The Weierbach experimental catchment in Luxembourg: A decade of critical zone monitoring in a temperate forest - from hydrological investigations to ecohydrological perspectives

The Weierbach experimental catchment (0.45 km²) is the most instrumented and studied sub-catchment in the Alzette River basin in Luxembourg. Within the last decade, it has matured towards an interdisciplinary critical zone observatory focusing on a better understanding of hydrological and hydro-geochemical processes. The Weierbach catchment is embedded in an elevated sub-horizontal plateau, characterized by slate bedrock and representative of the Ardennes Massif. Its climate is semi-marine, with precipitation being rather evenly distributed throughout the year. Base flow is lowest from July to September, essentially due to higher losses through evapotranspiration in summer. The regolith is composed of Devonian slates, overlaid by Pleistocene slope deposits and entirely covered by forest with 70% deciduous and 30% coniferous trees. Since 2009, the Weierbach has been extensively equipped for continuously monitoring water fluxes and physico-chemical parameters within different compartments of the critical zone. Additionally, these compartments are sampled fortnightly at several locations to analyze δ¹⁸O and δ²H isotopic composition of water including rainfall, throughfall, soil water, groundwater and streamwater. This ongoing monitoring and sampling programme is used for answering pressing questions related to fundamental catchment functions of water infiltration, storage, mixing and release in forest ecosystems. A recently started research line aims at investigating interactions between forest eco-hydrosystems with the atmosphere and understanding how catchments will respond to a non-stationary climate.     

Exploration tree approach to estimate historical earthquakes Mw and depth,test cases from the French past seismicity

The estimation of the seismological parameters of historical earthquakes is a key step when performing seismic hazard assessment in moderate seismicity regions as France. We propose an original method to assess magnitude and depth of historical earthquakes using intensity data points. A flowchart based on an exploration tree (ET) approach allows to apply a consistent methodology to all the different configurations of the earthquake macroseismic field and to explore the inherent uncertainties. The method is applied to French test case historical earthquakes, using the SisFrance (BRGM, IRSN, EDF) macroseismic database and the intensity prediction equations (IPEs) calibrated in the companion paper (Baumont et al. Bull Earthq Eng, 2017). A weighted least square scheme allowing for the joint inversion of magnitude and depth is applied to earthquakes that exhibit a decay of intensity with distance. Two cases are distinguished: (1) a “Complete ET” is applied to earthquakes located within the metropolitan territory, while (2) a “Simplified ET” is applied to both, offshore and cross border events, lacking information at short distances but disposing of reliable data at large ones. Finally, a priori-depth-based magnitude computation is applied to ancient or poorly documented events, only described by single/sporadic intensity data or few macroseismic testimonies. Specific processing of “felt” testimonies allows exploiting this complementary information for poorly described earthquakes. Uncertainties associated to magnitude and depth estimates result from both, full propagation of uncertainties related to the original macroseismic information and the epistemic uncertainty related to the IPEs selection procedure.     

Use of inhibitors for coastal bacteria and phytoplankton: Application to nitrogen uptake measurement

For several decades, prokaryotic and eukaryotic inhibitors have been used to exclude bacteria from microalgal cultures and for investigating prey-predator relationships. Recently there has been considerable interest in using specific inhibitors for studying the interactions between bacteria and phytoplankton, by selective repression of either organism’s activity. The effectiveness of chemical inhibitors must be tested before applying them to natural communities to partition metabolic activities between functional groups. Six different antibiotics selected from the most commonly reported in the literature were tested, at concentrations varying from 12.5 to 100 mg L⁻¹, for their effect on bacterial growth and functional diversity of natural communities from Mediterranean coastal waters. Penicillin and streptomycin each at a final concentration of 100 mg L⁻¹ significantly reduced bacterial growth within 2 h. There was a greater impact on bacterial functional diversity when both antibiotics were mixed together. This mixture did not have any significant effect on the growth of selected cultured phytoplankton strains, whereas the eukaryote inhibitor cycloheximide at 100 mg L⁻¹ reduced growth within 2 h of incubation. The penicillin–streptomycin mixture and cycloheximide alone successfully partitioned NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ uptake between bacteria and phytoplankton bi-weekly sampled in a coastal lagoon in Autumn, where bacterial contribution to total NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ uptake averaged 46 and 41%, respectively. The use of specific inhibitors may be a valuable method for studying interactions, such as competition and mutualism, or lack of interaction between the different components of microbial communities and could be used to study their relative importance in biogeochemical fluxes.     

