Late‐Summer Peak in Sediment Accumulation in Two Lakes with Contrasting Watersheds,Alaska

The timing of clastic sedimentation in two glacial‐fed lakes with contrasting watersheds was monitored using sequencing sediment traps for two consecutive years at Allison Lake (Chugach Range, Alaska) and four months at Shainin Lake (Brooks Range, Alaska). Shainin Lake is a weakly stratified lake fed by distant glaciers, whereas Allison Lake is more strongly stratified and fed predominantly by proximal glaciers. At Shainin Lake, sediment accumulation started in late June and reached its maximum in mid‐August, just before lake mixing and during a period of low river discharge. The grain size of the sediment reaching the sediment trap in Shainin Lake was homogenous throughout the summer. At Allison Lake, pulsed sedimentation of coarse particles during late summer and early fall storms were superimposed on the fine‐grained sedimentation pattern similar to that observed at Shainin Lake. These storms triggered underflows that were observed in the thermal structure of the lake and deposited abundant sediment. The sequencing sediment traps reveal a lag between fluvial discharge and sediment deposition at both lakes, implying limitations to interpreting intra‐annual sedimentary features in terms of inflow discharge.     

Geomorphology of tell 'Atij,Northern Syria

Succint results of recent geomorphological research conducted by a Canadian team from Université Laval (Quebec city) in the Khabur valley of northeastern Syria confirms the hypothesis put forward by one of the authors concerning the function of the tell 'Atij site during the Early Bronze Age period (3000–2500 B. C.). The detailed study of a stratigraphically controlled cross section of 25 m × 6 m, on the abrupt western side of the main tell of the site, combined with observations made in a trench linking the principal tell to the secondary one showed that these two tells, now forming 'Atij, were small islands on the ancient Khabur River. At the time of their occupation, i. e., the first half of the 3rd millenium, the Khabur was wider, deeper and navigable. Another investigation trench, 400 m N. E. of the main tell, disproved the suggested existence of an ancient irrigation canal in the area. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Paleogeographic and paleotectonic response to magmatic processes: a case history from the Archean sequence in the Chibougamau area,Quebec

The Chibougamau area, Québec, is characteristic of the internal zone of the Archean Abitibi Orogenic Belt. The paleogeographic, paleotectonic and magmatic history of the Archean sequence in the Chibougamau area is subdivided into three stages.In the first stage a submarine volcanic chain formed mainly by the effusion of submarine lava flows composed of primitive, potash-poor, tholeiitic basalt. The volcanic chain gradually grew to sea level. In the second stage, volcanic islands emerged and grew. Mainly pyroclastic eruptions of strongly differentiated, calc-alkaline andesite and dacite concentrated on the volcanic islands, whereas effusion of basalt continued at first in the surrounding basin. A felsic volcaniclastic apron was deposited around the volcanic islands. In the third stage, the volcanic islands were uplifted and were eroded to the level of their subvolcanic plutons. The debris derived from this volcanic-plutonic terrain was deposited in downfaulted marine and continental basins. The contemporaneous volcanism was shoshonitic.The first paleogeographic stage is interpreted as the growth of an immature island arc. During the second stage, the island arc became mature and its crust was thickened by accretion of plutonic material. The third stage is a period of back-arc extension.

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Zusammenfassung Das Gebiet von Chibougamau, Québec, ist characteristisch für die interne Zone des Archaischen Abitibi Orogens. Man kann seine paleogeographische, paleotectonische und magmatische Geschichte in drei Phasen gliedern.Eine submarine Vulkankette formte sich in der ersten Phase, hauptsächlich durch Effusion von submarinen Lavaergüssen aus primitivem, kaliarmen, tholeiitischem Basalt. Die Vulkankette wuchs langsam bis zum Meeresspiegel. Vulkanische Inseln bildeten sich und wuchsen während der zweiten paleogeographischen Phase. Vorwiegend pyroklastische Eruptionen von stark differenzierten, kalk-alkalischem Andesit und Dazit konzentrierten sich mehr und mehr auf den Inselvulkanen, während die Effusion von Basalt zunächst in den Becken noch stattfand. Ein Mantel aus felsitischen vulkanoklastischen Gesteinen wurde um die Inselvulkane abgelagert. Die dritte Phase begann mit einer Hebung der Inselvulkane und mit ihrer Erosion bis zum Niveau ihrer subvulkanischen Plutone. Der Detritus dieses vulkanisch-plutonischen Geländes wurde in marinen und kontinentalen Verwerfungsbecken abgelagert. Der gleichalte Vulkanismus ist shoshonitisch.Wir deuten die erste paleogeographische Phase als Wachstumsphase eines primitven Inselbogens. Während der zweiten Phase reifte der Inselbogen und seine Kruste verdickte sich durch Akkretion plutonischen Materials. Die dritte Phase ist eine Periode der Dehnung im Hinterland eines Inselbogens.

