The isotopic composition of particulate organic carbon in mountain rivers of Taiwan

Small rivers draining mountain islands are important in the transfer of terrestrial particulate organic carbon (POC) to the oceans. This input has implications for the geochemical stratigraphic record. We have investigated the stable isotopic composition of POC (δ¹³C_org) in rivers draining the mountains of Taiwan. In 15 rivers, the suspended load has a mean δ¹³C_org that ranges from −28.1±0.8‰ to −22.0±0.2‰ (on average 37 samples per river) over the interval of our study. To investigate this variability we have supplemented suspended load data with measurements of POC in bedrock and river bed materials, and constraints on the composition of the terrestrial biomass. Fossil POC in bedrock has a range in δ¹³C_org from −25.4±1.5‰ to −19.7±2.3‰ between the major geological formations. Using coupled δ¹³C_org and N/C we have found evidence in the suspended load for mixing of fossil POC with non-fossil POC from the biosphere. In two rivers outside the Taiwan Central Range anthropogenic land use appears to influence δ¹³C_org, resulting in more variable and lower values than elsewhere. In all other catchments, we have found that 5‰ variability in δ¹³C_org is not controlled by the variable composition of the biomass, but instead by heterogeneous fossil POC.In order to quantify the fraction of suspended load POC derived from non-fossil sources (F_nf) as well as the isotopic composition of fossil POC (δ¹³C_fossil) carried by rivers, we adapt an end-member mixing model. River suspended sediments and bed sediments indicate that mixing of fossil POC results in a negative trend between N/C and δ¹³C_org that is distinct from the addition of non-fossil POC, collapsing multiple fossil POC end-members onto a single mixing trend. As an independent test of the model, F_nf reproduces the fraction modern (F_mod) in our samples, determined from ¹⁴C measurements, to within 0.09 at the 95% confidence level. Over the sampling period, the mean F_nf of suspended load POC was low (0.29 ± 0.02, n = 459), in agreement with observations from other mountain rivers where physical erosion rates are high and fossil POC enters river channels. The mean δ¹³C_fossil in suspended POC varied between −25.2±0.5‰ and −20.2±0.6‰ from catchment to catchment. This variability is primarily controlled by the distribution of the major geological formations. It also covers entirely the range of δ¹³C_org found in marine sediments which is commonly thought to derive from mixing between marine and terrigenous POC. If land-sourced POC is preserved in marine sediments, then changes in the bulk δ¹³C_org observed offshore Taiwan could instead be explained by changes in the onshore provenance of sediment. The range in δ¹³C_org of fossil organic matter in sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface is large and given the importance of these rocks as a source of clastic sediment to the oceans, care should be taken in accounting for fossil POC in marine deposits supplied by active mountain belts.     

Experimental study of cadmium interaction with periphytic biofilms

This study addresses the interaction of Cd with natural biofilms of periphytic diatoms grown during different seasons in metal-contaminated and metal-non-contaminated streams, along a tributary of the Lot River, France. Specifically, it aims to test whether the biofilms from contaminated sites have developed a protective mechanism due to high Cd exposure. Towards this goal, reversible adsorption experiments on untreated biofilms were performed in 0.01 M NaNO₃ with a pH ranging from 2 to 8, Cd concentration from 0.5 to 10,000 μg/L and exposure time from 1 to 24 h. Two types of experiments, pH-dependent adsorption edge and constant-pH “Langmuirian”-type isotherms were conducted. Results were adequately modeled using a Linear Programming Model. It was found that the adsorption capacities of natural biofilm consortia with respect to Cd do not depend on season and are not directly linked to the growth environment. The biofilms grown in non-contaminated (4.6 ppb Cd in solid) and contaminated (570 ppb Cd in solid) settings exhibit similar adsorption capacities in the Cd concentration range in solution of 100–10,000 μg/L but quite different capacities at low Cd concentration (0.5–100 μg/L); unexpectedly, the non-contaminated biofilm adsorbs approximately 10 times more Cd than the contaminated one. It is therefore possible that the strong low-abundant ligands (for example, phosphoryl or sulfhydryls) are already metal-saturated on surfaces of biofilm grown in the contaminated site whereas these sites are still available for metal adsorption in samples grown in non-contaminated sites.     

