Detailed seismic stratigraphy of Lago Puyehue: implications for the mode and timing of glacier retreat in the Chilean Lake District

Lago Puyehue is a glacigenic lake in the Chilean Lake District (40°S) with a complex deglaciation history. A detailed seismic–stratigraphic study of its sedimentary infill indicates a much earlier retreat of the glacier from the Lago Puyehue basin than the neighbouring glacier from the Lago Rupanco basin. Because of their close proximity, Rupanco meltwater streams played an important part in the depositional processes of Lago Puyehue. A timing discrepancy between the in‐lake ages of a sediment core and the outer‐lake ages of moraine deposits (re)opens the discussion on the timing of deglaciation in the Southern Hemisphere. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced removal of bacteriophage MS2 in during basin infiltration managed aquifer recharge as basin sand is exposed to infiltration water

Basin infiltration managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a commonly used method for storing and treating surface water to be used as drinking water. This study examined how the removal of bacteriophage MS2 was affected by the relative age of the sand used for basin infiltration MAR at 4 °C using batch experiments (static and agitated) and column experiments. The sand and the water used in all experiments were characteristic of that used at a basin infiltration MAR scheme in Uppsala, Sweden. Experimental data was fit with numerical models describing the fate and transport of virus in soil—water systems. The “used” sand that had been subjected to intermittent infiltration over a period of 8 years had 15 times the amount of organic carbon than the “new” sand, which had yet to be used for infiltration. Results showed that attachment of MS2 to the new sand in batch experiments was relatively irreversible. Attachment to the used sand was reversible. Inactivation of MS2 was slowed when it was attached to the used sand. Results for the column experiments showed that the removal rate of MS2 was significantly lower in columns of used sand than in columns of new sand. Simulations indicated that MS2 would be entirely removed in the infiltration basins with new sand. Less than 3 log removals was estimated for basins with used sand. Reduced removal of MS2 by the used sand was deemed to be most likely due to organic coatings on the used sand. Results of this study give deeper insight into the mechanisms responsible for removing virus in infiltration basins and how those mechanisms will change as the sand in the basin is exposed to infiltration water.     

Effects of mixed physical barrier on residual saltwater removal and groundwater discharge in coastal aquifers

Physical barriers are widely used to control seawater intrusion (SWI). Amongst different kinds of physical barriers, mixed physical barriers (MPBs) are shown to be an effective approach to prevent SWI. However, the system may hinder the discharge of fresh groundwater and the removal of residual saltwater trapped in the inland aquifers of MPBs. Herein, using the validated numerical model, for the first time, we investigated the dynamics of residual saltwater and groundwater discharge after the installation of MPBs. For examining the applicability of MPB and its response to structural variations and hydraulic gradient, the comparison with traditional physical barriers and sensitivity analysis was also carried out. The MPB increased the mixing area of freshwater and saltwater at the beginning of the removal process, resulting in the reduction of the saltwater wedge length (R_L) by 74.6% and the removal of total salt mass (R_M) by 62.6% within the 4% of the total removal time. Meanwhile, the groundwater discharge (Q') rose rapidly after a sharp decline from 100% to 40% in the first stage. As the residual saltwater wedge was retreated, the mixing intensity and removal efficiency decreased substantially in the second stage. Similarly, Q' raised with a declining rate at this stage. The removal efficiency was positively correlated with wall depth and hydraulic gradient and there were optimal distance of the middle spacing and height of lower dam to reach the highest efficiency. The groundwater discharge reduced monotonously with the increase of dam height and wall depth as well as the decrease of barrier spacing and hydraulic gradient. Under certain conditions, the efficiency of MPB in removing residual saltwater could be 40%–100% and 0%–56% higher than that of traditional subsurface dam and cutoff wall, respectively. The laboratory scale conclusions provide valuable physical insight for the real field applications regarding dynamic mechanism and regularity. These findings will always help decision makers choose proper engineering measures and protect groundwater resources in coastal areas.     

Mixing law versus discharge and electrical conductivity relationships: application to an alpine proglacial stream

Mixing laws have been used in hydrogeology for decades. In glacial hydrology, they are used to determine the contributions of the different reservoirs supplying the proglacial stream. However, some assumptions about discharge–solute matter and discharge–electrical conductivity (EC) relationships have led to erroneous conclusions. Analysis of a theoretical example indicated a hyperbolic relationship between discharge and solute matter concentration/EC for two reservoirs. We applied this approach to experimental data from the Baounet Glacier (Savoie, France), assuming that the proglacial stream is provided by a combination of watershed groundwater flow (diurnally stable and with high EC) and quick drainage from the glacier (low EC and discharge that change very quickly). Applying mixing laws allowed us to characterise these two flows and to separate the quick flows (glacial ablation and rainfalls). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field study on drainage densities and rescaled width functions in a high‐altitude alpine catchment

