The Impact Of Extreme Summer Melt on Net Accumulation of an Avalanche Fed Glacier,as Determined by Ground‐Penetrating Radar

Glacier mass balance is more sensitive to warming than cooling, but feedbacks related to the exposure of previously buried firn and ice in very warm years is not generally considered in sensitivity studies. A ground‐penetrating radar survey in the accumulation area of Rolleston Glacier, New Zealand shows that five years of previous net accumulation was removed by melt from parts of the glacier above the long‐term equilibrium line altitude during a single negative mass balance year. Rolleston Glacier receives a large amount of accumulation from snow avalanches, which may temporarily buffer it from climate warming by providing additional mass that has accumulated at higher elevations, effectively increasing the elevation range of the glacier. However, glaciers reliant on avalanche input may have high sensitivity to climatic variations because the extra mass is concentrated on a small part of the glacier, and small variations in avalanche input could have a large impact on overall glacier accumulation. Further research is needed to better estimate the amount and spatial distribution of accumulation by avalanche in order to quantify the climate sensitivity of small avalanche‐fed glaciers.     

景观植被生态系统水平衡模拟与分析

景观或区域的水平衡状况是全球变化的重要指标。本研究建立了一个空间显式景观过程模型,模拟了长白山自然保护区的水循环过程,并对水分收入、支出和平衡的总体状况、季节动态和空间分布格局进行了分析。整个保护区单位面积上水分盈余0.225±0.255 m.a-1,总计盈余4.379×108m3.a-1,但空间变异相当大。阔叶红松林的水分有略微亏缺,其他类型植被生态系统每年均有不同程度的水分盈余。从总面积上看,云冷杉林每年的水分盈余最多(可达1.696×108m3.a-1),占整个保护区的40.56%。整个保护区6月水分亏缺最严重,7~8月水分盈余最多,3~4月盈余较多。阔叶红松林除3月外,其他各月的水分亏缺均最多或次多,其中7~8月的水分盈余最少。降水量对水分收入、水分支出和水平衡季节动态的影响均最大。总的来说,年水分盈余的空间分布随海拔升高呈明显增加的趋势。气象因子均对水平衡的空间分布有极显著影响,气温和总辐射较高的地带,水分盈余较少,甚至出现水分亏缺;而降水量、相对湿度和风速较高的地带,水分盈余也较多。水分收入与叶面积指数(LAI)呈极显著负相关关系;而水分支出与LAI呈极显著正相关关系,主要受蒸腾量的影响。     

Groundwater ‐ the disregarded component in lake water and nutrient budgets. Part 1: effects of groundwater on hydrology

Lake eutrophication is a large and growing problem in many parts of the world, commonly due to anthropogenic sources of nutrients. Improved quantification of nutrient inputs is required to address this problem, including better determination of exchanges between groundwater and lakes. This first of a two‐part review provides a brief history of the evolution of the study of groundwater exchange with lakes, followed by a listing of the most commonly used methods for quantifying this exchange. Rates of exchange between lakes and groundwater compiled from the literature are statistically summarized for both exfiltration (flow from groundwater to a lake) and infiltration (flow from a lake to groundwater), including per cent contribution of groundwater to lake‐water budgets. Reported rates of exchange between groundwater and lakes span more than five orders of magnitude. Median exfiltration is 0.74 cm/day, and median infiltration is 0.60 cm/day. Exfiltration ranges from near 0% to 94% of input terms in lake‐water budgets, and infiltration ranges from near 0% to 91% of loss terms. Median values for exfiltration and infiltration as percentages of input and loss terms of lake‐water budgets are 25% and 35%, respectively. Quantification of the groundwater term is somewhat method dependent, indicating that calculating the groundwater component with multiple methods can provide a better understanding of the accuracy of estimates. The importance of exfiltration to a lake budget ranges widely for lakes less than about 100 ha in area but generally decreases with increasing lake area, particularly for lakes that exceed 100 ha in area. No such relation is evident for lakes where infiltration occurs, perhaps because of the smaller sample size. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intraslab seismicity and thermal stress in the subducted Cocos plate beneath central Mexico

