Delineation of spatial-temporal patterns of groundwater/surface-water interaction along a river reach (Aa River,Belgium) with transient thermal modeling

Among the advances made in analytical and numerical analysis methods to quantify groundwater/surface-water interaction, one methodology that stands out is the use of heat as an environmental tracer. A large data set of river and riverbed temperature profiles from the Aa River in Belgium has been used to examine the spatial-temporal variations of groundwater/surface-water interaction. Exchange fluxes were calculated with the numerical heat-transport code STRIVE. The code was applied in transient mode to overcome previous limitations of steady-state analysis, and allowed for the calculation of model quality. In autumn and winter the mean exchange fluxes reached ?90 mm d^?1, while in spring and early summer fluxes were ?42 mm d^?1. Predominantly gaining conditions occurred along the river reach; however, in a few areas the direction of flow changed in time. The river banks showed elevated fluxes up to a factor of 3 compared to the center of the river. Higher fluxes were detected in the upstream section of the reach. Due to the influence of exchange fluxes along the river banks, larger temporal variations were found in the downstream section. The exchange fluxes at the river banks seemed more driven by variable local exchange flows, while the center of the river was dominated by deep and steady regional groundwater flows. These spatial and temporal differences in groundwater/surface-water exchange show the importance of long-term investigations on the driving forces of hyporheic processes across different scales.     

Regression models for daily stream temperature simulation: case studies for the river Elbe,Germany

Daily stream temperatures are needed in a number of analyses. Such analyses might focus on aquatic organisms or industrial activities. To protect aquatic systems, industrial activities, for example, water withdrawals or discharges, are sometimes restricted. To evaluate where new industrial settings should be placed or if climate change will affect already existing industrial settings, the simulation of stream temperature is needed. Stream temperature models with weekly or monthly time scale might not be sufficient for this kind of analysis. Different regression models to simulate daily stream temperature for the river Elbe (Germany) are developed and their performance is estimated. For the calibration period the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (NSC) for the simplest model is 0·97, and the root mean squared error (RMSE) is 1·48 °C. For the most sophisticated model the NSC also is 0·97. However, the RMSE is 1·32 °C. For the validation period the NSC for the simplest model is 0·96, and the RMSE is 1·45 °C. The NSC for the most sophisticated model is 0·97, and the RMSE is 1·25 °C. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogen bonding in coquimbite, nominally Fe2(SO4)3·9H2O, and the relationship between coquimbite and paracoquimbite

Using single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 293, 200 and 100 K, and neutron diffraction at 50 K, we have refined the positions of all atoms, including hydrogen atoms (previously undetermined), in the structure of coquimbite ( $ P {\bar 3}1c $ , a?=?10.924(2)/10.882(2) Å, c?=?17.086(3) / 17.154(3) Å, V?=?1765.8(3)/1759.2(5) ų, at 293 / 50 K, respectively). The use of neutron diffraction allowed us to determine precise and accurate hydrogen positions. The O–H distances in coquimbite at 50 K vary between 0.98 and 1.01 Å. In addition to H₂O molecules coordinated to the Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions, there are rings of six “free” H₂O molecules in the coquimbite structure. These rings can be visualized as flattened octahedra with the distance between oxygen and the geometric center of the polyhedron of 2.46 Å. The hydrogen-bonding scheme undergoes no changes with decreasing temperature and the unit cell shrinks linearly from 293 to 100 K. A review of the available data on coquimbite and its “dimorph” paracoquimbite indicates that paracoquimbite may form in phases closer to the nominal composition of Fe₂(SO₄)₃·9H₂O. Coquimbite, on the other hand, has a composition approximating Fe_1.5Al_0.5(SO₄)₃·9H₂O. Hence, even a “simple” sulfate Fe_2-x Al _x (SO₄)₃·9H₂O may be structurally rather complex.     

Distribution of uranium in German bottled and tap water

The results presented in this paper on uranium in bottled and tap water were determined within the scope of the project “European Groundwater Geochemistry: Bottled Water” of the Geochemistry Expert Group of EuroGeoSurveys. The analyses of bottled water provide an inexpensive approach to obtain information about European groundwater geochemistry. For this study, the uranium concentrations in 1785 European mineral water samples were analyzed by ICP–QMS in the BGR laboratories. The dataset is used to obtain a first impression about natural concentration levels and variation of uranium in groundwater (and bottled water) at the German and European scale.     

