Global Snow Mass Measurements and the Effect of Stratigraphic Detail on Inversion of Microwave Brightness Temperatures

Snow provides large seasonal storage of freshwater, and information about the distribution of snow mass as snow water equivalent (SWE) is important for hydrological planning and detecting climate change impacts. Large regional disagreements remain between estimates from reanalyses, remote sensing and modelling. Assimilating passive microwave information improves SWE estimates in many regions, but the assimilation must account for how microwave scattering depends on snow stratigraphy. Physical snow models can estimate snow stratigraphy, but users must consider the computational expense of model complexity versus acceptable errors. Using data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Cold Land Processes Experiment and the Helsinki University of Technology microwave emission model of layered snowpacks, it is shown that simulations of the brightness temperature difference between 19 and 37 GHz vertically polarised microwaves are consistent with advanced microwave scanning radiometer-earth observing system and special sensor microwave imager retrievals once known stratigraphic information is used. Simulated brightness temperature differences for an individual snow profile depend on the provided stratigraphic detail. Relative to a profile defined at the 10-cm resolution of density and temperature measurements, the error introduced by simplification to a single layer of average properties increases approximately linearly with snow mass. If this brightness temperature error is converted into SWE using a traditional retrieval method, then it is equivalent to ±13 mm SWE (7 % of total) at a depth of 100 cm. This error is reduced to ±5.6 mm SWE (3 % of total) for a two-layer model.     

Beyond boundaries? Activism, academia, reflexivity and research

Summary In this paper, I draw on my own experiences to question some of the boundaries constructed around notions of activism and academia. Firstly, I introduce activism as a discursively produced concept with potential both to challenge and to support social exclusion. I propose an inclusive, reflexive view of activism that places us all as 'activists'. Using this understanding of activism and the work of feminist and other critical geographers, I consider the role of reflexivity within research and other activist projects. Drawing on my own experiences of activism, I then explore some of the boundaries that reproduce the academic-activist binary. I suggest such boundaries are actively constructed and may compromise the liberatory potential of academic research. I conclude the article by suggesting that a reflexivity grounded in the contingency of our lives can support activism within the academy and beyond.     

Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) stratigraphy and structure of the Walterstown-Kentstown area,Co. Meath,Ireland

Stratigraphic units are defined and described for the Lower Carboniferous succession in the Walterstown-Kentstown area of Co. Meath, Ireland. A complete (unexposed) Courceyan succession from the terrestrial red bed facies of the Baronstown Formation to the Moathill Formation of the Navan Group has been penetrated in several boreholes. Although the lower part of the sequence is comparable with the Courceyan succession at Navan and Slane, the middle part of the sequence differs markedly in the Walterstown-Kentstown area and two new members, the Proudstown and Walterstown Members, are defined in the upper part of the Meath Formation. Syndepositional faulting was initiated during the Courceyan, probably in latest Pseudopolygnathus multistriatus or early Polygnathus mehli latus time. Movement on the ENE trending St. Patrick's Well Fault influenced the deposition of the Walterstown Member and the overlying Moathill Formation and was probably associated with the development of the East Midlands depocentre to the south of the area. A second episode of tectonism in the latest Courceyan or early Chadian resulted in uplift and erosion and the development of ‘block and basin’ sedimentation. Subsequent transgression of the uplifted block led to the establishment of the Kentstown Platform, bounded to the north, west and south by rocks of basinal facies. The Milverton Group (Chadian-Asbian), confined to this platform, unconformably overlies Courceyan or Lower Palaeozoic strata and is subdivided into three formations: Crufty Formation (late Chadian), Holmpatrick Formation (late Chadian-Arundian) and Mullaghfin Formation (late Arundian-Asbian). The Walterstown Fault controlled the western margin of the Kentstown Platform at this time. Contemporaneous basinal sediments of the Fingal Group (Lucan and Naul Formations) accumulated to the west of the Walterstown Fault and are much thicker than age-equivalent platform facies. Platform sedimentation ceased in latest Asbian to early Brigantian time with tectonically induced collapse and drowning of the platform; platform carbonates of the Mullaghfin Formation are onlapped northwards by coarse proximal basinal facies of the Loughshinny Formation. A distinct gravity anomaly in the Kentstown area suggests the presence of a granitoid body within the basement. The Kentstown Platform is therefore considered to have formed on a buoyant, granite-cored, footwall high analogous to the Askrigg and Alston Blocks of northern England.     

Benchmarking sustainability in cities: The role of indicators and future scenarios

Scenarios are a useful tool to help think about and visualise the future and, as such, are utilised by many policymakers and practitioners. Future scenarios have not been used to explore the urban context in much depth, yet have the potential to provide valuable insights into the robustness of decisions being made today in the name of sustainability. As part of a major research project entitled Urban Futures, a toolkit has been developed in the UK to facilitate the use of scenarios in any urban context and at any scale relevant to that context. The toolkit comprises two key components, namely, (i) a series of indicators comprising both generic and topic area-specific indicators (e.g., air quality, biodiversity, density, water) that measure sustainability performance and (ii) a list of characteristics (i.e., 1–2-sentence statements about a feature, issue or small set of issues) that describe four future scenarios. In combination, these two components enable us to measure the performance of any given sustainability indicator, and establish the relative sensitivity or vulnerability of that indicator to the different future scenarios. An important aspect of the methodology underpinning the toolkit is that it is flexible enough to incorporate new scenarios, characteristics and indicators, thereby allowing the long-term performance of our urban environments to be considered in the broadest possible sense.     

