Postglacial vegetation history of Mitkof Island, Alexander Archipelago, southeastern Alaska

An AMS radiocarbon-dated pollen record from a peat deposit on Mitkof Island, southeastern Alaska provides a vegetation history spanning ∼12,900 cal yr BP to the present. Late Wisconsin glaciers covered the entire island; deglaciation occurred > 15,400 cal yr BP. The earliest known vegetation to develop on the island (∼12,900 cal yr BP) was pine woodland (Pinus contorta) with alder (Alnus), sedges (Cyperaceae) and ferns (Polypodiaceae type). By ∼12,240 cal yr BP, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) began to colonize the island while pine woodland declined. By ∼11,200 cal yr BP, mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) began to spread across the island. Sitka spruce-mountain hemlock forests dominated the lowland landscapes of the island until ∼10,180 cal yr BP, when western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) began to colonize, and soon became the dominant tree species. Rising percentages of pine, sedge, and sphagnum after ∼7100 cal yr BP may reflect an expansion of peat bog habitats as regional climate began to shift to cooler, wetter conditions. A decline in alders at that time suggests that coastal forests had spread into the island's uplands, replacing large areas of alder thickets. Cedars (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Thuja plicata) appeared on Mitkof Island during the late Holocene.     

Chemistry of snow and lake water in Antarctic region

Surface snow and lake water samples were collected at different locations around Indian station at Antarctica, Maitri, during December 2004–March 2005 and December 2006–March 2007. Samples were analyzed for major chemical ions. It is found that average pH value of snow is 6.1. Average pH value of lake water with low chemical content is 6.2 and of lake water with high chemical content is 6.5. The Na⁺ and Cl^? are the most abundantly occurring ions at Antarctica. Considerable amount of SO ₄ ^2? is also found in the surface snow and the lake water which is attributed to the oxidation of DMS produced by marine phytoplankton. Neutralization of acidic components of snow is mainly done by NH ₄ ⁺ and Mg²⁺. The Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and K⁺ are nearly equally effective in neutralizing the acidic components in lake water. The NH ₄ ⁺ and SO ₄ ^2? occur over the Antarctica region mostly in the form of (NH₄)₂SO₄.     

Behavior of the cosmic ray density during the initial phase of the Forbush effect

Variations in the cosmic ray density during the initial phase of the Forbush effect during the first hours after the arrival of the interplanetary shock wave have been studied with the use of data on variations in the cosmic ray density with a rigidity of 10 GV obtained by the global survey method by the world network of neutron monitors in 1957?2012. It is found that behavior of this parameter after the arrival of the shock wave demonstrates high variability. A small (~1/5 of total number), though distinct, group of Forbush effects, in which the density of the cosmic ray increases (not decreases) after the arrival of the shock wave, is defined. As a whole, the initial variation in cosmic ray density is correlated with the Forbush effect magnitude and the strength of the associated geomagnetic disturbance.     

Peak response of 2-DOF uncoupled oscillator under two-directional base motion

This paper investigates the peak response of a 2-DOF uncoupled linear oscillator under arbitrarily oriented two-component horizontal earthquake motion. Input data consist of 22 two-component acceleration records from the magnitude 6.6, October 15, 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake. One-directional response spectra for each principal direction of the oscillator, and two-directional response spectra (amplitude of the peak resultant response and its direction with respect to principal directions) are calculated by considering all angles of incidence of the excitation. The results indicate that, for oscillators that are not too flexible (i.e. with natural frequencies greater than 0.8 Hz), the two-directional peak response is controlled by the weaker direction of the oscillator. For flexible oscillators the two-directional peak response is controlled by the direction whose natural frequency is closer to dominant ground motion frequencies. The results also show that when the two-directional peak response is expressed as a weighted sum of one-directional peak responses, the weighting factors are not constants, but functions of oscillator and dominant ground motion frequencies.     

Effectiveness of post-fire salvage logging stream buffer management for hillslope erosion in the U.S. Inland Northwest Mountains

Active wildfire seasons in the western U.S. warrant the evaluation of post-fire forest management strategies. Ground-based salvage logging is often used to recover economic loss of burned timber. In unburned forests, ground-based logging often follows best management practices by leaving undisturbed areas near streams called stream buffers. However, the effectiveness of these buffers has not been tested in a post-wildfire setting. This experiment tested buffer width effectiveness with a novel field-simulated rill experiment using sediment-laden runoff (25 g/L) released over 40 min at evenly timed flow rates (50, 100 and 150 L/min) to measure surface runoff travel length and sediment concentration under unburned and high and low soil burn severity conditions at 2-, 10- and 22-month post-fire. High severity areas 2-month post-fire had rill lengths of up to 100 m. Rill length significantly decreased over time as vegetation regrowth provided ground cover. Sediment concentration and sediment dropout rate also varied significantly by soil burn severity. Sediment concentrations were 19 g/L for the highest flow 2-month post-fire and reduced to 6.9–14 g/L 10-month post-fire due to abundant vegetation recovery. The amount of sediment dropping out of the flow consistently increased over the study period with the low burn severity rate of 1.15 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ approaching the unburned rate of 1.29 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ by 2-year post-fire. These results suggest that an often-used standard, 15 m buffer, was sufficient to contain surface runoff and reduce sediment concentration on unburned sites, however buffers on high burn severity sites need to be eight times greater (120 m) immediately after wildfire and four times greater (60 m) 1-year post-fire. Low burn severity areas 1-year post-fire may need to be only twice the width of an unburned buffer (30 m), and 2-year post-fire these could return to unburned widths.     

