Circulation of bubbly magma and gas segregation within tunnels of the potential Yucca Mountain repository

Following an intersection of rising magma with drifts of the potential Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a pathway is likely to be established to the surface with magma flowing for days to weeks and affecting the performance of engineered structures located along or near the flow path. In particular, convective circulation could occur within magma-filled drifts due to the exsolution and segregation of magmatic gas. We investigate gas segregation in a magma-filled drift intersected by a vertical dyke by means of analogue experiments, focusing on the conditions of sustained magma flow. Degassing is simulated by electrolysis, producing micrometric bubbles in viscous mixtures of water and golden syrup, or by aerating golden syrup, producing polydisperse bubbly mixtures with 40% of gas by volume. The presence of exsolved bubbles induces a buoyancy-driven exchange flow between the dyke and the drift that leads to gas segregation. Bubbles segregate from the magma by rising and accumulating as a foam at the top of the drift, coupled with the accumulation of denser degassed magma at the base of the drift. Steady-state influx of bubbly magma from the dyke into the drift is balanced by outward flux of lighter foam and denser degassed magma. The length and time scales of this gas segregation are controlled by the rise of bubbles in the horizontal drift. Steady-state gas segregation would be accomplished within hours to hundreds of years depending on the viscosity of the degassed magma and the average size of exsolved gas bubbles, and the resulting foam would only be a few cm thick. The exchange flux of bubbly magma between the dyke and the drift that is induced by gas segregation ranges from 1 m³ s⁻¹, for the less viscous magmas, to 10⁻⁸ m³ s⁻¹, for the most viscous degassed magmas, with associated velocities ranging from 10⁻¹ to 10⁻⁹ m s⁻¹ for the same viscosity range. This model of gas segregation also predicts that the relative proportion of erupted degassed magma, that could potentially carry and entrain nuclear waste material towards the surface, would depend on the value of the dyke magma supply rate relative to the value of the gas segregation flux, with violent eruption of gassy as well as degassed magmas at relatively high magma supply rates, and eruption of mainly degassed magma by milder episodic Strombolian explosions at relatively lower supply rates.     

Stochastic tracking of mesoscale convective systems: evaluation in the West African Sahel

In this work we apply a recently proposed Bayesian multiple target tracking model to mesoscale convective systems tracking. This stochastic model follows the multiple hypothesis tracking paradigm and can handle a varying number of targets while detecting the target birth, death, split, and merge events. The model is tested experimentally with real MCS targets detected from meteosat IR data over the Sahelian region. The performance of the stochastic tracking is evaluated by comparing it qualitatively and quantitatively with well established deterministic methods.     

The 3 December 1828 moderate earthquake at the border between Belgium and Germany

On 3 December 1828 at half past six in the evening, the border region between Belgium and Germany was stricken by a moderate earthquake. Up to now, the available information on this event has been essentially provided by a few contemporaneous scientific studies. To better evaluate its impact, location and magnitude, we have searched for new original historical reports. We collected 57 additional witness testimonies, which complete those previously collected about the earthquake effects. Among the testimonies, we also retrieved a questionnaire sent by the Prussian government to local authorities with the purpose of quickly obtaining information on the earthquake effects in the western part of the kingdom of Prussia. This inquiry is the oldest of its kind that has been discovered to date in this part of Europe, suggesting a rare concern by a national authority about the seismic hazard, and prefiguring the seismic inquiries that scientific institutions use today. The analysis of these new data made it possible to evaluate the intensity in 50 cities out of the 75 where the earthquake was observed. From these intensity data, we determine that the epicentre was in the Hautes-Fagnes region [lat. 50.38°N/long. 6.19°E?±?30 km] where moderate damage, corresponding to EMS-98 intensity VI–VII, was observed. At large distances, the earthquake was felt as far as Düsseldorf to the north, Brussels to the west, Metz to the south and Wiesbaden to the east. These distances correspond to a perceptibility radius of about 150 km. The magnitude of this earthquake is evaluated to be M_L?=?4.7 (?0.2/+0.5) and M_W?=?4.2 (+0.4/?0.2).     

Cytochrome P450 1A1 expression in cetacean skin biopsies from the Indian Ocean

The study describes cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYPA1) expression in the skin of different cetacean species (Megaptera novaeangliae, n = 15; Stenella attenuata, n = 7 and Stenella longirostris, n = 24) from the Mozambique Channel island of Mayotte. Immunohistochemical examination was performed with a monoclonal antibody against scup cytochrome CYPA1. The sex was determined using a molecular approach consisting in the genotyping sex-specific genes. CYPA1 was detected at the junction between epidermis and blubber on dolphins only, mostly in the endothelial cells. Similar observation was obtained in the dermis of one M. novaeangliae. Immunohistochemical slides were scored to evaluate the expression of the CYPA1 and a higher expression was observed in S. longirostris, suggesting a higher exposure to pollutants for this species. The difference of expression between sexes was not significant.     

