A note on turbulent perturbations of salinity in a partially mixed estuary

Measurements of salinity perturbations in a partially mixed estuary have been used to evaluate the usefulness of an inductive salinometer and to determine some of the characteristics of the salinity perturbations. The salinometer performed satisfactorily under most conditions. Although internal wave like effects were present, the turbulence fluctuations were dominant. The salinity fluctuations and the turbulent fluxes $\text{sw}$ and $\text{su}$ were found to behave in a manner similar to the density fluctuations in a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer and a laboratory open channel flow. A quadrant analysis suggested that the contribution of each quadrant to the turbulent flux changed with Ri. The turbulence parameters ν and c_γ were found to decrease and increase respectively as Ri increases.     

Characterization of soil's structural crust by spectral reflectance in the SWIR region (1.2–2.5 μm)

Structural crust is a thin layer formed on the soil surface after a rainstorm. The crust is the result of a physical segregation and rearrangement of soil particles in a way that affects some of the soil properties, such as infiltration, runoff and soil erosion. In practice, there is no rapid, in situ method for monitoring, assessing and mapping crust intensity and quality. In this study, a controlled spectral investigation of the structural crust across the NIR–SWIR spectral region was conducted on three selected Israeli soils, to study the potential of reflectance radiation to detect structural crust in soils. Two major factors served as the driving forces for this study: (1) there is no valid method for in situ assessment of the crust's characteristics in the agriculture field, and (2) the crust might bias thematic remote sensing of soils, because the thin layer of crust blocks photon–matter interaction, which represents the relevant soil body. Through the use of a laboratory rainfall simulator and a sensitive spectrometer, it was revealed that for three selected soils, significant spectral differences occurred between the crust and its bulk soil. The spectral information was found to be related to changes in particle size distribution and texture at the surface of the soil. This conclusion was based on indications of absorption of OH in clay lattice, OH in adsorbed water and CO₃ in carbonates. It was concluded that the structural crust is a phenomenon that should not be ignored by remote-sensing users. In fact, in the field of agriculture, the spectral properties of crust can be used as tools for estimating the crust's intensity.     

Microboudin structures of piemontite along the Sambagawa metamorphic belt, Japan: implications for lateral variation of differential stress during regional metamorphism

Evidence is presented of a lateral variation in differential stress during metamorphism along a regional metamorphic belt on the basis of the proportion of microboudinaged piemontite grains (p) in a quartz matrix in metacherts. It is proposed that p is a practical indicator of relative differential stress. Analysis of 123 metacherts from the 800 km long Sambagawa metamorphic belt, Japan, reveals that p‐values range from < 0.01 to 0.7 in this region. Most samples from Wakayama in the mid‐belt area have p‐values of 0.4–0.6, whereas those from western Shikoku have p‐values of < 0.1. This difference cannot be explained by variations in metamorphic temperature, and is instead attributed to a regional, lateral variation in differential stress during metamorphism.     

Deep-ocean vertical noise directionality

The structure of beam noise measured at the output of a vertical array in a range dependent ocean basin was investigated using the modified wide-angle parabolic equation (PE). Noise sources were distributed throughout the basin, and the field due to each noise source at an array located in the midbasin was calculated. The response of the array to the superposition of the noise sources was found by beamforming. An efficient and direct approach that superimposes the noise sources on the PE field as the field is marched toward the array was developed. Downslope calculations of the midbasin vertical directionality were made between 50 and 400 Hz with this technique. Use of a geoacoustic model shows that the bottom behaves as a low-pass filter     

Inverted echo sounder measurement of dynamic height through an ENSOcycle in the central equatorial Pacific

A four-year record from an inverted echo sounder deployed near Palmyra Island at 6°N in the central Pacific Ocean is compared with a simultaneous record of subsurface pressure from this island lagoon. A factor m, converting round-trip acoustic travel time to surface dynamic height relative to a deep pressure level, was estimated from the ratio of the spectra of the two records in the energetic synoptic oscillation band. Year-to-year variation in m was not statistically significant. For the overall record, m was found to be -70±8 dynamic m/s, where the error bounds represent a 90% confidence interval. This is consistent with first-baroclinic-mode excitation     