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Résumé La région de Chibougamau, Québec, est caractéristique de la zone interne de la ceinture orogénique archéenne de l'Abitibi. Son évolution paléogéographique, paléotectonique et magmatique se subdivise en trois phases.Lors de la première phase paléogéographique, une chaîne sous-marine de volcans se formait, essentiellement par l'émission de coulées de lave composée de basalte primitif, hypopotassique, tholéiitique. Graduellement cette chaîne volcanique s'élevait jusqu'au niveau de la mer. A la phase suivante, des îles volcaniques émergeaient et croissaient. Des éruptions essentiellement pyroclastiques d'andésites et de dacites calco-alcalines et fortement différenciées se concentraient sur les îles tandis que l'effusion de laves basaltiques continuaient dans le bassin. Un manteau de roches volcaniclastiques felsiques se déposait autour des îles volcaniques. Lors de la troisième phase, les îles volcaniques furent soulevées et furent érodées jusqu'au niveau des masses plutoniques sub-volcaniques. Le débris de ce terrain volcano-plutonique fut déposé dans des bassins de faille marins et continentaux. Des shoshonites dominaient le volcanisme contemporain.Nous interprétons la première phase paléogéographique comme une phase de croissance d'un arc insulaire immature. Lors de la deuxième phase, 1'arc insulaire devenait mature et sa croûte s'epaissît par accrétion de matériel plutoni-que. Enfin, la troisième phase est une période d'extension en arrière d'un arc insulaire.

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Modeling the sediment yield and the impact of vegetated filters using an event‐based soil erosion model—a case study of a small Canadian watershed

This paper presents the first application of the event‐based MHYDAS‐Erosion model to a small agricultural watershed under temperate climate conditions (Quebec, Canada). Simulation results based on observed and synthetic rainfall events revealed a bimodal behaviour of sediment yield. During high‐intensity rainfall events, most of the sediments reaching the watershed outlet originate from cropland. Meanwhile, during low‐intensity events, most of the sediments come from the drainage network. Furthermore, simulation results show that implementation of 5‐m and 20‐m wide vegetated filters throughout the watershed or at the edge of the most problematic fields (4% of the total fields) could reduce soil loss by 52% and 31%, respectively. The modeling framework could be used for the design and location of beneficial management practices such as grass strips and riparian zones Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential problems with the use of gridded climate data in regional quantitative paleoenvironmental studies from data-poor regions

The reliability of quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions from lake sediment cores depends in part on the accuracy of the environmental data used in calibration. For paleoclimate reconstructions, gridded datasets provide convenient and consistent modern climate data for calibration. We show, however, that commonly used gridded climate data may have regional biases, which can affect calibration models and the paleoclimate reconstructions derived from them. Although there may be few alternatives to their use, researchers should be aware of potential problems, especially if unusual or counter-intuitive calibration models or reconstructions are obtained.     

Initiation and Propagation of Compaction Bands in Dry and Wet Bentheim Sandstone

We investigated initiation and propagation of compaction bands (CB) in six wet and four dry Bentheim sandstone samples deformed in axial compression tests with strain rates ranging from 3.2 × 10^?8 s^?1 to 3.2 × 10^?4 s^?1. Circumferential notches with 0.8-mm width and 5-mm depth served to initiate CB at mid-sample length. Wet samples were saturated with distilled water and deformed at 195 MPa confining pressure and 10 MPa pore pressure. Dry samples were deformed at 185 MPa confining pressure. Twelve P-wave sensors, eight S-wave sensors and two pairs of orthogonally oriented strain-gages were glued to the sample surface to monitor acoustic emission (AE), velocities and local strain during the loading process. Nucleation of compaction bands is indicated by AE clusters close to the notch tips. With progressive loading, AE activity increased and AE hypocenters indicated propagation of a single CB normal to the sample axis. CB propagation from the sample periphery towards the centre was monitored. Microstructural analysis of deformed samples shows excellent agreement between location of AE clusters and CBs. In both dry and wet samples the lateral propagation of CBs was about 100 times faster than axial shortening rates. At the slowest displacement rate, AE activity during band propagation was reduced and CB nucleation in wet samples occurred at 20% lower stresses. This may indicate an increasing contribution of stress corrosion processes to the formation of the compaction bands. In dry and wet samples inelastic compaction energy per area ranged between 16 and 80 kJ m^?2. This is in good agreement with previous estimates from laboratory and field studies.     

