Groundwater-supported evapotranspiration within glaciated watersheds under conditions of climate change

This paper analyzes the effects of geology and geomorphology on surface-water/-groundwater interactions, evapotranspiration, and recharge under conditions of long-term climatic change. Our analysis uses hydrologic data from the glaciated Crow Wing watershed in central Minnesota, USA, combined with a hydrologic model of transient coupled unsaturated/saturated flow (HYDRAT2D). Analysis of historical water-table (1970–1993) and lake-level (1924–2002) records indicates that larger amplitude and longer period fluctuations occur within the upland portions of watersheds due to the response of the aquifer system to relatively short-term climatic fluctuations. Under drought conditions, lake and water-table levels fell by as much as 2–4 m in the uplands but by 1 m in the lowlands. The same pattern can be seen on millennial time scales. Analysis of Holocene lake-core records indicates that Moody Lake, located near the outlet of the Crow Wing watershed, fell by as much as 4 m between about 4400 and 7000 yr BP. During the same time, water levels in Lake Mina, located near the upland watershed divide, fell by about 15 m. Reconstructed Holocene climate as represented by HYDRAT2D gives somewhat larger drops (6 and 24 m for Moody Lake and Lake Mina, respectively). The discrepancy is probably due to the effect of three-dimensional flow. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to study how aquifer hydraulic conductivity and land-surface topography can influence water-table fluctuations, wetlands formation, and evapotranspiration. The models were run by recycling a wet year (1985, 87 cm annual precipitation) over a 10-year period followed by 20 years of drier and warmer climate (1976, 38 cm precipitation). Model results indicated that groundwater-supported evapotranspiration accounted for as much as 12% (10 cm) of evapotranspiration. The aquifers of highest hydraulic conductivity had the least amount of groundwater-supported evapotranspiration owing to a deep water table. Recharge was even more sensitive to aquifer hydraulic conductivity, especially in the lowland regions. These findings have important implications for paleoclimatic studies, because the hydrologic response of a surface-water body will vary across the watershed to a given climate signal.     

Skin diseases in Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) from the Paranaguá estuary,Brazil: A possible indicator of a compromised marine environment

We report on the presence of lobomycosis-like disease (LLD) and nodular skin disease (NSD) in a community of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) inhabiting the biologically and chemically contaminated Paranaguá estuary (Brazil) and on their absence in the community living in the cleaner Cananéia estuary. Prevalence rates of LLD and NSD were 3.9% and 12.6%, respectively, in 103 photo-identified (PI) dolphins from the Paranaguá estuary in the period 2006–2007. Adults and calves were affected. Lobomycosis-like lesions may be extensive and form large plaques. Skin nodules were sometimes ulcerated and associated with cutaneous traumas suggesting that traumatic injuries may play a role in the pathogenesis of this condition. In two adult dolphins, NSD evoked the beginning of LLD. In 1996–2007 none of the 200 PI Cananéia S. guianensis had LLD or NSD, a highly significant difference. Interestingly, these dolphins were reported to harbour relatively low concentrations of organochlorines. LLD and NSD are possibly indicators of environmental changes.     

Timing of atmospheric precipitation in the Zagros Mountains inferred from a multi-proxy record from Lake Mirabad, Iran

A sediment core 7.2 m long from Lake Mirabad, Iran, was examined for loss-on-ignition, mineralogy, oxygen-isotopic composition of authigenic calcite, and trace-element composition of ostracodes to complement earlier pollen and ostracode-assemblage studies. Pollen, ostracode-inferred lake level, and high Sr/Ca ratios indicate that the early Holocene (10000 to 6500 cal yr BP) was drier than the late Holocene. Low δ¹⁸O values during this interval are interpreted as resulting from winter-dominated precipitation, characteristic of a Mediterranean climate. Increasing δ¹⁸O values after 6500 cal yr BP signal a gradual increase in spring rains, which are present today. A severe 600-yr drought occurred at ca. 5500 cal yr BP, shortly after the transition from pistachio-almond to oak forest. During the late Holocene, two milder droughts occurred at about 1500 and 500 cal yr BP. Within the resolution of the record, no drought is evident during the collapse of the Akkadian empire (4200–3900 cal yr BP). Rather, a decrease in δ¹⁸O values to early-Holocene levels may indicate the return to a Mediterranean precipitation regime.     

Unique Geochemistry of Sedimentary Iron Deposit Formed by Biologically Induced Mineralization

Abstract: Major, trace, and rare earth element contents were determined for sedimentary iron ores from the Gunma iron deposit. The deposit was precipitated from a spring water on the hillside of the active Kusatsu-Shirane Volcano. The ores are mainly composed of goethite and jarosite with various proportions of silicified andesitic detritus. Microbial fossils are often preserved well in goethite-rich ores. Goethite was likely precipitated by both inorganic and biogenic (biologically induced mineralization; BIM) processes, whereas jarosite was precipitated inorganically from the spring water. Si, Ti, Al, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, Co, Rb, Y, Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta, U, and middle-heavy REEs (Sm-Lu) in the ores are dominantly derived from a detrital component (silicified andesitic rocks). On the other hand, Zn and V are likely to have been inorganically coprecipitated with goethite. Preferential uptake of P, Sc, Cu, Mo, Ba, Th, and light REEs occurs in the BIM ores. Unique enrichment of these elements is a promising indicator of biomineralization for ancient sedimentary iron deposits.     

