Responses of interrill runoff and erosion rates to vegetation change in southern Arizona

Vegetation change, fi-om grassland to shrubland, has occurred over much of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts during the past century. The effect of this vegetation change on interrill runoff and erosion was examined by conducting rainfall-simulation experiments on large runoff plots on contemporary grassland and shrubland hillslopes. These experiments show that, compared to the grassland, the interrill portions of shrubland hillslopes (1) have higher runoff rates, (2) experience equilibrium runoff conditions much more frequently, (3) exhibit higher overland flow velocities, and (4) are subject to greater rates of erosion. The environmental change that has led to the vegetation change has been relatively minor, but its geomorphic impact has been substantial.     

Cation ordering of orthopyroxenes from the Skaergaard Intrusion: implications for the subsolidus cooling rates and permeabilities

 We have determined the quenched cation ordering states of five orthopyroxene crystals collected from the marginal border group and the lower zone a and b of the Skaergaard intrusion, and modeled these data to retrieve their closure temperatures (T _c) of Fe–Mg ordering and cooling rates. According to existing thermal models for the Skaergaard pluton, conductive cooling dominated the high and low temperature regimes, which were separated by an intermediate temperature regime in which the cooling was controlled primarily by convective fluid circulation. The cooling rates retrieved from the quenched cation ordering states of the orthopyroxene crystals strictly apply to temperatures around the closure temperatures of the ordering states, ∼340–400^° C, which fall at the transition from convective to the lower temperature conductive cooling. The cooling rates obtained from the cation ordering states of orthopyroxene vary from ∼1 to 270 K/ka. These results agree well with a thermal model calculated using an assumed average permeability of 10^-12 cm² for the pluton, but not completely with a model calculated on the basis of an average permeability of 10^-13 cm², although both values produced shifts of δ¹⁸O that are comparable to those observed in the pluton. Received: 27 February 1995/Accepted: 20 July 1995     

Long term atmospheric deposition as the source of nitrate and other salts in the Atacama Desert, Chile: New evidence from mass-independent oxygen isotopic compositions

Isotopic analysis of nitrate and sulfate minerals from the nitrate ore fields of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile has shown anomalous ¹⁷O enrichments in both minerals. Δ¹⁷O values of 14-21 ‰ in nitrate and 0.4 to 4 ‰ in sulfate are the most positive found in terrestrial minerals to date. Modeling of atmospheric processes indicates that the Δ¹⁷O signatures are the result of photochemical reactions in the troposphere and stratosphere. We conclude that the bulk of the nitrate, sulfate and other soluble salts in some parts of the Atacama Desert must be the result of atmospheric deposition of particles produced by gas to particle conversion, with minor but varying amounts from sea spray and local terrestrial sources. Flux calculations indicate that the major salt deposits could have accumulated from atmospheric deposition in a period of 200,000 to 2.0 M years during hyper-arid conditions similar to those currently found in the Atacama Desert. Correlations between Δ¹⁷O and δ¹⁸O in nitrate salts from the Atacama Desert and Mojave Desert, California, indicate varying fractions of microbial and photochemical end-member sources. The photochemical nitrate isotope signature is well preserved in the driest surficial environments that are almost lifeless, whereas the microbial nitrate isotope signature becomes dominant rapidly with increasing moisture, biologic activity, and nitrogen cycling. These isotopic signatures have important implications for paleoclimate, astrobiology, and N cycling studies.     

Pollution history and recovery of a boreal lake exposed to a heavy bleached pulping effluent load

We examined the effects of heavy pulp mill discharges on the Lake Lievestuoreenjärvi ecosystem and the later recovery of diatom and chironomid communities from age-dated short core samples. Beginning in 1927 the lake received a heavy effluent load from a sulphite pulp mill. Except for the recession during the Second World War and the temporary closure of the mill from 1967 to 1971, the industrial load, containing large quantities of nutrients, organic matter and toxic compounds, increased continuously. In the early 1980s, laboratory documents were falsified by the directors of the mill and the systematic illegal effluent overload led to a collapse of the whole lake ecosystem. In 1985, the outdated plant was finally closed down. Based on the assessment of chemical properties and biological remains of the sediment, we distinguished five developmental phases in the ecological state of the lake. In the pre-industrial phase, the pelagic and profundal benthic communities were dominated by species preferring ultraoligotrophic or oligotrophic lakes. Concomitant with the increasing discharge and deposition of chlorine compounds, resin acids, and mercury, as well as strong acidity and hypolimnetic and epilimnetic anoxia, the ecological status changed in a short period from excellent to bad. Finally, in the early 1960s, the majority of the lake was virtually dead and the aquatic life survived only in the uppermost littoral zone. Since 1985, a fast recovery in the water quality has led to a strong, but temporary eutrophy in pelagic communities. The main peak of eutrophication was caused by the invasion of a species new to the lake,Aulacoseira granulata var.angustissima. Later, the pelagic communities shifted towards oligotrophy, but the original, pre-industrial status has not been re-established. The profundal benthic communities have not achieved the pre-industrial structure, but at present indicate mesotrophy.     

Rainfall thresholds for landsliding in the Himalayas of Nepal

Landsliding of the hillslope regolith is an important source of sediment to the fluvial network in the unglaciated portions of the Himalayas of Nepal. These landslides can produce abrupt increases of up to three orders of magnitude in the fluvial sediment load in less than a day. An analysis of 3 years of daily sediment load and daily rainfall data defines a relationship between monsoonal rainfall and the triggering of landslides in the Annapurna region of Nepal. Two distinct rainfall thresholds, a seasonal accumulation and a daily total, must be overcome before landslides are initiated. To explore the geomorphological controls on these thresholds, we develop a slope stability model, driven by daily rainfall data, which accounts for changes in regolith moisture. The pattern of rainfall thresholds predicted by the model is similar to the field data, including the decrease in the daily rainfall threshold as the seasonal rainfall accumulation increases. Results from the model suggest that, for a given hillslope, regolith thickness determines the seasonal rainfall necessary for failure, whereas slope angle controls the daily rainfall required for failure.