Multitemporal ALSM change detection,sediment delivery,and process mapping at an active earthflow

Remote mapping and measurement of surface processes at high spatial resolution is among the frontiers in Earth surface process research. Remote measurements that allow meter‐scale mapping of landforms and quantification of landscape change can revolutionize the study of landscape evolution on human timescales. At Mill Gulch in northern California, USA, an active earthflow was surveyed in 2003 and 2007 by airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), enabling meter‐scale quantification of landscape change. We calculate four‐year volumetric flux from the earthflow and compare it to long‐term catchment average erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclide inventories from adjacent watersheds. We also present detailed maps of changing features on the earthflow, from which we can derive velocity estimates and infer dominant process. These measurements rely on proper digital elevation model (DEM) generation and a simple surface‐matching technique to align the multitemporal data in a manner that eliminates systematic error in either dataset. The mean surface elevation of the earthflow and an opposite slope that was directly influenced by the earthflow decreased 14 ± 1 mm/yr from 2003 to 2007. By making the conservative assumption that these features were the dominant contributor of sediment flux from the entire Mill Gulch drainage basin during this time interval, we calculate a minimum catchment‐averaged erosion rate of 0·30 ± 0·02 mm/yr. Analysis of beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) concentrations in fluvial sand from nearby Russian Gulch and the South Fork Gualala River provide catchment averaged erosion rates of 0·21 ± 0·04 and 0·23 ± 0·03 mm/yr respectively. From translated landscape features, we can infer surface velocities ranging from 0·5 m/yr in the wide upper ‘source’ portion of the flow to 5 m/yr in the narrow middle ‘transport’ portion of the flow. This study re‐affirms the importance of mass wasting processes in the sediment budgets of uplifting weak lithologies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creating a greater partnership: analysing partnership in the Catholic Church development chain

This paper presents results from a project designed to explore the meaning and function of partnership within the Catholic Church development chain. The geography literature has had little to say about such aid chains, especially those founded on faith-based groups. The relationships between three Catholic Church-based donors – referred to as A, B and C – with development personnel of the diocese of the Abuja Ecclesiastical Province (AEP) as well as other Catholic Church structures in Nigeria were analysed. The aim was to explore the forces behind the relationships and how 'patchy' these relationships were in AEP. Respondents were asked to give each of the donors a score in relation to four questions covering their relationship with the donors. Results suggest that the modus operandi of donor 'A' allows it to be perceived as the 'best' partner, while 'B' was scored less favourably because of a perception that it attempts to act independently of existing structures in Nigeria rather than work through them. There was significant variation between diocese in this regard, as well as between the diocese and other structures of the Church (Provinces, Inter-Provinces and National Secretariat). Thus 'partnership' in the Catholic Church aid chain is a highly complex, contested and 'visioned' term and the development of an analytical framework has to take account of these fundamentals.     

Global Detection of Infrasonic Signals from Three Large Bolides

We present the infrasonic observations of three large bolides that were observed at numerous International Monitoring System (IMS) infrasound arrays on a global scale. First, a simple procedure for the global association of infrasound detections from large infrasound events is outlined. Infrasound signals are associated with large events based on arrival time, backazimuth and uniqueness at a given IMS array. Next, we apply the algorithm to three bolides and investigate some of the factors affecting the detectability of infrasound from large events. Our findings suggest that site-noise effects significantly degrade the capability of the IMS infrasound network, suggesting that more effort is required to reduce ambient site noise. These results have implications for the use of infrasound measurements (in particular those from IMS stations) as a tool for evaluating the global flux of near-Earth objects.     

Calorific content of New Zealand marine macrophytes

Calorific content was measured in 28 species of New Zealand macroalgae. Values ranged from 1.04 to 3.34 kcal g‐1 dry weight (wt), 3.03–5.18 kcal g‐1 ash‐free dry wt, and 0.13–1.75 kcal g‐1 wet wt. Seasonal variation in calorific content was measured in two of these species, Macrocystis pyrifera and Ulva lactuca, both of which showed clear changes in energy content over a 1‐year period. Factors affecting variation in calorific content between species and during the year are discussed, and the application of the current findings to ecological and aquacultural research on New Zealand seaweeds are considered.     

