Structural similarity of glasses and melts relevant to petrological processes

High-temperature Ramun spectroscopic investigations of melts in the systems GeO₂. Na₂O-SiO₂ and Na₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ demonstrate the close structural relationships between melts and glasses. No coordination changes with temperature and no new anionic species have been observed in the melt relative to those in the glass. The relative concentration of different anionic units changes only slightly in the temperature range 100–1350 C. With increasing temperature, compositions with three-dimensionally connected structural units exhibit an intensity increase of a band characteristic of a defect in the network structure, but the network still remains essentially intact.     

Assessment of different metrics for physical climate feedbacks

We quantify the feedbacks from the physical climate system on the radiative forcing for idealized climate simulations using four different methods. The results differ between the methods and differences are largest for the cloud feedback. The spatial and temporal variability of each feedback is used to estimate the averaging scale necessary to satisfy the feedback concept of one constant global mean value. We find that the year-to-year variability, combined with the methodological differences, in estimates of the feedback strength from a single model is comparable to the model-to-model spread in feedback strength of the CMIP3 ensemble. The strongest spatial and temporal variability is in the short-wave component of the cloud feedback. In our simulations, where many sources of natural variability are neglected, long-term averages are necessary to get reliable feedback estimates. Considering the large natural variability and relatively small forcing present in the real world, as compared to the forcing imposed by doubling CO₂ concentrations in the simulations, implies that using observations to constrain feedbacks is a challenging task and requires reliable long-term measurements.     

Fluvial thermal erosion investigations along a rapidly eroding river bank: application to the Lena River (central Siberia)

In Central Yakutia, frozen river banks are affected by a combination of thermal and mechanical erosion. Exceptional bank retreat of up to 40 m per year is observed. This results from ground thawing produced by heat transfer from the ?ow of water through the frozen ground, followed by mechanical transport of the thawed sediments. A one‐dimensional model is proposed to estimate the thermal erosion ef?ciency. A test of this model is a comparison of results obtained from experiments carried out in a cold room. A hydraulic channel allows measurements of the thaw front propagation, as well as the thermal erosion rate, in simulated ground ice that is subjected to warm water ?ow. Various laboratory simulations demonstrate the validity of the mathematical model for the range of laboratory conditions. A hierarchy of parameters (Reynolds number, water and ground ice temperatures) is proposed to explain the present ef?ciency of thermal erosion along the Siberian rivers. From the characteristics of the Lena River (geometry, temperature and discharge) during the ?ood season, the erosion of banks with different ice content predicted by the model is in agreement with ?eld observations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Redox equilibria of iron and silicate melt structure: Implications for olivine/melt element partitioning

Olivine/melt partitioning of ΣFe, Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺ has been determined in the systems CaO-MgO-FeO-Fe₂O₃-SiO₂ (FD) and CaO-MgO-FeO-Fe₂O₃-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (FDA3) as a function of oxygen fugacity (f_O2) at 0.1 MPa pressure. Total iron oxide content of the starting materials was ∼20 wt%. The f_O2 was to used to control the Fe³⁺/ΣFe (ΣFe: total iron) of the melts. The Fe³⁺/ΣFe and structural roles of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ were determined with ⁵⁷Fe resonant absorption Mössbauer spectroscopy. Changes in melt polymerization, NBO/T, as a function of f_O2 was estimated from the Mössbauer data and existing melt structure information. It varies by ∼100% in melts coexisting with olivine in the FDA3 system and by about 300% in the FD system in the Fe³⁺/ΣFe range of the experiments (0.805-0.092). The partition coefficients ( in olivine/wt% in melt) are systematic functions of f_O2 and, therefore, NBO/T of the melt. There is a -minimum in the FDA3 system at NBO/T-values corresponding to intermediate Fe³⁺/ΣFe (0.34-0.44). In the Al-free system, FD, where the NBO/T values of melts range between ∼1 and ∼2.9, the partition coefficients are positively correlated with NBO/T (decreasing Fe³⁺/ΣFe). These relationships are explained by consideration of solution behavior in the melts governed by Qⁿ-unit distribution and structural changes of the divalent cations in the melts (coordination number, complexing with Fe³⁺, and distortion of the polyhedra).     

