Complex spatial feedbacks of tephra redistribution,ice melt and surface roughness modulate ablation on tephra covered glaciers

Tephra fallout from the 2011 Grímsvötn eruption onto Svínafellsjökull, Iceland, created an ice‐ash landscape of a type that is rarely studied but is nevertheless common in glacio‐volcanic regions. We used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to measure ice surface topography and absorption at high spatial resolution, confirming ablation rates either reduce or increase under thick (insulating) and thin (reduced albedo) ash deposits, respectively. Fourier transform analysis of the TLS data identified that a three‐fold increase in aerodynamic roughness was attributable to an increase in larger (> 0·2 m) surface features. Moreover, TLS measurements revealed the importance of ash redistribution by meltwater in generating differential melting which modifies roughness and ash patchiness, such that the net effect of these spatial ash–ice feedbacks was to reduce ablation rates by up to 59%. The modulating effects of these previously undocumented feedbacks on ablation rates are, therefore, significant and must be correctly parameterized if ash‐covered glacier mass balances are to be predicted correctly. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A quasi-geostrophic numerical model of a rotating internally heated fluid

Abstract

A quasi-geostrophic numerical model of flow in a rotating channel is integrated under conditions typical of laboratory experiments with an internally heated annulus system. Compared to a laboratory experiment, or a full Navier-Stokes simulation, the quasi geostrophic numerical model is a simple system. It includes nonlinear interactions, dissipation via conventional parameterizations of Ekman layers and internal diffusion, and a steady forcing term which represents heating near the centre of the channel and cooling near both sides. Explicit boundary layers, cylindrical geometry effects, horizontal variations in static stability and variations in conductivity and diffusivity with temperature are all absent, and ageostrophic advection is incompletely represented. Nevertheless, over a range of parameters, flows are produced which strongly resemble those seen in the laboratory thus suggesting that the most important physical processes are represented. The numerical model is used to map out a regime diagram which includes examples of steady flows, flows with periodic time dependence (wavenumber vacillations) and flows which are irregularly time dependent.     

Eocene migmatite formation and diachronous burial revealed by petrochronology in NW Himalaya,Zanskar

In this contribution, we highlight the importance of in-situ monazite geochronology linked to P−T modelling for identification of timescales of metamorphic processes. Barrovian-type micaschists, migmatites and augengneiss from the Gumburanjun dome in the southeastern extremity of the Gianbul dome, NW Himalaya, have been studied in order to correlate the early stages of Himalayan metamorphism at different crustal levels and infer the timing of anatexis. P−T−t paths are constrained through combined pseudosection modelling and in-situ and in-mount monazite and xenotime laser ablation–split-stream inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Petrography and garnet zoning combined with pseudosection modelling show that garnet-staurolite schists record burial from ~530 to 560°C and 5.5 kbar to ~630 to 660°C and 7 kbar; staurolite-kyanite schists from ~530 to 560°C and 5 kbar to ~670 to 680°C and 7−9 kbar; and garnet-kyanite migmatites from 540−570°C and 5 kbar to ~680 to 750°C and 7−10 kbar, probably also to >750°C and >9 kbar above the muscovite stability field. The decompression paths of garnet-staurolite schists indicate cooling on decompression, while garnet rim chemistry and local sillimanite growth point to a stage of re-equilibration at ~600 to 670°C and 4−6 kbar in some of the staurolite-kyanite schists, and at ~670 to 700°C and 6 kbar in garnet-kyanite migmatites. Some of the staurolite-kyanite schists and garnet-kyanite migmatites also contain andalusite or andalusite-cordierite. Monazite and xenotime were analysed in thin sections in garnet, staurolite and kyanite, and in the matrix; and in mounts. BSE images and compositional maps of monazite (xenotime was too small) show variable internal structures from homogeneous through patchy zoning with embayed to sharp boundaries. Two groups of samples can be identified on the basis of the presence or absence of c. 44 − 37 Ma ages. The first group of samples—two garnet-staurolite schists—recorded only c. 31 − 27 Ma ages in porphyroblasts and no c. 40 Ma ages. The second group (samples of staurolite-kyanite schist, garnet-kyanite migmatites, augengneiss) have both the older, c. 44 − 37 Ma monazite ages in porphyroblasts and younger ages down to c. 22 Ma. These significantly different ranges of ages from porphyroblasts of 44−37 Ma, and 31−27 Ma, are interpreted as the duration of prograde P−T paths in Eocene and Oligocene, and indicate diachronous two-stage burial of rocks. Early migmatization occurred at 38 Ma. The c. 29 Ma is interpreted as the time when rocks from the lower and middle crustal levels were partially exhumed and came in to contact with rocks that were downgoing at this time. Localized monazite recrystallization is as young as 26−24 Ma. The youngest ages of 23−22 Ma are related to leucogranite emplacement.     

