Land use,soil erosion,and sediment yield at Pinto Lake,California: comparison of a simplified USLE model with the lake sediment record

Quantitative interpretation of past land use using palaeolimnological records of sediment yield requires an appropriate soil erosion model. This paper describes the application of a simplified USLE model, comparing the predicted sediment yield with the lake sediment record at Pinto Lake (Central Coast, California). Our principal finding is that simplified USLE prediction, without correction for sediment transport capacity, accurately predicts fine sediment yield. Because the fine component of the soil is delivered far more efficiently than the coarse component, this and related soil erosion models can more readily be applied to the interpretation of palaeolimnological records than to estimation of total sediment yield, for which reliable estimation of hillslope and fluvial sediment storage are more important. The focus on fine sediment also means that the model output is optimal for assessing past ecological impacts of soil erosion on stream water turbidity and particulate transport of pollutants and nutrients.     

AXIOM: advanced X-ray imaging of the magnetosphere

Planetary plasma and magnetic field environments can be studied in two complementary ways—by in situ measurements, or by remote sensing. While the former provide precise information about plasma behaviour, instabilities and dynamics on local scales, the latter offers the global view necessary to understand the overall interaction of the magnetospheric plasma with the solar wind. Some parts of the Earth’s magnetosphere have been remotely sensed, but the majority remains unexplored by this type of measurements. Here we propose a novel and more elegant approach employing remote X-ray imaging techniques, which are now possible thanks to the relatively recent discovery of solar wind charge exchange X-ray emissions in the vicinity of the Earth’s magnetosphere. In this article we describe how an appropriately designed and located X-ray telescope, supported by simultaneous in situ measurements of the solar wind, can be used to image the dayside magnetosphere, magnetosheath and bow shock, with a temporal and spatial resolution sufficient to address several key outstanding questions concerning how the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere on a global level. Global images of the dayside magnetospheric boundaries require vantage points well outside the magnetosphere. Our studies have led us to propose ‘AXIOM: Advanced X-ray Imaging of the Magnetosphere’, a concept mission using a Vega launcher with a LISA Pathfinder-type Propulsion Module to place the spacecraft in a Lissajous orbit around the Earth–Moon L1 point. The model payload consists of an X-ray Wide Field Imager, capable of both imaging and spectroscopy, and an in situ plasma and magnetic field measurement package. This package comprises a Proton-Alpha Sensor, designed to measure the bulk properties of the solar wind, an Ion Composition Analyser, to characterise the minor ion populations in the solar wind that cause charge exchange emission, and a Magnetometer, designed to measure the strength and direction of the solar wind magnetic field. We also show simulations that demonstrate how the proposed X-ray telescope design is capable of imaging the predicted emission from the dayside magnetosphere with the sensitivity and cadence required to achieve the science goals of the mission.     

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.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene river dynamics at the Trent‐Soar confluence,England, UK

Although river confluences have received geomorphic attention in recent years it is difficult to upscale these studies, so confluence‐dominated reaches are commonly presumed to be either: (1) braided; or (2) meandering and characterized by laterally migrating channels. If the geomorphology of a confluence zone is to be considered over longer timescales, changes in river style need to be taken into account. This paper uses a combination of remote sensing techniques (LiDAR, GPR, ER), borehole survey and chronometric dating to test this differentiation in the confluence‐zone of a medium‐sized, mixed‐load, temperate river system (Trent, UK), which on the basis of planform evidence appears to conform to the meandering model. However, the analysis of ‘confluence sediment body stratigraphy’ demonstrates that the confluence does not correspond with a simple meander migration model and chronostratigraphic data suggests it has undergone two major transformations. Firstly, from a high‐energy braid‐plain confluence in the Lateglacial (25–13 K yrs cal BP), to a lower‐energy braided confluence in the early to middle Holocene (early Holocene‐2.4 kyr BP), which created a compound terrace. Second, incision into this terrace, creating a single‐channel confluence (2.4–0.5 kyr cal BP) with a high sinuosity south bank tributary (the River Soar). The confluence sediment‐body stratigraphy is characterized by a basal suite of Late Pleistocene gravels bisected by younger channel fills, which grade into the intervening levee and overbank sediments. The best explanation for the confluence sediment body stratigraphy encountered is that frequent switching (soft‐avulsions sensu Edmonds et al., 2011) of the tributary are responsible for the downstream movement of the channel confluence (at an average rate of approximately 0.5 m per year) dissecting and reworking older braid‐plain sediments. The late Holocene evolution of the confluence can be seen as a variant of the incisional‐frequent channel reorganization (avulsion) model with sequential downstream migration of the reattachment point. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Protein‐like fluorescence intensity as a possible tool for determining river water quality

The results of a comparison between chemical water quality determinants and river water fluorescence on the River Tyne, NE England, demonstrate that tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity shows statistically significant relationships between nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen. Tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity at the 280 nm excitation/350 nm emission wavelength fluorescence centre correlates with both phosphate (r = 0·80) and nitrate (r = 0·87), whereas tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity at the 220 nm excitation/350 nm emission wavelength centre correlates with BOD (r = 0·85), ammonia (r = 0·70) and dissolved oxygen (r = ?0·65). The strongest correlations are between tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity and nitrate and phosphate, which in the Tyne catchment derive predominantly from point and diffuse source sewage inputs. The correlation between BOD and the tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity suggests that this fluorescence centre is related to the bioavailable or labile dissolved organic matter pool. The weakest correlations are observed between tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity and ammonia concentration and dissolved oxygen. The weaker correlation with ammonia is due to removal of the ammonia signal by wastewater treatment, and that with dissolved oxygen due to the natural aeration of the river such that this is not a good indicator of water quality. The observed correlations only hold true when treated sewage, sewerage overflows or cross connections, or agricultural organic pollutants dominate the water quality—this is not true for two sites where airport deicer (propylene glycol, which is non‐fluorescent) or landfill leachate (which contains high concentrations of humic and fulvic‐like fluorescent DOM) dominate the dissolved organic matter in the river. Mean annual tryptophan‐like fluorescence intensity agrees well with the General Water Quality Assessment as determined by the England and Wales environmental regulators, the Environment Agency. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isotopic archives of sulphate in speleothems

