Sr and Nd isotopes as tracers of clastic sources in Lake Le Bourget sediment (NW Alps, France) during the Little Ice Age: Palaeohydrology implications

Geochemical methods (major elements and Sr, Nd isotopes) have been used to (1) characterize Lake Le Bourget sediments in the French Alps, (2) identify the current sources of the clastic sediments and estimate the source variability over the last 600 years. Major element results indicate that Lake Le Bourget sediments consist of 45% clastic component and 55% endogenic calcite. In addition, several individual flood levels have been identified during the Little Ice Age (LIA) on the basis of their higher clastic content (> 70%).Potential sources of Lake Le Bourget clastic sediments have been investigated from Sr and Nd isotope compositions. The sediments from the Sierroz River and Leysse River which are mainly derived from the Mesozoic Calcareous Massifs are characterised by lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and slightly lower ?_Nd(0) ratios than the Arve River sediments which are derived from the Palaeozoic Mont-Blanc External Crystalline Massifs. The Rhône River appears to have been the main source of clastic sediments into the lake for the last 600 years, as evidenced by a similar Sr and Nd isotopic compositions analyzed in core B16 sediments (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.719, ?_Nd(0) = − 10) and in the sediments of the Rhône River (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.719, ?_Nd(0) = − 9.6).The isotopic signatures of flood events and background samples from core B16 in Lake Le Bourget are also similar. This indicates that prior to ∼ 1800, the inputs into the lake have remained relatively homogeneous with the proportion of clastic component mainly being a function of the palaeohydrology of the Rhone River. Early human modification (deforestation and agriculture) of the lake catchment before the 1800s appears to have had little influence on the source of clastic sediments.     

Two-dimensional equilibrium morphological modelling of a tidal inlet: an entropy based approach

The management of tidal inlets requires the accurate prediction of equilibrium morphologies. In areas where the flow from rivers is highly regulated, it is important to give decision makers the ability to determine optimal flow management schemes, in order to allow tidal inlets to function as naturally as possible, and minimise the risk of inlet closure. The River Murray Mouth in South Australia is one such problem area. Drought and the retention of water for irrigation and urban water consumption have limited the amount of water entering the estuary. As a result, sediment from the coastal environment is being deposited in the mouth of the estuary, reducing the effect of further coastal interactions. Currently, situations such as this are modelled using traditional process-based methods, where wave, current, sediment transport and sediment balance modules are linked together in a time-stepping process. The modules are reapplied and assessed until a stable morphology is formed. In this paper, new options for modelling equilibrium morphologies of tidal inlets are detailed, which alleviate some of the shortfalls of traditional process-based models, such as the amplification of small errors and reliance on initial conditions. The modelling problem is approached in this paper from a different angle and involves the use of entropy based objective functions, which are optimised in order to find equilibrium morphologies. In this way, characteristics of a system at equilibrium can be recognised and a stable system predicted without having to step through time. This paper also details the use of self-organisation based modelling methods, another non-traditional model application, where local laws and feedback result in the formation of a global stable equilibrium morphology. These methods represent a different approach to traditional models, without some of the characteristics that may add to their limitations. Responsible Editor: Alejandro Souza     

