Prediction of episodic acidification in North‐eastern USA: an empirical/mechanistic approach

Observations from the US Environmental Protection Agency's Episodic Response Project (ERP) in the North‐eastern United States are used to develop an empirical/mechanistic scheme for prediction of the minimum values of acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) during episodes. An acidification episode is defined as a hydrological event during which ANC decreases. The pre‐episode ANC is used to index the antecedent condition, and the stream flow increase reflects how much the relative contributions of sources of waters change during the episode. As much as 92% of the total variation in the minimum ANC in individual catchments can be explained (with levels of explanation >70% for nine of the 13 streams) by a multiple linear regression model that includes pre‐episode ANC and change in discharge as independent variables. The predictive scheme is demonstrated to be regionally robust, with the regional variance explained ranging from 77 to 83%. The scheme is not successful for each ERP stream, and reasons are suggested for the individual failures. The potential for applying the predictive scheme to other watersheds is demonstrated by testing the model with data from the Panola Mountain Research Watershed in the South‐eastern United States, where the variance explained by the model was 74%. The model can also be utilized to assess ‘chemically new’ and ‘chemically old’ water sources during acidification episodes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adjacent catchments with similar patterns of land use and climate have markedly different dissolved organic carbon concentration and runoff dynamics

Temporal patterns in specific runoff, dissolved organic carbon concentrations [DOC] and fluxes were examined during two periods: 1994–1997 (period 1) and 2007–2009 (period 2) in five adjacent tributary catchments of Lake Simcoe, the largest lake in southern Ontario, Canada. The catchments displayed similar patterns of land use change with increases in urbanization (5–16%) and forest cover (0.2–4%) and declines in agriculture (4–8%) between 1994 and 2008. Climate in the catchments was similar; temperature increased slightly, but no significant change in precipitation was observed. Despite similar pattern of climate and land use, runoff responses and tributary [DOC] were different across the catchments. Following a very dry year (i.e. 1999), runoff increased steadily until the end of record. We observed increased variability in tributary [DOC] and higher DOC exports in period 2. This led to ~10% increase in [DOC] and a 13% increase in flux between the two study periods. Between the two periods, [DOC] increased by 15% in spring and 25% in summer, whereas flux increased by 17% in spring and 48% in summer. [DOC] was consistently higher in the growing (summer + autumn) than the dormant (winter + spring, minus spring melt months) seasons, but no unique pattern or simple linear flow/concentrations relationships existed. This suggests complex spatial and temporal pattern to runoff controls on DOC and flow dynamics in adjacent catchments. We therefore caution against extrapolating from monitored to unmonitored catchments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for low viscosity garnet-rich layers in the upper mantle

The rheological properties of upper mantle rocks play an important role in controlling the dynamics of the lithosphere and mantle convection. Experimental studies and microstructures in naturally deformed mantle rocks usually imply that olivine controls the upper mantle rheology. Here we show for the first time evidence from the geometry of folded compositional layers in mantle rocks from Western Norway that garnet-rich rocks can have lower solid-state viscosities than olivine-rich rocks. Modeling of melt-free and dry rheology of garnet and olivine confirms that the reversed viscosity contrast between garnet-rich and olivine-rich layers for this folding event can be achieved over a relatively wide range of temperatures at low stress conditions when the fine-grained garnet deforms by diffusion creep while the coarse-grained olivine deforms by dislocation creep and/or diffusion creep.In general, modeling of the fold viscosity contrast shows that in the stable subcontinental lithospheric mantle or convecting mantle such a reversed viscosity contrast can be formed due to diffusion creep processes in fine-grained garnets in a dry mantle environment or at conditions where the garnet-pyroxene layer is partially molten, i.e. close to solidus–liquidus conditions in the upper mantle. Alternatively in cold plate tectonic settings, e.g. in subduction zones, some water-weakening is a feasible mechanism to create the reversed viscosity contrast between garnet and olivine.     

Conductivity structure and rheological property of lithosphere in Southern Tibet inferred from super-broadband magnetotelluric sounding

To understand deep lithosphere structure beneath the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau more comprehensively and objectively and to explore important scientific issues,such as characteristics of plateau lithospheric deformation,state of strain,thermal structure,plate (or terrane) movement,and crust-mantle rheology,it is necessary to research the variation of crust-mantle electrical structure in the east-west direction in every geological unit.For this purpose,six super-broadband magnetotelluric (MT) sounding profiles ha...     

