A dated volcano-tectonic deformation event in Jan Mayen causing landlocking of Arctic charr

We provide the first documentation of tectonic deformation resulting from a volcanic eruption on the island of Jan Mayen. Vertical displacement of about 14 m southwest of the stratovolcano Beerenberg is associated with an eruption in ad 1732 on its southeastern flank. The age of the uplift event is bracketed by radiocarbon-dated driftwood buried by material deposited due to uplift, and by tephra from this eruption. Constraints, inferred from radiocarbon ages alone, allow for the possibility that uplift was completed prior to the ad 1732 eruption. However, the occurrence of tephra in the sediment column indicates that some displacement was ongoing during the eruption but ceased before the eruption terminated. We attribute the tectonic deformation to intrusion of shallow magma associated with the volcanic eruption. Our results complement previous studies of volcanic activity on Jan Mayan by providing precise age constraints for past volcanic activity. Also, it raises new hypotheses regarding the nature, timing and prevalence of precursor tectonic events to Jan Mayan eruptions. The uplift caused the complete isolation of a coastal lake by closing its outlet to the sea, thus landlocking the facultative migratory fish species Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).     

Cross-Spectra Over the Sea from Observations and Mesoscale Modelling

Cospectra and quadrature spectra are calculated for six pairs of tall offshore measurement masts near the Horns Rev I wind farm in the Danish North Sea and the Nysted wind farm in the Baltic sea. The mast-pairs are separated from one another by horizontal distances of 2.13–12.4 km. Cospectra and quadrature spectra for the two sites are classified in terms of the angle between the mean wind direction and the line connecting each pair of masts. The frequency axes of the spectra are normalized to remove the effect of mean wind speed and separation distance. Results indicate a larger contribution to the quadrature spectrum for flow from the sea than for flow from the land, and the patterns in the spectra are clearer and better defined for Horns Rev I (which has a long uninterrupted sea-fetch from the west) than for Nysted (which is surrounded by a more complicated coastline). The analysis is replicated based on 3-month simulations using the weather research and forecasting (WRF) numerical model with a horizontal grid spacing of 2 km. For the sea-fetch directions, good agreement in spectral properties between the model and observations is found. Analytical expressions based on the properties of the cross-correlation function and an exponentially decaying coherence function are fitted to the normalized cospectra and quadrature spectra. The expressions are shown to be a good fit to the spectra calculated from the WRF simulations and to the observed spectra for directions with a long sea-fetch, which suggests that to a good approximation, the average cospectra and quadrature spectra over the sea can be written as functions of frequency, mean wind speed, separation distance and the angle between the wind direction and the orientation of the masts.     

Nutrient Budgets and Management Actions in the Patuxent River Estuary,Maryland

Multi-year nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) budgets were developed for the Patuxent River estuary, a seasonally stratified and moderately eutrophic tributary of Chesapeake Bay. Major inputs (point, diffuse, septic, and direct atmospheric) were measured for 13 years during which, large reductions in P and then lesser reductions in N-loading occurred due to wastewater treatment plant improvements. Internal nutrient losses (denitrification and long-term burial of particulate N and P) were measured in tidal marshes and sub-tidal sediments throughout the estuary as were nutrient storage in the water column, sediments, and biota. Nutrient transport between the oligohaline and mesohaline zones and between the Patuxent and Chesapeake Bay was estimated using a salt and water balance model. Several major nutrient recycling terms were directly and indirectly evaluated and compared to new N and P inputs on seasonal and annual time-scales. Major findings included: (1) average terrestrial and atmospheric inputs of N and P were very close to the sum of internal losses plus export, suggesting that dominant processes are captured in these budgets; (2) both N and P export were a small fraction (13% and 28%, respectively) of inputs, about half of that expected for N based on water residence times, and almost all exported N and P were in organic forms; (3) the tidal marsh-oligohaline estuary, which by area comprised ~27% of the full estuarine system, removed about 46% and 74% of total annual upland N and P inputs, respectively; (4) recycled N and P were much larger sources of inorganic nutrients than new inputs during warm seasons and were similar in magnitude even during cold seasons; (5) there was clear evidence that major estuarine processes responded rapidly to inter-annual nutrient input variations; (6) historical nutrient input data and nutrient budget data from drought periods indicated that diffuse nutrient sources were dominant and that N loads need to be reduced by about 50% to restore water quality conditions to pre-eutrophic levels.     

