Canadian gravimetric geoid model 2010

A new gravimetric geoid model, Canadian Gravimetric Geoid 2010 (CGG2010), has been developed to upgrade the previous geoid model CGG2005. CGG2010 represents the separation between the reference ellipsoid of GRS80 and the Earth’s equipotential surface of $W_0=62{,}636{,}855.69~\mathrm{m}^2\mathrm{s}^{-2}$ W 0 = 62 , 636 , 855.69 m 2 s ? 2 . The Stokes–Helmert method has been re-formulated for the determination of CGG2010 by a new Stokes kernel modification. It reduces the effect of the systematic error in the Canadian terrestrial gravity data on the geoid to the level below 2 cm from about 20 cm using other existing modification techniques, and renders a smooth spectral combination of the satellite and terrestrial gravity data. The long wavelength components of CGG2010 include the GOCE contribution contained in a combined GRACE and GOCE geopotential model: GOCO01S, which ranges from $-20.1$ ? 20.1 to 16.7 cm with an RMS of 2.9 cm. Improvement has been also achieved through the refinement of geoid modelling procedure and the use of new data. (1) The downward continuation effect has been accounted accurately ranging from $-22.1$ ? 22.1 to 16.5 cm with an RMS of 0.9 cm. (2) The geoid residual from the Stokes integral is reduced to 4 cm in RMS by the use of an ultra-high degree spherical harmonic representation of global elevation model for deriving the reference Helmert field in conjunction with a derived global geopotential model. (3) The Canadian gravimetric geoid model is published for the first time with associated error estimates. In addition, CGG2010 includes the new marine gravity data, ArcGP gravity grids, and the new Canadian Digital Elevation Data (CDED) 1:50K. CGG2010 is compared to GPS-levelling data in Canada. The standard deviations are estimated to vary from 2 to 10 cm with the largest error in the mountainous areas of western Canada. We demonstrate its improvement over the previous models CGG2005 and EGM2008.     

Anisotropy of Unstably Stratified Near-Surface Turbulence

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Classic Monin–Obukov similarity scaling states that in a stationary, horizontally homogeneous flow, in the absence of subsidence, turbulence is dictated by the...     

Reply to “Oxygen isotope heterogeneity of the mantle beneath the Canary Islands: a discussion of the paper of Gurenko et al.”

The comment by Day et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol, 2012) (1) discusses the validity of the previously obtained oxygen isotope data for El Hierro and La Palma (Canary Island) olivines, (2) questions the approach by Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) of using weakly correlated variations of δ¹⁸O_olivine values with X _px (proportion of pyroxenite-derived melt in the parental magma), and (3) provides reasons why oxygen isotope data by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) “offer sensitive means for detecting melt-crust interactions.” We respond these comments and report a new set of oxygen isotope measurements performed by SIMS and single-grain laser fluorination methods. These measurements confirm our previous data and conclusions and demonstrate the ability of the SIMS technique to analyze O isotopes in terrestrial samples with 2-sigma uncertainty better than ±0.25 ‰.     

Impact of Berm Breaching on Hyperbenthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Intermittently Closed Estuaries

Berm breaching of intermittently closed estuaries, either naturally or due to management practices, results in a physicochemical disturbance due to the flushing of water, material and biota into the ocean and the subsequent tidal influx. In 2007 and 2008 comparative and controlled studies were employed in three New Zealand estuaries: Sawmill Creek (46°04′ S 170°12′ E), Otokia Creek (45°57′ S 179°20′ E) and Kaikorai Lagoon (45°56′ S 170°23′ E), to investigate the impact of berm breaching on the hyperbenthic macroinvertebrate community in intermittently closed estuaries. Significant changes in community structure occurred in both the weekly comparative and the controlled studies (ANOSIM P < 0.01). Furthermore, the catch per unit effort of both total and key invertebrate taxa significantly increased after breaching (ANOVA P < 0.01). However, substantial numbers of individuals were expelled into the ocean (5,800 individuals, 20-min sample) while new taxa immigrated into the estuaries. Along with migration-related changes to community structure, berm breaches also resulted in the loss of ∼80% of inundated habitat and the concentration of existing populations. Consequently, the management of intermittent estuary connections to the ocean has implications for the ecology of individual, managed estuaries and also for regional coastal populations of epibenthic invertebrates.     

Early Permian extensional shearing of an Ordovician granite: The Saint-Eutrope “C/S-like” orthogneiss (Montagne Noire,French Massif Central)

Dating the magmatic events in the Montagne Noire gneiss dome is a key point to arbitrate between the different interpretations of the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian tectonics in this southern part of the Variscan belt. The Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss crops out along the northern flank of the dome. We show that the protolith of this orthogneiss is an Ordovician granite dated at 455 ± 2 Ma (LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating on zircon). This age is identical to that previously obtained on the augen orthogneiss of the southern flank, strongly suggesting that both orthogneiss occurrences have the same Ordovician protolith. The Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss experienced intense shearing along the Espinouse extensional detachment at ca. 295 Ma (LA-ICP-MS U-Pb-Th on monazite), an age close to that determined previously on mica by the ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar method and contemporaneous with the emplacement age of the syntectonic Montalet granite farther to the west. This normal sense shearing reworked previous fabrics related to Variscan thrusting that can be still observed in the augen orthogneiss of the southern flank, and is responsible for the spectacular “C/S-like” pattern of the Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss. This work also shows that care is needed when dealing with C/S-type structures, since they can develop not only in syntectonic intrusions, but also in orthogneisses affected by an intense secondary deformation, at decreasing temperature.     

