The Temperature and Ionization of T-Tauri Micro-Jets

The effects of phenomenological heating functions on the flow thermodynamics of cold T-Tauri disk winds are examined. Turbulent dissipation (mechanical) heating and a warm disk corona are invoked to heat the wind. The temperature and ionization evolution are solved for along the flow. The results allow the construction of synthetic observations; emission maps, forbidden line ratios, line fluxes and line profiles; and successfully reproduce a number of observed trends. Mechanical heating produces line ratios and fluxes that fit very well with observations. Invoking a warm disk corona successfully reproduces forbidden line profile low velocity components.     

Hydrological flowpaths and nitrate removal rates within a riparian floodplain along a fourth‐order stream in Brittany (France)

Three main reservoirs were identified that contribute to the shallow subsurface flow regime of a valley drained by a fourth‐order stream in Brittany (western France). (i) An upland flow that supplied a wetland area, mainly during the high‐water period. It has high N‐NO₃^? and average Cl^? concentrations. (ii) A deep confined aquifer characterized by low nitrate and low chloride concentrations that supplied the floodplain via flow upwelling. (iii) An unconfined aquifer under the riparian zone with high Cl^? and low N‐NO₃^? concentrations where biological processes removed groundwater nitrate. This aquifer collected the upland flow and supplied a relict channel that controlled drainage from the whole riparian zone. Patterns of N‐NO₃^? and Cl^? concentrations along riparian transects, together with calculated high nitrate removal, indicate that removal occurred mainly at the hillslope–riparian zone interface (i.e. first few metres of wetland), whereas dilution occurred in lower parts of the transects, especially during low‐water periods and at the beginning of recharge periods. Stream flow was modelled as a mixture of water from the three reservoirs. An estimation of these contributions revealed that the deep aquifer contribution to stream flow averaged 37% throughout the study period, while the contribution of the unconfined reservoir below the riparian zone and hillslope flow was more variable (from ca 6 to 85%) relative to rainfall events and the level of the riparian water table. At the entire riparian zone scale, NO₃^? removal (probably from denitrification) appeared most effective in winter, despite higher estimated upland NO₃^? fluxes entering the riparian zone during this period. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pluri-decadal evolution of rock glaciers surface velocity and its impact on sediment export rates towards high alpine torrents

The acceleration of surface velocities observed over the last two decades on monitored rock glaciers worldwide is a widespread signal of the probable control of warming air temperatures on long-term permafrost creep. Yet, the actual consequences of this acceleration on sediment availability in high mountain catchments have never been properly estimated at the pluri-decadal scale. The present study evaluates the sediment transfer activity between five rock glaciers located in the western European Alps and the headwaters of the torrential channels they are respectively connected to. It reposes on the orthorectification of aerial images available generally from the 1960s to the mid-2010, to reconstruct time-series of (i) horizontal surface velocities and (ii) frontal erosion rates. Values of horizontal velocity are retrieved by tracking the displacement of boulders on the surface of rock glaciers between consecutive images while erosion rates affecting the fronts are calculated by combining these values of displacement with the geometry of the front (mean width and rock glacier thickness) derived from recent high-resolution digital elevation models. Results confirm the general acceleration of rock glaciers surface velocities since the 1970s and indicate that this accelerating trend is causing an increase in the erosion rates calculated at the front of most studied rock glaciers. In some cases and over specific periods however, the acceleration resulted in the advance of the whole landforms over their own sediments, leading to a comparatively low sediment export towards the torrents.     

