High spatial resolution hyperspectral mapping of in-stream habitats, depths, and woody debris in mountain streams

This article evaluates the potential of 1-m resolution, 128-band hyperspectral imagery for mapping in-stream habitats, depths, and woody debris in third- to fifth-order streams in the northern Yellowstone region. Maximum likelihood supervised classification using principal component images provided overall classification accuracies for in-stream habitats (glides, riffles, pools, and eddy drop zones) ranging from 69% for third-order streams to 86% for fifth-order streams. This scale dependency of classification accuracy was probably driven by the greater proportion of transitional boundary areas in the smaller streams. Multiple regressions of measured depths (y) versus principal component scores (x₁, x₂,…, x_n) generated R² values ranging from 67% for high-gradient riffles to 99% for glides in a fifth-order reach. R² values were lower in third-order reaches, ranging from 28% for runs and glides to 94% for pools. The less accurate depth estimates obtained for smaller streams probably resulted from the relative increase in the number of mixed pixels, where a wide range of depths and surface turbulence occurred within a single pixel. Matched filter (MF) mapping of woody debris generated overall accuracies of 83% in the fifth-order Lamar River. Accuracy figures for the in-stream habitat and wood mapping may have been misleadingly low because the fine-resolution imagery captured fine-scale variations not mapped by field teams, which in turn generated false “misclassifications” when the image and field maps were compared.The use of high spatial resolution hyperspectral (HSRH) imagery for stream mapping is limited by the need for clear water to measure depth, by any tree cover obscuring the stream, and by the limited availability of airborne hyperspectral sensors. Nonetheless, the high accuracies achieved in northern Yellowstone streams indicate that HSRH imagery can be a powerful tool for watershed-wide mapping, monitoring, and modeling of streams.     

North Atlantic climate impact on early late‐glacial climate oscillations in the south‐eastern Alps inferred from a multi‐proxy lake sediment record

High‐resolution multi‐proxy analyses of a sediment core section from Lake Jeserzersee (Saissersee) in the piedmont lobe of the Würmian Drau glacier (Carinthia, Austria) reveal pronounced climatic oscillations during the early late glacial (ca. 18.5–16.0k cal a BP). Diatom‐inferred epilimnetic summer water temperatures show a close correspondence with temperature reconstructions from the adjacent Lake Längsee record and, on a hemispheric scale, with fluctuations of ice‐rafted debris in the North Atlantic. This suggests that North Atlantic climate triggered summer climate variability in the Alps during the early late glacial. The expansion of pine (mainly dwarf pine) between ca. 18.5 and 18.1k cal a BP indicates warming during the so‐called ‘Längsee oscillation’. The subsequent stepwise climate deterioration between ca. 18.1 and 17.6k cal a BP culminated in a tripartite cold period between ca. 17.6 and 16.9k cal a BP with diatom‐inferred summer water temperatures 8.5–10 °C below modern values and a shift from wet to dry conditions. This period probably coincides with a major Alpine glacier advance termed the Gschnitz stadial. A warmer interval between ca. 16.9 and 16.4k cal a BP separates this cold phase from a second, shorter and less pronounced cold phase between ca. 16.4 and 16.0k cal a BP, which is thought to correlate with the Clavadel/Senders glacier advance in the Alps. The following temperature increase, coupled with wet (probably snow‐rich) conditions, caused the expansion of birch during the transition period to the late glacial interstadial. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anatomy of individual agglutinates from a lunar highland soil

Abstract— We report results of our investigation of the relationship between values of I_s/FeO (relative concentration of nanophase Fe⁰ divided by total FeO content), glass abundance, total Fe content, and degree of digestion of <20 μm clasts for 22 individual agglutinates (250–1000 μm) from the mature Apollo 16 soil 61181 (I_s/FeO = 82 units in the <250 μm fraction). Agglutinates are important products of space weathering on the Moon, and they influence spectral observations at visible and near-IR wavelengths. Values of I_s/FeO for individual agglutinates (250–1000 μm) within this single soil span a range from 3 to 262 units which is larger than the range observed for all Apollo 16 bulk soils (～0 to 110 units). No correlation was observed between I_s/FeO and glass abundance and FeO concentrations for either agglutinitic glass or whole agglutinate particles under investigation. Our results suggest that the variation in I_s/FeO for agglutinates from a single soil may be in part a consequence of natural mixing processes on the Moon that produce highly-variable environments (with respect to surface exposure) for agglutinate formation and in part to variable kinetics of reactions in an agglutinate melt, which are influenced by a variety of factors including melt composition, temperature, impactor velocity, and quench rate. We cannot exclude but do not see evidence for other processes including addition of exotic agglutinates, micrometeoritic bombardment into compositionally-diverse microtargets, recycling of agglutinates, preferential melting of very fine soil particles, and production of nanophase Fe⁰ in amorphous rims of very fine irradiated lunar grains contributing to the observed variation of I_s/FeO.     

Nonthermal radio emission from hot star winds

Nonthermal radio emission has been observed from some of the most luminous hot star winds. It is understood to be synchrotron radiation of the relativistic electrons in the winds. To understand how the electrons are accelerated to such high energies and to correctly explain the observed radio flux and spectra require an exhaustive investigation of all the relevant physical processes involved and possibly point to a complex wind structure. In this paper we discuss the logical path toward a comprehensive model of the nonthermal radio emission from hot star winds. Based on the available observational data and fundamental theoretical considerations, we found that the only physically viable and self-consistent scenario is:the nonthermal radio emission is synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons the electrons are accelerated by shocks via the first-order Fermi mechanism the acceleration has to be in situ in the radio emitting region the shocks formed at the base of the winds have to propagate to beyond the radio photosphere).     

Radiant flux as a guide to relative seismic efficiency

The parameters “radiant flux” (energy radiated per unit area of an earthquake fault in unit time) and “radiant flux per unit displacement” reflect the power dissipated on a fault during slip. Values for moderate-to-large earthquakes range over two orders of magnitude, implying considerable variations in seismic efficiency, even for events of similar magnitude occurring on faults of the same type.     

Geomorphic effects of rural-to-urban land use conversion on three streams in the Central Redbed Plains of Oklahoma

This research evaluates the impact of rural-to-urban land use conversion on channel morphology and riparian vegetation for three streams in the Central Redbed Plains geomorphic province (central Great Plains ecoregion) of Oklahoma. The Deep Fork Creek watershed is largely urbanized; the Skeleton Creek watershed is largely rural; and the Stillwater Creek watershed is experiencing a rapid transition from rural to urban land cover. Each channel was divided into reaches based on tributary junctions, sinuosity, and slope. Field surveys were conducted at transects in a total of 90 reaches, including measurements of channel units, channel cross-section at bankfull stage, and riparian vegetation. Historical aerial photographs were available for only Stillwater Creek watershed, which were used to document land cover in this watershed, especially changes in the extent of urban areas (impervious cover).The three streams have very low gradients (< 0.001), width-to-depth ratios < 10, and cohesive channel banks, but have incised into red Permian shales and sandstone. The riparian vegetation is dominated by cottonwoods, ash, and elm trees that provide a dense root mat on stream banks where the riparian vegetation is intact. Channels increased in width and depth in the downstream direction as is normally expected, but the substrate materials and channel units remained unchanged. Statistical analyses demonstrated that urbanization did not explain spatial patterns of changes in any variables. These three channels in the central Redbed Plains are responding as flumes during peak flows, funneling runoff and the wash-load sediment downstream in major runoff events without any effect on channel dimensions. Therefore, local geological conditions (similar bedrock, cohesive substrates and similar riparian vegetation) are mitigating the effects of urbanization.