Beaver dam analogues drive heterogeneous groundwater–surface water interactions

Beaver dam analogues (BDAs) are a cost-effective stream restoration approach that leverages the recognized environmental benefits of natural beaver dams on channel stability and local hydrology. Although natural beaver dams are known to exert considerable influence on the hydrologic conditions of a stream system by mediating geomorphic processes, nutrient cycling, and groundwater–surface water interactions, the impacts of beaver-derived restoration methods on groundwater–surface water exchange are poorly characterized. To address this deficit, we monitored hyporheic exchange fluxes and streambed porewater biogeochemistry across a sequence of BDAs installed along a central Wyoming stream during the summer of 2019. Streambed fluxes were quantified by heat tracing methods and vertical hydraulic gradients. Biogeochemical activity was evaluated using major ion porewater chemistry and principal component analysis. Vertical fluxes of approximately 1.0 m/day were observed around the BDAs, as was the development of spatially heterogeneous zones of nitrate production, groundwater upwelling, and anaerobic reduction. Strong contrasts in hyporheic zone processes were observed across BDAs of differing sizes. This suggests that structures may function with size-dependent behaviour, only altering groundwater–surface water interactions after a threshold hydraulic step height is exceeded. Patterns of hyporheic exchange and biogeochemical cycling around the studied BDAs resemble those around natural beaver dams, suggesting that BDAs may provide comparable benefits to channel complexity and near-stream function over a 1-year period.     

Biostratigraphic and isotopic record of the Cenomanian–Turonian deposits in the Ohaba-Ponor section (SW Haţeg, Romania)

The middle Cenomanian–lower Turonian deposits of Ohaba-Ponor section (Southern Carpathians) were studied from biostratigraphic and isotopic points of view. Both the qualitative and semiquantitative nannofloral analyses, as well as the stable isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) data support significant palaeoenvironmental changes in the investigated interval. Two δ¹³C positive excursions were recognized: (1) an excursion up to 1.8‰ (PDB) within the middle/late Cenomanian boundary; (2) an excursion up to 2.2‰ (PDB) in the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval. The oldest δ¹³C positive excursion recorded (placed within the Acanthoceras jukes-brownei/Eucalycoceras pentagonum Ammonite Zone boundary interval, and in the NC11 Calcareous Nannofossil Zone respectively) could be assigned to the middle Cenomanian Event II (MCEII). During the above-mentioned event, significant increase in abundance of Watznaueria barnesae, followed by successive blooms of Biscutum constans and Eprolithus floralis, were observed. The youngest δ¹³C positive excursion was identified in the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval (in the NC12 and lower part of the NC13 Calcareous Nannofossil Zones). Even the amplitude of this δ¹³C positive excursion is lower in the Ohaba-Ponor section, as generally reported, this may represent the regional record of the OAE2. The successive peaks of the nannofossils Biscutum constans, Zeugrhabdotus erectus and Eprolithus floralis indicate episodes of cooler surface water and high fertility, which preceded and lasted the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary event. Additionally, fluctuations of δ¹⁸O values between −2 and −6‰ suggest also cooler conditions within the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval.     

Influence of large-diameter pipe pile driving on surrounding marine soils and adjacent submarine pipelines

Abstract

With the large-scale development and utilization of ocean resources and space, it is inevitable to encounter existing submarine facilities in pile driving areas, which necessitates a safety assessment. In this article, by referring to a wharf renovation project as a reference, the surrounding soil response and buried pipe deformation during pile driving in a near-shore submarine environment are investigated by three-dimensional (3D) numerical models that consider the pore water effect. Numerical studies are carried out in two different series: one is a case of a single pile focusing on the effect of the minimum plane distance of the pile–pipe, and the other is a case of double piles focusing on the effect of the pile spacing.     

An Albian–Cenomanian unconformity in the northern Andes: Evidence and tectonic significance

The Villeta Group of Colombia and equivalent stratigraphic units of Venezuela and Ecuador comprise marine sequences ranging from Albian to Santonian in age. Deposition of the Villeta Group was presumed to take place entirely in quiet tectonic conditions in a passive margin setting that occupied NW South America. From a large database of 2D/3D seismic, well, surface geology, and biostratigraphic data, we present evidence for intra-Villeta (mostly late Albian–Cenomanian) deformation in parts of the Upper Magdalena Valley and Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, controlled by transpressional fault reactivation, produced by transpressional fault reactivation and thrusting that resulted in an angular unconformity. This event has been largely unnoticed in the literature, but previously scattered evidence supports our observations, suggesting regionally extensive tectonism. Published fission-track age determinations and other geologic evidence from Colombia and Venezuela suggest significant uplifts around 80–100 m.y., which may reflect changes in the subduction regime, with compressional deformation in certain regions and extensional deformation in others. A late Albian onset of compressional deformation along the Colombian and Peruvian segments of the Andes may be related to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean at equatorial latitudes. Identification of tectonic activity with development of an unconformity in intra-Villeta times provides new insights into understanding the evolution of the Upper Magdalena Valley and adjacent areas of Colombia and western Venezuela and creates new possibilities for hydrocarbon exploration, with additional trapping phases, better reservoir preservation by early migration and secondary porosity, and ultimately facies changes with stratigraphic potential.     

First record of a Cretaceous cheilostome bryozoan from Hokkaido, Japan

A small collection of recrystallised, encrusting colonies of a single species from the Mikasa Formation (lower Middle Cenomanian), represents the first record of cheilostome (malacostegan or anascan) bryozoans from Hokkaido, Japan.     

