New dredge samples from the continental margin bordering Rockall Trough

Rockall Trough may represent the oldest part of the Atlantic Ocean north of latitude 51°N. Stratigraphical evaluation of this hypothesis has been hindered by the lack of dateable samples of the Trough's sedimentary succession. A recent programme of dredging, aimed at sampling the sediment prism along the Trough's upper continental slope, yielded five hauls of in-situ carbonate rocks. Microfaunal analysis of these rocks suggests that the deposition of the marginal sediment prism spans the Late Cretaceous—Recent interval, tending to confirm that Rockall Trough was already in being in Late Cretaceous times.     

Three-dimensional finite-element modelling of magnetotelluric data with a divergence correction

A finite-element method for computing the electric field in a 3-D conductivity model of the Earth for plane wave sources, thus enabling magnetotelluric responses to be calculated, is presented. The method incorporates in the iterative solution of the electric-field system of equations the divergence correction technique introduced for finite-difference solutions by Smith (1996). The correction technique accelerates the development of the discontinuity of the normal component of the approximate electric field across conductivity discontinuities. The convergence rate of the iterative solution is improved significantly, especially for low frequencies. The correction technique involves computing the divergence of the current density for the approximate electric field, computing the static potential whose source is this divergence of the current density, and ‘correcting’ the approximate electric field by subtracting from it the gradient of the potential. This is repeated at regular intervals during the iterative solution of the electric-field system of equations. For the method presented here, the Earth model is discretised using a rectilinear mesh comprising uniform cells. Edge-element basis functions are used to approximate the electric field and nodal basis functions are used to approximate the correction potential. The Galerkin method is used to derive the systems of equations for the approximate electric field and correction potential from the respective differential equations. A bi-conjugate gradient solver was found to be adequate for the system of equations for the correction potential; a generalised minimum residual solver was found to be better for the electric-field system of equations. The method is illustrated using the COMMEMI 3D-1A and 3D-2A models.     

Modeling the Spatial Diffusion of Mobile Telecommunications in China

This article empirically evaluates factors contributing to spatial variations of cellular telephony adoption at the regional level in China. We estimate a logistic model using a variety of specifications for the spatial diffusion of cellular telephony. We find that regional disparity in the adoption and subsequent diffusion speed of cellular telephony is associated with different levels in economic development, economic structure, foreign investment, and the level of fixed-line telephony penetration. The results suggest that mobile communications diffusion starts first in regions with a higher potential demand density and economic development level. However, these characteristics play differential roles in determining the timing of initial adoption and diffusion speed within regions.     

A Theoretical Framework for Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection Using Spectral and Spatial A Priori Information

This letter presents a new theoretical approach for anomaly detection using a priori information about targets. This a priori knowledge deals with the general spectral behavior and the spatial distribution of targets. In this letter, we consider subpixel and isolated targets that are spectrally anomalous in one region of the spectrum but not in another. This method is totally different from matched filters that suffer from a relative sensitivity to low errors in the target spectral signature. We incorporate the spectral a priori knowledge in a new detection distance, and we propose a Bayesian approach with a Markovian regularization to suppress the potential targets that do not respect the spatial a priori. The interest of the method is illustrated on simulated data consisting in realistic anomalies that are superimposed on a real HyMap hyperspectral image.     

Halogen geochemistry of the McMurdo dry valleys lakes, Antarctica: Clues to the origin of solutes and lake evolution

We have determined the halogen and boron concentrations in the ice-covered lakes of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, to better establish the sources of salts and evolutionary histories of these unusual water bodies. In addition, we report on a series of ¹²⁹I measurements that were compared with previous ³⁶Cl data that also help constrain the source of solutes and histories of the lakes. The new data, when put into context of previous work on these systems over the past forty years, allow us to make the following conclusions. The primary source of solutes to Lake Hoare, the youngest of the lakes, is the dissolution of marine aerosols and aeolian salts and the chemical weathering of dust on the glaciers. The geochemistry of Lake Fryxell, the brackish water lake, is primarily dominated by the diffusion from a halite-saturated brine at the sediment-water interface and the recent infilling of the lake by glacier meltwater. These waters have chemical weathering and marine aerosols components. Lake Bonney has two distinct lobes whose hypersaline hypolimnia have different chemistries. Both of the lobes are remnants of ancient marine waters that have been modified by the input of weathering products. This lake has also been modified by periods of cryogenic concentration when solutes have been lost via mineral precipitation. Thus the geochemistry of Lake Bonney owes its unusual geochemistry, in part, to variations in the climate in the Taylor Valley over at least the past 300kyr. The ¹²⁹I data from the Taylor Valley are similar to those from fracture fluids in crystalline rocks from the Northern Hemisphere.     

