Marine control over negative power law scaling of mass wasting events in chalk sea cliffs with implications for future recession under the UKCP09 medium emission scenario

Coastal cliff erosion represents a significant geohazard for people and infrastructure. Forecasting future erosion rates is therefore of critical importance to ensuring the resiliency of coastal communities. We use high precision monitoring of chalk cliffs at Telscombe, UK to generate monthly mass movement inventories between August 2016 and July 2017. Frequency–magnitude analysis of our inventories demonstrate negative power law scaling over 7 orders of magnitude and, for the first time, we report statistically significant correlations between significant wave height (H_s) and power law scaling coefficients (r² values of 0.497 and 0.590 for β and s respectively). Applying these relationships allows for a quantitative method to predict erosion at the site based on H_s probabilities and sea level forecasts derived from the UKCP09 medium emission climate model (A1B). Monte‐Carlo simulations indicate a range of possible erosion scenarios over 70 years (2020–2090) and we assess the impact these may have on the A259 coastal road which runs proximal to the cliffs. Results indicate a small acceleration in erosion compared with those based on current conditions with the most likely scenario at the site being 21.7 m of cliff recession by 2090. However, low‐probability events can result in recession an order of magnitude higher in some scenarios. In the absence of negative feedbacks, we estimate an ~11% chance that the A259 will be breached by coastal erosion by 2090. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls of uncertainty in acid rock drainage predictions from waste rock piles examined through Monte-Carlo multicomponent reactive transport

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment - Heterogeneity in waste rock piles (WRPs) determines uncertainty in acid mine drainage (ARD) predictions from these deposits. Numerical...     

Assessing drought in the drylands of northeast Brazil under regional warming exceeding 4 °C

Natural Hazards - Historically, during periods of extreme drought, food security in the drylands of the semiarid region of Northeast Brazil (NEB) is under severe risk due to agricultural collapse....     

Radiometric dating of the Middle Palaeolithic tool industry and associated fauna of Pin Hole Cave,Creswell Crags,England

Uranium-series dating of derived speleothem suggests that the sediments enclosing a Middle Palaeolithic stone artefact assemblage in Pin Hole Cave probably accumulated after about 64 ka, and ¹⁴C dates indicate a likely age of > 40 ka for the large mammal fauna associated with it. Electron spin resonance data from the fauna conform with these age constraints and are consistent with accumulation between 38 and 50 ka. This evidence supports the view that Britain was recolonised by hominids during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. Stratigraphically higher stone tool industries demonstrate the local presence of both early Upper and late Upper Palaeolithic cultures. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Basalt–trachybasalt samples in Gale Crater,Mars

The ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, observed numerous igneous float rocks and conglomerate clasts, reported previously. A new statistical analysis of single‐laser‐shot spectra of igneous targets observed by ChemCam shows a strong peak at ~55 wt% SiO₂ and 6 wt% total alkalis, with a minor secondary maximum at 47–51 wt% SiO₂ and lower alkali content. The centers of these distributions, together with the rock textures, indicate that many of the ChemCam igneous targets are trachybasalts, Mg# = 27 but with a secondary concentration of basaltic material, with a focus of compositions around Mg# = 54. We suggest that all of these igneous rocks resulted from low‐pressure, olivine‐dominated fractionation of Adirondack (MER) class‐type basalt compositions. This magmatism has subalkaline, tholeiitic affinities. The similarity of the basalt endmember to much of the Gale sediment compositions in the first 1000 sols of the MSL mission suggests that this type of Fe‐rich, relatively low‐Mg#, olivine tholeiite is the dominant constituent of the Gale catchment that is the source material for the fine‐grained sediments in Gale. The similarity to many Gusev igneous compositions suggests that it is a major constituent of ancient Martian magmas, and distinct from the shergottite parental melts thought to be associated with Tharsis and the Northern Lowlands. The Gale Crater catchment sampled a mixture of this tholeiitic basalt along with alkaline igneous material, together giving some analogies to terrestrial intraplate magmatic provinces.     

Mapping an aggregate extraction site off the Eastern English Channel: A methodology in support of monitoring and management

Each year approximately 23–28 million tonnes of sand and gravel are removed from offshore sediments around England and Wales. This study was located in a licensed marine aggregate extraction site off Shoreham in the Eastern English Channel (EEC thereafter). Results from the multibeam survey showed the presence of dredged pits created by suction hopper dredging and elongated furrows created by trailer suction hopper dredging in the area where sand and gravel had been excavated. Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) contained the dredging intensity recorded annually at the site; this information was combined with particle size data providing interpreted maps, which informed the status of the sediments at the site.     

Three-Dimensional Scalar Microfront Systems in a Large-Eddy Simulation of Vegetation Canopy Flow

Large-eddy simulation is used to reproduce neutrallystratified airflow inside and immediately above a vegetation canopy. A passive scalaris released from the canopy and the evolution of scalar concentration above the canopyis studied. The most significant characteristic of the scalar concentration is the repeatedformation and dissipation of scalar microfronts, a phenomenon that has been observedin nature. These scalar microfronts consist of downstream-tilted regions of highscalar concentration gradients. Computer visualization tools and a conditional samplingand compositing technique are utilized to analyze these microfronts. Peaks in positivepressure perturbation exceeding an experimental threshold are found to be effectiveindicators of scalar microfronts. Convergence of the streamwise velocity componentand divergence of the cross-stream velocity component are observed in the immediatevicinity of scalar microfronts, which helps explain their relatively longlifetimes. Many of these three-dimensional features have been observedin previous field studies of canopy flow.     

On the role of criticality in coastal flows over irregular bottom topography

A simple expansion technique is developed for predicting the response of a horizontally sheared oceanic coastal flow over uniform coastal topography to variations in that bottom topography. The technique is illustrated by application to supercritical and subcritical flows. The response of the supercritical flow is local, while that of the subcritical flow extends downstream to be eventually attenuated by frictional damping. However, the response of both flow types is weak unless the flow is nearly critical.     

中国大中城市流动人口迁移规律研究

本文在对西方国家人口流动研究进行综述的基础上,通过北京,天津,南京,廓坊,唐山和昆山等大中城市流动人口问卷调查,首次对大中城市流动人口迁移和流动特征,从业结构,迁移原因与途径进行了系统的研究。中国现在正在经历大规模的农村流动人口向城市迁移的过程。     

The partitioning of trace transition elements in crystal structures: a provocative review with applications to mantle geochemistry

Interrelationships between chemical compositions and crystal structures of minerals pioneered by Goldschmidt have been overlooked by modern geochemists. While analytical techniques and data for trace elements have become more sophisticated, progress has been slow in relating abundance data of individual elements to their relative enrichments in specific sites in mineral structures. The concept of diadochy has degenerated into an analytical relationship between major and trace elements, instead of its original crystallographic basis of replacement of one atom by another at a specific site in a crystal structure. Future interpretations of trace element data must consider the partitioning of atoms between different coordination sites in multisite mineral structures.The well-known partitioning of nickel and chromium into the earliest minerals during magmatic crystallization is extended to magma evolution in the mantle. The strong preference of Ni²⁺ and Cr³⁺ for octahedral sites in minerals leads to their enrichment in certain Iherzolites which are refractory residua during partial fusion of the mantle.