A New Appraisal of Sri Lankan BB Zircon as a Reference Material for LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb Geochronology and Lu‐Hf Isotope Tracing

A potential zircon reference material (BB zircon) for laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) U‐Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry is described. A batch of twenty zircon megacrysts (0.5–1.5 cm³) from Sri Lanka was studied. Within‐grain rare earth element (REE) compositions are largely homogeneous, albeit with some variation seen between fractured and homogeneous domains. Excluding fractured cathodoluminescence bright domains, the variation in U content for all analysed crystals ranged from 227 to 368 μg g^?1 and the average Th/U ratios were between 0.20 and 0.47. The Hf isotope composition (0.56–0.84 g/100 g Hf) is homogeneous within and between the grains – mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of 0.281674 ± 0.000018 (2s). The calculated alpha dose of 0.59 × 10¹⁸ g^?1 for a number of BB grains falls within the trend of previously studied, untreated zircon samples from Sri Lanka. Aliquots of the same crystal (analysed by ID‐TIMS in four different laboratories) gave consistent U‐Pb ages with excellent measurement reproducibility (0.1–0.4% RSD). Interlaboratory assessment (by LA‐ICP‐MS) from individual crystals returned results that are within uncertainty equivalent to the TIMS ages. Finally, we report on within‐ and between‐grain homogeneity of the oxygen isotope systematic of four BB crystals (13.16‰ VSMOW).     

Transient sediment supply in a high‐altitude Alpine environment evidenced through a 10Be budget of the Etages catchment (French Western Alps)

Although beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) concentrations in stream sediments provide useful synoptic views of catchment‐wide erosion rates, little is known on the relative contributions of different sediment supply mechanisms to the acquisition of their initial signature in the headwaters. Here we address this issue by conducting a ¹⁰Be‐budget of detrital materials that characterize the morphogenetic domains representative of high‐altitude environments of the European Alps. We focus on the Etages catchment, located in the Ecrins‐Pelvoux massif (southeast France), and illustrate how in situ ¹⁰Be concentrations can be used for tracing the origin of the sand fraction from the bedload in the trunk stream. The landscape of the Etages catchment is characterized by a geomorphic transient state, high topographic gradients, and a large variety of modern geomorphic domains ranging from glacial environments to scarcely vegetated alluvial plains. Beryllium‐10 concentrations measured in the Etages catchment vary from ~1 × 10⁴ to 4.5 × 10⁵ atoms per gram quartz, while displaying consistent ¹⁰Be signatures within each representative morphogenetic unit. We show that the basic requirements for inferring catchment‐wide denudation from ¹⁰Be concentration measurements are not satisfied in this small, dynamic catchment. However, the distinct ¹⁰Be signature observed for the geomorphic domains can be used as a tracer. We suggest that a terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) budget approach provides a valuable tool for the tracing of material origin in basins where the ‘let nature do the averaging’ principles may be violated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comment on “Radiation History of Fossil Meteorites from Sweden” by V.A. Alexeev (2010), solar system research, 44, 311–319

We dispute the claim by Alexeev (2010) that the numerous fossil meteorites found in mid-Ordovician sediments in southern Sweden can be explained by a single large meteorite shower some 470 million years ago, and—in particular—that the reported variable cosmic ray exposure ages derived from cosmogenic ²¹Ne in chromite grains extracted from the fossil meteorites actually reflect variable contributions of nucleogenic ²¹Ne instead.     

222Rn as Natural Tracer for LNAPL Recovery in a Crude Oil‐Contaminated Aquifer

The objective of this study was to investigate whether ²²²Rn in groundwater can be used as a tracer for light non‐aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) quantification at a field site treated by dual‐phase LNAPL removal. After the break of a pipeline, 5 ha of soil in the nature reserve Coussouls de Crau in southern France was contaminated by 5100 m³ of crude oil. Part of this oil seeped into the underlying gravel aquifer and formed a floating oil body of about 3.9 ha. The remediation consists of plume management by hydraulic groundwater barriers and LNAPL extraction in the source zone. ²²²Rn measurements were performed in 21 wells in and outside the source zone during 15 months. In uncontaminated groundwater, the radon activity was relatively constant and remained always >11 Bq/L. The variability of radon activity measurements in wells affected by the pump‐and‐skim system was consistent with the measurements in wells that were not impacted by the system. The mean activities in wells in the source zone were, in general, significantly lower than in wells upgradient of the source zone, owing to partitioning of ²²²Rn into the oil phase. The lowest activities were found in zones with high non‐aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) recovery. LNAPL saturations around each recovery well were furthermore calculated during a period of high groundwater level, using a laboratory‐determined crude oil–water partitioning coefficient of 38.5 ± 2.9. This yielded an estimated volume of residual crude oil of 309 ± 93 m³ below the capillary fringe. We find that ²²²Rn is a useful and cheap groundwater tracer for finding zones of good LNAPL recovery in an aquifer treated by dual‐phase LNAPL removal, but that quantification of NAPL saturation using Rn is highly uncertain.     

