Characterisation of the hydrogeology of the Augustus River catchment,Western Australia

Understanding the hydrogeology of weathered rock catchments is integral for the management of various problems related to increased salinity within the many towns of Western Australia. This paper presents the results of site characterisation investigations aimed at improving the overall understanding of the hydrogeology of the southern portion of the Augustus River catchment, an example of a weathered rock catchment. Site data have highlighted the presence of both porous media aquifers within the weathered profile and fractured rock aquifers within the basement rocks. Geophysical airborne surveys and other drilling data have identified a large number of dolerite dykes which crosscut the site. Fractured quartz veins have been found along the margins of these dolerite dykes. Detailed groundwater-level measurements and barometric efficiency estimates indicate that these dolerite dykes and fractured quartz veins are affecting groundwater flow directions, promoting a strong hydraulic connection between all aquifers, and also influencing recharge mechanisms. The hydrogeological significance of the dolerite dykes and fractured quartz veins has been assessed using a combination of high-frequency groundwater-level measurements (30-min sampling interval), rainfall measurements (5-min sampling interval) and barometric pressure fluctuations (30-min sampling interval). A conceptual model was developed for describing various hydrogeological features of the study area. The model indicates that fractured quartz veins along the margins of dolerite dykes are an important component of the hydrogeology of the weathered rock catchments.

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Resumen Entender la hidrogeología de cuencas con rocas meteorizadas es esencial para gestionar diversos problemas relacionados con el incremento de salinidad en muchas ciudades de Australia Occidental. Este artículo presenta los resultados obtenidos en la caracterización de varios emplazamientos con el fin de mejorar el conocimiento general de la hidrogeología en la zona sur de la cuenca del Río Augustus, que sirve como ejemplo de cuenca en rocas meteorizadas. Los datos de campo resaltan la presencia tanto de medios acuíferos porosos dentro del perfil meteorizado como de acuíferos en rocas fracturadas dentro de la roca fresca. Los registros geofísicos aéreos y datos de las perforaciones han identificado un gran número de diques de dolerita que intersectan el emplazamiento. Se ha hallado venas de cuarzo fracturado a lo largo de los márgenes de los diques de dolerita. Medidas detalladas del nivel piezométrico y estimaciones de la eficiencia barométrica indican que los diques de dolerita y las venas de cuarzo fracturado afectan las direcciones del flujo de las aguas subterráneas, originando una fuerte conexión hidráulica entre todos los acuíferos e influenciando también a los mecanismos de recarga. Se ha establecido la importancia hidrogeológica de los diques de dolerita y de las venas de cuarzo fracturado mediante una combinación de medidas muy frecuentes del nivel piezométrico (cada 30 min), de la precipitación (cada 5 min) y de las fluctuaciones de la presión barométrica (cada 30 min). Se ha desarrollado un modelo conceptual para describir varias características hidrogeológicas del área de estudio. El modelo indica que las venas de cuarzo fracturado en los márgenes de los diques de dolerita constituyen un componente importante de la hidrogeología de cuencas con rocas meteorizadas.

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Résumé Comprendre lhydrogéologie des bassins en roches altérées est essentiel pour la gestion de différents problèmes liés à laugmentation de la salinité dans de nombreuses villes dAustralie occidentale. Cet article présente les résultats détudes de caractérisation de sites conduites pour améliorer la compréhension de lhydrogéologie de la partie sud du bassin de la rivière Augustus, exemple de bassin en roches altérées. Les données concernant le site ont mis en évidence la présence simultanée daquifères poreux dans le profil daltération et daquifères de roches fracturées dans le socle. Des campagnes de géophysique aéroportée et dautres données de forages ont identifié de très nombreux dykes de dolérite traversant le site. Des veines de quartz fracturées ont été trouvées aux marges de ces dykes de dolérite. Des mesures détaillées de niveau des nappes et des estimations des effets barométriques indiquent que ces dykes de dolérite et les veines de quartz fracturées affectent les directions découlement souterrain, favorisant une forte connexion hydraulique entre tous ces aquifères, et influençant également les mécanismes de recharge. La signification hydrogéologique des dykes de dolérite et des veines de quartz fracturées a été analysée en combinant des mesures à haute fréquence du niveau des nappes (toutes les 30 min), de la pluie (toutes les 5 min) et des variations de la pression barométrique (toutes les 30 min). Un modèle conceptuel a été établi pour décrire les différents phénomènes hydrogéologiques de la région étudiée. Ce modèle indique que les veines de quartz aux marges des dykes de dolérite sont une importante composante de lhydrogéologie des bassins en roches altérées.