A Downscaling Approach Toward High-Resolution Surface Mass Balance Over Antarctica

The Antarctic ice sheet surface mass balance shows high spatial variability over the coastal area. As state-of-the-art climate models usually require coarse resolutions to keep computational costs to a moderate level, they miss some local features that can be captured by field measurements. The downscaling approach adopted here consists of using a cascade of atmospheric models from large scale to meso-?? scale. A regional climate model (Modèle Atmosphérique Régional) forced by meteorological reanalyses provides a diagnostic physically-based rain- and snowfall downscaling model with meteorological fields at the regional scale. Although the parameterizations invoked by the downscaling model are fairly simple, the knowledge of small-scale topography significantly improves the representation of spatial variability of precipitation and therefore that of the surface mass balance. Model evaluation is carried out with the help of shallow firn cores and snow height measurements provided by automatic weather stations. Although downscaling of blowing snow still needs to be implemented in the model, the net accumulation gradient across Law Dome summit is shown to be induced mostly by orographic effects on precipitation.     

Relationship of present saline fluid with paleomigration of basinal brines at the basement/sediment interface (Southeast basin – France)

This paper investigates the isotopic composition (O, D, Sr, O_SO4, S_SO4, Cl, He) of a present saline fluid sample collected at the sediment/basement interface in the Permian continental formation at 634 m depth in the SE margin of the Massif Central shield (Ardèche margin of the Southeast basin of France). The fluid sample shows clear water–rock interaction processes, such as feldspar dissolution and kaolinite precipitation, which have led to high Na concentrations and water stable isotopes above the local meteoric water line. The geological formations of the SE margin of the Massif Central shield show that intensive fluid circulation phases occurred across the margin from the late Triassic to the middle Jurassic. The fluids most probably originated from fluid expulsion during burial of the thick Permo-Carboniferous sedimentary succession. These circulation phases were responsible for cementation of the margin and for the solutes in the matrix microporosity which were extracted by leaching core samples.The chemical and isotopic composition of the saline fluid sample at 634 m in the Permian rock is very similar to that of fluids in the microporosity of the rock matrix. Their S_SO4, O_SO4 and Sr isotopic compositions are close to those of cements investigated in fracture fillings in the same geological formations. Simple diffusion computations and comparison of the chemical composition of the present free fluid sample with matrix porosity fluids indicate that the solutes in the present free fluid sample are related to solutes originating from fluid circulation events which occurred 160–200 Ma ago through their diffusion from the matrix microporosity.A two-stage fluid flow regime is proposed to interpret the chemistry of present and paleo-fluids. (1) During the extensional context (Permian to Cretaceous), basinal brines migrated along the basement/sediment interface after expulsion from the subsiding basin. This fluid migration would be responsible for the solutes in the rock matrix microporosity and the solutes in the present free fluid sample. (2) Following the Alpine and Pyrenean compressive phases, gravity-driven meteoritic fluids slowly migrated from the surface down to the basement along major faults. This fluid regime would be responsible for the meteoric water collected in the present free fluid sample. Several investigations in Europe have shown that the existence of other saline fluids sampled elsewhere could be explained by these phases of fluid circulation related to specific geodynamic events.     

Non-stationary frequency analysis of heavy rainfall events in southern France

Abstract

Heavy rainfall events often occur in southern French Mediterranean regions during the autumn, leading to catastrophic flood events. A non-stationary peaks-over-threshold (POT) model with climatic covariates for these heavy rainfall events is developed herein. A regional sample of events exceeding the threshold of 100 mm/d is built using daily precipitation data recorded at 44 stations over the period 1958–2008. The POT model combines a Poisson distribution for the occurrence and a generalized Pareto distribution for the magnitude of the heavy rainfall events. The selected covariates are the seasonal occurrence of southern circulation patterns for the Poisson distribution parameter, and monthly air temperature for the generalized Pareto distribution scale parameter. According to the deviance test, the non-stationary model provides a better fit to the data than a classical stationary model. Such a model incorporating climatic covariates instead of time allows one to re-evaluate the risk of extreme precipitation on a monthly and seasonal basis, and can also be used with climate model outputs to produce future scenarios. Existing scenarios of the future changes projected for the covariates included in the model are tested to evaluate the possible future changes on extreme precipitation quantiles in the study area.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor K. Hamed

Citation Tramblay, Y., Neppel, L., Carreau, J., and Najib, K., 2013. Non-stationary frequency analysis of heavy rainfall events in southern France. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (2), 280–294.     

