The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading

The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records now provide a more complete picture of sedimentary processes and depositional environments within this region. Both downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes are identified in the study area. Turbidity currents and deposition of glacigenic debris flows are the dominating downslope processes, whereas mass failures, which are a common process on glaciated margins, appear to have been less significant. The slide debrite observed on the Bellsund Fan is most likely related to a 2.5–1.7 Ma old failure on the northwestern Barents Sea margin. The seismic records further reveal that alongslope current processes played a major role in shaping the sediment packages in the study area. Within the Knipovich rift valley and at the western rift flank accumulations as thick as 950–1,000 m are deposited. We note that oceanic basement is locally exposed within the rift valley, and that seismostratigraphic relationships indicate that fault activity along the eastern rift flank lasted until at least as recently as 1.5 Ma. A purely hemipelagic origin of the sediments in the rift valley and on the western rift flank is unlikely. We suggest that these sediments, partly, have been sourced from the western Svalbard—northwestern Barents Sea margin and into the Knipovich Ridge rift valley before continuous spreading and tectonic activity caused the sediments to be transported out of the valley and westward.     

Variability of groundwater nitrate concentrations over time in arid basin aquifers: sources, mechanisms of transport, and implications for conceptual models

In groundwater of the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, unexpectedly high levels of nitrate (NO₃ ^?) are documented in four basins: Red Light Draw, Eagle Flats, Wild Horse and Michigan Flats, and Lobo and Ryan Flats. NO₃ ^? concentrations are changing over time in the majority (82.8 %) of wells and are increasing in most (69.8 %). The temporal change raises questions about the potential sources of NO₃ ^? and about flow dynamics in these basins. Presence of NO₃ ^? and temporal variability in concentration has implications beyond contamination risk because it indicates relatively rapid recharge (<60 years) to the basin groundwaters which was not expected based on previous estimates from chloride mass balance models and groundwater age-dating techniques. This research combines existing data ranging back to the 1940s with data collected in 2011 to document a multi-decadal trend of overall increasing NO₃ ^? concentration in deep basin groundwaters. Chlorofluorocarbon analyses of groundwater collected during 2011 indicate the presence of young (<70 years) water in the basins. The authors infer from these data that there are mechanism(s) by which relatively rapid and widespread recharge occurs on the basin floors; that recharge is spatially and temporally variable and that it results from both anthropogenic (irrigated agriculture) and natural (precipitation) sources. In light of these observations, fundamental conceptual models of flow in these basins should be re-evaluated.     

The significance of quality of life and sustainability at the urban–rural fringe in the making of place-based community

Understandings of community in urban–rural fringe locations in Ireland are explored in this paper. As a specific space at the interface between the urban and the rural the fringe incorporates processes of rapid physical, social, and demographic change. These give rise to a range of complex and often competing dynamics, that impact on people and place in a variety of ways. Among the main preoccupations and concerns in these rapidly evolving fringe locations are those relating to what can broadly be described as ‘quality of life’. How this concept is understood across different groups situated within the spatial setting of the fringe, and how it influences the development of a sustainable community there, are central to this discussion. Drawing on household interviews from four case-study locations surrounding Galway City, Ireland, this paper examines how quality of life is experienced across a range of social and spatial dimensions that relate to these locations, and the extent to which they provide a common set of interests around which community may be built. From a wider knowledge perspective, it contributes to debates about how the concept of community provides explanatory power regarding the way in which individuals are associated with one another on the basis of a set of shared interests or concerns within a particular spatial setting.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001265

Landscapes in tectonically active Hindu Kush（NW Pakistan and NE Afghanistan） result from a complex integration of the effects of vertical and horizontal crustal block motions as well as erosion and deposition processes.Active tectonics in this region have greatly influenced the drainage system and geomorphic expressions.The study area is a junction of three important mountain ranges （Hindu Kush-Karakorum-Himalayas） and is thus an ideal natural laboratory to investigate the relative tectonic activity resulting from the India-Eurasia collision.We evaluate active tectonics using DEM derived drainage network and geomorphic indices hypsometric integral（HI）,stream-length gradient （SL）.fractal dimension（FD）.basin asymmetry factor（AF）.basin shape index（B_s）,valley floor width to valley height ratio（Vf） and mountain front sinuosity(S_mf). The results obtained from these indices were combined to yield an index of relative active tectonics （IRAT） using CIS.The average of the seven measured geomorphic indices was used to evaluate the distribution of relative tectonic activity in the study area.We defined four classes to define the degree of relative tectonic activity:class 1 very high（1.0≤IRAT 1.3）;class 2-high（1.3≥IRAT<1.3）:class 3—moderate（1.5≥IRAT<1.8）;and class 4—low（l.8≥1RAT）.In view of the results.we conclude that this combinetl approach allows the identification of the highly deformed areas related to active tectonics.Landsat imagery and held observations also evidence the presence of active tectonics based on the dellected streams,deformed landforms.active mountain fronts and triangular facets.The indicative values of IRAT are consistent with the areas of known relative uplift rates,landforms and geology.     

Temporal Variations in the Second-Degree Stokes Tesseral Geopotential Coefficients from Topex/Poseidon Altimetry

The TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetry data set covering the periodof January 1, 1993 to January 3, 2001 was used to derive monthlyseries of the second-degree tesseral geopotential coefficients.To account for the sea water temperature variations, rathersimple models have been devised and discussed, describinglocalized as well as areal variations of sea water temperatureand heights. The second-degree tesseral coefficients have alsobeen shown to be proportional to the pressureportions of the oceanic equatorial effective excitation functions,used in Ocean Angular Momentum (OAM) data. OAM datatogether with Atmospheric Angular Momentum (AAM) data canbe used to study observed polar motion (PM) series.The excess PM rates, derived from the T/P effective excitationfunctions, were compared to the corresponding observed PM rates,derived from the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS)Bulletin A and corrected with AAM also obtainedfrom IERS. The noise of the T/P derived PM rate series was foundto be significantly larger than the corresponding Bulletin A/AAMPM rate residuals as well as the PM rates derived from anindependent OAM series that was also available for the1993–2000 period.     

Rhone River flood deposits in Lake Le Bourget: a proxy for Holocene environmental changes in the NW Alps, France

The Holocene evolution of Rhone River clastic sediment supply in Lake Le Bourget is documented by sub-bottom seismic profiling and multidisciplinary analysis of well-dated sediment cores. Six high-amplitude reflectors within the lacustrine drape can be correlated to periods of enhanced inter- and underflow deposition in sediment cores. Based on the synthesis of major environmental changes in the NW Alps and on the age-depth model covering the past 7500 years in Lake Le Bourget, periods of enhanced Rhone River flood events in the lake can be related to abrupt climate changes and/or to increasing land use since c. 2700 cal. yr BP. For example, significant land use under rather stable climate conditions during the Roman Empire may be responsible for large flood deposits in the northern part of Lake Le Bourget between AD 966 and 1093. However, during the Little Ice Age (LIA), well-documented major environmental changes in the catchment area essentially resulted from climate change and formed basin-wide major flood deposits in Lake Le Bourget. Up to five 'LIA-like' Holocene cold periods developing enhanced Rhone River flooding activity in Lake Le Bourget are documented at c. 7200, 5200, 2800, 1600 and 200 cal. yr BP. These abrupt climate changes were associated in the NW Alps with Mont Blanc glacier advances, enhanced glaciofluvial regimes and high lake levels. Correlations with European lake level fluctuations and winter precipitation regimes inferred from glacier fluctuations in western Norway suggest that these five Holocene cooling events at 45°N were associated with enhanced westerlies, possibly resulting from a persistent negative mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation.