Inland notches: lithological characteristics and climatic implications of subaerial cavernous landforms in Israel

Inland notches, are elongated concave‐shape indentations that develop on the carbonate rocky cliffs of mountainous zones, down to the desert fringe. These rock shelters form as a result of the interaction between specific petrologic characteristics and climatic controls, emphasizing the importance of environment upon rock decay. Inland notches are shaped due to slight differences (1–15%) in the porosity of the visor and cavity bed: the cavity bed is more porous, so more likely to erode by exfoliation and dissolution. Thus, the cavity bed retreats at a faster rate compared to the slower subaerial dissolution of the visor bed, until a critical point is reached where the visor collapses. In Israel, inland notches inhabit the same lithostratigraphic units as do large caves. The vast majority (71%) of inland notches are formed in hard, dense, and crystalline limestone deposited throughout the Turonian age. Another 27% are cut into the dolomitic sequence of the upper Albian and lower Cenomanian. The rest (2%) are dispersed in the various formations of the Cenomanian and Eocene eras. Notches are most common in semi‐arid and in Mediterranean climates but mainly in areas with annual rainfall of between 400 mm and 850 mm. In more humid areas (> 900 mm/yr) notches are negligible or completely absent, due to the rapid rate of chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks. In the desert fringe (200–300 mm/yr), mechanical decay is accelerated and notches exhibit disintegration processes, visor collapse, and rock falls. In the desert area (< 200 mm/yr), salt decay replaces the chemical decay characteristic of inland notches, encouraging tafoni formation. In addition, notches form through fluvial activity or on account of greater petrophysical differences between consecutive beds; i.e. elongated cavities may form in soft rocks, shaded by harder visors or crusts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of bend amplitude and planform morphology on flow and sedimentation in submarine channels

We present a series of experiments that investigate the morphology of sediment deposits within sinuous submarine channels of different sinuosity (S = 1.14–1.94) and planform (symmetric and asymmetric bends), generated by bedload-dominated turbidity current flows. Flows were generated by releasing dense saline gravity currents over a mobile sediment bed through pre-formed sinuous channels. Flows had a basal-outwards helicity and produced a characteristic bed morphology with point bars downstream of the bend apex at the inside of bends and scour at the outside of bends. An increasing loss of fluid through overspill with increasing channel sinuosity results in a decreasing magnitude of cross-stream velocity downstream, a decreasing amount of erosion and deposition, and decreasing transverse slopes of in-channel deposits. Basal fluid from within the channel is transported over the outer-levee at bends, implying that proximal outer-bend levee deposits will have similar sediment composition to that within the channel. More deposition of coarse material might be expected on levees and in overbank regions close to higher amplitude bends. No simple relationship was observed between superelevation and sinuosity, probably due to changes in the relative influences of downstream velocity and bend curvature on centrifugal force and inertial run-up. In the channel with the tightest initial bend curvature, overspill fluid from Bend 1 re-entered the channel at Bend 2, dominating flow characteristics and disrupting the basal-outwards helicity observed in the other channels. Higher sinuosity channels and those with shallow regional and levee slopes are thus more likely to have a higher proportion of anomalous flow and sedimentation patterns due to the influence of overspill fluid re-entry into the channel. The results of this investigation are combined with published observations to enable the synthesis of a new model for sedimentation in sinuous submarine channels.     

