Chlorine-36 in groundwater of the United States: empirical data

Natural production of the radionuclide chlorine-36 (³⁶Cl) has provided a valuable tracer for groundwater studies. The nuclear industry, especially the testing of thermonuclear weapons, has also produced large amounts of ³⁶Cl that can be detected in many samples of groundwater. In order to be most useful in hydrologic studies, the natural production prior to 1952 should be distinguished from more recent artificial sources. The object of this study was to reconstruct the probable preanthropogenic levels of ³⁶Cl in groundwater in the United States. Although significant local variations exist, they are superimposed on a broad regional pattern of ³⁶Cl/Cl ratios in the United States. Owing to the influence of atmospherically transported ocean salt, natural ratios of ³⁶Cl/total Cl are lowest near the coast and increase to a maximum in the central Rocky Mountains of the United States. Electronic Publication     

Spatial and temporal structure of the Denmark Strait Overflow revealed by acoustic observations

In spite of the fundamental role the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays for global climate stability, no direct current measurement of the Denmark Strait Overflow, which is the densest part of the AMOC, has been available until recently that resolve the cross-stream structure at the sill for long periods. Since 1999, an array of bottom-mounted acoustic instruments measuring current velocity and bottom-to-surface acoustic travel times was deployed at the sill. Here, the optimization of the array configuration based on a numerical overflow model is discussed. The simulation proves that more than 80% of the dense water transport variability is captured by two to three acoustic current profilers (ADCPs). The results are compared with time series from ADCPs and Inverted Echo Sounders deployed from 1999 to 2003, confirming that the dense overflow plume can be reliably measured by bottom-mounted instruments and that the overflow is largely geostrophically balanced at the sill.     

Climate change influences on pollinator,forest, and farm interactions across a climate gradient

Improved cookstoves have been identified in Mexico as a key opportunity to advance sustainable local development priorities in disadvantaged regions while mitigating climate change. This paper reviews the Patsari Cookstove Project initiated in 2003 by an NGO, Interdisciplinary Group on Appropriate Rural Technology (GIRA). The project applied an interdisciplinary and participative user-centered approach to disseminate improved cookstoves in rural Mexico, with a special focus on indigenous and poor rural communities. To date, GIRA and the Patsari Network have disseminated thousands of stoves using a “training to trainers” model. Benefits from the project include tangible improvements in users’ health, as well as savings in time and money expended on fuelwood procurement and use. The project has also documented substantive environmental benefits from significant mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with traditional open fires. To sustain scaling up efforts over the long-term, two networks have been created: The Patsari Network, which includes several organizations promoting Patsari stoves for household users, and the Tsiri Network, which supports local food security and the empowerment of indigenous women through the promotion of institutional cookstoves. Through appropriately designed and implemented local interventions, the project demonstrates that the goals of advancing sustainable local development in rural areas and climate change mitigation may not be contradictory, and may in fact reinforce one another.     

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) for seismic site characterization using 2D genetic algorithm at Bahrah area,Wadi Fatima,Saudi Arabia

The present study deals with the seismic site classification of Bahrah area, Wadi Fatima, to characterize the local site conditions. The dynamic behavior of sediments was studied by the application of surface wave inversion. The multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) shallow geophysical technique was utilized for site classification. MASW survey was carried out at 66 sites along with 13 seismic refraction profiles at suitable localities. MASW and seismic refraction profiles were processed and compared with the available borehole data. The integration of MASW techniques with seismic refraction and borehole data progressively enhanced the subsurface visualization and reliability of the shear wave velocity estimation in the subsurface in the study area. The subsurface shear-wave velocity model was achieved by the solution of an inverse problem-based dispersion of surface waves and propagation in a vertically heterogeneous medium. The 2D genetic algorithm was employed for the inversion of dispersion curves to obtain velocity and thickness of subsurface layers. The depth to engineering bedrock and velocity of shear waves in the first 30 m was deciphered and mapped. The depth of bedrock in study area varies from 4 to 30 m, and V _{S 30} ranges from 320 to 800 m/s. The most of study area falls in B and C class categories in addition to few sites of D class according to the NEHRP guidelines.     

