Age modeling of young non-varved lake sediments: methods and limits. Examples from two lakes in Central Chile

High-resolution and highly precise age models for recent lake sediments (last 100–150 years) are essential for quantitative paleoclimate research. These are particularly important for sedimentological and geochemical proxies, where transfer functions cannot be established and calibration must be based upon the relation of sedimentary records to instrumental data. High-precision dating for the calibration period is most critical as it determines directly the quality of the calibration statistics. Here, as an example, we compare radionuclide age models obtained on two high-elevation glacial lakes in the Central Chilean Andes (Laguna Negra: 33°38′S/70°08′W, 2,680 m a.s.l. and Laguna El Ocho: 34°02′S/70°19′W, 3,250 m a.s.l.). We show the different numerical models that produce accurate age-depth chronologies based on ²¹⁰Pb profiles, and we explain how to obtain reduced age-error bars at the bottom part of the profiles, i.e., typically around the end of the 19th century. In order to constrain the age models, we propose a method with five steps: (i) sampling at irregularly-spaced intervals for ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs depending on the stratigraphy and microfacies, (ii) a systematic comparison of numerical models for the calculation of ²¹⁰Pb-based age models: constant flux constant sedimentation (CFCS), constant initial concentration (CIC), constant rate of supply (CRS) and sediment isotope tomography (SIT), (iii) numerical constraining of the CRS and SIT models with the ¹³⁷Cs chronomarker of AD 1964 and, (iv) step-wise cross-validation with independent diagnostic environmental stratigraphic markers of known age (e.g., volcanic ash layer, historical flood and earthquakes). In both examples, we also use airborne pollutants such as spheroidal carbonaceous particles (reflecting the history of fossil fuel emissions), excess atmospheric Cu deposition (reflecting the production history of a large local Cu mine), and turbidites related to historical earthquakes. Our results show that the SIT model constrained with the ¹³⁷Cs AD 1964 peak performs best over the entire chronological profile (last 100–150 years) and yields the smallest standard deviations for the sediment ages. Such precision is critical for the calibration statistics, and ultimately, for the quality of the quantitative paleoclimate reconstruction. The systematic comparison of CRS and SIT models also helps to validate the robustness of the chronologies in different sections of the profile. Although surprisingly poorly known and under-explored in paleolimnological research, the SIT model has a great potential in paleoclimatological reconstructions based on lake sediments.     

Which variables are essential for renewable energies?

ABSTRACT

Essential Variables are defined as a minimal set of variables that explain the state of the system. They are crucial for predicting its developments, and support metrics that measure its evolution. The variables should be relevant to meet requirements of stakeholders and be technically and economically feasible for systematic observation. A definition of Essential Renewable Energies Variables is proposed linked with their identification in several domains in renewable energy using a bottom-up and user-driven approach, and spanning over several years of documented interaction with stakeholders. Lists of variables are proposed in hydropower, solar, wind, and marine energies. It does not comprise the variables relating to social and economic aspects supporting decision making in investment nor those relating to civil engineering that are needed to erect a plant or farm.     

An event-based stochastic model of phosphorus loading into a lake

In most lakes, phosphorus (P) is the nutrient controlling the trophic state. Thus, for effective control of eutrophication, the uncertainty in P-loading should be encoded as a probability density function (pdf). Specifically, the pdf of P-loading Y from non-point agricultural sources is sought by means of an event-based stochastic model.P-loading events are triggered by precipitation events (X₁, X₂, T), in which X₁ is the rainfall amount, X₂ the duration, and T the interarrival time between events. (X₁, X₂) are dependent random variables, while T is assumed to be exponentially distributed. The precipitation event causes runoff, which carries dissolved P into the lake with a concentration C₁ and sediment yield, Z, which carries fixed or sorbed P into the lake in a fraction C₂ of Z. Seasonal loading of P is calculated by adding random numbers of random variables. The model accounts separately for dissolved P and sorbed P. Explicit expressions are given for the mean and variance of each type of P-loadings. The case study of a sub-watershed of Lake Balaton, Hungary, is used to illustrate the methodology. Precipitation data, empirical rainfall-runoff-sediment yield relationships and a small number of observations of events are used to calibrate the model and estimate the means and variances of loading per event and per season. Then a simulation method is used to estimate complete pdf of these random variables. Use of the model for alternative methods of controlling P-loading is briefly discussed, as well as the economics of control.     

Late Holocene sea-level changes in the northwest Tuamotu islands, French Polynesia

Field surveys of several sea-level indicators (exposed in situ reef framework, conglomerates, coral colonies and Tridacna shells in a growth position, sea-corrosion notches) carried out on six atolls from the NW Tuamotus (Mataiva, Rangiroa, Arutua, Kaukura, Apataki and Takapoto) and data from four subsurface boreholes drilled through Mataiva show that during the late Holocene mean sea level (MSL) reached a maximum elevation at approximately + 0.9 m. It remained above the present MSL from between 6000 and 5500 yr B.P. until at least 1200 yr B.P. Human settlements on the atolls were extremely unlikely and probably impossible throughout this time. The area investigated seems to have been tectonically quite stable during the late Holocene. A local curve of MSL variations may be representative of the regional eustatic pattern.     