Diet and food resource partitioning in koaro,Galaxias brevipinnis (Günther), and juvenile rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Richardson), in two Taupo streams,New Zealand

This study examined the diet of sympatric populations of migratory juvenile rainbow trout and landlocked koaro in the Waipehi and Omori Streams, Lake Taupo, New Zealand. In both species, diet was dominated, both numerically and by weight, by aquatic prey: Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Diptera larvae were the most numerous prey items. Adult koaro and juvenile rainbow trout both fed on small koaro. Terrestrial prey items were present in low numbers in the diets of both koaro and juvenile rainbow trout, but were more important in terms of weight. Resource partitioning was weak although koaro consumed more small benthic invertebrates such as chironomid larvae, whereas the diet of rainbow trout contained more Ephemeroptera larvae and terrestrial insects. In the Waipehi Stream, koaro consumed both rainbow trout ova and koaro ova; in Omori Stream, trout ova were important in the diet of juvenile rainbow trout. Since the diets of koaro and juvenile rainbow trout in some Taupo tributaries are similar, populations may co‐exist by temporal and/or spatial partitioning of food resources, whereas trout predation on small koaro may be a limiting factor for koaro populations.     

The Petrophysical Characteristics of Jurassic Reservoirs of the Coastal Mississippi Counties and Adjacent State Waters

The purpose of this study is the determination of petrophysical characteristics observable for Jurassic reservoirs in the study area; these characteristics are important for hydrocarbon production from those reservoirs. The study area consists of the three Mississippi coastal counties, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson, and Mississippi's state waters offshore. The section of importance to this study is the Upper Jurassic, which is made up of, from oldest to youngest, the Norphlet Formation, Smackover Formation, Haynesville Formation (including a Frisco City-equivalent granite wash and the Buckner Anhydrite), and Cotton Valley Group. Within the study area only one Upper Jurassic gas field has been discovered. The Catahoula Creek field is located onshore in Hancock County in the western portion of the study area and is productive of gas from Cotton Valley sands below 19,000 ft. Well log and core data from dry exploratory holes in the study area were used to supplement the limited reservoir data at Catahoula Creek. Nine wildcat wells have penetrated the Jurassic in the study area, so the Jurassic wildcat drilling density is approximately one wildcat well per 290 mi2. Because of this lack of data in the study area, published information on the following Upper Jurassic fields in southwestern Alabama, both onshore and offshore, is included: Chunchula field (Smackover), Hatter's Pond field (Smackover), Hatter's Pond field (Norphlet), and Lower Mobile Bay Mary Ann field (Norphlet). Structurally, the three coastal counties and offshore state waters of Mississippi occupy the southern flank of the Wiggins Arch, an area of positive Paleozoic basement features, and the related Hancock Ridge. The Jurassic strati graphic section in the study area consists of more than 5,000 ft of clastics, evaporites, and carbonates at depths below 17,000 ft to 24,000 ft.     

A parsimonious crop-water productivity index: an application to Brazil

Reducing poverty in rural areas of developing countries requires sustained and sustainable increases in agricultural water productivity. However, aside from traditional measures of precipitation, little is known about water available to farmers or how productively they use it. We present a crop-water productivity index (a ratio of the value of annual crop production to a dimensionless potential water availability index) for large water basins using readily available low-resolution data. The index is transferable, permits direct inter-basin comparisons, and is simple to calculate. We calculate the index for each municipality in the São Francisco river basin in Brazil. No clear patterns linking water availability and value of agricultural output are evident, even though clusters of municípios with high- and low-crop-water productivity emerge, and the former may be useful in guiding policies aimed at increasing water productivity. Finally, analyses of the effects of information uncertainty on the crop-water productivity index suggest that the returns to agricultural investments in certain places in the São Francisco river basin are more risky than others. Improvements in data quality and quantity can help refine estimates of the index and reduce their uncertainty.     

High-altitude data assimilation system experiments for the northern summer mesosphere season of 2007

A global numerical weather prediction system is extended to the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) and used to assimilate high-altitude satellite measurements of temperature, water vapor and ozone from MLS and SABER during May–July 2007. Assimilated temperature and humidity from 100 to 0.001 hPa show minimal biases compared to satellite data and existing analysis fields. Saturation ratios derived diagnostically from these assimilated temperature and water vapor fields at PMC altitudes and latitudes compare well with seasonal variations in PMC frequency measured from the aeronomy of ice in the mesosphere (AIM) satellite. Synoptic maps of these diagnostic saturation ratios correlate geographically with three independent transient mesospheric cloud events observed at midlatitudes by SHIMMER on STPSat-1 and by ground observers during June 2007. Assimilated temperatures and winds reveal broadly realistic amplitudes of the quasi 5-day wave and migrating tides as a function of latitude and height. For example, analyzed winds capture the dominant semidiurnal MLT wind patterns at 55°N in June 2007 measured independently by a meteor radar. The 5-day wave and migrating diurnal tide also modulate water vapor mixing ratios in the polar summer MLT. Possible origins of this variability are discussed.