Pollution history and recovery of a boreal lake exposed to a heavy bleached pulping effluent load

We examined the effects of heavy pulp mill discharges on the Lake Lievestuoreenjärvi ecosystem and the later recovery of diatom and chironomid communities from age-dated short core samples. Beginning in 1927 the lake received a heavy effluent load from a sulphite pulp mill. Except for the recession during the Second World War and the temporary closure of the mill from 1967 to 1971, the industrial load, containing large quantities of nutrients, organic matter and toxic compounds, increased continuously. In the early 1980s, laboratory documents were falsified by the directors of the mill and the systematic illegal effluent overload led to a collapse of the whole lake ecosystem. In 1985, the outdated plant was finally closed down. Based on the assessment of chemical properties and biological remains of the sediment, we distinguished five developmental phases in the ecological state of the lake. In the pre-industrial phase, the pelagic and profundal benthic communities were dominated by species preferring ultraoligotrophic or oligotrophic lakes. Concomitant with the increasing discharge and deposition of chlorine compounds, resin acids, and mercury, as well as strong acidity and hypolimnetic and epilimnetic anoxia, the ecological status changed in a short period from excellent to bad. Finally, in the early 1960s, the majority of the lake was virtually dead and the aquatic life survived only in the uppermost littoral zone. Since 1985, a fast recovery in the water quality has led to a strong, but temporary eutrophy in pelagic communities. The main peak of eutrophication was caused by the invasion of a species new to the lake,Aulacoseira granulata var.angustissima. Later, the pelagic communities shifted towards oligotrophy, but the original, pre-industrial status has not been re-established. The profundal benthic communities have not achieved the pre-industrial structure, but at present indicate mesotrophy.     

Combining pixel and object based image analysis of ultra-high resolution multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for habitat mapping in shallow marine waters

Habitat mapping data are increasingly being recognised for their importance in underpinning marine spatial planning. The ability to collect ultra-high resolution (cm) multibeam echosounder (MBES) data in shallow waters has facilitated understanding of the fine-scale distribution of benthic habitats in these areas that are often prone to human disturbance. Developing quantitative and objective approaches to integrate MBES data with ground observations for predictive modelling is essential for ensuring repeatability and providing confidence measures for habitat mapping products. Whilst supervised classification approaches are becoming more common, users are often faced with a decision whether to implement a pixel based (PB) or an object based (OB) image analysis approach, with often limited understanding of the potential influence of that decision on final map products and relative importance of data inputs to patterns observed. In this study, we apply an ensemble learning approach capable of integrating PB and OB Image Analysis from ultra-high resolution MBES bathymetry and backscatter data for mapping benthic habitats in Refuge Cove, a temperate coastal embayment in south-east Australia. We demonstrate the relative importance of PB and OB seafloor derivatives for the five broad benthic habitats that dominate the site. We found that OB and PB approaches performed well with differences in classification accuracy but not discernible statistically. However, a model incorporating elements of both approaches proved to be significantly more accurate than OB or PB methods alone and demonstrate the benefits of using MBES bathymetry and backscatter combined for class discrimination.     

Geochemical Eccentricity of Ground Water Allied to Weathering of Basalts from the Deccan Volcanic Province,India: Insinuation on CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Consumption

Analyses of 72 samples from Upper Panjhara basin in the northern part of Deccan Plateau, India, indicate that geochemical incongruity of groundwater is largely a function of mineral composition of the basaltic lithology. Higher proportion of alkaline earth elements to total cations and HCO₃>Cl + SO₄ reflect weathering of primary silicates as chief source of ions. Inputs of Cl, SO₄, and NO₃ are related to rainfall and localized anthropogenic factors. Groundwater from recharge area representing Ca + Mg–HCO₃ type progressively evolves to Ca + Na–HCO₃ and Na–Ca–HCO₃ class along flow direction replicates the role of cation exchange and precipitation processes. While the post-monsoon chemistry is controlled by silicate mineral dissolution + cation exchange reactions, pre-monsoon variability is attributable chiefly to precipitation reactions + anthropogenic factors. Positive correlations between Mg vs HCO₃ and Ca + Mg vs HCO₃ supports selective dissolution of olivine and pyroxene as dominant process in post-monsoon followed by dissolution of plagioclase feldspar and secondary carbonates. The pre-monsoon data however, points toward the dissolution of plagioclase and precipitation of CaCO₃ supported by improved correlation coefficients between Na + Ca vs HCO₃ and negative correlation of Ca vs HCO₃, respectively. It is proposed that the eccentricity in the composition of groundwater from the Panjhara basin is a function of selective dissolution of olivine > pyroxene followed by plagioclase feldspar. The data suggest siallitization (L < R and R _k) as dominant mechanism of chemical weathering of basalts, stimulating monosiallitic (kaolinite) and bisiallitic (montmorillonite) products. The chemical denudation rates for Panjhara basin worked out separately for the ground and surface water component range from 6.98 to 36.65 tons/km²/yr, respectively. The values of the CO₂ consumption rates range between 0.18 × 10⁶ mol//km²/yr (groundwater) and 0.9 × 10⁶ mol/km²/yr (surface water), which indicates that the groundwater forms a considerable fraction of CO₂ consumption, an inference, that is, not taken into contemplation in most of the studies.     

