Mapping of benthic enrichment patterns in Narragansett Bay,Rhode Island

A synoptic reconnaissance survey was performed over a five-day period in August 1988 to assess benthic habitat quality throughout Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, using REMOTS^® sediment-profile photography and analysis in combination with measurements of the levels ofClostridium perfringens spores (a fecal indicator) in sediments. Three main areas of degraded benthic habitat quality related to either excessive organic enrichment or physical disturbance were identified based solely on the REMOTS^® analysis: the Providence River Reach, Greenwich Bay and its associated coves and harbors, and an area located along the southwest side of Prudence Island. Sediments at many stations in these areas exhibited shallow apparent redox-potential discontinuity (RPD) depths, high apparent oxygen demand, and low-order benthic successional stages. ElevatedClostridium perfringens spore counts in surface sediments were attributed to inputs from wastewater treatment facilities. The highest spore counts occurred at the head of the bay, where wastewater treatment discharges and associated combined sewer overflows are numerous. Using data from the REMOTS^® analysis and the sediment inventory ofC. perfringens spores, a distinction was made between organic enrichment of the bottom from sewage, versus nonsewage enrichment or physical disturbance. The combination of techniques employed in this investigation could be used to design more efficient monitoring programs to assess eutrophication effects in estuaries and determine the effectiveness of regulatory or management initiatives to reduce organic overenrichment of benthic habitats.     

Computation of 5-day temperature normals in western Europe and the Mediterranean area

Summary UsingCraddock's method of representing the annual temperature variation by a two-term harmonic form fitted to monthly means, the harmonic coefficients of 63 stations in western Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the 5-day normals for 24 Mediterranean stations, were computed and tabulated. In addition, some of the harmonic coefficients were charted and isoplethed, showing very distinctly the influence of continentality and topography. These charts, together withCraddock's charts for northern and northwestern Europe, provide fairly complete coverage of Europe and the Mediterranean area.This paper was prepared in the offices of the Technical Support Division of the 2d Weather Wing, United States Air Force, as a matter of routine business. The information contained herein was presented at the 5th Meeting of the Italian Society of Geophysics and Meteorology by Dr.Ingrid Weiss (Genoa: 23–25 April 1957). Since the paper is of general interest to all meteorologists of the Mediterranean area, it is published here with the permission of the originating agency as «Mémoire No. 3 du Centre International de Recherches sur la Météorologie de la Méditerranée (CIRMM)».     

Radar observations at 3.5 and 12.6 cm wavelength of asteroid 433 Eros

A study of the asteroid 433 Eros using 3.5 and 12.6 cm radar waves indicates that the surface is very much rougher than any planetary or lunar surface observed by this method. A surface completely covered with sharp edges, pits, subsurface holes, or embedded chunks with scale sizes on the order of our wavelengths seems to be indicated. A model based on a rough rotating triaxial ellipsoid having radii in the rotation equator of 18.6 and 7.9 km agrees well with our data, although a strong wobble in the apparent center frequency of the spectra as rotation progresses indicates that one side may be more reflective than the other, or more likely, that the projected axis of rotation does not equally divide the projected area.     

Selenodetic control derived from Apollo metric photography

The data reduction of the metric photography from the Apollo missions is progressing in an orderly fashion within the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA). The data from all three Apollo missions is ultimately to be utilized for development of a lunar control network covering approximately 20% of the lunar surface. In this paper, the status of the data reduction from the Apollo 15 mission is summarized. More specifically, the evaluation of system parameters, proposed control generation plan, and the anticipated characteristics of the network are discussed.Communication presented at the Conference on Lunar Dynamics and Observational Coordinate Systems, held January 15–17, 1973, at the Lunar Science Institute, Houston, Tex., U.S.A.     

Determinants of expansion for<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmites australis</Emphasis>, common reed,in natural and impacted coastal marshes

The rapid spread ofPhragmites australis in the coastal marshes of the Northeastern United States has been dramatic and noteworthy in that this native species appears to have gained competitive advantage across a broad range of habitats, from tidal salt marshes to freshwater wetlands. Concomitant with the spread has been a variety of human activities associated with coastal development as well as the displacement of nativeP. australis with aggressive European genotypes. This paper reviews the impacts caused by pure stands ofP. australis on the structure and functions of tidal marshes. To assess the determinants ofP. australis expansion, the physiological tolerance and competitive abilities of this species were examined using a field experiment.P. australis was planted in open tubes paired withSpartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, Juncus gerardii, Lythrum salicaria, andTypha angustifolia in low, medium, and high elevations at mesohaline (14‰), intermediate (18‰), and salt (23‰) marsh locations. Assessment of the physiological tolerance ofP. australis to conditions in tidal brackish and salt marshes indicated this plant is well suited to colonize creek banks as well as upper marsh edges. The competitive ability ofP. australis indicated it was a robust competitor relative to typical salt marsh plants. These results were not surprising since they agreed with field observations by other researchers and fit within current competition models throught to structure plant distribution within tidal marshes. Aspects ofP. australis expansion indicate superior competitive abilities based on attributes that fall outside the typical salt marsh or plant competition models. The alignment of some attributes with human impacts to coastal marshes provides a partial explanation of how this plant competes so well. To curb the spread of this invasive genotype, careful attention needs to be paid to human activities that affect certain marsh functions. Current infestations in tidal marshes should serve as a sentinel to indicate where human actions are likely promoting the invasion (e.g., through hydrologic impacts) and improved management is needed to sustain native plant assemblages (e.g., prohibit filling along margins).     