The hemispheric impact of industrial emissions upon atmospheric sulphur loading is reflected in the sulphur depositional history recorded in cores from ice sheets. However, these do not reveal regional variations. Recently deposited speleothems are used here as archives of regional sulphur depositional history at two locations within the United Kingdom and Ireland. δ³⁴S-so₄ and δ¹⁸O-so₄ present within speleothem carbonate are measured for the first time as part of a dual isotope approach to decode the speleothem sulphur record. The largely refractory nature of δ³⁴S-so₄ under oxidising conditions enables source provenance of atmospheric SO₂, whereas the complex cycles of isotopic exchange and fractionation during incorporation of oxygen into sulphate molecules enable δ¹⁸O-so₄ signatures to yield insights into ambient environmental conditions and biogeochemical cycling in the ecosystem above the cave. δ³⁴S-so₄ values extracted from speleothem carbonate formed within Browns Folly Mine, UK, range from +3.5 to +5.5‰ and δ¹⁸O-so₄ +10.3 to +13.7‰. Both signatures lie within the range expected from sulphate deposition in industrial locations and reflect the transfer of sulphate into speleothem calcite with little fractionation. However, δ¹⁸O-so₄ signatures at Crag Cave, western Ireland, are isotopically heavier than expected and approach isotopic equilibrium with δ¹⁸O-h₂o under reducing conditions. Dual isotope analysis of δ³⁴S-so₄ and δ¹⁸O-so₄ optimises the correct identification of sulphur sources and biogeochemical cycling prior to incorporation into the speleothem record. At carefully selected cave sites where drip water flowpaths into the cave remain oxic, speleothems hold the potential to retain records of atmospheric sulphur loading at the local and regional scale.     

A novel methodology for identifying environmental exposures using GPS data

Aim: While studies using global positioning systems (GPS) have the potential to refine measures of exposure to the neighbourhood environment in health research, one limitation is that they do not typically identify time spent undertaking journeys in motorised vehicles when contact with the environment is reduced. This paper presents and tests a novel methodology to explore the impact of this concern.

Methods: Using a case study of exposure assessment to food environments, an unsupervised computational algorithm is employed in order to infer two travel modes: motorised and non-motorised, on the basis of which trips were extracted. Additional criteria are imposed in order to improve robustness of the algorithm.

Results: After removing noise in the GPS data and motorised vehicle journeys, 82.43% of the initial GPS points remained. In addition, after comparing a sub-sample of trips classified visually of motorised, non-motorised and mixed mode trips with the algorithm classifications, it was found that there was an agreement of 88%. The measures of exposure to the food environment calculated before and after algorithm classification were strongly correlated.

Conclusion: Identifying non-motorised exposures to the food environment makes little difference to exposure estimates in urban children but might be important for adults or rural populations who spend more time in motorised vehicles.     

The high hydraulic conductivity of three wooded tropical peat swamps in northeast Peru: measurements and implications for hydrological function

The form and functioning of peatlands depend strongly on their hydrological status, but there are few data available on the hydraulic properties of tropical peatlands. In particular, the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) has not previously been measured in neotropical peatlands. Piezometer slug tests were used to measure K at two depths (50 and 90 cm) in three contrasting forested peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon: Quistococha, San Jorge and Buena Vista. Measured K at 50 cm depth varies between 0.00032 and 0.11 cm s^?1, and at 90 cm, it varies between 0.00027 and 0.057 cm s^?1. Measurements of K taken from different areas of Quistococha showed that spatial heterogeneity accounts for ~20% of the within‐site variance and that depth is a good predictor of K. However, K did not vary significantly with depth at Buena Vista and San Jorge. Statistical analysis showed that ~18% of the variance in the K data can be explained by between‐site differences. Simulations using a simple hydrological model suggest that the relatively high K values could lead to lowering of the water table by >10 cm within ~48 m of the peatland edge for domed peatlands, if subjected to a drought lasting 30 days. However, under current climatic conditions, even with high K, peatlands would be unable to shed the large amount of water entering the system via rainfall through subsurface flow alone. We conclude that most of the water leaves these peatlands via overland flow and/or evapotranspiration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a Neolithic pine tree‐ring chronology for northern Scotland

The peatlands of northern Scotland (one of the largest and most intact areas of blanket bog in the world) contain a rare widespread horizon of subfossil pine in stratigraphic context. Eighteen bog pine from three new sites are incorporated into a mean Neolithic pine chronology now composed of subfossil pine from 12 sites, which is tree‐ring‐dated against Irish bog pine chronologies to span 3198–2757 BC. Germination and peaks of radial growth infer drier conditions between 3199 and 3130 BC. Dying‐off phases and depression of growth reflect a change to wetter conditions between 3023 and 3002 BC and a terminal decline of pine between 2809 and 2782 BC. The close synchronization of germination/die‐off phases and major ring‐width variations between sites across this region indicates that the environmental changes are probably triggered by climate change. Twenty‐four bog pine samples remain unmatched. Future multi‐discipline research into this important example of climatic change at the Neolithic/Bronze Age transition is recommended. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.