Sand–Attapulgite Clay Mixtures as a Landfill Liner

Absrtract This paper investigates the potential use of sand–attapulgite (palygorskite) mixtures as a landfill liner. The sand and attapulgite clay used in this study were brought from Wahiba (eastern Oman) and Al-Shuwamiyah (southern Oman), respectively. Initially the basic properties of the sand and clay were determined. Then the attapulgite clay was added to the sand at 5, 10, 20 and 30% by dry weight of the sand. The sand–attapulgite clay mixtures were subjected to mineralogical, chemical, microfabric and geotechnical analyses. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) qualitative analysis showed that attapulgite is the major clay mineral. The chemical compounds, exchangeable cations and cation exchange capacity (CEC) for the␣samples were determined. The CEC for the sand–clay mixtures is low but increases with the increase in clay content. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination showed that the addition of clay developed coating between and around the sand grains which results in filling the voids and reducing the hydraulic conductivity of the sand–clay mixtures. The hydraulic conductivity values for the pure clay and sand + 30% clay mixture prepared at 2% above optimum water content are slightly higher than hydraulic conductivity requirements for landfill liners but can be acceptable. The geotechnical study which included grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, compaction, hydraulic conductivity and shear strength tests showed that the sand+30% clay mixture prepared at 2% above optimum water content can be considered to satisfy the requirements for landfill liners. For all sand–clay mixtures no swelling was recorded and the addition of clay to the sand improved the shear strength.     

Aeolian sediment transport on a human‐altered foredune

Changes in wind speed and sediment transport are evaluated at a gap and adjacent crest of a 2 to 3 m high, 40 m wide foredune built by sand fences and vegetation plantings on a wide, nourished fine sand beach at Ocean City, New Jersey. Anemometer masts, cylindrical sand traps and erosion pins were placed on the beach and dune during two obliquely onshore wind events in February and March 2003. Results reveal that: (1) changes in the alongshore continuity of the beach and dune system can act as boundaries to aeolian transport when winds blow at an angle to the shoreline; (2) oblique winds blowing across poorly vegetated patches in the dune increase the potential for creating an irregular crest elevation; (3) transport rates and deflation rates can be greater within the foredune than on the beach, if the dune surface is poorly vegetated and the beach has not had time to dry following tidal inundation; (4) frozen ground does not prevent surface deflation; and (5) remnant sand fences and fresh storm wrack have great local but temporary effect on transport rates. Temporal and spatial differences due to sand fences and wrack, changes in sediment availability due to time‐dependent differences in surface moisture and frozen ground, combined with complex topography and patchy vegetation make it difficult to specify cause–effect relationships. Effects of individual roughness elements on the beach and dune on wind flow and sediment transport can be quantified at specific locations at the event scale, but extrapolation of each event to longer temporal and spatial scales remains qualitative. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating rainfall patterns using physics scheme ensembles from a regional atmospheric model

This study evaluated the ability of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) multi-physics ensembles to simulate storm systems known as East Coast Lows (ECLs). ECLs are intense low-pressure systems that develop off the eastern coast of Australia. These systems can cause significant damage to the region. On the other hand, the systems are also beneficial as they generate the majority of high inflow to coastal reservoirs. It is the common interest of both hazard control and water management to correctly capture the ECL features in modeling, in particular, to reproduce the observed spatial rainfall patterns. We simulated eight ECL events using WRF with 36 model configurations, each comprising physics scheme combinations of two planetary boundary layer (pbl), two cumulus (cu), three microphysics (mp), and three radiation (ra) schemes. The performance of each physics scheme combination and the ensembles of multiple physics scheme combinations were evaluated separately. Results show that using the ensemble average gives higher skill than the median performer within the ensemble. More importantly, choosing a composite average of the better performing pbl and cu schemes can substantially improve the representation of high rainfall both spatially and quantitatively.     

Sediments of Lake Vens (SW European Alps,France) record large-magnitude earthquake events

We studied sediment cores from Lake Vens (2,327 m asl), in the Tinée Valley of the SW Alps, to test the paleoseismic archive potential of the lake sediments in this particularly earthquake-sensitive area. The historical earthquake catalogue shows that moderate to strong earthquakes, with intensities of IX–X, have impacted the Southern Alps during the last millennium. Sedimentological (X-ray images, grain size distribution) and geochemical (major elements and organic matter) analyses show that Lake Vens sediments consist of a terrigenous, silty material (minerals and organic matter) sourced from the watershed and diatom frustules. A combination of X-ray images, grain-size distribution, major elements and magnetic properties shows the presence of six homogenite-type deposits interbedded in the sedimentary background. These sedimentological features are ascribed to sediment reworking and grain sorting caused by earthquake-generated seiches. The presence of microfaults that cross-cut the sediment supports the hypothesis of seismic deposits in this system. A preliminary sediment chronology is provided by ²¹⁰Pb measurement and AMS ¹⁴C ages. According to the chronology, the most recent homogenite events are attributable to damaging historic earthquakes in AD 1887 (Ligure) and 1564 (Roquebillière). Hence, the Lake Vens sediment recorded large-magnitude earthquakes in the region and permits a preliminary estimate of recurrence time for such events of ~400 years.     

