Multi-proxy reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and land use dynamics in the Julian Alps,north-west Slovenia

Small mountain lakes are natural archives for understanding long-term natural and anthropogenic impact on the environment. This study focused on long-term (last ca. 13 000 years) vegetation changes and sedimentary processes in the catchment area of Lake Planina pri jezeru (1430 m a.s.l.) by using mineralogical, geochemical and palynological methods. Palynological results suggest that regional vegetation between 12 900 and 11 700 cal a bp was a herbaceous–forest tundra (Pinus, Artemisia, Poaceae ). Climate warming at the beginning of the Holocene (ca. 11 700 cal a bp ) caused the transition from a wetland (Cyperaceae) to an eutrophic lake with alternating anoxic (pyrite) and oxic conditions (gypsum). In addition, the surrounding area became forested (Picea, Larix, Ulmus). Fagus expanded at 10 200 cal a bp and Abies at 8200 cal a bp. Between 7500 and 4300 cal a bp , human impact on the environment was barely noticeable and mostly limited to grazing. During 4300–430 cal a bp human impact became more evident and gradually increased. The greatest influence was observed from 430 cal a bp onwards, when excessive exploitation of the surrounding area (logging and grazing) severely eutrophicated the lake.     

Effects of turbidity caused by nutrient loading on benthic dynamics

The benthic response to nutrient loading of the water column was determined in the transition from early to mid-summer in a semi-enclosed, shallow estuarine ecosystem of the Baltic Sea. The procedure involved the inoculation of an in situ mesocosm with nitrogen and phosphorus to induce hypertrophic conditions, and comparison of this treated compartment with an untreated control. Sediment activity was assessed as oxygen turn-over, and measured in the laboratory with a simulated in situ polarographic flow-through method. Nutrient addition induced the development of pelagic organisms, particularly phytoplankton and protozoa, which resulted in turbidity within the water column. The latter appeared to depress benthic primary productivity. On the other hand, the greater organic matter load, upon sedimenting, caused increased biological respiration of the sediment. Chemical oxygen demand was unaffected by the increased organic matter input.     

Beiträge zur Limnologie des Walen-, Zürich-Ober-und Zürichsees

Chemical and physical conditions of the Walensee are discussed on the basis of values analyzed during an investigation period in the years 1972–1975. Thereby values of selected parameters have been compared with data of other Swiss lakes to estimate the trophic condition of the lake.      

Characteristics of developing scour-holes at a sand-embedded cylinder

Characteristics of developing scour-holes at a sand-embedded 0.2 m diameter circular cylinder are presented. Non-intrusive, high-resolution topographic measurements of developing scour-holes were made with an experimental installation using a laser distance sensor （LDS） and precision step-motors. A clear-water experiment was conducted with bed shear stress equal to 95% of the critical bed shear stress for the initiation of sediment motion at the undisturbed plane sand bed with a d50 of 0.26 mm. During the running experiment of 21 hours duration, measurements were taken by the LDS in different azimuthal half-planes with θ= 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 165 and 180° in order to study the spatio-temporal variation of geometric properties in developing scour-holes. After 21 hours, the equilibrium condition was approached, with a scour rate less than d50 per hour. Measurement of maximum scour depth in different azimuthal half-planes at different points in time during the experiment show that scour started at the cylinder side and surrounded the cylinder after about 20% of experiment time. Slopes of developing scour-holes presented three regions with different inclinations, which were attributed to vortex action. Both maximum scour depth and maximum scour radius at different azimuthal half-planes are well correlated with the maximum scour depth at plane with θ = 0°. When providing maximum scour depth at the cylinder front, the presented correlations are useful for simple calculation of scour-hole topography. This work provides an experimental database for advanced numerical simulation for loose sediment hydraulics.     

Evaluation of Seasonal Factors on Petroleum Hydrocarbon Vapor Biodegradation and Intrusion Potential in a Cold Climate

A detailed seasonal study of soil vapor intrusion at a cold climate site with average yearly temperature of 1.9 °C was conducted at a house with a crawlspace that overlay a shallow dissolved‐phase petroleum hydrocarbon (gasoline) plume in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. This research was conducted primarily to assess if winter conditions, including snow/frost cover, and cold soil temperatures, influence aerobic biodegradation of petroleum vapors in soil and the potential for vapor intrusion. Continuous time‐series data for oxygen, pressure differentials, soil temperature, soil moisture, and weather conditions were collected from a high‐resolution monitoring network. Seasonal monitoring of groundwater, soil vapor, crawlspace air, and indoor air was also undertaken. Petroleum hydrocarbon vapor attenuation and biodegradation rates were not significantly reduced during low temperature winter months and there was no evidence for a significant capping effect of snow or frost cover that would limit oxygen ingress from the atmosphere. In the residual light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) source area adjacent to the house, evidence for biodegradation included rapid attenuation of hydrocarbon vapor concentrations over a vertical interval of approximately 0.9 m, and a corresponding decrease in oxygen to less than 1.5% v/v. In comparison, hydrocarbon vapor concentrations above the dissolved plume and below the house were much lower and decreased sharply within a few tens of centimeters above the groundwater source. Corresponding oxygen concentrations in soil gas were at least 10% v/v. A reactive transport model (MIN3P‐DUSTY) was initially calibrated to data from vertical profiles at the site to obtain biodegradation rates, and then used to simulate the observed soil vapor distribution. The calibrated model indicated that soil vapor transport was dominated by diffusion and aerobic biodegradation, and that crawlspace pressures and soil gas advection had little influence on soil vapor concentrations.     

