Distinguishing Iron-Reducing from Sulfate-Reducing Conditions

Ground water systems dominated by iron‐ or sulfate‐reducing conditions may be distinguished by observing concentrations of dissolved iron (Fe²⁺) and sulfide (sum of H₂S, HS^?, and S⁼ species and denoted here as “H₂S”). This approach is based on the observation that concentrations of Fe²⁺ and H₂S in ground water systems tend to be inversely related according to a hyperbolic function. That is, when Fe²⁺ concentrations are high, H₂S concentrations tend to be low and vice versa. This relation partly reflects the rapid reaction kinetics of Fe²⁺ with H₂S to produce relatively insoluble ferrous sulfides (FeS). This relation also reflects competition for organic substrates between the iron‐ and the sulfate‐reducing microorganisms that catalyze the production of Fe²⁺ and H₂S. These solubility and microbial constraints operate in tandem, resulting in the observed hyperbolic relation between Fe²⁺ and H₂S concentrations. Concentrations of redox indicators, including dissolved hydrogen (H₂) measured in a shallow aquifer in Hanahan, South Carolina, suggest that if the Fe²⁺/H₂S mass ratio (units of mg/L) exceeded 10, the screened interval being tapped was consistently iron reducing (H₂～0.2 to 0.8 nM). Conversely, if the Fe²⁺/H₂S ratio was less than 0.30, consistent sulfate‐reducing (H₂～1 to 5 nM) conditions were observed over time. Concomitantly high Fe²⁺ and H₂S concentrations were associated with H₂ concentrations that varied between 0.2 and 5.0 nM over time, suggesting mixing of water from adjacent iron‐ and sulfate‐reducing zones or concomitant iron and sulfate reduction under nonelectron donor–limited conditions. These observations suggest that Fe²⁺/H₂S mass ratios may provide useful information concerning the occurrence and distribution of iron and sulfate reduction in ground water systems.     

Contaminants still high in top-level carnivores in the Southern California Bight: levels of DDT and PCBs in resident and transient pinnipeds

Highly industrialized areas, such as the Southern California Bight, often have high levels of contaminants in marine sediments, which can cause chronic exposure to organisms long after their use has ceased. tDDT and tPCB were analyzed in the blubber of 145 stranded pinnipeds that died at local marine mammal centers between 1994 and 2006. Resident species (California sea lion and Pacific harbor seal) had significantly higher concentrations of tDDT and tPCB than the transient species (northern elephant seal). Adult female California sea lions had significantly lower concentrations of tDDT and tPCB than pups, yearlings, and adult males. Concentrations of both tDDT and tPCB in California sea lions significantly declined over time, but did not change in northern elephant seals. Current concentrations of tDDT and tPCB in California sea lions and harbor seals are among the highest values reported worldwide for marine mammals and exceed those reported to cause adverse health effects.     

Channel response to sediment release: insights from a paired analysis of dam removal

Dam removals with unmanaged sediment releases are good opportunities to learn about channel response to abruptly increased bed material supply. Understanding these events is important because they affect aquatic habitats and human uses of floodplains. A longstanding paradigm in geomorphology holds that response rates to landscape disturbance exponentially decay through time. However, a previous study of the Merrimack Village Dam (MVD) removal on the Souhegan River in New Hampshire, USA, showed that an exponential function poorly described the early geomorphic response. Erosion of impounded sediments there was two‐phased. We had an opportunity to quantitatively test the two‐phase response model proposed for MVD by extending the record there and comparing it with data from the Simkins Dam removal on the Patapsco River in Maryland, USA. The watershed sizes are the same order of magnitude (10² km²), and at both sites low‐head dams were removed (~3–4 m) and ~65 000 m³ of sand‐sized sediments were discharged to low‐gradient reaches. Analyzing four years of repeat morphometry and sediment surveys at the Simkins site, as well as continuous discharge and turbidity data, we observed the two‐phase erosion response described for MVD. In the early phase, approximately 50% of the impounded sediment at Simkins was eroded rapidly during modest flows. After incision to base level and widening, a second phase began when further erosion depended on floods large enough to go over bank and access impounded sediments more distant from the newly‐formed channel. Fitting functional forms to the data for both sites, we found that two‐phase exponential models with changing decay constants fit the erosion data better than single‐phase models. Valley width influences the two‐phase erosion responses upstream, but downstream responses appear more closely related to local gradient, sediment re‐supply from the upstream impoundments, and base flows. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clast abrasion of a rock shore platform on the Atlantic coast of Ireland

The abrasion of coastal rock platforms by individual or clusters of clasts during transport has not been quantitatively assessed. We present a study which identifies the types of abrasion and quantifies erosion due to the transport of clasts during three storms in February and March 2016. We explore relationships between platform roughness, determined by the fractal dimension (D) of the topographic profiles, geomorphic controls and the type and frequency of abrasion feature observed. Clast transport experiments were undertaken in conjunction with the measurement of wave energy to assess transport dynamics under summer and winter (non‐storm) conditions. Platform abrasion occurred extensively during the storms. We identify two types of clast abrasion trails: simple and complex. In addition, we find two forms of erosion occur on these trails: Scratch marks and Percussion marks. An estimated 13.6 m² of the platform surface was eroded by clast abrasion on simple abrasion trails during the three storms. We attribute approximately two thirds of this to scratch‐type abrasion. The total volume of material removed by abrasion was 67 808 cm³. Despite the larger surface area affected by scratch marks, we find that the volume of material removed through percussion impact was almost seven times greater. We also find that the type and frequency of abrasion features is strongly influenced by the effect of platform morphometry on transport mode, with impact‐type abrasion dominating areas of higher platform roughness. Results of the clast transport experiments indicate that abrasion occurs under non‐storm wave energy conditions with observable geomorphological effects. We suggest that abrasion by clasts is an important component of platform erosion on high energy Atlantic coastlines, particularly over longer timescales, and that the morphogenetic link between the cliff and the platform is important in this context as the sediment supplied by the cliff is used to abrade the platform. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using terrestrial LiDAR to measure water erosion on stony plots under simulated rainfall

Terrestrial LiDAR scanning (TLS) technology is widely used to detect terrain elevation changes. This study examines the potential use of terrestrial LiDAR to measure erosion on small experimental plots at high resolution. Multitemporal TLS scans were conducted at six positions around plots (12 m²) with three slope treatments through 11 simulated rainfall applications. Surface elevation changes were quantified by comparing scans between rainfall simulations, and elevation changes greater than the level of detection were used to obtain volumetric change estimations. Erosion mass was estimated both by using soil bulk density and the density of sediment collected in runoff, and then compared to the erosion estimated from the runoff samples. Results showed: (1) with the aid of fixed reference controls in the form of concrete target surfaces of varying roughness, registration accuracy was better than 1 mm and mean level of change detection was less than 2.2 mm; (2) the average absolute relative errors of TLS-estimated eroded mass ranged from 6.8% to 31.8%, with greater values on 5% slope; (3) the TLS-estimated erosion accuracy was affected by erosion magnitude, the utilized material density and number of scan positions, and a grid size of 10 mm was found to be appropriate for this scale to estimate the volumetric changes; (4) the number of scan positions could be reduced to three while not significantly impacting volumetric change estimations; and (5) elevating the scanner resulted in much better accuracy for eroded mass estimations. This study suggests that using LiDAR to monitor soil erosion at the plot scale is feasible, and provides guidance about the level of accuracy one might expect in doing so. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Challenge of Ground Water Quality Monitoring

"Valuable information pertaining to contaminant sources, contaminants, and ground water quality was derived using the state-supplied data."