Post-mortem transport of freshwater mollusc shells in the northern Caspian Sea: A cautionary note on the implications for palaeoecological reconstructions

Fossils of stenohaline taxa are frequently used in palaeoecological and archaeological investigations to indicate the former position of deltas or the occurrence of freshwater conditions. However, the post-mortem transport of freshwater mollusc shells from deltaic and other areas can complicate interpretation of fossil assemblages. We present an example from the north Caspian Sea that shows that failure to consider these taphonomic processes can lead to erroneous conclusions.     

Watershed-Estuary Coupling in Pacific Panama: Isotopic Evidence of Forest and Pasture Land Covers on Watersheds and Marine Contributions to Suspended Particulate Matter in Mangrove Estuaries

Tropical estuaries are increasingly altered by inputs from watersheds subject to widespread deforestation, as well as by globally driven hydrodynamic changes in adjoining seas. To assess contributions of C4 and C3 plants (from pasture and forest vegetation cover, respectively) to particulates exported from Pacific Panama watersheds, we measured δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in suspended particulate matter (SPM) within eight mangrove estuaries whose watersheds differed in degree of conversion from forest to pasture land cover. These measurements also allowed evaluation of down-estuary transformations and the relative marine influence on transport and exchanges of particles between land, estuary, and sea. Imprint of watershed mosaic was detectable in δ¹³C of SPM within upper reaches of estuaries but disappeared down-estuary. Detectably heavier δ¹³C suggested that C4 plants contributed to SPM in upper reaches of estuaries. δ¹³C signatures were sufficiently sensitive to reveal presence of a small, but still detectable, contribution by C4 grasses to SPM. Influence of heavier marine-derived sources increased down-estuary, erasing terrestrial imprints. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in SPM, and in mangrove species present, became enriched down-estuary, likely from increased inputs of particulates bearing heavier signatures from upwelled waters. In this tropical Pacific region, estuarine particulates are subject to increasing shifts in land cover as deforestation increases, and to global-scale changes in hydrodynamic forcing of upwelled waters.     

Stochastic similarities between the microscale of turbulence and hydro-meteorological processes

ABSTRACT

Turbulence is considered to generate and drive most geophysical processes. The simplest case is isotropic turbulence. In this paper, the most common three-dimensional power-spectrum-based models of isotropic turbulence are studied in terms of their stochastic properties. Such models often have a high order of complexity, lack stochastic interpretation and violate basic stochastic asymptotic properties, such as the theoretical limits of the Hurst coefficient, when Hurst-Kolmogorov behaviour is observed. A simpler and robust model (which incorporates self-similarity structures, e.g. fractal dimension and Hurst coefficient) is proposed using a climacogram-based stochastic framework and tested over high-resolution observational data of laboratory scale as well as hydro-meteorological observations of wind speed and precipitation intensities. Expressions of other stochastic tools such as the autocovariance and power spectrum are also produced from the model and show agreement with data. Finally, uncertainty, discretization and bias related errors are estimated for each stochastic tool, showing lower errors for the climacogram-based ones and larger for power spectrum ones.     

Macrophyte Abundance in Waquoit Bay: Effects of Land-Derived Nitrogen Loads on Seasonal and Multi-Year Biomass Patterns

Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to coastal waters have rapidly restructured coastal ecosystems. To examine the response of macrophyte communities to land-derived nitrogen loading, we measured macrophyte biomass monthly for 6 years in three estuaries subject to different nitrogen loads owing to different land uses on the watersheds. The set of estuaries sampled had nitrogen loads over the broad range of 12 to 601 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Macrophyte biomass increased as nitrogen loads increased, but the response of individual taxa varied. Specifically, biomass of Cladophora vagabunda and Gracilaria tikvahiae increased significantly as nitrogen loads increased. The biomass of other macroalgal taxa tended to decrease with increasing load, and the relative proportion of these taxa to total macrophyte biomass also decreased. The seagrass, Zostera marina, disappeared from the higher loaded estuaries but remained abundant in the estuary with the lowest load. Seasonal changes in macroalgal standing stock were also affected by nitrogen load, with larger fluctuations in biomass across the year and higher minimum biomass of macroalgae in the higher loaded estuaries. There were no significant changes in macrophyte biomass over the 6 years of this study, but there was a slight trend of increasing macroalgal biomass in the latter years. Macroalgal biomass was not related to irradiance or temperature, but Z. marina biomass was highest during the summer months when light and temperatures peak. Irradiance might, however, be a secondary limiting factor controlling macroalgal biomass in the higher loaded estuaries by restricting the depth of the macroalgal canopy. The relationship between the bloom-forming macroalgal species, C. vagabunda and G. tikvahiae, and nitrogen loads suggested a strong connection between development on watersheds and macroalgal blooms and loss of seagrasses. The influence of watershed land uses largely overwhelmed seasonal and inter-annual differences in standing stock of macrophytes in these temperate estuaries.     