Petrology of mugearite-hawaiite: Early extrusives in the 1973 Heimaey eruption,Iceland

Rocks which erupted during the first few weeks are described and chemical analyses of rocks and microprobe analyses of minerals are presented. An outline of the eruption history and of the geology of the area is given. A gradational change in chemistry from mugearitic to hawaiitic composition is recorded. Xenoliths of hypersthene gabbro not cognate with magma were discovered in the mugearite. One xenolith has reacted with the mugearite magma at depth to form pargasitic hornblende and kaersutite. It is argued that the magma reacted with the xenoliths at a total pressure well below 8–9 kbar and at a gas pressure higher 1 kbar.     

How wide is a road? The association of roads and mass-wasting in a forested montane environment

A spatial data base of 1609 landslides was analysed using a geographic information system to determine landslide frequency in relation to highways. A 126 km long transportation network in a 201 km² area of humid-tropical, mountainous, forested terrain in Puerto Rico was used in conjunction with a series of 20 buffer (disturbance) zones varying from 5 to 400 m in length, measured perpendicular to the highways. Average landslide frequency in the study area at distances greater than 85 m from roads was about six landslides per square kilometre. At distances of 85 m or less on either side of a highway, landslide frequency was about 30 landslides per square kilometre. On average, this elevated disturbance rate affected 330 m² km⁻² a⁻¹ within the 170 m swath. The mass-wasting rate outside of the disturbance zone affected 40 m² km⁻² a⁻¹. These results indicate that the rate of mass-wasting disturbance is increased from five to eight times in a 170 m wide swath along road corridors. The lateral extent of the environmental impact of roads in the study area is greater than is commonly perceived. The approach described herein demonstrates a simple method to assess the spatial association of mass-wasting with highways. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compaction bands and induced permeability reduction in Tuffeau de Maastricht calcarenite

The mechanical behavior and permeability of the Tuffeau de Maastricht calcarenite were studied. Compactions bands were found to form in the “transitional” regime between brittle faulting and cataclastic flow. In order to predict the formation of compaction bands, bifurcation analysis was applied on a model developed by Lade and Kim. The numerical results proved to be in good agreement with the experimental ones where the localization point was identified to be the onset of shear-enhanced compaction (a threshold in differential stress after which significant reduction of porosity is induced). Before the onset of shear-enhanced compaction, permeability was primarily controlled by the effective mean stress, independent of the deviatoric stresses. With the onset of shear-enhanced compaction, however, coupling of the deviatoric and hydrostatic stresses induced considerable permeability and porosity reduction.     

Palaeomagnetism and magnetomineralogy of a Holocene lake sediment from Vågsøy,western Norway

Stable remanent directions encountered in three oriented lake-sediment cores, covering 6 m of gyttja deposits, reveal declination swings with amplitudes of the order of ± 50°. Anomalously low inclinations, scattered around the horizontal in the upper 2 m of core, is attributed to compressional disturbances of the alignment of magnetic grains during the coring procedure. Four ¹⁴C dates obtained (1250, 1940, 4600 and 6330 y B.P.) have enabled a correlation with features ‘c’–‘g’ of the British Geomagnetic Master Curve). For the older part of the curve, features ‘h’ and ‘i’, the correlation is questionable. Magneto-mineralogical parameters and qualitative chemical analysis of individual grains by secondary X-ray emission analysis reveal the presence of pure magnetite grains. Scanning electron micrographs show a dominant proportion of concoidal slightly elongated grains (10–80 μm). A few almost-perfect octahedral magnetite crystals can be related to outcrops of augen gneisses in the vicinity confirming a detrital origin of these grains.     

Alkaline Degradation of Dissolved Organic Matter

The degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was studied in alkaline solution. The products were characterised using UV/vis spectroscopy, size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC), and by the analysis of low‐molecular‐weight organic acids (LMWOA). The degradation experiments were performed with water from a brown water lake or its isolated fulvic acid fraction and sodium hydroxide at different reaction times and temperatures. Depending on the wavelength and the reaction time, the UV/vis absorbance between 230 nm and 600 nm increased or decreased. The behaviour of model compounds during reactions in alkaline media was compared to the UV/vis spectroscopic behaviour of DOM. The release of LMWOA was described by kinetic data and compared to the data of model reactions. Evidence was given for the carboxylic esters playing a significant role in the release of LMWOA only during the beginning of the alkaline degradation. The results gained by SEC with on‐line UV and DOC detection showed that the average size of DOM was decreasing, and that a major part of the degradation products consisted of low‐molecular‐weight mono‐ and dicarboxylic acids.