A stratigraphic network across the Subtropical Front in the central South Atlantic: Multi-parameter correlation of magnetic susceptibility, density, X-ray fluorescence and δO records

Computer aided multi-parameter signal correlation is used to develop a common high-precision age model for eight gravity cores from the subtropical and subantarctic South Atlantic. Since correlations between all pairs of multi-parameter sequences are used, and correlation errors between core pairs (A, B) and (B, C) are controlled by comparison with (A, C), the resulting age model is called a stratigraphic network. Precise inter-core correlation is achieved using high-resolution records of magnetic susceptibility κ, wet bulk density ρ and X-ray fluorescence scans of elemental composition. Additional δ¹⁸O records are available for two cores. The data indicate nearly undisturbed sediment series and the absence of significant hiatuses or turbidites. After establishing a high-precision common depth scale by synchronously correlating four densely measured parameters (Fe, Ca, κ, ρ), the final age model is obtained by simultaneously fitting the aligned δ¹⁸O and κ records of the stratigraphic network to orbitally tuned oxygen isotope [J. Imbrie, J. D. Hays, D. G. Martinson, A. McIntyre, A. C. Mix, J. J. Morley, N. G. Pisias, W. L. Prell, N. J. Shackleton, The orbital theory of Pleistocene climate: support from a revised chronology of the marine δ¹⁸O record, in: A. Berger, J. Imbrie, J. Hays, G. Kukla, B. Saltzman (Eds.), Milankovitch and Climate: Understanding the Response to Orbital Forcing, Reidel Publishing, Dordrecht, 1984, pp. 269-305; D. Martinson, N. Pisias, J. Hays, J. Imbrie, T. C. Moore Jr., N. Shackleton, Age dating and the orbital theory of the Ice Ages: development of a high-resolution 0 to 300.000-Year chronostratigraphy, Quat. Res. 27 (1987) 1-29.] or susceptibility stacks [T. von Dobeneck, F.Schmieder, Using rock magnetic proxy records for orbital tuning and extended time series analyses into the super-and sub-Milankovitch Bands, in: G. Fischer, G. Wefer (Eds.), Use of proxies in paleoceanography: Examples from the South Atlantic, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1999), pp. 601-633.]. Besides the detection and elimination of errors in single records, the stratigraphic network approach allows to check the intrinsic consistency of the final result by comparing it to the outcome of more restricted alignment procedures. The final South Atlantic stratigraphic network covers the last 400 kyr south and the last 1200 kyr north of the Subtropical Front (STF) and provides a highly precise age model across the STF representing extremely different sedimentary regimes. This allows to detect temporal shifts of the STF by mapping δMn / Fe. It turns out that the apparent STF movements by about 200 km are not directly related to marine oxygen isotope stages.     

Spatial Distribution of Incrustations around a Water Well after 38 Years of Use

The spatial distribution of iron incrustations around an abandoned water well after 38 years of use was studied by analyzing the iron content of soil samples from 12 core borings. Three of these were performed inside the gravel pack, the rest at different distances in the adjacent aquifer. Incrustations had preferentially accumulated at the bottom of the screen coinciding with a zone of higher aquifer permeability. As expected, all cores from the annulus show buildup of iron oxides but the ones outside also showed elevated iron content up to 4 m away from the screen. Such distant incrustations are very difficult to remove, by mechanical or chemical methods. The common procedure of removing tubing and annulus material to install a new well at the same location could therefore give the replacement well a hydraulic disadvantage as the incrustations in the aquifer remain in place.     

Parameterization of the logarithmic layer of double-averaged streamwise velocity profiles in gravel-bed river flows

The logarithmic layer of double-averaged (in time and space) streamwise velocity profiles obtained from field measurements made in the Swiss rivers, Venoge and Chamberonne is parameterized and discussed. Velocity measurements were made using a 3D Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler. Both riverbeds are hydraulically rough, composed of coarse gravel, with relative submergences (h/D₅₀) of 5.25 and 5.96, respectively. From the observations, the flow may be divided into three different layers: a roughness layer near the bed, an equivalent logarithmic layer and a surface or outer layer. It was found that a logarithmic law can describe the double-averaged profiles in the layer 0.30 < z/h < 0.75. The parameterization of the logarithmic law is discussed. Special emphasis is given to the geometric parameters roughness and zero-displacement heights and to the equivalent von Karman constant.     

Lateglacial to early Holocene multiproxy record from Loch Assynt,NW Scotland

A core, recovered from a water depth of 53 m in Loch Assynt, North-West Scotland, has yielded a 9 m sequence comprising two distinct units, an upper, organic-rich unit (Unit I, ca. 6 m) overlying a sequence of laminated clays, silts and sands (Unit II, ca. 3 m). The upper unit is essentially Holocene in age based upon three bulk AMS radiocarbon dates while a fourth radiocarbon date from Unit II confirms a late-glacial age for that interval and supports a broadly linear age–depth relationship. Distinct variations in the magnetic susceptibility record of the lower unit can be visually correlated to major changes in the Greenland ice core (GISP2), this together with pollen evidence supports the radiocarbon dating suggesting an age of approximately 11,000 to around 17,000 cal. BP for Unit II, with evidence for the Younger Dryas (Loch Lomond) stadial and the Bolling–Allerød climatic phases. Variations in the magnetic susceptibility record of the late-glacial sediments are thought to relate to climatically driven changes in soil cover and erosion rates. The multiproxy record from Loch Assynt indicates relatively continuous, sub-aqueous sedimentation during the last ～17,000 years, providing an approximate age for the initiation of modern Loch Assynt and supporting recent dates of moraine retreat lines in the Loanan Valley from about 14–15 ka BP. Pollen and chironomid sampling provides further insights to the history of this relatively deep water body and compliment existing high-resolution palaeo-precipitation records for the mid to late Holocene interval from speleothem archives within the loch catchment.