The heat flux density in a non-homogeneous bare loessial soil

This work describes the relationship between the diurnal patterns of the radiant energy exchange in the atmospheric surface layer and the soil heat flux density of a bare irrigated soil in an arid environment. The measurements show that the soil heat flux density is a large fraction of the net radiation. The soil moisture content has little effect on this fraction but modifies the phase relationship between the net radiation and the soil heat flux density waves. Differences between the thermal regimes of the wet and dry soil appear to be caused by latent heat exchanges rather than changes of the soil thermal properties. The data also show that the variation with depth of the soil thermal properties strongly influences the propagation of the temperature and heat flux density waves in the soil. A heat diffusion theory for non-homogeneous conductors (Lettau, 1962) which enables the thermal properties of the soil to be predicted is tested by comparison with experimental determinations in the field.     

Die elektrochemische Bestimmung des im Wasser gelösten Sauerstoffs mit Hilfe einer modifizierten Membranelektrodentechnik

Zusammenfassung Die Anwendungsm?glichkeiten der elektrochemischen Sauerstoffbestimmung wurden durch die Einführung der Kurzzeitmessung erweitert. Diese Methode gibt eine gr?ssere Empfindlichkeit und erlaubt somit die Sauerstoffbestimmung im μg/l-Bereich. Ferner wurde ein System entwickelt, das von der Membrandicke und dem Membranmaterial unabh?ngig ist. Das ist ein Vorteil, der speziell für Sauerstoffmessungen in Kl?ranlagen interessant sein dürfte.

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Summary This paper presents a new electrochemical technique for DO measurements by means of membrane electrodes. In stead of the well-known steady state measurements, a transient technique which is more sensitive was used. This gives the possibility of measuring oxygen in the μl/l range. The system is independent of the membrane material and the membrane thickness. The stirring influence is considerably less than for steady state measurements. The independence of the membrane material will be especially useful for oxygen measurements in waste purification plants.

     

Phytoplankton photosynthetic response to light in an internal tide dominated environment

The influence of internal tides on phytoplankton photosynthetic response to light was studied in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. Photosynthesis at saturating light intensity responded to variations in the vertical density gradient, which were linked to the internal tides. The photosynthetic response was lag-correlated to the vertical water stratification. This suggests that the link between photosynthesis and the internal tides may have resulted from phytoplankton light adaptation.     

Summer air temperature,reconstructions from the last glacial stage based on rodents from the site Taillis-des-Coteaux (Vienne), Western France

The oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from tooth enamel of rodents (δ¹⁸O_p) constitutes a valuable proxy to reconstruct past air temperatures in continental environments. This method has been applied to rodent dental remains from three genera, Arvicola sp., Microtus sp. and Dicrostonyx sp., coming from Taillis-des-Coteaux, Vienne, France. This archaeological site contains an exceptionally preserved sedimentary sequence spanning almost the whole Upper Palaeolithic, including seven stratigraphic layers dated from 35 to 17 cal ka BP. The abundant presence of rodent remains offers the opportunity to quantify the climatic fluctuations coeval of the various stages of human occupation of the site. Differences between δ¹⁸O_p values of Arvicola sp. and Microtus sp. teeth are interpreted as the result of heterochrony in tooth formation as well as differences in ecology. Mean δ¹⁸O_p values of Microtus sp. are preferentially used to reconstruct summer air temperatures, which range from 16.0 ± 3.7 to 19.1 ± 3.1°C throughout the sedimentary sequence; however, the highest variability is observed during the last glacial maximum.     

Specifying the differentiated contribution of farmers to groundwater depletion in two irrigated areas in North Africa

Much attention has been paid to the issue of groundwater depletion linked to intensive groundwater-based agriculture in (semi-)arid areas. Often referred to as the “overexploitation” of aquifers, groundwater depletion is generally attributed to the entire agricultural sector without distinguishing between different uses and users. Although it expresses a general concern for future users, the ambiguous term of “overexploitation” does not acknowledge the contested nature of groundwater use and emerging inequalities. Also, the impact of inequality on groundwater depletion is rarely questioned. The aim of this article is to investigate how and by whom groundwater is depleted, and in turn, how unequal access to groundwater fuels the socioeconomic differentiation of farms and groundwater depletion. Based on a detailed analysis of groundwater use from a user perspective in two irrigated areas in North Africa (Morocco and Algeria), this study shows how the context of groundwater depletion exacerbates—and is exacerbated by—existing inequalities. The paper concludes that knowing how much is withdrawn, where, and by whom provides helpful information for more informed groundwater management by a better understanding of the response of users to declining groundwater conditions and the interests and incentives of different social categories of famers to contribute to groundwater management.     

