Evaluation of the recharge processes and impacts of irrigation on groundwater using CFCs and radiogenic isotopes in the Silao-Romita basin, Mexico

The recharge processes in the overexploited aquifer of the Silao Romita basin, central Mexico, were investigated by means of gaseous tracers (chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs) and radioactive isotopes (C-14, tritium). CFC concentrations varied between 0.06 and 12 pmol/l (CFC-11), 0.03 and 1.7 pmol/l (CFC-12), and <0.01 and 0.23 pmol/l (CFC-113). CFC concentrations are controlled by irrigation return flow which became apparent by the comparison with tritium. Tritium activities ranged from 0 to 3.5 TU. The calculated mean residence times of 70 to more than 300 years are considerably lower than the ages estimated based on the CFCs data. These data showed that CFCs were not appropriate for groundwater dating in this particular area but the CFCs were suitable as a qualitative measure of the magnitude of irrigation return flow which proved to be a significant source of recharge in the irrigated areas. Radiocarbon activities were in the range of 6–109 pmC. Carbon-13 values varied between –11.9 and –7.2‰ VPDB. Modelling of carbon isotopes with NETPATH along a plausible flow path reveals considerable influences of exchange with soil CO₂ and carbonate dissolution. Radiocarbon data indicate, at least in one case, the existence of groundwaters with residence times of more than 10,000 years.     

Validation of new equations for dynamic analyses of tall frame-type structures

The accuracy of the new equations for long frame-type structures, derived by Kerr and Zarembski, and extended recently by Kerr and Accorsi also to dynamic analyses, is investigated. At first, the natural frequencies of a tall frame-type structure, with twenty floors, are determined using the new equations, and then they are compared with the corresponding results calculated using the finite element method and the common shear-building analysis. The found agreement with the finite element analysis is close. To check further the accuracy of the new equations, small scale models are tested on a shake table. The natural frequencies recorded in the tests are then compared with those determined from the new equations, for a wide range of geometrical parameters. The agreement with the test data is good. The presented study indicates that the new equations are well suited for analyzing the dynamic response of tall frame-type structures.     

Integrated Sensible Heat Flux Measurements of a Two-Surface Composite Landscape using Scintillometry

The potential of the LAS (large aperture scintillometry) method for measuring sensible heat flux (H) directly integrated over a two-field composite surface is evaluated. We describe a field experiment performed within the Alpilles/ReSeDa project in the south-east of France over a composite surface made up of wheat and bare soil (451 and 216 m long respectively) using two 0.15-m diameter scintillometers mounted at heights of 2.05 and 4.54 m. When compared against reference values obtained by the eddy correlation technique, LAS-measured sensible heat flux reveals a systematic overestimation of about 10%. A simple model describing the integration of the scintillometer signal along the beam for a two-field composite surface is described. A simulation of the experiment confirms that the bias observed isrelated to non-linearities in the integration process in relation with thebell-shape sensitivity curve of the instrument to the structure parameter for the refractive index it measures. The model is used to test the sensitivity of the LAS-derived H values to the composition of the pathlength (ratio of both surfaces) and to the contrast in sensible heat flux and roughness length between the two fields. Sensitivity tests to the aggregation scheme for roughness length (two of them are tested) and to the measurement height are also presented. The composition of the surface in combination with the contrast in sensible heat flux (in direct relation with the contrast in latent heat flux) explains most of the bias, with possible deviations ranging from -50 up to 80 W m^-2. A tentative semi-empirical method for correcting the bias is suggested, which only requires a crude estimate of the contrast in component sensible heat fluxes along the pathlength.     

An original method for characterizing internal waves

This study consisted in the characterization of internal waves in the south of the Strait of Messina (Italy). The observational data consisted in thermistor string profiles from the Coastal Ocean Acoustic Changes at High frequencies (COACH06) sea trial.An empirical orthogonal function analysis is applied to the data. The first two spatial empirical modes represent over 99% of the variability, and their corresponding time-dependent expansion coefficients take higher absolute values during internal wave events. In order to check how the expansion coefficients vary during an internal wave event, their time derivative, called here changing rates, are computed. It shows that each wave of an internal wave train is characterized by a double oscillation of the changing rates. At the front of the wave, both changing rates increase in absolute value with opposite sign, and then decrease to become null at the maximum amplitude of the wave. At the rear of the wave, the changing rates describe another period, again with opposite sign. This double oscillation can be used as a detector of internal waves, but it can also give information on the width of the wave, by measuring the length of the oscillation, as this information may sometimes be hard to read straight out of the data. When plotting the changing rates one versus another, the resulting scatter diagram puts on a butterfly shape that illustrates well this behaviour.     

