Mangrove‐forest evolution in a sediment‐rich estuarine system: opportunists or agents of geomorphic change?

The majority of the world's mangrove forests occur on mostly mineral sediments of fluvial origin. Two perspectives exist on the biogeomorphic development of these forests, i.e. that mangroves are opportunistic, with forest development primarily driven by physical processes, or alternatively that biophysical feedbacks strongly influence sedimentation and resulting geomorphology. On the Firth of Thames coast, New Zealand, we evaluate these two possible scenarios for sediment accumulation and forest development using high‐resolution sedimentary records and a detailed chronology of mangrove‐forest (Avicennia marina) development since the 1950s. Cores were collected along a shore‐normal transect of known elevation relative to mean sea level (MSL). Activities for lead‐210 (²¹⁰Pb), caesium‐137 (¹³⁷Cs) and beryllium‐7 (⁷Be), and sediment properties were analysed, with ²¹⁰Pb sediment accumulation rates (SARs), compensated for deep subsidence (~8 mm yr^?1) used as a proxy for elevation gain. At least four phases of forest development since the 1950s are recognized. An old‐growth forest developed by the late‐1970s with more recent seaward forest expansion thereafter. Excess ²¹⁰Pb profiles from the old‐growth forest exhibit relatively low SARs near the top (7–12 mm yr^?1) and bottom (10–22 mm yr^?1) of cores, separated by an interval of higher SARs (33–100 mm yr^?1). A general trend of increasing SAR over time characterizes the recent forest. Biogeomorphic evolution of the system is more complex than simple mudflat accretion/progradation and mangrove‐forest expansion. Surface‐elevation gain in the old‐growth forest displays an asymptotic trajectory, with a secondary depocentre developing on the seaward mudflat from the mid‐1970s. Two‐ to ten‐fold increases in ²¹⁰Pb SARs are unambiguously large and occurred years to decades before seedling recruitment, demonstrating that mangroves do not measurably enhance sedimentation over annual to decadal timescales. This suggests that mangrove‐forest development is largely dependent on physical processes, with forests occupying mudflats once they reach a suitable elevation in the intertidal. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A procedure to locate slip surfaces beneath active landslides using surface monitoring data

Accurate determination of the slip surface profile beneath a landslip is difficult and costly using traditional methods, yet such knowledge is essential for stability analysis and for the design of remedial works. The technique presented here utilises measurements of surface displacements to predict the position and shape of the underlying slip surface. The proposed method has been tested in model studies of all major classes of landslip and on three large landslips. Results indicate that, from a knowledge of ground surface displacements alone, the position of the slip surface can be predicted to within 2% of the distance between movement monitoring stations on the ground surface.     

Comparison of the microwave and soft X-ray emission above a sunspot

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) 6 cm radio observations of the active region HL 16864 large spot (Strong, Alissandrakis, and Kundu, 1984) are compared with X-ray data obtained from the Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS) onboard the Solar Maximum Mission satellite on May 25, 1980. The X-ray data confirm the presence of a temperature depression above the spot umbra in agreement with suggestions obtained from radio data analysis. Significant differences in the spatial distribution of both kinds of emission observed in the corona above this spot are attributed mainly to the strong resonant character of the cyclotron radio radiation. Some differences are also caused by both the relatively low efficiency and the low spatial resolution of the FCS. Deconvolution of X-ray images allows to see the new structures and enhances the mutual correlation between X-ray and radio pictures.     

Exploring former subglacial Hodgson Lake,Antarctica. Paper II: palaeolimnology

Direct exploration of subglacial lakes buried deep under the Antarctic Ice Sheet has yet to be achieved. However, at retreating margins of the ice sheet, there are a number of locations where former subglacial lakes are emerging from under the ice but remain perennially ice covered. One of these lakes, Hodgson Lake (72°00.549′S, 068°27.708′W) has emerged from under more than 297–465 m of glacial ice during the last few thousand years. This paper presents data from a multidisciplinary investigation of the palaeolimnology of this lake through a study of a 3.8 m sediment core extracted at a depth of 93.4 m below the ice surface. The core was dated using a combination of radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, and relative palaeomagnetic intensity dating incorporated into a chronological model. Stratigraphic analyses included magnetic susceptibility, clast provenance, organic content, carbonate composition, siliceous microfossils, isotope and biogeochemical markers. Based on the chronological model we provisionally assign a well-defined magnetic polarity reversal event at ca 165 cm in the lake sediments to the Mono Lake excursion (ca 30–34 ka), whilst OSL measurements suggest that material incorporated into the basal sediments might date to 93 ± 9 ka. Four stratigraphic zones (A–D) were identified in the sedimentological data. The chronological model suggests that zones A–C were deposited between Marine Isotope Stages 5–2 and zone A during Stage 1, the Holocene. The palaeolimnological record tracks changes in the subglacial depositional environment linked principally to changing glacier dynamics and mass transport and indirectly to climate change. The sediment composition in zones A–C consists of fine-grained sediments together with sands, gravels and small clasts. There is no evidence of overriding glaciers being in contact with the bed reworking the stratigraphy or removing this sediment. This suggests that the lake existed in a subglacial cavity beneath overriding LGM ice. In zone D there is a transition to finer grained sediments characteristic of lower energy delivery coupled with a minor increase in the organic content attributed either to increases in allochthonous organic material being delivered from the deglaciating catchment, a minor increase in within-lake production or to an analytical artefact associated with an increase in the clay fraction. Evidence of biological activity is sparse. Total organic carbon varies from 0.2 to 0.6%, and cannot be unequivocally linked to in situ biological activity as comparisons of δ¹³C and C/N values with local reference data suggest that much of it is derived from the incorporation of carbon in catchment soils and gravels and possibly old CO₂ in meteoric ice. We use the data from this study to provide guidelines for the study of deep continental subglacial lakes including establishing sediment geochronologies, determining the extent to which subglacial sediments might provide a record of glaciological and environmental change and a brief review of methods to use in the search for life.     

