Are topographic data sets fractal?

The scale invariant properties of fractal sets make them attractive models for topographic profiles because those profiles are the end product of a complex system of physical processes operating over many spatial scales. If topographic data sets are fractal, their power spectra will be well represented by lines in log-log space with slopess such that –3s<–1. The power spectra from a Digital Elevation Model (30 meter sample spacing) of the Sierra Nevada Batholith and from Seabeam center beam depths (425 meter sample spacing) along a flowline in the South Atlantic are curved. Straight sections in the spectra can be identified but the slopes of those sections are strongly dependent upon the particulars of the data analysis. Fractal geometry must be used with caution in the discussion of topographic data sets.     

The role of vegetation and bed-level fluctuations in the process of channel narrowing

A catastrophic flood ire 1965 on Plum Creek, a perennial sandbed stream in the western Great Plains, removed most of the bottomland vegetation and transformed the single-thalweg stream into a wider, braided channel. Following eight years of further widening associated with minor high flows, a process of channel narrowing began in 1973; narrowing continues today. The history of channel narrowing was reconstructed by counting the annual rings of 129 trees and shrubs along a 5-km reach of Plum Creek near Louviers, Colorado. Sixty-three of these plants were excavated in order to determine the age and elevation of the germination point. The reconstructed record of channel change was verified from historical aerial photographs, and then compared to sediment stratigraphy and records of discharge and bed elevation from a streamflow gaging station in the study reach. Channel narrowing at Plum Creel: occurs in two ways. First, during periods of high flow, sand and fine gravel are delivered to the channel, temporarily raising the general bed-level. Subsequently, several years of uninterrupted low flows incise a narrower channel. Second, during years of low flow, vegetation becomes established on the subaerial part of the present channel bed. In both cases, surfaces stabilize as a result of vegetation growth and vertical accretion of sediment.     

Ostracoda from tidal freshwater wetlands at Stockport,Hudson River estuary: Abundance,distribution, and composition

Distribution patterns and faunal composition of freshwater ostracods in large tidal river systems are poorly documented. In summer 1987, a faunal and distributional survey of freshwater ostracods was conducted at Stockport Flats on the Hudson River. The ostracod fauna of this tidal freshwater wetland contains exclusively freshwater species. Seven genera were represented among 2,928 specimens collected from three intertidal sampling stations. The ostracod fauna of the tidal freshwater Hudson is similar to that of large lakes, and is numerically dominated by a few widely distributed species.     

Interpretation of metal concentrations in estuarine sediments of Florida using aluminum as a reference element

Metal contamination of estuarine sediments is an increasing problem in Florida and elsewhere as urbanization extends into previously undeveloped areas. Effective estuarine management practices require scientifically valid tools to assess the extent of estuarine contamination. Interpretation of anthropogenic metal contributions has been hampered by the fact that natural metal concentrations in sediments vary by orders of magnitude in different sediments. Normalization of metal concentrations to a reference element, aluminum, appears to be a promising method for comparing estuarine sediment metal concentrations on a regional basis. In this paper we describe an interpretive method based on the relationship between sediment metals and aluminum derived from statewide data on natural estuarine sediments in Florida. We show how the method can be used to interpret metal concentrations with an example using data from the Miami River and Biscayne Bay.     

