On the sensitivity of Holocene talus-derived rock glaciers to climate change in the Ben Ohau Range,New Zealand

The morphology and surface ages of talus-derived rock glaciers are investigated to establish the timing of rock glacier formation in the central Southern Alps. Samples of rock weathering rinds show that all rock glaciers studied were formed during the Neoglacial period, but differences exist between sites in the number of new rock glacier lobes formed by Holocene climatic fluctuations. A qualitative conceptual model is proposed to explain rock glacier formation in terms of two thresholds. An external threshold relates to the presence of a cool climate capable of allowing internal ice to form within talus slopes. An internal threshold relates to the presence of sufficiently thick talus at a site to generate a shear stress capable of overcoming internal friction within the talus/ice mass. The model produces a non-steady-state response to explain why unmodified talus, single-lobed and double-lobed rock glaciers developed at adjacent sites under the same climatic regime. Individual landforms have different sensitivities to formation, which depend partly on the previous history of talus accumulation and rock glacier activity at a site. The model demonstrates how successive cool climate periods may be fully represented by rock glacier lobes at sensitive sites but under-represented at insensitive sites. Sensitivity (and therefore climatic representativeness) is favoured by high rates of debris supply. By implication, the timing of formation of rock glacier lobes in regions of prolonged cool climate and low debris production is less likely to correspond to the timing of climatic cooling and more likely to follow the ‘rules’ of deterministic chaos.     

A consistent formulation of a dilatant interface element

The paper considers a plane joint or interface element suitable for implementation into a standard non-linear finite element code. The element is intended to model discontinuities with rough contact surfaces, such as rock joints, where dilatant behaviour is present. Of particular concern is the formulation of a constitutive model which fully caters for all possible histories of opening, closing and sliding (accompained by dilation or contraction) in any direction. The non-linear incremental constitutive equations are formulated in a manner appropriate for a back-ward difference discretization in time along the path of loading. The advantage of such an approach is that no essential distinction need be drawn between opening, closing and sliding. Further, a convenient formulation of the constitutive equations is facilitated by representing the different contact conditions in relative displacement space. The state diagram in relative displacement space, however, changes from one time step to the next, and evolution equations for the updating must be formulated. These concepts are illustrated for two rock-joint models: a sawtooth asperity model and a limited dilation model. The models are based on a penalty formulation to enforce the contact constraints, and explicit equations for the tangent stiffness matrix and for the corrector step of the standard Newton–Raphson iterative algorithm are derived. These equations have been implemented as an user element into the finite element code ABAQUS⁷. Three examples are presented to illustrate the predictions of the formulation.     

Effects of lithology and land use on storm run-off in east luxembourg

For a large part of the year, the forested catchments in the Keuper formation of east Luxembourg produce more direct run-off on a storm basis than paired cultivated catchments. The occurrence of shrinkage cracks, their pronounced opening and closing, and the occurrence of natural pipes in the forested environment play a major role in explaining this phenomenon. The effect of land use on storm run-off is studied in relation to that found for lithology in the same area.     

Archaean stromatolites from the Ngesi Group,Belingwe greenstone belt,Zimbabwe; preservation and stable isotopes — preliminary results

The petrology and stable isotope chemistry of cyanobacterial stromatolites of Archaean age (2.7 Ga) from the Cheshire and Manjeri Formations of the Belingwe greenstone belt in Zimbabwe have been examined. Palaeomagnetic data suggest that the stromatolites formed in tropical to subtropical latitudes. The Cheshire Formation shows little evidence of either anion or cation exchange during metamorphism, and the stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios suggest a formation at temperatures perhaps considerably below 80°C. The Manjeri Formation, only slightly older, but overlain by a thick volcanic sequence, shows a low grade of metamorphism, and isotope ratios that are consistent with a metamorphic temperature of around 200°C.     

Palynology of organic beds below Devensian glacigenic sediments at Pen-y-bryn,Gwynedd, North Wales

Pollen diagrams from organic facies overlain by glacigenic sediments at Pen-y-bryn, North Wales (53°7′N, 4°16′W), suggest that it is the first locality in the British Isles to provide evidence for several Devensian interstadials prior to Devensian stadial glaciation(s). The evidence is not, however, unequivocal. At least two main episodes of organic sedimentation are indicated, separated by an interval of uncertain duration. One eposide records a Pinus-Picea-Betula forest. A second, possibly later, event, with tree pollen less than 10% of total land pollen (TLP), suggests a cool, largely unforested environment. A third episode, with tree pollen up to 25% of TLP, may be related to the latter or be of intermediate age, whereas a fourth and later episode of organic accumulation may be of reworked material. Radiocarbon dating of organic deposits and of a wood macrofossil enclosed in basal till is inconclusive, as is preliminary uranium-series dating. The principal biogenic episodes may correlate with Oxygen Isotope Substages 5c and 5a, but as the pollen records reflect facies floras, the correlation remains tentative; it is also possible that other temperate periods are recorded. Further resolution of the chronostratigraphy is required to help clarify the problematic correlation of interstadial and stadial events in northwest Europe and to correlate more accurately the biogenic and glacigenic facies at Pen-y-bryn with their Pleistocene equivalents elsewhere.     

