Lithologic control of debris torrent occurrence

A field-based investigation into the frequency and magnitude of debris torrent systems reveals that lithology controls the spatial and temporal occurrence of debris torrents in the Tsitika Watershed, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We identified 125 debris torrent systems in the watershed; for half these basins we used dendrochronology, historical air photographs, and field surveys to estimate debris torrent frequency and magnitude for a 30 year period. We find that the volcaniclastic half of the watershed contains more than twice as many debris torrent systems, in which debris torrents occur over seven times more frequently, and the deposits have a higher rate of delivery of sediment to the mainstem river than the intrusive half. Lithologic differences in weathering rates, weathering product grain size, and rock texture can explain the observed differences in debris torrent behaviour. Because debris torrents are the main sediment transport path from hilltop to valley bottom in the region, these results confirm an important lithologic control on regional sediment transport. While the exact numbers are uncertain, we estimate that the sediment flux of volcaniclastic debris torrents in the watershed is five times higher than that of the intrusive debris torrents.     

Dilemmas of development in Oceania: the political economy of the Tongan agro-export sector

This article critically engages with the recent diffusion of the orthodox development model in Oceania and highlights some evolving dilemmas. In particular, it explores the social, economic and ecological tensions arising from economic reforms that are exacerbating the fragility of already vulnerable nation-states and communities. In order to illustrate its arguments, a case study of the impacts of agro-export growth in Tonga is presented. Attention is drawn to the socially inequitable and ecologically unsustainable outcomes of rapid growth in this sector. In analyzing the political economy of the squash pumpkin sector, the authors point to the important role that culture plays in mediating and conditioning development outcomes. Reflecting on the Tongan case, it is argued that to better understand the implications of orthodox developmental reform in the region, research must seek to more explicitly incorporate distributional and ethical analysis.     

Dielectric constants of apatite,epidote, vesuvianite,and zoisite,and the oxide additivity rule

The dielectric constants and dielectric loss values of 4 Ca-containing minerals were determined at 1 MHz using a two-terminal method and empirically determined edge corrections. The results are: vesuvianitel κ′ _a=9.93 tan δ=0.006 κ′ _c=9.79 tan δ=0.005 vesuvianitel κ′ _a=10.02 tan δ=0.002 κ′ _c=9.85 tan δ=0.003 zoisite1 κ′ _a =10.49 tan δ=0.0006 κ′ _b =15.31 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ _c=9.51 tan δ=0.0008 zoisite2 κ′ _a =10.55 tan δ=0.0011 κ′ _b =15.45 tan δ=0.0013 κ′ _c=9.39 tan δ=0.0008 epidote κ′ ₁₁= 9.52 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ ₂₂=17.1 tan δ=0.0009 κ′ ₃₃= 9.37 tan δ=0.0006 fluorapatite1 κ′ _a =10.48 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ _c = 8.72 tan δ=0.0114 fluorapatite2 κ′ _a =10.40 tan δ=0.0010 κ′ _c=8.26 tan δ=0.0178 The deviation (δ) between measured dielectric polarizabilities as determined from the Clausius-Mosotti equation and those calculated from the sum of oxide polarizabilities according to α _D (mineral)=∑ α _D (oxides) for vesuvianite is ～ 0.5%. The large deviations of epidote and zoisite from the additivity rule with Δ=+ 10.1 and + 11.7%, respectively, are attributed to “rattling” Ca ions. The combined effects of both a large F thermal parameter and possible F-ion conductivity in fluorapatite are believed to be responsible for Δ=+2–3%. Although variation of oxygen polarizability with oxygen molar volume (V_o) is believed to affect the total polarizabilities, the variation of V_o in these Ca minerals is too small to observe the effect.     

Spatially explicit measures of production of young alewives in Lake Michigan: Linkage between essential fish habitat and recruitment

The identification and protection of essential habitats for early life stages of fishes are necessary to sustain fish stocks. Essential fish habitat for early life stages may be defined as areas where fish densities, growth, survival, or production rates are relatively high. To identify critical habitats for young-of-year (YOY) alewives (Alosa pseud oharengus) in Lake Michigan, we integrated bioenergetics models with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to generate spatially explicit estimates of potential population production (an index of habitat quality). These estimates were based upon YOY alewife bioenergetic growth rate potential and their salmonine predators’ consumptive demand. We compared estimates of potential population production to YOY alewife yield (an index of habitat importance). Our analysis suggested that during 1994–1995, YOY alewife habitat quality and yield varied widely throughout Lake Michigan. Spatial patterns of alewife yield were not significantly correlated to habitat quality. Various mechanisms (e.g., predator migrations, lake circulation patterns, alternative strategies) may preclude YOY alewives from concentrating in areas of high habitat quality in Lake Michigan.     