We present a model of the subducting Cocos slab beneath Central Mexico, that provides an explanation for stresses causing the occurrence of the majority of the intraslab earthquakes which are concentrated in a long flat segment. Based on the recently developed thermal models for the Central Mexico subduction zone, the thermal stresses due to non-uniform temperature contrast in the subducting slab are calculated using a finite element approach. The slab is considered purely elastic but due to high temperature at its bottom the behavior is considered as ductile creep. The calculation results show a  20 km slab core characterized by a tensional state of stress with stresses up to 70 MPa. On the other hand, the top of the slab experiences high compressive thermal stresses up to 110 MPa, depending on the elastic constants used and location along the flat part of the subducting plate. These compressive stresses at the top of the slab are not consistent with the exclusive normal fault intraslab earthquakes, and two different sources of stress are proposed.

The trenchward migration of the Mexican volcanic arc for the last 7 Ma indicates an increase of the slab dip through time. This observation suggests that the gravity torque might exceed the suction torque. Considering the flat slab as an embedded plate subject to an applied clockwise net torque of 0.5 × 10¹⁶–1.5 × 10¹⁶ N m, the upper half would exhibit tensional stresses of 40–110 MPa that can actually balance the compressive thermally induced stresses.

An alternative stress source might come from the slab pull force caused by the slab positive density anomaly. Based on our density anomaly estimations (75 ± 20 kg/m³), a 350 km slab length, dipping at 20° into the asthenosphere, induces a slab pull force of 1.7 × 10¹²–4.6 × 10¹² N m. This force produces a tensional stress of 41–114 MPa, sufficient to balance the compressive thermal stresses at the top of the flat slab.

The linear superposition of the thermally and torque or slab pull induced stresses shows tensile stresses up to 60–180 MPa inside the flat slab core. Also, our results suggest that the majority of the intraslab earthquakes inside the flat slab are situated where the resultant stresses are larger than 40–80 MPa.

This study provides a reasonable explanation for the existence of exclusively normal fault intraslab earthquakes in the flat slab beneath Central Mexico, and also it shows that thermal stresses due to non-uniform reheating of subducting slabs play a considerable role in the total stress field.     

Digital system for recording fish echoes

A system to record digitised echo information from echo sounders has been developed as part of a project to improve methods of estimating the abundance of fish stocks around New Zealand. The depth of echoes appearing at the echo‐sounder receiver is determined, followed by a sequence of samples of the echo envelope defining its shape. All data are digitised and recorded on a seven‐track digital magnetic tape recorder. The system is designed to preserve as much information about the echoes as possible. In contrast to other published systems designed to either “count” or “integrate” fish echoes, this system allows free choice of methods of analysis.     

Environmental History of Lago di Tovel,Trento, Italy,Revealed by Sediment Cores and 3.5 kHz Seismic Mapping

Proxy data from a total of 30 sediment cores and information from a seismic survey show that the sedimentological and limnological history of Lago di Tovel (1178 m a.s.l.) has been significantly influenced by slope dynamics of its mountainous catchment. The lake represents a dead-ice lake with pro-glacial deposits at the base of its sedimentary record. A prominent lake level rise in 1597/1598 that increased maximum water depth from ∼20 to 39 m caused slope instabilities, leading to the deposition of mass-flow sediments with a maximum thickness of 2.5 m in the northern part of the lake and less than 50 cm in the southern part, resulting in a total volume of more than 113,000 m³. Consequently, a rough lake bottom morphology was produced, which led to distinct differences in sedimentation rates of 0.07 cm yr⁻¹ on sills and 0.18 cm yr⁻¹ within depressions. The age of the top of the mass-flow deposits was used to validate the ages of the younger, laminated sediments, which were dated by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. Lithological investigations showed that the sediments below the mass-flow deposits are also laminated and that they were not bioturbated. The long-term meromixis of Lago di Tovel is therefore mainly due to a combination of its topographic setting and the 5-month period of ice cover. Both prevent effective mixing of the lake by strong winds during spring and autumn. Distinct spatial differences in sediment distribution within the lake show that it is risky to interpret proxy data from only one coring site, even if the lake is very small. This is especially true in mountainous areas, where rock falls, mass movements, and slope instabilities of a significant size may have considerable effects on lakes.     

