Analysis of channel transmission losses in a dryland river reach in north‐eastern Brazil using streamflow series,groundwater level series and multi‐temporal satellite data

Scarcity of hydrological data, especially streamflow discharge and groundwater level series, restricts the understanding of channel transmission losses (TL) in drylands. Furthermore, the lack of information on spatial river dynamics encompasses high uncertainty on TL analysis in large rivers. The objective of this study was to combine the information from streamflow and groundwater level series with multi‐temporal satellite data to derive a hydrological concept of TL for a reach of the Middle Jaguaribe River (MJR) in semi‐arid north‐eastern Brazil. Based on this analysis, we proposed strategies for its modelling and simulation. TL take place in an alluvium, where river and groundwater can be considered to be hydraulically connected. Most losses certainly infiltrated only through streambed and levees and not through the flood plains, as could be shown by satellite image analysis. TL events whose input river flows were smaller than a threshold did not reach the outlet of the MJR. TL events whose input flows were higher than this threshold reached the outlet losing on average 30% of their input. During the dry seasons (DS) and at the beginning of rainy seasons (DS/BRS), no river flow is expected for pre‐events, and events have vertical infiltration into the alluvium. At the middle and the end of the rainy seasons (MRS/ERS), river flow sustained by base flow occurs before/after events, and lateral infiltration into the alluvium plays a major role. Thus, the MJR shifts from being a losing river at DS/BRS to become a losing/gaining (mostly losing) river at MRS/ERS. A model of this system has to include the coupling of river and groundwater flow processes linked by a leakage approach. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomorphology of a modern carbonate slope system and associated sedimentary processes: Example of the giant Great Abaco Canyon,Bahamas

The large acoustic data set acquired during the Carambar cruises is composed of high resolution bathymetry, backscatter data and very‐high resolution seismic lines which allow for an overview of the morphology and sediment transfer processes from the shallow upper slope to the abyssal plain of a modern carbonate system: the north‐eastern slope of the Little Bahama Bank. Surficial distribution of the acoustic facies and echofacies reflects a wide variety of sedimentary processes along and across the slope. The western sector of the Little Bahama Bank is dominated by depositional processes whereas its eastern sector, which is incised in the lower slope by giant canyons, is affected by erosion and bypass processes. Datasets suggest that currents play an important role both in along‐slope sedimentary processes and in the abyssal plain. The Antilles Current appears to affect a large part of the middle and lower slopes. The absence of sizeable present‐day channel/levée complexes or lobes at the mouth of the canyon – revealed by the bathymetric map – indicates that the southward flowing Deep Western Boundary Current influences modern abyssal sediment deposition. Based on depositional processes and indicators of canyon maturity observed in facies distribution, the current study proposes that differential subsidence affects the eastern versus western part of the bank. The morphology of the Great Abaco Canyon and Little Abaco Canyon, which extend parallel to the platform, and the Little Bahama Bank slope appears to be related to the Great Abaco Fracture Zone.     

Exploring earth system governance: A case study of floodplain management along the Tisza river in Hungary

This paper discusses a recently proposed conceptualisation of ‘earth system governance’ by applying it to floodplain management in the Hungarian Tisza river basin. By doing so it aims to improve our understanding of governance systems facilitating adaptation to a changing world. The conceptualisation of earth system governance consists of three elements: problem structure, principles and research challenges. These three elements are assessed using results from actor interviews and policy review. A regional example of natural resources management is found to be a valid case for earth system governance research. The proposed conceptualisation of earth system governance explains well the main problems, barriers and opportunities for adapting floodplain management to climate change in the Tisza region. Problem structure analysis highlights how previous socio-economic and political orders continue to shape expectations and patterns of conduct. Current barriers can be attributed to a lack of the key governance principles credibility, stability, inclusiveness and adaptiveness. Interviewees perceived the lack of credibility and effective cooperation between organisations as the largest barrier. The research challenges proposed for earth system governance agree well with opportunities identified for adapting Tisza floodplain management, calling for inclusion of actors beyond governments and state agencies, and equitable resource allocation in particular. The analysis suggests that an additional challenge for earth system governance is the prioritisation of actions to support an existing governance system and its actors in adapting.     

