Observations of bedforms on a dissipative macrotidal beach

Field measurements of wave ripples and megaripples were made with a Sand Ripple Profiler in the surf and shoaling zones of a sandy macrotidal dissipative beach at Perranporth, UK in depths 1–6 m and significant wave heights up to 2.2 m. A frequency domain partitioning approach allowed quantification of height (η), length (λ) and migration rate of ripples and megaripples. Wave ripples with heights up to 2 cm and wavelengths ～20 cm developed in low orbital velocity conditions (u _m?<?0.65 m/s) with mobility number ψ?<?25. Wave ripple heights decreased with increasing orbital velocity and were flattened when mean currents were >0.1 m/s. Wave ripples were superimposed on top of megaripples (η?=?10 cm, λ?=?1 m) and contributed up to 35 % of the total bed roughness. Large megaripples with heights up to 30 cm and lengths 1–1.8 m developed when the orbital velocity was 0.5–0.8 m/s, corresponding to mobility numbers 25–50. Megaripple heights and wavelengths increased with orbital velocity but reduced when mean current strengths were >0.15 m/s. Wave ripple and megaripple migrations were generally onshore directed in the shoaling and surf zones. Onshore ripple migration rates increased with onshore-directed (+ve) incident wave skewness. The onshore migration rate reduced as offshore-directed mean flows (undertow) increased in strength and reached zero when the offshore-directed mean flow was >0.15 m/s. The migration pattern was therefore linked to cross-shore position relative to the surf zone, controlled by competition between onshore-directed velocity skewness and offshore-directed mean flow.     

An ocean observation system for monitoring the affects of climate change on the ecology and sustainability of pelagic fisheries in the Pacific Ocean

Climate change presents an emerging challenge to the sustainable management of tuna fisheries, and robust information is essential to ensure future sustainability. Climate and harvest affect tuna stocks, populations of non-target, dependent species and the ecosystem. To provide relevant advice we need an improved understanding of oceanic ecosystems and better data to parameterise the models that forecast the impacts of climate change. Currently ocean-wide data collection in the Pacific Ocean is primarily restricted to oceanographic data. However, the fisheries observer programs that operate in the region offer an opportunity to collect the additional information on the mid and upper trophic levels of the ecosystem that is necessary to complement this physical data, including time-series of distribution, abundance, size, composition and biological information on target and non-target species and mid trophic level organisms. These observer programs are in their infancy, with limited temporal and spatial distribution but recent international and national policy decisions have been made to expand their coverage. We identify a number of actions to initiate this monitoring including: consolidating collaborations to ensure the use of best quality data; developing consistency between sub-regional observer programmes to ensure that they meet the objectives of ecosystem monitoring; interrogating of existing time series to determine the most appropriate spatial template for monitoring; and exploring existing ecosystem models to identify suitable indicators of ecosystem status and change. The information obtained should improve capacity to develop fisheries management policies that are resilient and can be adapted to climate change.     

Late Devensian and Holocene relative sealevel changes at Loch nan Eala,near Arisaig,northwest Scotland

Pollen, diatom, radiocarbon and lithostratigraphical data from isolation basins in northwest Scotland are used to quantify the reference water (tide) level, indicative range and age of differenty types of isolation and connection contacts. Tendencies of sea-level movement and relative sea-level changes from the mid-Lateglacial Interstadial (11.8 ka BP) to the late Holocene are constructed from these data. Relative sea-level fell continuously from + 17.8 m OD at 11.8 ka BP to ca. + 5.2 m OD at 10.1 ka BP. From an unkown minimum between 10 ka and 9 ka BP relative sea-level then rose to +6.3 m OD at 8.3 ka BP. The maximum Holocene sea-level occurred within the range +6.6 m OD to +9.3 m OD between 6.6 ka BP and 4.0 ka BP before falling to present. Isobase, age-altitude and quantitative rebound models for northwest Scotland are tested using these sealevel data, but none of the published models shows close agreement with the new results.     

Direct evidence of fluid mixing in the formation of stratabound Pb–Zn–Ba–F mineralisation in the Alston Block, North Pennine Orefield (England)

The North Pennine Orefield Alston Block has produced approximately 4 Mt Pb, 0.3 Mt Zn, 2.1 Mt fluorite, 1.5 Mt barite, 1 Mt witherite, plus a substantial amount of iron ore and copper ore from predominantly vein-hosted mineralisation in Carboniferous limestones. However, a significant proportion of this production (ca. 20%) came from stratabound deposits. Though much is known about the vein mineralisation, the relationship between the veins and the stratabound mineralisation is not well-understood. New petrographic, isotopic and fluid inclusion data derived from samples of stratabound mineralisation allow us to present a unified model that addresses the genesis of both the vein and stratabound styles of mineralisation. The mineralisation can be considered in terms of three episodes:

Sources,transport, and sinks of SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> over the equatorial Pacific during the Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment

The Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment (PASE) is the first sulfur-budget field experiment to feature simultaneous flux measurements of DMS marine emissions and SO₂ deposition to the ocean surface. We make use of these data to constrain a 1-D chemical transport model to study the production and loss pathways for DMS and SO₂ over the equatorial Pacific. Model results suggest that OH is the main sink for DMS in the boundary layer (BL), and the average DMS-to-SO₂ conversion efficiency is ~73%. In an exploratory run involving the addition of 1 pptv of BrO as a second oxidant, a 14% increase in the DMS flux is needed beyond that based on OH oxidation alone. This BrO addition also reduces the DMS-to-SO₂ conversion efficiency from 73% to 60%. The possibility of non-DMS sources of marine sulfur influencing the estimated conversion efficiency was explored and found to be unconvincing. For BL conditions, SO₂ losses consist of 48% dry deposition, while transport loss to the BuL and aerosol scavenging each account for another 19%. The conversion of SO₂ to H₂SO₄ consumes the final 14%. In the BuL, cloud scavenging removes 85% of the SO₂, thus resulting in a decreasing vertical profile for SO₂. The average SO₂ dry deposition velocity from direct measurements (i.e., 0.36 cm sec⁻¹) is approximately 50% of what is calculated from the 1-D model and the global GEOS-Chem model. This suggests that the current generation of global models may be significantly overestimating SO₂ deposition rates over some tropical marine areas. Although the specific mechanism cannot be determined, speculation here is that the dry deposition anomalous results may point to the presence of a micro-surface chemical phenomenon involving partial saturation with either S(IV) and/or S(VI) DMS oxidation products. This could also appear as a pH drop in the ocean’s surface microfilm layer in this region. Finally, we propose that the enhanced SO₂ level observed in the lower free troposphere versus that in the upper BuL during PASE is most likely the result of transported DMS/SO₂-rich free-tropospheric air parcels from the east of the PASE sampling area, rather than an inadequate representation in the model of local convection.     

Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment (PASE): dynamics and chemistry of the south Pacific tropical trade wind regime

The Pacific Atmospheric Sulfur Experiment (PASE) was a comprehensive airborne study of the chemistry and dynamics of the tropical trade wind regime (TWR) east of the island of Kiritibati (Christmas Island, 157º, 20?? W, 2º 52?? N). Christmas Island is located due south of Hawaii. Geographically it is in the northern hemisphere yet it is 6?C12º south of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) which places it in the southern hemisphere meteorologically. Christmas Island trade winds in August and September are from east south east at 3?C15 ms^?1. Clouds, if present, are fair weather cumulus located in the middle layer of the TWR which is frequently labeled the buffer layer (BuL). PASE provided clear support for the idea that small particles (80 nm) were subsiding into the tropical trade wind regime (TWR) where sulfur chemistry transformed them to larger particles. Sulfur chemistry promoted the growth of some of these particles until they were large enough to activate to cloud drops. This process, promoted by sulfur chemistry, can produce a cooling effect due to the increase in cloud droplet density and changes in cloud droplet size. These increases in particle size observed in PASE promote additional cooling due to direct scattering from the aerosol. These potential impacts on the radiation balance in the TWR are enhanced by the high solar irradiance and ocean albedo of the TWR. Finally because of the large area involved there is a large factional impact on earth??s radiation budget. The TWR region near Christmas Island appears to be similar to the TWR that persists in August and September, from southwest of the Galapagos to at least Christmas Island. Transport in the TWR between the Galapagos and Christmas involves very little precipitation which could have removed the aerosol thus explaining at least in part the high concentrations of CCN (??300 at 0.5% supersaturation) observed in PASE. As expected the chemistry of sulfur in the trade winds was found to be initiated by the emission of DMS into the convective boundary layer (BL, the lowest of three layers). However, the efficiency with which this DMS is converted to SO₂ has been brought into further question by this study. This unusual result has come about as result of our using two totally different approaches for addressing this long standing question. In the first approach, based on accepted kinetic rate constants and detailed steps for the oxidation of DMS reflecting detailed laboratory studies, a DMS to SO₂ conversion efficiency of 60?C73% was determined. This range of values lies well within the uncertainties of previous studies. However, using a completely different approach, involving a budget analysis, a conversion value of 100% was estimated. The latter value, to be consistent with all other sulfur studies, requires the existence of a completely independent sulfur source which would emit into the atmosphere at a source strength approximately half that measured for DMS under tropical Pacific conditions. At this time, however, there is no credible scientific observation that identifies what this source might be. Thus, the current study has opened for future scientific investigation the major question: is there yet another major tropical marine source of sulfur? Of equal importance, then, is the related question, is our global sulfur budget significantly in error due to the existence of an unknown marine source of sulfur? Pivotal to both questions may be gaining greater insight about the intermediate DMS oxidation species, DMSO, for which rather unusual measurements have been reported in previous marine sulfur studies. The 3 pptv bromine deficit observed in PASE must be lost over the lifetime of the aerosol which is a few days. This observation suggests that the primary BrO production rate is very small. However, considering the uncertainties in these observations and the possible importance of secondary production of bromine radicals through aerosol surface reactions, to completely rule out the importance of bromine chemistry under tropical conditions at this time cannot be justified. This point has been brought into focus from prior work that even at levels of 1 pptv, the effect of BrO oxidation on DMS can still be quite significant. Thus, as in the case of DMS conversion to SO₂, future studies will be needed. In the latter case there will need to be a specific focus on halogen chemistry. Such studies clearly must involve specific measurements of radical species such as BrO.