The Dynamics of Benthic Respiration at a Mid-Shelf Station Off Oregon

Mid-shelf sediments off the Oregon coast are characterized as fine sands that trap and remineralize phytodetritus leading to the consumption of significant quantities of dissolved oxygen. Sediment oxygen consumption (SOC) can be delayed from seasonal organic matter inputs because of a transient buildup of reduced constituents during periods of quiescent physical processes. Between 2009 and 2013, benthic oxygen exchange rates were measured using the noninvasive eddy covariance (EC) method five separate times at a single 80-m station. Ancillary measurements included in situ microprofiles of oxygen at the sediment–water interface, and concentration profiles of pore water nutrients and trace metals, and solid-phase organic C and sulfide minerals from cores. Sediment cores were also incubated to derive anaerobic respiration rates. The EC measurements were made during spring, summer, and fall conditions, and they produced average benthic oxygen flux estimates that varied between ?2 and ?15 mmol m^?2 d^?1. The EC oxygen fluxes were most highly correlated with bottom-sensed, significant wave heights (H _s). The relationship with H _s was used with an annual record of deepwater swell heights to predict an integrated oxygen consumption rate for the mid-shelf of 1.5 mol m^?2 for the upwelling season (May–September) and 6.8 mol m^?2 y^?1. The annual prediction requires that SOC rates are enhanced in the winter because of sand filtering and pore water advection under large waves, and it counters budgets that assume a dominance of organic matter export from the shelf. Refined budgets will require winter flux measurements and observations from cross-shelf transects over multiple years.     

Hydrogeology of a montane headwater groundwater system downgradient of a coal-mine waste rock dump: Elk Valley,British Columbia,Canada

Steelmaking-coal waste rock placed in mountain catchments in the Elk Valley, British Columbia, Canada, drain constituents of interest (CIs) to surface water downgradient of the waste rock dumps. The role of groundwater in transporting CIs in the headwaters of mountain catchments is not well understood. This study characterizes the physical hydrogeology of a portion of a 10-km² headwater catchment (West Line Creek) downgradient of a 2.7-km² waste rock dump placed over a natural headwater valley-bottom groundwater system. The study site was instrumented with 13 monitoring wells. Drill core samples were collected to determine subsurface lithology and geotechnical properties. The groundwater system was characterized using field testing and water-level monitoring. The valley-bottom sediments were composed of unconsolidated glacial and meltwater successions (<64 m thick) deposited as a series of cut and fill structures overlying shale bedrock. An unconfined basal alluvial aquifer located above fractured bedrock was identified as the primary conduit for groundwater flow toward Line Creek (650 m from the toe of the dump). Discharge through the basal alluvial aquifer was estimated using the geometric mean hydraulic conductivity (±1 standard deviation). These calculations suggest groundwater discharge could account for approximately 15% (ranging from 2 to 60%) of the total water discharged from the watershed. The residence time from the base of the waste rock dump to Line Creek was estimated at <3 years. The groundwater system was defined as a snowmelt (i.e., nival) regime dominated by direct recharge (percolation of precipitation) across the catchment.     

Modeling the Population Effects of Hypoxia on Atlantic Croaker (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Micropogonias undulatus</Emphasis>) in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Part 1—Model Description and Idealized Hypoxia

We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model to analyze how hypoxia effects on reproduction, growth, and mortality of Atlantic croaker in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico lead to population-level responses. The model follows the hourly growth, mortality, reproduction, and movement of individuals on a 300 × 800 spatial grid of 1-km² cells for 140 years. Chlorophyll-a concentration, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were specified daily for each grid cell and repeated for each year of the simulation. A bioenergetics model was used to represent growth, mortality was assumed stage- and age-dependent, and the movement behavior of juveniles and adults was modeled based on temperature and avoidance of low DO. Hypoxia effects were imposed using exposure effect submodels that converted time-varying exposures to low DO to reduced hourly growth, increased hourly mortality, and reduced annual fecundity. Results showed that 100 years of either mild or intermediate hypoxia produced small reductions in population abundance, while repeated severe hypoxia caused a 19% reduction in long-term population abundance. Relatively few individuals were exposed to low DO each hour, but many individuals experienced some exposure. The response was dominated by a 5% average reduction in annual fecundity of individuals. Under conditions of random sequences of mild, intermediate, and severe hypoxia years occurring in proportion to their historical frequency, the model predicted a 10% decrease in the long-term population abundance of croaker. A companion paper substitutes hourly DO values from a three-dimensional water quality model for the idealized hypoxia and results in a more realistic population reduction of about 25%.     