Considering groundwater use to improve the assessment of groundwater pumping for irrigation in North Africa

Groundwater resources in semi-arid areas and especially in the Mediterranean face a growing demand for irrigated agriculture and, to a lesser extent, for domestic uses. Consequently, groundwater reserves are affected and water-table drops are widely observed. This leads to strong constraints on groundwater access for farmers, while managers worry about the future evolution of the water resources. A common problem for building proper groundwater management plans is the difficulty in assessing individual groundwater withdrawals at regional scale. Predicting future trends of these groundwater withdrawals is even more challenging. The basic question is how to assess the water budget variables and their evolution when they are deeply linked to human activities, themselves driven by countless factors (access to natural resources, public policies, market, etc.). This study provides some possible answers by focusing on the assessment of groundwater withdrawals for irrigated agriculture at three sites in North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). Efforts were made to understand the different features that influence irrigation practices, and an adaptive user-oriented methodology was used to monitor groundwater withdrawals. For each site, different key factors affecting the regional groundwater abstraction and its past evolution were identified by involving farmers’ knowledge. Factors such as farmer access to land and groundwater or development of public infrastructures (electrical distribution network) are crucial to decode the results of well inventories and assess the regional groundwater abstraction and its future trend. This leads one to look with caution at the number of wells cited in the literature, which could be oversimplified.     

The Effects of Climatic Variability on US Irrigation Adoption

This paper contributes to the literature underscoring the importance of climatic variance by developing a framework for incorporating the means and tails of the distributions of rainfall and temperature into empirical models of agricultural production. The methodology is applied to estimate the impact of climate change on the discrete choice decision to adopt irrigation since it is an important adaptation to climate change. We develop a discrete choice model for the decision to install irrigation capacity that captures the effects of both climate means and extremes. Climatic means and frequencies of climatic events in the upper tails of the temperature and precipitation distributions are used to estimate the parameters of a normal distribution for temperature and a Weibull distribution for precipitation. Using estimates from a probit model, we examine the independent effects of changing climatic mean and variance on the probability of adopting irrigation. Increasing the mean temperature, holding variance constant, shifts the entire distribution toward warmer temperatures—increasing the frequency of extreme temperatures. For precipitation, the specification captures the separate effects of mean rainfall, frequency of rainfall, and frequency of extreme events. The results show that the tails of the temperature and precipitation distributions, not the means, are the dominant climatic determinants in irrigation adoption. The results also show that water availability, soil characteristics, farm size and operator demographics are important determinants of irrigation.     

Contrasting geochemical patterns in the 3.7-3.8 Ga pillow basalt cores and rims, Isua greenstone belt, Southwest Greenland: implications for postmagmatic alteration processes

Pillow basalts from the early Archean (3.7 to 3.8 Ga) Isua greenstone belt, West Greenland, are characterized by well-preserved rims and concentric core structures. The pillow rims and cores have different mineral assemblages, and chemical and isotopic compositions. The rims have systematically higher contents of Fe₂O₃, MgO, MnO, K₂O, Rb, Ba, Ga, Y, and transition metals than the cores. In contrast, the cores possess higher concentrations of SiO₂, Na₂O, P₂O₅, Sr, Pb, U, Nb, and the light rare earth elements (REEs than the rims). These compositional variations in the rims and cores are likely to reflect the mobility of these elements during posteruption alteration. Variations of many major and trace element concentrations between the rims and cores of the Isua pillow basalts are comparable to those of modern pillow basalts undergoing seafloor hydrothermal alteration. Al₂O₃, TiO₂, Th, Zr, and the heavy REEs display similar values in both rims and cores, suggesting that these elements were relatively immobile during postemplacement alteration.In addition, the rims and cores have distinctive Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic compositions in that the rims are characterized by higher ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios than the cores. The pillow basalts yield 2569 ± 170 Ma and 1604 ± 170 Ma errorchron ages on ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd vs. ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr vs. ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr diagrams, respectively. The Sm-Nd errorchron age may correspond, within errors, to a late Archean tectonothermal metamorphic event recorded in the region. The Sm-Nd errorchron may have resulted from a combination of isotopic homogenization and preferential loss of Nd, relative to Sm, during late Archean metamorphism. Although the Rb-Sr errorchron age overlaps with the timing of an early to mid-Proterozoic tectonothermal metamorphic event recorded in the region, because of a considerably large mean square of weighted deviates value and scatter in ⁸⁶Sr/⁸⁷Sr and ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr ratios, this age may not have a precise geological significance. The 1.6 Ga Rb-Sr errorchron is likely to have resulted from the loss of radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr. Collectively, the Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr data obtained from the 3.7-3.8 Ga Isua pillow basalt rims and cores are consistent with disturbances of the Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr systems by tectonothermal metamorphic events long after their eruption.In contrast to the Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr systems, the Lu-Hf system appears to be largely undisturbed by metamorphism. Five core samples and three rim samples yield a 3935 ± 350 Ma age, within error of the approximate age of eruption (3.7 to 3.8 Ga). Two rim samples that have gained Lu give an age of 1707 ± 140 Ma, within error of the Rb-Sr errorchron age. Initial ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios of the undisturbed samples at 3.75 Ga lie within ±1 ε-unit of the chondritic value, suggesting no long-term depletion in the mantle source of the basalts.