A time series analysis of sound propagation in a strongly multipathshallow water environment with an adiabatic normal mode approach

Measured time series were generated by small omnidirectional explosive sources in a shallow water area. A bottom-mounted hydrophone recorded sound signals that propagated over a sloping bottom. The time series in the 250-500 Hz band were analyzed with a broad-band adiabatic normal mode approach. The measured waveforms contain numerous bottom interacting multipaths that are complicated by the subbottom structure that contains high-velocity layers near the water-sediment interface. Several of the details of the geoacoustic structure and the depth of the water column at the receiver are inferred from comparisons of the measured data to simulated time series. The sensitivity of broad-band matched-field ambiguity surfaces in the range-depth plane for a single receiver to selected waveguide parameters is examined. A consistent analysis is made where the simulated time series are compared to the measured time series along with the single-receiver matched-field localization solutions for ranges out to 5 km. In this range interval, it was found that the peak cross-correlation between the measured and simulated time series varied between 0.84 and 0.69. The difference between the GPS range and the range obtained from the matched-field solution varied from 0 to 63 m. The geoacoustic structure obtained in the analysis consists of an 8-m low-velocity sediment layer over an 8-m high-velocity layer followed by a higher velocity, infinite half-space     

Evolution of 2:1 layered silicates in low-grade metamorphosed Liassic shales of Central Switzerland

White mica from the Liassic black shales and slates in Central Switzerland was analysed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron microprobe to determine its textural and compositional evolution during very low-grade prograde metamorphism. Samples were studied from the diagenetic zone, anchizone and epizone (T ≈100°–450 °C). Phyllosilicate minerals analysed include illite/smectite (I/S), phengite, muscovite, brammallite, paragonite, margarite and glauconite. Textural evolution primarily is towards larger, more defect-free grains with compositions that approach those of their respective end-members. The smectite-to-illite transformation reduced the amounts of the exchange components SiK_?1Al_?1, MgSiAl_?2, and Fe³⁺Al_?1. These trends continue to a lesser degree in the anchizone and epizone. Correlations between the proportion of smectite in I/S and the composition of I/S indicate that smectite layers may contain a high layer charge. Illite in I/S bears a compositional resemblance to macrocrystalline phengite in some samples, but is different in others. Paragonite first appears in the upper diagenetic zone or lower anchizone as an interlayer-deficient brammallite, and it may be mixed with muscovite on the nanometre scale. Owing to the small calculated structure factor for paragonite-muscovite superstructures, conventional X-ray powder diffraction cannot distinguish between mixed-layer structures and a homogeneous compositionally intermediate solid solutions. However, indirect TEM evidence shows that irregularly shaped domains of Na- and K-rich mica exist below 10 nm. Subsequent coarsening of domains at higher grades produced discrete paragonite grains at the margins of muscovite crystals or in laths parallel to the basal plane of the host muscovite. Margarite appears in the epizone and follows a textural evolution similar to paragonite in that mixtures of margarite, paragonite, and muscovite may initially occur on the nanometre scale. However, no evidence of interlayer-poor margarite has been found.     

The exchange of organic carbon in basin mangrove forests in a southwest Florida estuary

The magnitude and seasonality of organic carbon exchange was estimated for two basin mangrove forests in Rookery Bay, Florida. Runoff and tidal inundation in the forests were seasonal with half the annual total of each occurring from August to October. In each forest there were 152 tides yr^?1 with a cumulative depth of about 12 m. Total organic carbon increased in bay waters exporting from the mangroves following a flood tide and peak concentrations were associated with export due to rainfall. The amount of net export from each basin forest was similar, although the concentration of organic carbon in each were different. Monthly net organic carbon export was proportional to the cumulative tidal amplitude within the forest. Total organic carbon export was 64 gC m^?2 yr^?1 and DOC was 75% of the total. A comparison of organic carbon export among riverine, fringe and basin mangroves suggests that tidal hydrology influences the proportion of litter fall that is exported from mangroves; and the magnitude of this organic carbon export from mangroves is related to the cumulative tidal amplitude within the forests.