Lithosphere formation in the central Slave Craton (Canada): plume subcretion or lithosphere accretion?

Major-element compositions of minerals in peridotite xenoliths from the Lac de Gras kimberlites provide constraints on the mode of lithosphere formation beneath the central Slave Craton, Canada. Magnesia contents of reconstructed whole rocks correlate positively with NiO and negatively with CaO contents, consistent with variable partial melt extraction. Alumina and Cr₂O₃ contents are broadly positively correlated, suggestive of melt depletion in the absence of a Cr–Al phase. Garnet modes are high at a given Al₂O₃ content (a proxy for melt depletion), falling about a 7 GPa melt depletion model. These observations, combined with high olivine Mg# and major-element relationships of FeO-poor peridotites (<7.5 wt%) indicative of melt loss at pressures >3 GPa (residual FeO content being a sensitive indicator of melt extraction pressure), and similar high pressures of last equilibration (∼4.2 to 5.8 GPa), provide multiple lines of evidence that the mantle beneath the central Slave Craton has originated as a residue from high-pressure melting, possibly during plume subcretion. Apparent low melt depletion pressures for high-FeO peridotites (>7.5 wt%) could suggest formation in an oceanic setting, followed by subduction to their depth of entrainment. However, these rocks, which are characterised by low SiO₂ contents (<43 wt%), are more likely to be the result of post-melting FeO-addition, leading to spuriously low estimates of melt extraction pressures. They may have reacted with a silica-undersaturated melt that dissolved orthopyroxene, or experienced olivine injection by crystallising melts. A secular FeO-enrichment of parts of the deep mantle lithosphere is supported by lower average Mg# in xenolithic olivine (91.7) compared to olivine inclusions in diamond (92.6).     

Progress in isotope paleohydrology using lake sediment cellulose

Recent advances in sample preparation techniques and mass spectrometry have fostered more routine oxygen isotope analysis of aquatic cellulose in lake sediment cores, a proxy for lake water oxygen isotope history. These methodological developments have significantly increased the feasibility of incorporating this approach into high-resolution, multi-site, and multi-proxy studies, which are frequently necessary to answer complex hydrological, hydroecological and hydroclimatic questions requiring a paleoenvironmental perspective. Direct translation of lake sediment aquatic cellulose oxygen isotope composition into lake water oxygen isotope composition offers appreciable opportunity for quantitative paleohydrological reconstructions, as evidenced by studies conducted over the past 15 years that span Holocene and pre-historical timescales.     

Collaborating in the field, working for change: Reflecting on partnerships between academics, development organizations and rural communities in Africa

Academics and development organizations approach fieldwork with somewhat different motivations, constraints and challenges. In many instances, fieldwork might be improved if greater collaboration occurred between these two parties. Rural communities are also important yet frequently taken for granted partners in the research process that deserve greater respect. This paper explores and describes the real and imagined impediments to greater collaboration between academics, development organizations and rural communities. The findings are based on 18 years of working with rural communities in Africa, both as a development practitioner and academic researcher. This reflection makes three contributions to the broader literature on fieldwork. First, it explicitly links two ongoing discussions, one on relationships with institutional partners, the other on interactions with rural communities. Second, it articulates the concerns of development organizations in their partnerships with academic researchers, a perspective rarely heard in a literature dominated by academic voices. Third, while feminist scholarship on fieldwork methods often wrestles with issues of positionality and engagement at the scale of the individual researcher, this reflection is aimed at the broader scale of the professional (academic and practitioner) communities involved in development praxis and scholarship.     

Scalar advection schemes for ocean modelling on unstructured triangular grids

Several schemes for scalar advection on unstructured triangular grids are assessed for possible use in ocean modelling applications. Finite element, finite volume and finite volume–element approaches are evaluated. A series of tests, including a numerical order of convergence analysis, idealized rotating cone and cylinder experiments, and transport of a tracer through the Stommel Gyre representation of ocean basin-scale circulation, are carried out. Volume element Eulerian–Lagrangian and third-order Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin schemes are recommended for use in tracer studies. Taylor–Galerkin and second-order Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin are found to be robust and accurate second-order schemes. When positivity is required, a fluctuation redistribution scheme was found to be an easily implemented, accurate, and computationally efficient approach. Responsible editor: Phil Dyke     

