Capture Versus Capture Zones: Clarifying Terminology Related to Sources of Water to Wells

The term capture, related to the source of water derived from wells, has been used in two distinct yet related contexts by the hydrologic community. The first is a water‐budget context, in which capture refers to decreases in the rates of groundwater outflow and (or) increases in the rates of recharge along head‐dependent boundaries of an aquifer in response to pumping. The second is a transport context, in which capture zone refers to the specific flowpaths that define the three‐dimensional, volumetric portion of a groundwater flow field that discharges to a well. A closely related issue that has become associated with the source of water to wells is streamflow depletion, which refers to the reduction in streamflow caused by pumping, and is a type of capture. Rates of capture and streamflow depletion are calculated by use of water‐budget analyses, most often with groundwater‐flow models. Transport models, particularly particle‐tracking methods, are used to determine capture zones to wells. In general, however, transport methods are not useful for quantifying actual or potential streamflow depletion or other types of capture along aquifer boundaries. To clarify the sometimes subtle differences among these terms, we describe the processes and relations among capture, capture zones, and streamflow depletion, and provide proposed terminology to distinguish among them.     

Behaviour of hatchery‐reared and wild‐caught 4th and 5th stage American lobsters,Homarus americanus

Behavioural deficiencies in 4th and 5th stage hatchery‐reared lobsters were examined using time budget analysis and predator trials. Hatchery‐reared 4th stage lobsters were found to behave differently than wild‐caught lobsters and differences existed between hatchery‐reared lobsters from different sources. Local hatchery‐reared 4th stage lobsters spent less time on shelter and suffered higher predator rates in laboratory trials than both wild‐caught 4th stage and lobsters reared in a hatchery in Maine. Fifth stage hatchery‐reared lobsters spent significantly more time in shelter than their wild‐caught counterparts. These differences may be attributable to the lack of development of proper predator‐avoidance behaviour and need to be understood and corrected to maximise the effect of enhancement projects.     

A Practical Measurement Strategy to Estimate Nonlinear Chlorinated Solvent Sorption in Low foc Sediments

In this study, we tested a practical strategy useful for accurate chlorinated volatile organic compound (cVOC) sorption prediction. Corresponding to the feature of the superposition of adsorption due to thermally altered carbonaceous matter (TACM) with organic carbon‐water partitioning, a nonlinear Freundlich sorption isotherm covering a wide range of aqueous concentrations was defined by equilibrium sorption measurement at one or a few low concentration points with extrapolation to the empirical organic carbon‐water partition coefficient (K_oc,e) near compound solubility. We applied this approach to obtain perchloroethene equilibrium sorption isotherm parameters for TACM‐containing glacial sand and gravel subsoil samples from a field site in New York. Sorption and associated K_oc,c applicable to low (5–500 µg/L) and high (>100,000 µg/L) aqueous concentrations were determined in batch experiments. (The K_oc,c is the organic carbon‐normalized sorption partition coefficient corresponding to aqueous concentration C_w.) The K_oc,c measurements at low concentration (~5 µg/L) were 6 to 34 times greater than the K_oc,e. The importance of this type of data is illustrated through presentation of its substantial impact on the site remedy. In so doing, we provide an approach that is broadly applicable to cVOC field sites with similar circumstances (low carbon content glacial sand and gravel with TACM).     

Buried and Submerged Greek Archaeological Coastal Structures and Artifacts as Gauges to Measure Late Holocene Seafloor Subsidence off Calabria,Italy

This synthesis integrates recently acquired archaeological and geological data with earlier documented observations to shed light on the subsidence of ancient Greek coastal facilities in southern Italy. These are now positioned between former shorelines and inner shelf sectors at five Calabrian margin localities. Submergence of coastal to inner shelf facilities has resulted in part from sea‐level rise by about 2 m associated with glacio‐hydro‐isostatic factors since archaic to classic Greek time. This phenomenon alone, however, does not explain the wide variation of measured subsidence rates from site‐to‐site. The marked lowering of coastal site substrates by seismo‐tectonic activity (including extensional fault motion), stratal readjustments at depth, and compaction of underlying sediment sequences is significant. Four of the subsided facilities are positioned near emerged Calabrian areas where prevailing Holocene average annual land uplift rates range to ˜1.0 mm/yr; at the fifth, near Hipponion, terrains have risen by nearly 2 mm/yr. In marked contrast, submerged and/or buried structures record the following late Holocene long‐term average rates of coastal margin subsidence: Sybaris‐Thuri on the Taranto Gulf margin (˜0.5–1.0 mm/yr); Hipponion‐Vibo Valentia along the Tyrrhenian coast (˜0.8 to ˜3.2 mm/yr); and Locri‐Epizefiri, Kaulonia, and Capo Colonna on Calabria's Ionian margin (˜1.6, ˜1.6–2.4, and ˜4.0 mm/yr, respectively). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Composition and petrology of HED polymict breccias: The regolith of (4) Vesta

