Evidence of a major environmental change recorded in a macrotidal bay (Marennes-Oléron Bay, France) by correlation between VHR seismic profiles and cores

New, very high-resolution (25 cm) seismic profiles have revealed the internal architecture of the infilling of a macrotidal bay, the Marennes-Oléron Bay, France. Within this geometry, a major seismic unconformity has been correlated with core data. This correlation provides evidence that the seismic unconformity corresponds to a sharp grain-size decrease. Both seismic and core data indicate that this change of grain size can be interpreted as a record of a recent (around 1,000 years b.p.) decrease in hydrodynamical energy with time and/or a larger supply of fine-grained material. This recent environmental change can be related to natural infilling of the Marennes Oléron Bay, and to tidal prism decrease, increasing human activities (e.g. land reclamation, deforestation, agricultural land use) and climate fluctuations during the late Holocene, such as the transition between the cold period of the Dark Ages (1,550–1,050 years b.p.) and the Medieval warm period (1,050–550 years b.p.).     

Lower cretaceous basalt and sediments from the Kerguelen Plateau

Geological samples from the southern Kerguelen Plateau include Lower Cretaceous basalt and lava breccia, probable Lower Cretaceous conglomerate and shelf limestone, Upper Cretaceous chert with dolomite, Upper Cretaceous-Eocene ooze, and Tertiary conglomerate. Neogene sediments are only a few hundred m thick, and include foraminiferal and diatomaceous ooze, and ice-rafted debris. In conjunction with seismic reflection profiles, the samples indicate Early Cretaceous near-shore volcanism, followed by erosion, sedimentation, and subsidence through Cretaceous; arching of the plateau at the end of Cretaceous; subsidence through Paleogene; widespread emergence in mid-Tertiary; and slow subsidence through Neogene.     

Chemistry of fluids from a natural analogue for a geological CO2 storage site (Montmiral, France): Lessons for CO2–water–rock interaction assessment and monitoring

Chemical and isotope studies of natural CO₂ accumulations aid in assessing the chemical effects of CO₂ on rock and thus provide a potential for understanding the long-term geochemical processes involved in CO₂ geological storage. Several natural CO₂ accumulations were discovered during gas and oil exploration in France’s carbogaseous peri-Alpine province (south-eastern France) in the 1960s. One of these, the Montmiral accumulation at a depth of more than 2400 m, is currently being exploited. The chemical composition of the water collected at the wellhead has changed in time and the final salinity exceeds 75 g/L. These changes in time can be explained by assuming that the fraction of the reservoir brine in the recovered brine–CO₂–H₂O mixture varies, resulting in variable proportions of H₂O and brine in the sampled water. The proportions can be estimated in selected samples due to the availability of gas and water flowrate data. These data enabled the reconstruction of the chemical and isotope composition of the brine. The proportions of H₂O and brine can also be estimated from isotope (δ²H, δ¹⁸O) composition of collected water and δ¹⁸O of the sulfates or CO₂. The reconstituted brine has a salinity of more than 85 g/L and, according to its Br⁻ content and isotope (δ²H, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S) composition, originates from an evaporated Triassic seawater that underwent dilution by meteoric water. The reconstitution of the brine’s chemical composition enabled an evaluation of the CO₂–water–rock interactions based on: (1) mineral saturation indices; and (2) comparison with initial evaporated Triassic seawater. Dissolution of K- and SO₄-containing minerals such as K-feldspar and anhydrite, and precipitation of Ca and Mg containing minerals that are able to trap CO₂ (carbonates) are highlighted. The changes in concentration of these elements in the brine, which are attributed to CO₂ interactions, illustrate the relevance of monitoring the water quality at future industrial CO₂ storage sites.     

The efficiency of kerosene flotation for extraction of chironomid head capsules from lake sediments samples

Kerosene, a grade mineral oil, is commonly used to extract beetles from sediment. Here, the use of kerosene to extract chironomid head capsules was tested on 10 samples from sediment of different lakes, with different organic matter content as measured by loss on ignition, and estimated ages. Our results revealed that this flotation tool is very effective in extracting either full or half chironomid head capsules. The mean extraction efficiency was 89.3 ± 8.0% with an estimated relative abundance error ranging from −1% to 1% for 46 of the 57 identified taxa. Larger chironomids (400–500 μm width), which are often full of sediment particles, have the highest relative abundance error, with a maximum of 4.3% for Corynocera oliveri-type. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that, despite this small bias, samples retrieved with the kerosene flotation do not differ from the whole sample assemblages. These results give us confidence in the use of this flotation technique for chironomid sample preparation.     