Arsenic and antimony in geothermal waters of Yellowstone National Park,Wyoming, USA

A total of 268 thermal spring samples were analyzed for total soluble As using reduced molybdenum-blue; 27 of these samples were also analyzed for total Sb using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. At Yellowstone the $\text{Cl}\text{As}$ atomic ratio is nearly constant among neutral-alkaline springs with Cl > 100 mg L^?1, and within restricted geographic areas, indicating no differential effects of adiabatic vs. conductive cooling on arsenic. The $\text{Cl}\text{As}$ ratio increases with silica and decreases with decreasing $\text{Cl}\text{ΣCO}{}_3$; the latter relationship is best exemplified for springs along the extensively sampled SE-NW trend within the Lone Star-Upper-Midway Basin region. The relationship between $\text{Cl}\text{As}$ and $\text{Cl}\text{ΣCO}{}_3$ at Yellowstone suggests a possible rock leaching rather than magmatic origin for much of the Park's total As flux. Condensed vapor springs are low in both As and Cl. Very high $\text{Cl}\text{As}$ ratios ( > 1000) are associated exclusively with highly diluted (Cl < 100 mg L^?1) mixed springs in the Norris and Shoshone Basins and in the Upper White Creek and Firehole Lake areas of Lower Basin. The high ratios are associated with acidity and/or oxygen and iron; they indicate precipitation of As following massive dilution of the Asbearing high-Cl parent water.Yellowstone Sb ranged from 0.009 at Mammoth to 0.166 mg L^?1 at Joseph's Coat Spring. Within basins, the $\text{Cl}\text{Sb}$ ratio increases as the $\text{Cl}\text{ΣCO}{}_3$ ratio decreases, in marked contrast to As. Mixed springs also have elevated $\text{Cl}\text{Sb}$ ratios. White (1967) and Weissberg (1969) previously reported stibnite (Sb₂S₃), but not orpiment (As₂S₃), precipitating in the near surface zone of alkaline geothermal systems.     

Sulphur saturation in the lower and critical zones of the Eastern Bushveld Complex

A suite of ultramafic and mafic rocks from the lower, critical and lower portion of the main zones of the Bushveld Complex has been analysed for Th, Cs, Zr, Ni, Cr and Au by INAA and XRF spectrometry. The incompatible elements Th, Cs, and Zr correlate positively, and show a gradual upward increase in abundance. Assuming constant average proportion of intercumulus material, this upward increase implies that the zones of the Complex studied represent crystallization of a single magma type some 3600 m thick. Pyroxenites dominate the lower portion of the section studied and their Ni content shows an initial rapid decrease from 850 ppm in the lowermost rocks, to around 500 ppm, with considerable scatter. This distribution is most likely to have resulted from bottom crystallization with superimposed convective overturn near the transient floor of the chamber. Gold abundances are generally higher in chromitites, and correlate positively with Ni, indicating the presence of significant amounts of cumulus immiscible sulphide. In the silicate rocks, Au does not correlate with any of the analysed elements, and it is concluded that Au was trapped in small quantities of immiscible sulphide which precipitated continuously during crystallization. There is an upward increase in the amount of cumulus immiscible sulphide, indicating a progressive increase in sulphur solubility in the magma.     

Rothenberg scoria cone,East Eifel: a complex Strombolian and phreatomagmatic volcano

Rothenberg scoria cone Eifel formed by an alternation of three Strombolian and three phreatomagmatic eruptive phases. Eruptions took place from up to six vents on a 600 m-long fissure, building an early tuff ring and then two coalescing scoria cones. Strombolian volcanism dominated volumetrically, as the supply of external water was severely limited. Magma/water interaction only occurred during the opening stages of eruption at any vent, when discharge rates were low and the fragmentation surface was below the water table. The phreatomagmatic deposits consist of relatively well-sorted fall beds and only minor surge deposits. They contain juvenile clasts with a wide range of vesicularity and grain size, implying considerable heterogeneity in the assemblage of material ejected by the phreatomagmatic explosions. the transition from phreatomagmatic to Strombolian eruption at any vent was rapid and irreversible, and Strombolian volcanism persisted even when eruption rates are inferred to have waned at the close of each eruptive phase as, by then, the fragmentation surfaces were high in the growing cones and water was denied access to the magma. The Strombolian deposits are relatively homogenous, consisting of alternating coarser- and finer-grained, well-sorted fall beds erupted during periods of open-vent eruption and partial blockage of the vent respectively. The intervals of Strombolian eruption were always a delicate balance between discharge of freely degassing magma and processes such as ponding of degassed magma in the vent, collapse of the growing cones, and repeated recycling of clasts through the vent. Clear evidence of the instability of the Rothenberg cones is preserved in numerous unconformities within deposits of the inner walls of the cones. The close of Strombolian phases was probably marked by a decreasing supply of magma to the vents accompanied by ponding and stagnation of lava in the craters.