Determination of Radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and Stable δ88/86SrSRM987 Isotope Values of Thirteen Mineral,Vegetal and Animal Reference Materials by DS‐TIMS

This work presents new ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 isotopic values of thirteen mineral, vegetal and animal reference materials. Except for UB‐N, all our results are consistent with previously published data. Our results highlight intermediate precisions among the best presently published and a non‐significant systematic shift with the calculated δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 mean values for the three most analysed reference materials in the literature (i.e., IAPSO, BCR‐2 and JCp‐1). By comparison with the literature and between two distinct digestions, a significant bias of δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 values was highlighted for two reference materials (UB‐N and GS‐N). It has also been shown that digestion protocols (nitric and multi‐acid) have a moderate impact on the δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 isotopic values for the Jls‐1 reference materials suggesting that a nitric acid digestion of carbonate can be used without significant bias from partial digestion of non‐carbonate impurities. Different δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 values were measured after two independent Sr/matrix separations, according to the same protocol, for a fat‐rich organic reference material (BCR‐380R) and have been related to a potential post‐digestion heterogeneity. Finally, the δ^88/86Sr_SRM987 value differences measured between animal‐vegetal and between coral‐seawater reference materials agree with the previously published results, highlighting an Sr isotopic fractionation along the trophic chain and during carbonate precipitation.     

Debris-flow Indicator for an early warning system in the Aosta valley region

Natural Hazards - Aosta Valley, an Alpine region in north-western Italy, has an early warning system (EWS) that issues hydrogeological alerts based on hydrological modelling and rainfall thresholds...     

Migratory behaviour of spawning rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Tongariro River,New Zealand,after habitat alteration

The movements of 92 adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from Lake Taupo into the Tongariro River, New Zealand, were monitored using radio‐telemetry every 3 days during the main spawning period between May and November 2003. This study repeated one previously conducted in 1995. Differences in spawning site preference and resting locations between 1995 and 2003 probably reflect differences in the nature of the river as a result of major natural floods that occurred in 1998. Average migration times were slower than in 1995 and the correlation between flow and mean daily movement was less distinct owing to the dry and settled weather during July and August, although fish did respond to freshets when they occurred. Peak movement occurred between 1600 and 2000 h NZ Standard Time with no movement occurring between midnight and 0400. Fish adjusted their movement in response to changing photoperiod. Nineteen fish were observed above the mouths of natal tributary streams for several weeks in the main river stem before entering these tributaries.     

Climate change impact on waves in the Bay of Biscay, France

The knowledge of offshore and coastal wave climate evolution towards the end of the twenty-first century is particularly important for human activities in a region such as the Bay of Biscay and the French Atlantic coast. Using dynamical downscaling, a high spatial resolution dataset of wave conditions in the Bay of Biscay is built for three future greenhouse gases emission scenarios. Projected wave heights, periods and directions are analysed at regional scale and more thoroughly at two buoys positions, offshore and along the coast. A general decrease of wave heights is identified (up to ?20?cm during summer within the Bay off Biscay), as well as a clockwise shift of summer waves and winter swell coming from direction. The relation between those changes and wind changes is investigated and highlights a complex association of processes at several spatial scales. For instance, the intensification and the northeastward shift of strong wind core in the North Atlantic Ocean explain the clockwise shift of winter swell directions. During summer, the decrease of the westerly winds in the Bay of Biscay explains the clockwise shift and the wave height decrease of wind sea and intermediate waves. Finally, the analysis reveals that the offshore changes in the wave height and the wave period as well as the clockwise shift in the wave direction continue toward the coast. This wave height decrease result is consistent with other regional projections and would impact the coastal dynamics by reducing the longshore sediment flux.     

Petrological and experimental evidence for differentiation of water-rich magmas beneath St. Kitts,Lesser Antilles