雪藻高密度连续培养中生物量和花生四烯酸的高产率

以 1 .4cm和 2 .8cm光径的平板光生物反应器 ,恒定高光强 [2 4 0 0 μE/(m2 ·s) ],通气、无菌高密度连续培养雪地绿藻 (简称雪藻 )。连续采收并补充等量新鲜培养液 ,当藻体生物量(以去灰分干重表示 ,AFDW)达恒态时 ,研究雪藻比生长速率 (SGR)、藻体的生物产量、总脂肪酸 (TFA)和花生四烯酸 (AA)产率。结果表明 ,尽管随着比生长速率增加 ,雪藻高密度连续培养体系的AA/TFA、TFA/AFDW和AA/AFDW三个指标有不同程度的降低 ,但生物产量、总脂肪酸及其花生四烯酸产出都相当高。 2 .8cm光径的平板光生物反应器中 ,雪藻SGR为0 .2d- 1 时 ,每平方米光照面积日获 35 .3gAFDW的高产量 ;SGR 0 .1 35d- 1 时 ,TFA产率最大 ,为7.0g/(m2 ·d) ,此时AA产率也最高 ,达 2 .6g/(m2 ·d)。尽管 1 .4cm光径的反应器的培养体积比前者下降了 5 0 % ,但细胞浓度明显提高 ,单位光照面积的AFDW和TFA最大日产率只下降了37.3%和 1 0 % ,分别为 2 2 .1和 6.3g/(m2 ·d) ,而AA的最大日产率也是 2 .6g/(m2 ·d)。结果还表明 ,氮或磷营养亏缺能明显提高雪藻AA含量的各项指标 ,同时高光强也有利于雪藻累积AA。     

Reappraised list of historical earthquakes that affected Israel and its close surroundings

Numerous historical reports of damaging earthquakes in the Levant have accumulated over the last 3000 years. Here, we screen that information and focus on the damaging earthquakes that affected Israel from the second millennia BCE to the 1927 CE Jericho earthquake and list the earthquakes by date, of major damage, type of sequence, and degree of size. The compilation results in three different lists: (i) 71 reliable earthquakes that in our opinion were most probably associated with the Dead Sea Transform (DST) and affected Israel and its close surroundings; (ii) 41 questionable earthquakes that should be re-evaluated or ignored; and (iii) 46 earthquakes that probably occurred but were erroneously associated with damage in Israel. What emerges from the list of the reliable earthquakes is that (i) Israel and its close surroundings suffered damage about 32 times during the last two millennia, that is, once in about 60 years, although not regularly; (ii) 21 of the earthquakes occurred during the last millennia, i.e., an event every ～45 years; and (iii) three intervals of increased reporting are noticed: between the fourth and the mid-eighth century, from the beginning of the eleventh to the end of the thirteenth century, and from the end of the eighteenth century up to the last entry in 1927, though this period may be extended until today. In-depth evaluation of the changing regimes over time within the study area, the historical reports of earthquake damage outside of Israel, and comparison with physical paleo- and archaeo-seismology evidence, such as the “137–206” and “165–236” paleoseismic earthquakes for which there is no historical match, indicates that the historical list is far from being complete. Thus, we argue that the apparent cycles of historical reporting do not necessarily reflect the actual rate of seismic activity and further investigation is needed to establish a compiled, multi-sourced list to decipher the true nature of cycles of strong earthquakes in this region during historical times.     

Field investigation of ridge–runnel dynamics on an intertidal mudflat

Flow-parallel linear ridge–runnel (R–R) bedforms composed of mainly cohesive sediments have been investigated at an intertidal site located at Hills Flats in the Severn Estuary, UK. It is argued that the sequences of sand–mud laminae in the ridge sediments indicate strongly that R–R are depositional bedforms. Faint R–R topography scoured in the underlying soft bedrock and parallel rows of coarser particle now found at the base of ridges are evidence of secondary vortices that may have provided a catalyst for mud ridge growth. Bed shear stress remains below the erosion threshold for all but the most recent and weak surficial mud deposits which are removed by evorsion [mechanical erosion by turbulent flows that may also carry sand and/or gravel] during Spring tidal flow ca. 60 cm/s. Differences in flow characteristics between ridges and runnel are minor. Corrasion [to erode or be eroded by abrasion] by sparse coarse sediment largely prevents net deposition in the runnels. Over time a slight imbalance between mud deposition and erosion rates allows slow growth of the ridges suggesting that these mudflats may be especially sensitive to slight changes in the local hydrodynamic regime and/or sediment supply.     

