Quaternary evolution of Cedar Creek alluvial fan, montana

Cedar Creek alluvial fan is a textbook example of an alluvial fan because of its fan shape with smooth, concentric contours and excellent symmetry. Similar planimetric shapes have been used to infer uniform fan deposition; however, Cedar Creek alluvial fan is composed of four fan deposits of Quaternary age, Qf1 (oldest) to Qf4 (youngest), indicating that fan deposition was nonuniform in both time and space. Field studies indicate that deposition of Cedar Creek alluvial fan is related to glaciofluvial outwash activity during the Pleistocene and upper-fan entrenchment and lower-fan deposition during the Holocene.Qf1 and Qf2 deposits are sub-horizontally bedded, clast-supported sandy gravels uniformly imbricated upfan. Comparison of soil profiles developed in these deposits to radiogenically-dated chronosequences within the region indicates that Qf1 and Qf2 are correlative with Bull Lake and Pinedale-age deposits, respectively. These relationships are substantiated by physical correlation of Qf1 and Qf2 with Bull Lake and Pinedale moraines, respectively, in the Cedar Creek drainage basin. The sedimentology and timing of Qf1 and Qf2 indicate deposition in high-energy, proglacial, braided streams. Furthermore, the present morphology of Cedar Creek alluvial fan was established largely during aggradation of Qf1 and Qf2 when sediment supply to the fan was sufficient to activate 60% to greater than 90% of the total fan area. During Bull Lake glaciation, the apex of Qf1 deposition formed the apex of Cedar Creek alluvial fan as Qf1 covered more than 90% of the present fan area. During Pinedale glaciation, Qf2 deposition shifted downfan; Qf2 is inset into Qf1 above the intersection point, but below the intersection point it eroded and/or buried Qf1 as it activated as much as 60% of the fan area.Qf3 and Qf4, comprising 21% of the fan area, are inset into Qf2 in the lower fan area. Soil development in Qf3 and Qf4 deposits indicate episodic deposition and entrenchment beginning in early Holocene and continuing to present. A post-glacial decrease in sediment supply to Cedar Creek alluvial fan is indicated by sediment storage within the Cedar Creek drainage basin. Decreased sediment supply to the fan resulted in upper-fan entrenchment of Qf2 and deposition of Qf3 and Qf4 in the lower-fan area.     

High-Mg# andesitic lavas of the Shisheisky Complex,Northern Kamchatka: implications for primitive calc-alkaline magmatism

Primitive arc magmatism and mantle wedge processes are investigated through a petrologic and geochemical study of high-Mg# (Mg/Mg + Fe > 0.65) basalts, basaltic andesites and andesites from the Kurile-Kamchatka subduction system. Primitive andesitic samples are from the Shisheisky Complex, a field of Quaternary-age, monogenetic cones located in the Aleutian–Kamchatka junction, north of Shiveluch Volcano, the northernmost active composite volcano in Kamchatka. The Shisheisky lavas have Mg# of 0.66–0.73 at intermediate SiO₂ (54–58 wt%) with low CaO (<8.8%), CaO/Al₂O₃ (<0.54), and relatively high Na₂O (>3.0 wt%) and K₂O (>1.0 wt%). Olivine phenocryst core compositions of Fo90 appear to be in equilibrium with whole-rock ‘melts’, consistent with the sparsely phyric nature of the lavas. Compared to the Shisheisky andesites, primitive basalts from the region (Kuriles, Tolbachik, Kharchinsky) have higher CaO (>9.9 wt%) and CaO/Al₂O₃ (>0.60), and lower whole-rock Na₂O (<2.7 wt%) and K₂O (<1.1 wt%) at similar Mg# (0.66–0.70). Olivine phenocrysts in basalts have in general, higher CaO and Mn/Fe and lower Ni and Ni/Mg at Fo88 compared to the andesites. The absence of plagioclase phenocrysts from the primitive andesitic lavas contrasts the plagioclase-phyric basalts, indicating relatively high pre-eruptive water contents for the primitive andesitic magmas compared to basalts. Estimated temperature and water contents for primitive basaltic andesites and andesites are 984–1,143°C and 4–7 wt% H₂O. For primitive basalts they are 1,149–1,227°C and 2 wt% H₂O. Petrographic and mineral compositions suggest that the primitive andesitic lavas were liquids in equilibrium with mantle peridotite and were not produced by mixing between basalts and felsic crustal melts, contamination by xenocrystic olivine, or crystal fractionation of basalt. Key geochemical features of the Shisheisky primitive lavas (high Ni/MgO, Na₂O, Ni/Yb and Mg# at intermediate SiO₂) combined with the location of the volcanic field above the edge of the subducting Pacific Plate support a genetic model that involves melting of eclogite or pyroxenite at or near the surface of the subducting plate, followed by interaction of that melt with hotter peridotite in the over-lying mantle wedge. The strongly calc-alkaline igneous series at Shiveluch Volcano is interpreted to result from the emplacement and evolution of primitive andesitic magmas similar to those that are present in nearby monogenetic cones of the Shisheisky Complex.     