The sandy channel-lobe depositional systems in the Gulf of Cadiz: Gravity processes forced by contour current processes

The sedimentation in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic Ocean) is significantly controlled by the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). Along its pathway onto the continental slope, the MOW is canalized by contourite channels, some of them feeding gravity sandy channel-lobe depositional systems firstly recognized in previous study [Habgood et al., 2003. Deep-water sediment wave fields, bottom current sand channels and gravity flow channel-lobe systems: Gulf of Cadiz, NE Atlantic. Sedimentology 50(3), 483-510.].Using very high resolution acoustic data and cores, a detailed characterization and a new evolution pattern of these channel-lobe depositional systems is established. Complex internal geometry of the lobes shows several depositional units revealing a polyphase evolution of these systems, with a general progradation punctuated by retrogradation and avulsion phases. A gravity origin controlled by contouritic processes and climatic changes is demonstrated for the feeding and the evolution of these sandy channel-lobe depositional systems. Climate oscillations, via the MOW variations, act as a major forcing of the activity of the channel-lobe depositional systems during the Late Quaternary.     

Spatial delineation of groundwater–surface water interactions through intensive in‐stream profiling

The dominance of ‘old’ pre‐event water in headwater storm runoff has been recorded in numerous upland catchment studies; however, the mechanisms by which this pre‐event water enters the stream channel are poorly understood. Understanding these processes is fundamental to determining the controls on surface water quality and associated impacts on stream ecology. Previous studies in the upland forested catchment of the Afon Hafren (River Severn) at Plynlimon, mid‐Wales, identified an active bedrock groundwater system that was discharging into the stream channel during storm response. Detailed analysis showed that these discharges were small and could not account for the majority of pre‐event storm water response identified at this site; pre‐event storm runoff had to be sourced predominantly from further upstream. An intensive stream survey was used to determine the spatial nature of groundwater–surface water (GW–SW) interactions in the Hafren Catchment. Detailed physico‐chemical in‐stream profiling identified a marked change in water quality indicating a significant discrete point of bedrock groundwater discharge upstream of the Hafren Transect study site. The in‐stream profiling showed the importance of high spatial resolution sampling as a key to understanding processes of GW–SW interaction and how quick and cost‐effective measurements of specific electrical conductance of stream waters could be used to highlight in‐stream heterogeneity. This approach is recommended for use in headwater catchments for initial characterisation of the stream channel in order to better locate instrumentation and to determine more effective targeted sampling protocols in upland catchment research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are polymers suitable rock analogs?

To evaluate if a polymer is suitable for analog modeling, it is essential to know the rheological properties of the material. Polymers used in analog modeling exhibit a complex rheological behavior; only part of which has been taken into account in most modeling studies. The mechanical behavior is strongly dependent on strain rate and temperature, and is characterized by specific dependencies of the storage and loss moduli, related to the elasticity and viscosity, on the deformation rate (frequency).We have measured the storage and loss moduli at a broad range of strain rates and strains, using an oscillatory parallel-disk rheometer. Investigated materials are polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), mixtures of PDMS and BaSO₄ (filler), Rhodorsil Gomme and mixtures of Rhodorsil Gomme and plastilina, all commonly used in analog experiments.Our measurements show that the rheological properties of mixtures of plastilina and Rhodorsil Gomme depend on its deformation history. Therefore, these mixtures are problematic for analog modeling. For mixtures of PDMS and BaSO₄, the significance of the elastic component increases with increasing filler content, and accordingly, these mixtures have a limited application for modeling of viscous deformation. Pure PDMS and Rhodorsil Gomme exhibit Newtonian flow behavior at strain rates commonly used in analog modeling.     

