Sedimentology of an ancient erg margin: the Lower Jurassic Aztec Sandstone, southern Nevada and southern California

The Lower Jurassic Aztec Sandstone is an aeolian-deposited quartzose sandstone that represents the western margin of the southerly-migrating Navajo-Nugget sand sea (or erg). Vertical and lateral facies relations suggest that the erg margin encroached upon volcanic highlands, alluvial fan, wadi and sabkha environments. In southern Nevada, 700 m thick facies successions record the arrival of the Aztec sand sea. Initial erg sedimentation in the Valley of Fire consists of lenticular or tongue-shaped aeolian sand bodies interstratified with fluvially-deposited coarse sandstone and mudstone. Above, evaporite-rich fine sandstone and mudstone are overlain by thick, cross-stratified aeolian sandstone that shows an upsection increase in set thickness. The lithofacies succession represents aeolian sand sheets and small dunes that migrated over a siliciclastic sabkha traversed by ephemeral wadis. These deposits were ultimately buried by large dunes and draas of the erg. In the Spring Mountains, a similar facies succession also contains thin, lenticular volcaniclastic conglomerate and sandstone. These sediments represent the distal margin of an alluvial fan complex sourced from the west. Thin aeolian sequences are interbedded with volcanic flow rocks, ash-flow tuffs, debris flows, and fluvial deposits in the Mojave Desert of southern California. These aeolian strata represent erg migration up the eastern flanks of a magmatic arc. The westward diminution of aeolian-deposited units may reflect incomplete erg migration, thin accumulation of aeolian sediment succeptible to erosion, and stratigraphic dilution by arc-derived sediment. A two-part division of the Aztec erg is suggested by lithofacies associations, the size and geometry of aeolian cross-strata, and sediment dispersal data. The leading or downwind margin of the erg, here termed the fore-erg, is represented by a 10–100 m thick succession of isolated pods, lenses, and tongues of aeolian-deposited sediment encased in fluvial and sabkha deposits. Continued sand-sea migration brought large dunes and draas of the erg interior into the study area; these 150–500 m thick central-erg sediments buried the fore-erg deposits. The trailing, upwind margin of the erg is represented by back-erg deposits in northern Utah and Wyoming.     

Shallow‐water microbialite‐volcaniclastic facies association in the Cambro‐Ordovician Mt Windsor Subprovince,Australia

The Trooper Creek Formation is a mineralised submarine volcano‐sedimentary sequence in the Cambro‐Ordovician Seventy Mile Range Group, Queensland. Most of the Trooper Creek Formation accumulated in a below‐storm‐wave‐base setting. However, microbialites and fossiliferous quartz‐hematite ± magnetite lenses provide evidence for local shoaling to above fairweather wave‐base (typically 5–15 m). The microbialites comprise biogenic (oncolites, stromatolites) and volcanogenic (pumice, shards, crystal fragments) components. Microstructural elements of the bioherms and biostromes include upwardly branching stromatolites, which suggest that photosynthetic microorganisms were important in constructing the microbialites. Because the microbialites are restricted to a thin stratigraphic interval in the Trooper Creek area, shallow‐water environments are interpreted to have been spatially and temporarily restricted. The circumstances that led to local shoaling are recorded by the enclosing volcanic and sedimentary lithofacies. The microbialites are hosted by felsic syneruptive pumiceous turbidites and water‐settled fall deposits generated by explosive eruptions. The microbialite host rocks overlie a thick association (≤?300 m) of andesitic lithofacies that includes four main facies: coherent andesite and associated autoclastic breccia and peperite; graded andesitic scoria breccia (scoriaceous sediment gravity‐flow deposits); fluidal clast‐rich andesitic breccia (water‐settled fall and sediment gravity‐flow deposits); and cross‐stratified andesitic sandstone and breccia (traction‐current deposits). The latter three facies consist of poorly vesicular blocky fragments, scoriaceous clasts (10–90%), and up to 10% fluidally shaped clasts. The fluidal clasts are interpreted as volcanic bombs. Clast shapes and textures in the andesitic volcaniclastic facies association imply that fragmentation occurred through a combination of fire fountaining and Strombolian activity, and a large proportion of the pyroclasts disintegrated due to quenching and impacts. Rapid syneruptive, near‐vent aggradation of bombs, scoria, and quench‐fragmented clasts probably led to temporary shoaling, so that subsequent felsic volcaniclastic facies and microbialites were deposited in shallow water. When subsidence outpaced aggradation, the depositional setting at Trooper Creek returned to being relatively deep marine.     

