Rainfall and foliar dynamics in tropical Southern Africa: Potential impacts of global climatic change on savanna vegetation

Foliar dynamics in tropical southern Africa are examined using meteorological satellite observations (NOAA-AVHRR) collected from 1981–1990, processed as monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images, and resampled to 7.6 km resolution. Time series of NDVI and raingauge data are presented and analyzed using a variety of statistics. The analysis of time series from individual locations revealed positive correlations between NDVI and rainfall at semiarid locations where rainfall tended to be highly variable; whereas the relationships between these variables was insignificant in more mesic sites where the climate tended to be more predictable. In addition, there appeared to be an annual rainfall threshold of approximately 600 mm beyond which relationships between rainfall and NDVI were insignificant at the monthly time scale. Relationships between rainfall and NDVI were stronger at annual time scale, which suggests that factors other than contemporaneous rainfall account for photosynthetic activity in any given growing season. Using a rainfall surface and NDVI imagery, a large area of early greening behavior is identified, which corresponded approximately to the distribution of mesic, plateau woodlands. These so-called, miombo woodlands may be especially vulnerable if the arrival of spring rainfall were to undergo a positive shift in phase.     

High‐resolution mapping of Manawatu palaeochannels

New remote sensing techniques, such as airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), have led to a dramatic increase in terrain information, providing new opportunities for landform analysis. A major advance in using LiDAR‐derived high‐resolution topography (HRT) is the capability to provide an accurate and detailed terrain morphology. This study aims to use LiDAR HRT to identify palaeochannels of the Manawatu River (New Zealand) using an automated procedure based on the statistical analysis of landform curvature. The approach can provide rapid assessment and classification of floodplain topography. The proposed analysis is crucial, especially for intensively used floodplains requiring effective flood management and mitigation.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Plio‐Pleistocene carbonate section of the Great Australian Bight

ODP Leg 182 drilled two north‐south transects in the western Great Australian Bight close to longitude 128°E. These transects penetrated a remarkably thick section of uppermost Pliocene and Pleistocene carbonate sediments, which are separated from Miocene sections by a major hiatus. In the eastern transect, at sites 1129, 1131 and 1127, the Brunhes‐Matuyama boundary (onset of C1n) was found at 343 m, between 280 and 300 m, and at 343 m below the sea floor, respectively. In the western transect, at sites 1132 and 1130, it was found between 170 and 181 m, and at 200 m, respectively. Within the Brunhes chron, inclination and intensity fluctuations and correlations between susceptibility and standard δ¹⁸O records were used to give age‐depth relations. These age relations from the palaeomagnetics are broadly consistent with the biostratigraphy and the δ¹⁸O results from Leg 182, but do not provide an entirely independent dataset. Rock magnetism stratigraphy at site 1131 revealed the principal bryozoan buildup to be at the time of the last glacial lowstand, as suggested by previous workers. At all sites the sedimentation rate increases from the basal unconformity up into the thick Upper Pleistocene section. In the western transect there appears to be a partial record of most of the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene chron boundaries (C1r1n to C2An3n) in a condensed section, but in the eastern transect only the Jaramillo (C1r1n) is observed.     

Population Growth, Climate Change and Water Scarcity in the Southwestern United States

PROBLEM STATEMENT: In a simple economic model, water scarcity arises as a result of an imbalance between the supply of and demand for water sources. Distribution in this setting is the source of numerous conflicts globally. APPROACH: Already, the Southwestern United States (US) suffers from annual drought and long-standing feud over natural water resources. RESULTS: Population growth in the Southwestern United States along with the continued effects of climate change (natural and anthropogenic) predicts a perpetual decline in natural water sources, such as smaller snowpacks, in the coming years. As the increasing number of communities across multiple US states that subsist off of natural water supplies face water shortages with increasing severity, further water conflict will emerge. Such conflicts become especially protracted when the diversion of water from a source of benefit to one community negatively impacts nearby communities of humans and economically vital ecosystems (e.g., marshlands or tributaries). CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS: The ensuing politics and health effects of these diversions can be complicated and future water policies both domestically and internationally are lacking. To draw attention to and stimulate discussion around the lacking policy discussion domestically, herein we document existing and emerging consequences of watery scarcity in the Southwestern United States and briefly outline past and potential future policy responses.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of the infaunal community near a major ocean outfall in Southern California

Effects of waste water discharge from a major ocean outfall in Southern California to the benthic infaunal community were examined during a 5-year monitoring programme. Natural features, primarily water depth, accounted for 82% of the variability in the infaunal community, while discharge-related effects represented less than 8% of the variability. The area immediately adjacent to the diffuser had the strongest outfall effects. Infaunal abundance showed a pattern of enhancement centred at the outfall. Diversity was also high, indicating that the area was not characterized by a degraded community.     

A probabilistic model of petroleum discovery

We discuss a petroleum discovery model that greatly simplifies the approach initiated by Barouch and Kaufman (1976) in which exploration is viewed as a sampling without replacement process, and the probability of discovery of a pool is proportional to its size. Calculations that formerly required lengthy Monte Carlo simulations have been reduced to compact formulas.