Holocene climate reconstructions from tandem trace-element and stable-isotope composition of ostracodes from Coldwater Lake, North Dakota, U.S.A.

The geochemistry of ostracode shells and bulk carbonates in a 19-meter sediment core documents at century-scale resolution the evolution of water chemistry in Coldwater Lake, North Dakota, providing a continuous paleohydrologic record of Holocene climate change in the northern Great Plains. A combination of ¹⁸O, ¹³C, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca in ostracode calcite aided by Sr/Ca in bulk carbonates are used to constrain the paleoclimatic reconstructions. A fresh-water phase in the early Holocene, indicated by the absence of Candona rawsoni and low concentrations of Sr/Ca in bulk carbonate, was followed by a sharp increase in salinity between 10800 and 8900 yr B.P. The climate was predominately dry during the late part of the early Holocene and most of the middle Holocene (8900–5000 yr B.P.), when the lake was very sensitive and recorded a series of dry and wet oscillations. Maximum salinity occurred around 5500 yr B.P. and was followed by a gradual decrease between 5000 and 2400 yr B.P. From 2400 yr B.P. the ¹⁸O, Mg/Ca, and Sr/Ca in the ostracodes indicate generally wet conditions interrupted by a series of lesser salinity and temperature oscillations lasting until 600 yr B.P. Ostracode geochemistry indicates that a warm and dry climate returned at about the time of the Little Ice Age (600–150 yr B.P.). Ostracode ¹³C shows a ong-term increasing trend during the Holocene, which suggests that lake productivity and atmospheric CO₂ exchange made greater contributions to the hypolimnetic carbon pool as the lake became shallower with time.     

Distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Osaka Bay,Japan

Contaminations in sediments by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylated PAHs were investigated at 44 sites in Osaka Bay, Japan. Concentrations of total PAHs and alkylated PAHs were in the range 6.40–7800 ng/g dry weights and 13.7–1700 ng/g dry weights, respectively. The PAH concentrations tended to be higher along the shoreline in the vicinities of big ports, industrialized areas, and densely populated regions such as the cities of Osaka and Kobe. The major sources appeared to be pyrogenic or both pyrogenic and petrogenic at most of the sites. PAH concentrations were remarkably high at a site near Kobe, where the concentrations of dibenzo(a,h)anthracene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene exceeded the effects-range-medium concentration and eight PAHs were above the corresponding effects-range-low concentrations. Those PAHs may have been derived from the great fire associated with the large earthquake in 1995.     

Dewatering Behaviour of a Uranium Ore Slurry Containing Clays

The main objective of this paper was to investigate the dewatering behaviour of a clayey uranium ore slurry. The slurry (containing 28% clay size) exhibited moderate water adsorption (w _l  = 83% and w _p  = 30%). Primarily composed of muscovite (46%) and quartz (30%), the clay minerals included illite (8%), chlorite (5%) and kaolinite (2%) alongside a CEC of 41 (cmol(+)/kg) with Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ as the dominant cations. Likewise, the high EC (17,600 μS/cm) and ionic strength (1.15 mol/L) indicated a flocculated microstructure due to the presence of SO₄ ^2? (22,600 mg/L) and Mg²⁺ (1340 mg/L) in the slurry water. Settling included sedimentation and consolidation at low initial solids condition (25–35%) whereas only consolidation was observed at high initial solids contents (40–50%). The average k reduced from 1.2 × 10^?6 m/s (initial s = 25%) to 5.3 × 10^?8 m/s (initial s = 50%) along with a void ratio reduction from 7.4 to 2.6. Due to thixotropic strength, volume compressibility during consolidation showed apparent pre-consolidation at low effective stress (0.3–2 kPa) with a reduction in void ratio from 2.6 to 2.5. The e _s was found to be 2.46 at σ′ = 2 kPa and was followed by a steeper slope with the void ratio reducing to 2.1 at σ′ = 31 kPa. Likewise, the hydraulic conductivity during consolidation decreased from 2.6 × 10^?9 m/s (at e = 2.6) to 2.0 × 10^?10 m/s (at e = 2.1).     