Isotopic variations of dissolved copper and zinc in stream waters affected by historical mining

Zinc and Cu play important roles in the biogeochemistry of natural systems, and it is likely that these interactions result in mass-dependent fractionations of their stable isotopes. In this study, we examine the relative abundances of dissolved Zn and Cu isotopes in a variety of stream waters draining six historical mining districts located in the United States and Europe. Our goals were to (1) determine whether streams from different geologic settings have unique or similar Zn and Cu isotopic signatures and (2) to determine whether Zn and Cu isotopic signatures change in response to changes in dissolved metal concentrations over well-defined diel (24-h) cycles.Average δ⁶⁶Zn and δ⁶⁵Cu values for streams varied from +0.02‰ to +0.46‰ and −0.7‰ to +1.4‰, respectively, demonstrating that Zn and Cu isotopes are heterogeneous among the measured streams. Zinc or Cu isotopic changes were not detected within the resolution of our measurements over diel cycles for most streams. However, diel changes in Zn isotopes were recorded in one stream where the fluctuations of dissolved Zn were the largest. We calculate an apparent separation factor of ∼0.3‰ (^66/64Zn) between the dissolved and solid Zn reservoirs in this stream with the solid taking up the lighter Zn isotope. The preference of the lighter isotope in the solid reservoir may reflect metabolic uptake of Zn by microorganisms. Additional field investigations must evaluate the contributions of soils, rocks, minerals, and anthropogenic components to Cu and Zn isotopic fluxes in natural waters. Moreover, rigorous experimental work is necessary to quantify fractionation factors for the biogeochemical reactions that are likely to impact Cu and Zn isotopes in hydrologic systems. This initial investigation of Cu and Zn isotopes in stream waters suggests that these isotopes may be powerful tools for probing biogeochemical processes in surface waters on a variety of temporal and spatial scales.     

Late survival of woodland contrasts with rapid limnological changes following settlement at Kalmanstjörn,Mývatnssveit,northeast Iceland

The settlement of Iceland is known to have had profound impacts on vegetation and landscape stability, but there remain uncertainties around the spatial variability and timing of environmental change, and the impacts of settlement on aquatic ecosystems. Here a new multiproxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction spanning the last 3000 years is presented from Kalmanstjörn, a small lake in Mývatnssveit, northeast Iceland. Sedimentology, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, and geochemical proxies, dated using tephrochronology, are used to reconstruct terrestrial vegetation, landscape stability and aquatic ecosystems. The data reveal complex environmental dynamics after settlement. At this site, substantial tree populations persisted until the late 15th century, in strong contrast to the rapid deforestation shown by almost all other records from Iceland. The eventual loss of woodland may have been caused by changes in direct human activity and the location of extensive grazing, in combination with Little Ice Age climatic cooling. The loss of woodland was accompanied by increased soil erosion. Conversely, the lake ecosystem showed an immediate response to settlement, becoming more productive for several centuries, perhaps in response to increased availability of nutrients from grazing herbivores. The late persistence of woodland in the Kalmanstjörn record adds to our understanding of the spatial variations in ecosystem responses to settlement in Iceland, while the evidence for decoupling of the aquatic and terrestrial systems suggests that palaeolimnological reconstructions focusing on aquatic ecosystem responses may be important new sources of information on the wider ecological consequences of human settlement.     

How effective are plant macrofossils as a proxy for macrophyte presence? The case of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Najas flexilis</Emphasis> in Scotland

Preventing biodiversity loss is a key aim of modern conservation, and paleolimnology can inform conservation strategies for target species and habitats where other data are unavailable. Care must be taken to fully understand the possibilities and limits of such techniques, particularly where they concern single species. This study uses plant and seed distribution data to inform macrofossil reconstructions of the rare macrophyte Najas flexilis (Slender Naiad) in Scotland, UK. It answers three questions: (a) How does the location of N. flexilis seeds in the surface sediments relate to the distribution of N. flexilis plants? (b) How do the numbers of seeds in surface sediments correlate with % cover of N. flexilis plants across lakes with differing N. flexilis abundances? (c) What are the implications of these findings for paleolimnology? Percentage N. flexilis cover and number of N. flexilis seeds in surface sediments were recorded at ~100 sample points at each of three sites; one where the species was abundant, one where it was occasional and one where it was extinct. At all sites, N. flexilis seeds were present in surface sediments across the entire lake. No correlation between % cover N. flexilis and the number of seeds in surface sediments was found within individual sites. The distribution of seeds in these lakes appeared to be related to multiple environmental and ecological variables including latitude and longitude (proxies for water currents). This is attributed to the ability of seed-bearing N. flexilis plants to fragment and float large distances on water. Between sites, there was a significant difference in the mean seed counts, with higher mean seed counts corresponding to higher abundances of N. flexilis plants. It is concluded that N. flexilis is likely to be well represented in sediment cores taken from any location within a basin, but that care should be taken when inferring changes in N. flexilis abundance from changes in the numbers of seeds in sediment samples. This work demonstrates that the reproductive ecology (number of seeds produced and dispersal mechanisms) is an important factor to consider when attempting reconstructions of single aquatic plant populations from macrofossil records.     

