Evaluation of conditions along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers: an example from Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, Alaska

In the marine environment, stability of the glacier terminus and the location of subglacial streams are the dominant controls on the distribution of grounding-line deposits within morainal banks. A morainal bank complex in Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, SE Alaska, is used to develop a model of terminus stability and location of subglacial streams along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers. This model can be used to interpret former grounding-line conditions in other glacimarine settings from the facies architecture within morainal bank deposits.The Muir Inlet morainal bank complex was deposited between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D., and historical observations provide a record of terminus positions, glacial retreat rates and sedimentary sources. These data are used to reconstruct the depositional environment and to develop a correlation between sedimentary facies and conditions along the grounding line.Four seismic facies identified on the high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles are used to interpret sedimentary facies within the morainal bank complex. Terminus stability is interpreted from the distribution of sedimentary facies within three distinct submarine geomorphic features, a grounding-line fan, stratified ridges, and a field of push ridges. The grounding-line fan was deposited along a stable terminus and is represented on seismic-reflection profiles by two distinct seismic facies, a proximal and a distal fan facies. The proximal fan facies was deposited at the efflux of subglacial streams and indicates the location of former glacifluvial discharges into the sea. Stratified ridges formed as a result of the influence of a quasi-stable terminus on the distribution of sedimentary facies along the grounding line. A field of push ridges formed along the grounding line of an unstable terminus that completely reworked the grounding-line deposits through glacitectonic deformation.Between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D. (39 years),

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m³ of sediment were deposited within the Muir Inlet morainal bank complex at an average annual sediment accumulation rate of

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m³/a. This rate represents the annual sediment production capacity of the glacier when the Muir Inlet drainage basin is filled with glacial ice.     

From oblique subduction to intra-continental transpression: Structures of the southern Kermadec-Hikurangi margin from multibeam bathymetry,side-scan sonar and seismic reflection

The southern Kermadec-Hikurangi convergent margin, east of New Zealand, accommodates the oblique subduction of the oceanic Hikurangi Plateau at rates of 4–5 cm/yr. Swath bathymetry and sidescan data, together with seismic reflection and geopotential data obtained during the GEODYNZ-SUD cruise, showed major changes in tectonic style along the margin. The changes reflect the size and abundance of seamounts on the subducting plateau, the presence and thickness of trench-fill turbidites, and the change to increasing obliquity and intracontinental transpression towards the south. In this paper, we provide evidence that faulting with a significant strike-slip component is widespread along the entire 1000 km margin. Subduction of the northeastern scrap of the Hikurangi Plateau is marked by an offset in the Kermadec Trench and adjacent margin, and by a major NW-trending tear fault in the scarp. To the south, the southern Kermadec Trench is devoid of turbidite fill and the adjacent margin is characterized by an up to 1200 m high scarp that locally separates apparent clockwise rotated blocks on the upper slope from strike-slip faults and mass wasting on the lower slope. The northern Hikurangi Trough has at least 1 km of trench-fill but its adjacent margin is characterized by tectonic erosion. The toe of the margin is indented by 10–25 km for more than 200 km, and this is inferred to be the result of repeated impacts of the large seamounts that are abundant on the northern Hikurangi Plateau. The two most recent impacts have left major indentations in the margin. The central Hikurangi margin is characterized by development of a wide accretionary wedge on the lower slope, and by transpression of presubduction passive margin sediments on the upper slope. Shortening across the wedge together with a component of strike-slip motion on the upper slope supports an interpretation of some strain partitioning. The southern Hikurangi margin is a narrow, mainly compressive belt along a very oblique, apparently locked subduction zone.     