青藏高原各拉丹冬冰芯记录的季节气温变化

2005 年10-11 月中美联合考察队在各拉丹冬峰北部果曲冰川平坦的粒雪盆 (33^o34'37.8"N, 91^o10'35.3"E, 5720 m a.s.l.) 钻取了一支冰芯, 通过对该冰芯进行多参数定年, 恢复了青藏高原中部各拉丹冬地区近70 年来降水中δ¹⁸O 的变化历史。根据冰芯中季风期和非季风期δ¹⁸O 值与临近气象台站气温的正相关性, 重建了该地区70 年来的春季和夏季的气温变化。结果表明, 各拉丹冬冰芯中δ¹⁸O 记录的春季和夏季升温趋势非常明显; 根据回归分析, 冰芯中非季风期的δ¹⁸O 每增大(或减小) 1‰相当于春季气温升高(或降低) 1.3 ^oC; 季风 期的δ¹⁸O 每增大(或减小) 1‰相当于夏季气温升高(或降低) 0.4 ^oC; 各拉丹冬冰芯中δ¹⁸O 记录恢复的春季和夏季气温与北半球春季和夏季的气温变化具有一致的趋势, 但各拉丹冬地区的增温幅度比北半球要大, 同时春季的增温幅度也高于夏季。     

Mt. Pinatubo Volcano/Typhoon Yunya

Abstract

Lineaments have proved to have greater control over groundwater but their depth persistence and their control over groundwater flow have remain unexplored for many years. In the present study an attempt has been made to unearth the depth persistence of lineaments by integrating data collected from resistivity soundings. The lineaments are interpreted from IRS 1A imagery and revealed NE‐SW, NNW‐SSE, NNE‐SSW, N‐S, E‐W and NW‐SE orientations. The integration of resistivity data shows that N‐S and NW‐SE trending lineaments have depth persistence and also have greater control over groundwater movement.     

Reduction Rates of Sedimentary Mn and Fe Oxides: An Incubation Experiment with Arctic Ocean Sediments

To test the hypothesis that manganese- and iron-reducing bacteria in marine sediments respond rapidly to seasonal pulses of fresh organic carbon settling to the sea floor, we amended wet metal oxide?Crich and metal oxide?Cpoor sediments from the Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic, with organic carbon in the form of shrimp powder and incubated them at room temperature. Neither Mn nor Fe was released to the aqueous phase from unamended metal oxide?Crich sediment during a 41-day incubation, but both elements were released from sediment aliquots amended with organic carbon. Dissolved Mn appeared in the aqueous phase after a lag period of 2 days or less and reached levels as high as 600 ??mol l^?1 before levelling out. The release of dissolved Mn was accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of solid-phase reducible Mn. Dissolved Fe did not appear until 2 weeks into the incubation and only after the concentration of dissolved Mn had levelled out. For low concentrations of amended organic carbon (0.3%), the kinetics of Mn reduction fit a second-order rate law with a rate constant k = 2 × 10^?3 g ??mol^?1 day^?1, but at intermediate and high organic carbon concentrations (0.7 and 1.3%), the reduction kinetics was better described by a pseudo-first-order rate law with a rate constant k?? = 1.6 × 10^?1 day^?1. A pulse of organic carbon settling to the sea floor can trigger reduction of Mn and Fe oxides within a few days in strongly seasonal sedimentary environments, such as in the Arctic.     

