Sources of organic matter in surface sediments of the Louisiana Continental margin: Effects of major depositional/transport pathways and Hurricane Ivan

Lignin and pigment biomarkers were analyzed in surface sediments of the Louisiana Continental margin (LCM) to distinguish differences in the degradative state of sedimentary organic matter along and between two major depositional pathways (along shore and offshore to the Mississippi Canyon) from Southwest (SW) Pass in July 2003. Barataria Bay, an inter-distributary estuary, was also assessed as a potential source of terrestrial organic matter to the LCM. Sediment signatures taken along the same pathways after Hurricane Ivan (October 2004) were compared with the pre-Ivan signature to elucidate carbon dynamics after major hurricane events. Density fractions were investigated at key stages across the LCM. Mississippi Canyon sediments are a depocenter for labile and refractory organic matter derived from river and previously deposited shelf sediments. Barataria Bay material may be a contributing source of sedimentary organic matter in shallow shelf areas bordering the bay and is thus potentially important in carbon cycling in sediments of these shallow areas; however, our results show that organic matter inputs from the bay were likely rapidly decomposed and/or diluted. Hurricane Ivan mobilized sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) offshore and homogenized terrestrial sediment parameters and gradients. As observed through pigment concentrations sediments tended to equilibrate to a more steady-state condition within months of the disturbance. Insights from density fractions show that selective degradation and aggregation/flocculation processes were also very important processes during cross-shelf transport. Zooplankton grazing, largely on diatoms and other algae, was a shelf wide phenomenon, however, grazing products dominated the marine-derived SOC in margin sediments west of the birdsfoot delta indicated by the abundance of steryl chlorin esters (SCEs).     

A test for the coincident economic and spatial clustering of business enterprises

This paper uses input-output data combined with point process modeling techniques to test whether enterprises linked within nominal buyer-supplier chains have a greater propensity to cluster in space than manufacturing enterprises in general. The methodology controls for the general tendency of firms to seek locations in concentrated agglomerations and isolates the influence of firm interdependence on spatial clustering. Our findings suggest that there is indeed an association between economic linkages and geographic clustering in our study area, but only for some types of economic clusters, mainly those that are comprised mainly of more knowledge-based or technology-intensive sectors. In general, we endeavor to show that spatial analytical methods hold considerable promise for conducting rigorous tests of industrial location questions. Received: 9 September 1998 / Accepted: 12 December 1999     

Polarization models of young stellar objects – II. Linear and circular polarimetry of R Coronae Australis

Near-infrared linear imaging polarimetry of the young stellar objects R CrA and T CrA in the J , H and K n bands, and circular imaging polarimetry in the H band, is presented. The data are modelled with the Clark and McCall scattering model. The R CrA and T CrA system is shown to be a particularly complex scattering environment. In the case of R CrA there is evidence that the wavelength dependence of polarization changes across the nebula. MRN dust grain models do not explain this behaviour. Depolarization by line emission is considered as an alternative explanation. The dust grain properties could also be changing across the nebula.
Although surrounded by reflection nebulosity, there is a region of particularly low polarization surrounding R CrA that is best modelled by the canonical bipolar outflow being truncated by an evacuated spherical cavity surrounding the star. The symmetry axis of the nebula appears inclined by 50° to the plane of the sky.
The H -band circular polarimetry of R CrA clearly shows a quadrupolar structure of positive and negative degrees of circular polarization that reach peak magnitudes of ∼5 per cent within our limited map. It is shown that spherical MRN grains are incapable of producing this circular polarization given the observed linear polarization of the R CrA system. Instead, scattering from aligned non-spherical grains is proposed as the operating mechanism.
T CrA is a more archetypical bipolar reflection nebula, and this object is modelled as a canonical parabolic reflection nebula that lies in the plane of the sky. The wavelength independence of linear polarization in the T CrA reflection nebula suggests that the scattering particles are Rayleigh sized. This is modelled with the MRN interstellar grain size distribution.     

Monitoring Growth in Rapidly Urbanizing Areas Using Remotely Sensed Data

Urbanization and the ability to manage for a sustainable future present numerous challenges for geographers and planners in metropolitan regions. Remotely sensed data are inherently suited to provide information on urban land cover characteristics, and their change over time, at various spatial and temporal scales. Data models for establishing the range of urban land cover types and their biophysical composition (vegetation, soil, and impervious surfaces) are integrated to provide a hierarchical approach to classifying land cover within urban environments. These data also provide an essential component for current simulation models of urban growth patterns, as both calibration and validation data. The first stages of the approach have been applied to examine urban growth between 1988 and 1995 for a rapidly developing area in southeast Queensland, Australia. Landsat Thematic Mapper image data provided accurate (83% adjusted overall accuracy) classification of broad land cover types and their change over time. The combination of commonly available remotely sensed data, image processing methods, and emerging urban growth models highlights an important application for current and next generation moderate spatial resolution image data in studies of urban environments.     

