Holocene lake salinity changes in the Wimmera,southeastern Australia,provide evidence for millennial-scale climate variability

Palaeosalinity records for groundwater-influenced lakes in the southwest Murray Basin were constructed from an ostracod-based, weighted-averaging transfer function, supplemented with evidence from Campylodiscus clypeus (diatom), charophyte oogonia, Coxiella striata (gastropod), Elphidium sp. (foraminifera), Daphniopsis sp. ephippia (Cladocera), and brine shrimp (Parartemia zietziana) faecal pellets, the δ¹⁸O of ostracods, and > 130 μm quartz sand counts. The chronology is based on optically stimulated luminescence and calibrated radiocarbon ages. Relatively wet conditions are marked by lower salinities between 9600 yr and 5700 yr ago, but mutually exclusive high- and low-salinity ostracod communities suggest substantial variability in effective precipitation in the early Holocene. A drier climate was firmly in place by 4500 yr and is marked at the groundwater-dominated NW Jacka Lake by an increase in aeolian quartz and, at Jacka Lake, by a switch from surface-water to groundwater dominance. Short-lived, low-salinity events at 8800, 7200, 5900, 4800, 2400, 1300 and 400 yr are similar in timing and number to those recorded on Australia's southern continental shelf, and globally, and provide evidence for the existence of the ~ 1500-yr cycle in mainland southern Australia. We surmise that these are cool events associated with periodic equatorward shifts in the westerly wind circulation.     

Geochemical mapping using stream sediments in west-central Nigeria: Implications for environmental studies and mineral exploration in West Africa

This paper provides an overview of regional geochemical mapping using stream sediments from central and south-western Nigeria. A total of 1569 stream sediment samples were collected and 54 major and trace elements determined by ICP-MS and Au, Pd and Pt by fire assay. Multivariate statistical techniques (e.g., correlation analysis and principal factor analysis) were used to explore the data, following appropriate data transformation, to understand the data structure, investigate underlying processes controlling spatial geochemical variability and identify element associations. Major geochemical variations are controlled by source geology and provenance, as well as chemical weathering and winnowing processes, more subtle variations are a result of land use and contamination from anthropogenic activity.     

Seasonal fluxes and sediment routing in tropical catchments affected by nickel mining

An important gap in the management of land erosion in mining-affected areas is the understanding of the entire sediment routing system and the links between sources and storage at the catchment scale. In this study, we examine sediment delivery and its seasonality in the nickel mining-affected Santa Cruz and Pamalabawan catchments in the Philippines. We monitored discharge, suspended sediment concentrations and suspended sediment loads across 13 sub-catchments with contrasting degrees of mining influence from June 2018 to July 2019. First, we show the importance of the size of the area that has been physically disturbed within our sub-catchments, with as little as 10–22% of relative disturbance area being enough to generate four-fold to eight-fold increase in the sediment yield relative to less disturbed and pristine areas. We found that sub-catchments with > 10% disturbance exhibit the highest sediment yields (15.5 ± 44.7 t km⁻² d⁻¹) compared with sub-catchments with < 10% disturbance (3.6 ± 17.7 t km⁻² d⁻¹) and undisturbed catchments (2.0 ± 5.7 t km⁻² d⁻¹). We also show that sediment flushing predominantly occurs in the most disturbed sub-catchments at the onset of the wet season. A small number of flood events transports the bulk of the sediment, with hysteresis effects being most pronounced in disturbed areas. Lastly, we show that floodplain sediment recycling exerts a key control on sediment delivery at both reach and catchment scales, with the relative contribution of floodplain sources to the sediment budget becoming dominant in the latter stages of the wet season- up to 89% of the total sediment export per storm event. This study highlights the importance of both degree of disturbance and sediment pathways in controlling sediment transport in mining-disturbed areas, and that considering the entire sediment routing system including intermediate stores is crucial to optimizing existing and future measures against siltation and potential contamination of trace metals and metalloids downstream of mining areas.     