Enriched back-arc basin basalts from the northern Mariana Trough: implications for the magmatic evolution of back-arc basins

The composition of basalts erupted at the earliest stages in the evolution of a back-arc basin permit unique insights into the composition and structure of the sub-arc mantle. We report major and trace element chemical data and O-, Sr-, Nd-, and Pb- isotopic analyses for basalts recovered from four dredge hauls and one ALVIN dive in the northern Mariana Trough near 22°N. The petrography and major element chemistry of these basalts (MTB-22) are similar to tholeiites from the widest part of the Trough, near 18°N (MTB-18), except that MTB-22 have slightly more K₂O and slightly less TiO₂. The trace element data exhibit a very strong arc signature in MTB-22, including elevated K, Rb, Sr, Ba, and LREE contents; relatively lowK/Ba and highBa/La andSr/Nd. The Sr- and Nd- isotopic data plot in a field displaced from that of MTB-18 towards Mariana arc lavas, and the Pb-isotopic composition of MTB-22 is indistinguishable from Mariana arc lavas and much more homogeneous than MTB-18. Mixing of 50–90% Mariana arc component with a MORB component is hypothesized. We cannot determine whether this resulted from physical mixing of arc mantle and MORB mantle, or whether the arc component is introduced by metasomatism of MORB-like mantle by fluids released from the subducted lithosphere. The strong arc signature in back-arc melts from the Mariana Trough at 22°N, where the back-arc basin is narrow, supports general models for back-arc basin evolution whereby early back-arc basin basalts have a strong arc component which diminishes in importance relative to MORB as the back-arc basin widens.     

Morphometric techniques allow environmental reconstructions from low-diversity continental ostracode assemblages

Quantification of intra-specific morphological variability of aquatic biota along environmental gradients can produce biological proxies that can be applied to paleoenvironmental reconstructions. This morphology-derived proxy information can be especially valuable when dealing with low-diversity fossil assemblages, i.e. in situations when paleoenvironmental inference based on species composition of the assemblage is less effective. We analyzed valve size and outline shape of the widespread and highly environmentally tolerant ostracode species Limnocythere inopinata collected in 15 lakes and ponds of Western Mongolia. We quantified shape variability among and within these living populations in relation to water chemistry and physical habitat variables. Our results indicate that: (1) a population’s mean valve outline is related to habitat type, (2) surface water temperature, the alkalinity to sulphate ratio, specific conductance and total phosphorus together explain a high portion of the variance in mean valve outline between populations, and (3) a quantitative model inferring the alkalinity to sulphate ratio from mean valve outline has an R2 of 0.88 and RMSEP of 0.17. These results corroborate the hypothesis that high morphological variability in this ostracode species is due to both ecophenotypic variance and high clonal diversity associated with a mixed reproductive strategy (a combination of sexual and parthenogenetically reproducing lineages), and underline the value of morphometric techniques in paleoecology.     

Sea surface temperature predictability in the North Pacific from multi-model seasonal forecast

Sea surface temperature (SST) prediction based on the multi-model seasonal forecast with numerous ensemble members have more useful skills to estimate the possibility of climate events than individual models. Hence, we assessed SST predictability in the North Pacific (NP) from multi-model seasonal forecasts. We used 23 years of hindcast data from three seasonal forecasting systems in the Copernicus Climate Change Service to estimate the prediction skill based on temporal correlation. We evaluated the predictability of the SST from the ensemble members' width spread, and co-variability between the ensemble mean and observation. Our analysis revealed that areas with low prediction skills were related to either the large spread of ensemble members or the ensemble members not capturing the observation within their spread. The large spread of ensemble members reflected the high forecast uncertainty, as exemplified in the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension region in July. The ensemble members not capturing the observation indicates the model bias; thus, there is room for improvements in model prediction. On the other hand, the high prediction skills of the multi-model were related to the small spread of ensemble members that captures the observation, as in the central NP in January. Such high predictability is linked to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) via teleconnection.

     

Mid-Holocene Hydrologic Model of the Shingobee Watershed, Minnesota

A hydrologic model of the Shingobee Watershed in north-central Minnesota was developed to reconstruct mid-Holocene paleo-lake levels for Williams Lake, a surface-water body located in the southern portion of the watershed. Hydrologic parameters for the model were first estimated in a calibration exercise using a 9-yr historical record (1990–1998) of climatic and hydrologic stresses. The model reproduced observed temporal and spatial trends in surface/groundwater levels across the watershed. Mid-Holocene aquifer and lake levels were then reconstructed using two paleoclimatic data sets: CCM1 atmospheric general circulation model output and pollen-transfer functions using sediment core data from Williams Lake.Calculated paleo-lake levels based on pollen-derived paleoclimatic reconstructions indicated a 3.5-m drop in simulated lake levels and were in good agreement with the position of mid-Holocene beach sands observed in a Williams Lake sediment core transect. However, calculated paleolake levels based on CCM1 climate forcing produced only a 0.05-m drop in lake levels. We found that decreases in winter precipitation rather than temperature increases had the largest effect on simulated mid-Holocene lake levels. The study illustrates how watershed models can be used to critically evaluate paleoclimatic reconstructions by integrating geologic, climatic, limnologic, and hydrogeologic data sets.