Fluvial dynamics and 14C-10Be disequilibrium on the Bolivian Altiplano

Determining sediment transfer times is key to understanding source-to-sink dynamics and the transmission of environmental signals through the fluvial system. Previous work on the Bolivian Altiplano applied the in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be-chronometer to river sands and proposed sediment storage times of ~10–20 kyr in four catchments southeast of Lake Titicaca. However, the fidelity of those results hinges upon isotopic steady-state within sediment supplied from the source area. With the aim of independently quantifying sediment storage times and testing the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be steady-state assumption, we dated sediment storage units within one of the previously investigated catchments using radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al isochron burial dating, and ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al depth-profile dating. Palaeosurfaces appear to preserve remnants of a former fluvial system, which has undergone drainage reversal, reduction in catchment area, and local isostatic uplift since ~2.8 Ma. From alluvium mantling the palaeosurfaces we gained a deposition age of ~580 ka, while lower down fluvial terraces yielded ≤34 ka, and floodplains ~3–1 ka. Owing to restricted channel connectivity with the terraces and palaeosurfaces, the main source of channel sediment is via reworking of the late Holocene floodplain. Yet modelling a set of feasible scenarios reveals that floodplain storage and burial depth are incompatible with the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be disequilibrium measured in the channel. Instead we propose that the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be offset results from: (i) non-uniform erosion whereby deep gullies supply hillslope-derived debris; and/or (ii) holocene landscape transience associated with climate or human impact. The reliability of the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be chronometer vitally depends upon careful evaluation of sources of isotopic disequilibrium in a wide range of depositional and erosional landforms in the landscape. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating Runoff Using Hydro-Geodetic Approaches

Given the continuous decline in global runoff data availability over the past decades, alternative approaches for runoff determination are gaining importance. When aiming for global scale runoff at a sufficient temporal resolution and with homogeneous accuracy, the choice to use spaceborne sensors is only a logical step. In this respect, we take water storage changes from Gravity Recovery And Climate Explorer (grace) results and water level measurements from satellite altimetry, and present a comprehensive assessment of five different approaches for river runoff estimation: hydrological balance equation, hydro-meteorological balance equation, satellite altimetry with quantile function-based stage–discharge relationships, a rudimentary instantaneous runoff–precipitation relationship, and a runoff–storage relationship that takes time lag into account. As a common property, these approaches do not rely on hydrological modeling; they are either purely data driven or make additional use of atmospheric reanalyses. Further, these methods, except runoff–precipitation ratio, use geodetic observables as one of their inputs and, therefore, they are termed hydro-geodetic approaches. The runoff prediction skill of these approaches is validated against in situ runoff and compared to hydrological model predictions. Our results show that catchment-specific methods (altimetry and runoff–storage relationship) clearly outperform the global methods (hydrological and hydro-meteorological approaches) in the six study regions we considered. The global methods have the potential to provide runoff over all landmasses, which implies gauged and ungauged basins alike, but are still limited due to inconsistencies in the global hydrological and hydro-meteorological datasets that they use.     

Input-output Balances of Nutrients and Plankton in a Flooded Area of the Lower Odra

The retention of particulate matter of the Odra River in flooded areas was estimated by determining suspended particulate matter (SPM) elimination and particle-bound nutrient retention in a polder area of the Lower Odra Valley national park. Water and suspended matter samples collected before, during, and after the 1997 summer flood at the inlet and the outlet of the investigated polder (Polder A/B close to Schwedt) offer the opportunity to balance the matter retention inside the floodplain. The maximum level of retained SPM (more than 80%) was calculated for the record flood of summer 1997, while in ordinary winter floods retention differs between 33% and 70%. Basic properties of the flowing particles like settling velocity, density, loss on ignition etc. change on their way through the polder area. In the investigated Polder A/B a retention of at least 50% of particle-bound phosphorus which was independent of the incoming suspended matter load from the Odra River was observed. The retention of particle-bound nitrogen and carbon varied seasonally to different extents. The presented balance demonstrates that particle-bound nutrient retention in polders is an important factor in the self-purification process of the river system. Some additional effort was done to study changes of plankton composition: during a joint field experiment in spring 1998, the authors determined biological parameters (abundance and biomass of phytoplankton and zooplankton) of water samples at polder inflow and outflow points.     