Occurrence and distribution of hydrocarbons in the surface microlayer and subsurface water from the urban coastal marine area off Marseilles, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Aliphatic (AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in dissolved and particulate material from surface microlayer (SML) and subsurface water (SSW) sampled at nearshore observation stations, sewage effluents and harbour sites from Marseilles coastal area (Northwestern Mediterranean) in 2009 and 2010. Dissolved and particulate AH concentrations ranged 0.05–0.41 and 0.04–4.3 μg l⁻¹ in the SSW, peaking up to 38 and 1366 μg l⁻¹ in the SML, respectively. Dissolved and particulate PAHs ranged 1.9–98 and 1.9–21 ng l⁻¹ in the SSW, amounting up 217 and 1597 ng l⁻¹ in the SML, respectively. In harbours, hydrocarbons were concentrated in the SML, with enrichment factors reaching 1138 for particulate AHs. Besides episodic dominance of biogenic and pyrogenic inputs, a moderate anthropisation from petrogenic sources dominated suggesting the impact of shipping traffic and surface runoffs on this urbanised area. Rainfalls increased hydrocarbon concentrations by a factor 1.9–11.5 in the dissolved phase.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of heavy metal concentrations in mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Baie des Chaleurs, New Brunswick, Canada

Previous studies on heavy metal contamination of the Baie des Chaleurs focus only on industrial centers and overlooked the ecosystem as a whole. To fill this gap, the objective of this study is to establish a baseline of the spatio-temporal distribution of heavy metals in mussels from the Baie des Chaleurs based on the ecosystem approach. Our results show, for the first time, a cadmium contamination in mussels across the south coast of the Baie des Chaleurs and not only in industrial centers. Our results also confirm previous studies showing heavy metal contamination of the Belledune area. This study demonstrates that the use of the ecosystemic approach is essential to obtain a comprehensive picture of environmental contamination in marine ecosystems.     

Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches

To understand the spatial variation in concentrations and compositions of organic micropollutants in marine plastic debris and their sources, we analyzed plastic fragments (∼10 mm) from the open ocean and from remote and urban beaches. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), alkylphenols and bisphenol A were detected in the fragments at concentrations from 1 to 10,000 ng/g. Concentrations showed large piece-to-piece variability. Hydrophobic organic compounds such as PCBs and PAHs were sorbed from seawater to the plastic fragments. PCBs are most probably derived from legacy pollution. PAHs showed a petrogenic signature, suggesting the sorption of PAHs from oil slicks. Nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and PBDEs came mainly from additives and were detected at high concentrations in some fragments both from remote and urban beaches and the open ocean.     

Contemporary 14C radiocarbon levels of oxygenated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (O-PBDEs) isolated in sponge-cyanobacteria associations

Considerable debate surrounds the sources of oxygenated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (O-PBDEs) in wildlife as to whether they are naturally produced or result from anthropogenic industrial activities. Natural radiocarbon (¹⁴C) abundance has proven to be a powerful tool to address this problem as recently biosynthesized compounds contain contemporary (i.e. modern) amounts of atmospheric radiocarbon; whereas industrial chemicals, mostly produced from fossil fuels, contain no detectable ¹⁴C. However, few compounds isolated from organisms have been analyzed for their radiocarbon content. To provide a baseline, we analyzed the ¹⁴C content of four O-PBDEs. These compounds, 6-OH-BDE47, 2′-OH-BDE68, 2′,6-diOH-BDE159, and a recently identified compound, 2′-MeO-6-OH-BDE120, were isolated from the tropical marine sponges Dysidea granulosa and Lendenfeldia dendyi. The modern radiocarbon content of their chemical structures (i.e. diphenyl ethers, C₁₂H₂₂O) indicates that they are naturally produced. This adds to a growing baseline on, at least, the sources of these unusual compounds.     

The role of aridification in constraining the elevation range of Holocene solifluction processes and associated landforms in the periglacial belt of the Sierra Nevada (southern Spain)

Climate variability during the Mid‐Late Holocene has influenced the activity of geomorphic processes in the current periglacial belt of the Sierra Nevada. We studied two types of sedimentary records that reveal a synchronous timing for slope instability in this high semi‐arid massif: solifluction landforms and mountain lake sediments. Lithological and sedimentological properties of both records have recorded numerous cycles of different magnitude of slope processes in the massif. Solifluction deposits record seven phases of solifluction activity and soil development during the last 7 ka bp and lake sediments show evidence of eight periods with increased geomorphic activity in the catchments over the last 6 ka bp . Although present‐day climate conditions do not promote active solifluction processes in the Sierra Nevada, colder and wetter periods during the Holocene triggered solifluction and transported coarse‐grained sediments into the lakes. By contrast, warm phases favoured soil formation and spread an incipient vegetation cover over the headwaters of the highest valleys, diminishing the grain size of the particles reaching the lakes. Lake sediments record an aridification trend in the massif intensifying since 4·2 ka bp that has conditioned solifluction activity to shift gradually to higher elevations. During major cooler phases such as the Little Ice Age active solifluction was recorded back down to 2500 m altitude. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.