The implementation of fog water collection systems in South Africa

Two fog water collection systems (FWCS) have been implemented in South Africa. Both are located in areas where communities experience acute water shortages but which are prone to frequent fog episodes. The first was located at a high elevation site at the Tshanowa Junior Primary (JP) School in the Soutpansberg located in the Northern Province and the other near a small rural community at Lepelfontein along the West Coast. The former represents a mountainous site, while the latter is located on a low level coastal plain. The principal aim of the projects was to implement operational FWCSs to supply the communities with water. During the period 1999 to 2001 the total recorded cloud water yields at the Tshanowa JP School and Lepelfontein water collection sites were in the region of 72 422 and 148 691 l, respectively. This is equivalent to just over 2 l m⁻² day⁻¹ at the Tshanowa JP School and 4.6 l m⁻² day⁻¹ at the Lepelfontein site. Despite the relatively low average daily yields recorded, the total water volume collected on a particular day may be considerable. In fact, at both sites the maximum daily yield exceeded 3800 l. Fog deposition accounted for around 25% and 88% of the total water yield measured at the Tshanowa JP School and Lepelfontein sites, respectively. Both experiments indicated that fog water collection holds considerable potential as an alternative water source in the mountainous regions and along the West Coast of South Africa.     

Breeding habitat selection by houbara bustard<Emphasis Type="Italic">(Chlamydotis [undulata] macqueenii</Emphasis>) in Mori,Xinjiang, China

The protoliths of mafic-ultramafic plutons in the northern Dabie Mts. (NDM) (Hubei) include pyroxenite and gabbro. The zircon U-Pb dating for a gabbro suggests that emplacement of mafic magma took place in the post-collisional setting at the age of 122.9±0.6 Ma. It is difficult to obtain a reliable Sm-Nd isochron age, due to disequilibrium of the Sm-Nd isotopic system. Two hornblende⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 116.1±1.1 Ma and 106.6±0.8 Ma may record cooling of metamorphism in the mafic-ultramafic plutons in Hubei below 500°C. The hornblende⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei are evidently 15–25 Ma younger than those for the same rocks in Anhui, indicating that there is a diversity of the cooling rates for the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei and Anhui. The difference in their cooling rates may be controlled by the north-dipping normal faults in the NDM. The intense metamorphism occurring in the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei may result from the Yanshanian magmatic reheating and thermal fluid action induced by the Cretaceous migmatization. The geochemical similarity of these mafic-ultramafic rocks wherever in Hubei and Anhui may be attributed to the same tectonic setting via an identical genetic mechanism.     

Significance of a combined approach for replacement stones in the heritage buildings’ conservation frame

Stone substitution is a conventional operation during heritage buildings’ restoration, but becomes problematic for architects and restorers when the quarry is mined out. The compatibility of the substitution stones with the original ones has been for long mainly based on the aesthetical aspect, this resulting too often in a patchwork of original and substitution stones with different patina after several years because of differences of properties. In this study, the objective is to show how substitution stones can be selected by combining aesthetic criteria and stones properties that are relevant for analyzing their compatibility. A couple of French limestones with their potential substitution stones were selected for the study. Our results showed that potential substitution stones selected on their aesthetic criteria require to be rejected because of their differences of physical properties. On the other hand, our results showed also the possibility to select substitution stones with satisfactory aesthetic aspect and properties that enable to expect a satisfactory compatibility with the original stone.     

Badlands as a hot spot of petrogenic contribution to riverine particulate organic carbon to the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Determining the riverine carbon fluxes to oceans is critical for an improved understanding of C budgets and biogeochemical cycles (C, O) over a broad range of spatial and time scales. Among the particulate organic carbon (POC) involved in these fluxes, those yielded by sedimentary rocks (petrogenic POC: pPOC) remain somewhat uncertain as to their source on continental surfaces. Based on time series from long‐term observatories, we refine the POC and sediments flux of the Rhône River, one of the major tributaries to the Mediterranean Sea. Radiocarbon measurements on a set of riverine samples and forward modelling were used to (i) determine a modelled pPOC content and pPOC/POC ratio for each sample set, (ii) assess pPOC flux delivered to the NW Mediterranean Sea, and (iii) estimate the badlands contribution from the Durance catchment to both the pPOC and to sediment discharges. The weighted pPOC flux contributes up to 26% of the POC flux (145 Gg yr^‐1) discharged into the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the weighted pPOC content reaches 0.31 wt%. Despite their low contributive surface area (0.2%), badlands provide, respectively, 12, 3.5 and 14% of the pPOC, POC and sediment fluxes to the Rhône River. Consequently, such rocks can be considered as a major source of pPOC and sediments for the NW Mediterranean Sea and potentially for oceans. We suggest that river‐dominated ocean margins, such as the Rhône River, with badlands in their catchment could export a significant amount of pPOC to the oceans. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stochastic Seismic Waveform Inversion Using Generative Adversarial Networks as a Geological Prior

Mathematical Geosciences - We present an application of deep generative models in the context of partial differential equation constrained inverse problems. We combine a generative adversarial...     

