A call for standardization of aeolian process measurements: moving beyond relative case studies

Progress in some areas of process‐based aeolian sediment transport research is hampered by limited opportunities for data comparison, synthesis, and integration. This is partially due to a lack of reliable comparison methods. Many comparison methods are forms of calibration that are either restrictive (e.g., time‐averages only) or non‐existent (e.g., for field‐based sediment transport thresholds or vertical mass flux profiles). It is believed that the adoption of standard methods for common measurements may improve inter‐study comparison, add value and longevity to data, and advance integrative modeling efforts. Examples of approaches in allied disciplines where standards are used routinely are reviewed and we discuss how the mutual benefits of standardized data could outweigh perceived disadvantages. Overall, the goal of this commentary is to encourage discussion, self‐assessment, and forethought with regard to measurement methods used in process‐based aeolian geomorphology. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Basaltic volcanism in the northern sector of the main Ethiopian rift

The different basalt types related to rift structure development have been investigated, starting from the pre-rift stage in the northern Ethiopian rift and its eastern escarpment and plateau.The basic volcanic rocks are represented mainly by transitional basalts, both in the pre-rift (plateau) and rift (escarpment and rift floor) stages. A striking feature is that although the plateau basalts show clear tholeiitic affinity and the rift basalts reveal a somewhat pronounced “alkaline” character, the REE and LILE element abundances, however, progressively decrease from the “tholeiitic” basalts of the plateau to the “alkaline” basalts of the rift.All data support the view that such contrasting features may be attributed to a continuous depletion of hygromagmatophile (REE, LILE) elements in the mantle source material, related to the large volumes of magmas produced in the early phase of rift structure development. The transition from “tholeiitic” (plateau) to “alkaline” (rift) transitional basalts is related to decreasing intensity of extensional movements.     

The Proto-Indian Ocean and a probable paleozoic/mesozoic triradial rift system in East Africa

A revised Paleozoic/Mesozoic stratigraphy of coastal Kenya (including, in particular, the Karroo) based on current geological mapping near Mombasa is briefly described. This stratigraphy provides the geological framework for proposals concerning the Proto-Indian Ocean and the tectonic setting of the Karroo depositional basins.Recent geophysical evidence suggests that, within Gondwanaland, Madagascar was situated off East Africa near Kenya/Tanzania. The southern limits of the marine Lower Jurassic and southern limits of the marine Middle and Upper Jurassic are in similar positions in mainland Africa and Madagascar using the latter reconstruction. These paleogeographic limits also define the position, during the Jurassic, of an embayment from an ocean to the north. Regional geological similarities also support this reconstruction and are reinforced by paleocurrent data from the Karroo of Kenya indicating drainage north-northeast during the Permian and Triassic and possibly the Lower Jurassic. Marine connections during Karroo times appear to be of different ages in Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and Madagascar, probably reflecting physical limitations to marine access in fault-separated basins.The above embayment encroached across the Karroo depositional basins from northeast Kenya to southern Tanzania during the Lower and Middle Jurassic, i.e. from the direction towards which the Karroo drainage had been previously directed. Marine conditions remain to the present day so this embayment can be considered the Proto-Indian Ocean for East Africa. The marine incursion took place before the breakup of Gondwanaland suggesting that during the Jurassic the Proto-Indian Ocean in East Africa was an epicontinental sea and not a true ocean (i.e. floored by simatic crust). The epicontinental nature of this sea is confirmed by the lithologies of the associated sediments. Paleontological data indicate that this sea was an arm of Tethys. True oceanic conditions could not have been established until the displacement of Madagascar away from Africa, probably in the Cretaceous.Accepting the above northern position of Madagascar, the writers also postulate that in East Africa the fault-bounded Karroo depositional basins (troughs) were located within a major triradial rift system extending from Lake Malawi at least as far as eastern Kenya (some 1600 km). This rift system, if valid, was established within Gondwanaland over a period ～100 m.y. in the Paleozoic/Mesozoic (pre-breakup) in marked contrast to the East African Rift System (classical rift valleys) which is mainly a Cainozoic phenomenon (post-breakup). It is, therefore, considered that there is a fundamental difference in origin between the two rift systems.     