Primitive Ordovician (Floian) echinoderms from Sandu,Guizhou Province,South China,and their significance

Pelmatozoans diversified primarily during the Middle and Late Ordovician Period, with Early Ordovician records being much more limited, resulting in many gaps in our knowledge of the early stages of their diversification. Dissociated pelmatozoan ossicles have been found abundantly in one section in the Tonggao Formation (Tetragraptus approximatus Biozone, Floian, Early Ordovician). Most of the ossicles are thecal plates and stem ossicles from hemicosmitoid and glyptocystitoid cystoids. Thecal plates of ‘Cheirocrinus’ sp., Polycosmites sp., and other plates of uncertain affinity are described. A different ossicle type, Pentagonopentagonalis (col.), may represent crinoid remains; this would be one of the earliest occurrences of the class. The thecal ossicles and columnals are all considered, as both sets of data are desirable to determine the most complete estimate of generic diversity. The echinoderm ossicles may have been transported in from shallower water palaeoenvironments and clusters of ossicles may represent coprolites or regurgitates. Estimates of Early Ordovician palaeogeography that place this site at 30°S or near the palaeoequator are supported by the physiological requirements of the primitive echinoderms described herein. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neogene echinoids from the Cayman Islands,West Indies: regional implications

The first fossil echinoids are recorded from the Cayman Islands. A regular echinoid, Arbacia? sp., the spatangoids Brissus sp. cf. B. oblongus Wright and Schizaster sp. cf. S. americanus (Clark), and the clypeasteroid Clypeaster sp. are from the Middle Miocene Cayman Formation. Test fragments of the mellitid clypeasteroid, Leodia sexiesperforata (Leske), are from the Late Pleistocene Ironshore Formation. Miocene echinoids are preserved as (mainly internal) moulds; hence, all species are left in open nomenclature because of uncertainties regarding test architecture. All Miocene taxa are recorded from single specimens apart from the 27 assigned to Brissus. Schizaster sp. cf. S. americanus (Clark) is compared to a species from the Oligocene of the south‐east USA. Brissus sp. cf. B. oblongus is close in gross morphology to a taxon from the Miocene of Malta. Leodia sexiesperforata is identified from fragments with confidence, being the only extant Antillean sand dollar with elongate ambulacral petals that is limited to carbonate substrates. The Miocene echinoids of Grand Cayman, although of limited diversity, are mainly comprised of genera common in comparable mid‐Cenozoic carbonate environments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) of chlorinated municipal drinking water in a confined aquifer

About 1.02 × 10⁶ m³ of chlorinated municipal drinking water was injected into a confined aquifer, 94–137 m below Roseville, California, between December 2005 and April 2006. The water was stored in the aquifer for 438 days, and 2.64 × 10⁶ m³ of water were extracted between July 2007 and February 2008. On the basis of Cl⁻ data, 35% of the injected water was recovered and 65% of the injected water and associated disinfection by-products (DBPs) remained in the aquifer at the end of extraction. About 46.3 kg of total trihalomethanes (TTHM) entered the aquifer with the injected water and 37.6 kg of TTHM were extracted. As much as 44 kg of TTHMs remained in the aquifer at the end of extraction because of incomplete recovery of injected water and formation of THMs within the aquifer by reactions with free-chlorine in the injected water. Well-bore velocity log data collected from the Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) well show as much as 60% of the injected water entered the aquifer through a 9 m thick, high-permeability layer within the confined aquifer near the top of the screened interval. Model simulations of ground-water flow near the ASR well indicate that (1) aquifer heterogeneity allowed injected water to move rapidly through the aquifer to nearby monitoring wells, (2) aquifer heterogeneity caused injected water to move further than expected assuming uniform aquifer properties, and (3) physical clogging of high-permeability layers is the probable cause for the observed change in the distribution of borehole flow. Aquifer heterogeneity also enhanced mixing of native anoxic ground water with oxic injected water, promoting removal of THMs primarily through sorption. A 3 to 4-fold reduction in TTHM concentrations was observed in the furthest monitoring well 427 m downgradient from the ASR well, and similar magnitude reductions were observed in depth-dependent water samples collected from the upper part of the screened interval in the ASR well near the end of the extraction phase. Haloacetic acids (HAAs) were completely sorbed or degraded within 10 months of injection.