Late Holocene to Recent aragonite-cemented transgressive lag deposits in the Abu Dhabi lagoon and intertidal sabkha

Modern cemented intervals (beachrock, firmgrounds to hardgrounds and concretionary layers) form in the lagoon and intertidal sabkha of Abu Dhabi. Seafloor lithification actively occurs in open, current-swept channels in low-lying areas between ooid shoals, in the intertidal zone of the middle lagoon, some centimetres beneath the inner lagoonal seafloor (i.e. within the sediment column) and at the sediment surface the intertidal sabkha. The concept of ‘concretionary sub-hardgrounds’, i.e. laminar cementation of sediments formed within the sediment column beneath the shallow redox boundary, is introduced and discussed. Based on calibrated radiocarbon ages, seafloor lithification commenced during the Middle to Late Holocene (ca 9000 cal yr bp ), and proceeds to the present-day. Lithification occurs in the context of the actualistic relative sea-level rise shifting the coastline landward across the extremely low-angle carbonate ramp. The cemented intervals are interpreted as parasequence boundaries in the sense of ‘marine flooding surfaces’, but in most cases the sedimentary cover overlying the transgressive surface has not yet been deposited. Aragonite, (micritic) calcite and, less commonly, gypsum cements lithify the firmground/hardground intervals. Cements are described and placed into context with their depositional and marine diagenetic environments and characterized by means of scanning electron microscope petrography, cathodoluminescence microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The morphology of aragonitic cements changes from needle-shaped forms in lithified decapod burrows of the outer lagoon ooidal shoals to complex columnar, lath and platy crystals in the inner lagoon. Precipitation experiments provide first tentative evidence for the parameters that induce changes in aragonite cement morphology. Data shown here shed light on ancient, formerly aragonite-cemented seafloors, now altered to diagenetic calcites, but also document the complexity of highly dynamic near coastal depositional environments.     

Extensive deformations of rock slopes in southern Coast Mountains, southwest British Columbia, Canada

Extensive deformations of mountain slopes occur in crystalline intrusive rocks in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Typical morphological evidence of slope movement includes extensive systems of tension cracks, grabens, and antislope scarps (collectively referred to here as linears). These landforms involve displacements along penetrative joints observed in surface exposures. Kinematic tests on rock-structural data indicate that the observed patterns of linears are generally consistent with the feasible gravitational movements along the dominant discontinuities. Most sites indicate sliding as the most likely initial mode of movement, followed by or accompanied by toppling and toppling-induced sliding movements, and do not support the view that linears are the traces of active faults.     

Lunar Magma Ocean crystallization revisited: Bulk composition, early cumulate mineralogy, and the source regions of the highlands Mg-suite

Crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) has been numerically modeled and its products inferred from sample observations, but it has never been fully tested experimentally. This study is a reexamination of the LMO hypothesis by means of the first experimental simulation of lunar differentiation. Two end-member bulk Moon compositions are considered: one enriched in refractory lithophile elements relative to Earth and one with no such enrichment. A “two-stage” model of magma ocean crystallization based on geophysical constraints is simulated and features early crystal suspension and equilibrium crystallization followed by fractional crystallization of the residual magma ocean. An initially entirely molten Moon is assumed. Part 1 of this study, presented here, focuses on stage 1 of this model and considers the early cumulates formed by equilibrium crystallization, differences in mantle mineralogy resulting from different bulk Moon compositions, and implications for the source regions of the highlands Mg-suite.Refractory element enriched bulk Moon compositions produce a deep mantle that contains garnet and trace Cr-spinel in addition to low-Ca pyroxene and olivine. In contrast, compositions without refractory element enrichment produce a deep dunitic mantle with low-Ca pyroxene but without an aluminous phase. The differences in bulk composition are magnified in the residual melt; the residual LMO from the refractory element enriched composition will likely produce plagioclase and ilmenite earlier and in greater quantities. Both compositions produce Mg-rich early cumulate piles that extend from the core-mantle boundary to ∼355 km depth, if 50% equilibrium crystallization and whole Moon melting are assumed. These early LMO cumulates provide good fits for the source regions for a component of the high-Mg^∗, Ni- and Co-poor parental magmas of the Mg-suite cumulates, if certain conditions are called upon. The olivine in early LMO cumulates produced by either bulk Moon composition is far too rich in Cr to be reasonable for the source regions of the Mg-suite, meaning either core formation in the presence of S and/or C must be invoked to deplete the LMO and the crystallizing olivine in Cr, or that current estimates of the bulk lunar Cr content are too high. We infer that melts meeting the criteria of the Mg-suite parents could be produced from early LMO cumulates by solid state KREEP and plagioclase hybridization near the base of the crust and subsequent partial melting. Additionally, we propose a revised model for Mg-suite petrogenesis.     

Mercury in the Southern Ocean

We present here the first mercury speciation study in the water column of the Southern Ocean, using a high-resolution south-to-north section (27 stations from 65.50°S to 44.00°S) with up to 15 depths (0-4440 m) between Antarctica and Tasmania (Australia) along the 140°E meridian. In addition, in order to explore the role of sea ice in Hg cycling, a study of mercury speciation in the “snow-sea ice-seawater” continuum was conducted at a coastal site, near the Australian Casey station (66.40°S; 101.14°E). In the open ocean waters, total Hg (Hg_T) concentrations varied from 0.63 to 2.76 pmol L⁻¹ with “transient-type” vertical profiles and a latitudinal distribution suggesting an atmospheric mercury source south of the Southern Polar Front (SPF) and a surface removal north of the Subantartic Front (SAF). Slightly higher mean Hg_T concentrations (1.35 ± 0.39 pmol L⁻¹) were measured in Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) compared to Antarctic Intermediate water (AAIW) (1.15 ± 0.22 pmol L⁻¹). Labile Hg (Hg_R) concentrations varied from 0.01 to 2.28 pmol L⁻¹, with a distribution showing that the Hg_T enrichment south of the SPF consisted mainly of Hg_R (67 ± 23%), whereas, in contrast, the percentage was half that in surface waters north of PFZ (33 ± 23%). Methylated mercury species (MeHg_T) concentrations ranged from 0.02 to 0.86 pmol L⁻¹. All vertical MeHg_T profiles exhibited roughly the same pattern, with low concentrations observed in the surface layer and increasing concentrations with depth up to an intermediate depth maximum. As for Hg_T, low mean MeHg_T concentrations were associated with AAIW, and higher ones with AABW. The maximum of MeHg_T concentration at each station was systematically observed within the oxygen minimum zone, with a statistically significant MeHg_Tvs Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU) relationship (p < 0.001). The proportion of Hg_T as methylated species was lower than 5% in the surface waters, around 50% in deep waters below 1000 m, reaching a maximum of 78% south of the SPF. At Casey coastal station Hg_T and Hg_R concentrations found in the “snow-sea ice-seawater” continuum were one order of magnitude higher than those measured in open ocean waters. The distribution of Hg_T there suggests an atmospheric Hg deposition with snow and a fractionation process during sea ice formation, which excludes Hg from the ice with a parallel Hg enrichment of brine, probably concurring with the Hg enrichment of AABW observed in the open ocean waters. Contrastingly, MeHg_T concentrations in the sea ice environment were in the same range as in the open ocean waters, remaining below 0.45 pmol L⁻¹. The MeHg_T vertical profile through the continuum suggests different sources, including atmosphere, seawater and methylation in basal ice. Whereas Hg_T concentrations in the water samples collected between the Antarctic continent and Tasmania are comparable to recent measurements made in the other parts of the World Ocean (e.g., Soerensen et al., 2010), the Hg species distribution suggests distinct features in the Southern Ocean Hg cycle: (i) a net atmospheric Hg deposition on surface water near the ice edge, (ii) the Hg enrichment in brine during sea ice formation, and (iii) a net methylation of Hg south of the SPF.     

Assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and precipitation change on the surficial aquifer in the low-lying coastal alluvial plains and barrier islands,east-central Florida (USA)

A three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow and salinity transport model is implemented using the SEAWAT code to quantify the spatial variation of water-table depth and salinity of the surficial aquifer in Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral Island in east-central Florida (USA) under steady-state 2010 hydrologic and hydrogeologic conditions. The developed model is referred to as the ‘reference’ model and calibrated against field-measured groundwater levels and a map of land use and land cover. Then, five prediction/projection models are developed based on modification of the boundary conditions of the calibrated ‘reference’ model to quantify climate change impacts under various scenarios of sea-level rise and precipitation change projected to 2050. Model results indicate that west Merritt Island will encounter lowland inundation and saltwater intrusion due to its low elevation and flat topography, while climate change impacts on Cape Canaveral Island and east Merritt Island are not significant. The SEAWAT models developed for this study are useful and effective tools for water resources management, land use planning, and climate-change adaptation decision-making in these and other low-lying coastal alluvial plains and barrier island systems.     

Variation in mantle lithology and composition beneath the Ngao Bilta volcano,Adamawa Massif,Cameroon volcanic line,West-central Africa

Mantle peridotites entrained as xenoliths in the lavas of Ngao Bilta in the eastern branch of the continental Cameroon Line were examined to constrain mantle processes and the origin and nature of melts that have modified the upper mantle beneath the Cameroon Line.The xenoliths consist mainly of lherzolite with subordinate harzburgite and dunite.They commonly contain olivine,orthopyroxene,clinopyroxene and spinel although the dunite is spinel-free.Amphibole is an essential constituent in the lherzolites.Mineral chemistry differs between the three types of peridotite:olivines have usual mantle-like Mg#of around 90 in lherzolites,but follow a trend of decreasing Mg#(to 82)and NiO(to 0.06 wt.%)that is continuous in the dunites.Lherzolites also contain orthopyroxenes and/or clinopyroxenes with low-Mg#,indicating a reaction that removes Opx and introduces Cpx,olivine,amphibole and spinel.This is attributed to reaction with a silica-undersaturated silicate melt such as nephelinite or basanite,which originated as a low-degree melt from a depleted source as indicated by low Al2O3 and Na2O in Cpx and high Na2O/K2O in amphibole.Thermobarometric estimates place the xenoliths at pressures of 11–15 kbar(35–50 km)and temperatures of 863–957
C,along a dynamic rift geotherm and shallower than the region where carbonate melts may occur.The melt/rock reactions exhibited by the Ngao Bilta xenoliths are consistent with their peripheral position in the eastern branch of the Cameroon Volcanic Line in an area of thinned crust and lithosphere beneath the Adamawa Uplift.     

Contrasting definitions for the term ‘karst aquifer’

It is generally considered that karst aquifers have distinctly different properties from other bedrock aquifers. A search of the literature found five definitions that have been proposed to differentiate karst aquifers from non-karstic aquifers. The five definitions are based upon the presence of solution channel networks, hydraulic conductivities >10^?6 m/s, karst landscapes, channels with turbulent flow, and caves. The percentage of unconfined carbonate aquifers that would classify as ‘karst’ ranges from <1 to >50%.