Block removal and step backwearing as erosion processes on rock shore platforms: a preliminary case study of the chalk shore platforms of south‐east England

Shore platforms frequently exhibit steps or risers facing seaward, landwards or obliquely across‐shore. A combination of soft copy photogrammetry, ortho‐rectification, geo referencing and field measurement of step height are linked in a GIS environment to measure step retreat on chalk shore platforms at sample sites in the south of England over two periods, 1973–2001, 2001–2007. The methods used allow for the identification, delineation and measurement of historic change at high spatial resolution. The results suggest that while erosion of chalk shore platforms by step backwearing is highly variable, it appears to be of similar magnitude to surface downwearing of the same platforms measured by micro‐erosion meters (MEMs) and laser scanning, in a range equivalent to 0·0006 – 0·0050 m y^?1 of surface downwearing. This equates to annual chalk volume loss from the platforms, by the two erosion processes combined, of between 0·0012 m³ m^?2 and 0·0100 m³ m^?2. Results from the more recent years' data suggests that step retreat has variability in both space and time which does not relate solely to climatic variability. The results must be viewed with caution until much larger numbers of measurements have been made of both downwearing and step erosion at higher spatial and temporal resolution. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chlorine-36 in groundwater of the United States: empirical data

Natural production of the radionuclide chlorine-36 (³⁶Cl) has provided a valuable tracer for groundwater studies. The nuclear industry, especially the testing of thermonuclear weapons, has also produced large amounts of ³⁶Cl that can be detected in many samples of groundwater. In order to be most useful in hydrologic studies, the natural production prior to 1952 should be distinguished from more recent artificial sources. The object of this study was to reconstruct the probable preanthropogenic levels of ³⁶Cl in groundwater in the United States. Although significant local variations exist, they are superimposed on a broad regional pattern of ³⁶Cl/Cl ratios in the United States. Owing to the influence of atmospherically transported ocean salt, natural ratios of ³⁶Cl/total Cl are lowest near the coast and increase to a maximum in the central Rocky Mountains of the United States. Electronic Publication     

Assessment of village-wise groundwater draft for irrigation: a field-based study in hard-rock aquifers of central India

Extracted groundwater, 90% of which is used for irrigated agriculture, is central to the socio-economic development of India. A lack of regulation or implementation of regulations, alongside unrecorded extraction, often leads to over exploitation of large-scale common-pool resources like groundwater. Inevitably, management of groundwater extraction (draft) for irrigation is critical for sustainability of aquifers and the society at large. However, existing assessments of groundwater draft, which are mostly available at large spatial scales, are inadequate for managing groundwater resources that are primarily exploited by stakeholders at much finer scales. This study presents an estimate, projection and analysis of fine-scale groundwater draft in the Seonath-Kharun interfluve of central India. Using field surveys of instantaneous discharge from irrigation wells and boreholes, annual groundwater draft for irrigation in this area is estimated to be 212 × 10⁶ m³, most of which (89%) is withdrawn during non-monsoon season. However, the density of wells/boreholes, and consequent extraction of groundwater, is controlled by the existing hydrogeological conditions. Based on trends in the number of abstraction structures (1982–2011), groundwater draft for the year 2020 is projected to be approximately 307 × 10⁶ m³; hence, groundwater draft for irrigation in the study area is predicted to increase by ～44% within a span of 8 years. Central to the work presented here is the approach for estimation and prediction of groundwater draft at finer scales, which can be extended to critical groundwater zones of the country.     

Secondary chaotic terrain formation in the higher outflow channels of southern circum-Chryse, Mars

