Degradates provide insight to spatial and temporal trends of herbicides in ground water

Since 1995, a network of municipal wells in Iowa, representing all major aquifer types (alluvial, bedrock/karst region, glacial drift, bedrock/nonkarst region), has been repeatedly sampled for a broad suite of herbicide compounds yielding one of the most comprehensive statewide databases of such compounds currently available in the United States. This dataset is ideal for documenting the insight that herbicide degradates provide to the spatial and temporal distribution of herbicides in ground water. During 2001, 86 municipal wells in Iowa were sampled and analyzed for 21 herbicide parent compounds and 24 herbicide degradates. The frequency of detection increased from 17% when only herbicide parent compounds were considered to 53% when both herbicide parents and degradates were considered. Thus, the transport of herbicide compounds to ground water is substantially underestimated when herbicide degradates are not considered. A significant difference in the results among the major aquifer types was apparent only when both herbicide parent compounds and their degradates were considered. In addition, including herbicide degradates greatly improved the statistical relation to the age of the water being sampled. When herbicide parent compounds are considered, only 40% of the wells lacking a herbicide detection could be explained by the age of the water predating herbicide use. However, when herbicide degradates were also considered, 80% of the ground water samples lacking a detection could be explained by the age of the water predating herbicide use. Finally, a temporal pattern in alachlor concentrations in ground water could only be identified when alachlor degradates were considered.     

Tropical forest monitoring and remote sensing: A new era of transparency in forest governance?

The extent of tropical deforestation is now being tracked by actors in the nongovernmental, academic, private and government sectors using several different sources of satellite imagery. This paper presents an overview of the satellite systems that can be used for operational forest monitoring in the tropics and examines some recent trends in their use. It also reviews various satellite-based studies to map moist tropical forests and draws upon lessons learned from land cover mapping projects in several countries and regions. The case of Indonesia, examined as a nation undergoing rapid conversion of forest to other land uses, is contrasted with Brazil where satellite-based deforestation monitoring is fully operational. In Indonesia, the paper argues, the creation of a national monitoring system for tropical forest conversion is needed to create a source of transparent, reliable information on forest cover and condition. Such a system is likely to succeed if based on multitemporal, moderate-resolution optical data such as imagery provided by MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer). When MODIS images are complemented by radar and fine-resolution imagery from sensors such as IKONOS and QuickBird, areas of abrupt change can be identified and the causes potentially discerned. Thus, satellite imagery at multiple temporal and spatial resolutions can effectively increase transparency in the forestry sector by revealing the rate and extent of deforestation on an annual basis and identifying potential areas of illegal logging.     

Biomolecules in hydrothermal systems: Calculation of the standard molal thermodynamic properties of nucleic-acid bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides at elevated temperatures and pressures

Calculation of the thermodynamic properties of biomolecules at high temperatures and pressures is fundamental to understanding the biogeochemistry of hydrothermal systems. Ample evidence indicates that hyperthermophilic microbes interact chemically with their mineralogical environment in these systems. Nevertheless, little is known about the thermodynamic properties of the biomolecules involved in such processes. Recent advances in theoretical biogeochemistry make it possible to calculate these properties using the limited experimental data available in the literature, together with correlation and group additivity algorithms, reference model compounds, and the revised HKF equations of state. This approach permits calculation of the standard molal thermodynamic properties of the 120 common protonated and deprotonated nucleotides and their constituent nucleic-acid bases and nucleosides as a function of temperature and pressure. The requisite equations of state parameters can be calculated from experimental standard molal heat capacities, volumes, and compressibilities reported in the literature for nucleic-acid bases and nucleosides. Because no calorimetric or densimetric data are available for the nucleotides, experimental heats of reaction taken from the literature were used together with correlation and group additivity algorithms to generate provisional values of the corresponding equations of state parameters for the nucleotides. The thermodynamic properties and revised HKF equations of state parameters generated in the present study can be used to carry out comprehensive mass transfer and Gibbs energy calculations to describe and quantify the chemical interaction of minerals and microbes in hydrothermal systems.     