Hydrocarbon potential of the Sargelu Formation,North Iraq

Microscopic and chemical analysis of 85 rock samples from exploratory wells and outcrops in northern Iraq indicate that limestone, black shale and marl within the Middle Jurassic Sargelu Formation contain abundant oil-prone organic matter. For example, one 7-m (23-ft.)-thick section averages 442 mg?HC/g S2 and 439 °C Tmax (Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses) and 16 wt.% TOC. The organic matter, comprised principally of brazinophyte algae, dinoflagellate cysts, spores, pollen, foraminiferal test linings and phytoclasts, was deposited in a distal, suboxic to anoxic basin and can be correlated with kerogens classified as type A and type B or, alternatively, as type II. The level of thermal maturity is within the oil window with TAI?=?3^? to 3⁺, based on microspore colour of light yellowish brown to brown. Accordingly, good hydrocarbon generation potential is predicted for this formation. Terpane and sterane biomarker distributions, as well as stable isotope values, were determined for oils and potential source rock extracts to determine valid oil-to-source rock correlations. Two subfamily carbonate oil types—one of Middle Jurassic age (Sargelu) carbonate rock and the other of Upper Jurassic/Cretaceous age—as well as a different oil family related to Triassic marls, were identified based on multivariate statistical analysis (HCA and PCA). Middle Jurassic subfamily A oils from Demir Dagh oil field correlate well with rich, marginally mature, Sargelu source rocks in well MK-2 near the city of Baiji. In contrast, subfamily B oils have a greater proportion of R₂₈ steranes, indicating they were generated from Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous carbonates such as those at Gillabat oil field north of Mansuriyah Lake. Oils from Gillabat field thus indicate a lower degree of correlation with the Sargelu source rocks than do oils from Demir Dagh field. One-dimension petroleum system models of key wells were developed using IES PetroMod Software to evaluate burial-thermal history, source-rock maturity and the timing and extent of petroleum generation; interpreted well logs served as input to the models. The oil-generation potential of sulphur-rich Sargelu source rocks was simulated using closed system type II-S kerogen kinetics. Model results indicate that throughout northern Iraq, generation and expulsion of oil from the Sargelu began and ended in the late Miocene. At present, Jurassic source rocks might have generated and expelled between 70 % and 100 % of their total oil.     

Internal and forced variability along a section between Greenland and Portugal in the CLIPPER Atlantic model

Numerical models are used to estimate the meridional overturning and transports along the paths of two hydrographic cruises, carried out in 1997 and 2002 from Greenland to Portugal. We have examined the influence of the different paths of the two cruises and found that it could explain 0.4 to 2 Sv of difference in overturning (the precise value is model-dependent). Models show a decrease in the overturning circulation between 1997 and 2002, with different amplitudes. The CLIPPER ATL6 model reproduces well the observed weakening of the overturning in density coordinates between the cruises; in the model, the change is due to the combination of interannual and high-frequency forcing and internal variability associated with eddies and meanders. Examination of the -coordinate overturning reveals model–data discrepancies: the vertical structure in the models does not change as much as the observed one. The East Greenland current variability is mainly wind-forced in the ATL6 model, while fluctuations due to eddies and instabilities explain a large part of the North Atlantic Current variability. The time-residual transport of dense water and heat due to eddy correlations between currents and properties is small across this section, which is normal to the direction of the main current.