The dynamical range of global circulations — II

The dynamical range of global atmospheric circulations is extended to specialized parameter regions by evaluating the influence of the rotation rate () on axisymmetric, oblique, and diurnally heated moist models. In Part I, we derived the basic range of circulations by altering for moist and dry atmospheres with regular and modified surfaces. Again we find the circulations to be composed of only a few elementary forms. In axisymmetric atmospheres, the circulations consist of a single jet in the rotational midrange (^*=1/2–1) and of double jets in the high range (^*=2–4), together with one or two pairs of Hadley and Ferrel cells; where (^*=/ _E ) is the rotation rate normalized by the terrestrial value. These circulations differ from those predicted by firstorder symmetric-Hadley (SH₁) theory because the moist inviscid atmosphere allows a greater nonlinearity and prefers a higher-order meridional mode. The axisymmetric circulations do, however, resemble the mean flows of the natural system — but only in low latitudes, where they underlie the quasi-Hadley (QH) element of the MOIST flows. In midlatitudes, the axisymmetric jets are stronger than the natural jets but can be reduced to them by barotropic and baroclinic instablities. Oblique atmospheres with moderate to high tilts ( _P =25°–90°) have the equator-straddling Hadley cell and the four basic zonal winds predicted by the geometric theory for the solstitial-symmetric-Hadley (SSH) state: an easterly jet and a westerly tradewind in the summer hemisphere, and a westerly jet and an easterly tradewind in the winter hemisphere. The nonlinear baroclinic instability of the winter westerly produces a Ferrel cell and the same eddy fluxes as the quasi-geostrophic QG element, while the instability of the summer easterly jet produces a QG-Hadley (QGH) element with a unique, vertically bimodal eddy momentum flux. At high _P and low ^*, the oblique atmospheres reach a limiting state having global easterlies, a pole-to-pole Hadley cell, and a warm winter pole. At low tilts _P <10°, the oblique circulations have a mix of solstitial and equinoctial features. Diurnal heating variations exert a fundamental influence on the natural-Hadley (NH) circulations of slowly rotating systems, especially in the singular range where the zonal winds approach extinction. The diurnality just modifies the NH element in the upper singular range (1/45^*1/16), but completely transforms it into a subsolar-antisolar Halley circulation in the lower singular range (0^*<1/45). In the modified NH flows, the diurnality acts through the convection to enhance the generation of the momentum-transferring planetary waves and, thereby, changes the narrow polar jets of the nondiurnal states into broad, super-rotating currents. Circulation theory for these specialized flows remains rudimentary. It does not explain fully how the double jets and the multiple cells arise in the axisymmetric atmospheres, how the QGH element forms in the oblique atmospheres, or how waves propagate in the slowly rotating diurnal atmospheres. But eventually all theories could, in principle, be compared against planetary observation: with Mars testing the QGH elements; Jupiter, the high-range elements; Titan, the equinoctial and solstitital axisymmetric states; and Venus, the diurnally modified NH flows.     

Tectono‐sedimentary development of early syn‐rift deposits: the Abura Graben,Suez Rift,Egypt

The thickness and distribution of early syn‐rift deposits record the evolution of structures accommodating the earliest phases of continental extension. However, our understanding of the detailed tectono‐sedimentary evolution of these deposits is poor, because in the subsurface, they are often deeply buried and below seismic resolution and sparsely sampled by borehole data. Furthermore, early syn‐rift deposits are typically poorly exposed in the field, being buried beneath thick, late syn‐rift and post‐rift deposits. To improve our understanding of the tectono‐sedimentary development of early syn‐rift strata during the initial stages of rifting, we examined quasi‐3D exposures in the Abura Graben, Suez Rift, Egypt. During the earliest stage of extension, forced folding above blind normal fault segments, rather than half‐graben formation adjacent to surface‐breaking faults, controlled rift physiography, accommodation development and the stratigraphic architecture of non‐marine, early syn‐rift deposits. Fluvial systems incised into underlying pre‐rift deposits and were structurally focused in the axis of the embryonic depocentre, which, at this time, was characterized by a fold‐bound syncline rather than a fault‐bound half graben. During this earliest phase of extension, sediment was sourced from the rift shoulder some 3 km to the NE of the depocentre, rather than from the crests of the flanking, intra‐basin extensional forced folds. Fault‐driven subsidence, perhaps augmented by a eustatic sea‐level rise, resulted in basin deepening and the deposition of a series of fluvial‐dominated mouth bars, which, like the preceding fluvial systems, were structurally pinned within the axis of the growing depocentre, which was still bound by extensional forced folds rather than faults. The extensional forced folds were eventually locally breached by surface‐breaking faults, resulting in the establishment of a half graben, basin deepening and the deposition of shallow marine sandstone and fan‐delta conglomerates. Because growth folding and faulting were coeval along‐strike, syn‐rift stratal units deposited at this time show a highly variable along‐strike stratigraphic architecture, locally thinning towards the growth fold but, only a few kilometres along‐strike, thickening towards the surface‐breaking fault. Despite displaying the classic early syn‐rift stratigraphic motif recording net upward‐deepening, extensional forced folding rather than surface faulting played a key role in controlling basin physiography, accommodation development, and syn‐rift stratal architecture and facies development during the early stages of extension. This structural and stratigraphic observations required to make this interpretation are relatively subtle and may go unrecognized in low‐resolution subsurface data sets.