-associated landforms to future climate change. Here, we examine the benthic habitat composition, sediment characteristics (composition, texture, and age), and transport mechanisms and pathways to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and the reef system at Tantabiddi, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Benthic surveys and sediment composition analysis revealed that although live coral accounts for less than 5% of the benthic cover, coral is the dominant sediment constituent (34% on average). Sediment ages (²³⁸U/²³⁰Th) were mostly found to be thousands of years old, suggesting that the primary sediment source is relic reef material (e.g. Holocene reef framework). Sediment transport across the lagoon was quantified through measurements of ripple migration rates, which were found to be shoreward migrating and responsible for feeding the large shoreline salient in the lee of the reef. The derived sediment fluxes were comparable with previously measured rates of sediment production by bioerosion. These results suggest that sediment budgets of systems dependent on old (>10³ years) source materials may be more resilient to climate change as present-day reef health and community composition (i.e. sources of ‘new’ carbonate production) have limited influence on sediment supply. Therefore, the vulnerability of reef-associated landforms in these systems will be dictated by future changes to mechanisms of sediment generation (e.g. bioerosion) and/or physical processes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system

Abstract

This article presents a comparison between real-time discharges calculated by a flash-flood warning system and post-event flood peak estimates. The studied event occurred on 15 and 16 June 2010 at the Argens catchment located in the south of France. Real-time flood warnings were provided by the AIGA (Adaptation d’Information Géographique pour l’Alerte en Crue) warning system, which is based on a simple distributed hydrological model run at a 1-km² resolution using radar rainfall information. The timing of the warnings (updated every 15 min) was compared to the observed flood impacts. Furthermore, “consolidated” flood peaks estimated by an intensive post-event survey were used to evaluate the AIGA-estimated peak discharges. The results indicated that the AIGA warnings clearly identified the most affected areas. However, the effective lead-time of the event detection was short, especially for fast-response catchments, because the current method does not take into account any rainfall forecast. The flood peak analysis showed a relatively good correspondence between AIGA- and field-estimated peak values, although some differences were due to the rainfall underestimation by the radar and rainfall–runoff model limitations.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., Pansu, J. and Arnaud, P., 2014. Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1390–1402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923970     

Analytical description of physical librations of saturnian coorbital satellites Janus and Epimetheus

Janus and Epimetheus are famously known for their distinctive horseshoe-shaped orbits resulting from a 1:1 orbital resonance. Every 4 years these two satellites swap their orbits by a few tens of kilometers as a result of their close encounter. Recently Tiscareno et al. (Tiscareno, M.S., Thomas, P.C., Burns, J.A. [2009]. Icarus 204, 254-261) have proposed a model of rotation based on images from the Cassini orbiter. These authors inferred the amplitude of rotational librational motion in longitude at the orbital period by fitting a shape model to Cassini ISS images. By a quasi-periodic approximation of the orbital motion, we describe how the orbital swap impacts the rotation of the satellites. To that purpose, we have developed a formalism based on quasi-periodic series with long- and short-period librations. In this framework, the amplitude of the libration at the orbital period is found proportional to a term accounting for the orbital swap. We checked the analytical quasi-periodic development by performing a numerical simulation and find both results in good agreement. To complete this study, the results obtained for the short-period librations are studied with the help of an adiabatic-like approach.     

TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECTS ON VENTIFACT DEVELOPMENT,MOJAVE DESERT,CALIFORNIA

I nvestigations into processes of ventifact formation in the east-central Mojave Desert, California confirm the importance of topography as a control in the location, orientation, and intensity of ventifact abrasion. Ventifacts in the region appear to be relict in nature and probably formed during a period that ended several thousand years ago. Comparison of groove orientations with available wind data shows that regional flow direction has not changed in the recent past. Although west to northwest winds are the most frequent and intense, and therefore dictate the regional erosion pattern, low to moderate southeasterly flow is recorded on ventifacts near the crests of hills owing to the effects of velocity acceleration. Two conditions that affect ventifact development are considered in this paper: (1) wind acceleration through topographic constrictions; and (2) wind acceleration up the windward flanks of hills. Constrictions in the Barstow-Bristol trough allowed velocity increases that resulted in ventifaction on 70–90 percent of all exposed cobbles and boulders. Velocity acceleration towards the crests of hills caused a marked increase in sand transport and resultant abrasion, as expressed by increases in groove and pit dimensions. [Key words: Aeolian geomorphology, ventifacts, Mojave Desert, California.]     

