Establishment of background water quality conditions in the Great Zab River catchment: influence of geogenic and anthropogenic controls on developing a baseline for water quality assessment and resource management

The Great Zab River catchment is a major left-bank tributary of the River Tigris and drains a substantial part of the Kurdistan Region, an autonomous region of Northern Iraq. Within Kurdistan, the water resources of the Great Zab River catchment are under pressure from population increase and are utilized for potable, domestic and agricultural and industrial supply. As with many parts of the world, effective management of water resources within Kurdistan is hindered by a lack of water quality data and established background concentrations. This study therefore represents the first regional survey of river water chemistry for the Great Zab River catchment and presents data on the spatial and temporal trends in concentrations of As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn, NO₃^?, SO₄^2?, F^?, Cl^? and PO₄^3?, in addition to pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. As a tool for underpinning the management and monitoring of water quality, background concentrations were defined for the Great Zab catchment using three methods. The influences of geogenic and anthropogenic controls upon spatial and temporal trends in water chemistry are also evaluated. The influence of geogenic loading from underlying bedrock was identifiable within the observed spatial trends, with the most notable differences found between waters sampled from the relatively more volcanic-rich Zagros zone to the north and those sampled from the lower catchment underlain by younger clay-, sand- and siltstones. The greatest anthropogenic influence, identifiable through elements such as Cl^? and NO₃^?, is present in the more highly populated lower catchment. The background concentrations identified in the Great Zab catchment would be those expected as a result of geogenic loading with some anthropogenic influence and represent a more conservative value when compared to those such as the World Health Organization Maximum Admissible Concentration. However, background concentrations represent a powerful tool for identifying potential anthropogenic impacts on water quality and informing management of such occurrences.     

Characterising thermal water circulation in fractured bedrock using a multidisciplinary approach: a case study of St. Gorman’s Well,Ireland

A hydrogeological conceptual model of the source, circulation pathways and temporal variation of a low-enthalpy thermal spring in a fractured limestone setting is derived from a multidisciplinary approach. St. Gorman’s Well is a thermal spring in east-central Ireland with a complex and variable temperature profile (maximum of 21.8 °C). Geophysical data from a three-dimensional(3D)audio-magnetotelluric(AMT) survey are combined with time-lapse hydrogeological data and information from a previously published hydrochemical analysis to investigate the operation of this intriguing hydrothermal system. Hydrochemical analysis and time-lapse measurements suggest that the thermal waters flow within the fractured limestones of the Carboniferous Dublin Basin at all times but display variability in discharge and temperature. The 3D electrical resistivity model of the subsurface revealed two prominent structures: (1) a NW-aligned faulted contact between two limestone lithologies; and (2) a dissolutionally enhanced, N-aligned, fault of probable Cenozoic age. The intersection of these two structures, which has allowed for karstification of the limestone bedrock, has created conduits facilitating the operation of relatively deep hydrothermal circulation (likely estimated depths between 240 and 1,000 m) within the limestone succession of the Dublin Basin. The results of this study support a hypothesis that the maximum temperature and simultaneous increased discharge observed at St. Gorman’s Well each winter is the result of rapid infiltration, heating and recirculation of meteoric waters within a structurally controlled hydrothermal circulation system.

     

Dating Ancient Field Walls in Karst Landscapes Using Differential Bedrock Lowering

While karst environments present methodological and interpretive challenges to archaeologists, they also provide some unique opportunities. One of these opportunities is the ability to date field walls by measuring divergent rates of bedrock dissolution underneath and adjacent to ancient walls. Field walls are traditionally difficult to date, either by using morphological typologies or through the association of diagnostic or chronometric materials. The method presented here, therefore, represents a valuable tool for archaeologists working in karst landscapes. The methodology is described along with a discussion of potential problems, drawing in particular upon evidence from the karstic terrain of the Burren in western Ireland. The methodology is then applied to a group of field walls on the Burren, which are shown to date to the Chalcolithic ‐ Early Bronze Age.     

Moment tensor inversion of very long period seismic signals from Strombolian eruptions of Erebus Volcano