Ocean bottom seismograph development at Hawaii Institute of Geophysics

Three distinct ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) systems have been developed at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics to satisfy the different requirements for short-range refraction and anisotropy experiments, long-range refraction experiments, and short-term and semi-permanent monitoring for earthquakes. One system, originally designed for semi-permanent use in conjunction with a monster buoy of the IDOE North Pacific Experiment has been modified for emplacement off Oahu. It contains 3-component 1 Hz seismometers and a hydrophone and obtains power and transmits data via tow conductor cable. Two additional systems were designed for short-term use: a 2 Hz telemetering system (TOBS); and 4.5 Hz free-fall pop-up system (POBS). The TOBS contains 3-component seismometers and a hydrophone and transmits data to the ship via light-weight single-conductor electromechanical cable and an HF-VHF radio link from a surface buoy. The bottom package also includes a backup tape recorder. This system exhibits the advantages of real-time data acquisition (e.g. precise timing, rapid appraisal of data quality, optimum use of explosives, and common recording with other data) and the complexities and difficulties associated with a deep-sea mooring. However, use of cable with near neutral bouyancy permits the design of a deep-water system with low weights and stress levels. The POBS is a self-contained package containing a vertical and single horizontal seismometer, hydrophone, cassette tape recorder, and pre-set timed release. This system is relatively simple and inexpensive. Total weight of 150 kg in air (before launch) permits emplacement and retrieval from a ship with no special equipment by two (strong) persons. Experience to data suggests that the optimum deployment scheme for many studies is a combination of TOBS's and POBS's.Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Contribution 835.     

Isolated sensor Ocean Bottom Seismometer

In most of the Ocean Bottom Seisometers (OBS) used today, the sensors, electronics, recorders, flotation, and ballast are contained in one rigid package. Usually this configuration requires a large mass, a large vertical cross section in the water, and relatively small bearing surface area in contact with the bottom, resulting in poor seismic characteristics and increased noise sensitivity. An OBS recently developed at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics (HIG) minimizes these problems by physically separating the sensor from the main OBS package. Direct comparison between signals recorded by a standard HIG configuration Pop-up Ocean Bottom Seismometer (POBS) and signals from the new Isolated Sensor Ocean Bottom Seismometer (ISOBS), deployed near each other in deep water, clearly demonstrates the advantages of the isolated sensor configuration. Although the ISOBS is superior to older OBS designs, recent testing suggests that further improvements can be made.     

Global scope and economics of illegal fishing

We present a conceptual model for the analysis of the costs and benefit aspects of the risk inherent in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) activity. We then develop and present a map of IUU incidences as reported in the Fisheries Centre's Sea Around Us project IUU global database. This map shows that IUU activities are quite widespread geographically. We next present an analysis of the cost and benefit aspects of risks of IUU fishing. A key result of the study is that for the cases analyzed as a group; the expected benefits from IUU fishing far exceed the expected cost of being apprehended. For an assumed 1 in 5 chance of being apprehended, our calculations show that reported fines for the vessels apprehended will have to be increased by 24 times for the expected cost to be at least as much as the expected benefits.     

Organic geochemistry of late Cenozoic sediments from the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean

Organic matter has been characterized in samples of Pleistocene, Pliocene, and Miocene sediments from seven Deep Sea Drilling Project sites in the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean. Organic carbon concentrations average 0.3% for most samples, and n-alkanoic acid, n-alkanol, and alkane biomarkers indicate extensive microbial reworking of organic matter in these organic-carbon-lean sediments. Samples from the easternmost parts of the South Atlantic contain an average of 4.1% organic carbon and reflect the high productivity associated with the Benguela Current. Lipid biomarkers show less microbial reworking in these sediments. Eolian transport of land-derived hydrocarbons is evident at most of these oceanic locations.     

A GIS-based groundwater travel time model to evaluate stream nitrate concentration reductions from land use change