Effects of the October 25, 2010, Mentawai tsunami in La Réunion Island (France): observations and crisis management

On October 25, 2010, a Mw = 7.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Kepulauan Mentawai archipelago, in Indonesia. Following the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami bulletin to the countries of the Indian Ocean informing them that a local tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia. La Réunion Island, a French territory located 5,000 km southwest of the seismic source, did not trigger its tsunami early warning protocol, but did suffer the impact of this tsunami 7h20 post-earthquake. This paper presents the post-tsunami survey conducted in La Réunion Island a few days after the event, providing run-up measurements that reach 1.72 m locally as well as information about the material losses and the crisis management. It provides a time sequence of the observations along the coast and the reactions of the population and authorities in dealing with this crisis. This paper also shows the local authorities’ lack of action in managing this event—thus increasing human and material vulnerabilities—the consequences for victims and the impact on the credibility of the local early warning system. These results provide geophysicists with information to better describe the source of this tsunami through far-field inversion and provide local decision makers with a comprehensive assessment of the weaknesses of the local early warning system and protocols.     

Fisheries mismanagement

We analysed the extent to which European politicians have adhered to scientific recommendations on annual total allowable catches (TACs) from 1987 to 2011, covering most of the period of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For the 11 stocks examined, TACs were set higher than scientific recommendations in 68% of decisions. Politically-adjusted TACs averaged 33% above scientifically recommended levels. There was no evidence that the 2002 reform of the CFP improved decision-making, as was claimed at the time. We modelled the effects of such politically-driven decision-making on stock sustainability. Our results suggest that political adjustment of scientific recommendations dramatically increases the probability of a stock collapsing within 40 years.In 2012 European fisheries policy will undergo a once-a-decade reform. Ten years ago radical reforms were promised but the changes failed to improve sustainability. It is likely that the 2012 reform will be similarly ineffective unless decision-making is changed so that catch allocations are based on science rather than politics.     

Application of portable X-ray fluorescence analyses to metabasalt stratigraphy,Plutonic Gold Mine,Western Australia

Stratigraphy, structure and host-rock chemistry are dominant controls on the location of Au in Archaean greenstone-hosted Au deposits, but the stratigraphy in such deposits is seldom obvious due to the monotonous nature of the host rocks or pervasive alteration associated with Au mineralisation. Portable, hand-held, X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry provides a method to rapidly collect large amounts of whole-rock geochemical data that can yield new insights into both stratigraphy and Au localisation. Here we present results of pXRF analyses of samples from a representative section through Au-mineralised amphibolite-facies metabasaltic rocks at Plutonic Gold Mine, Western Australia. These data illustrate a geochemical stratigraphy in which individual lava flows can be identified on the basis of element concentrations. The most evolved basalts are at the structural base of the succession, and the least evolved at the top of the sequence, confirming previous geochemical interpretations and textural evidence that the sequence is overturned, and demonstrating for the first time that the presented section does not involve significant structural repetition. In conjunction with Au assay data, the pXRF data reveal that Au commonly occurs along basalt flow boundaries. The elemental concentration data clearly demonstrates for the first time the stratigraphic control on Au mineralisation that is not readily apparent at the macroscopic level. The methods described in this paper are readily applied, and have the potential to enhance the understanding of otherwise unclear stratigraphy and its control on mineralisation in many different types of deposits worldwide.