Benthic indicators and index approaches in the three main estuaries along the French Atlantic coast (Seine, Loire and Gironde)

The three main estuaries in the French Atlantic coast – the Seine, Loire and Gironde, all with high tidal regimes – are interfaces between the continental and the coastal ecosystems. The Seine and Gironde are highly contaminated, whereas the Loire remains in a more natural state. Both the Seine and Gironde have suffered from harbour construction, and as a result, their biological units are extremely compartmentalized. Benthic species and communities have adapted to tolerate temporal physical and chemical changes ( e.g. salinity, substrata, depth, and levels of fine particles and oxygen) and human activities ( e.g. dredging, shipping traffic, and habitat reduction). Although numerous bio-indicators and indices are used to define the ecological quality status (EcoQS) of coastal waters, very few of them were developed specifically for environments with a mosaic of conditions and salinity levels, including freshwater. The main problem appears to be that all the indices for determining anthropogenic stress examine the abundances of stress-tolerant species, which may also be able to tolerate natural stressors such as those occurring in estuaries. This paper takes a look at the development status of the benthic indicators and index approaches used in the three main estuaries along the French Atlantic coast. In addition, it examines the adaptation of the different benthic indicators to the taxonomic sufficiency principle, and the adaptation of the Benthic Opportunistic Polychaetes Amphipods index (BOPA) and the Benthic Opportunistic Annelida Amphipod index (BO2A) for use in the freshwater zones of transitional waters ( i.e. up to the upper limit of the tidal range). Several perspectives are discussed in light of the diverse disturbances and the heterogeneity of such stressed zones, such as the use of multimetric and scoring approaches.     

The effects of resolving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in a finite element sea ice model

Though narrow straits may have a strong influence on the large-scale sea ice mass balance, they are often crudely represented in coarse resolution sea ice models. Unstructured meshes, with their natural ability to fit boundaries and locally increase the mesh resolution, propose an alternative framework to capture the complex oceanic areas formed by coasts and islands. In this paper, we develop a finite element sea ice model to investigate the sensitivity of the Arctic sea ice cover features to the resolution of the narrow straits constituting the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The model is a two-level dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model, including a viscous-plastic rheology. It is run over 1979–2005, forced by daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Confronting qualitatively numerical experiments with observations shows a good agreement with satellite and buoys measurements. Due to its simple representation of the oceanic interactions, the model overestimates the sea ice extent during winter in the southernmost parts of the Arctic, while the Baffin Bay and Kara Sea remain ice-covered during summer. In order to isolate the benefits from resolving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a numerical experiment is performed where we artificially close the archipelago. Focusing on the large-scale sea ice thickness pattern, no significant change is found in our model, except in the close surroundings of the archipelago. However, the local and short-term influences of the ice exchanges are nonnegligible. In particular, we show that the ice volume associated to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago represents 10% of the Northern Hemisphere sea ice volume and that the annual mean ice export towards Baffin Bay amounts to 125 km³ yr⁻¹, which may play an important role on the convective overturning in the Labrador Sea.     

Planning the sea: The French experience. Contribution to marine spatial planning perspectives

As marine spatial planning is developing, prompted by the European Union through common principles prescribed in a road map, it is important to disseminate and analyse what has been put forward as the French experience in this field. Hence, the experience of the schémas de mise en valeur de la mer immediately proves to be original in its framework and deeply rooted in French specificities. However, a further analysis of this procedure implemented over several decades highlights the perspectives that would be worth integrating into French and European considerations. This paper thus provides information referring to the SMVM experience, presents an analysis of its results, and attempts to draw lessons from it with regard to recent developments in French marine policy.     

Contourites in the Gulf of Cadiz: a cautionary note on potentially ambiguous indicators of bottom current velocity

Facies associations in cores collected in the deep part of the Gulf of Cadiz, which is under the influence of the lower branch of the Mediterranean Outflow Water, are investigated in terms of the classical contourite model using grain-size analyses and thin sections of indurated sediment. Cores include both low-energy (contourite drift) and high-energy (channel) environments. The thin sections and grain-size distributions show that clayey fine silts and sandy coarse silts are the most common facies associations in the studied contourite sequences, while coarse-grained, gravelly contourites are less common. Grain-size distributions are unimodal in the fine-grained and bi- or trimodal in the coarser-grained contourites. This change in grain-size composition is related both to the partial removal of the fine-grained fraction and to the replenishment of the coarser-grained one. In addition, most of the contacts between individual facies are sharp rather than transitional. This suggests that the contourite sequence is only in part related to changes in bottom current velocity and flow competency, but may also be related to the supply of a coarser terrigeneous particle stock, provided by either increased erosion of indurated mud along the flanks of confined contourite channels (mud clasts), or by increased sediment supply by rivers (quartz grains) and downslope mass transport on the continental shelf and upper slope. The classical contourite facies association may therefore not be solely controlled by current velocity, but may be the product of a variety of depositional histories. The classical contourite depositional sequence should therefore be interpreted with greater care and in the light of the regional sedimentological background. In addition, the wisdom of exclusively using mean or modal particle size for the interpretation of depositional contourite processes is questioned. Instead, it is proposed that the vertical evolution of grain-size populations in the facies successions forming contourite sequences be assessed.     

Comparative research on integrated development of large river basins: a case study of the Yangtze and the Rhone

Since 2001, the French and Chinese researchers have done a cooperative research on the comparison of integrated development of large river basins. The Yangtze River was chosen as a crux of this research and linked with other older river experiments like the Rhone, the Nile and the Mississippi. This research includes not only the environmental issues but also economic and social issues. One special issue journal has been published in French for our research results. Other two collective and comparative books in French and Chinese will be finished at the end of this year. In the future, the comparison should be widened to Italy (the Po), Egypt (the Nile development planning) and the United States (the Mississippi Basin) and we would like to enlarge our research group and want to link up different teams and research projects, in order to get a global understanding of large river regions phenomenon.