Two‐stage Variscan metamorphism in the Canigou massif: Evidence for crustal thickening in the Pyrenees

The Variscan metamorphism in the Pyrenees is dominantly of the low‐pressure–high‐temperature (LP‐HT) type. The relics of an earlier, Barrovian‐type metamorphism that could be related to orogenic crustal thickening are unclear and insufficiently constrained. A microstructural and petrological study of micaschists underlying an Ordovician augen orthogneiss in the core of the Canigou massif (Eastern Pyrenees, France) reveals the presence of two syntectonic metamorphic stages characterized by the crystallization of staurolite (M1) and andalusite (M2), respectively. Garnet is stable during the two metamorphic stages with a period of resorption between M1 and M2. The metamorphic assemblages M1 and M2 record similar peak temperatures of 580°C at different pressure conditions of 5.5 and 3 kbar, respectively. Using chemical zoning of garnet and calculated P–T pseudosections, a prograde P–T path is constrained with a peak pressure at ~6.5 kbar and 550°C. This P–T path, syntectonic with respect to the first foliation S1, corresponds to a cold gradient (of ~9°C/km), suggestive of crustal thickening. Resorption of garnet between M1 and M2 can be interpreted either in terms of a simple clockwise P–T path or a polymetamorphic two‐stage evolution. We argue in favour of the latter, where the medium‐pressure (Barrovian) metamorphism is followed by a period of significant erosion and crustal thinning leading to decompression and cooling. Subsequent advection of heat, probably from the mantle, leads to a new increase in temperature, coeval with the development of the main regional fabric S2. LA‐ICP‐MS U–Th–Pb dating of monazite yields a well‐defined date at c. 300 Ma. Petrological evidence indicates that monazite crystallization took place close to the M1 peak pressure conditions. However, the similarity between this age and that of the extensive magmatic event well documented in the eastern Pyrenees suggests that it probably corresponds to the age of monazite recrystallization during the M2 LP‐HT event.     

Geochemistry and petrology of garnet‐bearing S‐type Shir‐Kuh Granite,southwest Yazd,Central Iran

The Jurassic Shir‐Kuh granitoid batholith in Central Iran intrudes Lower Jurassic sandstones and shales. The batholith consists of three main facies: (i) a granodioritic facies to the north; (ii) a monzogranitic facies spread throughout the batholith; and (iii) a leucogranitic facies along the northwestern margin. The granodiorites are composed mainly of plagioclase, quartz, K‐feldspar, biotite, and some muscovite, garnet, cordierite, ilmenite, zircon, apatite, and monazite. This facies contains variable amounts of restite minerals which are mainly defined by calcic plagioclase cores and small aggregates of biotite. The monzogranites, with mineral assemblages similar to those in the granodiorites, range from relatively mafic (cordierite‐bearing) to felsic (muscovite‐rich) rocks. The leucogranites, exposed as small stock and dykes, consist mainly of quartz, K‐feldspar, and sodic plagioclase. The batholith is peraluminous, calc‐alkaline, and typical of S‐type, as indicated by Na₂O content (2.74%), molecular Al₂O₃/(CaO + Na₂O + K₂O) (A/CNK) ratio (1.17), K₂O/Na₂O ratio (1.39), and isotopic data ([⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr]_i = 0.715). The rocks are characterized by enrichment in large ion lithophile elements such as Rb, Th and K and depletion in high field strength elements such as Nb and Ti. Chondrite‐normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns are characterized by light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment, with values of (La/Yb)_N between 4.5 and 19.53, unfractionated heavy rare earth element (HREE) with values of (Gd/Yb)_N between 0.98 and 2.88, and a distinct negative Eu. The parental magma of the Shir‐Kuh Granite was derived from a plagioclase‐rich metasedimentary source (local anatexis of metagreywacke) in the crust, with heat input from mantle melt components. The separation of restite crystals from the primary melt followed by the fractional crystallization appears to have been an effective differentiation process in the batholith.