Controls on channel deposits of highly variable rivers: Comparing hydrology and event deposits in the Burdekin River,Australia

Discharge event frequency, magnitude and duration all control river channel morphology and sedimentary architecture. Uncertainty persists as to whether alluvial deposits in the rock record are a time-averaged amalgam from all discharge events, or a biased record of larger events. This paper investigates the controls on channel deposit character and subsurface stratigraphic architecture in a river with seasonal discharge and very high inter-annual variability, the Burdekin River of north-east Australia. In such rivers, most sediment movement is restricted to a few days each year and at other times little sediment moves. However, the maximum discharge magnitude does not directly correlate with the amount of morphological change and some big events do not produce large deposits. The Burdekin channel deposits consist of five main depositional elements: (i) unit bars; (ii) vegetation-generated bars; (iii) gravel sheets and lags; (iv) antidune trains; and (v) sand sheets. The proportions of each depositional element preserved in the deposits depend on the history of successive large discharge events, their duration and the rate at which they wane. Events with similar peak magnitude but different rate of decline preserve different event deposits. The high intra-annual and inter-annual discharge variability and rapid rate of stage change make it likely that small to moderate-scale bed morphology will be in disequilibrium with flow conditions most of the time. Consequently, dune and unit bar size and cross-bed set thickness are not good indicators of event or channel size. Antidunes may be more useful as indicators of flow conditions at the time they formed. Rivers with very high coefficient of variance of maximum discharge, such as the Burdekin, form distinctive channel sediment bodies. However, the component parts are such that, if they are examined in isolation, they could lead to misleading interpretation of the nature of the depositional environment if conventional interpretations are used.     

Unit bar architecture in a highly-variable fluvial discharge regime: Examples from the Burdekin River,Australia

Unit bars are relatively large bedforms that develop in rivers over a wide range of climatic regimes. Unit bars formed within the highly-variable discharge Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia, were examined over three field campaigns between 2015 and 2017. These bars had complex internal structures, dominated by co-sets of cross-stratified and planar-stratified sets. The cross-stratified sets tended to down-climb. The development of complex internal structures was primarily a result of three processes: (i) superimposed bedforms reworking the unit bar avalanche face; (ii) variable discharge triggering reactivation surfaces; and (iii) changes in bar growth direction induced by stage change. Internal structures varied along the length and across the width of unit bars. For the former, down-climbing cross-stratified sets tended to pass into single planar cross-stratified deposits at the downstream end of emergent bars; such variation related to changes in fluvial conditions whilst bars were active. A hierarchy of six categories of fluvial unsteadiness is proposed, with these discussed in relation to their effects on unit bar (and dune) internal structure. Across-deposit variation was caused by changes in superimposed bedform and bar character along bar crests; such changes related to the three-dimensionality of the channel and bar geometry when bars were active. Variation in internal structure is likely to be more pronounced in unit bar deposits than in smaller bedform (for example, dune) deposits formed in the same river. This is because smaller bedforms are more easily washed out or modified by changing discharge conditions and their smaller dimensions restrict the variation in flow conditions that occur over their width. In regimes where unit bar deposits are well-preserved, their architectural variability is a potential aid to their identification. This complex architecture also allows greater resolution in interpreting the conditions before and during bar initiation and development.     

PHYSIOLOGICAL INHIBITORY EFFECT OF OCS IN ARACHIDONIC ACID-RICH PARIETOCHLORIS INCISA （TREBOUXIOPHYCEAE, CHLOROPHYTA）

Parietochloris incisa is an arachidonic acid-rich snow green alga. The main physiological profiles, such as ash free dry weight (AFDW), chlorophyll, carotenoid, protein and total fatty acids (TFA), in this alga exposed to old culture supernatant (OCS) at the decline phase or its crude ethyl acetate extracts (CEAE) were investigated by using tubular photobioreactors of different diameters. Results showed that both OCS and CEAE had strong inhibitory effect on the above physiological parameters. The longer the culture was exposed to OCS and the more CEAE were added into the algal culture, the more the above physiological properties were inhibited. Arachidonic acid (AA), the dominant component of fatty acids in this alga, was also seriously inhibited with respect to total TFA, AFDW of cell mass, or culture volume, due to a prebable reduction of enzymes activities catalyzing chain elongation from C18:1ω9 to AA. These results incontestably evidenced that some CEAE dissolving substances existing in OCS, like auto-inhibitors, inhibited P. incisa growth through feedback. Hence, any efficient removal of auto-inhibitors from algal culture to decrease their bioactivity could be good for maximal production of desired products like AA.