The paleoecological development of a late holocene,tidal freshwater marsh of the Upper Delaware River estuary

Changes in groundwater tables brought about by sea level increases in the Delaware River Basin (near Philadelphia) about 2,500 years B.P., initiated wetland development at the Princeton-Jefferson Branch of the Woodbury Creek marshes. Continual increases in sea level pushed groundwater tables further upward, and by approximately 800 years B.P., groundwater tables had risen to the upper limits for woody vegetation at the site. By the time European settlers arrived in the late 1600s nontidal sedge marshes dominated the site. Upon arriving colonists began manipulating the hydrology of the Delaware River Basin by constructing dams and dikes for flood control. Soon many areas were cut off from direct contact with the river. During the next one and one-half centuries sea level continued to rise, and because of channelization of the Delaware River the tidal range doubled. During the early 1900s flood control structures began to fail allowing tidal waters to periodically inundate these protected sites. At that time the site was dominated by a Quercus-Castanea swamp forest with hummocks of Cyperaceae interspersed throughout. In 1940 the dike surrounding the Princeton-Jefferson marsh collapsed and the site was immediately inundated with tidal waters on a regular basis. Within a short period of time tidal freshwater marsh developed and has continued to the present day. It is clear from this investigation that changes in hydrology brought about by cultural modifications have been directly responsible for the ontogeny of this tidal marsh. The influence cultural impacts have had on wetland development at the Princeton-Jefferson marsh suggest that it may be necessary to reevaluate the extent humans have modified the development and structure of the present day upper Delaware River estuary. Although the ability to discern historic vegetation zonation patterns is limited, these marshes can record individual events that have shaped these wetlands through time. Due to differences in the structure of the plant community, rates of decomposition, and processes of accretion, Redfield’s model (1972) of tidal salt marsh development does not apply to the Princeton-Jefferson marsh. Along a submerging coast, the development of tidal freshwater marsh in many estuaries may be necessary for the establishment of brackish and salt marshes by creating and maintaining a suitable habitat for the eventual colonization of more salt-tolerant plant species. The roles these wetlands have played in the development of the estuaries has been underestimated in the past.     

Magnetics in geoexploration

The magnetic method is the oldest and one of the most widely used geophysical techniques for exploring the earth’s subsurface. It is a relatively easy and inexpensive tool to employ, being applicable to a wide variety of subsurface exploration problems involving horizontal magnetic property variations occurring from near the base of the crust to within the uppermost meter of soil. Successful applications of the magnetic method require an in-depth understanding of its basic principles and careful field work, data reduction, and interpretation. Commonly, interpretations are limited to qualitative approaches which simply map the spatial location of anomalous subsurface conditions, but under favourable circumstances the technological status of the method will permit more quantitative interpretations involving specification of the nature of the anomalous sources. No other geophysical method provides critical input to such a wide variety of problems. However, seldom does the magnetic method provide the complete answer to an investigation problem. As a result, it is generally used in concert with other geophysical and geological data to limit its interpretational ambiguities.     

Alma and E-merlin Data Transmission Systems: Lessons for Ska

ALMA, EVLA and e-MERLIN use high data rate optical fibre links based on commercially available 10 Gbps opto-electronics. This paper describes the systems designed by NRAO and JBO staff to be used in ALMA and e-MERLIN. ALMA has a requirement for a 120 Gbps data rate per telescope, requiring the use of 12 lasers in the 1550 nm telecommunication band, with maximum link lengths around 20 km. e-MERLIN has a lower bandwidth and requires 30 Gbps links per telescope and therefore three lasers per telescope; however, the link lengths reach up to around 400 km, and amplification, de-dispersion and regeneration are required. Dense wavelength division multiplexing is used to avoid fibre management problems and save fibre costs. The design criteria and experience gained in these projects is very relevant to SKA as the proposed configuration of the antenna elements maps well to the link lengths used here. The chosen data rate will be a major cost driver.     

The Space Community Policing Makes and the Body That Makes It

This paper examines the ways that community policing organizes urban space in order to increase the police's ability to observe and to enforce. The logic of that organization, I argue, rests in the particular way that police are integrating civilians into police practice as part of community policing's police-community partnership, a partnership that is characterized by the concrete metaphor of a policing body. This paper presents the results of twenty months of field research with the Boston Police Department whose community policing program, Neighborhood Policing, is being hailed as a national model.     