This paper addresses the effect of accurately mapping spatially heterogeneous drainage densities in high‐altitude alpine basins on Rescaled Width Functions (RWFs), used in some applications as a minimalist model of the hydrologic response. The channel network and 373 of its channel heads were mapped in the field in a high mountain catchment in the Swiss Alps. The mapped channel network is characterized by highly uneven drainage density, here described by the distribution of the length to the first channelized site computed along steepest descent from any unchannelled site. Various channel networks were extracted from a 1 m lidar‐derived digital terrain model and compared with the field‐mapped channel network using geomorphologic parameters, hillslope‐to‐channel distance and RWFs. Our results show that the channel network derived by statistical analysis of surface morphology is consistent with the field‐mapped network. Larger discrepancies were observed when the channel network was obtained with classical threshold‐based approaches relying on cumulative drainage area and local slope. The actual arrangement of the drainage densities has a significant impact on the RWFs. The discrepancy was largest between RWFs derived from classical extraction methods and RWFs derived with the field‐mapped network, indicating an inappropriate extraction of the channelled portion of the high‐altitude catchment that is a reflection of the variety of channel initiation processes. Our results suggest that spatial heterogeneity of the drainage density might play an important role in modelling streamflow generation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oxygen isotope heterogeneity of the mantle beneath the Canary Islands: insights from olivine phenocrysts

A relatively narrow range of oxygen isotopic ratios (?? ¹⁸O?=?5.0?C5.4??) is preserved in olivine of mantle xenoliths, mid-ocean ridge (MORB), and most ocean island basalts (OIB). The values in excess of this range are generally attributed either to the presence of a recycled component in the Earth??s mantle or to shallow level contamination processes. A viable way forward to trace source heterogeneity is to find a link between chemical (elemental and isotopic) composition of the earlier crystallized mineral phases (olivine) and the composition of their parental magmas, then using them to reconstruct the composition of source region. The Canary hotspot is one of a few that contains ~1- to 2-Ga-old recycled ocean crust that can be traced to the core-mantle boundary using seismic tomography and whose origin is attributed to the mixing of at least three main isotopically distinct mantle components i.e. HIMU, DMM, and EM. This work reports ion microprobe and single crystal laser fluorination oxygen isotope data of 148 olivine grains also analyzed for major and minor elements in the same spot. The olivines are from 20 samples resembling the most primitive shield stage picrite through alkali basalt to basanite series erupted on Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, Canary Islands, for which shallow level contamination processes were not recognized. A broad range of ?? ¹⁸O_olivine values from 4.6 to 6.1?? was obtained and explained by stable, long-term oxygen isotope heterogeneity of crystal cumulates present under different volcanoes. These cumulates are thought to have crystallized from mantle-derived magmas uncontaminated at crustal depth, representing oxygen isotope heterogeneity of source region. A relationship between Ni?×?FeO/MgO and ?? ¹⁸O_olivine values found in one basanitic lava erupted on El Hierro, the westernmost island of the Canary Archipelago, was used to estimate oxygen isotope compositions of partial melts presumably originated from peridotite (HIMU-type component inherited its radiogenic isotope composition from ancient, ~1 to 2?Ga, recycled ocean crust) and pyroxenite (young, <1?Ga, recycled oceanic crust preserved as eclogite with depleted MORB-type isotopic signature) components of the Canary plume. The model calculations yield 5.2 and 5.9?±?0.3?? for peridotite- and pyroxenite-derived melts, respectively, which appeared to correspond closely to the worldwide HIMU-type OIB and upper limit N-MORB ?? ¹⁸O values. This difference together with the broad range of ?? ¹⁸O variations found in the Canarian olivines cannot be explained by thermodynamic effects of oxygen isotopic fractionation and are believed to represent true variations in the mantle, due to oceanic crust and continental lithosphere recycling.     

On the Use of Skempton’s Compression Index Equation

In this study, an alternate approach to establish the e-log p relationships for clayey soils within a vertical pressure range of 10–1,000 kPa is discussed. Skempton’s compression index equation correlating the liquid limit, w _L, and the compression index, C _c, and the reported equation correlating the void ratio at liquid limit, e _L, and the void ratio at a vertical pressure of 100 kPa, e ₁₀₀, by Burland (1990), were used to establish the e-log p relationships for several reconstituted normally consolidated clayey soils. Consolidation test results of 13 clayey soils covering a sufficiently wide range of liquid limit were selected from the literature. Also, consolidation tests were carried out on two highly expansive soils in this study. A comparison of the experimental consolidation test results with the calculated e-log p relationships in the current study indicated that in general, the agreements between the calculated relationships and the experimental results are good. The agreements were found to be slightly better for soils with liquid limits less than about 70%. A comparison of the calculated e-log p relationships in the current study with that determined following methods suggested by Nagaraj and Srinivasa Murthy (1983) and Burland (1990) showed that all the three methods yielded very similar results for soils with liquid limit less than 70%. For soils with liquid limits greater than 70%, the difference between the e-log p relationships calculated in this study and that following Burland (1990)’s method was insignificant, whereas Nagaraj and Srinivasa Murthy (1983)’s method slightly over-predicted the void ratios at larger vertical stresses.