Chronology of Quaternary terrace deposits at the locality Hohle Gasse (Pratteln,NW Switzerland)

The Quaternary stratigraphy of the Alpine Foreland consists of distinct terrace levels, which have been assigned to four morphostratigraphic units: Höhere (Higher) Deckenschotter, Tiefere (Lower) Deckenschotter, Hochterrasse (High Terrace) and Niederterrasse (Lower Terrace). Here, we focus on the terrace gravels at Hohle Gasse, SSE of Pratteln near Basel, which are mapped as Tiefere Deckenschotter. Petrographic and morphometric data established from clasts allowed to infer the transport mechanisms and sources of the gravels. Sedimentological analyses indicate that the gravels were transported by a braided river and deposited in a distal glaciofluvial setting. In addition, it can be shown that the majority of the clasts display multiple reworking and only a minority maintained a distinct glaciofluvial shape. Cosmogenic multi-isotope dating using ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl allowed direct dating of the sediments at the study site. A depth-profile age of \(2 70_{ - 1 90}^{ + 8 30}\) ka for ¹⁰Be was achieved for the deposits at Hohle Gasse. Unfortunately, no age could be modelled from the ³⁶Cl concentrations as the blank correction was too high. Furthermore, this age proves that the studied terrace level should be assigned to the morphostratigraphic unit Hochterrasse.     

A 2,500-year record of environmental change in Highlands Hammock State Park (Central Florida, U.S.A.) inferred from siliceous microfossils

Analysis of siliceous microfossils of a 79 cm long peat sediment core from Highlands Hammock State Park, Florida, revealed distinct changes in the local hydrology during the past 2,500 years. The coring site is a seasonally inundated forest where water availability is directly influenced by precipitation. Diatoms, chrysophyte statospores, sponge remains and phytoliths were counted in 25 samples throughout the core. Based on the relative abundance of diatom species, the record was subdivided into four diatom assemblage zones, which mainly reflect the hydrological state of the study site. An age-depth relationship based on radiocarbon measurements of eight samples reveals a basal age of the core of approximately 2,500 cal. yrs. BP. Two significant changes of diatom assemblage composition were found that could be linked to both, natural and anthropogenic influences. At 700 cal. yrs. BP, the diatom record documents a shift from tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira species to epiphytic Eunotia species, indicating a shortening of the hydroperiod, i.e. the time period during which a wetland is covered by water. This transition was interpreted as being triggered by natural climate change. In the middle of the twentieth century a second major turnover took place, at that time however, as a result of human impact on the park hydrology through the construction of dams and canals close to the study site.     

VLBI-derived troposphere parameters during CONT08

Time-series of zenith wet and total troposphere delays as well as north and east gradients are compared, and zenith total delays (ZTD) are combined on the level of parameter estimates. Input data sets are provided by ten Analysis Centers (ACs) of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) for the CONT08 campaign (12?C26 August 2008). The inconsistent usage of meteorological data and models, such as mapping functions, causes systematics among the ACs, and differing parameterizations and constraints add noise to the troposphere parameter estimates. The empirical standard deviation of ZTD among the ACs with regard to an unweighted mean is 4.6?mm. The ratio of the analysis noise to the observation noise assessed by the operator/software impact (OSI) model is about 2.5. These and other effects have to be accounted for to improve the intra-technique combination of VLBI-derived troposphere parameters. While the largest systematics caused by inconsistent usage of meteorological data can be avoided and the application of different mapping functions can be considered by applying empirical corrections, the noise has to be modeled in the stochastic model of intra-technique combination. The application of different stochastic models shows no significant effects on the combined parameters but results in different mean formal errors: the mean formal errors of the combined ZTD are 2.3?mm (unweighted), 4.4?mm (diagonal), 8.6?mm [variance component (VC) estimation], and 8.6?mm (operator/software impact, OSI). On the one hand, the OSI model, i.e. the inclusion of off-diagonal elements in the cofactor-matrix, considers the reapplication of observations yielding a factor of about two for mean formal errors as compared to the diagonal approach. On the other hand, the combination based on VC estimation shows large differences among the VCs and exhibits a comparable scaling of formal errors. Thus, for the combination of troposphere parameters a combination of the two extensions of the stochastic model is recommended.     

