Internal deformation of a muddy gravity flow and its interaction with the seafloor (site C0018 of IODP Expedition 333, Nankai Trough,SE Japan)

The processes of flow deformation of marine mass-transport sediments, including their ability to affect the underlying substrate and add mass during sediment flow events, are addressed based on sedimentological analyses of strata from the distal part of a ～61-m-thick mass-transport deposit (MTD 6) drilled during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 333. Our analyses, supported by 3D seismic data, show a cohesive density flow deformed by folding, faulting and shear, except for its lowermost part (～7 m), where no deformation and sediment entrainment was identified. While the lowermost part moved as rigid sediment, the underlying sand layer acted as the basal shear zone for this part of the distal MTD 6. This shear zone was restricted to the sand, not involving the overlying sediments. From this, the studied part of MTD 6 was found to represent a case where the flow behaviour at least partly depended on the location and properties of the underlying sand layer, a situation that so far has received little attention in studies of marine flows. Our results also show that shear-induced mixing, located by the initial layering, is an important process in the flow transformation from cohesive slumps to mud flows and that this may occur over short distances (<4 km) without involving disintegration into blocks, probably due to only moderate prefailure consolidation of the sediments involved. In conclusion, we find that the bulk part of the flow was self-contained from a mass balance point of view and that that the overall amount of entrainment was limited.     

Delineating volcanic aquifer recharge areas using geochemical and isotopic tools

Relative recharge areas are evaluated using geochemical and isotopic tools, and inverse modeling. Geochemistry and water quality in springs discharging from a volcanic aquifer system in Guatemala are related to relative recharge area elevations and land use. Plagioclase feldspar and olivine react with volcanically derived CO₂ to produce Ca-montmorillonite, chalcedony and goethite in the groundwater. Alkalinity, Mg, Ca, Na, and SiO_2(aq) are produced, along with minor increases in Cl and SO₄ concentrations. Variations in groundwater δD and δ¹⁸O values are attributed to recharge elevation and used in concert with geochemical evolution to distinguish local, intermediate, and regional flow systems. Springs with geochemically inferred short flow paths provided useful proxies to estimate an isotopic gradient for precipitation (??.67 δ¹⁸O/100?m). No correlation between spring discharge and relative flow-path length or interpreted recharge elevation was observed. The conceptual model was consistent with evidence of anthropogenic impacts (sewage and manure) in springs recharged in the lower watershed where livestock and humans reside. Spring sampling is a low-budget approach that can be used to develop a useful conceptual model of the relative scale of groundwater flow (and appropriate watershed protection areas), particularly in volcanic terrain where wells and boreholes are scarce.     

Radium-based pore water fluxes of silica, alkalinity, manganese, DOC, and uranium: A decade of studies in the German Wadden Sea

A decade of studies of metal and nutrient inputs to the back-barrier area of Spiekeroog Island, NW German Wadden Sea, have concluded that pore water discharge provides a significant source of the enrichments of many components measured in the tidal channels during low tide. In this paper we add studies of radium isotopes to help quantify fluxes into and out of this system. Activities of radium isotopes in surface water from tidal channels in the back-barrier area exhibit pronounced changes in concert with the tide, with highest activities occurring near low tide. Other dissolved components: silica, total alkalinity (TA), manganese, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exhibit similar changes, with patterns matching the Ra isotopes. Uranium follows a reverse pattern with highest concentrations at high tide. Here we use radium isotope measurements in water column and pore water samples to estimate the fluxes of pore waters that enter the tidal channels during low tide. Using a flushing time of 4 days and the average activities of ²²⁴Ra, ²²³Ra, and ²²⁸Ra measured in the back-barrier surface and pore waters, we construct a balance of these isotopes, which is sustained by a deep pore water flux of (2-4) × 10⁸ L per tidal cycle. This flux transports Ra and the other enriched components to the tidal channels and causes the observed low tide enrichments. An independent estimate of pore water recharge is based on the depletion of U in the tidal channels. The U-based recharge is about two times greater than the Ra-based discharge; however, other sinks of U could reduce the recharge estimate. The pore waters have wide ranges of enrichment in silica, alkalinity, manganese, DOC, and depletion of U with depth. We estimate concentrations of these components in pore water from the depth expected to contribute the majority of the pore water flux, 3.5 m, to determine fluxes of these components to the tidal channels. Samples from this depth have minimum concentrations of silica, alkalinity, manganese, and DOC. We also estimate the exports of these components (and import of U) due to mixing based on average measured concentrations in the tidal creeks and the 4-day flushing time. A comparison of these estimates reveals that the exports (negative in the case of U) equal or exceed the pore water fluxes. By using values slightly higher than the minimum concentrations at 3.5 m to calculate inputs, the two estimates could be forced to match. We conclude that pore water drainage is the major factor regulating fluxes of Ra isotopes, silica, alkalinity, manganese, DOC, and uranium in this system.     