Excessive nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) loss from agricultural watersheds is an environmental concern. A common conservation practice to improve stream water quality is to retire vulnerable row croplands to grass. In this paper, a groundwater travel time model based on a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of readily available soil and topographic variables was used to evaluate the time needed to observe stream nitrate concentration reductions from conversion of row crop land to native prairie in Walnut Creek watershed, Iowa. Average linear groundwater velocity in 5-m cells was estimated by overlaying GIS layers of soil permeability, land slope (surrogates for hydraulic conductivity and gradient, respectively) and porosity. Cells were summed backwards from the stream network to watershed divide to develop a travel time distribution map. Results suggested that groundwater from half of the land planted in prairie has reached the stream network during the 10 years of ongoing water quality monitoring. The mean travel time for the watershed was estimated to be 10.1 years, consistent with results from a simple analytical model. The proportion of land in the watershed and subbasins with prairie groundwater reaching the stream (10–22%) was similar to the measured reduction of stream nitrate (11–36%). Results provide encouragement that additional nitrate reductions in Walnut Creek are probable in the future as reduced nitrate groundwater from distal locations discharges to the stream network in the coming years. The high spatial resolution of the model (5-m cells) and its simplicity may make it potentially applicable for land managers interested in communicating lag time issues to the public, particularly related to nitrate concentration reductions over time.     

Occurrence of Kelvin-Helmholtz Billows in Sea-breeze Circulations

Centred at the interface between the sea-breeze and the return flow aloft, Kelvin-Helmholtz billows (KHB) are an important feature of the turbulent structure of some sea-breeze circulations (SBCs). In other SBCs, there are no prominent KHBs observed. Factors governing the appearance of billows are determined from a database of 139 sea breezes, constructed from two years of summertime surface observations at a site on the south coast of England. Post-frontal oscillations occur in the surface data for some SBCs and are interpreted as indicating possible KHBs aloft. The SBCs are formed under a wide range of synoptic conditions, enabling various measures of possible billow occurrence to be related to properties of the large-scale, ambient flow. Consistent with laboratory experiments of density currents, KHBs are suppressed for propagation into a head wind and enhanced with a tail wind. They are also found to be enhanced for stronger ambient wind speeds, while large-scale coast-parallel flow is effective in suppressing the billows.     

Comparison of COSPEC and two miniature ultraviolet spectrometer systems for SO2 measurements using scattered sunlight

The correlation spectrometer (COSPEC), the principal tool for remote measurements of volcanic SO₂, is rapidly being replaced by low-cost, miniature, ultraviolet (UV) spectrometers. We compared two of these new systems with a COSPEC by measuring SO₂ column amounts at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii. The two systems, one calibrated using in-situ SO₂ cells, and the other using a calibrated laboratory reference spectrum, employ similar spectrometer hardware, but different foreoptics and spectral retrieval algorithms. Accuracy, signal-to-noise, retrieval parameters, and precision were investigated for the two configurations of new miniature spectrometer. Measurements included traverses beneath the plumes from the summit and east rift zone of Kīlauea, and testing with calibration cells of known SO₂ concentration. The results obtained from the different methods were consistent with each other, with <8% difference in estimated SO₂ column amounts up to 800 ppm m. A further comparison between the COSPEC and one of the miniature spectrometer configurations, the ‘FLYSPEC’, spans an eight month period and showed agreement of measured emission rates to within 10% for SO₂ column amounts up to 1,600 ppm m. The topic of measuring high SO₂ burdens accurately is addressed for the Kīlauea measurements. In comparing the foreoptics, retrieval methods, and resultant implications for data quality, we aim to consolidate the various experiences to date, and improve the application and development of miniature spectrometer systems.     

Quasi-Wavelet Models of Turbulent Temperature Fluctuations

Here, we contribute to the continuing development of the quasi-wavelet (QW) model of turbulence that is currently being used in simulations of sound propagation and scattering in the turbulent atmosphere. We show that a QW model of temperature fluctuations exists for any physically reasonable temperature spectrum of isotropic homogeneous turbulence, including the widely used von Kármán spectrum. We derive a simple formula for the QW shape that reproduces a given spectrum exactly in the energy, transition, and inertial subranges. We also show that simple QW shapes can be normalized to yield an analytic expression for a temperature spectrum that is fairly close to any given spectrum. As an example, we match the Gaussian QW model to the von Kármán spectrum as closely as possible, and find remarkably good agreement in all subranges including the dissipation subrange. We also derive formulae for the variance and kurtosis associated with the QW model, and show how the latter depends on the QW packing fraction and size distribution. We also illustrate how the visual appearance of several QW-simulated temperature fluctuation fields depends on the QW packing fraction, size distribution, and kurtosis.