Using simulated hydrologic response to revisit the 1973 Lerida Court landslide

Hydrologically driven mass wasting in the form of landslides on steep slopes is a worldwide occurrence. High-profile events in, for example, Brazil, Chile, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela during the last three decades all clearly illustrate, based upon significant losses of life and property, that hydrologically driven slope instability in developed (urban) areas can be a major geologic/environmental hazard. The focus of this study is the 1973 hydrologically driven Lerida Court landslide in Portola Valley, CA, USA. Physics-based hydrologic-response simulation, with the comprehensive Integrated Hydrology Model, was employed to forensically estimate the spatiotemporal pore pressure distributions for the Lerida Court site. Slope stability, driven by the simulated pore pressure dynamics, was estimated for the Lerida Court site with the infinite slope/Factor of Safety approach. The pore pressure dynamics for the Lerida Court site were reasonably captured by the hydrologic-response simulation. The estimated time of slope failure for the Lerida Court site compares well with field observations. A recommendation is made that hydrologically driven slope stability estimates including variably saturated subsurface flow be standard protocol for development sites in steep urban settings.     

Environmental controls on phytoplankton community composition in the Thames plume, U.K.

The aim of this study was to investigate controls on the phytoplankton community composition and biogeochemistry of the estuarine plume zone of the River Thames, U.K. using an instrumented moored buoy for in situ measurements and preserved sample collection, and laboratory-based measurements from samples collected at the same site. Instrumentation on the moored buoy enabled high frequency measurements of a suite of environmental variables including in situ chlorophyll, water-column integrated irradiance, macronutrients throughout an annual cycle for 2001 e.g. nitrate and silicate, and phytoplankton biomass and species composition. The Thames plume region acts as a conduit for fluvial nutrients into the wider southern North Sea with typical winter concentrations of 45 μM nitrate, 17 μM silicate and 2 μM phosphate measured. The spring bloom resulted from water-column integrated irradiance increasing above 60 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and was initially dominated by a diatom bloom mainly composed of Nitzschia sp. and Odontella sinesis. The spring bloom then switched after  30 days to become dominated by the flagellate Phaeocystis reaching a maximum chlorophyll concentration of 37.8 μg L^− 1. During the spring bloom there were high numbers of the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodinium spirale and Katodinium glaucum that potentially grazed the phytoplankton bloom. This diatom–flagellate switch was predicted to be due to a combination of further increasing water-column integrated irradiance > 100 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and/or silicate reaching potentially limiting concentrations (< 1 μM). Post spring bloom, diatom dominance of the lower continuous summer phytoplankton biomass occurred despite the low silicate concentrations (Av. 0.7 μM from June–August). Summer diatom dominance, generally due to Guinardia delicatula, was expected to be as a result of microzooplankton grazing, dominated by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans, controlling 0.7–5.0 μm ‘flagellate’ fraction of the phytoplankton community with grazing rates up to 178% of ‘flagellate’ growth rate. The Thames plume region was therefore shown to be an active region of nutrient and phytoplankton processing and transport to the southern North Sea. The use of a combination of moorings and ship-based sampling was essential in understanding the factors influencing nutrient transport, phytoplankton biomass and species composition in this shelf sea plume region.     

Discovery of a binary Centaur

We have identified a binary companion to (42355) 2002 CR₄₆ in our ongoing deep survey using the Hubble Space Telescope's High Resolution Camera. It is the first companion to be found around an object in a non-resonant orbit that crosses the orbits of giant planets. Objects in orbits of this kind, the Centaurs, have experienced repeated strong scattering with one or more giant planets and therefore the survival of binaries in this transient population has been in question. Monte Carlo simulations suggest, however, that binaries in (42355) 2002 CR₄₆-like heliocentric orbits have a high probability of survival for reasonable estimates of the binary's still-unknown system mass and separation. Because Centaurs are thought to be precursors to short period comets, the question of the existence of binary comets naturally arises; none has yet been definitively identified. The discovery of one binary in a sample of eight observed by HST suggests that binaries in this population may not be uncommon.     

Multibeam sonar backscatter data processing

Multibeam sonar systems now routinely record seafloor backscatter data, which are processed into backscatter mosaics and angular responses, both of which can assist in identifying seafloor types and morphology. Those data products are obtained from the multibeam sonar raw data files through a sequence of data processing stages that follows a basic plan, but the implementation of which varies greatly between sonar systems and software. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of this backscatter data processing chain, with a focus on the variability in the possible implementation of each processing stage. Our objective for undertaking this task is twofold: (1) to provide an overview of backscatter data processing for the consideration of the general user and (2) to provide suggestions to multibeam sonar manufacturers, software providers and the operators of these systems and software for eventually reducing the lack of control, uncertainty and variability associated with current data processing implementations and the resulting backscatter data products. One such suggestion is the adoption of a nomenclature for increasingly refined levels of processing, akin to the nomenclature adopted for satellite remote-sensing data deliverables.     

Relationship between waterfowl and American coot abundance with submersed macrophytic vegetation in Currituck Sound,North Carolina

Waterfowl and American coot data collected from aerial censusing on Currituck Sound were compared during three periods: before Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) colonization (1961–1965); during Eurasian watermilfoil infestation (1968–1977); and following the near absence of submersed macrophytic vegetation after Eurasian watermilfoil decline (1981–1990). Numbers of dabbling ducks (Anas rubripes, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas acuta, Anas americana, Anas crecca), ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris), and American coot (Fulica americana) were significantly different in Currituck Sound (p<0.05) in at least two of these periods and were highest during Eurasian watermilfoil infestation. These species also constituted higher percentages of the Atlantic Flyway counts during Eurasian watermilfoil infestation. than in periods before or after. Numbers of snow geese (Chen caerulescens), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), and canvasbacks (Aythya valisneria) were significantly different between periods; however, these birds exhibited a consistent decline from the early to the late period. This study suggests that submersed macrophytes, specifically Eurasian watermilfoil, support increased numbers of dabbling ducks, ring-necked ducks, and American coot.     

Selective concentration of cesium in analcime during hydrothermal alteration,Yellowstone National Park,Wyoming

Chemical and mineralogical studies of fresh and hydrothermally altered rhyolitic material in Upper and Lower Geyser Basins, Yellowstone National Park, show that all the altered rocks are enriched in Cs and that Cs is selectively concentrated in analcime. The Cs content of unaltered rhyolite lava flows, including those from which the altered sediments are derived, ranges from 2.5 to 7.6 ppm. The Cs content of analcime-bearing altered sedimentary rocks is as high as 3000 ppm, and in clinoptilolite-bearing altered sedimentary rocks Cs content is as high as 180 ppm. Altered rhyolite lava flows which were initially vitrophyres, now contain up to 250 ppm Cs, and those which were crystallized prior to hydrothermal alteration contain up to 14 ppm. Mineral concentrates of analcime contain as much as 4700 ppm Cs. The Cs must have been incorporated into the analcime structure during crystallization, rather than by later cation substitution, because analcime does not readily exchange Cs. The $\text{Cs}\text{Cl}$ of the fluids circulating through the hydrothermal system varies, suggesting that Cs is not always a conservative ion and that Cs is lost from upflowing thermal waters due to water-rock interaction resulting in crystallization of Cs-bearing analcime.The source of Cs for Cs enrichment of the altered rocks is from leaching of rhyolitic rocks underlying the geyser basins, and from the top of the silicic magma chamber that underlies the area.Analcime is an important natural Cs sink, and the high Cs concentrations reported here may prove to be an important indicator of the environment of analcime crystallization.