Long-term bed load transport rate based on aerial-photo and ground penetrating radar surveys of fan-delta growth, Coast Mountains, British Columbia

Sequential aerial photography, sonar bathymetry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and sediment sampling and analysis provide the basis for calculating the volumetric and mass rate of progradation of the delta of Fitzsimmons Creek, a steep, high-energy, debris-flow-dominated channel draining about 100 km² of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Fitzsimmons Creek is typical of small mountain rivers in the region. GPR imaging is used to define the pre-depositional morphology of the receiving basin, a technique that improves the accuracy of the volumetric survey. The 52-year record (1947–1999) of progradation yielded an average annual volumetric transport rate of 1.00±0.16×10⁴ m³ year⁻¹ for bed load, corresponding to a mass transport rate of 1.60±0.28×10⁴ Mg year⁻¹. Bed load yields are consistent with those obtained in hydrogeomorphically similar basins in the region and elsewhere. Decade-based annual rates, which vary from 0.64±0.11×10⁴ to 2.85±0.38×10⁴ Mg year⁻¹, provide poor estimates of the 52-year average. Indeed, the 52-year record may also not be long enough to fully integrate the significant fluctuations in the sediment efflux from Fitzsimmons Creek. The methodology proposed in this paper can be transferred to other comparable mountain environments worldwide.     

Frequency dependence of elastic wave speeds at high temperature: a direct experimental demonstration

At sufficiently high temperatures and/or long periods, the elastic behaviour of crystalline material gives way progressively to viscoelastic behaviour associated with the stress-induced migration of crystal defects. This transition is marked by the onset of appreciable strain energy dissipation accompanied by frequency dependence (dispersion) of the shear modulus and elastic wave speeds. Ultrasonic interferometry and torsional forced-oscillation techniques can be used to probe the low-amplitude stress-strain behaviour of fine-grained polycrystalline material in two very different frequency ranges, respectively 10-100 MHz and 1 mHz-1 Hz. Here we demonstrate and apply these two complementary methods in a study of the high-temperature mechanical behaviour of a fine-grained synthetic olivine polycrystal. At the high frequencies of ultrasonic interferometry, the shear wave speed varies linearly with temperature between room temperature and the highest experimentally accessible temperature (1300 °C) in close accord with expectations based on similarly high-frequency studies of the elastic behaviour of single-crystal olivine. However, at teleseismic frequencies (<1 Hz) and temperatures >900 °C, the shear wave speed becomes much more strongly temperature-sensitive reflecting markedly viscoelastic behaviour. Newly emerging laboratory-derived constraints on this viscoelastic enhancement of the temperature sensitivity of seismic wave speeds and its grain-size dependence will provide a more robust interpretation of seismological models for the variation of wave speeds and attenuation within the Earth's interior.     

Rock albedo and monitoring of thermal conditions in respect of weathering: some expected and some unexpected results

Broadly speaking, there is, at least within geomorphic circles, a general acceptance that rocks with low albedos will warm both faster and to higher temperatures than rocks with high albedos, reflectivity influencing radiative warming. Upon this foundation are built notions of weathering in respect of the resulting thermal differences, both at the grain scale and at the scale of rock masses. Here, a series of paving bricks painted in 20 per cent reflectivity intervals from black through to white were used to monitor albedo‐influenced temperatures at a site in northern Canada in an attempt to test this premise. Temperatures were collected, for five months, for the rock surface and the base of the rock, the blocks being set within a mass of local sediment. Resulting thermal data did indeed show that the dark bricks were warmer than the white but only when their temperatures were equal to or cooler than the air temperature. As brick temperature exceeded that of the air, so the dark and light bricks moved to parity; indeed, the white bricks frequently became warmer than the dark. It is argued that this ‘negating’ of the albedo influence on heating is a result of the necessity of the bricks, both white and black, to convect heat away to the surrounding cooler air; the darker brick, being hotter, initially convects faster than the white as a product of the temperature difference between the two media. Thus, where the bricks become significantly hotter than the air, they lose energy to that air and so their respective temperatures become closer, the albedo influence being superceded by the requirement to equilibrate with the surrounding air. It is argued that this finding will have importance to our understanding of weathering in general and to our perceptions of weathering differences between different lithologies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variation of stream temperature among mesoscale habitats within stream reaches: southern Appalachians

Stream mesoscale habitats have systematic topographic relationships to hyporheic flow patterns, which may create predictable temperature variation between mesoscale habitat types. We investigated whether systematic differences in temperature metrics occurred between mesoscale habitats within reaches of small streams tributary to the upper Little Tennessee River, southern Appalachians. Surface water temperature was recorded over three or four mid‐summer days in four mesoscale habitat types: riffle, main riffle, pool and alcove in 44 stream segments (sites). Temperature metrics were calculated for each mesoscale habitat relative to the mean value of the metric over the stream: Δ maximum temperature, Δ average maximum temperature and Δ maximum daily variation and also for each site: standard deviation of the maximum temperature and average diurnal variation (ADV). Sites were categorized as fully or partially forested. Pool tailouts had statistically significantly lower Δ maximum temperature and Δ average maximum temperature than riffle tailouts in partially forested sites, although differences were small. This was the opposite of what was expected in the presence of hyporheic exchange, indicating hyporheic exchange is not a dominant driver of mesoscale habitat temperatures at these sites. Temperature differences between mesoscale habitat units were small and unlikely to have ecological significance. We also evaluated relationships between stream temperature and riparian condition, watershed % impervious surfaces, watershed % non‐forested and elevation. ADV and standard deviation of the maximum temperature were significantly higher in partially forested sites, indicating that partially forested sites have greater temperature ranges and spatial variation of maximum temperatures. ADV decreased with elevation and increased with % impervious surfaces. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary sea‐level change and evolution of Belfast Lough,Northern Ireland: new offshore evidence and implications for sea‐level reconstruction