We have done petrologic and compositional studies on a suite of polymict eucrites and howardites to better understand regolith processes on their parent asteroid, which we accept is (4) Vesta. Taking into account noble gas results from companion studies, we interpret five howardites to represent breccias assembled from the true regolith: Elephant Moraine (EET) 87513, Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95535, GRO 95602, Lewis Cliff (LEW) 85313, and Meteorite Hills (MET) 00423. We suggest that EET 87503 is paired with EET 87513, and thus is also regolithic. Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 02066 is dominated by melt‐matrix clasts, which may have been formed from true regolith by impact melting. These meteorites display a range in eucrite:diogenite mixing ratio from 55:45 to 76:24. There is no correlation between degree of regolith character and Ni content. The Ni contents of howardite, eucrite, and diogenites (HEDs) are mostly controlled by the distribution of coarse chondritic clasts and metal grains, which in some cases resulted from individual, low‐velocity accretion events, rather than extensive regolith gardening. Trace element compositions indicate that the mafic component of HED polymict breccias is mostly basalt similar to main‐group eucrites; Stannern‐trend basaltic debris is less common. Pyroxene compositions show that some trace element‐rich howardites contain abundant debris from evolved basalts, and that cumulate gabbro debris is present in some breccias. The scale of heterogeneity varies considerably; regolithic howardite EET 87513 is more homogeneous than fragmental howardite Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 97001. Individual samples of a given howardite can have different compositions even at roughly 5 g masses, indicating that obtaining representative meteorite compositions requires multiple or large samples.     

Middle-Late Alpine thermotectonic evolution of the southern Rhodope Massif,Greece

Abstract

The transition from the Alpine tectonic assembly to the exhumation of the units in the Rhodope metamorphic province in northernmost Greece has been refined by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laserprobe mica analyses. Preservation of pre-Alpine (~ 280 Ma and 145 Ma) muscovite cooling ages at the western margin of the Rhodope indicate that subsequent events failed to reset the argon system thermally in white mica in the outcropping basement of this region. The central and eastern Rhodope are characterized by white mica cooling ages of 40–35 Ma with ages gradually decreasing to ca. 15 Ma near the eastern margin of the Strymon Valley. The Eo-Oligocene ages reflect the regional exhumation of the metamorphosed units to shallow crustal levels, with corresponding temperatures below ca. 350 °C, by 40–35 Ma. The younger cooling ages are attributed to the initiation and subsequent operation of the Strymon-Thasos detachment system since ca. 30 Ma. This study provides a crucial contribution to future regional tectonic models for the Rhodope region as it recognizes an early stage of development of the Strymon-Thasos detachment system, and has constrained the regional exhumation of the Rhodope metamorphic province since 40 Ma indicating that the regionally observed amphibolite facies metamorphism had terminated by this time. © 2000 Editions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Lithium isotope systematics of lavas from the Cook–Austral Islands: Constraints on the origin of HIMU mantle

Radiogenic isotope variations in lavas from the Cook–Austral volcanic chain have delineated three distinct mantle sources: a HIMU component, a depleted component (DM), and an enriched component (EM). To better constrain the mantle sources for South Pacific hot spot volcanism, we determined lithium isotopic compositions of lavas from Raivavae, Rapa, Mangaia and Tubuai of the volcanic chain. The study includes whole rock and mineral analyses. In general, δ⁷Li of most olivines resemble bulk rock composition whereas clinopyroxenes are variably lighter. This implies that clinopyroxene is more susceptible to diffusion-induced fractionation, in agreement with previous studies. Olivine δ⁷Li values span a narrower range than whole rock values, and do not extend to the very heavy compositions previously reported in HIMU bulk lavas. This discrepancy likely reflects alteration of bulk lavas, and suggests that Li-isotope analyses of bulk lavas should be interpreted with caution. Olivines from HIMU lavas have heavy δ⁷Li values (up to 6.2‰), and extend beyond the range reported for fresh MORB. Correlations between Li-isotopes and radiogenic isotopes suggest that the heavy δ⁷Li values in HIMU olivines are a source characteristic and not the result of post-magmatic alteration. Although the Li-isotope composition of recycled, dehydrated oceanic crust is currently under debate, our results suggest that HIMU lavas derive from a source containing recycled dehydrated oceanic crust, and that the “heavy” Li-isotope signature of altered oceanic crust is partially preserved during passage through the subduction factory.     

Short contribution: Buried Canopic channel identified near Egypt's Nile delta coast with radar (SRTM) imagery

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, with ground‐based geologic investigations, define the geographic position of the relict Canopic channel in Egypt's NW Nile delta. Two sinuous channel segments south of Abu Qir Bay are observed on a radar image: a more sinuous trace (36 km in length) west of Idku lagoon, and an eastern one (˜20 km), reaching the lagoon's southeast corner. Sediment cores recovered along channel traces show sand‐rich deposits (to > 4 m thick) beneath the surface, in contrast with silty muds in areas away from channels. Historic and archaeological findings indicate that the Ptolemaic Roman city of Schedia once lay directly along the Canopic that channeled water from the 3rd to 2nd centuries B.C. until ˜5th century A.D., after which Nile water was displaced to the east via Bolbitic and, later, Rosetta branches. Identification of buried, but well‐defined, Canopic channels provides baselines for renewed archaeological exploration in this delta sector. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.