Primary production and implications for metabolic balance in Hawaiian lee eddies

Recent discrepancies between geochemical and biological approaches for determining whether ocean ecosystems are net heterotrophic or net autotrophic have led to uncertainty in the net metabolic state of open ocean ecosystems. Geochemical approaches indicate that the oceans are net positive autotrophic, but direct observations based on short-term incubation techniques suggest that the ocean is in a state of net heterotrophy. One hypothesis for the apparent discrepancy is that net autotrophic production occurs in aperiodic “bursts,” which are superimposed on a more constant background state of net heterotrophy. Mixing events, which introduce new nutrients to the surface ocean, provide one mechanism for fueling such aperiodic bursts of net production. In conjunction with the Eddy Flux (E-Flux) program in the lee of the Hawaiian Islands during winter 2004–2005, we examined the relationship between photosynthesis and irradiance (P vs. E) in surface waters inside and outside of two cold-core, cyclonic eddies, and conducted five incubation experiments to examine the metabolic response of mixed-layer plankton communities to nutrient-rich deep-sea water additions. Our results showed that in the mixed layer, maximum rates of light-saturated photosynthesis, derived from photosynthesis–irradiance experiments were not significantly different inside vs. outside the eddies (p=0.35 and 0.44 for E-Flux I and E-Flux III, respectively). Addition of nutrients to mixed-layer water showed that (1) gross primary production (GPP) became decoupled from a more constant rate of respiration and (2) net system metabolism shifted from approximate balance, or slight net heterotrophy, to a demonstrably net autotrophic system. From these results, we determined that the threshold GPP for net autotrophic production for the mixed layer of the study region was 1.65 mmol O₂ m⁻³ d⁻¹, which is consistent with previous estimates for the oligotrophic open ocean.     

长江口3 种贝类碳、氮收支的研究

以春季长江口缢蛏(Sinonovacula constricta)、河蚬(Corbicula fluminea)和光滑河兰蛤(Potamocorbula laevis)为研究对象,研究了此3种滤食性贝类的摄食生理参数,并根据能量平衡原理估算了3种双壳贝类的碳、氮收支情况。结果表明,(1)3种双壳贝类从滤食藻类中摄取的有机碳源主要通过呼吸代谢消耗、以粪便的形式排出,少部分随排泄代谢产物流出,余下的碳主要用作贝类自身的生长。缢蛏的碳收支方程式为100.00C(摄食碳)=20.17F(粪便碳)+50.05R(呼吸碳)+9.86U(排泄碳)+19.92P(生长碳),河蚬的碳收支方程式为100.00C=31.29F+37.40R+5.05U+26.26P,光滑河兰蛤的碳收支方程式为100.00C=44.13F+33.08R+11.05U+11.74P。(2)由于贝类在呼吸代谢中没有氮排放,故3种贝类的生长氮占总摄食氮的比例较碳大。因此,缢蛏氮收支方程式为100.00C(摄食氮)=28.22F(粪便氮)+49.38U(排泄氮)+22.40G(生长氮),河蚬的氮收支方程式为100.00C=45.05F+23.99U+30.96G,光滑河兰蛤的氮收支方程式为100.00C=46.97F+32.95U+20.08G。     

The water balance of the Dead Sea: an integrated approach

The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth. It is a closed saline lake located in the middle of the Jordan Rift Valley between Lake Tiberias and the Red Sea. Its major tributaries are the Jordan River itself and the Dead Sea side wadis. The Dead Sea has a unique ecosystem and its water has curative, industrial and recreational significance. The level of the Dead Sea has been continuously falling since the early 1930s at an average rate of 0·7 m per year. The water level, as of February 1998, is about 410·9 m below mean sea level. In this paper, a water balance model is developed for the Dead Sea by considering different hydrological components of this water balance, including precipitation, runoff, evaporation and groundwater flow. This model is calibrated based on historical levels of the Dead Sea. Different scenarios are investigated, including the proposed Dead Sea–Red Sea Canal. This project is supposed to halt the shrinking of the Dead Sea and restore it to pre‐1950 levels in the next century. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.