Resistivity Structure of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) from Multiple Magnetotelluric (MT) Profiles and Tectonic Implications

The Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) is a major tectonic feature extending across the Indian subcontinent. It was formed in the Paleoproterozoic when the Bastar Craton and the Bundelkhand Craton were sutured together. This region is recognized in the geological record as a persistent zone of weakness with many tectonothermal events occurring over geologic time. The weakness of this region may have caused the late Cretaceous/early Tertiary Deccan volcanism to have been localized in the CITZ. The zone is still tectonically active, as evidenced by sustained levels of seismic activity. This paper presents the first systematic investigation of the resistivity structure of the CITZ using multiple magnetotelluric (MT) transects. Two-dimensional (2D) resistivity models were generated for five north–south profiles that cross the CITZ and encompass an area of ~60,000 km². The models were based on the joint inversion of transverse electric (TE), transverse magnetic (TM) and tipper (Hz) data. All the profiles showed a low resistive (10–80 Ωm) middle to lower crust beneath the CITZ with a crustal conductance of 300–800 S. The presence of an interconnected fluid phase and/or hydrous/metallic minerals appears to be the most likely explanation for the elevated conductivity that is observed beneath the CITZ. The presence of fluids is significant because it may indicate the cause of persistent weakness at crustal depths. A northward dip of both the crustal conductive layer and coincident seismic reflections favor a northward polarity of the subduction process associated with the formation of the CITZ.     

Use of daily precipitation uncertainties in streamflow simulation and forecast

Among other sources of uncertainties in hydrologic modeling, input uncertainty due to a sparse station network was tested. The authors tested impact of uncertainty in daily precipitation on streamflow forecasts. In order to test the impact, a distributed hydrologic model (PRMS, Precipitation Runoff Modeling System) was used in two hydrologically different basins (Animas basin at Durango, Colorado and Alapaha basin at Statenville, Georgia) to generate ensemble streamflows. The uncertainty in model inputs was characterized using ensembles of daily precipitation, which were designed to preserve spatial and temporal correlations in the precipitation observations. Generated ensemble flows in the two test basins clearly showed fundamental differences in the impact of input uncertainty. The flow ensemble showed wider range in Alapaha basin than the Animas basin. The wider range of streamflow ensembles in Alapaha basin was caused by both greater spatial variance in precipitation and shorter time lags between rainfall and runoff in this rainfall dominated basin. This ensemble streamflow generation framework was also applied to demonstrate example forecasts that could improve traditional ESP (Ensemble Streamflow Prediction) method.     

班公—怒江构造带的电性结构特征——大地电磁探测结果

对青藏高原过班公—怒江构造带的三条大地电磁剖面进行探测,获得班公—怒江构造带及其邻区的电性结构模型,研究了班公—怒江构造带的深部结构与构造特征.研究结果表明：构造带及其两侧上地壳内广泛分布不连续高阻体,反映了岩浆岩的空间分布特征,表明构造带南北两侧岩浆的活动规律可能存在较大差别.研究区内的冈底斯及羌塘地体的中、下地壳普遍发育高导层,反映了印度大陆碰撞、俯冲过程的效应与痕迹,而高导层之下的高阻块体则可能是向北俯冲、冷的、刚性的印度大陆地壳.羌塘地体的电性结构模型可以分为南北两个区段,南羌塘块体的壳内高导层与班公—怒江构造带对印度板块俯冲的阻挡作用有关;而北羌塘块体壳内高导层与亚洲大陆对印度板块向北俯冲的“阻挡”与向南“对冲”有关.印度板块向北的俯冲与挤入,受到班公—怒江构造带及亚洲板块的阻挡,可能没有越过班公—怒江构造带,并在班公—怒江构造带附近向下插入软流圈,导致幔源物质上涌,形成壳、幔热交换与物质交换的通道和规模巨大、延伸至上地幔的高导体.班公—怒江构造带的电性结构证明了该构造带是一组产状陡立、巨型的超壳深断裂带.     

西藏高原南部雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区地壳电性结构研究

为了探测西藏高原南部雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区地壳浅部和深部构造沿东西和南北方向的变化特征,在雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区布设了三条南北向剖面(错那—墨竹工卡、亚东—雪古拉、吉隆—措勤),采用超宽频带大地电磁测深方法进行了地壳、上地幔电性结构探测研究,发现该区主要电性结构特征为：1. 雅鲁藏布江缝合带附近表层发育大规模的高阻体,岩体延伸最深达30km以上,是冈底斯花岗岩体的反映. 2. 雅鲁藏布江缝合带的南部有小规模的良导体,在其下方和北侧发育有大规模良导体. 3. 沿剖面从南往北壳内普遍发育良导体,各良导体主体间是不连续的,规模逐渐增大,总体北倾,在缝合带附近产状较陡. 4. 在雅鲁藏布江缝合带附近良导体由西往东规模逐渐增大,导电性逐渐变好,相对雅鲁藏布江在剖面上的位置逐渐南移. 这些重要的电性特征可能是印度板块向北俯冲所形成的,深部大规模的良导体特征沿东西向的差异可能是板块碰撞引起物质沿东西向运移作用的结果.