Aquifer residence times for recycled water estimated using chemical tracers and the propagation of temperature signals at a managed aquifer recharge site in Australia

A prerequisite for minimizing contamination risk whilst conducting managed aquifer recharge (MAR) with recycled water is estimating the residence time in the zone where pathogen inactivation and biodegradation processes occur. MAR in Western Australia’s coastal aquifers is a potential major water source. As MAR with recycled water becomes increasingly considered in this region, better knowledge of applied and incidental tracer-based options from case studies is needed. Tracer data were collected at a MAR site in Floreat, Western Australia, under a controlled pumping regime over a distance of 50 m. Travel times for bromide-spiked groundwater were compared with two incidental tracers in recycled water: chloride and water temperature. The average travel time using bromide was 87?±?6 days, whereas the estimates were longer based on water temperature (102?±?17 days) and chloride (98?±?60 days). The estimate of average flow velocity based on water temperature data was identical to the estimate based on bromide within a 25-m section of the aquifer (0.57?±?0.04 m day^?1). This case study offers insights into the advantages, challenges and limitations of using incidental tracers in recycled water as a supplement to a controlled tracer test for estimating aquifer residence times.     

Soil/landform relationships surrounding the Harappa archaeological site,Pakistan

A soil survey around the archaeological site of Harappa, Pakistan revealed alluvial deposits of five distinct ages based on relative position in the landscape and degree of soil profile development. the youngest deposit (age 1) is in the lowest landscape position and has received flood waters as recently as 1988. Soils there are in an incipient stage of development: only organic carbon and soluble salts have accumulated at the surface of the profile. the age 2 deposit has not undergone significant pedogenic change, but is in a slightly higher landscape position than the youngest deposit. Elevated concentrations of P, and the presence of sand-sized pottery and brick fragments, indicate that this deposit was derived at least partially from archaeological material. the presence of small, soft calcite nodules (Stage II) and some soluble salt translocation are the primary pedogenic changes observed in the age 3 deposit. the age 4 deposit shows evidence of both carbonate and gypsum accumulation. Presence of large gypsum nodules in deep By horizons suggests that a high groundwater table has altered these soils. the oldest deposit, age 5, forms a late Pleistocene stream terrace of the Ravi River. the soil formed in this deposit exhibits considerable carbonate accumulation, with large, dense nodules (Stage II + ) and an argillic horizon. A ¹⁴C date from pedogenic calcite gives an age of 7080 ± 90 years B.P., indicating a minimum age of early Holocene. the soil survey suggests that the ancient city of Harappa was built on an age 5 stream terrace remnant, surrounded by Holocene floodplains and a meandering channel of the Ravi River.     

Pollen- and Diatom-Inferred Climatic and Hydrological Changes in Sumxi Co Basin (Western Tibet) since 13,000 yr B.P.

Although the Tibetan Plateau greatly influences the atmospheric circulation of the Nortbern Hemisphere, few continuous paleoclimatic records are available from the plateau. A 13,000-yr pollen and diatom record from the Sumxi-Longmu Co basin in western Tibet gives information on major changes both in regional vegetation and in local hydrology. After the basin first filled ca. 13,000 yr B.P., a dry spell occurred about 10,500 yr B.P. within the interval spanned by the European Younger Dryas chronozone. A major environmental change occurred suddenly at ≈10,000 yr B.P., with the establishment of wet conditions, and was followed by a long-term trend toward maximum aridity, which lasted approximately 6000 yr. Short-term oscillations are superimposed on this general climatic change with a major reversal event about 8000 yr B.P. and a second wet pulse leading to a maximum lake volume ca. 7500-6000 yr B.P. Maximum aridity occurred 4300 yr B.P. The major environmental fluctuations recorded at Sumxi-Longmu Co appear in phase with climatic changes recognized in north tropical Africa, suggesting that the 8000 to 7000-yr-B.P. event was caused by an abrupt disequilibrium in the climatic system, as was the Younger Dryas and possibly the 4300-yr-B.P. event.     

Nutrient fluxes between water column and sediments: Potential influence of the pearl oyster culture

This study quantifies benthic nutrient fluxes and sedimentation rates in the Ahe Atoll lagoon (French Polynesia), in two stations located under pearl oyster frames, and two control stations away from the pearl culture facility. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes ranged between 2 and 35μmolNm(-2)h(-1) and Soluble Reactive Phosphorus varied between -3 and 8.2μmolPm(-2)h(-1). Particulate sedimentation rates beneath the oysters were approximately five times higher than in the control zone and the percentage of small particles (?63μm) were about the twice. In contrast, sediment composition was similar under and outside the direct influence of oyster frames. In this ecosystem, where primary production is dependent on the available nitrogen, our study revealed that, while highly variable, benthic fluxes could sometimes contribute up to 28% of the nitrogen demand for primary production.     

A 40,000-yr Pollen and Diatom Record from Lake Tritrivakely, Madagascar, in the Southern Tropics

Links between southern and northern hemisphere climates during the Late Quaternary are poorly known, partly due to the scarcity of continuous climatic records in the southern tropics. Pollen and diatom evidence from Lake Tritrivakely (19°47′S) provides information on vegetational and hydrological changes in the central highlands of Madagascar over the past 40,000 yr. Most of the record reflects natural environmental variability since humans arrived on the island ca. 2000 yr B.P. During glacial times, the migration of mountain plants toward lower altitudes is consistent with a temperature decrease and with reduced atmospheric CO₂levels. In the lake, a positive mean annual hydrologic balance, from 38,000 to 36,000 and from 17,500 to 9800 cal yr B.P., coincided with periods of decreasing summer insolation and preceded by several millennia lake rises in the northern tropics. A negative hydrologic budget during periods of maximum seasonal contrast in solar radiation is partly attributed to high summer evaporation rate. The last glacial maximum was cool and dry. The deglacial warming occurred in two steps. The first step, accompanied by an increase in wetness, occurred abruptly at ca. 17,000 cal yr B.P., about two millennia earlier than in the northern hemisphere. It is abundantly documented in southern terrestrial data. The second step, at 15,000 cal yr B.P., was in phase with the first major temperature change in the northern hemisphere.     

Refining rainfall projections for the Murray Darling Basin of south-east Australia—the effect of sampling model results based on performance

One of the aims of developing new climate projections is to better address the requirements of stakeholders—particularly those who require less uncertainty and/or probabilistic information to work with. Projections are continually updated over time as more, and newer, climate model simulations of the future become available but this can introduce problems when it comes to interpreting large samples with differing results. Regional projections of rainfall are characterised by a high level of uncertainty, partly because of different sensitivities of the different models. Some models can be demonstrated to perform relatively poorly when assessed by their ability to simulate present-day means and variability and here we show that the uncertainty in model projections can potentially be reduced when the projection from these models are either discounted or ignored entirely. When applied to the Murray Darling Basin of south east Australia, it is possible to demonstrate a clustering of the results from the better performing models. These indicate that the rainfall changes to be expected as a result of increased greenhouse gas concentrations into the future are more likely to be at the drier end of the full set of model results. This occurs because the better performing models indicate decreases in winter and spring which are significantly different to the changes indicated by the other models. These results suggest that there are compelling reasons for discounting, if not entirely dismissing, some model results based on their failure to satisfy some basic performance criteria.