Premiers résultats d'une étude géophysique sur le flanc nord des glissements de Storegga (Norvège)

The Storegga slides, off Norway, are among the largest submarine slides ever known on a continental slope. The HYDRATECH cruise on N/O Le Suroît aimed at a high-resolution survey of an area at the northern boundary of the slides. This survey images in great detail the bottom simulating reflector (BSR) extent and properties, the various fluid escape structures and the sediment deformations. The combination and the quality of the data help to understand the still poorly constrained relationships between fluid escapes, gas hydrates and slope stability in the survey area. To cite this article: H. Nouzé et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Chironomid-inferred temperature changes of the last century in anoxic Seebergsee,Switzerland: assessment of two calibration methods

Chironomids (non-biting midges) can provide accurate climate reconstructions from the Late Glacial to the present. Until now, anoxic lakes have been avoided for temperature reconstructions since chironomid assemblages are sensitive to changes in oxygen concentrations in the hypolimnion. However, anoxic lakes may have varved sediments, providing the possibility for near-annual climate reconstructions. Here, we tested the applicability of two calibration methods to reconstruct mean July air temperatures from chironomid assemblages preserved in the sediments of the anoxic Seebergsee located in the northern Swiss Alps: a calibration-in-space approach and a calibration-in-time approach. The calibration-in-space approach (i.e. chironomid assemblages from surficial lake sediments (0–1 cm) calibrated against meteorological data) provided accurate inferences (i.e. similar temperature changes as measured at the closest meteorological station, and at regional stations) in the Seebergsee stratigraphy until anoxia increased in the lake. With the increase of anoxia, the chironomid-inferred temperatures were generally colder than measured temperatures. A calibration-in-time approach (i.e. calibration of chironomid assemblages in a time series against instrumental data from the closest meteorological station) provided accurate reconstructions (i.e. similar to the regional records) for the past 100 years, including the time period of inferred anoxia. However, its applicability should be further tested on longer temporal scales.     

Impact of vertical structure on water mass circulation in a tropical lagoon (Ebrié, Ivory Coast)

A one-dimensional vertical model has been developed to simulate the water mass circulation along the vertical structure in all deep coastal areas. The model has hydrodynamic and transport components solved using finite difference scheme. The one-dimensional vertical model results are coupled to the vertically averaged two-dimensional model results at each point of a horizontal grid. A theoretical salinity profile is introduced for each vertically integrated value obtained from the 2DH model results. A viscosity profile, simulating a viscosity value close to zero at the surface and with large viscosity gradients, is applied along the water column. The model is applied to the Vridi channel, connecting the Ebrié lagoon to the sea (Ivory Coast).The response of the Ebrié lagoon is studied in terms of inflow and outflow of water in the system through the Vridi channel. Due to the abrupt variation of the surface slope, vertical velocities along the water column show an anticlockwise spiral from bottom to surface during a tidal cycle. Due to the bottom friction and to the vertical viscosity profile, velocities decrease from surface to bottom. However, the freshwater inflow slows down the tidal propagation during the flood and causes the surface velocity to be smaller than the bottom velocity at mid-tide. Close to the bottom, velocities follow an anticlockwise movement due to the tidal propagation. At the water surface, velocities follow only an alternative movement of either ebb or flood, along the channel direction. No cross shore velocities can develop at the surface in the channel.     

The use of high-resolution gridded climate data in the development of chironomid-based inference models from remote areas

The development of chironomid-based air temperature inference models in high latitude regions often relies on limited spatial coverage of meteorological data and/or on punctual measurements of water temperature at the time of sampling. The use of simple linear regression to relate air temperature and latitude was until recently the best method to characterize the air temperature gradient along a latitudinal gradient. However, recent studies have used high-resolution gridded climate data to develop new chironomid-based air temperature inference models. This innovative approach has, however, never been further analyzed to test its reliability. This study presents a method using ArcGIS^® to extract air temperatures from a high-resolution global gridded climate data set (New et al. 2002) and to incorporate these new data in a variety of chironomid-based air temperature inference models to test their performance. Results suggest that this method is reliable and produces better estimates of air temperature and will be helpful in the development of further quantitative air temperature inference models in remote areas.     

A Linking Test to reduce the number of hydraulic parameters necessary to simulate groundwater recharge in unsaturated soils

In environmental studies, numerical simulation models are valuable tools for testing hypothesis about systems functioning and to perform sensitivity studies under scenarios of land use or climate changes. The simulations depend upon parameters which are not always measurable quantities and must be calibrated against observations, using for instance inverse modelling. Due to the scarcity of these observations, it has been found that parameter sets allowing a good matching between simulated and measured quantities are often non-unique, leading to the problem of equifinality. This can lead to non-physical values, erroneous fluxes and misleading sensitivity analysis. Therefore, a simple but robust inverse method coined the Linking Test is presented to determine if the parameters are linked. Linked parameters are then sub-divided into classes according to their impact on water fluxes. The Linking Test establishes the causes of non-uniqueness of parameter sets and the feasibility of the inverse modelling.