Evidence for sulfurization and the origin of some sudbury-type ores

The suggestion that Sudbury-type ores may be formed by the introduction of country rock sulfur into still hot intrusions (i.e., sulfurization) suffers from a reputed lack of field evidence. Permissive evidence for sulfurization includes the epigenetic nature of many Sudbury-type ores and that many Sudbury-type ores crystallized from sulfide melts. Visual evidence exists for sulfurization of a gabbro in Zambia. The lead isotopic composition of ore minerals at Sudbury implies that at least some of the metals were derived from the erruptive. Published sulfur isotopic data from several Sudbury-type ores differ from and do not exhibit a common pattern of isotopic enrichment with respect to sulfides within associated intrusions. Evidently the sulfur was derived from the country rocks. Sudbury-type ores exhibiting magmatic textures commonly occur within more siliceous dikes than the host intrusions. Inorganic reduction of sulfate occurs only above 600° C. Reduction of sulfate with resultant sulfurization of ferrous iron and traces of other metals originally present in the still hot parental intrusive rock would make the rock more siliceous. Above 1100° C the silicate-residue and newly formed sulfides would form immiscible magmas. Therefore, ore magmas within and near mafic intrusives can be epigenetic. The processes by which sulfur is introduced into intrusions are still speculative.

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Zusammenfassung Für die Annahme, daß Erze vom Sudbury-Typus sich durch Zuführung von Nebengesteinsschwefel in noch heiße Intrusionen bilden können (sulfurization), fehlt es angeblich an Feldunterlagen. Folgende Tatsachen lassen sich mit einer Schwefelung (sulfurization) vereinigen: der epigenetische Charakter vieler Erze vom Sudbury-Typ; auch sind viele Erze von Sudbury-Typus aus sulfidischen Schmelzen kristallisiert. In einem Gabbro in Zambia ist der Beweis für Schwefelung (sulfurization) direkt sichtbar. Die Isotopen-Zusammensetzung von Blei in Erzmineralien in Sudbury zeigt, daß mindestens einige der Metalle aus dem Eruptivgestein stammen. Schwefelisotop-Daten, die für mehrere Lagerstätten von Sudbury-Typen veröffentlicht worden sind, haben hinsichtlich der Isotop-Anreicherung keine gemeinsamen Züge. Offensichtlich stammt der Schwefel aus dem Nebengestein. Erze vom Sudbury-Typ mit magmatischem Gefüge finden sich oft in Gängen, die saurer sind als das Wirtsgestein. Anorganische Reduktion von Sulfat findet nur oberhalb 600°C statt. Reduktion von Sulfat und die entstehende Schwefelung (sulfurization) von zweiwertigem Eisen und Spuren anderer Metalle, die ursprünglich in dem noch heiß eruptiven Gestein anwesend sind, machen das Gestein noch saurer. Oberhalb 1100°C würden der Silicat-Rest und die neugeformten Sulfide nicht mischbare Magmen bilden. Deshalb können sich sulfidische Schmelzen innerhalb und in der Nähe von Mafic-Intrusionen später gebildet haben. Die Prozesse, durch die Schwefel in Intrusionen eingeführt wird, sind noch unbekannt.

     

U-Pb Zircon Age,Geochemical, and Sr-Nd-Pb Isotopic Constraints on the Age and Origin of Mafic Dykes from Eastern Shandong Province,Eastern China

U-Pb zircon age, geochemical, and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data of mafic dykes from eastern Shandong Province, eastern China is reported herein. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb zircon analyses of two samples from the investigated mafic dykes yield consistent ages ranging from 121.9 Ma ± 0.47 Ma to 122.9 Ma ± 0.61 Ma. The mafic dykes are characterized by high (87Sr/86Sr) i ranging from 0.7087 to 0.7089, low εNd(t) values ranging from -16.9 to -17.8, 206Pb/204Pb = 17.15 to 17.17, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.45 to 15.47, and 208Pb/204Pb = 37.59 to 37.68. Results from the current study suggest that the mafic dykes are derived from partial melting of ancient lithospheric mantle that was variably hybridized by melts derived from foundered lower crustal eclogite. The mafic dykes may have been generated through subsequent insignificant crystal fractionation and very minor crustal contamination during magma ascent. Combined with previous studies, the current findings provide new evidence that the intense lithospheric thinning beneath the eastern Shandong Province of eastern China occurred at ~120 Ma, and that this condition was caused by the removal of the lower lithosphere (mantle and lower crust).