The influence of sea-surface temperatures on Eastern North Pacific tropical cyclone activity

The influence of sea-surface temperatures on six measures of tropical cyclone activity in the Eastern North Pacific is examined using historical sea-surface temperature and tropical cyclone data spanning from 1971 to 2002. Relationships are evaluated using methods of trend analysis, extreme year analysis, and bivariate correlation. Results suggest that in order to understand the climatological factors affecting topical cyclone activity in the Eastern North Pacific, the main development region must be divided into two sub-regions of development to the east and west of 112°W longitude. Increasing trends of sea-surface temperature are not accompanied by increasing trends in tropical cyclone activity. In the western development region, sea-surface temperatures are significantly correlated with all measures of tropical cyclone activity during extreme years. In this region, sea-surface temperatures are on average below the threshold for tropical cyclone development. In the Eastern development region, the only significant correlation with sea-surface temperatures is for the more intense measures of hurricane activity. In this region, sea-surface temperatures are on average above the threshold for cyclone formation. This leads to the hypothesis that the proximity to the cyclone formation temperature threshold in the WDR enhances the sensitivity of tropical cyclone activity to SSTs. This may have application to other tropical cyclone basins such as the North Atlantic.     

Depositional and Diagenetic History and Petroleum Geology of the Jurassic Norphlet Formation of the Alabama Coastal Waters Area and Adjacent Federal Waters Area

The discovery of deep (20,000 ft) gas reservoirs in eolian sandstone of the Upper Jurassic Norphlet Formation in Mobile Bay and offshore Alabama in the late 1970s represents one of the most significant hydrocarbon discoveries in the nation during the past several decades. Estimated original proved gas from Norphlet reservoirs in the Alabama coastal waters and adjacent federal waters is 7.462 trillion ft3 (Tcf) (75% recovery factor). Fifteen fields have been established in the offshore Alabama area. Norphlet sediment was deposited in an arid environment in alluvial fans, alluvial plains, and wadis in updip areas. In downdip areas, the Norphlet was deposited in a broad desert plain, with erg development in some areas. Marine transgression, near the end of Norphlet deposition, resulted in reworking of the upper part of the Norphlet Formation. Norphlet reservoir sandstone is arkose and subarkose, consisting of a simple assemblage of three minerals, quartz, albite, and K-feldspar. The present framework grain assemblage of the Norphlet is dominantly diagenetic, owing to albitization and dissolution of feldspar. Despite the simple framework composition, the diagenetic character of the Norphlet is complex. Important authigenic minerals include carbon ate phases (calcite, dolomite, Fe-dolomite, and breunnerite), feldspar (albite and K-feldspar), evaporite minerals (anhydrite and halite), clay minerals (illite and chlorite), quartz, and pyrobitumen. The abundance and distribution of these miner als varies significantly between onshore and offshore regions of Norphlet production. The lack of sufficient internal sources of components for authigenic minerals, combined with unusual chemical compositions of chlorite (Mg-rich), breunnerite, and some minor authigenic minerals, suggests that Louann-derived fluids influenced Norphlet diagenesis. In offshore Alabama reservoirs, porosity is dominantly modified primary poros ity. Preservation of porosity in deep Norphlet reservoirs is due to a combination of factors, including a lack of sources of cement components and lack of pervasive early cement, so that fluid-flow pathways remained open during burial. Below the dominantly quartz-cemented tight zone near the top of the Norphlet, pyrobitumen is a major contributor to reduction in reservoir quality in offshore Alabama. The highest reservoir quality occurs in those wells where the present gas water contact is below the paleohydrocarbon water contact. This zone of highest reservoir quality is between the lowermost occurrence of pyrobitumen and the present gas water contact.     

Base flow‐driven shifts in tropical stream temperature regimes across a mean annual rainfall gradient

Climate change is expected to affect air temperature and watershed hydrology, but the degree to which these concurrent changes affect stream temperature is not well documented in the tropics. How stream temperature varies over time under changing hydrologic conditions is difficult to isolate from seasonal changes in air temperature. Groundwater and bank storage contributions to stream flow (i.e., base flow [BF]) buffer water temperatures against seasonal and daily fluctuations in solar radiation and air temperature, whereas rainfall‐driven runoff produces flooding events that also influence stream temperature. We used a space‐for‐time substitution to examine how shifts in BF and runoff alter thermal regimes in streams by analyzing hydrological and temperature data collected from similar elevations (400–510 m above sea level) across a 3,500‐mm mean annual rainfall gradient on Hawai'i Island. Sub‐daily water temperature and stream flow gathered for 3 years were analyzed for daily, monthly, and seasonal trends and compared with air temperature measured at multiple elevations. Results indicate that decreases in median BF increased mean, maximum, and minimum water temperatures as well as daily temperature range. Monthly and daily trends in stream temperature among watersheds were more pronounced than air temperature, driven by differences in groundwater inputs and runoff. Stream temperature was strongly negatively correlated to BF during the dry season but not during the wet season due to frequent wet season runoff events contributing to total flow. In addition to projected increases in global air temperature, climate driven shifts in rainfall and runoff are likely to affect stream flow and groundwater recharge, with concurrent influences on BF resulting in shifts in water temperature that are likely to affect aquatic ecosystems.