A COMBINED REFRACTION-DIFFRACTION-DISSIPATION MODEL OF WAVE PROPAGATION

A numerical model based on the mild-slope equation of water wave propagation over complicated bathymetry,taking into account the combined effects of refraction,diffraction and dissipation due to wavebreaking is presented.Wave breaking is simulated by modifying the wave height probability density func-tion and the wave energy dissipation mechanism is parameterized according to that of the hydraulic jumpformulation.Solutions of the wave height,phase function,and the wave direction at every grid point areobtained by finite difference approximation of the governing equations,using Gauss-Seidel Iterative Method(GSIM)row by row.Its computational convenience allows it to be applied to large coast regions tostudy the wave transformation problem.Several case studies have been made and the results compare verywell with the experiment data and other model solutions.The capability and utility of the model forreal coast areas are illustrated by application to a shallow bay of northeast Australia.     

Occurrence and Distribution of Organic Contaminants in the Aquatic System in Berlin.Part II: Substituted Phenols in Berlin Surface Water

In a surface water screening, 30 representative surface water samples collected from rivers, canals, and lakes in Berlin were investigated for the presence of 22 substituted phenols. The phenols selected include the 11 phenols considered as “priority pollutants” by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). Surface water samples were extracted applying solid-phase extraction with styrenedivinylbenzene adsorbent. The recoveries, determined in spiking experiments, were between 80 % and 103 %. After derivatization with N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyl-trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) the samples were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Phenol, cresols, 2-ethylphenol, 2-chlorophenol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, pentachlorophenol, 2-nitrophenol, and 4-nitrophenol were detected in the surface water samples at concentrations between 0.02 μg/L and 7.8 μg/L, respectively. The distribution of these residues in the Berlin surface waters showed that the phenolic residues, with the exception of pentachlorophenol and 2-ethylphenol, do not originate primarily from municipal sewage treatment plants discharges. Some of the phenols are formed naturally or occur as ubiquitous anthropogenic contaminants in the aquatic system.     

A Study of the Impacts of Freeze–Thaw on Cliff Recession at the Calvert Cliffs in Calvert County,Maryland

The Calvert Cliffs, which form much of the western coastline of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, are actively eroding and destabilizing, yielding critical situations for many homes in close proximity to the slope’s crest. Past studies have identified that waves directly interacting with the slope toe control cliff recession; however, where waves do not regularly interact with the slope toe, freeze–thaw controls recession. This study investigated the validity of this second claim by analyzing the recession rate and freeze–thaw behavior of six study sites along the Calvert Cliffs that are not directly affected by waves. While waves do remove failed material from the toe in these regions, freeze–thaw is believed to be the dominant factor driving recession at these sites. Past recession rates were calculated using historical aerial photographs and were analyzed together with a number of other variables selected to represent the freeze–thaw behavior of the Calvert Cliffs. The investigation studied sixteen independent variables and found that over 65 % of recession at these study sites can be represented by freeze–thaw through the following variables: (1) slope aspect, (2) soil freeze–thaw susceptibility, (3) the number of freeze–thaw cycles, and (4) the weighted shear strength. Future mitigation techniques at these sites should focus on addressing these variables. Unmitigated, the Calvert Cliffs will continue to recede until a stable slope angle is reached and maintained.     

Fluorescence spectral analysis of resinite macerals from coals of the Hanna Formation, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Flourescence spectral analysis indicates that resinite macerals from Tertiary Hanna Formation coals (Hanna Coal Field, southcentral Wyoming, U.S.A.) can be separated into five distinct groups. The first resinite group fluoresces a a medium green (in blue light); its average spectral maximum occurs at or below 440 mm with a red/green quotient of 0.22. The second resinite group fluoresces yellow-green with an average spectral maximum of 500 nm and a red/green quotient of 0.53. The third resinite group displays a yellow fluorescence having an average spectral maximum of 580 nm and a red/green quotient of 0.86. The fourth resinite group fluorescence orange-brown having an average spectral maximum of 610 nm and a red/green quotient of 1.20. These four groups mostly occur as primary globular resinites exhibiting scratches and fractures, indicating that they are brittle, solid substances. Primary cell-filling and secondary fracture-filling resinites also occur in these four groups. The fifth group only occurs as a secondary void-filling material and lacks evidence of br of brittle properties. It fluoresces a reddish-brown, has a spectral maximum at 690 nm, and a red/green quotient of 1.54. The fifth group has properties resembling exsudatinite. The five resinite groups can be separated on the basis of their nine spectral properties alone, without qualitative petrographic interpretation.The relative quantities of the five resinite groups vary among Hanna Formation coals. The origins of these five resinite groups are probably related to their botanical properties and pre- and post-depossitional conditions. Overall, Hanna Formation resinites have petrographic characteristics similar to other North American resinites; however, only four resinite groups have been distinguished in in certain coals from Utah and New Mexico (U.S.A.), and western Canada.     

10Be chronology of the last deglaciation of County Donegal, northwestern Ireland

A well-preserved moraine on the northern coast of County Donegal, Ireland, has played a critical role in our understanding of the glacial history of this sector of the Irish Ice Sheet (IIS). Because of a lack of numerical dating of the moraine, however, previous interpretations of its age and significance to the glacial history of this region have varied widely. Here we report eight in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on boulders sampled from the moraine. Two of these ages are outliers, with the remaining six ranging from 18.8±1.0 ¹⁰Be kyr to 20.9±1.3 ¹⁰Be kyr, with an uncertainty-weighted mean age of 19.4±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.4±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). Our results confirm one previous ¹⁰Be age obtained from the moraine, with the combined data ( n =7) constraining the age of initial deglaciation of the IIS from its LGM position on the continental shelf to be 19.3±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.3±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). These ages are in excellent agreement with calibrated ¹⁴C ages that constrain retreat of the IIS margin from the continental shelf elsewhere in northwestern and western Ireland and the Irish Sea Basin associated with the start of the Cooley Point Interstadial (≥20–≤18.2 cal. kyr BP), suggesting widespread deglaciation of the IIS ∼19.5–20 kyr ago.     