Variation in surface turbulence and the gas transfer velocity over a tidal cycle in a macro-tidal estuary

The gradient flux technique, which measures the gas transfer velocity (k), and new observational techniques that probe turbulence in the aqueous surface boundary layers were conducted over a tidal cycle in the Plum Island Sound, Massachusetts. Efforts were aimed at testing new methods in an estuarine system and to determine if turbulence created by tidal velocity can be responsible for the short-term variability ink. Measurements were made during a low wind day, at a site with tidal excursions of 2.7 m and a range in tidal velocity of nearly 1 m s⁻¹. Estimates ofk using the gradient flux technique were made simultaneously with the Controlled Flux Technique (CFT), infrared imagery, and high-resolution turbulence measurements, which measure the surface renewal rate, turbulent scales, and the turbulent dissipation rate, respectively. All measurements were conducted from a small mobile catamaran that minimizes air- and water-side flow distortions. Infrared imagery showed considerable variability in the turbulent scales that affect air-water gas exchange. These measurements were consistent with variation in the surface renewal rate (range 0.02 to 2 s⁻¹), the turbulent dissipation rate (range 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁵ W kg⁻¹), andk (range 2.2 to 12.0 cm hr⁻¹). During this low wind day, all variables were shown to correlate with tidal speed. Taken collectively our results indicate the promise of these methods for determining short-term variability in gas transfer and near surface turbulence in estuaries and demonstrate that turbulent transport associated with tidal velocity is a potentially important factor with respect to gas exchange in coastal systems.     

Radar Observations of Asteroid 3908 Nyx

We report Doppler-only (cw) radar observations of basaltic near-Earth asteroid 3908 Nyx obtained at Arecibo and Goldstone in September and October of 1988. The circular polarization ratio of 0.75±0.03 exceeds ∼90% of those reported among radar-detected near-Earth asteroids and it implies an extremely rough near-surface at centimeter-to-decimeter spatial scales. Echo power spectra over narrow longitudinal intervals show a central dip indicative of at least one significant concavity. Inversion of cw spectra yields two statistically indistinguishable shape models that have similar shapes and dimensions but pole directions that differ by ∼100°. We adopt one as our working model and explore its implications. It has an effective diameter of 1.0±0.15 km and radar and visual geometric albedos of 0.15±0.075 and 0.16^+0.08_−0.05. The visual albedo supports the interpretation by D. P. Cruikshank et al. (1991, Icarus89, 1-13) that Nyx has a thermal inertia consistent with that of bare rock. The model is irregular, modestly asymmetric, and topographically rugged.     

Using paleoclimate proxy-data to select optimal realisations in an ensemble of simulations of the climate of the past millennium

We present and describe in detail the advantages and limitations of a technique that combines in an optimal way model results and proxy-data time series in order to obtain states of the climate system consistent with model physics, reconstruction of past radiative forcing and proxy records. To achieve this goal, we select among an ensemble of simulations covering the last millennium performed with a low-resolution 3-D climate model the ones that minimise a cost function. This cost function measures the misfit between model results and proxy records. In the framework of the tests performed here, an ensemble of 30 to 40 simulations appears sufficient to reach reasonable correlations between model results and reconstructions, in configurations for which a small amount of data is available as well as in data-rich areas. Preliminary applications of the technique show that it can be used to provide reconstructions of past large-scale temperature changes, complementary to the ones obtained by statistical methods. Furthermore, as model results include a representation of atmospheric and oceanic circulations, it can be used to provide insights into some amplification mechanisms responsible for past temperature changes. On the other hand, if the number of proxy records is too low, it could not be used to provide reconstructions of past changes at a regional scale.     

Facies characteristics, morphology and depositional models of clay-slide deposits in terraced fjord valleys, Norway

Many bedrock-confined fjord valleys along the Norwegian coast contain thick accumulations of fine-grained sediments that were deposited during and after the last deglaciation. The deposits gradually emerged above sea level due to glacioisostatic uplift, and fjord marine sedimentation was gradually followed by shallow marine and fluvial processes. During emergence terraces and river-cut slopes were formed in the valleys. Subsequent leaching of salt ions from the pore water in the marine deposits by groundwater has led to the development of quick clay. The deposits are subject to river erosion and destructive landslides involving quick clay. Most slides are of prehistoric age. Others are known from modern observations as well as from historic records.Landforms such as distinct slide scars or the hummocky terrain of slide deposits may be strongly modified by secondary processes. In addition, deposits from the most liquid part of quick clay slides may have planar surfaces. Clay-slide deposits on a fluvial or deltaic terrace, therefore, are not always easily recognized from morphology, and only exposures may reveal their internal structures and allow them to be distinguished from overbank flood sediments. Detailed sedimentological work shows that slide deposits in such setting consist of distinct facies containing reworked marine sediments. We propose three facies successions of clay-slide deposits that form a continuum. The dominant components of these succession types are: slightly deformed blocks of laminated clay and silt (A), highly deformed clay and silt with gravel clasts (B) and massive to stratified clay and silt with scattered clasts (C). We suggest that in many cases a basal muddy diamicton is a characteristic, and possibly diagnostic feature. Processes and depositional models are interpreted from the different succession types. The results may be relevant for identifying clay-slide deposits elsewhere and may be useful during general mapping of fjord marine deposits and characterization of slide-prone areas as well as during identification of prehistoric slides.