A modelling framework for the study of Spatial Data Infrastructures applied to coastal management and planning

The continuous development of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) provides a favourable context for environmental management and planning. However, it appears that the actual contribution of SDIs should also depend on the correlation between users’ expectations and the services delivered to them. Several studies have addressed some organizational, methodological and technological aspects of the development of SDIs. However, only a few studies have, to the best of our knowledge, studied SDI use at large. This article introduces a methodological approach oriented towards the study of the relationship between SDIs and the users interacting with them as part of their professional practices. Our study is applied to coastal zone management and planning in France. This approach combines structural and data flow modelling. The former is based on Social Network Analysis (SNA) and the latter on Data Flow Diagrams (DFD). This modelling approach has been applied to an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results identify the SDIs, geographical data flows and institutional levels implied in French coastal zone management and planning.     

Boron isotopic fractionation between minerals and fluids: New insights from in situ high pressure-high temperature vibrational spectroscopic data

Equilibrium boron isotopic fractionations between trigonal B(OH)₃ and tetragonal B(OH)₄⁻ aqueous species have been calculated at high P-T conditions using measured vibrational spectra (Raman and IR) and force-field modeling to compute reduced partition function ratios for B-isotopic exchange following Urey’s theory. The calculated isotopic fractionation factor at 300 K, α_3/4 = 1.0176(2), is slightly lower than the formerly calculated value of α_3/4 = 1.0193 (Kakihana and Kotaka, 1977), due to differences in the determined vibrational frequencies. The effect of pressure on α_3/4 up to 10 GPa and 723 K is shown to be negligible relative to temperature or speciation (pH) effects. Implications for the interpretation of boron fractionation in experimental and natural systems are discussed. We also show that the relationship between seawater-mineral B isotope fractionation and pH can be expressed using two variables, α_3/4 on one hand, and the pK_a of the boric acid-borate equilibrium on the other hand. This latter value is given by the equilibrium of boron species in water for the carbonate-water exchange, but could be governed by mineral surface properties in the case of clays. This may allow defining intrinsic paleo-pHmeters from B isotope fractionation between carbonate and authigenic minerals. Finally, it is shown that fractionation of boron isotopes can be rationalized in terms of the changes in 1) coordination of B from trigonal to tetrahedral in both fluids and minerals; and 2) the ligand nature around B from OH⁻ in the fluid and some hydrous minerals to non-hydrogenated O in many minerals. Relationships are established that allow predicting the isotopic fractionation factor of B between minerals and fluid.     

Holocene salt‐marsh sedimentary infilling and relative sea‐level changes in West Brittany (France) using foraminifera‐based transfer functions

In order to reconstruct former sea‐levels and to better characterize the history of Holocene salt‐marsh sedimentary infillings in West Brittany (western France), local foraminifera‐based transfer functions were developed using weighted‐average‐partial‐least‐squares (WAPLS) regression, based on a modern data set of 26 and 51 surface samples obtained from salt‐marshes in the bay of Tresseny and the bay of Brest, respectively. Fifty cores were retrieved from Tresseny, Porzguen, Troaon and Arun salt‐marshes, which were litho‐ and biostratigraphically analysed in order to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental changes. A total of 26 AMS ¹⁴C age determinations were performed within the sediment successions. The Holocene evolution of salt‐marsh environments can be subdivided into four stages: (i) a development of brackish to freshwater marshes (from c. 6400 to 4500 cal. a BP); (ii) salt‐marsh formation behind gravel barriers in the bay of Brest (from 4500 to 2900 cal. a BP); (iii) salt‐marsh erosion and rapid changes of infilling dynamics due to the destruction of coastal barriers by storm events (c. 2900?2700 cal. a BP); (iv) renewed salt‐marsh deposition and small environmental changes (from 2700 cal. a BP to present). From the application of transfer functions to fossil assemblages, 14 new sea‐level index points were obtained, indicating a mean relative sea‐level rise of around 0.90±0.12 mm a^?1 since 6300 cal. a BP.     

