Use of stream response functions to determine impacts of replacing surface-water use with groundwater withdrawals

A regional-scale numerical groundwater model is used to study the impacts of replacing surface-water use with groundwater wells to improve low-flow stream conditions for endangered species within the Bertrand and Fishtrap watersheds, southern British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA. Stream response functions ranging from 0 to 1.0 were calculated for individual wells placed within a steady-state groundwater flow model at varying distances from the streams to determine the impact that these replacement wells, operating under sustained pumping rates, would have on summer instream flows. Lower response ratios indicate groundwater pumping will have less of an impact on streamflow than taking an equivalent amount of water directly from a surface-water source. Results show that replacing surface-water use with groundwater withdrawals may be a viable alternative for increasing summer streamflows. Assuming combined response factors should be ≤0.5 for irrigators to undergo the expense of installing new wells, ~57% of the land area within 0.8 km of Bertrand Creek would be suitable for replacement wells. Similarly, 70% of the land area within 0.8 km of Fishtrap Creek was found to be appropriate. A visual analysis tool was developed using STELLA to allow stakeholders to quickly evaluate the impact associated with moving their water right.     

Analysis of high-voltage,high-resolution images of lattice defects in experimentally-deformed dolomite

Deformation-induced stacking defects in dolomite have been characterised following examination at the cation sublattice level using high-resolution electron microscopy at 500kV. Slip on c (≡{0001}) is observed to produce stacking faults, often de-localised laterally, which are terminated by partial dislocations with Burgers vectors of the form 1/3 [1 \(\overline 1 \) 00]: a model for the faulted dolomite lattice has been constructed which agrees with the image appearance. Slip on f (≡{10 \(\overline 1 \) 2}) produces long planar faults which are established as not being stacking faults, in the normal sense, since there appear to be no offsets of the cation sublattice across the faults, nor any general indication of any terminating partial dislocations: it is proposed that the contrast arises from rotational disorder in CO₃ groups which has resulted from the prior passage of partial dislocations during deformation.     

Environmental determinism in Holocene research: causality or coincidence?

The past decade has seen a revival of environmental determinism in palaeoenvironmental research, with palaeoclimatic shifts implicated in the collapse of many past civilizations. Implicit in these studies is a belief that the observed cultural transitions can be causally related to the magnitude of climatic change. However, examination of the processes of these declines suggests that many exhibit patterns characteristic of complexity cascading within self-organized systems. If so, the nonlinear nature of these systems' responses to external forcing means that the assumption of causality in many of these cases should be considered questionable.     

A tem microstructural study of dolomite with curved faces (saddle dolomite)

Electron diffraction, analytical electron microscopy, and high voltage, high resolution electron microscopy have been used to investigate crystal defects in calcium-rich saddle dolomites having pronounced curvature of the faces. Results show that branching, ribbon-like defects in these so-called saddle dolomites are thin, coherent laths of calcitic material. The ribbons are profuse and explain the characteristic calcium excess found in most saddle dolomites. Because the lattice spacings of calcite are between 3.8% and 6.7% larger than the corresponding lattice spacings of dolomite, a calcitic ribbon causes local distortion of the host dolomite. The branching ribbons have a predominant {10¯14} orientation and are generally present in high density. They may represent the source of crystal distortion that ultimately manifests itself on the macroscopic scale. The calcitic ribbons form during growth from aqueous solution, although they have features in common with similar defects found in carbonatite carbonates. This fine-scale intergrowth microstructure may be a variant of even finer-scale modulated structures found in other sedimentary calcian dolomites.     

Pharmaceuticals and Other Organic Waste Water Contaminants Within a Leachate Plume Downgradient of a Municipal Landfill

Ground water samples collected from the Norman Landfill research site in central Oklahoma were analyzed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program's national reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and other organic waste water contaminants (OWCs) in ground water. Five sites, four of which are located downgradient of the landfill, were sampled in 2000 and analyzed for 76 OWCs using four research methods developed by the USGS. OWCs were detected in water samples from all of the sites sampled, with 22 of the 76 OWCs being detected at least once. Cholesterol (a plant and animal steroid), was detected at all five sites and was the only compound detected in a well upgradient of the landfill. N,N-diethyltoluamide (DEBT used in insect repellent) and tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (fire-retardant) were detected in water samples from all four sites located within the landfill-derived leachate plume. The sites closest to the landfill had more detections and greater concentrations of each of the detected compounds than sites located farther away. Detection of multiple OWCs occurred in the four sites located within the leachate plume, with a minimum of four and a maximum of 17 OWCs detected. Because the landfill was established in the 1920s and closed in 1985, many compounds detected in the leachate plume were likely disposed of decades ago. These results indicate the potential for long-term persistence and transport of some OWCs in ground water.     

A replicated 3000 yr proxy-climate record from Coom Rigg Moss and Felecia Moss,the Border Mires,northern England

Quantitative plant macrofossil and colorimetric humification analyses have been used to reconstruct proxy-climate from two paired ombrotrophic bogs in northern England (Coom Rigg Moss and Felecia Moss). Detrended correspondence analysis was used to transform the raw floral data into indices of mire surface wetness. The chronology of each peat profile was determined by radiocarbon assay, supported by pollen correlations. Palaeoclimatic reconstructions have been made by linking documented historical changes in climate, and other proxy-climate records, to those inferred from the sites investigated in the study region. Both sites contain a sensitive palaeoclimatic record, as ten periods of increased effective precipitation have been detected between ca. cal. ad 1770–1800, ad 1400–1470, ad 1110–1260, ad 920–1060, ad 550–670, ad 210–360, 30 bc to ad 80, 180–130 bc, 590–520 bc and 760–710 bc. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.