     

Ocean circulation and exchanges through the northern Bering Sea—1979–2001 model results

We have developed and run a model with sufficiently high resolution (9 km and 45 levels) and a large enough spatial domain to allow for realistic representation of flow through the narrow and shallow straits in the northern Bering Sea. This is potentially important for quantification of long-term mean and time-dependent ocean circulation, and water mass and property exchanges between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Over a 23 year interval (1979–2001), mean transport through Bering Strait is estimated to be 0.65 Sv. Comparison of our model results with published observations indicates that ocean circulation is not only variable at seasonal to interdecadal scales but it is also responsive to short-term atmospheric forcing. One of such events occurred during the winter of 2000–2001 with reversed oceanic flow in some areas and much reduced sea-ice cover. Analyses of eddy kinetic energy fields identify some high biological productivity regions of the Chirikov Basin coincident with persistent high energy (up to 2700 cm² s⁻² in the surface layer and up to 2600 cm² s⁻² at mid-depth) throughout the annual cycle. Model output in the Bering Strait region is validated against several time series of moored observations of water mass properties. Comparison with shipboard observations of near-bottom salinity from late winter through autumn indicates that the model reasonably represents the major water-mass properties in the region. The modeled vertical water-column structure in the northern Bering Sea allows increased understanding of the mechanisms of water transformation and transport northward through Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. We conclude that the long-term model results for the northern Bering Sea provide important insights into the ocean circulation and fluxes and they are a useful frame of reference for limited observations that are short-term and/or cover only a small geographic region.     

Inflow and lake controls on short-term mass accumulation and sedimentary particle size in a High Arctic lake: implications for interpreting varved lacustrine sedimentary records

Sedimentary processes were monitored in a varved lake in the Canadian High Arctic through three melt seasons and revealed that seasonal sediment deposition rates were highly dependent on short-lived inflow events driven by high suspended sediment concentrations that varied with runoff intensity. Our results illustrate that in accordance with the suspended sediment discharge into the lake, the rate of sediment accumulation changed over short distances down-lake, in a given year. This result indicates that there is a rate and accumulation dependence on short-lived, intense inflow conditions. In addition, there was strong evidence for substantial decoupling between deposition rate and mean grain size of sedimentary deposits. These results have important implications for paleoclimate interpretation of annually laminated sedimentary records from dynamic lake environments and suggest that grain size measures may not be representative proxies of inflow competence. Grain size indices based on a measure of the coarser fraction, rather than the bulk sediment, may be more appropriate to use as a link between contemporary runoff processes and sedimentary characteristics.     

Analysis of high-frequency multipath in 1-Hz GPS kinematic solutions

High-frequency multipath would be problematic for studies at seismic or antenna dynamical frequencies as one could mistakenly interpret them as signals. A simple procedure to identify high-frequency multipath from global positioning system (GPS) time series records is presented. For this purpose, data from four GPS base stations are analyzed using spectral analyses techniques. Additional data, such as TEQC report files of L1 pseudorange multipath, are also used to analyze the high-frequency multipath and confirmation of the high-frequency multipath inferred from the phase records. Results show that this simple procedure is effective in identification of high-frequency multipath. The inferred information can aid interpretation of multipath at the GPS site, and is important for a number of reasons. For example, the information can be used to study GPS site selections and/or installations.

Increasing illumination and sensitivity of reverse‐time migration with internal multiples

Reverse‐time migration is a two‐way time‐domain finite‐frequency technique that accurately handles the propagation of complex scattered waves and produces a band‐limited representation of the subsurface structure that is conventionally assumed to be linear in the contrasts in model parameters. Because of this underlying linear single‐scattering assumption, most implementations of this method do not satisfy the energy conservation principle and do not optimally use illumination and model sensitivity of multiply scattered waves. Migrating multiply scattered waves requires preserving the non‐linear relation between the image and perturbation of model parameters. I modify the extrapolation of source and receiver wavefields to more accurately handle multiply scattered waves. I extend the concept of the imaging condition in order to map into the subsurface structurally coherent seismic events that correspond to the interaction of both singly and multiply scattered waves. This results in an imaging process referred to here as non‐linear reverse‐time migration. It includes a strategy that analyses separated contributions of singly and multiply scattered waves to a final non‐linear image. The goal is to provide a tool suitable for seismic interpretation and potentially migration velocity analysis that benefits from increased illumination and sensitivity from multiply scattered seismic waves. It is noteworthy that this method can migrate internal multiples, a clear advantage for imaging challenging complex subsurface features, e.g., in salt and basalt environments. The results of synthetic seismic imaging experiments, including a subsalt imaging example, illustrate the technique.     

Benchmark-based allocations in EU ETS Phase 3: an early assessment

Phase 3 of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS; 2013–2020) sees the introduction of new rules governing the free allocations of emissions allowances given to energy-intensive industries. In contrast to Phases 1 and 2, allocations will be based on historical production multiplied by best available emissions technology benchmarks. This article exploits an original database to provide a first analysis of the distributional and economic efficiency implications of the new rules. It is shown empirically that the new allocation rules reduce the scope for windfall gains by EU ETS firms while also effectively mitigating carbon leakage risks, even assuming optimistic forecasts of Phase 3 carbon prices. The example of the cement sector is used to show that benchmarking significantly improves the harmonization of the levels of free allocations to competing firms throughout the EU compared to Phase 2. However, it is also found that the use of ex ante output levels to determine allocations still leaves considerable scope for windfall gains and possible distortions of the internal market.     

