Chemical composition of short sediment cores from Thermaikos Gulf (Eastern Mediterranean): Sediment accumulation rates, trawling and winnowing effects

Four cores recovered within the framework of the INTERPOL Project have been analysed for their grain size and geochemistry; sediment accumulation rates (SARs) were also determined from ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs profiles. Two cores are representative of the Axios and Aliakmon Rivers depositional environment, whilst the third core represents the Pinios River province; the fourth core represents an environment of outer shelf relict sands. Apparent SARs ranged between 0.667 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (Axios and Aliakmon Rivers) and 0.414 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (Pinios River). Trawling activities and biomixing are critical processes that may be responsible for the mixing of the surface sediments, as observed from the excess ²¹⁰Pb profiles. The thickness of the surface mixed layer was 4.5 cm in the vicinity of Axios and Aliakmon Rivers and in the area of Pinios River, 3.75 cm on the outer shelf and 1 cm in the area where no trawling was observed. Sediment accumulation appeared to be regulated by variations in the riverine discharge, shelf transport pathways and winnowing processes. Major element variations, such as Si, Al, Ti, V and Ni, were dominated by terrigenous supply as aluminosilicate minerals and quartz, whereas most Ca and Sr were biogenic. Si/Al and Ca/Al ratios have been used to express changes in sediment accumulation and winnowing. Redox processes were depicted by Mn, which showed an increase in the depth of its redoxcline, from 1 cm in inshore stations to 2 cm on the outer shelf. Si/Al ratios follow the Ca/Al ratios and can be used to assess percentage winnowing in the sediment. Increases in these ratios indicate a decrease in sediment input rates and are seen in the upper parts of most of the cores. Anthropogenic or ‘excess’ metal contents have been calculated from Zn/V and Pb/V ratios. Their distributions in the cores showed that by far the highest contamination is associated with the Axios River output, whilst sediments influenced by the Pinios River were relatively uncontaminated.     

Rill characteristics and sediment transport as a function of slope length during a storm event on loess soil

On the basis of detailed rill surveys carried out on bare plots of different lengths at slopes of 12 per cent, basic rill parameters were derived. Rill width and maximum depth increased with plot length, whereas rill amount and cross‐sectional area, expressed per unit length, remained similar. On smaller plots, all rills were connected in a continuous transport system reaching the plot outlet, whilst on larger plots (10 and 20 m long) part of the rills ended with a deposition areas inside the plots. Amounts of erosion, calculated from rill volume and soil bulk density, were compared with soil loss measured at the plot outlets. On plots 10 and 20 m long, erosion estimated from volume of all rills was larger than measured soil loss. The latter was larger than erosion estimated from volume of contributing rills. To identify contributing soil loss area on these plots, two methods were applied: (i) ratio of total soil loss to maximum soil loss per unit area, and (ii) partition of plot area according to the ratio of contributing to total rill volume. Both methods resulted in similar areas of 21·8–23·5 m² for the plot 10 m long and 31·2 m² for the plot 20 m long. Identification of contributing areas enabled rill (5·9 kg m^?2) and interrill (2·6 kg m^?2) erosion rate to be calculated, the latter being very close to the value predicted from the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Although rill and interrill rates seemed to be similar on all plots, their ratio increased slightly with plot length. Application of this ratio to compute slope length factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation resulted in similar values to those predicted with the model. The achieved balance of soil loss suggested that all the sediment measured at the plot outlet originated from contributing rills and associated contributing rill areas. The results confirmed the utility of different plot lengths as a research tool for analysing the dynamic response of soil to rainfall–runoff. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The significance of flow in the matrix of the Chalk unsaturated zone

The significance of flow in the matrix of the Chalk unsaturated zone, in comparison with flow in fractures, has been the subject of much debate. In this article, important elements of the literature are discussed in detail and several simple modelling analyses based on steady-state flow are presented. A study of the sensitivity of solute spreading to fracture spacing in models that ignore matrix flow shows that this latter assumption is generally incompatible with observed solute profiles, unless unrealistically small fracture spacings are assumed. The effect of air phase continuities (e.g. bedding planes) on matrix flow has also been examined. These discontinuities are frequently interrupted by points of connectivity between matrix blocks. An issue therefore is the relationship between connectivity and its effect on inter-block conductance. A simple analysis of the Laplace equation shows that just 1% connectivity represents an effective pathway equivalent to 18% of the local rock hydraulic conductivity. Obviously, when there is no fracture flow, solute spreading is significantly reduced. However, dual permeability model simulations show that matrix flow reduces solute spreading in the presence of persistent fracture flow. All of the above studies suggest that flow in the matrix of the Chalk unsaturated zone is significant and that ignoring it may result in a serious misunderstanding of the system.     

Calibration of high-resolution geophysical data with tracer test measurements to improve hydrological predictions

Relationships between porosity and hydraulic conductivity tend to be strongly scale- and site-dependent and are thus very difficult to establish. As a result, hydraulic conductivity distributions inferred from geophysically derived porosity models must be calibrated using some measurement of aquifer response. This type of calibration is potentially very valuable as it may allow for transport predictions within the considered hydrological unit at locations where only geophysical measurements are available, thus reducing the number of well tests required and thereby the costs of management and remediation. Here, we explore this concept through a series of numerical experiments. Considering the case of porosity characterization in saturated heterogeneous aquifers using crosshole ground-penetrating radar and borehole porosity log data, we use tracer test measurements to calibrate a relationship between porosity and hydraulic conductivity that allows the best prediction of the observed hydrological behavior. To examine the validity and effectiveness of the obtained relationship, we examine its performance at alternate locations not used in the calibration procedure. Our results indicate that this methodology allows us to obtain remarkably reliable hydrological predictions throughout the considered hydrological unit based on the geophysical data only. This was also found to be the case when significant uncertainty was considered in the underlying relationship between porosity and hydraulic conductivity.     