Characterization of contrasting flow and thermal regimes in two adjacent subarctic alpine headwaters in Northwest Canada

Alpine headwaters in subarctic regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, yet there is little information on stream thermal regimes in these areas and how they might respond to global warming. In this paper, we characterize and compare the hydrological and thermal regimes of two subarctic headwater alpine streams within an empirical framework. The streams investigated are located within two adjacent catchments with similar geology, size, elevation and landscape, Granger Creek (GC) and Buckbrush Creek (BB), which are part of the Wolf Creek Research Basin in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Hydrometeorological and high-resolution stream temperature data were collected throughout summer 2016. Both sites exhibited a flow regime typical of cold alpine headwater catchments influenced by frozen ground and permafrost. Comparatively, GC was characterized by a flashier response with more extreme flows, than BB. In both sites, stream temperature was highly variable and very responsive to short-term changes in climatic conditions. On average, stream temperature in BB was slightly higher than in GC (respectively 5.8 and 5.7°C), but less variable (average difference between 75th and 25th quantiles of 1.6 and 2.0°C). Regression analysis between mean daily air and stream temperature suggested that a greater relative (to stream flow) groundwater contribution in BB could more effectively buffer atmospheric fluctuations. Heat fluxes were derived and utilized to assess their relative contribution to the energy balance. Overall, non-advective fluxes followed a daily pattern highly correlated to short-wave radiation. G1enerally, solar radiation and latent heat were respectively the most important heat source and sink, while air–water interface processes were major factors driving nighttime stream temperature fluctuations.     

Characterizing hydrological processes in a semiarid rangeland watershed: A hydrogeophysical approach

The complex ecohydrological processes of rangelands can be studied through the framework of ecological sites (ESs) or hillslope‐scale soil–vegetation complexes. High‐quality hydrologic field investigations are needed to quantitatively link ES characteristics to hydrologic function. Geophysical tools are useful in this context because they provide valuable information about the subsurface at appropriate spatial scales. We conducted 20 field experiments in which we deployed time‐lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), variable intensity rainfall simulation, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), and seismic refraction, on hillslope plots at five different ESs within the Upper Crow Creek Watershed in south‐east Wyoming. Surface runoff was measured using a precalibrated flume. Infiltration data from the rainfall simulations, coupled with site‐specific resistivity–water content relationships and ERT datasets, were used to spatially and temporally track the progression of the wetting front. First‐order constraints on subsurface structure were made at each ES using the geophysical methods. Sites ranged from infiltrating 100% of applied rainfall to infiltrating less than 60%. Analysis of covariance results indicated significant differences in the rate of wetting front progression, ranging from 0.346 m min^?1/2 for sites with a subsurface dominated by saprolitic material to 0.156 m min^?1/2 for sites with a well‐developed soil profile. There was broad agreement in subsurface structure between the geophysical methods with GPR typically providing the most detail. Joint interpretation of the geophysics showed that subsurface features such as soil layer thickness and the location of subsurface obstructions such as granite corestones and material boundaries had a large effect on the rate of infiltration and subsurface flow processes. These features identified through the geophysics varied significantly by ES. By linking surface hydrologic information from the rainfall simulations with subsurface information provided by the geophysics, we can characterize the ES‐specific hydrologic response. Both surface and subsurface flow processes differed among sites and are directly linked to measured characteristics.     

HydRun: A MATLAB toolbox for rainfall–runoff analysis

Understanding the nature of streamflow response to precipitation inputs is at the core of hydrological applications and water resource management. Indices such as the base flow index, recession constant, and response lag of a watershed retain an important place in hydrology as metrics to compare watersheds and understand the impact of human activity, geology, geomorphology, soils, and climate on precipitation–runoff relations. Extracting characteristics of the hyetograph–hydrograph relationship is often done manually, which is time consuming and may result in subjective and potentially inconsistent outcomes. Here, we present a MATLAB‐based toolbox, called HydRun, for rapid and flexible rainfall–runoff analysis. HydRun uses a series of flexible routines to extract base flow from the hydrograph and then computes commonly used time instants of the rainfall–runoff relationship. HydRun provides users the flexibility to decide thresholds and limits of analysis, but objectively computes hydrometric indices. The toolkit includes a graphical user interface and example files. In this paper, we apply HydRun to 4 watersheds, 3 in Scotland and 1 in Canada, to demonstrate the software functions and highlight important decisions the user must make in its application.