Remagnetization and fluid flow in the Old Red Sandstone along the Great Glen Fault, Scotland

The Devonian Old Red Sandstone in the vicinity of the Great Glen Fault (GGF) in Scotland contains two different components residing in hematite: a postfolding Carboniferous CRM1 in the Loch Ness area and a Cretaceous or perhaps Triassic CRM2 near Hilton. The CRM1 could be related to major fluid flow events in the Late Paleozoic which caused hematite authigenesis and remagnetization along other faults in Scotland. The CRM2 near Hilton was also related to a fluid event in the Cretaceous or Triassic which caused hematite authigenesis. The presence of different CRMs residing in hematite along different segments of the GGF is similar to what has been reported for other major faults in Scotland.     

The Transition Between the Scale Domains of Ray and Effective Medium Theory and Anisotropy: Numerical Models

The anisotropy of a periodically layered isotropic medium is numerically modeled in order to study the effect of the scale of heterogeneity on seismic observations. An important motivation is to delineate the wavelength ranges over which a pulse propagating obliquely through the structure will be described by either ray (short wavelength) or effective medium (long wavelength) theory. The same band-limited pulse is propagated obliquely at a variety of incidence angles through a compositionally uniform layered structure as a function of the layer thicknesses. The resulting seismograms display similar behavior to that encountered for normal incidence including the effects of stop- and pass-bands. Velocities determined from time picks on these seismograms show a large difference in velocities between the long and short wavelength limits as has been previously demonstrated for normal incidence propagation. The bulk of the transition between these two limits is independent of incidence angle and occurs when the ratio between the wavelength and the layering thickness is near a value of 10. Two more geologically reasonable models show that these effects are diminished with smaller contrasts between the layers.     

The role of vortex shedding in the scour of pools

Flume experiments were conducted in a 6-m flume to determine the role of turbulence in the scour of pools. Paired results from constricted-flow experiments with and without a wake zone formed behind obstructions to flow show that pools are deeper and shorter when vertical free-shear layers are present. Although non-streamlined obstructions initially present more resistance to flow, channel-bed scour develops a pool morphology that lowers mechanical energy losses to levels below those in pools with streamlined obstructions. Scour primarily enlarges the cross-sectional area in the constricted section. Feedback between pool geometry and localized turbulence production play a secondary role in total scour but still exert a major influence on final energy slopes. The experiment shows that pools with wake zones evolve to reduce longitudinal energy expenditure with an associated reduction in total turbulence production associated with the obstruction.     

Testing the Validity of Simulated Strong Ground Motion from the Dynamic Rupture of a Finite Fault, by Using Empirical Equations

This paper is concerned with testing the validity of the ground motions estimated by combining a boundary integral equation method to simulate dynamic rupture along finite faults with a finite difference method to compute the subsequent wave propagation. The validation exercise is conducted by comparing the calculated ground motions at about 100 hypothetical stations surrounding the pure strike-slip and pure reverse faults with those estimated by recent ground motion estimation equations derived by regression analysis of observed strong-motion data. The validity of the ground motions with respect to their amplitude, frequency content and duration is examined. It is found that the numerical simulation method adopted leads to ground motions that are mainly compatible with the magnitude and distance dependence modelled by empirical equations but that the choice of a low stress drop leads to ground motions that are smaller than generally observed. In addition, the scatter in the simulated ground motions, for which a laterally homogeneous crust and standard rock site were used, is of the same order as the scatter in observed motions therefore, close to the fault, variations in source propagation likely contribute a significant proportion of the scatter in observed motions in comparison with travel-path and site effects.     