Isotopic and trace element evidence for submarine lithification of hardgrounds in the Jurassic of eastern England

Geochemical and petrographic data suggest early submarine cementation of hardgrounds from the Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, Middle Jurassic, England. The three hardgrounds, from Cowthick, Castle Bytham and Leadenham quarries, developed in tidal-inlet, on-barrier and lagoonal sub-environments of a carbonate barrier-island complex. At Cowthick early composite (acicular-bladed) radial-fibrous cements, which pre-date aragonite dissolution, completely fill intergranular pore-space at the hardground surface; away from it isopachous fringing cements decrease in thickness. Microprobe analyses demonstrate zoning within the fringes with magnesium concentrations (> 2 wt % MgCO₃) higher than those in allochems or later, ferroan cement (?0.5 wt % MgCO₃, 1.7 wt % FeCO₃). At Castle Bytham early granular isopachous cements, which post-date aragonite dissolution, occur within 5 cm of the surface. At Leadenham early lithification is superficial and represented by ferruginous crusts and micritic internal sediment. Late blocky cement fills residual pore-space in all three examples. Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of whole-rock samples taken at intervals away from each hardground surface demonstrate the increasing proportion of late ¹⁸O depleted cements (δ¹⁸O – 8 to – 10). Early cements must have a marine isotopic composition; different δ¹⁸O values from each hardground reflect the intensity of early lithification and exclusion of late cements at the hardened surface. There is no isotopic evidence for subaerial cement precipitation during possible emergence at Castle Bytham. Oyster samples (with δ¹⁸O, – 2.9 and δ¹³C, 2.4) give estimated palaeotemperatures of 22–25°C. Early cements from Cowthick are enriched in ¹⁸O and ¹³C (δ¹⁸O = 0 δ¹³C ? 3‰) compared to the oyster values. In conjunction with trace element data this is interpreted as evidence for high-magnesium calcite precursor cements which underwent replacement in a system with a low water: rock ratio. The intensity of early lithification is related to depositional environment: maximum circulation of sea-water producing the most lithified hardground (Cowthick). This is directly analogous to the formation of Recent hardgrounds.     

Distinguishing the Regional Atmospheric Controls on Precipitation Isotopic Variability in the Central-Southeast Portion of Brazil

Precipitation isotope ratios (O and H) record the history of water phase transitions and fractionation processes during moisture transport and rainfall formation. Here, we evaluated the isotopic composition of precipitation over the central-southeastern region of Brazil at different timescales. Monthly isotopic compositions were associated with classical effects (rainfall amount, seasonality, and continentality), demonstrating the importance of vapor recirculation processes and different regional atmospheric systems (South American Convergence Zone-SACZ and Cold Fronts-CF). While moisture recycling and regional atmospheric processes may also be observed on a daily timescale, classical effects such as the amount effect were not strongly correlated (δ¹⁸O-precipitation rate r ≤ –0.37). Daily variability revealed specific climatic features, such as δ¹⁸O depleted values (~ –6‰ to –8‰) during the wet season were associated with strong convective activity and large moisture availability. Daily isotopic analysis revealed the role of different moisture sources and transport effects. Isotope ratios combined with d-excess explain how atmospheric recirculation processes interact with convective activity during rainfall formation processes. Our findings provide a new understanding of rainfall sampling timescales and highlight the importance of water isotopes to decipher key hydrometeorological processes in a complex spatial and temporal context in central-southeastern Brazil.     

A LATE PLEISTOCENE INTERTIDAL BOULDER PAVEMENT FROM AN ISOSTATICALLY EMERGENT COAST,DUNDALK BAY,EASTERN IRELAND

Late Pleistocene sequences around Dundalk Bay, eastern Ireland, record glaciomarine sedimentation near the margin of a grounded ice lobe around 15 ka BP. A coastal exposure at Cooley Point consists of four major facies deposited outside this ice limit. (1) A basal mud facies deposited from sediment plumes accumulated following the initial ice marginal retreat inland. It contains a well-preserved Arctic microfauna dominated by the foram Elphidium clavatum and the ostracod Roundstonia globulifera. (2) A flat to undulating boulder facies (pavement), mostly one clast thick, is found pressed into the mud and is characterized by bevelled and striated upper clast surfaces. Pavement attributes are a result of intertidal activity in a cold climate. The boulder source is due to rafting by ice floes from glacigenic debris deposited during an ice advance. (3) Laminated sand facies drape the pavement and are a result of variable current activity. (4) The overlying gravel facies is separated from the sand facies by a marine erosion surface. The gravel facies is subaqueous, channelized and is overlain by late glacial raised beach ridges. Locally the gravels have been deformed by ice pressure from partially floating ice floes. Facies changes record terrestrial submergence and provide evidence for changes in relative sea level during part of the last deglacial cycle. The boulder pavement and deformed gravel facies suggest that ice floes and sea ice effects may be more common within stratigraphies along emergent coasts than previously thought, though they have a low preservation potential. Extreme conditions during the deglacial favoured opportunistic microfaunas during mud deposition. This event may be related to a major meltwater event within the Irish Sea Basin.