Using Long-Term Census Data to Inform Restoration Methods for Coastal Dune Vegetation

Barrier islands are exposed to the wind and wave action from storms, which often disturbs both the geomorphology and vegetation. Conservation and restoration efforts for these important habitats could be improved with knowledge of how native plants respond to storms. We analyzed 10 years of annual data of vegetation of St. George Island, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, to quantify how the plant community responds to major storms and to predict which dune species might be appropriate for restoration after storm damage across dune zones. This prediction was tested with six plant species that differed in their storm response—from highly negative (local extinction in response to storms) to highly positive (increased abundance in response to storms). We measured transplant survival and growth (plant height and number of shoots) over 2 years in a restoration experiment across three major dune zones. We found that different species can be useful for restoration purposes in different dune zones, depending on both short- and longer-term management strategies. Uniola paniculata is a particularly strong restoration candidate across all dune zones, whereas Muhlenbergia capillaris and Schizachyrium maritimum would be beneficial for restoration in the interdune area. Fimbristylis spp. and Sporobolus virginicus demonstrate the strongest potential for restoration in the interdune and backdune areas. Restoration of disturbed areas often involves the seeding or transplanting of species to stabilize the landscape and initiate the return of the original vegetation. We show that the performance of native species, in response to storms, especially in conjunction with information on plant life history, can be useful for identifying the best species to use for restoration.     

Response and recovery of the Eel River, California, and its tributaries to floods in 1955, 1964, and 1997

Northwestern California is prone to regional, high magnitude winter rainstorms, which repeatedly produce catastrophic floods in the basins of the northern Coast Ranges. Major floods on the Eel River in 1955 and 1964 resulted in substantial geomorphic changes to the channel, adjacent terraces, and tributaries. This study evaluated the changes and the effects of a moderate flood in 1997 through field observations and examination of aerial photographs that spanned from 1954 to 1996. The purpose was to document the nature and magnitude of geomorphic responses to these three floods and assess the rates and controls on the recovery of the Eel River and its tributaries. Channel widening from extensive bank erosion was the dominant geomorphic change along the lower Eel River during major floods. As a result of the 1964 flood, the largest amount of widening was 195 m and represented an 80% change in channel width. Channel narrowing characterized the periods after the 1955 and 1964 floods. More than 30 years after the 1964 flood, however, the river had not returned to pre-flood width, which suggests that channel recovery required decades to complete. A long recovery time is unusual given that the Eel River is located in an area with a “superhumid” climate and has an exceptionally high sediment yield. This long recovery time may reflect highly seasonal precipitation and runoff, which are concentrated in 3–5 months each winter. In contrast to the main stem of the Eel River, the dominant effects of floods on the tributaries of the Eel River were rapid aggradation of channel bed and valley floor followed by immediate downcutting. Dendrogeomorphic data, aerial photographs, and field observations indicate that thick wedges of gravel, derived largely from hillslope failures in upper reaches of the tributaries, are deposited at and immediately upstream of the mouths of tributaries as the stage of the Eel River exceeded that of the tributaries during major floods. In the waning stages of the flood, the tributaries cut through the gravel at a rate equal to the lowering of the Eel and generated unpaired terraces and nickpoints. The complete process of deposition and incision can occur within a few days of peak discharge. Although reworking of some sediment on the valley floor may continue for years after large floods, channel morphology in the tributaries appears to be a product of infrequent, high magnitude events. The morphology of the tributary channel also appears to be greatly influenced by the frequency and magnitude of mass wasting in headwater areas of small basins.     

Dipping-interface Mapping Using Mode-separated Rayleigh Waves

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method is a non-invasive geophysical technique that uses the dispersive characteristic of Rayleigh waves to estimate a vertical shear (S)-wave velocity profile. A pseudo-2D S-wave velocity section is constructed by aligning 1D S-wave velocity profiles at the midpoint of each receiver spread that are contoured using a spatial interpolation scheme. The horizontal resolution of the section is therefore most influenced by the receiver spread length and the source interval. Based on the assumption that a dipping-layer model can be regarded as stepped flat layers, high-resolution linear Radon transform (LRT) has been proposed to image Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy and separate modes of Rayleigh waves from a multichannel record. With the mode-separation technique, therefore, a dispersion curve that possesses satisfactory accuracy can be calculated using a pair of consecutive traces within a mode-separated shot gather. In this study, using synthetic models containing a dipping layer with a slope of 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 degrees and a real-world example, we assess the ability of using high-resolution LRT to image and separate fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves from raw surface-wave data and accuracy of dispersion curves generated by a pair of consecutive traces within a mode-separated shot gather. Results of synthetic and real-world examples demonstrate that a dipping interface with a slope smaller than 15 degrees can be successfully mapped by separated fundamental waves using high-resolution LRT.     