Holocene Vegetation Dynamics, Fire History, Lake Level and Climate Change in the Kootenay Valley, Southeastern British Columbia, Canada

The environmental history of the Kootenay Valley in the southern Canadian Rockies was reconstructed using lake sediment from Dog Lake, British Columbia, and compared to other paleoenvironmental studies in the region to understand how vegetation dynamics and fire regimes responded to climate change during the Holocene. A pollen-based vegetation reconstruction indicates five periods of vegetation change. At 10,300 cal yr B.P. Pinus-Juniperus parkland colonized the valley and by 7600 cal yr B.P. was replaced by mixed stands of Pinus, Picea and Pseudotsuga/Larix. Fire frequencies increased to their Holocene maximums during the 8200–4000 cal yr B.P. period. From 5500–4500 cal yr B.P. Pseudotsuga/Larix reached its maximum extent in the Kootenay Valley under a more frequent fire regime. At 5000 cal yr B.P. Picea and Abies began to expand in the area and by 4500 cal yr B.P. the forest shifted to a closed montane spruce forest type with dramatically reduced fire frequency. The shift to less frequent forest fires after 4500 cal yr B.P., along with a moisterPicea – dominated closed forest, corresponds to Neoglacial advances in the Canadian Rockies and Coast Mountains. Fire intervals after 4000 cal yr B.P. are significantly longer than the shorter fire intervals of the early to mid Holocene. A return to drier, more open forest condition occurs between 2400–1200 cal yr B.P. with a slight increase in fire activity and summer drought events. Lower lake levels inferred by charophyte accumulation rates during the 2400–1200 cal yr B.P. interval support this moisture regime shift. An abrupt shift toPicea dominated forest occurred from 1200–1000 cal yr B.P. and a final period of wet-closed forest cover reaches its maximum extent from 700–150 cal yr B.P. that appears to be a response to Little Ice Age cooling. Present forests are within their natural range of variability but are predicted to shift again to a drier more open structure with increased Pseudotsuga/Larix cover. More frequent stand replacing fires and increased area burned likely will accompany this change due to continued global warming.     

Mapping the geometry of an aquifer system with a high-resolution reflection seismic profile

A high-resolution P-wave seismic reflection survey was conducted in the area of Lambro Park within the city of Milan (northern Italy). Several high permeability channel sequences were identified and the stratigraphy of the infill was accurately mapped. The seismic signature imaged a previously undefined unit and also established the lateral correlation of some depositional units within the three major aquifer groups along the survey line. The complexity of the acoustic framework and the reduced depth of the source location limited effective elastic-wave generation. The geological setting also caused propagation of strong coherent noise patterns. Further interference, observed in the recorded data, was due to the traffic noise from the nearby highway. The attenuation of the undesired events required the design of specific filters and their multistep implementation. The results of forward modelling based on borehole information and of noise tests were crucial factors in the design of the processing parameters and in the stratigraphic interpretation of the final stacked section.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of late Holocene raised strandplain sequences adjacent to Lakes Michigan and Superior, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

This study evaluates the accuracy of optically stimulated luminescence to date well-preserved strandline sequences at Manistique/Thompson bay (Lake Michigan), and Tahquamenon and Grand Traverse Bays (Lake Superior) that span the past ∼4500 yr. The single aliquot regeneration (SAR) method is applied to produce absolute ages for littoral and eolian sediments. SAR ages are compared against AMS and conventional ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Modern littoral and eolian sediments yield SAR ages <100 yr indicating near, if not complete, solar resetting of luminescence prior to deposition. Beach ridges that yield SAR ages <2000 yr show general agreement with corresponding ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Significant variability in ¹⁴C ages >2000 cal yr B.P. complicates comparison to SAR ages at all sites. However, a SAR age of 4280 ± 390 yr (UIC913) on ridge77 at Tahquamenon Bay is consistent with regional regression from the high lake level of the Nipissing II phase ca. 4500 cal yr B.P. SAR ages indicate a decrease in ridge formation rate after ∼1500 yr ago, likely reflecting separation of Lake Superior from lakes Huron and Michigan. This study shows that SAR is a credible alternative to ¹⁴C methods for dating littoral and eolian landforms in Great Lakes and other coastal strandplains where ¹⁴C methods prove problematic.