Micro-erosion meter modified for use under water

Modifications, resulting in increased simplicity and ruggedness, have been made to the design of a micro-erosion meter to permit it to be used under water by SCUBA divers. In its modified form the instrument has been used successfully in a study measuring rates of nearshore erosion in overconsolidated glacial till.     

Concentrations of the elements Ag,Al, Ca,Cd, Cu,Fe, Mg,Mn, Pb and Zn,and the radionuclides 210Pb and 210Po in the digestive gland of the squid Nototodarus gouldi

Ag, Al, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations and ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb activities were measured in 26 specimens of the squid Nototodarus gouldi taken from the waters of Bass Strait in one jigging operation. All the elements show wide ranges in concentrations in specimens apparently subject to the same environmental conditions. Copper concentration was 27-1 200 μg/g, and ²¹⁰Po activity 4·8–24·2 Bq/g. The animal wet weights, the elements Ag, Al, Cd, Fe and Zn, and the radionuclide ²¹⁰Po have coefficients of variation in the range 40–60%; Ca, Mg and Mn show the smallest variability (CV = < 30%), and Cu the greatest (CV = 12%). Significant correlations (p < 0·001) were found between the following pairs of elements: Cd-Zn, Cd-Cu, Zn-Cu, Mg-Mn, Fe-Mn, Ca-Mg and Fe-²¹⁰Po.     

Wave behavior in the solar photosphere: A comparison of theory and observation

We report detailed comparisons between theoretical and empirical eigenfunctions of velocity and intensity for the 5-min modes in the photosphere. The comparison process is accomplished by obtaining synthetic profiles of the Fei 5434 Å line in the presence of waveforms given by dynamical calculations and then applying a common procedure of reduction both to the observed and to the synthetic data. For the velocity waveforms, our results show a general agreement between theory and observations together with some systematic differences; in particular the theory systematically underestimates the observations in the low photosphere. These systematic differences are stressed by the intensity results since both the computed amplitudes and phases appear to be wrong in the deeper layers.     

High‐resolution mapping of Manawatu palaeochannels

New remote sensing techniques, such as airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), have led to a dramatic increase in terrain information, providing new opportunities for landform analysis. A major advance in using LiDAR‐derived high‐resolution topography (HRT) is the capability to provide an accurate and detailed terrain morphology. This study aims to use LiDAR HRT to identify palaeochannels of the Manawatu River (New Zealand) using an automated procedure based on the statistical analysis of landform curvature. The approach can provide rapid assessment and classification of floodplain topography. The proposed analysis is crucial, especially for intensively used floodplains requiring effective flood management and mitigation.     

Layers and gaps: the nature of the stratigraphical record

The fundamentals of stratigraphy have been well understood for more than three centuries and there is now a detailed stratigraphical record reaching back more than one billion years. But this sedimentary rock record is everywhere unpredictably incomplete and yet everywhere similar in its layered character. Computer analyses now reveal the fundamental nature of these two aspects of the record: gaps and layers are governed by simple, seemingly universal, laws that operate regardless of age and sediment type.     

Human migration and occupation of Eurasia

The main current benefit of collaboration between Quaternary scientists and palaeoanthropologists （especially palaeolithic archaeologists） lies in providing a unique perspective on how human populations respond to longterm climate change. Eurasia has a superlative record of climatic changes over the last two million years, and an archaeological record that is regionally variable in quality, but which is drawn from a wide range of environmental and chronological contexts.     

Quantifying groundwater–surface water interactions in a proglacial valley,Cordillera Blanca,Peru

A myriad of downstream communities and industries rely on streams fed by both groundwater discharge and glacier meltwater draining the Cordillera Blanca, Northern Peruvian Andes, which contains the highest density of glaciers in the tropics. During the dry season, approximately half the discharge in the region's proglacial streams comes from groundwater. However, because of the remote and difficult access to the region, there are few field methods that are effective at the reach scale to identify the spatial distribution of groundwater discharge. An energy balance model, Rhodamine WT dye tracing, and high‐definition kite‐borne imagery were used to determine gross and net groundwater inputs to a 4‐km reach of the Quilcay River in Huascaran National Park, Peru. The HFLUX computer programme ( http://hydrology.syr.edu/hflux.html ) was used to simulate the Quilcay River's energy balance using stream temperature observations, meteorological measurements, and kite‐borne areal photography. Inference from the model indicates 29% of stream discharge at the reach outlet was contributed by groundwater discharge over the study section. Rhodamine WT dye tracing results, coupled with the energy balance, show that approximately 49% of stream water is exchanged (no net gain) with the subsurface as gross gains and losses. The results suggest that gross gains from groundwater are largest in a moraine subreach but because of large gross losses, net gains are larger in the meadow subreaches. These insights into pathways of groundwater–surface water interaction can be applied to improve hydrological modelling in proglacial catchments throughout South America. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.