Comparison of the effects of conventional organic amendments and biochar on the chemical, physical and microbial properties of coal fly ash as a plant growth medium

The bulk of fly ash (an inorganic waste of coal-fired power generation) produced is deposited in disposal areas where it needs to be revegetated. The effects of addition of three conventional organic amendments (biosolids, poultry manure, green waste compost), or poultry manure-derived biochar, to coal fly ash (at two rates) on some key chemical, physical and microbial properties and on growth of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) was studied in a laboratory incubation/greenhouse study. Addition of all amendments, including biochar, increased concentrations of extractable Mg, K, Na and P and CEC_{(pH 7.0)}. Additions of poultry manure, and particularly biosolids, also greatly increased levels of extractable NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ⁻-N. Addition of biosolids, green waste compost and biochar resulted in a decrease in macroporosity, a concomitant increase in mesoporosity and, at the high rate of addition, an increase in available water-holding capacity. Basal respiration was very low in fly ash and was increased by addition of all amendments; metabolic quotient was markedly greater in control than amended treatments. Biosolids, poultry manure and green waste compost additions all increased microbial biomass C. Growth of Rhodes grass was extremely low under unfertilized conditions in control, biochar and, to a lesser extent, green waste compost treatments but addition of poultry manure and the lower rate of biosolids resulted in large increases in yields. Although biochar additions increased extractable Ca, K, P, Cu, Zn and Mn, CEC, mesoporosity and water-holding capacity, they had a little or no stimulatory effect on the size of the soil microbial community, N fertility or plant growth. This was attributable to the lack of metabolisable C and an insignificant N-supplying capacity.     

Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed

Preferential groundwater discharge features along stream corridors are ecologically important at local and stream network scales, yet we lack quantification of the multiscale controls on the spatial patterning of groundwater discharge. Here we identify physical attributes that best explain variation in the presence and lateral extent of preferential groundwater discharges along two 5th order streams, the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers, and 32 1st to 4th order reaches across the Farmington River network. We mapped locations of preferential groundwater discharge exposed along streambanks using handheld thermal infrared cameras paired with high-resolution topographic and land use land cover datasets, surficial soil characteristic maps, and depth-to-bedrock geophysical measurements. The unconfined Housatonic River, MA, USA (12 km) had fewer discharge locations and less lateral extent (41 discharge locations with 38 m of active discharge/km of river) compared to the partially confined Farmington River, CT, USA (26 km; 169 discharge locations with 129 m of active discharge/km of river). Using a moving window analysis, we found along both rivers that discharge was more likely to occur where bank slopes were steeper, floodplain extent was narrower, and degree of confinement was higher. Along the Farmington River, groundwater discharge was more likely to occur where saturated hydraulic conductivity was higher and depth-to-bedrock was shallower. Among the 32 stream reaches surveyed (33.2 km of total stream length) within the Farmington River watershed, preferential discharge was observed in all but two stream reaches, varied from 0 to 25% of lateral extent along stream banks (mean = 6%), and was more likely to occur where stream reach slopes were steep, saturated hydraulic conductivity was high, and watershed urbanization was low. Our results show that, though both surface (e.g., topographic, land use land cover) and subsurface (e.g., soil characteristics, bedrock depth) factors control the prevalence of streambank preferential groundwater discharge, the dominant controls vary across valley settings and stream sizes.     

Environmental conservation and the production of new territories: the example of French départements

Very important initiatives have been taken and policies have been adopted in the European Union to protect areas of great importance for threatened species and habitats. Protected areas differ broadly in terms of category, natural conditions and administrative organisation, from international initiative such as Biosphere Reserves, European ones with Natura 2000 network until the institution of national and regional protected areas. In France, the administrative subdivisions known as “départements” were created with the French Revolution in the end of the eighteenth century; in 1985 an original and autonomous procedure to establish special protected areas, called “Sensitive Natural Spaces” (SNS) was devolved to them. The scope of this paper is to present an overview of these devolved powers which enable French départements to create protected areas and to levy a departmental tax on sensitive natural spaces (DTSNS). We statistically studied some parameters by multivariate methods in order to explain the choices of this policy by the départements. The huge variations in the way these powers are implemented prove the development of new environmental territories.     

A demographic approach to monitoring the health of coral reefs

Inshore coral reefs adjacent to the wet tropics in North Queensland, Australia, are regularly exposed to flood plumes from coastal river systems. Changes in the nature of these plumes have been linked to the declining health of coral reefs in the region. The effect of flood plumes on the health of inshore corals was investigated by quantifying aspects of the demography of populations of corymbose and digitate Acropora at three groups of Island reefs along a gradient of exposure and decreasing water quality (High Island >Frankland's >Fitzroy). The size-structures of colonies, the rates of sexual recruitment, and the growth and survival of juveniles, all varied among the Island reefs. Juvenile and adult sized colonies were far more abundant at the Fitzroy Island reefs, than at the High or Frankland Island reefs that were more exposed to flood plumes. Additionally, there were up to eight times as many sexual recruits at the Fitzroy Island reefs, compared with the High Island reefs. However, the rates of growth and survival of the juvenile sized corals at the Fitzroy Island reefs were lower than at the more exposed reefs. The comparatively low abundance of adult corals at the exposed reefs is most likely due to their histories of disturbance from crown-of-thorns and coral bleaching, but the lack of subsequent recovery due to their low levels of larval recruitment. If a stock-recruitment relationship is typical for these groups of reefs, then the low rates of recruitment may be linked to the low density of adult colonies. Alternately, direct or indirect effects of chronic exposure to poor water quality may have resulted in less suitable substrata for larval settlement. We discuss these results and provide examples of how information about population structure and dynamics can be used in simple matrix models to quantify the current and future health of populations of corals under various scenarios.