A cross-shore suspended sediment transport shape function parameterisation for natural beaches

A new field-based parameterisation (‘shape function’) describing the distribution of cross-shore suspended sediment transport across a beach profile is presented. Time-averaged and depth-integrated suspended sediment fluxes were measured over 39 tides at Sennen Cove, Cornwall, UK, for a range of wave conditions (offshore significant wave heights 0.1–2.5 m). The suspended sediment flux data were heuristically separated into four transport components: (1) mean flux in the surf/shoaling zone; (2) oscillatory flux in the surf/shoaling zone; (3) onshore flux in the swash/inner surf zone and (4) offshore flux in the swash/inner surf zone. Each of these transport components was related to the local water depth (h) normalised by the breakpoint depth (h_b) and the four resulting suspended transport shape functions were combined to form a total suspended load shape function. Each shape function component is scaled independently by the wave energy level through h_b. The total suspended load shape function predicts onshore sediment transport under low-energy conditions, with peaks at the breakpoint and in the swash zone, in agreement with the field observations. Under high-energy conditions the total suspended load shape function predicts onshore transport in the shoaling zone, offshore transport in the surf zone and onshore transport in the inner swash zone.     

GRS evidence and the possibility of paleooceans on Mars

The Gamma Ray Spectrometer (Mars Odyssey spacecraft) has revealed elemental distributions of potassium (K), thorium (Th), and iron (Fe) on Mars that require fractionation of K (and possibly Th and Fe) consistent with aqueous activity. This includes weathering, evolution of soils, and transport, sorting, and deposition, as well as with the location of first-order geomorphological demarcations identified as possible paleoocean boundaries. The element abundances occur in patterns consistent with weathering in situ and possible presence of relict or exhumed paleosols, deposition of weathered materials (salts and clastic minerals), and weathering/transport under neutral to acidic brines. The abundances are explained by hydrogeology consistent with the possibly overlapping alternatives of paleooceans and/or heterogeneous rock compositions from diverse provenances (e.g., differing igneous compositions).     

Optical identifications of southern rosat EUV and soft X-ray sources

This paper discusses the first all-sky surveys of cosmic extreme ultra-violet and soft X-ray sources, discovered by ROSAT. Details of the surveys are presented, with comparisons made to previous selected surveys in the X-ray regime. The subsequent optical identification programs are described, and the major results summarized. We then discuss the main classes of EUV emitters: active chromosphere stars and hot white dwarfs, and describe the importance of EUV observations in understanding the astrophysics of these objects. Many bright, and relatively nearby, sources have been identified as hitherto unrecognized active stars, representing the extremes in chromospheric and coronal activity, be it binary or age related. Many new hot DA white dwarfs have also been indentified, and the most exciting result in this area is the discovery that significant traces of heavier elements (e.g. C, N, O, Si, Fe and Al) exist in their atmospheres, substantially increasing their EUV opacities. The importance of hot white dwarfs as standard candles in probing the local interstellar medium is also discussed. Miscellaneous counterparts (AGN, PNN, O-B stars and CVs) that make up the rest of the sample of EUV sources are also briefly mentioned. We finish with a discussion of the on-going ROSAT Galactic Plane Survey (RGPS) identification program.     

Flow-plant interactions at a leaf scale: effects of leaf shape, serration, roughness and flexural rigidity

The effects of leaf shape, serration, roughness and flexural rigidity on drag force imposed by flowing water and its time variability were experimentally studied in an open-channel flume at seven leaf Reynolds numbers ranging from 5 to 35 × 10³. The study involved artificial leaves of the same surface area but with three shapes (‘elliptic’, ‘rectangular’ and ‘pinnate’), three flexural rigidities, smooth-edge and sawtooth-like serration, and three combinations of surface roughness (two-side rough, one-side rough/one-side smooth, and two-side smooth). Shape was the most important factor determining flow-leaf interactions, with flexural rigidity, serration and surface roughness affecting the magnitude but not the direction of the effect on drag control. The smooth-edge elliptic leaf had a better hydrodynamic shape as it experienced less drag force, with the rectangular leaf showing slightly less efficiency. The pinnate leaf experienced higher drag force than the other leaves due to its complex geometry. It is likely that flow separation from 12 leaflets of the pinnate leaf prevented leaf reconfiguration such as leaflets folding and/or streamlining. Flexural rigidity strongly influenced the leaf reconfiguration and augmented the serration effect since very rigid leaves showed a strong effect of serration. Furthermore, serration changed the turbulence pattern around the leaves by increasing the turbulence intensity. Surface roughness was observed to enhance the drag force acting on the leaf at high Reynolds numbers. The results also suggest that there are two distinctly different flow-leaf interaction regimes: (I) regime of passive interaction at low turbulence levels when the drag statistics are completely controlled by the turbulence statistics, and (II) regime of active interaction at high turbulence levels when the effect of leaf properties on the drag statistics becomes comparable to the turbulence contribution.     

Racemization of amino acids in marine sediments determined by gas chromatography

Ratios of d- to l-amino acids in acid hydrolysates from foraminifera of two deep-sea cores from the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean increase with depth and consequently with age over a span from 40,000 to 2,000,000 yr. The changing ratios do not seem to follow first-order reversible rate laws. Valine, leucine and glutamic acid apparently racemize (isoleucine epimerizes) at slower rates than do phenylalanine, alanine, aspartic acid and proline. The general relative order for rates of racemization of total (free and bound) amino acids may depend on the electron-withdrawing capacity of the R substituents of the amino acids and on the rates with which the amino acids are naturally hydrolyzed. In contrast to the total amino acids, the free amino acids in these samples are more extensively racemized, probably as a result of various catalytic and hydrolytic reactions.Previous related work based on ion-exchange chromatography has considered only ratios of alloisoleucine to isoleucine. With the gas chromatographic method used here, d/l ratios of all common asymmetric amino acids can be estimated. Measurement of the extent of racemization of amino acids in marine sediments seems to provide the basis for a geochronological tool covering the last few million years.