‘Paleoenvironmental study of modern charcoal making activity on forest soils in the Northern Vosges Mountains (Bitche,France): A multidisciplinary study of two remaining charcoal platforms and associated soils sequences’

This multidisciplinary study aims to decipher the impact of ancient charcoal production on past and present-day soils in the northern Vosges Mountains. Soil observations in the field and laboratory were complemented by charcoal and phytolith studies on large thin sections, molecular analyses of organic pollutants, and phytolith analysis on bulk samples. The complex technosol platform records an ancient natural soil sequence buried by a human-made platform on which charcoal accumulated. The current upslope soil is an entic Podzol. Palaeoecological data collected in the buried soil are reliable owing to low bioactivity due to soil acidity. Podzolisation predated the platform construction. The presence of ashes induced low soil alkalisation developed in the charcoal hearth remains and appears to have generated the migration of subsequent iron/clay/organic bands throughout the platform sediment and the buried soil. Charcoal studied in thin sections revealed mainly Quercus and Fagus taxa. Phytolith studies suggest that a less dense or degraded forest preceded platform construction, probably due to former woodland coppicing or earlier disorganised wood gathering. The specific distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons sorbed on charcoal has persisted in soils throughout centuries, but we have no evidence that charcoal-making activities contributed to diffuse global pollution.     

Forecasting errors: The importance of the decision-making context

This article demonstrates the importance of context on forecast errors. It de J.scribes the development of an unrealistic transportation planning forecast for Denver, Colorado, noting its influence on air quality planning for Denver. The importance of two contextual features, procedural rationality and conflict of interest, to the introduction of error is discussed. The case described implies that different decision-making contexts define different rules of rationality, and substantive rationality may not fit the rules. The type of context and not necessarily a code of ethics will determine this.     

Evolutionary events of Cainozoic Ostracoda of western Philippine Sea and paleoceanographical implications

The Oligocene ostracod fauna of IISDP Site 292 of the western Philippine Sea was marked by high density, diversity and origination, probably reflecting a favorable period for deep-sea Ostraroda; while the sharp decrease in dtmsity and diversity as well as the repeatedly occurring vxtinctions in thc. Neogene may indicate the deterioration in bottom-water environmcnts at that tlme. Five rriajor faunal changes have been recognized in terms of density, diversity and evolutionary artivity (origination and extinction), occurring in the earliest Oligocene (PI8), mid-Oligocene (P21), earliest Miocene (N4), early Middle Miocene (N8) and late Pliocene (N21). respectively. These changes in ostracod faunas are suggested to represent short-term events related to global paleoceanographical changes and to record the Cainozoic cooling history of the West Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea deep-water. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49676287).     

A framework for the evaluation of ground motion selection and modification procedures

This study develops a framework to evaluate ground motion selection and modification (GMSM) procedures. The context is probabilistic seismic demand analysis, where response history analyses of a given structure, using ground motions determined by a GMSM procedure, are performed in order to estimate the seismic demand hazard curve (SDHC) for the structure at a given site. Currently, a GMSM procedure is evaluated in this context by comparing several resulting estimates of the SDHC, each derived from a different definition of the conditioning intensity measure (IM). Using a simple case study, we demonstrate that conclusions from such an approach are not always definitive; therefore, an alternative approach is desirable. In the alternative proposed herein, all estimates of the SDHC from GMSM procedures are compared against a benchmark SDHC, under a common set of ground motion information. This benchmark SDHC is determined by incorporating a prediction model for the seismic demand into the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis calculations. To develop an understanding of why one GMSM procedure may provide more accurate estimates of the SDHC than another procedure, we identify the role of ‘IM sufficiency’ in the relationship between (i) bias in the SDHC estimate and (ii) ‘hazard consistency’ of the corresponding ground motions obtained from a GMSM procedure. Finally, we provide examples of how misleading conclusions may potentially be obtained from erroneous implementations of the proposed framework. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The variation and controls of mean transit times in Australian headwater catchments