On the application of magnetic methods for the characterisation of space weathering products

Space weathering is now commonly accepted to modify the optical and magnetic properties of airless body regoliths throughout the Solar System. Although the precise formation processes are not well understood, the presence of ubiquitous sub-microscopic metallic iron (SMFe) grains in lunar soils and corresponding spectral analyses have explained both the unique optical and magnetic properties of such soils. More recently, a variety of ion irradiation, laser melting and vaporisation and impact experiments have been shown to reproduce these effects in the laboratory. Such experiments are crucial to the study of the formation of SMFe under controlled conditions. To date, more emphasis has been placed on optical analyses of laboratory samples, as these address directly the mineralogical interpretation of remote sensing data. However, the magnetic analyses performed on the Apollo and Luna samples have provided useful qualitative and quantitative evaluation of regolith metallic iron content. These techniques are reviewed here, demonstrated on pulsed laser irradiated olivine powder, and their utility for determining the quantity and size distribution of this metallic iron discussed. Ferromagnetic resonance, multi-frequency magnetic susceptibility, vibrating sample magnetometry and thermomagnetic measurements were carried out. Each showed trends expected for the conversion of paramagnetic Fe²⁺ in olivine to fine-grained Fe⁰, with some grains in the superparamagnetic size range. Although evidence for superparamagnetic iron was found, the quantity of sub-microscopic metallic iron produced in these experiments proved insufficient to make conclusive measurements of either the quantity or size distribution of this iron. Improvements to both the experimental and analytical procedures are discussed to better enable such measurements in the future.     

Transport Characteristics of the Near-Surface Layer of the Nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

Solar System Research - The paper considers the free molecular flow of gas through the dusty porous surface layer of a comet nucleus. The study is based on computer models of generation of a porous...     

Can additional abundance indices improve harvest control rules for New Zealand rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fisheries?

Although New Zealand rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fisheries can be assessed with a sophisticated Bayesian length‐based model, these assessments are expensive and time consuming; they cannot be conducted for each area every year. Harvest control rules are increasingly important management tools in New Zealand rock lobster fisheries. Recent work has developed and evaluated procedures for rebuilding or maintaining lobster stocks based on criteria agreed by stakeholders. Most management procedures depend on a single abundance index, often catch per unit of effort (CPUE). When management procedures react slowly to changes in vulnerable biomass, allowable catches get out of phase with the stock, causing large oscillations in both catches and CPUE. Lags between data and management actions and “latent years” are features of rules that reduce responsiveness. This study explores ways to improve the responsiveness of harvest control rules by using additional data to predict changes in vulnerable biomass. Four data sets are examined: CPUE trends, pre‐recruit indices, puerulus settlement indices, and size frequencies. Only pre‐recruit indices, which were explored with a simple delay‐difference model based on parameter estimates from recent assessments, appeared to have immediate potential for use in improving management procedures.     

The generation and preservation of multiple hurricane beds in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Cores collected from Mississippi Sound and the inner shelf of the northeast Gulf of Mexico have been examined using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs geochronology, X-radiography, granulometry, and a multi-sensor core logger. The results indicate that widespread event layers were probably produced by an unnamed hurricane in 1947 and by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Physical and biological post-depositional processes have reworked the event layers, producing regional discontinuities and localized truncation, and resulting in an imperfect and biased record of sedimentary processes during the storms. The oceanographic and sedimentological processes that produced these event beds have been simulated using a suite of numerical models: (1) a parametric cyclone wind model; (2) the SWAN third-generation wave model; (3) the ADCIRC 2D finite-element hydrodynamic model; (4) the Princeton Ocean Model; (5) a coupled wave–current bottom boundary layer-sedimentation model; and (6) a model for bed preservation potential as a function of burial rate and bioturbation rate. Simulated cores from the Mississippi Sound region are consistent with the observed stratigraphy and geochronology on both the landward and seaward sides of the barrier islands.