Temporal variations in channel patterns and facies architecture in a gravelly fluvial system: The Paleogene Iwaki Formation on the Joban Coalfield,a forearc basin in Northeast Japan

This paper examined sequence‐stratigraphic features of a gravelly fluvial system of the Iwaki Formation, which developed in a forearc‐basin setting in Northeast Japan during the Eocene through Oligocene. On the basis of three‐dimensional architectural element analysis, we discriminated three major cycles of channel complexes, which contain ten component channel deposits in total in the fluvial succession. Component channel deposits in the uppermost part of each cycle are sandier and associated with overbank muddy deposits and coal beds as compared with those in the lower part of the cycle. Mean clast‐size also decreases upsection in the entire gravelly fluvial deposits. The fluvial succession is interpreted to have been deposited in response to an overall rise in relative sea level that was superimposed by three short‐term relative sea‐level rises on the basis of vertical stacking patterns and component lithofacies features of channel deposits, and of correlation of the fluvial succession with an age‐equivalent marine succession in an area about 50 km offshore. However, geometry and stacking patterns of the channel complexes do not exhibit any distinct temporal variation and amalgamated channel and bar deposits are dominant throughout the transgressive fluvial succession. On the other hand, an overall fining‐upward pattern of the entire Iwaki Formation fluvial deposits in association with three component fining‐upward patterns is distinct, and is interpreted to be consistent with the tenet of the standard fluvial sequence‐stratigraphic models. This indicates that the present example represents one type of variation in the standard fluvial sequence‐stratigraphic models, possibly reflecting the forearc‐basin setting, which is generally represented by higher valley slope, higher shedding of coarse‐grained sediments, and shorter longitudinal profiles to the coastal area as compared with a passive‐continental‐margin setting.     

Possible climate change/variability and human impacts,vulnerability of drought-prone regions,water resources and capacity building for Africa

ABSTRACT

This review article discusses the climate, water resources and historical droughts of Africa, drought indices, vulnerability, impact of global warming and land use for drought-prone regions in West, southern and the Greater Horn of Africa, which have suffered recurrent severe droughts in the past. Recent studies detected warming and drying trends in Africa since the mid 20th century. Based on the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), both northern and southern Africa are projected to experience drying, such as decreasing precipitation, runoff and soil moisture in the 21st century and could become more vulnerable to the impact of droughts. The daily maximum temperature is projected to increase by up to 8°C (RCP8.5 of CMIP5), precipitation indices such as total wet day precipitation (PRCPTOT) and heavy precipitation days (R10 mm) could decrease, while warm spell duration (WSDI) and consecutive dry days (CDD) could increase. Uncertainties of the above long-term projections, teleconnections to climate anomalies such as ENSO and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which could also affect the water resources of Africa, and capacity building in terms of physical infrastructure and non-structural solutions are also discussed. Given that traditional climate and hydrological data observed in Africa are generally limited, satellite data should also be exploited to fill the data gap for Africa in the future.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor N. Ilich     

Bioaccumulation of nitroarenes in bivalves at Osaka Bay, Japan

This paper reports for the first time the detection and occurrence of nitroarenes (NPAHs) in marine organisms. Mussels and oysters collected from Osaka Bay, Japan, had total NPAHs concentrations that ranged from 2380 to 24,688 pg/g dry and 2672 to 25,961 pg/g dry, respectively. Relatively higher concentrations were detected in sampling sites located near the central district and suburbs of Osaka City implying that the most probable sources of NPAHs in the two bivalves are exhaust gases and smokes emitted by automobiles and industrial plants. Bivalves had relatively higher residues of 1-nitronaphthalene, 2-nitronaphthalene, 3-nitrophenanthrene, and 9-nitrophenanthrenes. Residues of 2-nitrofluorene, 1-nitropyrene, 4-nitropyrenes, and 6-nitrochrysene were much lower compared to nitronaphthalenes and nitrophenanthrenes. Inter-species differences was only observed for 2-nitronaphthalene with oysters exhibiting significantly higher residues than mussels.     