Rare earth elements in bottom sediments of major rivers around the Yellow Sea: implications for sediment provenance

Rare earth elements (REEs) of 91 fine-grained bottom sediment samples from five major rivers in Korea (the Han, Keum, and Yeongsan) and China (the Changjiang and Huanghe) were studied to investigate their potential as source indicator for Yellow Sea shelf sediments, this being the first synthetic report on REE trends for bottom sediments of these rivers. The results show distinct differences in REE contents and their upper continental crust (UCC)-normalized patterns: compared to heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), light rare earth elements (LREEs) are highly enriched in Korean river sediments, in contrast to Chinese river sediments that have a characteristic positive Eu anomaly. This phenomenon is observed also in primary source rocks within the river catchments. This suggests that source rock composition is the primary control on the REE signatures of these river sediments, due largely to variations in the levels of chlorite and monazite, which are more abundant in Korean bottom river sediments. Systematic variations in ΣLREE/ΣHREE ratios, and in (La/Yb)–(Gd/Yb)_UCC but also (La/Lu)–(La/Y)_UCC and (La/Y)–(Gd/Lu)_UCC relations have the greatest discriminatory power. These findings are consistent with, but considerably expand on the limited datasets available to date for suspended sediments. Evidently, the REE fingerprints of these river sediments can serve as a useful diagnostic tool for tracing the provenance of sediments in the Yellow Sea, and for reconstructing their dispersal patterns and the circulation system of the modern shelf, as well as the paleoenvironmental record of this and adjoining marginal seas.     

Height transformation models from ellipsoidal into the normal orthometric height system for the territory of the City of Zagreb

The paper presents the testing of the possibility of determining the heights of GPS points in the homogeneous field in the new Croatian Height Reference System (HVRS71) by using the method of height transformation. The testing was made in the area of Zagreb. As part of the field works, normal orthometric heights of 27 GPS points were determined according to the new height system, by transferring the benchmark heights using the geometric levelling method, thus obtaining GPS/levelling points of known ellipsoidal and normal orthometric heights. The GPS/levelling points served as the basis for determining the transformation models that enabled the computation of normal orthometric heights from ellipsoidal heights of any GPS point in the observed area. The empirical data used for modelling were reduced undulation dN values of GPS/levelling points. As part of the dN modelling with parametric functions, the approximation surfaces were obtained on the basis of three polynomials: FN310, FN312 and FN318. The transformation models were also tested using non-parametric Watson and Loess algorithms. The FN318 and Loess models yielded the best results.     

Upper-Tropospheric Environment–Tropical Cyclone Interactions over the Western North Pacific: A Statistical Study

Based on 25-year(1987–2011) tropical cyclone(TC) best track data, a statistical study was carried out to investigate the basic features of upper-tropospheric TC–environment interactions over the western North Pacific. Interaction was defined as the absolute value of eddy momentum flux convergence(EFC) exceeding 10 m s~(-1)d~(-1). Based on this definition, it was found that 18% of all six-hourly TC samples experienced interaction. Extreme interaction cases showed that EFC can reach~120 m s~(-1)d~(-1) during the extratropical-cyclone(EC) stage, an order of magnitude larger than reported in previous studies.Composite analysis showed that positive interactions are characterized by a double-jet flow pattern, rather than the traditional trough pattern, because it is the jets that bring in large EFC from the upper-level environment to the TC center. The role of the outflow jet is also enhanced by relatively low inertial stability, as compared to the inflow jet. Among several environmental factors, it was found that extremely large EFC is usually accompanied by high inertial stability, low SST and strong vertical wind shear(VWS). Thus, the positive effect of EFC is cancelled by their negative effects. Only those samples during the EC stage, whose intensities were less dependent on VWS and the underlying SST, could survive in extremely large EFC environments, or even re-intensify. For classical TCs(not in the EC stage), it was found that environments with a moderate EFC value generally below ~25 m s~(-1)d~(-1) are more favorable for a TC's intensification than those with extremely large EFC.