Blue straggler stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies – II. Sculptor and Fornax

The existence of blue straggler stars (BSSs) in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) is still an open question. In fact, many BSS candidates have been observed in the Local Group dSphs, but it is unclear whether they are real BSSs or young stars. Shedding light on the nature of these BSS candidates is crucial in order to understand the star formation history of dSphs. In this paper, we consider BSS candidates in Sculptor and Fornax. In Fornax, there are strong hints that the BSS population is contaminated by young stars, whereas in Sculptor there is no clear evidence of recent star formation. We derive the radial and luminosity distribution of BSS candidates from wide field imaging data extending beyond the nominal tidal radius of these galaxies. The observations are compared with the radial distribution of BSSs expected from dynamical simulations. In Sculptor, the radial distribution of BSS candidates is consistent with that of red horizontal branch (RHB) stars and is in agreement with theoretical expectations for BSSs generated via mass transfer in binaries. On the contrary, in Fornax, the radial distribution of BSS candidates is more concentrated than that of all the considered stellar populations. This result supports the hypothesis that most of BSS candidates in Fornax are young stars, and this is consistent with previous studies.     

Response times of salinity in relation to changes in freshwater inflows in the Lower Hillsborough River, Florida

The Lower Hillsborough River, Florida is a short (16 km) riverine estuary which has a dam located at its upstream end. Salinity below the dam is influenced by freshwater that flows over or through the structure. Depending on location in the estuary, the response of salinity to changes in upstream freshwater inflows is normally not instantaneous, but lags behind the freshwater release. An analytical approach and a laterally averaged two-dimensional hydrodynamic model were used to examine the response time of salinity in the Lower Hillsborough River to changes in freshwater inflows from the upstream reservoir. A series of case studies were conducted using the model to determine how salinity in the river within one kilometer below the dam would respond to changes in freshwater inflows. The model results suggest that the time lag of salinity in the river depends on whether the upstream freshwater inflows are increasing or decreasing, as well as their magnitude. While the time lag for salinity is about six to eight days for decreasing inflows, it is much shorter for increasing inflows depending on the magnitude of the flow release.     

Stream temperature dynamics in two hydrogeomorphically distinct reaches

The objective of this study was to analyse stream temperature variability during summer in relation to both surface heat exchanges and reach‐scale hydrology for two hydrogeomorphically distinct reaches. The study focused on a 1·5‐km wildfire‐disturbed reach of Fishtrap Creek located north of Kamloops, British Columbia. Streamflow measurements and longitudinal surveys of electrical conductivity and water chemistry indicated that the upper 750 m of the study reach was dominated by flow losses. A spring discharged into the stream at 750 m below the upper reach boundary. Below the spring, the stream was neutral to losing on three measurement days, but gained flow on a fourth day that followed a rain event. Continuous stream temperature measurements typically revealed a downstream warming along the upper 750 m of the study reach on summer days, followed by a pronounced cooling associated with the spring, with little downstream change below the spring. Modelled surface energy exchanges were similar over the upper and lower sub‐reaches, and thus cannot explain the differences in longitudinal temperature patterns. Application of a Lagrangian stream temperature model provided reasonably accurate predictions for the upper sub‐reach. For the lower sub‐reach, accurate prediction required specification of concurrent flow losses and gains as a hydrological boundary condition. These findings are consistent with differences in the hydrogeomorphology of the upper and lower sub‐reaches. The modelling exercise indicated that substantial errors in predicted stream temperature can occur by representing stream‐surface exchange as a reach‐averaged one‐directional flux computed from differences in streamflow between the upper and lower reach boundaries. Further research should focus on reliable methods for quantifying spatial variations in reach‐scale hydrology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A diagnostic study of moist potential vorticity generation in an extratropical cyclone