The impact of surface‐wave attenuation on 3‐D seismic survey design

Three‐dimensional seismic survey design should provide an acquisition geometry that enables imaging and amplitude‐versus‐offset applications of target reflectors with sufficient data quality under given economical and operational constraints. However, in land or shallow‐water environments, surface waves are often dominant in the seismic data. The effectiveness of surface‐wave separation or attenuation significantly affects the quality of the final result. Therefore, the need for surface‐wave attenuation imposes additional constraints on the acquisition geometry. Recently, we have proposed a method for surface‐wave attenuation that can better deal with aliased seismic data than classic methods such as slowness/velocity‐based filtering. Here, we investigate how surface‐wave attenuation affects the selection of survey parameters and the resulting data quality. To quantify the latter, we introduce a measure that represents the estimated signal‐to‐noise ratio between the desired subsurface signal and the surface waves that are deemed to be noise. In a case study, we applied surface‐wave attenuation and signal‐to‐noise ratio estimation to several data sets with different survey parameters. The spatial sampling intervals of the basic subset are the survey parameters that affect the performance of surface‐wave attenuation methods the most. Finer spatial sampling will reduce aliasing and make surface‐wave attenuation easier, resulting in better data quality until no further improvement is obtained. We observed this behaviour as a main trend that levels off at increasingly denser sampling. With our method, this trend curve lies at a considerably higher signal‐to‐noise ratio than with a classic filtering method. This means that we can obtain a much better data quality for given survey effort or the same data quality as with a conventional method at a lower cost.     

The reaction of carbonates in contact with laser-generated,superheated silicate melts: Constraining impact metamorphism of carbonate-bearing target rocks

We simulated entrainment of carbonates (calcite, dolomite) in silicate impact melts by 1-bar laser melting of silicate–carbonate composite targets, using sandstone, basalt, calcite marble, limestone, dolomite marble, and iron meteorite as starting materials. We demonstrate that carbonate assimilation by silicate melts of variable composition is extremely fast (seconds to minutes), resulting in contamination of silicate melts with carbonate-derived CaO and MgO and release of CO₂ at the silicate melt–carbonate interface. We identify several processes, i.e., (1) decomposition of carbonates releases CO₂ and produces residual oxides (CaO, MgO); (2) incorporation of residual oxides from proximally dissociating carbonates into silicate melts; (3) rapid back-reactions between residual CaO and CO₂ produce idiomorphic calcite crystallites and porous carbonate quench products; (4) high-temperature reactions between Ca-contaminated silicate melts and carbonates yield typical skarn minerals and residual oxide melts; (5) mixing and mingling between Ca- or Ca,Mg-contaminated and Ca- or Ca,Mg-normal silicate melts; (6) precipitation of Ca- or Ca,Mg-rich silicates from contaminated silicate melts upon quenching. Our experiments reproduce many textural and compositional features of typical impact melts originating from silicate–carbonate targets. They reinforce hypotheses that thermal decomposition of carbonates, rapid back-reactions between decomposition products, and incorporation of residual oxides into silicate impact melts are prevailing processes during impact melting of mixed silicate–carbonate targets. However, by comparing our results with previous studies and thermodynamic considerations on the phase diagrams of calcite and quartz, we envisage that carbonate impact melts are readily produced during adiabatic decompression from high shock pressure, but subsequently decompose due to heat influx from coexisting silicate impact melts or hot breccia components. Under certain circumstances, postshock conditions may favor production and conservation of carbonate impact melts. We conclude that the response of mixed carbonate–silicate targets to impact might involve melting and decomposition of carbonates, the dominant response being governed by a complex variety of factors.     

Spatial scale and habitat-dependent diversity patterns in nematode communities in three seepage related sites along the Norwegian Sea margin

Assessing the relative contribution of local diversity to regional biodiversity may be the key to understanding large-scale and even global patterns in species diversity. Here, the contribution of habitat heterogeneity of cold seeps at three spatial scales [micro-scale (ms), macro-scale (10 to 100s of ms), and mega-scale (10 to 100s of km)] to the total nematode biodiversity (genus level) along the Norwegian continental margin is evaluated. Due to the development of higher resolution bathymetry and increased bottom sampling in recent years, continental margins, once regarded as monotonous landscapes, are now acknowledged to have a high degree of habitat complexity and diversity. By calculating the additive partitioning of gamma diversity in alpha and beta fractions, we examined to what extent habitat diversity of seep sites significantly increases the nematode genus composition and diversity at different spatial scales. Siboglinidae patches and control sediments yielded comparably high levels of nematode genus richness. They exhibited low turnover rates within and across the different seep sites. In contrast, the bacterial mats at Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano (HMMV) and the reduced sediments at the Nyegga pockmarks harboured genus-poor nematode communities with an equally high dominance of one or two species, which were different for each seep. Different habitats, in particular at the HMMV, contributed significantly to the seep nematode richness. This study demonstrates that the presence of distinct habitat types within multiple seep sites contributes to the high diversity of nematode communities inhabiting the seeps in the Norwegian deep sea.