Tidal Stage Changes in Structure and Diversity of Intertidal Benthic Diatom Assemblages: a Case Study from Two Contrasting Charleston Harbor Flats

Benthic microalgae are key contributors to near-shore food webs and sediment stabilization. Temporal variability in microalgal biomass and production throughout the tidal cycle has been well documented; however, due to limitations of traditional methods of analysis patterns of community composition and diversity over such time scales have not been revealed. To explore the latter and better understand how short-term changes throughout the tidal cycle may affect community functioning, we compared benthic diatom composition and diversity over tidal stage shifts. We employed two disparate molecular techniques (denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis with Sanger DNA sequencing of excised bands and high-throughput community metagenome sequencing) to characterize diatom assemblages in representative muddy and sandy intertidal sites in Charleston Harbor, SC, USA. In support of prior studies, we found higher diatom diversity in sandbar as compared to mudflat sediments. Spatial differences were stronger relative to tidal temporal differences, although diversity metrics generally were highest after prolonged tidal immersion as compared to low-tide emersion or just after immersion at flood tide. Composition of the diatom assemblage differed markedly between sites, with species in genera Halamphora, Amphora, and Navicula dominating the sandbar, whereas Cyclotella, Skeletonema, and Thalassiosira were the most prevalent genera on the mudflat. Diatom composition differed by tidal stage, with assemblages during low-tide exposure distinct from samples taken after immersion. Both sandbar and mudflat sediments exhibited increases in relative proportion of epipelic diatoms and decreases in planktonic taxa during low-tide exposure. Our findings of short-term changes in species composition and dominance could inform primary productivity models to better estimate understudied diatom contributions in heterogeneous and highly variable tidal systems.     

Evaluating igneous sources of the Taveyannaz formation in the Central Alps by detrital zircon U–Pb age dating and geochemistry

Late Palaeogene syn-tectonic volcanic products have been found in the Northern Alpine foreland basin and in the South Alpine hemipelagic basin. The source of abundant volcanic fragments is still in debate. We analyzed the geochronology and geochemistry of detrital zircons, and evaluated their temporal and genetic relationships with potential volcanic sources. The study shows that the detrital zircon U–Pb age patterns have two major age groups: a dominance (ca. 90%) of pre-Alpine zircons was found, as commonly observed in other Alpine flysch formations. These zircons apparently derived from erosion of the early Alpine nappe stack in South Alpine and Austroalpine units. Furthermore, a few Neo-Alpine zircons (ca. 10%) have ages ranging from Late Eocene to Early Oligocene (~ 41–29 Ma). Both source materials were mixed during long riverine transport to the basin margins before being re-deposited by gravity flows. These Palaeogene ages match with the activity of Peri-Adriatic magmatism, including the Biella volcanic suite as well as the Northern Adamello and Bergell intrusions. The values of REE and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf_(t) ratios of the Alpine detrital zircons are in line with the magmatic signatures. We observe an in time and space variable supply of syn-sedimentary zircons. From late Middle Eocene to Late Eocene, basin influx into the South Alpine and Glarus (A) basins from the Northern Adamello source is documented. At about 34 Ma, a complete reorganisation is recorded by (1) input of Bergell sources into the later Glarus (B) basin, and (2) the coeval volcaniclastic supply of the Haute-Savoie basin from the Biella magmatic system. The Adamello source vanished in the foreland basin. The marked modification of the basin sources at ~ 34 Ma is interpreted to be initiated by a northwestern shift of the early Alpine drainage divide into the position of the modern Insubric Line.     