A review of the NEMURO and NEMURO.FISH models and their application to marine ecosystem investigations

The evolution of the North Pacific Ecosystem Model for Understanding Regional Oceanography (NEMURO) family of models to study marine ecosystems is reviewed. Applications throughout the North Pacific have shown the models to be robust and to be able to reproduce 1D, 2D and 3D components of nutrient, carbon cycle and biogeochemical cycles as well as aspects of the lower trophic levels ecosystem (phyto- and zooplankton). NEMURO For Including Saury and Herring, an extension that includes higher trophic levels, can be run uncoupled or coupled to NEMURO. In the uncoupled mode, the growth and weight of an individual fish is computed using plankton densities simulated by NEMURO but with no feedback between fish consumption and plankton mortality. In the coupled mode, the feeding, growth and weight of a representative fish are computed, and prey removals due to feeding by fish appear as mortality terms on the prey. The NEMURO family of models continues to evolve, including effects of the microbial loop and iron limitation at lower trophic levels, and full life cycle, multi-species and multi-generational simulations at higher trophic levels. We outline perspectives for future end-to-end modeling efforts that can be used to study marine ecosystems in response to global environmental change.     

Geometry of the Nojima Fault at Nojima-Hirabayashi, Japan – II. Microstructures and their Implications for Permeability and Strength

Samples of damage-zone granodiorite and fault core from two drillholes into the active, strike-slip Nojima fault zone display microstructures and alteration features that explain their measured present-day strengths and permeabilities and provide insight on the evolution of these properties in the fault zone. The least deformed damage-zone rocks contain two sets of nearly perpendicular (60–90° angles), roughly vertical fractures that are concentrated in quartz-rich areas, with one set typically dominating over the other. With increasing intensity of deformation, which corresponds generally to increasing proximity to the core, zones of heavily fragmented rock, termed microbreccia zones, develop between prominent fractures of both sets. Granodiorite adjoining intersecting microbreccia zones in the active fault strands has been repeatedly fractured and locally brecciated, accompanied by the generation of millimeter-scale voids that are partly filled with secondary minerals. Minor shear bands overprint some of the heavily deformed areas, and small-scale shear zones form from the pairing of closely spaced shear bands. Strength and permeability measurements were made on core collected from the fault within a year after a major (Kobe) earthquake. Measured strengths of the samples decrease regularly with increasing fracturing and fragmentation, such that the gouge of the fault core and completely brecciated samples from the damage zone are the weakest. Permeability increases with increasing disruption, generally reaching a peak in heavily fractured but still more or less cohesive rock at the scale of the laboratory samples. Complete loss of cohesion, as in the gouge or the interiors of large microbreccia zones, is accompanied by a reduction of permeability by 1-2 orders of magnitude below the peak values. The core samples show abundant evidence of hydrothermal alteration and mineral precipitation. Permeability is thus expected to decrease and strength to increase somewhat in active fault strands between earthquakes, as mineral deposits progressively seal fractures and fill pore spaces.     

Cross-shore variation of long-term average longshore current velocity in the nearshore zone

The cross-shore variation of long-term average longshore current velocity was investigated on the basis of a 15-year data set of longshore current, wave and wind. The longshore current velocities were measured once a day along a 427-m-long pier. The results show that the direction of the long-term average longshore current velocity away (>200 m) from the shore was the opposite to that near the shore. The southward current was dominant offshore, whereas the northward current was dominant near the shore. The cross-shore variation of the long-term average longshore current velocity was formed owing to a difference between the wave and wind conditions when the northward and southward currents developed. When the northward current developed, the offshore wave height was relatively small and the frequency of the southward wind velocity was almost equal to that of the northward one. As a result, the northward current developed only near the shore and decayed outside the narrow surf zone. On the other hand, when the southward current developed, the offshore wave height was relatively large and the southward wind velocity was predominant, which resulted in the southward current developing not only in the wide surf zone but also outside the surf zone. The superposition of the two cross-shore variations produced a cross-shore variation of the long-term average longshore current velocity with a northward velocity near the shore and a southward velocity away from the shore.