A case study of the mesoscale dynamics in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: a combined data–model approach

The Northern current is the main circulation feature of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. While the large-scale to mesoscale variability of the northern current (NC) is well known and widely documented for the Ligurian region, off Nice or along the Gulf of Lions shelf, few is known about the current instabilities and its associated mesoscale dynamics in the intermediate area, off Toulon. Here, we took advantage of an oceanographic cruise of opportunity, the start of a HF radar monitoring programme in the Toulon area and the availability of regular satellite sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a data, to evaluate the realism of a NEMO-based regional high-resolution model and the added value brought by HF radar. The combined analysis of a 1/64° configuration, named GLAZUR64, and of all data sets revealed the occurrence of an anticyclonic coastal trapped eddy, generated inside a NC meander and passing the Toulon area during the field campaign. We show that this anticyclonic eddy is advected downstream along the French Riviera up to the study region and disturbs the Northern current flow. This study aims to show the importance of combining observations and modelling when dealing with mesoscale processes, as well as the importance of high-resolution modelling.     

Large wavenumber convection in the rotating annulus

Abstract

The annulus model considers convection between concentric cylinders with sloping endwalls. It is used as a simplified model of convection in a rapidly rotating sphere. Large azimuthal wavenumbers are preferred in this problem, and this has been exploited to develop an asymptotic approach to nonlinear convection in the annulus. The problem is further reduced because the Taylor-Proudman constraint simplifies the dependence in the direction of the rotation vector, so that a nonlinear system dependent only on the radial variable and time results. As Rayleigh number is increased a sequence of bifurcations is found, from steady solutions to periodic solutions and 2-tori, typically ending in chaotic behaviour. Both the magnetic (MHD convection) and non-magnetic problem has been considered, and in the non-magnetic case our bifurcation sequence can be compared with those found by previous two-dimensional numerical simulations.     

Links between NAO fluctuations and inter-annual variability of winter-months precipitation in the Seine River watershed (north-western France)

The inter-annual to multi-decadal winter variability (DJFM) of precipitation on the Seine River watershed (France) was analysed using continuous wavelet transform analysis and compared to the winter North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). Nine weather stations were used over the 1951 to 2004 period and confirmed the homogeneity of inter-annual fluctuations for all stations but one. Wavelet coherence between SLP over the Icelandic and Azores regions and precipitation highlighted coherence for different scales of variability according to the centre of action considered. Segmentation and wavelet analysis and coherence between precipitation and NAOI over a long period of time (1873–2004) showed: i) increasing variability across the last century at most time scales, especially for NAOI; ii) the existence of change points for the mean and variance of both signals; iii) overall discontinuity of the coherence whatever the scale considered, especially between ∼1910 and ∼1955 for inter-decennial to pluri-decennial scales.     

Mutual validation of GNSS height measurements and high-precision geometric-astronomical leveling

The method of geometric-astronomical leveling is presented as a suited technique for the validation of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) heights. In geometric-astronomical leveling, the ellipsoidal height differences are obtained by combining conventional spirit leveling and astronomical leveling. Astronomical leveling with recently developed digital zenith camera systems is capable of providing the geometry of equipotential surfaces of the gravity field accurate to a few 0.1 mm per km. This is comparable to the accuracy of spirit leveling. Consequently, geometric-astronomical leveling yields accurate ellipsoidal height differences that may serve as an independent check on GNSS height measurements at local scales. A test was performed in a local geodetic network near Hanover. GPS observations were simultaneously carried out at five stations over a time span of 48 h and processed considering state-of-the-art techniques and sophisticated new approaches to reduce station-dependent errors. The comparison of GPS height differences with those from geometric-astronomical leveling shows a promising agreement of some millimeters. The experiment indicates the currently achievable accuracy level of GPS height measurements and demonstrates the practical applicability of the proposed approach for the validation of GNSS height measurements as well as the evaluation of GNSS height processing strategies.     

Quantifying internal variability in a regional climate model: a case study for Southern Africa

This study aims at presenting various methodologies to separate the reproducible and irreproducible components of seasonal and intraseasonal climate variability simulated by a regional climate model over Southern Africa (south of 15°S), during an austral summer rainy season representative of the climatology. To that end, a 30-member ensemble simulation is performed using WRF laterally forced by the ERA40 reanalyses. Retained metrics include the analysis of weather regimes, signal-to-noise ratio, inter-member standard deviation and coefficient of variation. At the seasonal timescale, simulated rainfall amounts generally show a strong reproducibility, except in the subtropics and over the southern part of the Mozambique Channel. There, the number of rainy days is roughly similar in all members, while their average intensity varies extensively. At the intraseasonal timescale, the chronology of weather regimes, derived from the 500?hPa geopotential height, is highly reproducible. Rainfall variability is much less reproducible, especially in the central parts of the domain and near its outflow boundaries. Analysis of a South African regional index nonetheless indicates that both wet and dry spells tend to be accurately simulated and occur in phase in most members, demonstrating that they are embedded in large-scale variability patterns. Internal variability is lastly related to the lateral forcings along the domain boundaries. An objective classification of inflow/outflow mass fluxes allows identification of the recurrent synoptic configurations that favor strong or weak regional reproducibility. The main uncertainties concern the basic morphological features of rain-bearing systems (i.e., their spatial extension, location and propagation speed). Consequences for tropical-temperate interactions are then discussed.