Long-term soil moisture dynamics derived from GNSS interferometric reflectometry: a case study for Sutherland,South Africa

Soil moisture is a geophysical key observable for predicting floods and droughts, modeling weather and climate and optimizing agricultural management. Currently available in situ observations are limited to small sampling volumes and restricted number of sites, whereas measurements from satellites lack spatial resolution. Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers can be used to estimate soil moisture time series at an intermediate scale of about 1000 m². In this study, GNSS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data at the station Sutherland, South Africa, are used to estimate soil moisture variations during 2008–2014. The results capture the wetting and drying cycles in response to rainfall. The GNSS Volumetric Water Content (VWC) is highly correlated (r ² = 0.8) with in situ observations by time-domain reflectometry sensors and is accurate to 0.05 m³/m³. The soil moisture estimates derived from the SNR of the L1 and L2P signals compared to the L2C show small differences with a RMSE of 0.03 m³/m³. A reduction in the SNR sampling rate from 1 to 30 s has very little impact on the accuracy of the soil moisture estimates (RMSE of the VWC difference 1–30 s is 0.01 m³/m³). The results show that the existing data of the global tracking network with continuous observations of the L1 and L2P signals with a 30-s sampling rate over the last two decades can provide valuable complementary soil moisture observations worldwide.     

Phytoplankton Spatial Variability in the River-Dominated Estuary,Apalachicola Bay,Florida

In shallow estuaries with strong river influence, the short residence time and pronounced gradients generate an environment for plankton that differs substantially in its dynamics from that of the open ocean, and the question arises “How is phytoplankton biomass affected?” This study assesses the small-scale spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton in Apalachicola Bay, a shallow bar-built estuary in the Florida Panhandle. Phytoplankton peaks were characterized to gain insights into the processes affecting spatial heterogeneity in biomass. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) distribution at 50-m spatial resolution was mapped using a flow-through sensor array, Dataflow©, operated from a boat that sampled four transects across the bay every 2 weeks for 16 months. Chl a peaks exceeding background concentrations had an average width of 1.3?±?0.7 km delineated by an average gradient of 3.0?±?6.0 μg Chl a L^?1 km^?1. Magnitude of E-W wind, velocity of N-S wind, tidal stage, and temperature affected peak characteristics. Phytoplankton contained in the peaks contributed 7.7?±?2.7% of the total integrated biomass observed along the transects during the study period. The river plume front was frequently a location of elevated Chl a, which shifted in response to river discharge. The results demonstrate that despite the shallow water column, river flushing, and strong wind and tidal mixing, distinct patchiness develops that should be taken into consideration in ecological studies and when assessing productivity of such ecosystems.     

Formation by silicate–fluoride + phosphate melt immiscibility of REE-rich globular segregations within aplite dikes

Aplite dikes intruding the Proterozoic 1.42(±?3) Ga Longs Peak-St. Vrain Silver Plume-type peraluminous granite near Jamestown, Colorado, contain F, P, and rare earth element (REE)-rich globular segregations, with 40–46% REE, 3.7–4.8 wt% P₂O₅, and 5–8 wt% F. A combination of textural features and geochemical data suggest that the aplite and REE-rich globular segregations co-existed as two co-genetic liquids prior to their crystallization, and we propose that they are formed by silicate–fluoride?+?phosphate (+?S?+?CO₂) melt immiscibility following ascent, cooling, and decompression of what was initially a single homogeneous magma that intruded the granite. The REE distribution coefficients between the silica-rich aplites and REE-rich segregations are in good agreement with experimentally determined distribution coefficients for immiscible silicate–fluoride?+?phosphate melts. Although monazite-(Ce) and uraninite U–Th–Pb microprobe ages for the segregations yield 1.420(±?25) and 1.442(±?8) Ga, respectively, thus suggesting a co-genetic relationship with their host granite, ε_Nd1.42Ga values for the granites and related granitic pegmatites range from ??3.3 to ??4.7 (average ??3.9), and differ from the values for both the aplites and REE-rich segregations, which range from ??1.0 to ??2.2 (average ??1.6). Furthermore, the granites and pegmatites have (La/Yb)_N <50 with significant negative Eu anomalies, which contrast with higher (La/Yb)_N >100 and absence of an Eu anomaly in both the aplites and segregations. These data are consistent with the aplite dikes and the REE-rich segregations they contain being co-genetic, but derived from a source different from that of the granite. The higher ε_Nd1.42Ga values for the aplites and REE-rich segregations suggest that the magma from which they separated had a more mafic and deeper, dryer and hotter source in the lower crust or upper mantle compared to the quartzo-feldspathic upper crustal source proposed for the Longs Peak-St. Vrain granite.     