Interpreting tracer breakthrough tailing in a conduit-dominated karstic aquifer

Breakthrough tailing has been observed during dye-tracing recovery tests in the Norville aquifer system (chalk), France. Karst-conduit flow and transport parameters were assessed using two different interpretative methods: the linear graphical method and the Chatwin method (implemented in the Qtracer2 program). The linear graphical method was used to model the observed tailing effects, which was explained by a second smaller delayed breakthrough curve. By comparing the results of tracer-test interpretation for the two methods, it was possible to relate the area of this second curve to the importance of turbulent flow in spring discharge. The more turbulent the flow, the less important the contribution of the second breakthrough curve and the tailing effect. The observed tailing could possibly be controlled by hydrodynamics to a greater extent than usually expected, the tailing effects being mostly attributed to diffusion phenomena. Tailing effects were expected to increase with discharge and the piezometric level, which would have resulted in overpressure in conduits, fissure flooding, etc. Instead, breakthrough tailing tended to disappear with increasing aquifer discharge, which would support the hypothesis of there being mostly hydrodynamic-controlled tailing effects instead of matrix- or fissure-diffusion.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Recent movements of the earth's crust

Summary It has been shown that it is necessary to combine several methods to be able to describe and explain recent movements of the Earth's crust.Presented at the XV^th General Assembly of the IUGG, Moscow 1971.     

Assessing vulnerability due to sea-level rise in Maui, Hawai‘i using LiDAR remote sensing and GIS

Sea-level rise (SLR) threatens islands and coastal communities due to vulnerable infrastructure and populations concentrated in low-lying areas. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data were used to produce high-resolution DEMs (Digital Elevation Model) for Kahului and Lahaina, Maui, to assess the potential impacts of future SLR. Two existing LiDAR datasets from USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) were compared and calibrated using the Kahului Harbor tide station. Using tidal benchmarks is a valuable approach for referencing LiDAR in areas lacking an established vertical datum, such as in Hawai‘i and other Pacific Islands. Exploratory analysis of the USACE LiDAR ground returns (point data classified as ground after the removal of vegetation and buildings) indicated that another round of filtering could reduce commission errors. Two SLR scenarios of 0.75 (best-case) to 1.9 m (worst-case) (Vermeer and Rahmstorf Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:21527–21532, 2009) were considered, and the DEMs were used to identify areas vulnerable to flooding. Our results indicate that if no adaptive strategies are taken, a loss ranging from $18.7 million under the best-case SLR scenario to $296 million under the worst-case SLR scenario for Hydrologically Connected (HC; marine inundation) and Hydrologically Disconnected (HD; drainage problems due to a higher water table) areas combined is possible for Kahului; a loss ranging from $57.5 million under the best-case SLR scenario to $394 million under the worst-case SLR scenario for HC and HD areas combined is possible for Lahaina towards the end of the century. This loss would be attributable to inundation between 0.55 km² to 2.13 km² of area for Kahului, and 0.04 km² to 0.37 km² of area for Lahaina.     