Elevation effects on rainfall: A stochastic model

The variation in point precipitation with elevation is investigated using an event-based stochastic model of thunderstorm rainfall and empirical data. Parameters of the model correspond to the number of events per unit of time and the depth of rainfall per event. An increase in precipitation with elevation may be due to an increase in the number of events, in the amount of rainfall per event or to some combination of both possibilities. The distribution of the number of events per season is assumed to be a Poisson variate while the distribution of point rainfall depths may be taken as geometric. The summation of a random number of random variables is used to represent seasonal point precipitation. Assuming that the two parameters of the model increase linearly with elevation, then total seasonal rainfall increases as a quadratic polynomial with elevation. The use of the model allows one to obtain the return period of storm rainfall of a given magnitude despite a short historical record. An independent set of data was used to verify the procedure.     

Hydrogeochemical and multi-tracer investigations of arsenic-affected aquifers in semi-arid West Africa

The semi-arid Sahel regions of West Africa rely heavily on groundwater from shallow to moderately deep(100 m b.g.l.)crystalline bedrock aquifers for drinking water production.Groundwater quality may be affected by high geogenic arsenic(As)concentrations(10μg/L)stemming from the oxidation of sulphide minerals(pyrite,arsenopyrite)in mineralised zones.These aquifers are still little investigated,especially concerning groundwater residence times and the influence of the annual monsoon season on groundwater chemistry.To gain insights on the temporal aspects of As contamination,we have used isotope tracers(noble gases,~3H,stable water isotopes(~2 H,~(18)O))and performed hydrochemical analyses on groundwater abstracted from tube wells and dug wells in a small study area in southwestern Burkina Faso.Results revealed a great variability in groundwater properties(e.g.redox conditions,As concentrations,water level,residence time)over spatial scales of only a few hundred metres,characteristic of the highly heterogeneous fractured underground.Elevated As levels are found in oxic groundwater of circum-neutral pH and show little relation with any of the measured parameters.Arsenic concentrations are relatively stable over the course of the year,with little effect seen by the monsoon.Groundwater residence time does not seem to have an influence on As concentrations,as elevated As can be found both in groundwater with short(50 a)and long(10~3 a)residence times as indicated by ~3He/~4He ratios spanning three orders of magnitude.These results support the hypothesis that the proximity to mineralised zones is the most crucial factor controlling As concentrations in the observed redox/pH conditions.The existence of very old water portions with residence times10~3 years already at depths of50 m b.g.l.is a new finding for the shallow fractured bedrock aquifers of Burkina Faso,suggesting that overexploitation of these relatively low-yielding aquifers may be an issue in the future.     

Crustal laminations in deep seismic profiles in France and neighbouring areas

Summary. Remarkable crustal features appear on the ECORS profiles carried out in northern France and the Bay of Biscay as well as on the SWAT profiles shot in the western Channel and the Celtic Sea. The most striking one is the occurrence of flat laminations in the lower crust. Dipping events and laminations are also present in the upper and lower crust, especially in the SWAT profiles. They can readily be related to tectonic events, Variscan in age, some of them identified in the field. The flat laminations in the lower crust are at first interpreted as resulting from delamination, shearing, magmatism and metamorphism at the crust-mantle transition during the Variscan orogeny. This interpretation raises some difficulty concerning the space and time correlation of the laminations with the Variscan orogeny. They seem to have been emplaced after the Permian-Triassic infilling of the Plymouth Bay basin and before the early Cretaceous opening of the Bay of Biscay. An early to middle Jurassic age is suggested, a period when large cratonic basins were formed without noticeable extension. Heat flow increase and magmatism are proposed as a second hypothesis for the formation of the lower crust laminations. Choosing between orogenic and non-orogenic causes of these laminations will require further deep seismic profiles together with good velocity determination.     

Thermal response of Saturn's ring particles during and after eclipse

We present infrared (20 μm) observations of Saturn's rings for a solar elevation angle of 10° and phase angle of 6°. Scans across the rings yield information about the cooling of particles during eclipse and the subsequent heating along their orbits. All three rings exhibit significant cooling during eclipse, as well as a 20-μm brightness asymmetry between east and west ansae, the largest asymmetry occuring in the C ring (the brightest ring). The eclipse cooling is a simple and adequate explanation for 20-μm brightness asymmetries between the ansae of Saturn's rings. The relatively large C ring asymmetry is thought to be primarily due to the short travel time of the particles in that ring from eclipse exit to east ansa. We compare the B ring data to the theoretical models of H.H. Aumann and H.H. Kieffer (1973, Astrophys. J.186, 305–311) in order to set constraints on the average particle size and thermal inertia. The rather rapid heating after exit from eclipse points to low-conductivity-particle surfaces, similar to the water frost surfaces of Galilean satellites. If the surface conductivity is indeed low, one cannot determine an upper limit for the particle size through such infrared observations, since only the uppermost millimeters experience a thermal response during eclipse. However, based on these infrared data alone, it is clear that particles of radius equal to a few millimeters or less cannot occupy a significant fraction of the ring surface area, because-regardless of thermal inertia-their thermal response is much faster than observed.