Determining mean transit times in headwater catchments is critical for understanding catchment functioning and understanding their responses to changes in landuse or climate. Determining whether mean transit times (MTTs) correlate with drainage density, slope angle, area, or land cover permits a better understanding of the controls on water flow through catchments and allows first-order predictions of MTTs in other catchments to be made. This study assesses whether there are identifiable controls on MTTs determined using ³H in headwater catchments of southeast Australia. Despite MTTs at baseflow varying from a few years to >100 years, it was difficult to predict MTTs using single or groups of readily-measured catchment attributes. The lack of readily-identifiable correlations hampers the prediction of MTTs in adjacent catchments even where these have similar geology, land use, and topography. The long MTTs of the Australian headwater catchments are probably in part due to the catchments having high storage volumes in deeply-weathered regolith, combined with low recharge rates due to high evapotranspiration. However, the difficulty in estimating storage volumes at the catchment scale hampers the use of this parameter to estimate MTTs. The runoff coefficient (the fraction of rainfall exported via the stream) is probably also controlled by evapotranspiration and recharge rates. Correlations between the runoff coefficient and MTTs in individual catchments allow predictions of MTTs in nearby catchments to be made. MTTs are shorter in high rainfall periods as the catchments wet up and shallow water stores are mobilized. Despite the contribution of younger water, the major ion geochemistry in individual catchments commonly does not correlate with MTTs, probably reflecting heterogeneous reactions and varying degrees of evapotranspiration. Documenting MTTs in catchments with high storage volumes and/or low recharge rates elsewhere is important for understanding MTTs in diverse environments.     

Estimating suspended sediment concentrations from turbidity measurements and the calibration problem

In situ turbidity meters are being increasingly used to generate continuous records of suspended sediment concentration in rivers. However, the usefulness of the information obtained depends heavily on the existence of a close relationship between fluctuations in suspended sediment concentration and turbidity and the calibration procedure that relates suspended sediment concentration to the turbidity meter's signal. This study assesses the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity for a small (1·19 km²) rural catchment in southern Brazil and evaluates two calibration methods by comparing the estimates of suspended sediment concentration obtained from the calibrated turbidity readings with direct measurements obtained using a USDH 48 suspended sediment sampler. With the first calibration method, the calibration relationship is derived by relating the turbidity readings to simultaneous measurements of concentration obtained from suspended sediment samples collected from the vicinity of the turbidity probe during flood events. With the second method, the calibration is based on the readings obtained from the turbidity meter when the probe immersed in samples of known concentration prepared using soils collected from the catchment. Overall, there was a close link between fluctuations in suspended sediment concentration and turbidity in the stream at the outlet of the catchment, and the estimates of sediment concentration obtained using the first calibration method corresponded closely with the conventionally measured sediment concentrations. However, use of the second calibration method introduced appreciable errors. When the estimated sediment concentrations were compared with the measured values, the mean errors were ± 122 mg l^?1 and + 601 mg l^?1 for the first and second calibration procedures respectively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Formation of silica oncoids around geysers and hot springs at El Tatio, northern Chile

Siliceous oncoids, up to 4 cm in diameter, are common on the laterally extensive sinter aprons that surround the spectacular geysers and hot springs at El Tatio in northern Chile. Many of these complex oncoids developed close to geyser and spring vents that discharge boiling water. Internally the oncoids, which are composed of precipitated amorphous silica, are formed of complex arrays of spicules and concentric laminae as well as detrital volcanic grains. Spicular growth is dominant in most examples. The formation and growth of the spicules and concentric laminae were mediated by a microbial community which included filamentous microbes, mucus, and possibly bacteria. The microbes and mucus were silicified by replacement and encrustation. In some laminae the filamentous microbes lay parallel to the growth surface; in other laminae most filaments forming the thin mats were suberect. Amorphous silica precipitated between the filaments occluded porosity and commonly disguised the microbial fabric. The oncoids grew on the proximal sinter aprons around the geyser vents and hot spring pools. Most growth took place subaerially with the silica delivered to the precipitation sites by splashing water from the geysers and/or periodic shallow flooding of the discharge aprons. Unlike silica oncoids at other geothermal sites, vertical growth of oncoids that formed in some rimstone pools was not limited by water depth.