Origin and Extent of Fresh Paleowaters on the Atlantic Continental Shelf, USA

While the existence of relatively fresh groundwater sequestered within permeable, porous sediments beneath the Atlantic continental shelf of North and South America has been known for some time, these waters have never been assessed as a potential resource. This fresh water was likely emplaced during Pleistocene sea-level low stands when the shelf was exposed to meteoric recharge and by elevated recharge in areas overrun by the Laurentide ice sheet at high latitudes. To test this hypothesis, we present results from a high-resolution paleohydrologic model of groundwater flow, heat and solute transport, ice sheet loading, and sea level fluctuations for the continental shelf from New Jersey to Maine over the last 2 million years. Our analysis suggests that the presence of fresh to brackish water within shallow Miocene sands more than 100 km offshore of New Jersey was facilitated by discharge of submarine springs along Baltimore and Hudson Canyons where these shallow aquifers crop out. Recharge rates four times modern levels were computed for portions of New England's continental shelf that were overrun by the Laurentide ice sheet during the last glacial maximum. We estimate the volume of emplaced Pleistocene continental shelf fresh water (less than 1 ppt) to be 1300 km³ in New England. We also present estimates of continental shelf fresh water resources for the U.S. Atlantic eastern seaboard (10⁴ km³) and passive margins globally (3 × 10⁵ km³). The simulation results support the hypothesis that offshore fresh water is a potentially valuable, albeit nonrenewable resource for coastal megacities faced with growing water shortages.     

太湖平原碟形洼地沉积物记录的距今8000年以来植被、气候与地貌演变

利用DGY孔沉积物的岩性、粒度及孢粉分析资料,探讨了太湖平原碟形洼地沉积物记录的8000年以来植被演化、气候波动,流域地貌环境的演变及其对海平面波动的响应。孢粉记录表明:本区距今8000~5000年木本植被由以落叶阔叶乔木和针叶乔木为主变为落叶阔叶乔木和常绿阔叶乔木为主,气候由温和略干转为暖热湿润;距今5000~4000年森林退缩,气候温和偏干;距今4000年左右出现低温事件;距今4000~3,000年木本植被以常绿阔叶乔木为主,气候温暖湿润;距今3000年以来木本植被主要为常绿阔叶乔木、落叶阔叶乔木和针叶乔木,气候总体温暖湿润,有波动变凉干趋势。岩性、粒度及孢粉记录综合显示本区距今8000~5000年发育潟湖相泥质粉砂,反映流域环境开放、与海连通;距今5000~4000年发育淡水沼泽,未受海水作用,反映水域缩小、流域环境封闭;距今4000~3000年水域扩大,并出现海水倒灌,反映内低外高的碟形洼地已经形成;距今3000年以来,发育湖沼平原,发生数次海水倒灌,反映碟形洼地地貌的进一步发育。     

Report of the Science Community Workshop on the proposed First Sample Depot for the Mars Sample Return Campaign

The Mars 2020/Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Depot Science Community Workshop was held on September 28 and 30, 2022, to assess the Scientifically-Return Worthy (SRW) value of the full collection of samples acquired by the rover Perseverance at Jezero Crater, and of a proposed subset of samples to be left as a First Depot at a location within Jezero Crater called Three Forks. The primary outcome of the workshop was that the community is in consensus on the following statement: The proposed set of ten sample tubes that includes seven rock samples, one regolith sample, one atmospheric sample, and one witness tube constitutes a SRW collection that: (1) represents the diversity of the explored region around the landing site, (2) covers partially or fully, in a balanced way, all of the International MSR Objectives and Samples Team scientific objectives that are applicable to Jezero Crater, and (3) the analyses of samples in this First Depot on Earth would be of fundamental importance, providing a substantial improvement in our understanding of Mars. At the conclusion of the meeting, there was overall community support for forming the First Depot as described at the workshop and placing it at the Three Forks site. The community also recognized that the diversity of the Rover Cache (the sample collection that remains on the rover after placing the First Depot) will significantly improve with the samples that are planned to be obtained in the future by the Perseverance rover and that the Rover Cache is the primary target for MSR to return to Earth.     

Eolian Transport of Geogenic Hexavalent Chromium to Ground Water

A conceptual model of eolian transport is proposed to address the widely distributed, high concentrations of hexavalent chromium (Cr⁺⁶) observed in ground water in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Concentrations (30 to more than 1000 μg/L Cr⁺⁶) extend over thousands of square kilometers of ground water systems. It is hypothesized that the Cr is derived from weathering of chromium-rich pyroxenes and olivines present in ophiolite sequence of the adjacent Oman (Hajar) Mountains. Cr⁺³ in the minerals is oxidized to Cr⁺⁶ by reduction of manganese and is subsequently sorbed on iron and manganese oxide coatings of particles. When the surfaces of these particles are abraded in this arid environment, they release fine, micrometer-sized, coated particles that are easily transported over large distances by wind and subsequently deposited on the surface. During ground water recharge events, the readily soluble Cr⁺⁶ is mobilized by rain water and transported by advective flow into the underlying aquifer. Chromium analyses of ground water, rain, dust, and surface (soil) deposits are consistent with this model, as are electron probe analyses of clasts derived from the eroding Oman ophiolite sequence. Ground water recharge flux is proposed to exercise some control over Cr⁺⁶ concentration in the aquifer.     

Institutional Challenges for National Groundwater Governance: Policies and Issues

Understanding the issues surrounding groundwater governance is a precondition for developing policy recommendations for both national and transboundary groundwater governance. This review discusses groundwater attributes relevant to the design of governance systems and provides a systematic review of current national groundwater governance differentiated by various policy instruments. The synthesis of both resource system characteristics and experience with policy instruments allows us to conceptualize institutional aspects of groundwater governance. This leads to six institutional aspects: (1) voluntary compliance; (2) tradition and mental models; (3) administrative responsibility and bureaucratic inertia; (4) conflict resolution mechanisms; (5) political economy; and (6) information deficits. Each of these issues embodies institutional challenges for national and international policy implementation.