Quantifying land use influences on event-based flow frequency,timing, magnitude,and rate of change in an urbanizing watershed of the central USA

There is a need for research that advances understanding of flow alterations in contemporary watersheds where natural and anthropogenic interactions can confound mitigation efforts. Event-based flow frequency, timing, magnitude, and rate of change were quantified at five-site nested gauging sites in a representative mixed-land-use watershed of the central USA. Statistically independent storms were paired by site (n = 111 × 5 sites) to test for significant differences in event-based rainfall and flow response variables (n = 17) between gauging sites. Increased frequency of small peak flow events (i.e., 64 more events less than 4.0 m³ s^?1) was observed at the rural–urban interface of the watershed. Differences in flow response were apparent during drier periods when small rainfall events resulted in increased flow response at urban sites in the lower reaches. Relationships between rainfall and peak flow were stronger with decreased pasture/crop land use and increased urban land use by approximately 20%. Event-based total rainfall explained 40–68% of the variance in peak flow (p < 0.001). Coefficients of determination (r²) were negatively correlated with pasture/crop land use (r² = 0.92; p = 0.007; n = 5) and positively correlated with urban land use (r² = 0.90; p = 0.008; n = 5). Significant differences in flow metrics were observed between rural and urban sites (p < 0.05; n = 111) that were not explained by differences in rainfall variables and drainage area. An urban influence on flow timing was observed using median time lag to peak centroid and time of maximum precipitation to peak flow. Results highlight the need to establish manageable flow targets in rapidly urbanizing mixed-land-use watersheds.     

Pattern,style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet advance and retreat over the last 45 000 years: evidence from NW Scotland and the adjacent continental shelf

Predicting the future response of ice sheets to climate warming and rising global sea level is important but difficult. This is especially so when fast-flowing glaciers or ice streams, buffered by ice shelves, are grounded on beds below sea level. What happens when these ice shelves are removed? And how do the ice stream and the surrounding ice sheet respond to the abruptly altered boundary conditions? To address these questions and others we present new geological, geomorphological, geophysical and geochronological data from the ice-stream-dominated NW sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The study area covers around 45 000 km² of NW Scotland and the surrounding continental shelf. Alongside seabed geomorphological mapping and Quaternary sediment analysis, we use a suite of over 100 new absolute ages (including cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages, optically stimulated luminescence ages and radiocarbon dates) collected from onshore and offshore, to build a sector-wide ice-sheet reconstruction combining all available evidence with Bayesian chronosequence modelling. Using this information we present a detailed assessment of ice-sheet advance/retreat history, and the glaciological connections between different areas of the NW BIIS sector, at different times during the last glacial cycle. The results show a highly dynamic, partly marine, partly terrestrial, ice-sheet sector undergoing large size variations in response to sub-millennial-scale climatic (Dansgaard–Oeschger) cycles over the last 45 000 years. Superimposed on these trends we identify internally driven instabilities, operating at higher frequency, conditioned by local topographic factors, tidewater dynamics and glaciological feedbacks during deglaciation. Specifically, our new evidence indicates extensive marine-terminating ice-sheet glaciation of the NW BIIS sector during Greenland Stadials 12 to 9 – prior to the main ‘Late Weichselian’ ice-sheet glaciation. After a period of restricted glaciation, in Greenland Interstadials 8 to 6, we find good evidence for rapid renewed ice-sheet build-up in NW Scotland, with the Minch ice-stream terminus reaching the continental shelf edge in Greenland Stadial 5, perhaps only briefly. Deglaciation of the NW sector took place in numerous stages. Several grounding-zone wedges and moraines on the mid- and inner continental shelf attest to significant stabilizations of the ice-sheet grounding line, or ice margin, during overall retreat in Greenland Stadials 3 and 2, and to the development of ice shelves. NW Lewis was the first substantial present-day land area to deglaciate, in the first half of Greenland Stadial 3 at a time of globally reduced sea-level c. 26 kabp , followed by Cape Wrath at c. 24 kabp. The topographic confinement of the Minch straits probably promoted ice-shelf development in early Greenland Stadial 2, providing the ice stream with additional support and buffering it somewhat from external drivers. However, c. 20–19 kabp , as the grounding-line migrated into shoreward deepening water, coinciding with a marked change in marine geology and bed strength, the ice stream became unstable. We find that, once underway, grounding-line retreat proceeded in an uninterrupted fashion with the rapid loss of fronting ice shelves – first in the west, then the east troughs – before eventual glacier stabilization at fjord mouths in NW Scotland by ~17 kabp. Around the same time, ~19–17 kabp , ice-sheet lobes readvanced into the East Minch – possibly a glaciological response to the marine-instability-triggered loss of adjacent ice stream (and/or ice shelf) support in the Minch trough. An independent ice cap on Lewis also experienced margin oscillations during mid-Greenland Stadial 2, with an ice-accumulation centre in West Lewis existing into the latter part of Heinrich Stadial 1. Final ice-sheet deglaciation of NW mainland Scotland was punctuated by at least one other coherent readvance at c. 15.5 kabp , before significant ice-mass losses thereafter. At the glacial termination, c. 14.5 kabp , glaciers fed outwash sediment to now-abandoned coastal deltas in NW mainland Scotland around the time of global Meltwater Pulse 1A. Overall, this work on the BIIS NW sector reconstructs a highly dynamic ice-sheet oscillating in extent and volume for much of the last 45 000 years. Periods of expansive ice-sheet glaciation dominated by ice-streaming were interspersed with periods of much more restricted ice-cap or tidewater/fjordic glaciation. Finally, this work indicates that the role of ice streams in ice-sheet evolution is complex but mechanistically important throughout the lifetime of an ice sheet – with ice streams contributing to the regulation of ice-sheet health but also to the acceleration of ice-sheet demise via marine ice-sheet instabilities.     