Petrology and provenance of a very‐low‐titanium picrite clast in lunar highland regolith breccia 15295

Clast 100 in regolith breccia 15295 could be a key to resolving the relationship(s) between mare basalts and lunar picritic glasses. The clast is basaltic, with texture, mineralogy, mineral compositions, and calculated bulk composition suggesting that it crystallized in a thick lava flow or shallow intrusive body from a very‐low‐titanium (VLT) basaltic magma. The estimated bulk composition of clast 15295,100 is primitive (i.e., magnesian) compared to those of known VLT basalts, and is very close to those of VLT picritic green glasses, especially the Apollo 14 A green glass. From these similarities, we infer that clast 15295,100 is a crystalline product of a picritic magma similar to the Apollo 14 A glass. Clementine and M³ remotely sensed data of the lunar surface were used to find areas that have chemical compositions consistent with those of clast 15295,100, not only near the Apollo 15 site, but in a broad region surrounding the site. Two regions are consistent with clast's 15295,100 compositional data. The larger region is in southern Mare Imbrium, and a smaller region is in the eastern half of Sinus Aestuum. These locations should be considered as candidates for future missions focusing on sample science.     

Observations of the development of striations in large barium ion clouds

Striations are observed to develop within large (6–352 kg releases) barium ion clouds in a two-stage process. First the clouds split into sheets commencing at the trailing edge of the cloud. Then distortions or pinching effects within the individual sheets cause the formation of field-aligned raylike structures. In the clouds observed, the individual sheets were 200–1000 m in thickness and were spaced 700–2000 m apart. Quasi-sinusoidal waviness of spatially periodic thickenings exhibited a wavelength typically 700–1000 m. When rod-like structures appeared, these were typically 200–400 m dia and were spaced along the pre-existing sheet at 700–1000 m on centers.     

Implications of global emission policy scenarios for domestic agriculture: a New Zealand case study

Agricultural GHG mitigation policies are important if ambitious climate change goals are to be achieved, and have the potential to significantly lower global mitigation costs [Reisinger, A., Havlik, P., Riahi, K., van Vliet, O., Obersteiner, M., & Herrero, M. (2013). Implications of alternative metrics for global mitigation costs and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Climatic Change, 117, 677–690]. In the post-Paris world of ‘nationally determined contributions’ to mitigation, the prospects for agricultural mitigation policies may rest on whether they are in the national economic interest of large agricultural producers. New Zealand is a major exporter of livestock products; this article uses New Zealand as a case study to consider the policy implications of three global policy scenarios at the global, national and farm levels. Building on global modelling, a model dairy farm and a model sheep and beef farm are used to estimate the changes in profit when agricultural emissions are priced and mitigated globally or not, and priced domestically or not, in 2020. Related to these scenarios is the metric or GHG exchange rate. Most livestock emissions are non-CO₂, with methane being particularly sensitive to the choice of metric. The results provide evidence that farm profitability is more sensitive to differing international policy scenarios than national economic welfare. The impact of the choice of metric is not as great as the impact of whether other countries mitigate agricultural emissions or not. Livestock farmers do best when agricultural emissions are not priced, as livestock commodity prices rise significantly due to competition for land from forestry. However, efficient farmers may still see a rise in profitability when agricultural emissions are fully priced worldwide.

Policy relevance

Exempting agricultural emissions from mitigation significantly increases the costs of limiting warming to 2 °C, placing the burden on other sectors. However, there may be a large impact on farmers if agricultural emissions are priced domestically when other countries are not doing the same. The impacts of global and national climate policies on farmers need to be better understood in order for climate policies to be politically sustainable. Transitional assistance that is not linked to emission levels could help, as long as the incentives to mitigate are maintained. In the long run, efficient farmers may benefit from climate policy; international efforts should focus on mitigation options and effective domestic policy development, rather than on metrics.     

Toward more realistic formulations for the analysis of laccoliths

The published laccolith analyses are based on the linear plate bending theory and the a priori assumption that the width of the laccolith is fixed. This is not the case in an actual situation. The dimension of the laccolith in the horizontal plane has to result from an additional matching condition at the separation lines. The published analyses are generalized by dropping the a priori assumption that the width of the laccolith is prescribed, by assuming that the magmatic pressure is not constant, and by taking into consideration the vertical compressibility of the overburden “plate” and base in the contact region. In order to determine the magnitude of the magmatic pressure, a condition is postulated that equates the measured volume of the intruded magma in a laccolith with the corresponding analytical expression for the volume. The obtained closed-form solution appears to satisfy many of the intuitive expectations. It was evaluated numerically and the results are presented as graphs. It may be concluded that even very small laccoliths may exist, provided the magmatic pressure is sufficiently larger than the overburden weight. We also show the dependence of the laccolith size on its stratigraphic position; the thicker the overburden h the larger the size of the laccolith, for an overburden plate of given thickness, the larger the volume V of the intruded magma, the larger the laccolith width 2a and its height. The paper concludes by discussing a published analysis for laccolith with flexible underburden and overburden. It is shown that this analysis is based on a formulation that is of questionable validity.