Evaluation of aDcp processing options for secondary flow identification at river junctions

Secondary circulation in river confluences results in a spatial and temporal variation of fluid motion and a relatively high level of morphodynamic change. Acoustic Doppler current profiler (aDcp) vessel-mounted flow measurements are now commonly used to quantify such circulation in shallow water fluvial environments. It is well established that such quantification using vessel-mounted aDcps requires repeated survey of the same cross-section. However, less attention has been given to how to process these data. Most aDcp data processing techniques make the assumption of homogeneity between the measured radial components of velocity. As acoustic beams diverge with distance from the aDcp probe, the volume of the flow that must be assumed to be homogeneous between the beams increases. In the presence of secondary circulation cells, and where there are strong rates of shear in the flow, the homogeneity assumption may not apply, especially deeper in the water column and close to the bed. To reduce dependence on this assumption, we apply a newly-established method to aDcp data obtained for two medium-sized (~60–80 m wide) gravel-bed river confluences and compare the results with those from more conventional data processing approaches. The comparison confirms that in the presence of strong shear our method produces different results to more conventional approaches. In the absence of a third set of fully independent data, we cannot demonstrate conclusively which method is best, but our method involves less averaging and so in the presence of strong shear is likely to be more reliable. We conclude that it is wise to apply both our method and more conventional methods to identify where data analysis might be impacted upon by strong shear and where inferences of secondary circulation may need to be made more cautiously. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Precast concrete wall with end columns (PreWEC) for earthquake resistant design

An innovative seismic resisting system consisting of a Pre cast W all with E nd C olumns (or PreWEC) has been developed, and its performance has been verified using large‐scale cyclic testing. The wall and end columns in the PreWEC system are anchored individually to a foundation using unbonded post‐tensioning. A newly designed, low‐cost mild steel connector is used to connect the wall and end columns horizontally along the vertical joint. The connectors are easily replaceable and provide additional hysteretic energy dissipation to the system. The PreWEC system can be economically designed to have a lateral load carrying capacity similar to that of a comparable reinforced concrete wall, while minimizing damage and providing self‐centering capability. In addition to confirming these benefits, the large‐scale test demonstrated that the PreWEC system: (i) would provide superior seismic performance compared to other currently available structural wall systems especially for the precast industry; and (ii) meets all the mandatory acceptance criteria established by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) for special unbonded post‐tensioned precast structural walls and building frame special reinforced concrete shear wall systems, as defined in the American Concrete Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7‐05. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on carbon and nitrogen export in an eroding catchment of south‐eastern Queensland,Australia

Effects of gully and channel erosion on the export of sediments are in general well understood, but the effects on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) export remain an open question. We examined these effects and the role of flow magnitude, total wet season rainfall, catchment size and the C and N content and solubility of most probable sediment sources in a subtropical catchment. We sampled the baseflow and the rising stage of high‐flow events for one wet season and analysed 5 years of water quality data from event sampling stations. Total suspended sediment was the main variable explaining N export followed by rainfall, flow and catchment size. N was exported mainly in particulate organic form and C in dissolved form. The quality of most probable sediment source fractions explains these results and points to fractionation during transport into C and N richer and C and N poorer fractions, with travel distance ultimately determining the average quality of transported sediment for different flow magnitudes. Erosion would have caused a lower C and N concentration in sediments, a lower proportion of mineralized N, a larger proportion of dissolved organic C and a larger C : N ratios of the soluble fraction as compared with unincised grassed valleys. This would alter the rates of nutrient cycling and energy flow within and across ecosystem compartments in streams receiving this export. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deformation and fault activity in space and time in high-resolution numerical models of doubly vergent thrust wedges

A discrete-element model is used to investigate the manner in which deformation and fault activity change in space and time during the development of a doubly vergent thrust wedge in the upper crust. Deformation is a result of shortening at a subduction slot in the base of the model, a configuration which produces a dynamic backstop within the cohesionless, frictional cover material. A series of experiments with differing basal (decollement) friction are performed. The distinct manners in which thrust wedges grow, and the variability of fault development and activity in space and time, are then examined. Both predicted large-scale wedge geometries and individual fault-fold structures are similar to those observed in sandbox models, and show the complex manner in which shortening is accommodated and localized during the development of the thrust wedge. When compared to a sandbox model with similar boundary conditions, model results are strikingly similar. In all cases, deformation initiates above the subduction slot with the formation of an axial zone; the wedge is then developed by displacement on a retro-wedge thrust and propagation of deformation into the pro-wedge region. Models with low coefficients of basal friction typically develop wide, shallow wedges with distributed, spaced deformation and rather symmetric, box-like structures; whereas those with high coefficients of basal friction develop narrower, steeper wedges, consisting of a series of stacked, pro-wedge thrust sheets, and a high-displacement retro-wedge thrust. In general, fault initiation and linkage is extremely complex in our models, with several smaller faults operating until linkage occurs to form a major through-going structure. Of particular interest is the observation that many of the faults do not develop at the basal decollement and propagate upwards through the cover but rather initiate at high levels in the cover and propagate/link downwards with other, deeper structures. Results also indicate the utility of the discrete-element approach in modelling large-displacement, complex deformation of geological materials.