Pollutant Concentrations in Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratio with Avenues of Trees for Various Wind Directions

This study summarizes the effects of avenues of trees in urban street canyons on traffic pollutant dispersion. We describe various wind-tunnel experiments with different tree-avenue models in combination with variations in street-canyon aspect ratio W/H (with W the street-canyon width and H the building height) and approaching wind direction. Compared to tree-free street canyons, in general, higher pollutant concentrations are found. Avenues of trees do not suppress canyon vortices, although the air ventilation in canyons is hindered significantly. For a perpendicular wind direction, increases in wall-average and wall-maximum concentrations at the leeward canyon wall and decreases in wall-average concentrations at the windward wall are found. For oblique and perpendicular wind directions, increases at both canyon walls are obtained. The strongest effects of avenues of trees on traffic pollutant dispersion are observed for oblique wind directions for which also the largest concentrations at the canyon walls are found. Thus, the prevailing assumption that attributes the most harmful dispersion conditions to a perpendicular wind direction does not hold for street canyons with avenues of trees. Furthermore, following dimensional analysis, an estimate of the normalized wall-maximum traffic pollutant concentration in street canyons with avenues of trees is derived.     

An Efficient Non-iterative Bulk Parametrization of Surface Fluxes for Stable Atmospheric Conditions Over Polar Sea-Ice

In climate and weather prediction models the near-surface turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum and related transfer coefficients are usually parametrized on the basis of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST). To avoid iteration, required for the numerical solution of the MOST equations, many models apply parametrizations of the transfer coefficients based on an approach relating these coefficients to the bulk Richardson number \(Ri_{b}\). However, the parametrizations that are presently used in most climate models are valid only for weaker stability and larger surface roughnesses than those documented during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean campaign (SHEBA). The latter delivered a well-accepted set of turbulence data in the stable surface layer over polar sea-ice. Using stability functions based on the SHEBA data, we solve the MOST equations applying a new semi-analytic approach that results in transfer coefficients as a function of \(Ri_{b}\) and roughness lengths for momentum and heat. It is shown that the new coefficients reproduce the coefficients obtained by the numerical iterative method with a good accuracy in the most relevant range of stability and roughness lengths. For small \(Ri_{b}\), the new bulk transfer coefficients are similar to the traditional coefficients, but for large \(Ri_{b}\) they are much smaller than currently used coefficients. Finally, a possible adjustment of the latter and the implementation of the new proposed parametrizations in models are discussed.     

Numerical modelling of stream–aquifer interaction: Quantifying the impact of transient streambed permeability and aquifer heterogeneity

Stream–aquifer interaction plays a vital role in the water cycle, and a proper study of this interaction is needed for understanding groundwater recharge, contaminants migration, and for managing surface water and groundwater resources. A model‐based investigation of a field experiment in a riparian zone of the Schwarzbach river, a tributary of the Rhine River in Germany, was conducted to understand stream–aquifer interaction under alternative gaining and losing streamflow conditions. An equivalent streambed permeability, estimated by inverting aquifer responses to flood waves, shows that streambed permeability increased during infiltration of stream water to aquifer and decreased during exfiltration. Aquifer permeability realizations generated by multiple‐point geostatistics exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity and anisotropy. A coupled surface water groundwater flow model was developed incorporating the time‐varying streambed permeability and heterogeneous aquifer permeability realizations. The model was able to reproduce varying pressure heads at two observation wells near the stream over a period of 55 days. A Monte Carlo analysis was also carried out to simulate groundwater flow, its age distribution, and the release of a hypothetical wastewater plume into the aquifer from the stream. Results of this uncertainty analysis suggest (a) stream–aquifer exchange flux during the infiltration periods was constrained by aquifer permeability; (b) during exfiltration, this flux was constrained by the reduced streambed permeability; (c) the effect of temporally variable streambed permeability and aquifer heterogeneity were found important to improve the accurate capture of the uncertainty; and (d) probabilistic infiltration paths in the aquifer reveal that such pathways and the associated prediction of the extent of the contaminant plume are highly dependent on aquifer heterogeneity.