Statistical analyses of Global U-Pb Database 2017

The method of obtaining zircon samples affects estimation of the global U-Pb age distribution.Researchers typically collect zircons via convenience sampling and cluster sampling.When using these techniques,weight adjustments proportional to the areas of the sampled regions improve upon unweighted estimates.Here,grid-area and modern sediment methods are used to weight the samples from a new database of 418,967 U-Pb ages.Preliminary tests involve two age models.Model-1 uses the most precise U-Pb ages as the best ages.Model-2 uses the~(206)Pb/~(238)U age as the best age if it is less than a1000 Ma cutoff,otherwise it uses the~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb age as the best age.A correlation analysis between the Model-1 and Model-2 ages indicates nearly identical distributions for both models.However,after applying acceptance criteria to include only the most precise analyses with minimal discordance,a histogram of the rejected samples shows excessive rejection of the Model-2 analyses around the1000 Ma cutoff point.Because of the excessive rejection rate for Model-2,we select Model-1 as the preferred model.After eliminating all rejected samples,the remaining analyses use only Model-1 ages for five rock-type subsets of the database:igneous,meta-igneous,sedimentary,meta-sedimentary,and modern sediments.Next,time-series plots,cross-correlation analyses,and spectral analyses determine the degree of alignment among the time-series and their periodicity.For all rock types,the U-Pb age distributions are similar for ages older than 500 Ma,but align poorly for ages younger than 500 Ma.The similarities(500 Ma)and differences(500 Ma)highlight how reductionism from a detailed database enhances understanding of time-dependent sequences,such as erosion,detrital transport mechanisms,lithification,and metamorphism.Time-series analyses and spectral analyses of the age distributions predominantly indicate a synchronous period-tripling sequence of~91-Myr,~273-Myr,and~819-Myr among the various rock types.     

Is UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 relevant to governing the intimate land-use/groundwater linkage?

Hydrogeology Journal - The close link between land use and groundwater has long been recognised, but not widely translated into integrated policy and management practices. Common understanding is...     

Impact of irrigated agriculture on groundwater-recharge salinity: a major sustainability concern in semi-arid regions

Intensive irrigated agriculture substantially modifies the hydrological cycle and often has major environmental impacts. The article focuses upon a specific concern—the tendency for progressive long-term increases in the salinity of groundwater recharge derived from irrigated permeable soils and replenishment of unconfined aquifers in more arid regions. This process has received only scant attention in the water-resource literature and has not been considered by agricultural science. This work makes an original contribution by analysing, from scientific principles, how the salinisation of groundwater recharge arises and identifies the factors affecting its severity. If not proactively managed, the process eventually will impact irrigation waterwell salinity, the productivity of agriculture itself, and can even lead to land abandonment. The types of management measure required for mitigation are discussed through three detailed case histories of areas with high-value groundwater-irrigated agriculture (in Spain, Argentina and Pakistan), which provide a long-term perspective on the evolution of the problem over various decades.     

The First Hop: Use of Beaufort Sea Deltas by Hatch-Year Semipalmated Sandpipers

River deltas along Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast are used by hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) after leaving their terrestrial natal sites, but the drivers of their use of these stopover sites on the first “hop” of fall migration are unknown. We quantified sandpiper temporal distribution and abundance as related to food resources at three river deltas during the beginning of their fall migration (post-breeding period) to compare the habitat quality among these deltas. We conducted population counts, sampled invertebrates, and captured birds to collect blood samples from individuals for triglyceride and stable isotope analyses to determine fattening rates and diet. Patterns of sandpiper and invertebrate abundance were complex and varied among deltas and within seasons. River deltas were used by sandpipers from late July to late August, and peak sandpiper counts ranged from 1000 to 4000 individuals, of which 98% were hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers. Isotopic signatures from blood plasma samples indicated that birds switched from a diet of upland tundra to delta invertebrate taxa as the migration season progressed, suggesting a dependence on delta invertebrates. Despite differences in diet among deltas, we found no differences in fattening rates of juvenile sandpipers as indicated by triglyceride levels. The number of sandpipers was positively associated with abundance of Amphipoda and Oligochaeta at the Jago and Okpilak-Hulahula deltas; an isotopic mixing model indicated that sandpipers consumed Amphipoda and Oligochaeta at Jago, mostly Chironomidae at Okpilak-Hulahula and Spionidae at Canning. Regardless of the difference in sandpiper diets at the Beaufort Sea deltas, their similar fattening rates throughout the season indicate that all of these stopover sites provide a critical food resource for hatch-year sandpipers beginning their first migration.     

Insights into the petrogenesis of the West Kimberley lamproites from trace elements in olivine

The Miocene lamproites of the West Kimberley region, Western Australia include olivine-leucite lamproites (≤10 wt% MgO) containing olivine and leucite microphenocrysts, and diamondiferous olivine lamproites (20–30 wt% MgO) containing olivine phenocrysts and larger (1–10 mm) olivine as mantle xenocrysts and dunite micro-xenoliths. Olivine phenocrysts and thin (<100 μm) magmatic rims define trends of decreasing Cr and Ni, and increasing Ca and Mn, with decreasing olivine Mg#, consistent with fractional crystallisation of olivine (and minor chromite). Many phenocrysts are zoned, and those with cores of similar Mg# and trace element abundances to the mantle xenocrysts may be xenocrysts overgrown by later olivine crystallised from the lamproite magma. Magmatic olivines Mg#_91–92 are estimated to have been in equilibrium with olivine lamproite magma(s) containing ~22–24 wt% MgO. The xenocrystic mantle olivines Mg_90–92.5 in the olivine lamproites are inferred from trace element abundances to be mostly derived from garnet peridotite with equilibration temperatures estimated from the Al-in-olivine thermometer (Bussweiler et al. 2017) to be ~1000–1270 °C at depths of 115–190 km. Olivines from the deeper lithosphere are less depleted (lower Mg#, higher Na, Al, P, Ti, Zr etc) than those at shallower depths, a feature suggested to reflect the combined effects of metasomatic re-enrichment of the craton roots (Ti, Fe, Zr etc) and increasing temperature with depth of origin (Na, Al, Ca). The West Kimberley lamproite olivines are not enriched in Li, as might be expected if their source regions contained continental sedimentary material as has been previously inferred from lamproite large-ion-lithophile trace elements, and Sr and Pb isotopes.

     

Fusing MODIS with Landsat 8 data to downscale weekly normalized difference vegetation index estimates for central Great Basin rangelands,USA

Data fused from distinct but complementary satellite sensors mitigate tradeoffs that researchers make when selecting between spatial and temporal resolutions of remotely sensed data. We integrated data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra satellite and the Operational Land Imager sensor aboard the Landsat 8 satellite into four regression-tree models and applied those data to a mapping application. This application produced downscaled maps that utilize the 30-m spatial resolution of Landsat in conjunction with daily acquisitions of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) that are composited and temporally smoothed. We produced four weekly, atmospherically corrected, and nearly cloud-free, downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions (maps) built from these models. Model results were strong with R² values ranging from 0.74 to 0.85. The correlation coefficients (r ≥ 0.89) were strong for all predictions when compared to corresponding original MODIS NDVI data. Downscaled products incorporated into independently developed sagebrush ecosystem models yielded mixed results. The visual quality of the downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions were remarkable when compared to the original 250-m MODIS NDVI. These 30-m maps improve knowledge of dynamic rangeland seasonal processes in the central Great Basin, United States, and provide land managers improved resource maps.