Seasonal Variability of Carbon Dioxide in the Rivers and Lagoons of Ivory Coast (West Africa)

We report partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) and ancillary data in three rivers (Bia, Tanoé, and Comoé) and five lagoons (Tendo, Aby, Ebrié, Potou, and Grand-Lahou) in Ivory Coast (West Africa), during four cruises covering the main climatic seasons. The three rivers were oversaturated in CO₂ with respect to atmospheric equilibrium, and the seasonal variability of pCO₂ was due to dilution during the flooding period. Surface waters of the Potou, Ebrié, and Grand-Lahou lagoons were oversaturated in CO₂ during all seasons. These lagoons behaved similarly to the oligohaline regions of macrotidal estuaries that are CO₂ sources to the atmosphere due to net ecosystem heterotrophy and inputs of riverine CO₂ rich waters. The Aby and Tendo lagoons were undersaturated in CO₂ with respect to the atmosphere because of their permanent haline stratification (unlike the other lagoons) that seemed to lead to higher phytoplankton production and export of organic carbon below the pycnocline.     

The total number of spicules on the solar surface and their role in heating and mass balanace in the solar corona

A critical review of determinations of the number of spicules is presented, and the role of both classical and Type 2 spicules in heating and mass balance in the corona is considered. The total number of Type 2 spicules is determined, together with the upward fluxes of energy and mass to which they give rise. The total number of Type 2 spicules on the solar surface is found to be ~10⁵, close to values obtained in other studies. The associated particle flux toward the corona is 2.5 × 10¹⁴ cm^?2 s^?1, an order of magnitude lower than the corresponding flux for classical spicules. The associated energy flux is 10⁴ erg cm^?2 s^?1, an order of magnaitude lower than estimates obtained in other studies. The results indicate that Type 2 spicules can supply the mass lost from the corona, but are not able to fully explain coronal energy losses.     

The skin friction in the unsteady free-convection flow past an accelerated plate

In this paper the unsteady laminar free-convection flow of a viscous incompressible fluid, past an accelerated infinite vertical porous plate subjected to a constant suction (or injection) in considered. Numerical results for the skin-friction on the plate are obtained for the class of accelerated motions whose velocity is of the formU ₀ t ⁿ wheret is time,U ₀ a constant, andn is a positive integer. The skin friction tends to zero with increasingt when the Grashof number Gr=², the Prandtl number =1,n=0, and >0 which corresponds to suction.On leave of absence from the Department of Mathematics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.On leave from absence from the Department of Mathematics, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.     

The origin of the Pedra Furada sandstone tubular structures (South of Lisbon, Portugal)

The Pedra Furada is a 12 m wide, 18 m high outcrop feature showing hundreds of ferruginised sandy tubes and looking in part like a giant organ. In this paper the origin of the tubes is explained on the basis of geochemical, petrographic and microscopic (optical and electronic) analytical data. The tubes are considered to represent vertical escape channels for overpressured water, exhibiting inward decreasing grain size due to water velocity gradients inside the escape channels. The ferruginisation is due to iron oxides associated with colloidal/clayey fine sediments and to goethite formed from solution. The overpressure of water may be due to seismically fluidised beds below the Pedra Furada outcrop or to artesian water ascent. In both cases, fault rupturing may have played a major role in the focussing of the ascending flow.     

Political orientation moderates Americans’ beliefs and concern about climate change

I offer some theoretical insights to help us better understand the moderator effect of political orientation that Larry Hamilton and others have found in recent years. Reflexive modernization theory highlights an emerging tension between those who direct attention to the negative consequences of industrial capitalism such as climate change (e.g., the scientific community and environmental organizations) and those who defend the economic system against such critiques (e.g., the conservative movement). Political divisions in the American public increasingly map onto these societal divisions between critics and defenders of the industrial capitalist order—especially for the issue of climate change. This alignment is facilitated by increased polarization among political elites and balkanization of the news media. Strong evidence of the moderator effect is consistent with the expectations of information processing theory and elite cues hypothesis from political science. Recent empirical findings in political psychology and neuroscience also seem pertinent for explaining this moderator effect. I end by outlining a few implications for climate change research and communication.