Exploring new methods to analyse spatial impact distributions on debris-flow fans using data from south-western British Columbia

Predicting the spatial impact of debris flows on fans is challenging due to complex runout behaviour. Debris flow mobility is highly variable and flows can sporadically avulse the channel. For hazard and risk assessments, practitioners typically base the probability of spatial impact or avulsion on their experience and expert judgement. To support decision-making with empirical observations, we studied spatial impact distributions on 30 active debris-flow fans in south-western British Columbia, Canada. We mapped 146 debris-flow impact areas over an average observation period of 74 years using orthorectified airphotos, satellite imagery, topographic base maps, LiDAR data, orthophotos, and field observations. We devised a graphical method to convert our geospatial mapping into spatial impact heat maps normalized by fan boundaries, enabling comparison of runout distributions across different fans. About 90% of the mapped debris flows reached beyond the mid-points of fans, while less than 10% avulsed more than half-way across the fan relative to the previous flow path. Most avulsions initiated at distances of 20% to 40% of the maximum fan length from the fan apex and upstream of the fan intersection point. Large volume events tend to be more mobile in the down-fan direction, but the relation between volume and cross-fan runout (e.g., avulsions) is more complex. Differences in spatial impact distributions can be explained, in part, by the degree of fan incision and whether a fan is truncated at its toe by a river or lake. There were no significant differences in spatial impact distributions based on the geology of the source area, sediment supply condition, or hydrogeomorphic process classification.     

Relation of cosmic-ray variations to interplanetary plasma observations for the event of 15 February, 1978

A very rapid, almost symmetric, spike-like cosmic-ray depression occurred on 15 February, 1978, and was detected by the whole network of neutron monitors and underground meson telescopes. It is suggested that this rare cosmic-ray depression was related with the solar flares of 13 February, 1978 and was caused by one forward interplanetary shock wave, taking place in the leading edge of a fast solar wind stream, rather than a shock pair.     

Unravelling the complex structure of a benthic community: A multiscale-multianalytical approach to an estuarine sandflat

We evaluated scale-dependent patterns of distribution of sandflat macroinfauna of a coastal lagoon, using different analytical approaches. The sampled area was divided into three sectors (outer, inner-north, inner-south) containing small promontories. At each side of the promontories we defined stations in a line transect across the sandflat. Thus, we evaluated sediment characteristics and macroinfaunal responses to sectors, orientations and intertidal levels; animal–sediment relationships were also studied. At a large scale, there was a clear pattern of sediment composition and macroinfaunal abundance. While the outer sector had medium to coarse sands, reflecting the high hydrodynamic conditions existing near the lagoon entrance, the inner sectors showed sandy and muddy sediments. Most species were in low abundances at the outer sector. At small scale, macroinfaunal abundance and species richness decreased sharply towards the upper sandflat level. Also at small scale, sediment composition limited the maximal densities reached by all species, with exception of the deposit-feeding polychaetes. Thus, the macroinfaunal community at muddy sediments was dominated by burrowing deposit-feeders, while all species peaked in sandy sediments. Our results suggest that physical factors shaping macroinfaunal communities operate at different scales and are better detected using several analytical approaches. Large scale patterns, associated with along-shore variations in disturbance by currents, were detected as changes in the mean abundance of macroinfauna. Small scale patterns, related to sediment characteristics, were observed as changes in maximal densities of macroinfauna. Small scale patterns, associated with the level of inundation of the sandflats, were detected through changes in the abundance and presence of macroinfauna. The evaluation of the role of the physical conditions on communities must involve the use of several sampling and analytical approaches.     

Assessment of seismic design response factors of air traffic control towers

Air Traffic Control (ATC) towers are among the most vital structures in each airport. Due to inadequate information regarding the seismic design and assessment of these types of structures, practicing engineers may refer to building codes. However, taking into account the special dynamic behavior of ATC towers, instructions and recommendations provided in building codes often do not comply with the required seismic performance levels of ATC towers. In this study, seismic behaviors of three in-service ATC towers with a dual concrete core lateral load resisting system were studied through pushover and incremental dynamic collapse analysis. Seismic design response factors of the reference towers were calculated. It was found that seismic design response factors adopted by the design code did not provide a uniform safety margin for all reference ATC towers. It was also observed that shorter towers have significantly higher response modification factors compared to taller towers. For the studied towers, a structural over-strength factor of 2.4 and a displacement amplification factor of 4 were obtained.     

Verification of a One-Dimensional Model of $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$ Atmospheric Transport Inside and Above a Forest Canopy Using Observations at the Norunda Research Station

A model of \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) atmospheric transport in vegetated canopies is tested against measurements of the flow, as well as \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations at the Norunda research station located inside a mixed pine–spruce forest. We present the results of simulations of wind-speed profiles and \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations inside and above the forest canopy with a one-dimensional model of profiles of the turbulent diffusion coefficient above the canopy accounting for the influence of the roughness sub-layer on turbulent mixing according to Harman and Finnigan (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 129:323–351, 2008; hereafter HF08). Different modelling approaches are used to define the turbulent exchange coefficients for momentum and concentration inside the canopy: (1) the modified HF08 theory—numerical solution of the momentum and concentration equations with a non-constant distribution of leaf area per unit volume; (2) empirical parametrization of the turbulent diffusion coefficient using empirical data concerning the vertical profiles of the Lagrangian time scale and root-mean-square deviation of the vertical velocity component. For neutral, daytime conditions, the second-order turbulence model is also used. The flexibility of the empirical model enables the best fit of the simulated \(\hbox {CO}_{2}\) concentrations inside the canopy to the observations, with the results of simulations for daytime conditions inside the canopy layer only successful provided the respiration fluxes are properly considered. The application of the developed model for radiocarbon atmospheric transport released in the form of \(^{14}\hbox {CO}_{2}\) is presented and discussed.