St. Kitts lies in the northern Lesser Antilles, a subduction-related intraoceanic volcanic arc known for its magmatic diversity and unusually abundant cognate xenoliths. We combine the geochemistry of xenoliths, melt inclusions and lavas with high pressure–temperature experiments to explore magma differentiation processes beneath St. Kitts. Lavas range from basalt to rhyolite, with predominant andesites and basaltic andesites. Xenoliths, dominated by calcic plagioclase and amphibole, typically in reaction relationship with pyroxenes and olivine, can be divided into plutonic and cumulate varieties based on mineral textures and compositions. Cumulate varieties, formed primarily by the accumulation of liquidus phases, comprise ensembles that represent instantaneous solid compositions from one or more magma batches; plutonic varieties have mineralogy and textures consistent with protracted solidification of magmatic mush. Mineral chemistry in lavas and xenoliths is subtly different. For example, plagioclase with unusually high anorthite content (An_≤100) occurs in some plutonic xenoliths, whereas the most calcic plagioclase in cumulate xenoliths and lavas are An₉₇ and An₉₅, respectively. Fluid-saturated, equilibrium crystallisation experiments were performed on a St. Kitts basaltic andesite, with three different fluid compositions (XH₂O = 1.0, 0.66 and 0.33) at 2.4 kbar, 950–1025 °C, and fO₂ = NNO ? 0.6 to NNO + 1.2 log units. Experiments reproduce lava liquid lines of descent and many xenolith assemblages, but fail to match xenolith and lava phenocryst mineral compositions, notably the very An-rich plagioclase. The strong positive correlation between experimentally determined plagioclase-melt Kd_Ca–Na and dissolved H₂O in the melt, together with the occurrence of Al-rich mafic lavas, suggests that parental magmas were water-rich (> 9 wt% H₂O) basaltic andesites that crystallised over a wide pressure range (1.5–6 kbar). Comparison of experimental and natural (lava, xenolith) mafic mineral composition reveals that whereas olivine in lavas is predominantly primocrysts precipitated at low-pressure, pyroxenes and spinel are predominantly xenocrysts formed by disaggregation of plutonic mushes. Overall, St. Kitts xenoliths and lavas testify to mid-crustal differentiation of low-MgO basalt and basaltic andesite magmas within a trans-crustal, magmatic mush system. Lower crustal ultramafic cumulates that relate parental low-MgO basalts to primary, mantle -derived melts are absent on St. Kitts.     

Tracing sediment redistribution across a break in slope using rare earth elements

Experimentally determined spatial patterns of soil redistribution across a break in slope derived using 10 rare earth element (REE) oxides as sediment tracers are presented. An erosion experiment was conducted using simulated rainfall within a laboratory slope model measuring 2·5 m wide by 6 m long with a gradient of 15° declining to 2°. Soil was tagged with multiple REE and placed in different locations over the slope and at the end of the experiment REE concentrations were measured in samples collected spatially. A new method was developed to quantify the erosion and deposition depths spatially, the relative source contributions to deposited sediment and the sediment transport distances. Particle‐size selectivity over an area of net deposition was also investigated, by combining downslope changes in particle‐size distributions with changes in sediment REE composition within a flow pathway. During the experiment, the surface morphology evolved through upslope propagation of rill headcuts, which gradually incised the different REE‐tagged zones and led to sediment deposition at the break in slope and the development of a fan extending over the shallow slope segment. The spatial patterns in REE concentrations, the derived erosion and deposition depths, the relative source contributions to deposition zones and the sediment transport distances, corroborate the morphological observations and demonstrate the potential of using REE for quantifying sediment transport processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Daily morphological changes determined by high‐energy events on an embayed beach: a qualitative model

This paper examines the daily morphological responses of Sununga Beach, an embayed beach located on the south‐eastern Brazilian coast, to storms in the South Atlantic Ocean. The main mechanisms and timing of beach erosion and accretion, the relationship between wave height and direction, and beach volume changes are considered, to establish a qualitative model for short‐term embayed beach morphological changes. The methodology consisted of daily topographic surveys during the month of May in 2001, 2002, and 2003, using an RTK‐GPS (real‐time kinematics – global positioning system). Weather and wave model results were used to correlate hydrodynamics and beach morphology. The results indicate that the morphodynamics of Sununga Beach are characterized by a process of beach rotation, which occurred more or less clearly during all three surveys. Unlike what has been commonly described in the literature for longer time intervals and alternations of fair and stormy weather, the beach rotation processes on Sununga Beach occurred under conditions of moderate‐to‐high wave energy change (wave heights greater than 2 m). An integrated evaluation of the behaviour of the meteorological aspects, together with beach morphology, enabled us to recognize that extra‐tropical cyclones were the most important agent in remobilizing the beach planform, whether in beach rotation or in cross‐shore erosion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the response of a turbulent coastal buoyant current to wind events: the case of the Western Adriatic Current

This numerical study focuses on the response of the Western Adriatic Current to wind forcing. The turbulent buoyant surface current is induced by the Po river outflow in the Adriatic Sea. Idealized and realistic wind conditions are considered by retaining the complex geomorphology of the middle Adriatic basin. In the absence of wind, the Adriatic Promontories force the current to separate from the coast and induce instabilities. Persistent 7-m s^− 1 downwelling favorable northwesterly winds thicken and narrow the current. Instabilities whose size is ~10 km develop but ultimately vanish, since there is not enough across-shore space to grow. On the contrary, 7-m s^− 1 upwelling favorable southeasterly winds thin and widen the current, and instabilities can grow to form mesoscale (~35 km) features. When realistic winds are considered, the same trends are observed, but the state of the sea set up by previous wind events also plays a crucial role. The turbulent regimes set up by different winds affect mixing and the WAC meridional transport. With downwelling winds, the transport is generally southward and mixing happens mostly between the fresher (S ≤ 38) salinity classes. With upwelling winds, the transport decreases and changes sign, and mixing mainly involves saltier (S > 38) waters. In all cases, mixing is enhanced when a finer 0.5-km horizontal resolution is employed.