An update on automatic 3D building reconstruction

The development of tools for the generation of 3D city models started almost two decades ago. From the beginning, fully automatic reconstruction systems were envisioned to fulfil the need for efficient data collection. However, research on automatic city modelling is still a very active area. The paper will review a number of current approaches in order to comprehensively elaborate the state of the art of reconstruction methods and their respective principles. Originally, automatic city modelling only aimed at polyhedral building objects, which mainly reflects the respective roof shapes and building footprints. For this purpose, airborne images or laser scans are used. In addition to these developments, the paper will also review current approaches for the generation of more detailed facade geometries from terrestrial data collection.     

Geochemical evidence for sundering of the West Mariana arc in miocene ash from the Parece Vela Basin

Glass and mineral fragments from discrete volcanic ash layers were sampled from DSDP/IPOD Site 450 in the Parece Vela Basin, Philippine Sea and analyzed by electron microprobe. The ashes are interpreted as eruptive products of the adjacent West Mariana arc system between 25 and 14 Ma B.P., and have compositions between basaltic andesite and rhyolite, and rarely, boninite. ‘Continuous’ chemical trends appear to reflect mixing of mafic and silicic magmas. ‘Discontinuous’ trends between these end-members are relatively few, and are consistent with ‘liquid lines’ produced by fractional crystallization. Andesitic tephra become progressively richer in MgO and CaO through the middle Miocene, while boninite appears towards the end of the sequence, between 14 and 15 Ma B.P. Coeval rhyolitic glasses become richer in K₂O and Na₂O, with maximum concentrations at about 15 Ma B.P. Chronologic changes in fractionation type and composition of parent magmas are interpreted to reflect the subaerial volcanic evolution of the West Mariana arc. The appearance of boninite is believed to signal early stages of arc sundering, and corresponds temporally with regional uplift of the sea floor above the carbonate compensation depth, precursor to a new pulse of back-arc spreading.     

Distribution and formation of rock varnish in southern Tunisia

Field observations, chemical analysis, electron and light microscopy and radiolabelling experiments provide information on the characteristics, formation and distribution of Fe and Mn rock varnishes in southern Tunisia. Unstable rocks are not surface-coated, but when broken they commonly reveal internal microbial solution fronts. Stable rocks are coated in Fe, and more rarely Mn, rock varnishes. Radiolabelling indicates the presence of many respiring microbes on both Fe and Mn varnishes. Microscopy shows fungi and bacteria, both on the Fe varnishes and within the rock. Only rare, microcolonial fungi occur on Mn varnishes, suggesting that the microbes are within or beneath the varnish. The abundance of microorganisms supports a biogenic origin for rock varnishes. Different microbial communities appear to be involved in Fe and Mn varnish formation. Microbes appear to live beneath the surface of unstable rocks but coat stable rocks which cannot be penetrated, apparently to avoid u.v. light and desiccation. This explains the concentration of elements that form u.v. opaque minerals and clays. The origin of these elements is external to the substrate. These results suggest that rock varnish dating and paleoenvironmental techniques can be applied in southern Tunisia.     

Arsenic Management Through Well Modification and Simulation

Arsenic concentrations can be managed with a relatively simple strategy of grouting instead of completely destroying a selected interval of well. The strategy of selective grouting was investigated in Antelope Valley, California, where groundwater supplies most of the water demand. Naturally occurring arsenic typically exceeds concentrations of 10 µg/L in the water produced from these long-screened wells. The vertical distributions of arsenic concentrations in intervals of the aquifer contributing water to selected supply wells were characterized with depth-dependent water-quality sampling and flow logs. Arsenic primarily entered the lower half of the wells where lacustrine clay deposits and a deeper aquifer occurred. Five wells were modified by grouting from below the top of the lacustrine clay deposits to the bottom of the well, which reduced produced arsenic concentrations to less than 2 µg/L in four of the five wells. Long-term viability of well modification and reduction of specific capacity was assessed for well 4-54 with AnalyzeHOLE, which creates and uses axisymmetric, radial MODFLOW models. Two radial models were calibrated to observed borehole flows, drawdowns, and transmissivity by estimating hydraulic-conductivity values in the aquifer system and gravel packs of the original and modified wells. Lithology also constrained hydraulic-conductivity estimates as regularization observations. Well encrustations caused as much as 2 µg/L increase in simulated arsenic concentration by reducing the contribution of flow from the aquifer system above the lacustrine clay deposits. Simulated arsenic concentrations in the modified well remained less than 3 µg/L over a 20-year period.