Cadmium isotopic constraints on metal sources in the Huize Zn-Pb deposit,SW China

The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou(SYG)Zn-Pb metallogenic zone in SW China contains＞400 carbonate-hosted hydrothermal Zn-Pb deposits.Some of these,such as the Huize,Tianbaoshan,and Daliangzi deposits,are super-large deposits with significant reserves of Cd,Ge,and Ag.However,the sources of these metals remain controversial.This study investigated the Cd isotopic geochemistry of the Huize deposit,the largest Zn-Pb deposit in the SYG area.Sphalerites formed at three stages in the deposit have different colors:black or dark brown(Stage Ⅰ),red(Stage Ⅱ),and light-yellow(Stage Ⅲ).The δ114/110Cd values of the sphalerites are in the order Stage Ⅲ＜Stage Ⅰ＜Stage Ⅱ.Kinetic isotopic fractionation is likely the key factor causing the lower δ114/110Cd values in the early formed Stage Ⅰ sphalerites than in later-formed Stage Ⅱ sphalerites,with cooling of ore-forming fluids being responsible for the still lower values of the Stage Ⅲ sphalerites.In galena,the δ114/110Cd values are inversely correlated with Cd contents and tend to be higher in high-Zn galena.We speculate that Cd isotopic fractionation was significant during the precipitation of sphalerite and galena,with light Cd isotopes being enriched in galena rather than sphalerite.Comparison of the Cd isotopic signatures and Zn/Cd ratios of different endmembers suggests that the δ114/110Cd values and Zn/Cd ratios of sphalerite from the Huize deposit,as well as other large-scale deposits from the SYG area,are lie in those range of Emeishan basalts and sedimentary rocks and the mean δ114/110Cd values of these deposits show good negative correlation with 1/Cd,suggesting that the ore-forming materials of these deposits were derived from the mixing of Emeishan basalts and sed-imentary rocks.This study demonstrates that Cd isotopes can be useful proxies in elucidating ore genesis in large Zn-Pb deposits.     

Latitudinal variations in Titan’s methane and haze from Cassini VIMS observations

We analyze observations taken with Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), to determine the current methane and haze latitudinal distribution between 60°S and 40°N. The methane variation was measured primarily from its absorption band at 0.61 μm, which is optically thin enough to be sensitive to the methane abundance at 20-50 km altitude. Haze characteristics were determined from Titan’s 0.4-1.6 μm spectra, which sample Titan’s atmosphere from the surface to 200 km altitude. Radiative transfer models based on the haze properties and methane absorption profiles at the Huygens site reproduced the observed VIMS spectra and allowed us to retrieve latitude variations in the methane abundance and haze. We find the haze variations can be reproduced by varying only the density and single scattering albedo above 80 km altitude. There is an ambiguity between methane abundance and haze optical depth, because higher haze optical depth causes shallower methane bands; thus a family of solutions is allowed by the data. We find that haze variations alone, with a constant methane abundance, can reproduce the spatial variation in the methane bands if the haze density increases by 60% between 20°S and 10°S (roughly the sub-solar latitude) and single scattering absorption increases by 20% between 60°S and 40°N. On the other hand, a higher abundance of methane between 20 and 50 km in the summer hemisphere, as much as two times that of the winter hemisphere, is also possible, if the haze variations are minimized. The range of possible methane variations between 27°S and 19°N is consistent with condensation as a result of temperature variations of 0-1.5 K at 20-30 km. Our analysis indicates that the latitudinal variations in Titan’s visible to near-IR albedo, the north/south asymmetry (NSA), result primarily from variations in the thickness of the darker haze layer, detected by Huygens DISR, above 80 km altitude. If we assume little to no latitudinal methane variations we can reproduce the NSA wavelength signatures with the derived haze characteristics. We calculate the solar heating rate as a function of latitude and derive variations of ∼10-15% near the sub-solar latitude resulting from the NSA. Most of the latitudinal variations in the heating rate stem from changes in solar zenith angle rather than compositional variations.     

Structural patterns in river network organization at both infra‐ and supra‐basin levels: the case of a granitic relief

Within a landform, the channelized water path from any point to the corresponding outlet is split into successive components within the Strahler ordering scheme. The probability density functions (pdf) of the length L of the whole channelized path and of the lengths of the components are studied as multi‐level structural functions. We have considered a granitic area and studied both its main basin and the set of its 48 constituent basins. With respect to the main basin, the pdf of the component lengths exhibit a strong scaling property, except for the highest orders, due to a hierarchical constraint; hence, the pdf of sum L has no particular shape. We have nevertheless identified an underlying structural pattern at particular infra‐ and supra‐basin levels, where the hierarchical constraint is weaker. This identification process entails noting structurally emerging patterns based on multi‐level variables and distributions, which satisfy the general self‐similarity of networks. The fairly good fit of an analytical gamma law with most of these emerging patterns can prove to be a positive step towards both a general modelling approach to the geomorphometric functions and a stronger geomorphological basement of hydrological transfer functions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.