How accurately may we project tropical forest-cover change? A validation of a forward-looking baseline for REDD

The Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism of a future post-2012 global climate-change treaty would aim to give incentive to tropical countries to reduce deforestation and thus forest-carbon emissions. It would do so by crediting tropical countries for reducing deforestation relative to a baseline scenario describing carbon emissions and removals from forest-cover change expected in the absence of REDD+. Defining a credible and accurate baseline is both critical and challenging. One approach considered promising is spatial modelling to project forest-cover change on the basis of historical trends; yet few such projections have been validated at a national scale. We develop and validate a novel GEOMOD projection of forest-cover change in Panama over 2000–2008, based on trends over 1990–2000 and 25 drivers of forest-cover change. Compared with the actual landscape of 2008, our projection is 85.2% accurate at a 100-m pixel resolution. More error is attributable to the location of projected forest (8.6%) than to its area (6.2%). Accuracy was least where forest regeneration predominated (80%), and greatest where deforestation predominated (90%). Despite the sophistication of our projection, it is slightly less accurate than if we had assumed no forest-cover change over 2000–2008. We identify factors limiting projection accuracy, including the complexity of forest-cover change, the spatial variability of forest-carbon density, and the relatively small area of change at the national scale. We conclude that, with the exception of contexts where forest-cover change is significant and straightforward and where forest-carbon density relatively uniform (e.g., agricultural frontiers), spatially projected baselines are of limited value for REDD+ – their accuracy is too limited given their relative lack of transparency. Simpler, relatively coarse scale, retrospective baselines are recommended instead.     

Constitutive approach for rate‐sensitive anisotropic structured clays

This paper describes a constitutive approach to model the behavior of rate‐dependent anisotropic structured clay. Rate‐sensitivity is modeled using overstress viscoplasticity. Clay structure is treated as a viscous phenomenon whereby the viscosity of the undisturbed structured clay is initially very high and the viscosity degrades or decreases with plastic straining until the intrinsic or residual viscosity is reached. A microstructure tensor approach is used to make the structured viscosity anisotropic; whereas, the intrinsic viscosity is assumed to be isotropic. The behavior of the constitutive model is compared with the measured response of two clays (Gloucester and St. Vallier clay) from Eastern Canada during triaxial compression tests on specimens trimmed at different orientations to the vertical. The comparisons show that the constitutive framework is able to describe the anisotropic and rate‐sensitive response of both clays. The response of the model is also examined for the more general case of anisotropic consolidated triaxial compression and extension. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.