On the relationship of thunderstorm ice hydrometeor characteristics and total lightning measurements

Satellite-borne and ground-based devices for the detection of lightning offer the opportunity to explore relationships–on all significant scales up to global–between lightning frequency, f, and other thundercloud parameters. Calculations predict that f is proportional to the product of the downflux p of solid precipitation and the upward mass flux, I, of ice crystals. This prediction has received support from limited computational studies. The physical reasons for such a relationship are explained in terms of the paramount role of ice in the electrification of thunderstorms. Herein, this prediction is subjected to further, preliminary examination through analysis of lightning and dual-polarimetric radar data collected during the STERAO experiment conducted in Northern Colorado during the summer of 1996. The analysis has yielded some highly provisional support for this flux hypothesis. Computed trends of radar derived hydrometeor fractions of solid precipitation and small ice show correlation to the total lightning frequency and raise the possibility of determining values of p and/or I from lightning measurements.It is shown that the extent to which the observed correlations between f and both solid precipitation and small ice trends are or are not strong can provide an indication as to whether the lightning activity is limited by the available concentrations of precipitating or non-precipitating ice in the upper regions of the charging zone of the thundercloud, where most of the charge transfer occurs. It is demonstrated that the most accurate determinations of precipitation rate p from measurements of lighting frequency f are likely to be for conditions where the field-growth is limited by the availability of graupel pellets. It is shown that the simultaneous time variations of f and solid precipitation trends of the type obtained in the STERAO experiment could enable us to determine the nature of the dominant glaciation process operative in the thunderclouds studied.     

Winter Arctic Amplification at the synoptic timescale, 1979–2018, its regional variation and response to tropical and extratropical variability

We investigate winter Arctic Amplification (AA) on synoptic timescales and at regional scales using a daily version of the Arctic Amplification Index (AAI) and examine causes on a synoptic scale. The persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events show significant increases over the Arctic. Similarly, low AAI events are decreasing in frequency, persistence and intensity. In both cases, there are regional variations in these trends, in terms of significance and timing. Significant trends in increasing persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events in winter are concentrated in the period 2000–2009, with few significant trends before and after this. There are some decreases in sea-ice concentration in response to synoptic-scale AA events and these AA events can contribute to the decadal trends in AA found in other studies. A sectoral analysis of the Arctic indicates that in the Beaufort–Chukchi and East Siberian–Laptev Seas, synoptic scale high AAI events can be driven by tropical teleconnections while in other Arctic sectors, it is the intrusion of moisture-transporting synoptic cyclones into the Arctic that is most important in synoptic-scale AA. The presence of Rossby wave breaking during high AAI events is indicative of forcing from lower latitudes, modulated by variations in the jet stream. An important conclusion is that the increased persistence, frequency and intensity of synoptic-scale high AAI events make significant contributions to the interannual trend in AA.

     

Clostridium perfringens as a potential indicator for the presence of sewage solids in marine sediments

Marine sediment cores collected from several depths of water and distances from a California sewage outfall were tested to see if sediments influenced by sewage solids were a reservoir of enteric pathogens, and if concentrations of indicator bacteria were related to the presence of sewage solids. Vertical distributions of microorganisms in marine sediments were determined; there was a decrease of indicator bacteria with increasing sediment depth. Aeromonas was randomly isolated, but none of the enteric bacterial pathogens or viruses were detected. While classic indicator bacteria were of little value in predicting the presence of pathogens, or relative amounts of sewage solids, Clostridium perfringens may be a suitable indicator. Clostridium perfringens concentrations were not related to the presence of pathogens in sediments.     

Combined effects of pumped-storage operation and climate change on thermal structure and water quality

Climatic Change - The assessment of ecological impacts of pumped-storage (PS) hydropower plants on the two connected water bodies is usually based on present climatic conditions. However,...     

Surface-water quality for the Salí River watershed in NW Argentina

Spatial and temporal variations of Na, Mg, Si, K, Ca, SO₄^2-, Cl^-, HCO₃^-, Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, Ce, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, F, Fe, Ga, Ge, Gd, Hf, Hg, Ho, I, La, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn, and Zr were monitored through 37 sampling stations to determine the main aspects influencing the surface-water quality in the Salí River watershed (Tucumán Province, NW Argentina). The influence of the regional geological setting on water chemistry allows to distinguish three sub-basins. The interaction with sedimentary rocks was found to be dominant in the northern and central-eastern sub-basin as well as in the southern sub-basin, whereas the metamorphic-granitic basement of the Pampean Ranges was noted in the central sub-basin. In addition, anthropogenic activities affect the spatial variation of K, P, Mn, Rb, and Pb as well as dissolved oxygen concentrations and Eh. Temporal water-quality variation is related to the spatial distribution of precipitation and to the seasonal character of the main local industries (sugar cane, alcohol, citrus), increasing P and K concentrations and decreasing dissolved oxygen concentration and Eh in winter. Cl^-, Na, SO₄^2-, Al, As, B, Fe, Mn, Se and U concentrations exceed the regulated drinking-water thresholds at several sampling stations.