Diurnal heterogeneity in silicic acid fluxes in shallow coastal sites: Causes and implications

In shallow coastal areas the amplitude and range of benthic silicic acid fluxes can have a significant influence on benthic–pelagic coupling and the functioning of the pelagic system. To explore the oscillation in fluxes over the diurnal cycle and in particular the influence of microphytobenthos (MPB), an experiment was carried out in a shallow subtidal site in the Bay of Brest (France). Benthic chambers were employed over a 48 h period to measure the variability in silicic acid and oxygen fluxes; MPB migration was investigated using a diving Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) fluorometer and uptake rhythms of silicic acid by natural MPB populations were measured using the ³²Si isotope. It was discovered that silicic acid fluxes fluctuated greatly throughout the diurnal period resulting in an oscillation in the availability of this nutrient for phytoplankton communities. The uptake of silicic acid by the MPB was quantified for the first time and highlighted a 2-fold increase in the demand from night to afternoon periods. The combined silicic acid uptake and the concentration of cells at the sediment–water interface, forming a dense biofilm of MPB, were postulated to be the main processes reducing effluxes at midday. Our work highlighted the many processes which influence silicic acid effluxes in shallow coastal areas and the possible interaction between uptake and dissolution processes. The variations in benthic fluxes over the diurnal period were comparable to observations reported at the seasonal scale. Therefore, up-scaling hourly flux observations to daily and annual estimates should be undertaken with caution. Further we suggest that the main processes influencing flux oscillations over the diurnal period should be considered when planning sampling strategies and extrapolating to larger time scales.     

Tidal exchange between a freshwater tidal marsh and an impacted estuary: the Scheldt estuary, Belgium

Tidal marsh exchange studies are relatively simple tools to investigate the interaction between tidal marshes and estuaries. They have mostly been confined to only a few elements and to saltwater or brackish systems. This study presents mass-balance results of an integrated one year campaign in a freshwater tidal marsh along the Scheldt estuary (Belgium), covering oxygen, nutrients (N, P and Si), carbon, chlorophyll, suspended matter, chloride and sulfate. The role of seepage from the marsh was also investigated. A ranking between the parameters revealed that oxygenation was the strongest effect of the marsh on the estuarine water. Particulate parameters showed overall import. Export of dissolved silica (DSi) was more important than exchange of any other nutrient form. Export of DSi and import of total dissolved nitrogen (DIN) nevertheless contributed about equally to the increase of the Si:N ratio in the seepage water. The marsh had a counteracting effect on the long term trend of nutrient ratios in the estuary.     

The effects of resolving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in a finite element sea ice model

Though narrow straits may have a strong influence on the large-scale sea ice mass balance, they are often crudely represented in coarse resolution sea ice models. Unstructured meshes, with their natural ability to fit boundaries and locally increase the mesh resolution, propose an alternative framework to capture the complex oceanic areas formed by coasts and islands. In this paper, we develop a finite element sea ice model to investigate the sensitivity of the Arctic sea ice cover features to the resolution of the narrow straits constituting the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The model is a two-level dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model, including a viscous-plastic rheology. It is run over 1979–2005, forced by daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Confronting qualitatively numerical experiments with observations shows a good agreement with satellite and buoys measurements. Due to its simple representation of the oceanic interactions, the model overestimates the sea ice extent during winter in the southernmost parts of the Arctic, while the Baffin Bay and Kara Sea remain ice-covered during summer. In order to isolate the benefits from resolving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a numerical experiment is performed where we artificially close the archipelago. Focusing on the large-scale sea ice thickness pattern, no significant change is found in our model, except in the close surroundings of the archipelago. However, the local and short-term influences of the ice exchanges are nonnegligible. In particular, we show that the ice volume associated to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago represents 10% of the Northern Hemisphere sea ice volume and that the annual mean ice export towards Baffin Bay amounts to 125 km³ yr⁻¹, which may play an important role on the convective overturning in the Labrador Sea.     

Absolute seafloor vertical positioning using combined pressure gauge and kinematic GPS data

Knowledge of the position and motion of points on the seafloor can be critically important in both fundamental research (for example, global geodesy and plate tectonics) and for more practical applications such as seismic risk evaluation, off-shore construction and pipeline monitoring. In the Vanuatu subduction zone, for example, measuring deformation underwater could provide valuable information for modeling deformation and understanding the seismic cycle. We report a shallow water experiment in Vanuatu to measure the relative and absolute depth of seafloor points. The experiment differs from previous efforts mainly in that it uses the height of the sea surface determined by kinematic GPS, allowing us to locate the points in a global reference frame. The ITRF2005 ellipsoidal height of a seafloor benchmark was determined with a 1-sigma uncertainty of 0.7–2.1 cm. The estimated ellipsoidal height differs only by a few tenths of a centimeter between measurements made in 2004 and another set made in 2006. These results are encouraging and open new perspectives for vertical underwater deformation monitoring in shallow water areas. Sea-surface GPS measurements can also help to reduce the uncertainty in depth difference determination for relative measurements.     

Physical models of magmatic intrusion during thrusting

To investigate how magma rises through the brittle upper crust in a context of compressional tectonics, we have performed experiments on scaled physical models. Powdered silica (having a cohesion of 300 Pa and an angle of internal friction of 38°) was used to represent brittle crust. A vegetable oil (with a Newtonian viscosity of 10^?2 Pa·s at 50 °C) was used to represent magma. A moving piston shortened the models in a box, while oil was injected steadily at the base. On cooling to room temperature, the oil solidified. The resulting intrusions were thin sills, dykes and laccoliths. Their shapes and emplacement modes depended on the ratio R between rates of shortening and injection. From shapes and orientations of intrusions, we infer that hydraulic fracturing was one mechanism of emplacement. Unconsolidated intrusions strongly influenced thrust formation. On the basis of our experiments, we suggest that magmas in orogenic belts can rise along thrust faults.