Reconstruction of the layer anisotropic elastic parameters and high-resolution fracture characterization from P-wave data: a case study using seismic inversion and Bayesian rock physics parameter estimation

Wide-azimuth seismic data can be used to derive anisotropic parameters on the subsurface by observing variation in subsurface seismic response along different azimuths. Layer-based high-resolution estimates of components of the subsurface anisotropic elastic tensor can be reconstructed by using wide-azimuth P-wave data by combining the kinematic information derived from anisotropic velocity analysis with dynamic information obtained from amplitude versus angle and azimuth analysis of wide-azimuth seismic data. Interval P-impedance, S-impedance and anisotropic parameters associated with anisotropic fracture media are being reconstructed using linearized analysis assuming horizontal transverse anisotropy symmetry. In this paper it is shown how additional assumptions, such as the rock model, can be used to reduce the degrees of freedom in the estimation problem and recover all five anisotropic parameters. Because the use of a rock model is needed, the derived elastic parameters are consistent with the rock model and are used to infer fractured rock properties using stochastic rock physics inversion. The inversion is based on stochastic rock physics modelling and maximum a posteriori estimate of both porosity and crack density parameters associated with the observed elastic parameters derived from both velocity and amplitude versus angle and azimuth analysis. While the focus of this study is on the use of P-wave reflection data, we also show how additional information such as shear wave splitting and/or anisotropic well log data can reduce the assumptions needed to derive elastic parameter and rock properties.     

Thermodynamically constrained averaging theory approach for modeling flow and transport phenomena in porous medium systems: 4. Species transport fundamentals

This work is the fourth in a series of papers on the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT) approach for modeling flow and transport phenomena in multiscale porous medium systems. The general TCAT framework and the mathematical foundation presented in previous works are built upon by formulating macroscale models for conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, and the balance of entropy for a species in a phase volume, interface, and common curve. In addition, classical irreversible thermodynamic relations for species in entities are averaged from the microscale to the macroscale. Finally, we comment on alternative approaches that can be used to connect species and entity conservation equations to a constrained system entropy inequality, which is a key component of the TCAT approach. The formulations detailed in this work can be built upon to develop models for species transport and reactions in a variety of multiphase systems.     

Thermodynamically constrained averaging theory approach for modeling flow and transport phenomena in porous medium systems: 6. Two-fluid-phase flow

This work is the sixth in a series of papers on the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT) approach for modeling flow and transport phenomena in multiscale porous medium systems. Building upon the general TCAT framework and the mathematical foundation presented in previous works, the limiting case of connected two-fluid-phase flow is considered. A constrained entropy inequality is developed based upon a set of primary restrictions. Formal approximations are introduced to deduce a general simplified entropy inequality (SEI). The SEI is used along with secondary restrictions and closure approximations consistent with the SEI to produce a general functional form of a two-phase-flow model. The general model is in turn simplified to yield a hierarchy of models by neglecting common curves and by neglecting both common curves and interfaces. The simplest case considered corresponds to a traditional two-phase-flow model. The more sophisticated models including interfaces and common curves are more physically realistic than traditional models. All models in the hierarchy are posed in terms of precisely defined variables that allow for a rigorous connection with the microscale. The explicit nature of the restrictions and approximations used in developing this hierarchy of models provides a clear means to both understand the limitations of traditional models and to build upon this work to produce more realistic models.     

Evaluating Quaternary dating methods: Radiocarbon,U-series,luminescence, and amino acid racemization dates of a late Pleistocene emu egg

A whole emu egg, with infilling sediment believed to be coeval with egg laying and burial, was found in late Pleistocene lunette sediments near Lake Eyre, central Australia. The stratigraphic context and initial amino acid racemization (AAR) results suggested an age between 25 ka and 35 ka, ideal for a multiple cross-dating comparison. The sediment infilling the egg provided material for luminescence dating that minimized problems of association. Age estimations from AAR, ¹⁴C and U series methods were obtained from the eggshell and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of the infilling sediment. All methods agreed within their respective dating uncertainties confirming the utility of all four methods. They indicate an age for the emu egg of 31.24 ± 0.34 ka.     

Origin of the Belomorian Chupa Gneiss in the Light of New Lithogeochemical Data

The stratotype Chupa Sequence, which makes up the synonymous tectonic nappe and is a member of oldest (Late Archean) rocks in the Belomorian Mobile Belt, is scrutinized. The nappe is mainly composed of the migmatized, coarse-grained garnet–biotite gneiss with kyanite. Relic formations are represented by lenses of the fine-grained (possibly primary) garnet–biotite gneiss. Fine-grained gneisses generally represent primary sedimentary formations, while metadacites are rare. The kyanite-bearing gneiss is presumably a restitic rock produced by migmatization. Chupa metasediments are represented by immature (low-differentiated) metagraywackes and are akin to metaterrigenous rocks from Late Archean greenstone belts of Karelia (Kostomuksha) and Canada (Quetico). The provenance of metasediments comprises the following three components: tonalite (dacite) 70%, mafic rocks 20%, and ultramafic rocks 10%. The Chupa metagraywacke presumably deposited in a fore-arc basin.     

Linear Time-Invariant Compensation of Cup Anemometer and Vane Inertia

We propose a method to compensate for the phase lag and the amplitudeattenuation in the cup anemometer signal. These two effects, caused by theinstrument's inertia, are the major flaws of the cup anemometer in additionto over-speeding. Since the instrument's response is invariant in wavenumber (not frequency) representation, we transform the signals to becompensated from the time domain to the spatial domain by using Taylor'shypothesis. In the spatial domain we apply a linear time-invariant filterto eliminate the phase lag and the amplitude attenuation. The proposedprocedure improves instrument performance down to spatial scales equal toor smaller than the distance constant of the anemometer. The method for cupanemometer compensation is presented in detail and later adapted for vanes.