High‐frequency precipitation and stream water quality time series from Plynlimon,Wales: an openly accessible data resource spanning the periodic table

This scientific briefing announces the availability of a new multi‐element high‐frequency water quality data set that is openly accessible to the research community. The data set comprises up to 2 years of 7‐hourly water quality data for two streams and one rainfall site in the Upper Severn catchment at Plynlimon in Mid‐Wales. The measurements cover 50 analytes ranging from H⁺ to U and spanning six orders of magnitude in concentration, including major, minor and trace elements as well as nutrients, and they complement decades of weekly measurements of the same analytes at the Upper Severn. Together, the weekly and 7‐hourly time series provide a unique data set for studying both long‐term trends and short‐term dynamics. The data show complex behaviour over a wide range of timescales, challenging our understanding of catchment processes and informing future modelling efforts. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of magnetic and radiometric measurements to investigate erosion and sedimentation in a British upland catchment

In response to the potential shortcomings of single-technique strategies in the investigation of erosion and sedimentation, a combined magnetic and radiometric (¹³Cs and ²¹⁰Pb) approach has been undertaken in the upland, watershed-lake system of Howden Reservoir, Derbyshire. By combining these techniques, some assessment of sediment sources and the erosion status of the catchment has been achieved. Alone, each approach would have been unable to determine unequivocally sediment provenance. Furthermore, the parallel use of these measurements has highlighted limitations and/or uncertainties in both the magnetic and ¹³⁷Cs techniques. These problems reflect the particular soil characteristics and drainage conditions of this upland catchment. Despite the documented severity of peat erosion in the region, Howden Reservoir has a mixture of sediment sources and a relatively moderate rate of sedimentation. Sediment yields (total 127·7 t km^?2 yr^?1 including organic fraction 31·3 t km^?2 yr^?1) are, however, higher than in other British upland areas.     

Space-time variability of low frequency oscillations and Asian summer monsoon precipitation

Summary In this study, we provide an observational synthesis of several aspects of MJO (Madden Julian Oscillation) and ISO (Intra Seasonal Oscillation) waves and the manner in which they seem to affect the Asian summer monsoon variability. We examine a number of features such as the passage of MJO waves around the globe from west to east, excitation of ISO waves over the equatorial Indian Ocean, meridional propagation of ISO waves and the role of the local Hadley cell over the monsoon domain in its propagation. The geographical distribution of the amplitude and phase speed of ISO waves over the Asian summer monsoon domain shows that the ISO has prominent centers of action, with small scales of the order of a few 1000 km and that these features vary interannually in amplitude and in their geographical locations. It was also seen that some of the interesting features of the WET and DRY season rainfall distribution can be obtained by compositing the extremes of the amplitude oscillations of these ISO centers. We also noted that the amplitudes of ISO waves generally decay as they propagate north but have an occasional built up in their amplitudes when they seem to encounter and interact with heavy rain producing monsoon disturbances. The issue of these low frequency modes and the modulation of monsoonal dry and wet spells are examined in the context of this broad scenario.     

Developments in optically stimulated luminescence age control for geoarchaeological sediments and hearths in western New South Wales,Australia

Research conducted by the Western New South Wales Archaeology Program (WNSWAP) provides the opportunity to assess the reliability of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial sediments and burnt stone samples from arid zone geoarchaeological contexts. A large number of radiocarbon age determinations of charcoal preserved in heat retainer hearths provides independent chronological control at these contexts. We describe a rapid OSL methodology for dating burnt hearth stones to complement previously applied radiocarbon methods, which we have tested using 37 samples from hearths with radiocarbon determinations. We propose a geoarchaeological model in which these hearths were constructed by people whose activity took place on an archaeological surface, formed by the earlier deposition of fluvial sediments. Here we demonstrate the veracity of this model by dating sediments lying stratigraphically below the hearths, and use the radiocarbon age control and chronological consistency to assess the accuracy and reliability of both small aliquot and single grain single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL dating. While small aliquot age estimates are in most cases in agreement with independent control, the single grain determinations using a finite mixture model (FMM) appear to provide improved chronological resolution. Using single grains, we note some problems in the application of the FMM and in the dating of young samples in the range of 1–100 years. As many samples may have resided close to the surface since deposition, we have developed a mathematical function to describe gamma and cosmic dose rate contributions at burial depths down to 40 cm. These OSL age estimates allow us to reject the model of intensification of human activity as responsible for the observed pattern of archaeological radiocarbon determinations in this part of the Australian arid zone.     

Carbon dioxide fluxes and DOC concentrations of eroding blanket peat gullies

UK peatlands are affected by severe gully erosion with consequent impacts on ecosystem services from these areas. Incision into the peat can damage the vegetation and hydrology and lead to increases in carbon loss and sediment transfer downstream. Gullies represent then a conduit for and a hotspot of carbon loss but the relatively high water tables of gullies have meant that they have been identified as areas with a high restoration potential because of easily restored peat‐forming conditions. This study uses a series of gully sites, subject to different restoration interventions, to investigate differences in carbon pathways (DOC, CO₂) and hydrology between restoration strategies and gully position. The results show that the position within the gully (interfluve, gully side, or gully floor) does not significantly affect water quality but that it plays a significant role in CO₂ exchange. Gully floors are areas of high photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration, though net ecosystem exchange is not significantly different across the gully. While gully position plays a role in the cycling of some carbon species, this study highlights the importance of vegetation as a key control on carbon cycling. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment transport mechanics

The Editor of Acta Geophysica and the Guest Editors wish to dedicate this Topical Issue on Sediment Transport Mechanics to the memory of Stephen Coleman, who died recently. During his career, Stephen had made an outstanding scientific contribution to the topic of Sediment Transport. The level of his contribution is demonstrated in the paper by Aberle, Coleman, and Nikora included in this issue, on which he started working before becoming aware of the illness that led to his untimely death. For scholars and colleagues Stephen remains an example of intellectual honesty and scientific insight.     

Hyperfast pulsars as the remnants of massive stars ejected from young star clusters

Recent proper motion and parallax measurements for the pulsar PSR B1508+55 indicate a transverse velocity of  ∼1100 km s⁻¹  , which exceeds earlier measurements for any neutron star. The spin-down characteristics of PSR B1508+55 are typical for a non-recycled pulsar, which implies that the velocity of the pulsar cannot have originated from the second supernova disruption of a massive binary system. The high velocity of PSR B1508+55 can be accounted for by assuming that it received a kick at birth or that the neutron star was accelerated after its formation in the supernova explosion. We propose an explanation for the origin of hyperfast neutron stars based on the hypothesis that they could be the remnants of a symmetric supernova explosion of a high-velocity massive star which attained its peculiar velocity (similar to that of the pulsar) in the course of a strong dynamical three- or four-body encounter in the core of dense young star cluster. To check this hypothesis, we investigated three dynamical processes involving close encounters between: (i) two hard massive binaries, (ii) a hard binary and an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) and (iii) a single stars and a hard binary IMBH. We find that main-sequence O-type stars cannot be ejected from young massive star clusters with peculiar velocities high enough to explain the origin of hyperfast neutron stars, but lower mass main-sequence stars or the stripped helium cores of massive stars could be accelerated to hypervelocities. Our explanation for the origin of hyperfast pulsars requires a very dense stellar environment of the order of  10⁶– 10⁷ stars pc⁻³  . Although such high densities may exist during the core collapse of young massive star clusters, we caution that they have never been observed.