Fluage du sel gemme sous très faibles charges

Long-term creep tests have been performed under very small uniaxial loadings ($\sigma =0.02$ to 0.1 MPa). Testing devices were set in an underground gallery, where temperature fluctuations are in the order of one hundredth of a Celsius degree. The mechanical loading was provided by dead weights. The displacements were measured through special sensors whose resolution is $\mathrm{\Delta }?={10}^{\mathrm{?8}}$. Strain rates as small as $\dot{?}={10}^{\mathrm{?12}}{\text{s}}^{\mathrm{?1}}$ were measured. The tests prove that constitutive laws deduced from tests performed on rock salt samples under standard mechanical loadings cannot be extrapolated to very small loadings. To cite this article: P. Bérest et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

温度对虎斑乌贼受精卵孵化及幼体存活的影响

研究海水温度对虎斑乌贼(Sepia pharaonis)受精卵孵化及幼体存活的影响。结果表明:虎斑乌贼胚胎发育的最低和最高临界水温为20℃和32℃,孵化的最适温度范围为24~30℃。水温[t(℃)]与孵化率[H(%)]间的函数关系可表示为:H=-5.333+2.583 t(R2=0.247,F=7.213,P<0.01);虎斑乌贼幼体对温度的耐受力最低和最高临界温度分别为12和32℃,存活最适温度范围为22~28℃。温度[T(℃)]和处理时间[t(h)]及其交互作用均对虎斑乌贼的存活率[S(%)]有显著的影响(P<0.01),其函数关系可表示:S=60.526+1664 T-0.588 t(R2=0.572,F=39.407,P<0.01)。     

The development of the aquatic ecosystem at Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, during the late glacial and early Holocene - a synthesis

This paper synthesises the palaeoecological reconstructions, including palaeoclimatic inferences, based on the available fossil record of plants (pollen, macrofossils, mosses, diatoms) and animals (chironomids, Cladocera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, oribatid mites) in the late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments of Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, with special emphasis on changes in the aquatic ecosystem. New percentage and influx pollen diagrams for selected taxa provide insights into the terrestrial setting. The information from all the proxies is collated in a stratigraphical chart, and the inferred changes in the lake and its catchment are discussed. The individual fossil sequences are summarised by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and sample scores on the first DCA axes are plotted against an estimated calendar-year timescale for comparison of the timing and magnitude of changes in assemblage composition. The DCA plots show that the large late-glacial biotic changes were synchronous, and were driven by the overriding forcing factor of temperature. During the early Holocene, however, the changes in different groups were more gradual and were independent of each other, showing that other factors were important and interactive, such as the inwash of dissolved and particulate material from the catchment, the base and nutrient status of the lake-water, and the internal processes of ecosystem succession and sediment accumulation. This multi-disciplinary study, with proxies for changes in the lake and in the catchment, highlights the dependence of lake biota and processes not only on regional climatic changes but also on changes in the lake catchment and on internal processes within the lake. Rates of change for each group are also estimated and compared. The reaction times to the sharp temperature changes at the start and end of the Younger Dryas were very rapid and occurred within a decade of the temperature change. Aquatic organisms tracked the temperature and environmental changes very closely, and are probably the best recorders of late-glacial climatic change in the fossil record.     

中国大陆应变应力场研究

根据1999～2009年网络工程GPS观测资料计算得到的应变率参数,研究了中国大陆地壳的应变应力场及其地壳现今的水平活动特征。结果表明,中国大陆地壳西部青藏亚板块的压应力主方向围绕藏南和阿萨姆构造结向北、东、南依次辐射撒开。新疆亚板块自西向东由近SN向变为NE向。中国大陆东部地壳的压应力主方向自北向南由NEE变为近EW向,再变为SEE向。中国大陆主压应力作用强度西部显著大于东部。中国大陆地壳西部强于东部,南部强于北部,现今西部地壳以挤压、走滑为主,东部地壳既有挤压、走滑,也有拉张。     

江苏北部潮滩沉积物中~(137)Cs和~(210)pb的分布特征(英文)

Seven cores were collected from different sediment zones of tidal flats at Xin-yanggang in north Jiangsu province in August 2007. Sediment grain-size distribution and radioisotopes of ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb analysis were carried out for these cores. Sediment rates of the cores and radioisotopes distribution in surface sediment in different zones of the tidal flat were calculated from the ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb activities in sediments cores. The results indicated that each tidal zone had experienced different evolution phases, hydrological dynamics in the tidal flats made the grain-size of the surface sediment change gradually. ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb activities on the superficial layer of the cores varied spatially and the reason was discussed. On tidal flats, the fluctuation of ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb activities in the cores reflected the special sedimentary characteristics. Vegetation affects the grain-size distribution and the vertical profiles of ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb in the upper depths. ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb chronology got the comparable average sediment rates on the tidal flat. The characteristics of ~(137)Cs and ~(210)Pb in the cores reflected various depositional dynamical environments in different tidal zones and gave information on the different evolvement phases of the tidal zones. Based on the information of grain-size distribution, texture of the cores, sediment rates and topography, the evolution lines of the tidal flat were reconstructed.