The Kuara formation (northern Arabian shield); definition and interpretation: a probable fault-trough sedimentary succession

The Kuara Formation was originally described in the Nuqrah quadrangle, northern Arabian Shield, as composed of sedimentary and volcanic rocks and attributed to the Neoproterozoic Shammar group. The group has been examined in the type area of the Kuara Formation. The name ‘Kuara Formation’ is here formally proposed and restricted to the essentially sedimentary succession. The sediments were most likely deposited in an approximately north-south to northeast-southwest fault-bounded basin more than 20 km wide and closed to the south by an approximately east-west fault. The formation probably attained more than 600 m in thickness and is characterized by abundant, locally derived conglomerate and by coarsening-upward sequences organized in megasequences; these are interpreted as representing the progradation of alluvial fans into a lake. Sharp contacts of siltstone overlying conglomerate are interpreted as due to the lowering of the trough floor by faulting, subsequent lacustrine sedimentation corresponding to periods of maximum tectonic activity and alluvial fans prograding, periods of reduced activity. The interpretation of the tectonic environment as one of extensional faulting in a continental setting is in agreement with interpretations proposed for other successions of similar age in Arabia and Egypt.     

Ecosystem model of an estuarine submersed plant community: Calibration and simulation of eutrophication responses

As water quality in the Chesapeake Bay has declined over recent decades, formely healthy submersed plant communities have disappeared from littoral areas of the mesohaline estuary. A dynamic simulation model of shallow regions of bay tributaries (<1 m) was developed to investigate growth responses of submersed vascular plants to eutrophication and habitat degradation. Our objectives were to elucidate mechanisms responsible for the decline and to evaluate conditions required for plant restoration and survival. State varibles in the model are plant leaves, roots, phytoplankton, epiphytes, and detrital material. The model calculates biomass pools and biogeochemical rate processes over annual cycles with a time step of 6 h. Simulations were performed to investigate the influence of phytoplankton and epiphytes on the underwater light environment, how the balance of limiting resources (light and nutrients) controls growth and productivity of submersed plants, and conditions necessary, for the restoration of submersed vegetation. Model output for submersed plants was calibrated to baseline data from the mid 1970s (r²=0.86); simulations reproduced declines in plant biomass with increasing nutrient enrichment. Model experiments showed, that by increasing nutrient inputs 40% above levels observed in the 1960s, submersed plants disappeared within 1–2 yr due to enhanced growth of phytoplankton and epiphytes, which reduced light below required levels. Epiphytes were more important than were phytoplankton in attenuating light. The relationship between nutrient enrichment and plant loss rate was complex, as epiphyte density on leaf surfaces was not linearly related to nutrient levels. Relatively small nutrient increases could have a large effect on submersed plants because epiphyte density on leaves increased exponentially as leaf surface area decreased. Exchanges of organic carbon and nutrients between leaf and root compartments were seasonally variable and were critical for survival of submersed plants. The amount of root-rhizome material available for regrowth could control the outcome of nutrient reduction strategies. Consequently, model predictions of plant restoration success were highly dependent on initial conditions. The model is being used successfully as a research tool to interpret ecological relationships in the ongoing re-evaluation of management alternatives for submersed plant restoration.     

Seasonal and spatial water quality changes in the outflow plume of the Atchafalaya River,Louisiana, USA