The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited to shallow depths and uncertainty exists as to the veracity of modelled sea‐level curves. We use seismic stratigraphy, 39 vibrocores and 26 radiocarbon dates to investigate the deglacial history of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, and reconstruct past RSL. A typical sequence of till, glacimarine and Holocene sediments is preserved. Two sea‐level lowstands (both max. ?40 m) are recorded at c. 13.5 and 11.5k cal a bp . Each is followed by a rapid transgression and subsequent periods of RSL stability. The first transgression coincides temporally with a late stage of Meltwater Pulse 1a and the RSL stability occurred between c. 13.0 and c. 12.2k cal a bp (Younger Dryas). The second still/slowstand occurred between c. 10.3 and c. 11.5k cal a bp . Our data provide constraints on the direction and timing of RSL change during deglaciation. Application of the Depth of Closure concept adds an error term to sea‐level reconstructions based on seismic stratigraphic reconstructions.     

Do southern Appalachian Mountain summer stream temperatures respond to removal of understory rhododendron thickets?

Dense understory thickets of the native evergreen shrub Rhododendron maximum expanded initially following elimination of American chestnut by the chestnut blight, and later in response to loss of the eastern hemlock due to hemlock woolly adelgid invasion. Rhododendron thickets often blanket streams and their riparian zones, creating cool, low-light microclimates. To determine the effect of such understory thickets on summer stream temperatures, we removed riparian rhododendron understory on 300 m reaches of two southern Appalachian Mountain headwater streams, while leaving two 300 m reference reaches undisturbed. Overhead canopy was left intact in all four streams, but all streams were selected to have a significant component of dead or dying eastern hemlock in the overstory, creating time-varying canopy gaps throughout the reach. We continuously monitored temperatures upstream, within and downstream of treatment and reference reaches. Temperatures were monitored in all four streams in the summer before treatments were imposed (2014), and for two summers following treatment (2015, 2016). Temperatures varied significantly across and within streams prior to treatment and across years for the reference streams. After rhododendron removal, increases in summer stream temperatures were observed at some locations within the treatment reaches, but these increases did not persist downstream and varied by watershed, sensor, and year. Significant increases in daily maxima in treatment reaches ranged from 0.9 to 2.6°C. Overhead canopy provided enough shade to prevent rhododendron removal from increasing summer temperatures to levels deleterious to native cold-water fauna (average summer temperatures remained below 16°C), and local temperature effects were not persistent.     

The Rock of Gibraltar re‐visited

Gibraltar, a 6km² peninsula jutting south from Spain at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, is dominated by its 424 m‐high Rock: famous as a landmark to seafarers since ancient times. Twenty‐five years ago, an article in Geology Today (1991, v.7, pp.95–101) interpreted the Rock as a partly overturned mass of Early Jurassic dolomitic limestone, thrust into position during continent–continent collision about 15–20 million years before present and shaped finally by shoreline processes active during Quaternary tectonic uplift. Later articles featured the complex of tunnels and chambers excavated between 1782 and 1968 by British military engineers within its 2.6 km‐long main ridge (1992, v.8, pp.92–98), and the Neanderthals known to have used some of its caves (1997, v.13, pp.179–184). Significant aspects of the Rock's geological history have clarified since then.     

Recent progress on combining geomorphological and geochronological data with ice sheet modelling,demonstrated using the last British–Irish Ice Sheet

Palaeo-ice sheets are important analogues for understanding contemporary ice sheets, offering a record of ice sheet behaviour that spans millennia. There are two main approaches to reconstructing palaeo-ice sheets. Empirical reconstructions use the available glacial geological and chronological evidence to estimate ice sheet extent and dynamics but lack direct consideration of ice physics. In contrast, numerically modelled simulations implement ice physics, but often lack direct quantitative comparison with empirical evidence. Despite being long identified as a fruitful scientific endeavour, few ice sheet reconstructions attempt to reconcile the empirical and model-based approaches. To achieve this goal, model-data comparison procedures are required. Here, we compare three numerically modelled simulations of the former British–Irish Ice Sheet with the following lines of evidence: (a) position and shape of former margin positions, recorded by moraines; (b) former ice-flow direction and flow-switching, recorded by flowsets of subglacial bedforms; and (c) the timing of ice-free conditions, recorded by geochronological data. These model–data comparisons provide a useful framework for quantifying the degree of fit between numerical model simulations and empirical constraints. Such tools are vital for reconciling numerical modelling and empirical evidence, the combination of which will lead to more robust palaeo-ice sheet reconstructions with greater explicative and ultimately predictive power.