Moist potential voracity (MPV) and Its generation may be important in the development of mesoscale structures such as rainbands within cyclones. In an adiabatic and frictionless flow, MPV generation is possible if the flow is three-dimensional and the air is unsaturated. Moist potential vorticity can be generated through the combined effects of gradients in the potential temperature and moisture fields. The diagnosis of MPV generation in an extratropical cy-clone was performed with the ECMWF objectively analyzed fields for a system that developed during February 1992. It was found that at various stages during the development of the cyclone, negative MPV was generated: at the north end of the cold front; along the occluded front and the cold front; and in the region of the warm core. This pattern of negative MPV generation is in excellent agreement with the predictions of previous theoretical and numerical studies. After the cyclone ceased to deepen, the region of negative MPV generated in the cyclone was horizontally adverted in-to a saturated area. The area of negative MPV generated both along the occluded front in this case study and in the region of the bent-back warm front in a numerical simulation showed a mesoscale structure with a width of about 200-500 km. It was found that the intrusion of moist or dry air into baroclinic zones was important for MPV genera-tion. In addition, baroclinicity increase (adjacent to the area of condensation) in the regions of high moisture gra-dients led to significant MPV production.     

Diel Variation in the Pelagic Fish Assemblage in a Temperate Estuary

The pelagic fish assemblage within a temperate estuary was examined to determine if there were diel differences in species richness, total abundance, biomass, and species composition. These comparisons were made over both seasonal (January–December 1996) and annual (August–November 1995; August–December 1996) scales with pop net collections in a shallow (<2 m MLW) embayment within Great Bay in southern New Jersey, USA. In the complete year of sampling in 1996, more than 335,000 pelagic fish, representing 13 families (23 species), were collected during diel sampling with 12 species constituting over 99.9% of the total catch including Clupea harengus (84%), Menidia menidia (10%), and Anchoa mitchilli (4%). A detailed examination determined that nighttime species richness, total abundance and biomass may have been enhanced during some seasons by using artificial light. Diel variation in species composition was similar regardless of the use of the artificial light in all seasons but fall. Annual comparisons between 1995 and 1996 during late summer and fall found these results to be consistent. In general, these findings point out the importance of sampling during both day and night to understand the movement and abundance patterns of estuarine pelagic fishes and their ecological significance in temperate estuaries.     

The hydrous phase equilibria (to 3 kbar) of an andesite and basaltic andesite from western Mexico: constraints on water content and conditions of phenocryst growth

We have conducted high pressure (to 3 kbar), water saturated melting experiments on an andesite (62 wt% SiO₂) and a basaltic andesite (55 wt% SiO₂) from western Mexico. A close comparison between the experimental phase assemblages and their compositions, and the phenocryst assemblages of the lavas, is found in water saturated liquids, suggesting that the CO₂ content was minimal in the fluid phase. Thus the historic lavas from Volcan Colima (with phenocrysts of orthopyroxene, augite, plagioclase, and hornblende) were stored at a temperature between 950–975 °C, at a pressure between 700–1500 bars, and with a water content of 3.0–5.0 wt%. A hornblende andesite (spessartite) from Mascota, of nearly identical composition but with only amphibole phenocrysts, had a similar temperature but equilibrated at a minimum of 2000 bars pressure with a dissolved water content of at least 5.5 wt% in the liquid. Experiments on the basaltic andesite show that the most common natural phenocryst assemblages (olivine, ±augite, ±plagioclase) could have precipitated at temperatures from 1000–1150 °C, in liquids with a wide range of dissolved water content (∼2.0–6.0 wt%) and a corresponding pressure range. A lava of the same bulk composition with phenocrysts of hornblende, olivine, plagioclase, and augite is restricted to temperatures below 1000 °C and pressures below 2500 bars, corresponding to <5.5 wt% water in the residual liquid. Although there is some evidence for mixing in the andesites (sporadic olivine phenocrysts), the broad theme of the history of both lava types is that the phenocryst assemblages for both the andesitic magmas and basaltic andesitic magmas are generated from degassing and reequilibration on ascent of initially hydrous parents containing greater than 6 wt% water. Indeed andesitic magmas could be related to a basaltic andesite parent by hornblende-plagioclase fractionation under the same hydrous conditions. Received: 10 December 1996 / Accepted: 21 August 1997