Biogeochemical redox cycling of arsenic in mine-impacted lake sediments and co-existing pore waters near Giant Mine,Yellowknife Bay,Canada

Lacustrine sediments, submerged tailings, and their pore waters have been collected at several sites in Yellowknife Bay, Great Slave Lake, Canada, in order to investigate the biogeochemical controls on the remobilization of As from mining-impacted materials under different depositional conditions. Radiometric dating confirms that a mid-core enrichment of Pb, Zn, Cu and Sb corresponds to the opening of a large Au mine 60 a ago. This was evident even in a relatively remote site. Arsenic was enriched at mid-core, coincident with mining activity, but clearly exhibited post-depositional mobility, migrating upwards towards the sediment water interface (SWI) as well as down-core. Deep-water (15 m) Yellowknife Bay sediments that contain buried mine waste are suboxic, relatively organic-rich and abundant in microbes with As in pore waters and sediments reaching 585 μg/L and 1310 mg/kg, respectively. Late summer pore waters show equal proportions of As(III) and As(V) (16–415 μg/L) whereas late winter pore waters are dominated by As(III) (284–947 μg/L). This can be explained by As(III) desorption mechanisms associated with the conversion of FeS to FeS₂ and the reduction of As(V) to As(III) through the oxidation of dissolved sulfide, both microbially-mediated processes. Processes affecting As cycling involve the attenuating efficiency of the oxic zone at the SWI, sediment redox heterogeneity and the reductive dissolution of Fe(hydr)oxides by labile organic matter, temporarily and spatially variable.     

From fields to objects: A review of geographic boundary analysis

Geographic boundary analysis is a relatively new approach unfamiliar to many spatial analysts. It is best viewed as a technique for defining objects – geographic boundaries – on spatial fields, and for evaluating the statistical significance of characteristics of those boundary objects. This is accomplished using null spatial models representative of the spatial processes expected in the absence of boundary-generating phenomena. Close ties to the object-field dialectic eminently suit boundary analysis to GIS data. The majority of existing spatial methods are field-based in that they describe, estimate, or predict how attributes (variables defining the field) vary through geographic space. Such methods are appropriate for field representations but not object representations. As the object-field paradigm gains currency in geographic information science, appropriate techniques for the statistical analysis of objects are required. The methods reviewed in this paper are a promising foundation. Geographic boundary analysis is clearly a valuable addition to the spatial statistical toolbox.? This paper presents the philosophy of, and motivations for geographic boundary analysis. It defines commonly used statistics for quantifying boundaries and their characteristics, as well as simulation procedures for evaluating their significance. We review applications of these techniques, with the objective of making this promising approach accessible to the GIS-spatial analysis community. We also describe the implementation of these methods within geographic boundary analysis software: GEM. Received: 22 March 1999 / Accepted: 7 September 1999     

Determination of Free Cd,Cu and Zn Concentrations in Lake Waters by In Situ Diffusion Followed by Column Equilibration Ion-exchange

Combining in situ diffusion and column ion-exchange equilibration, we measured free metal ion concentrations (Cd, Cu and Zn) in water samples collected from the epilimnion of 14 lakes in the Rouyn-Noranda area (600 km north-west of Montreal, QC, Canada). Lakes were selected to represent a wide range of physico-chemical characteristics (hardness, pH, dissolved organic matter—DOM, degree of metal contamination), to determine the influence of these parameters on metal speciation. Total dissolved metal concentrations, as determined within the diffusion cells, varied over one to two orders of magnitude: [Cd] 0.19–2.9 nM; [Cu] 36–190 nM; [Zn] 7–2,800 nM. The proportion of total dissolved metal present as free Cd²⁺ and Zn²⁺ was relatively constant for the 14 selected lakes, despite the wide pH (4.5–8) and DOM (3–23 mg C/L) ranges, probably reflecting the inverse relationship observed between pH and DOM; this proportion did, however, vary with DOM and pH for Cu. Our experimental free metal ion concentrations were compared with those calculated with the thermodynamic models WHAM (Windermere Humic Aqueous Model VI) and ECOSAT 4.7 (incorporating the NICA-Donnan model). Measured and calculated values were in reasonable agreement for both Cd and Zn although measured values were generally slightly higher, i.e. less than one order of magnitude. For several lakes, measured free Cu concentrations were, however, much higher than the calculated values, suggesting that these models overestimate Cu complexation. The gap between measured and calculated free metal ion concentration becomes more important as the total metal concentration decreases and as pH increases.     

Acoustic Emissions Monitoring during Inelastic Deformation of Porous Sandstone: Comparison of Three Modes of Deformation

In some reservoirs, large deformations can occur during oil or gas production because of the effective stress change. For very porous rocks, these production operations can be sufficient to cause inelastic deformation and irreversible damage. Rock formations can undergo deformation by different mechanisms, including dilatancy or pore collapse. In the laboratory, it has been shown that the inelastic deformation and failure mode of porous rocks are pressure sensitive. Indeed, when subjected to an overall compressive loading, a porous rock may fail by shear localization, compaction localization, or by cataclastic compaction. Acoustic emission (AE) records provide important information to understand the failure mode of rocks: the spatial evolution of damage as well as the source mechanisms can be followed using this technique. In this paper, we present three different laboratory axisymmetric compression experiments, performed on Bleurswiller sandstone, which enable us to compare the acoustic emission signature of these three modes of deformation. Our data show that compaction localization and cataclastic compaction are characterized by similar acoustic signatures (in terms of AE sources characteristics and evolution of AE number), in comparison to the acoustic signature from shear localization. This implies similar micromechanisms involved during compaction bands formation and cataclastic compaction.