The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between the Atchafalaya River and the Atchafalaya Delta estuarine complex. Measurements of suspended sediments, inorganic nutrients (NO₃ ^?, NH₄ ⁺, PO₄ ^3?), chlorophylla (chla), and-salinity were taken monthly from December 1996 to January 1998. These data were compiled by season, and the Atchafalaya River plume data were also analyzed using the Generalized Additive Model technique. There were significant decreases in NO₃ ^? concentrations during summer, fall, and winter as river water passed through the estuary, that were attributable to chemical and biological processes rather than dilution with ambient water. In some regions there were higher chla concentrations during summer and fall compared to winter and spring, when river discharge and the introduction of inorganic nutrients were highest, suggesting biological processes were active during this study. The presence of NH₄ ⁺, as a percentage of available dissolved inorganic nitrogen, increased with distance from the Atchafalaya River, indicative of remineralization processes and NO₃ ^? reduction. Mean PO₄ ^3? concentrations were often higher in the estuarine regions compared to the Atchafalaya River. During summer total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations increased with distance from the river mouth, suggesting a turbidity maximum. Highest chla concentrations were found in the bayous and shallow water bodies of the Terrebonne marshes, as were the lowest TSS concentrations. The low chla concentrations found in other areas of this study, despite high inorganic nutrient concentrations, suggest light limitation as the major control of phytoplankton growth. Salinity reached near seawater concentrations at the outer edge of the Atchafalaya River plume, but much lower salinities (<10 psu) were observed at all other regions. The Atchafalaya Delta estuarine complex buffers the impact of the Atchafalaya River on the Louisiana coastal shelf zone, with a 41% of 47% decrease in Atchafalaya River NO₃ ^? concentrations before reaching Gulf waters.     

Caldera-related volcanic rocks in the Shammar Group, northern Arabian Shield

Volcanic formations of the ca 630-620 Ma old Shammar Group in the Tuluhah area in the northern Arabian Shield occupy an oval area some 8×12 km. They overlie sedimentary rift-fill of the Kuara Formation and are interpreted as related to the formation of a caldera, here named the Awad Caldera. The earliest of the volcanic formations, the Dabsah Tuff, is more than 450 m thick in the south and wedges out in the north. It is composed of silicic, medial to proximal pyroclastic flow rocks that record an eruption during which an initial caldera is interpreted to have formed by probably trapdoor-style collapse. The Nijab Basalt, more than 200 m thick and present as flows overlying the Kuara Formation to the north of the caldera, is presumed to have originated outside the study area during an interval between periods of silicic volcanic activity, and to have flowed onto the Dabsah Tuff in the first-stage caldera. The succeeding Mindassa Megabreccia contains large rafts of the older Shammar rocks, mainly Nijab Basalt, in a tuff matrix, and is regarded as probably a caldera collapse and fallback megabreccia formed during a silicic eruption that led to the second stage of caldera development. The megabreccia is overlain by the post-collapse Sutayih Tuff, more than 450 m thick, composed of proximal pyroclastic flow units.     

The distribution and nature of amino acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds in Lake Ontario surface sediments

Five surface sediment samples (0–3 cm), two suspended sediment samples and a zooplankton sample from Lake Ontario were analysed for nitrogen-containing compounds. Amino acids, amino sugars, ethanolamine and urea were separated and characterized by ion-exchange chromatography. Free amino acids and soluble combined amino acids and amino sugars accounted for less than 0–25 per cent of the total nitrogen in the sediments. Insoluble combined amino acids and amino sugars were the most abundant nitrogen fraction in the sediments, making up from 49 to 55 per cent of the total nitrogen. Evidence is presented that asparagine, glutamine and citrulline are present in the interstitial waters and may make up part of the sediment organic nitrogen that was not characterized.The free amino acids released by the proteolytic enzyme, pronase, from the interstitial waters and sediment humic and fulvic acid extracts were determined. Pronase released 65 per cent of the soluble combined amino acids and 34 per cent of the fulvic acid amino acids as free amino acids. Enzyme activity was inhibited in the presence of the humic acid extract. The results indicate that the combined amino acids in the interstitial waters and fulvic acid extracts are intermediates between the primary aquatic detritus and the sediment humic acids. The enzyme experiments and infra-red data indicate that part of the sediment amino acids are combined through peptide linkages.     

Three-Dimensional Structural Geological Modeling Using Graph Neural Networks

Mathematical Geosciences - Three-dimensional structural geomodels are increasingly being used for a wide variety of scientific and societal purposes. Most advanced methods for generating these...