Projection of future climate change conditions using IPCC simulations, neural networks and Bayesian statistics. Part 1: Temperature mean state and seasonal cycle in South America

Projections for South America of future climate change conditions in mean state and seasonal cycle for temperature during the twenty-first century are discussed. Our analysis includes one simulation of seven Atmospheric-Ocean Global Circulation Models, which participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Project and provided at least one simulation for the twentieth century (20c3m) and one simulation for each of three Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2, A1B, and B1. We developed a statistical method based on neural networks and Bayesian statistics to evaluate the models’ skills in simulating late twentieth century temperature over continental areas. Some criteria [model weight indices (MWIs)] are computed allowing comparing over such large regions how each model captures the temperature large scale structures and contributes to the multi-model combination. As the study demonstrates, the use of neural networks, optimized by Bayesian statistics, leads to two major results. First, the MWIs can be interpreted as optimal weights for a linear combination of the climate models. Second, the comparison between the neural network projection of twenty-first century conditions and a linear combination of such conditions allows the identification of the regions, which will most probably change, according to model biases and model ensemble variance. Model simulations in the southern tip of South America and along the Chilean and Peruvian coasts or in the northern coasts of South America (Venezuela, Guiana) are particularly poor. Overall, our results present an upper bound of potential temperature warming for each scenario. Spatially, in SRES A2, our major findings are that Tropical South America could warm up by about 4°C, while southern South America (SSA) would also undergo a near 2–3°C average warming. Interestingly, this annual mean temperature trend is modulated by the seasonal cycle in a contrasted way according to the regions. In SSA, the amplitude of the seasonal cycle tends to increase, while in northern South America, the amplitude of the seasonal cycle would be reduced leading to much milder winters. We show that all the scenarios have similar patterns and only differ in amplitude. SRES A1B differ from SRES A2 mainly for the late twenty-first century, reaching more or less an 80–90% amplitude compared to SRES A2. SRES B1, however, diverges from the other scenarios as soon as 2025. For the late twenty-first century, SRES B1 displays amplitudes, which are about half those of SRES A2.     

Relationship between electrical conductivity, <Superscript>18</Superscript>O of water and NO<Subscript>3</Subscript> content in different streamflow stages

The Ballenera Creek has 160 km² being a small catchment in the Pampa Plain in Argentina. This area has been deeply modified by human action through agricultural activities. From 2013 to 2017, electrical conductivity, stable isotopes of water and nitrate concentration monitoring program were conducted. The sampling included weekly and bimonthly samples in two sites along the stream, several groundwater wells and monthly precipitation. Chemical and isotopic tracers are used to discriminate the streamflow components and to evaluate their incidence in the nitrate concentration. The easiest conceptual model for gaining streams contemplates two main elements: direct runoff and groundwater (baseflow and pre-event water). The direct runoff has the lowest electrical conductivity and ¹⁸O_w variable content. The baseflow component is characterized by the highest electrical conductivity and isotope composition quite constant. Finally, pre-event water has an intermediate electrical conductivity and isotopic content close to the rainfall-weighted average composition. The nitrate concentration obtained was in general related to the different stream stages and was a useful indicator to evaluate the fertilization in agricultural zones.     

Rigorous computation of proper motions and their effects on star positions

New rigorous formulas are given for the computation of the effects of proper motions and radial velocities on star positions, and for the transformation of proper motion components and radial velocities from one epoch to another. These expressions depend explicitly only on the values of the star's coordinates and distance, proper motion components and radial velocity, at the initial epoch.