Strombolian eruptions from the long-lived lava lake of Erebus volcano, Ross Island, Antarctica, generate repeating Very Long Period (VLP) signals, containing energy between approximately 30 and 5 s, that persist for several minutes and through the post-eruptive refilling of the lava lake. The initial approximately 10 s of this signal is moderately variable, particularly with respect to its initial polarity, while the following VLP coda has been observed to be stable since the earliest VLP observations were made (1996). To estimate forces and force couples consistent with the Erebus VLP signature, we perform moment tensor inversions for point sources using high signal-to-noise data stacks from the six-station, 18-component broadband seismographic network and Green's function forward calculations that incorporate topography. We infer a shallow (approximate depth of less than 400 m below the lava lake surface) source centroid that underlies the center to the northwestern rim of the main crater, east and north of the lava lake. Integrated M_ii functions over the predominant (180 s) signal duration of VLP events show that the net scalar moments for these events are on the order of 4 × 10¹³ N m (corresponding to a moment magnitude mw ≈ 3) for typical sized VLP events. Moment rate tensors which characterize force couple components are dominated (85–97% of variance) by dilatational components. Approximately 25% of the data variance is attributable to single forces that are attributable to oscillatory reaction forces caused by fluid transport, however, the relative contributions of vertical forces and couples with this sparse network is poorly resolved for these shallow sources. The generally high degree of repeatability in the VLP signal across thousands of eruptions over the past decade indicates that the response of the conduit system to gas slug ascent and subsequent gravitational disequilibrium is stable, consistent with the generally unchanging surface manifestation of the convecting lava lake system, and arguing for a thermally and dynamically stable conduit system beneath the lava lake.     

Monitoring coastal morphology: the potential of low-cost fixed array action cameras for 3D reconstruction

The combination of structure-from-motion with multi-view stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetry has become an increasingly popular method for the monitoring and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of coastal environments. Climate change is driving the potential for increased coastal landward retreat meaning geomorphological monitoring using methods such as SfM-MVS has become essential for detecting and tracking impacts. SfM-MVS has been well-researched with a variety of platforms and spatial and temporal resolutions using mainly rectilinear digital cameras in coastal settings. However, there has been no assessment of the potential of fixed multi-camera arrays to monitor landward retreat or on the significance of camera placement in relation to the scene. This study presents an innovative method of image acquisition using a purpose-built camera grid and GoPro© action camera to evaluate the combined effects of camera height, obliqueness and overlap at a site of known landward retreat. This approach examines the effect of camera placement on scene reconstruction to aid the design of a multi-camera array. SfM-MVS dense point clouds display millimetre accuracy when compared to equivalent terrestrial laser scans and strong image network geometry with internal precision estimates of < 3 mm. Comparable point cloud reconstruction can be achieved with a small number of images stationed in appropriate positions. Initial results show as few as five images positioned at a cliff to camera ratio of 3:4.18 and camera obliqueness of 40° can provide reconstruction in the range of millimetres (mean error of 4.79 mm). These findings illustrate the importance of camera placement when using multiple cameras and aid the design of a low-cost, fixed multi-camera array for use at sites of small-scale landward retreat. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

土耳其晚全新世高分辨率湖泊同位素记录以及与北大西洋和季风气候的联系

东地中海的海水是一种敏感的资源,因此了解海水的长期水文变化性对于该地区水资源的持续管理是很重要的。对仪器前的时间段进行研究可以让我们知晓十年级、百年级的气候循环模式,而所有这些在大部分用仪器记录的时间段中是不能被清楚地观察到的。如果我们不能精确地预测未来气候变化和自然资源情况的话,那么获得这些亚千年的气候变化知识就具有很大的意义。     

观测序列的不均一性对估算北京和上海的平均温度与极端温度变化趋势的影响

根据北京和上海气象观测站的详细历史资料，修正了两站逐日温度序列的不均一性，并分析这种不均一性对长期气候变化趋势估计的影响。对北京序列，不同时期的主要修正幅度在－０．３３－０．６℃；对上海序列则为－０．３３－０．３℃。从逐日序列计算出年平均温度和年极端温度序列，并把修正之前和修正之后的序列趋势进行比较，修正之后的两站年平均温度序列自２０世纪初起呈现出０．５℃／百年的变暖趋势，自２０世纪６０年代起这一趋势增强为２．０℃／百年。相比之下，上海的未修正资料显示出两倍于此的趋势；北京的未修正资料几乎没有长期趋势，而对近期的变暖趋势则高估了５０％－３０％。北京温度序列在２０世纪４０年代至７０年代呈变冷趋势，极端事件的频率降低；此后又呈变暖趋势，极端事件的频率增加。上海温度极端事件的变化趋势基本呈相反趋。这意味着即使区域性平均温度变化一致，区域性强天气波动的变化趋势也会有所不同。     

The namurian succession between Tenby and Waterwynch,Pembrokeshire

Namurian cliff sections are described in detail. A minimum thickness of about 76 m is ascribed to Namurian A and 198 m and 104 m respectively to Namurian B and C. Faunal marker bands enable the Chokierian, Marsdenian and Yeadonian Stages to be recognised and the detailed structure to be worked out and this confirms the structural interpretation of Dixon. The succession is correlated and compared with adjacent areas in Pembrokeshire and South Wales. The Marsdenian includes a fauna of highly variable Sanguinolites. S. ovalis Hind is redescribed and a lectotype chosen.