Mais comment s'écoule donc un glacier ? Aperçu historique

Ice and snow have often helped physicists understand the world. On the contrary it has taken them a very long time to understand the flow of the glaciers. Naturalists only began to take an interest in glaciers at the beginning of the 19th century during the last phase of glacier advances. When the glacier flow from the upslope direction became obvious, it was then necessary to understand how it flowed. It was only in 1840, the year of the Antarctica ice sheet discovery by Dumont d'Urville, that two books laid the basis for the future field of glaciology: one by Agassiz on the ice age and glaciers, the other one by canon Rendu on glacier theory. During the 19th century, ice flow theories, adopted by most of the leading scientists, were based on melting/refreezing processes. Even though the word ‘fluid’ was first used in 1773 to describe ice, more the 130 years would have to go by before the laws of fluid mechanics were applied to ice. Even now, the parameter of Glen's law, which is used by glaciologists to model ice deformation, can take a very wide range of values, so that no unique ice flow law has yet been defined. To cite this article: F. Rémy, L. Testut, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

山东省大盛群孢粉组合及其年代地层意义

大盛群为一套陆相碎屑沉积岩系 ,其中的孢粉化石可以归纳为 Schizaeoisporites- Ephedripites- Tricolpites(SET)组合 ,希指蕨孢属 Schizaeoisporites、克拉梭粉属 Classopollis、麻黄粉属 Ephedripites及隐孔粉属 Exesipolle-nites为优势属群 ,两气囊花粉个别出现 ,以早期被子植物花粉大量出现为特征 ,主要为三沟型被子植物花粉。该组合的地质时代确定为塞诺曼—土伦期     

Orbitolinidae and Alveolinidae (Foraminiferida) from the uppermost Albian-lower Cenomanian of Monti d'Ocre (Abruzzi, Italy)

A biostratigraphic study carried out in the Monti d'Ocre area, Abruzzi, Central Apennines, allowed us to recognize Orbitolina (Conicorbitolina) moulladei ‘Strata 5 (1985) 1’, Praealveolina iberica Reichel and Praealveolina simplex Reichel in uppermost Albian–lower Cenomanian shelf-edge deposits of the Fossato Machè succession. These foraminifers have now been found for the first time in the Apennines of central Italy; their finding is quite important from a palaeobiogeographic viewpoint, as it contributes to the improvement of our knowledge on facies distribution in the circum-Mediterranean regions during the Cretaceous Period. In the study area, the coeval Monte Rotondo and Monte Orsello sections also crop out; these are characterized by bauxite deposits and stratigraphic gaps reflecting episodes of emergence on the carbonate platform. The Monte Rotondo and Monte Orsello sections accumulated in a platform back-reef environment; consequently, in this sector of the Monti d'Ocre area, the depositional environment shifted from a back-reef westward and southward to a shelf-edge northward, during the latest Albian–early Cenomanian. Owing to synsedimentary tectonics, the area investigated underwent differential subsidence: westward and southward, wide areas were uplifted and subjected to emergence, karstification and bauxite accumulation, whereas sedimentation continued in a shelf-edge environment in the north-eastern area.     

‘Committing to Place’ at the Local Scale: the potential of youth education programs for promoting community participation in regional natural resource management

Emerging approaches to environmental governance require a greater level of community participation than did previous approaches in which these responsibilities largely rested with government agencies. There is consequently a need for increased engagement with NRM among a broad community sector. This paper examines initiatives by two prominent government agencies, the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and the National Museum of Australia (NMA), to engage school children from regional communities using education programs that focus on place and environmental health. We focus on the MDBC's International Riverhealth Conference held in Mildura in 2003 and the associated Murray–Darling Basin TalkBack Classroom sponsored by the NMA and the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). We explore how key themes of local scale, place-based identities, youth voice and critical engagement are developed in these programs and consider how they relate to the environmental agency of children. We then reflect on the potential for the kinds of environmental agency promoted through these programs to help build the capacity of local communities to progress larger goals of environmental restoration and sustainability in the Murray–Darling Basin. The evaluation research reported here forms part of the Committing to Place research project, an Australian Research Council Linkage grant involving the University of Tasmania, the National Museum of Australia and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission.     

Impacts of groundwater flow on the evolution of a thermokarst lake in the permafrost–dominated region on the Qinghai–Tibet plateau

As a result of global warming induced permafrost degradation in recent decades, thermokarst lakes in the Qinghai–Tibet plateau (QTP) have been regulating local hydrological and ecological processes. Simulations with coupled moisture–heat numerical models in the Beiluhe basin (located in the hinterland of permafrost regions on the QTP) have provided insights into the interaction between groundwater flow and the freeze–thaw process. A total of 30 modified SUTRA scenarios were established to examine the effects of hydrodynamic forces, permeability, and climate on thermokarst lakes. The results indicate that the hydrodynamic condition variables regulate the permafrost degradation around the lakes. In case groundwater recharges to the lake, a low–temperature groundwater flow stimulates the expansion of the surrounding thawing regions through thermal convection. The thawing rate of the permafrost underlying the lake intensifies when groundwater is discharged from the lake. Under different permeability conditions, spatiotemporal variations in the active layer thickness significantly influence the occurrence of an open talik at the lake bottom. A warmer and wetter climate will inevitably lead to a sharp decrease in the upper limit of the surrounding permafrost, with a continual decrease in the duration of open talik events. Overall, our results underscore that comprehensive consideration of the relevant hydrologic processes is critical for improving the understanding of environmental and ecological changes in cold environments.