Effectiveness of the Bjerknes stability index in representing ocean dynamics

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a naturally occurring coupled phenomenon originating in the tropical Pacific Ocean that relies on ocean–atmosphere feedbacks. The Bjerknes stability index (BJ index), derived from the mixed-layer heat budget, aims to quantify the ENSO feedback process in order to explore the linear stability properties of ENSO. More recently, the BJ index has been used for model intercomparisons, particularly for the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models. This study investigates the effectiveness of the BJ index in representing the key ENSO ocean feedbacks—namely the thermocline, zonal advective, and Ekman feedbacks—by evaluating the amplitudes and phases of the BJ index terms against the corresponding heat budget terms from which they were derived. The output from Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator Ocean Model (a global ocean/sea ice flux-forced model) is used to calculate the heat budget in the equatorial Pacific. Through the model evaluation process, the robustness of the BJ index terms are tested. We find that the BJ index overestimates the relative importance of the thermocline feedback to the zonal advective feedback when compared with the corresponding terms from the heat budget equation. The assumption of linearity between variables in the BJ index formulation is the primary reason for these differences. Our results imply that a model intercomparison relying on the BJ index to explain ENSO behavior is not necessarily an accurate quantification of dynamical differences between models that are inherently nonlinear. For these reasons, the BJ index may not fully explain underpinning changes in ENSO under global warming scenarios.     

A record of the upper Cochiti polarity transition from the Southern Hemisphere (FIJI)

We sampled the upper Cochiti polarity transition recorded in the Suva Marl in Fiji (18° S, 178° E). The Suva Marl accumulated at an average rate of 83.2 m/m.y. and provides a unique opportunity to address the question of whether present-day overprints bias the transition records. Fiji has undergone a 30° counterclockwise rotation since the deposition of the Suva Marl and hence a present day overprint onto the transitions would bias the VGPs toward the east of the site. Replicate transition records yield VGPs over both Asia and the Americas. Progressive demagnetization reveals a normal polarity overprint which was acquired prior to the rotation of Fiji, and therefore does not produce an easterly bias to the transition data even after correction for the rotation. We collected an oriented block sample across a portion of the transitional interval in the upper Cochiti reversal. Subsampling of this block into 1.0 cm thick wafers cut parallel to bedding provides considerably greater detail during the transition. These detailed data suggest that the oscillatory movement of the VGPs in these sections may be a result of the averaging caused by standard, detailed minicoring and not by the sediments or the remanence acquisition process.     

Implications of CMIP3 model biases and uncertainties for climate projections in the western tropical Pacific

Regional climate projections in the Pacific region are potentially sensitive to a range of existing model biases. This study examines the implications of coupled model biases on regional climate projections in the tropical western Pacific. Model biases appear in the simulation of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, the location and movement of the South Pacific Convergence Zone, rainfall patterns, and the mean state of the ocean–atmosphere system including the cold tongue bias and erroneous location of the edge of the Western Pacific warm pool. These biases are examined in the CMIP3 20th century climate models and used to provide some context to the uncertainty in interpretations of regional-scale climate projections for the 21st century. To demonstrate, we provide examples for two island nations that are located in different climate zones and so are affected by different biases: Nauru and Palau. We discuss some of the common approaches to analyze climate projections and whether they are effective in reducing the effect of model biases. These approaches include model selection, calculating multi model means, downscaling and bias correcting.     

Estimation of vegetation LAI from hyperspectral reflectance data: Effects of soil type and plant architecture

The retrieval of canopy biophysical variables is known to be affected by confounding factors such as plant type and background reflectance. The effects of soil type and plant architecture on the retrieval of vegetation leaf area index (LAI) from hyperspectral data were assessed in this study. In situ measurements of LAI were related to reflectances in the red and near-infrared and also to five widely used spectral vegetation indices (VIs). The study confirmed that the spectral contrast between leaves and soil background determines the strength of the LAI–reflectance relationship. It was shown that within a given vegetation species, the optimum spectral regions for LAI estimation were similar across the investigated VIs, indicating that the various VIs are basically summarizing the same spectral information for a given vegetation species. Cross-validated results revealed that, narrow-band PVI was less influenced by soil background effects (0.15 ≤ RMSE_cv ≤ 0.56). The results suggest that, when using remote sensing VIs for LAI estimation, not only is the choice of VI of importance but also prior knowledge of plant architecture and soil background. Hence, some kind of landscape stratification is required before using hyperspectral imagery for large-scale mapping of vegetation biophysical variables.