The Colônia structure,São Paulo,Brazil

Abstract– The near‐circular Colônia structure, located in the southern suburbs of the mega‐city of São Paulo, Brazil, has attracted the attention of geoscientists for several decades due to its anomalous character and the complete absence of any plausible endogenous geologic explanation for its formation. Origin by impact cratering has been suggested repeatedly since the 1960s, but no direct evidence for this has been presented to date. New seismic data have been recently acquired at Colônia, providing new insights into the characteristics and possible layering of infill of the structure, as well as into the depth to the underlying basement. We review the current knowledge about the Colônia structure, present the new seismic data, and discuss the existing—as yet still indirect—evidence for a possible origin by an impact. The new data suggest the existence of a sedimentary fill of approximately 275 m thickness and also the presence of two intermediate zones between sediment and basement: an upper zone that is approximately 65 m thick and can be interpreted as a possible crater‐fill breccia, whereas the other zone possibly represents fractured/brecciated basement, with a thickness of approximately 50 m. Although this depth to basement seems to be inconsistent with the expected geometry of a simple, bowl‐shape impact structure of such diameter, there are a number of still unconstrained parameters that could explain this, such as projectile nature, size and velocity, impact angle, and particularly the current erosion depth.     

Experimental observation of strong mixing due to internal wave focusing over sloping terrain

This paper reports on experimental observation of internal waves that are focused due to a sloping topography. A remarkable mixing of the density field was observed. This result is of importance for the deep ocean, where internal waves are believed to play a role in mixing. The experiments were performed on the rotating platform at the Coriolis Laboratory, Grenoble. The rotation, its modulation and density stratification were set to be in the internal wave regime. After applying various data processing techniques we observe internal wave rays, which converge to a limiting state: the wave attractor. At longer time scales we observe a remarkably efficient mixing of the density field, possibly responsible for driving observed sheared mean flows and topographic Rossby waves. We offer the hypothesis that focusing of internal waves to the wave attractor leads to the mixing.     

Time-dependent thermal convection, mantle differentiation and continental-crust growth

The thermal evolution of the Earth is controlled by radioactive elements whose heat production rate decays with time and whose spatial distribution depends on chemical segregation processes.
We present a 2-D and finite-difference Boussinesq convection model with temperature-dependent viscosity and time- and space-dependent radioactive heat sources. We used Newtonian rheology, boxes of aspect ratio 3, and heating from within. Starting from the geochemical results of Hofmann (1988), it is assumed that the radioactive heat sources of the mantle were initially distributed homogeneously. In a number of calculations, however, higher starting abundances of radioactive sources were assumed in the upper mantle. For the present geological situation, this also results in a depleted upper mantle. It was assumed that, if the viscosity falls below a certain critical value, chemical segregation will take place. In this way, model continental crust develops, leaving behind areas of a depleted mantle. We obtained the heat source, flow line, temperature, viscosity and heat-flow distribution as a function of time with realistic values, especially for the present time. The present viscosity of the upper mantle is approximately at the standard value obtained for postglacial uplift modelling; the deeper-mantle viscosity is considerably higher. The time dependence of the computed mean of the kinetic energy of mantle convection bears a resemblance to that of the magmatic and orogenetic activity of the Earth. We assumed that the 670 km discontinuity cannot be penetrated by the flow.     

Infrared spectral observations of asteroid 4 Vesta

An ir spectrum of asteroid Vesta, the first of any asteroid, has been recorded at a spectral resolution of 44 cm^?1 with a Fourier spectrometer. An electronic absorption band is observed that is assigned to an iron-rich pyroxene (pigeonite) spectroscopically similar to that found in certain eucrites. Other important rock-forming minerals such as olivine and plagioclase feldspar are not observed. There is no evidence for compositional variation with rotational phase angle. This spectroscopic picture of Vesta suggests considerable evolution including the melting and differentiation of silicates.