Micro-topographic change on calcarenites,grand Cayman Island,West Indies

Changes in micro-topography, as a result of varying erosion rates, have been monitored on a calcarenite ridge on Grand Cayman Island, West Indies, using a traversing model of the micro-erosion meter. Erosion takes place through the solution of a calcitic cement and ‘solutional disintegration’ results in a rapid change of micro-relief. Where a protective crust is present, surface lowering is slower and also more uniform; thus the original relative relief is maintained.     

Vertical sedimentation units in a barrier island washover fan

Overwash is a major component of a barrier island's response to high energy conditions. Examination of the 19-20 March, 1975, storm deposits at Assateague Island, showed that an overwash sequence could be divided into sedimentation units. Interpretation depends upon defining textural and mineralogical combinations that can be logically ordered as a vertical sequence. If the sequence is depositional and formed from a single material, normal grading usually results; if polymineralogical and erosionally truncated, inverse grading with a top layer of heavy minerals can be formed via an in situ sorting process dependent on disturbance depth and overwash influence.     

Quantifying anthropogenic influence on recent near-surface temperature change

We assess the extent to which observed large-scale changes in near-surface temperatures over the latter half of the twentieth century can be attributed to anthropogenic climate change as simulated by a range of climate models. The hypothesis that observed changes are entirely due to internal climate variability is rejected at a high confidence level independent of the climate model used to simulate either the anthropogenic signal or the internal variability. Where the relevant simulations are available, we also consider the alternative hypothesis that observed changes are due entirely to natural external influences, including solar variability and explosive volcanic activity. We allow for the possibility that feedback processes, other than those simulated by the models considered, may be amplifying the observed response to these natural influences by an unknown amount. Even allowing for this possibility, the hypothesis of no anthropogenic influence can be rejected at the 5% level in almost all cases. The influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases emerges as a substantial contributor to recent observed climate change, with the estimated trend attributable to greenhouse forcing similar in magnitude to the total observed warming over the 20th century. Much greater uncertainty remains in the response to other external influences on climate, particularly the response to anthropogenic sulphate aerosols and to solar and volcanic forcing. Our results remain dependent on model-simulated signal patterns and internal variability, and would benefit considerably from a wider range of simulations, particularly of the responses to natural external forcing.     

Seismogeodynamics of lineament structures in the mountainous regions bordering the Scythian-Turan plate

The Scythian-Turan platform, together with the Alpine Iran-Caucasus-Anatolia and Hercynian Central Tien Shan orogenic structures adjacent to it, represents a coherent seismogeodynamic system responsible for regional seismicity features in the territory under consideration. Investigations of the spatiotemporal and energy evolution of seismogeodynamic processes along the main lineament structures of the orogen reveal characteristic features directly related to the prediction of seismic hazard in this region, as well as in southern European Russia. These characteristics primarily include kinematic features in the sequences of seismic events of various magnitudes and an ordered migration of seismic activation, enabling the more or less reliable determination of the occurrence time intervals (years) and areas of forthcoming large earthquakes (magnitudes of 7.0 ± 0.2, 7.5 ± 0.2, and 8.0 ± 0.2).     

Acoustic emission of quasi-isotropic rock samples initiated by temperature gradients

The influence of temperature gradients and heating rate on crack formation in quasi-isotropic samples of marble and sandstone is studied using acoustic emission records. The behavior of velocities and attenuation of elastic waves in the samples is also examined. The crystallographic textures of marble and sandstone are measured by the neutron diffraction method, and it is shown that temperature gradients of up to 52°C/cm do not lead to a change in the textures. It is established that the temperature dependence of acoustic activity in the sandstone samples strongly depends on the internal heating rate. The maximum acoustic activity of the sandstone samples was observed at maximum temperature gradients in the samples. The temperature dependence of acoustic activity in marble differs significantly from that in sandstone. Maximums of acoustic activity in the marble samples are observed at temperatures of 30–60 and higher than 200°C. A decrease in acoustic activity was recorded in the interval between these temperatures. Such behavior suggests a predominant role of the surface structure and the concentration of surface defects in the process of crack formation in marble. During cooling, all samples demonstrate similar behavior: maximum acoustic activity is observed at the switching-off of the heating element and the emission activities of different samples are comparable in intensity.     

Trends and the sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field

Large-scale variations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) are studied using its measurements by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft. To reveal the sector structure, an algorithm for estimating trends of long time series is proposed. The algorithm makes it possible to determine the sectors as well as to trace the tendencies in changes in the “long-lived” IMF structures for various degrees of initial data smoothing.