Higher outflow channel dissection in the martian region of southern circum-Chryse appears to have extended from the Late Hesperian to the Middle Amazonian Epoch. These outflow channels were excavated within the upper 1 km of the cryolithosphere, where no liquid water is expected to have existed during these geologic epochs. In accordance with previous work, our examination of outflow channel floor morphologies suggests the upper crust excavated by the studied outflow channels consisted of a thin (a few tens of meters) layer of dry geologic materials overlying an indurated zone that extends to the bases of the investigated outflow channels (1 km in depth). We find that the floors of these outflow channels contain widespread secondary chaotic terrains (i.e., chaotic terrains produced by the destruction of channel-floor materials). These chaotic terrains occur within the full range of outflow channel dissection and tend to form clusters. Our examination of the geology of these chaotic terrains suggests that their formation did not result in the generation of floods. Nevertheless, despite their much smaller dimensions, these chaotic terrains are comprised of the same basic morphologic elements (e.g., mesas, knobs, and smooth deposits within scarp-bound depressions) as those located in the initiation zones of the outflow channels, which suggests that their formation must have involved the release of ground volatiles. We propose that these chaotic terrains developed not catastrophically but gradually and during multiple episodes of nested surface collapse. In order to explain the formation of secondary chaotic terrains within zones of outflow channel dissection, we propose that the regional Martian cryolithosphere contained widespread lenses of volatiles in liquid form. In this model, channel floor collapse and secondary chaotic terrain formation would have taken place as a consequence of instabilities arising during their exhumation by outflow channel dissection. Within relatively warm upper crustal materials in volcanic settings, or within highly saline crustal materials where cryopegs developed, lenses of volatiles in liquid form within the cryolithosphere could have formed, and/or remained stable.In addition, our numerical simulations suggest that low thermal conductivity, dry fine-grained porous geologic materials just a few tens of meters in thickness (e.g., dunes, sand sheets, some types of regolith materials), could have produced high thermal anomalies resulting in subsurface melting. The existence of a global layer of dry geologic materials overlying the cryolithosphere would suggest that widespread lenses of fluids existed (and may still exist) at shallow depths wherever these materials are fine-grained and porous. The surface ages of the investigated outflow channels and chaotic terrains span a full 500 to 700 Myr. Chaotic terrains similar in dimensions and morphology to secondary chaotic terrains are not observed conspicuously throughout the surface of Mars, suggesting that intra-cryolithospheric fluid lenses may form relatively stable systems. The existence of widespread groundwater lenses at shallow depths of burial has tremendous implications for exobiological studies and future human exploration. We find that the clear geomorphologic anomaly that the chaotic terrains and outflow channels of southern Chryse form within the Martian landscape could have been a consequence of large-scale resurfacing resulting from anomalously extensive subsurface melt in this region of the planet produced by high concentrations of salts within the regional upper crust. Crater count statistics reveal that secondary chaotic terrains and the outflow channels within which they occur have overlapping ages, suggesting that the instabilities leading to their formation rapidly dissipated, perhaps as the thickness of the cryolithosphere was reset following the disruption of the upper crustal thermal structure produced during outflow channel excavation.     

Quantitative assessment of gas washing of oils in the Tazhong area of the Tarim Basin,Northwest China

Gas washing has been known in the Tazhong area of the Tarim Basin, but its quantitative assessment has not yet been reported. Here the influence of gas washing fractionation in the area was discussed based on the gas chromatogram data of 68 oils and the results of the mixing experiments of a black oil and a condensate. The results show that the intensity of gas washing fractionation decreased generally from northern to southern part and vertically from deep reservoirs to shallow reservoirs. The gas washing fractionation was mainly controlled by fault systems in this area, with the increase of n-alkane mass depletion positively correlated to the number and scale of faults. Gas washing fractionation appears to have affected the hydrocarbon property, and as a result the diversity of the crude oils is markedly controlled by gas washing. In addition, the occurrence of waxy oil in this area may be resulted from multiple factors including gas washing, mixed filling and migration fractionation. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB202303) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40672091)     

Morphological peculiarities of Calanus finmarchicus and Calanus glacialis in the areas of the co-existence of their populations

Morphological studies of the females of Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis, and C. hyperboreus were performed for specimens sampled in different areas of the Greenland, Barents, Kara, and Laptev seas. Intraspecific variability was found for the ratio of the specimens characterized by different types of setae patterns on the endopodites of C. glacialis and C. finmarchicus. The variability of this parameter did not relate to the environmental peculiarities of the sampling sites and did not depend on the temperature regime. We assume that such differences may be the result of the hybridization of C. glacialis and C. finmarchicus due to the similarity of their reproduction systems and the overlapping of the body size ranges.     

Certain peculiarities in the distribution of mercury in meteorites

This paper presents chemical analyses of mercury in 123 specimens of 58 meteorites. A statistical comparison is made of the mercury content in meteorites (using all available data) as a function of their composition and texture.The average mercury abundance in stony meteorites is estimated as 6.6 ppm. Stony and iron meteorites differ significantly in mercury content. Among stones, chondrites and achondrites show significant differences in the mercury content. In ordinary cbondrites, mineralogy and texture do not seem to have a significant influence on the distribution of mercury, judging from the available number of analyses. Carbonaceous chondrites, in which we found up to 500 ppm mercury, stand out among all other varieties of chondrites. Iron meteorites fall at the other extreme, having the lowest mercury concentrations (generally 0-0x ppm). In specimens of several meteorite classes, troilite is a good mercury concentrator, having a consistently higher mercury content than the meteorite as a whole. Nonetheless, troilite generally accounts for less than one-half the total mercury content of the meteorite.