Microhydrodynamics of flotation processes in the sea surface layer

The uppermost surface of the ocean forms a peculiarly important ecosystem, the sea surface microlayer (SML). Comprising the top 1–1000 μm of the ocean surface, the SML concentrates many chemical substances, particularly those that are surface active. Important economically as a nursery for fish eggs and larvae, the SML unfortunately is also especially vulnerable to pollution. Contaminants that settle out from the air, have low solubility, or attach to floatable matter tend to accumulate in the SML.Bubbles contribute prominently to the dynamics of air–sea exchanges, playing an important role in geochemical cycling of material in the upper ocean and SML. In addition to the movement of bubbles, the development of a bubble cloud interrelates with the single particle dynamics of all other bubbles and particles. In the early sixties, several in situ oceanographic techniques revealed an “unbelievably immense” number of coastal bubbles of radius 15–300 μm. The spatial and temporal variation of bubble numbers were studied; acoustical oceanographers now use bubbles as tracers to determine ocean processes near the ocean surface. Sea state and rain noises have both been definitively ascribed to the radiation from huge numbers of infant micro bubbles [The Acoustic Bubble. Academic Press, San Diego].Our research programme aims at constructing a hydrodynamic model for particle transport processes occurring at the microscale, in multi-phase flotation suspensions. Current research addresses bubble and floc microhydrodynamics as building blocks for a microscale transport model. This paper reviews sea surface transport processes in the microlayer and the lower atmosphere, and identifies those amenable to microhydrodynamic modelling and simulation. It presents preliminary simulation results including the multi-body hydrodynamic mobility functions for the modelling of “dynamic bubble filters” and floc suspensions. Hydrodynamic interactions versus spatial anisotropy and size of particle clouds are investigated.     

An experimental study on the ripple–dune transition

Flume experiments were conducted on different bed stages across the ripple–dune transition. As flow velocity increases, an initially flat bed surface (made of fairly uniform sandy material) is gradually transformed into a two‐dimensional rippled bed. With further increase in velocity, two‐dimensional ripples are replaced by irregular, linguoid ripples. As the average velocity necessary for the ripple–dune transition to occur is imposed on the bed surface, these non‐equilibrium linguoid ripples are further transformed into larger, two‐dimensional dunes. For each of these stages across the transition, a concrete mould of the bed was created and the flow structure above each fixed bed surface investigated. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter was used to study the flow characteristics above each bed surface. Detailed profiles were used along a transect located in the middle of the channel. Results are presented in the form of spatially averaged profiles of various flow characteristics and of contour maps of flow fields (section view). They clearly illustrate some important distinctions in the flow structure above the different bedform types associated with different stages during the transition. Turbulence intensity and Reynolds stresses gradually increase throughout the transition. Two‐dimensional ripples present a fairly uniform spatial distribution of turbulent flow characteristics above the bed. Linguoid ripples induce three‐dimensional turbulence structure at greater heights above the bed surface and turbulence intensity tends to increase steadily with height above bed surface in the wake region. A very significant increase in turbulence intensity and momentum exchange occurs during the transition from linguoid ripples to dunes. The turbulent flow field properties above dunes are highly dependent on the position along and above the bed surface and these fields present a very high degree of spatial variability (when compared with the rippled beds). Further investigations under natural conditions emphasizing sediment transport mechanisms and rates during the transition should represent the next step of analysis, together with an emphasis on quadrant analysis. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On using mixed-layer transport parameterizations with radiometric surface temperature for computing regional scale sensible heat flux

Recent mixed-layer formulations for computing large-scale surface energy fluxes under daytime convective conditions do not require the estimation of surface-layer parameters, such as the roughness lengths for momentum and heat. This greatly simplifies approaches using operational satellite measurements of surface temperature for computing the surface energy balance at regional scales because the surface roughness parameters are not well known for many landscapes. The utility of such mixed-layer formulations is tested using data from several recent multidisciplinary field experiments (HAPEX-MOBILHY, FIFE and Monsoon 90). The results indicate that specific mixed-layer formulations adequately simulate surface sensible heat fluxes in the grassland and shrubland sites. However, use of the original values of proposed empirical coefficients for the forested site yield poor results. This is probably due to the fact that the forested site has significantly different surface geometry and associated distribution of temperature among the surface components (especially the relative importance of soil background temperatures) compared to the other sites. Therefore, the relationship between aerodynamic and radiometric surface temperature may have greatly differed between the forested site and the other locations. However, differences in aerodynamic roughness between the experimental sites were not correlated with changes required in the values of the coefficients. Instead, a two-source model which makes the distinction between aerodynamic and radiative temperature is proposed, as a means to determine which surface properties significantly affect the magnitude of the mixed-layer coefficients.