Correction to: Leveraging HPC accelerator architectures with modern techniques — hydrologic modeling on GPUs with ParFlow

Computational Geosciences - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-021-10065-y     

Similarity-based approaches in hydrogeology: proposal of a new concept for data-scarce groundwater resource characterization and prediction

Hydrogeology Journal - A new concept is proposed for describing, analysing and predicting the dynamic behaviour of groundwater resources based on classification and similarity. The concept makes...     

Recharge response and kinematics of an unusual earthflow in Liechtenstein

Landslides - Understanding landslide behavior over medium and long timescales is crucial for predicting landslide hazard and constructing accurate landscape evolution models. The behavior of...     

Classification of CM chondrite breccias—Implications for the evaluation of samples from the OSIRIS‐REx and Hayabusa 2 missions

CM chondrites are complex impact (mostly regolith) breccias, in which lithic clasts show various degrees of aqueous alteration. Here, we investigated the degree of alteration of individual clasts within 19 different CM chondrites and CM‐like clasts in three achondrites by chemical analysis of the tochilinite‐cronstedtite‐intergrowths (TCIs; formerly named “poorly characterized phases”). To identify TCIs in various chondritic lithologies, we used backscattered electron (BSE) overview images of polished thin sections, after which appropriate samples underwent electron microprobe measurements. Thus, 75 lithic clasts were classified. In general, the excellent work and specific criteria of Rubin et al. (2007) were used and considered to classify CM breccias in a similar way as ordinary chondrite breccias (e.g., CM2.2‐2.7). In BSE images, TCIs in strongly altered fragments in CM chondrites (CM2.0‐CM2.2) appear dark grayish and show a low contrast to the surrounding material (typically clastic matrix), and can be distinguished from TCIs in moderately (CM2.4‐CM2.6) or less altered fragments (CM2.7‐CM2.9); the latter are bright and have high contrast to the surroundings. We found that an accurate subclassification can be obtained by considering only the “FeO”/SiO₂ ratio of the TCI chemistry. One could also consider the TCIs’ S/SiO₂ ratio and the metal abundance, but these were not used for classification due to several disadvantages. Most of the CM chondrites are finds that have suffered terrestrial weathering in hot and cold deserts. Thus, the observed abundance of metal is susceptible to weathering and may not be a reliable indicator of subtype classification. This study proposes an extended classification scheme based on Rubin’s scale from subtypes CM2.0‐CM2.9 that takes the brecciation into account and includes the minimum to maximum degree of alteration of individual clasts. The range of aqueous alteration in CM chondrites and small spatial scale of mixing of clasts with different alteration histories will be important for interpreting returned samples from the OSIRIS‐REx and Hayabusa 2 missions in the future.     

Shock stage distribution of 2280 ordinary chondrites—Can bulk chondrites with a shock stage of S6 exist as individual rocks?

The brecciation and shock classification of 2280 ordinary chondrites of the meteorite thin section collection at the Institut für Planetologie (Münster) has been determined. The shock degree of S3 is the most abundant shock stage for the H and LL chondrites (44% and 41%, respectively), while the L chondrites are on average more heavily shocked having more than 40% of rocks of shock stage S4. Among the H and LL chondrites, 40–50% are “unshocked” or “very weakly shocked.” Considering the petrologic types, in general, the shock degree is increasing with petrologic type. This is the case for all meteorite groups. The main criteria to define a rock as an S6 chondrite are the solid‐state recrystallization and staining of olivine and the melting of plagioclase often accompanied by the formation of high‐pressure phases like ringwoodite. These characteristics are typically restricted to local regions of a bulk chondrite in or near melt zones. In the past, the identification of high‐pressure minerals (e.g., ringwoodite) was often taken as an automatic and practical criterion for a S6 classification during chondrite bulk rock studies. The shock stage classification of many significantly shocked chondrites (>S3) revealed that most ringwoodite‐bearing rocks still contain more than 25% plagioclase (74%). Thus, these bulk chondrites do not even fulfill the S5 criterion (e.g., 75% of plagioclase has to be transformed into maskelynite) and have to be classified as S4. Studying chondrites on typically large thin sections (several cm²) and/or using samples from different areas of the meteorites, bulk chondrites of shock stage S6 should be extremely rare. In this respect, the paper will discuss the probability of the existence of bulk rocks of S6.