Modern diatom, cladocera, chironomid, and chrysophyte cyst assemblages as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in the Alps. I. Climate

Diatom, chrysophyte cyst, benthic cladocera, planktonic cladocera, and chironomid assemblages were studied in the surface sediments of 68 small lakes along an altitudinal gradient from 300 to 2350 m in Switzerland. In addition, 43 environmental variables relating to the physical limnology, geography, catchment characteristics, climate, and water chemistry were recorded or measured for each lake. The explanatory power of each of these predictor variables for the different biological data-sets was estimated by a series of canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) and the statistical significance of each model was assessed by Monte Carlo permutation tests. A minimal set of environmental variables was found for each biological data-set by a forward-selection procedure within CCA. The unique, independent explanatory power of each set of environmental variables was estimated by a series of CCAs and partial CCAs. Inference models or transfer functions for mean summer (June, July, August) air temperature were developed for each biological data-set using weighted-averaging partial least squares or partial least squares. The final transfer functions, after data screening, have root mean squared errors of prediction, as assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation, of 1.37 °C (chironomids), 1.60 °C (benthic cladocera), 1.62 °C (diatoms), 1.77 °C (planktonic cladocera), and 2.23 °C (chrysophyte cysts).     

Rare earth elements in groundwater from different Alpine aquifers

Rare earth elements (REE) were determined in 39 groundwater samples collected at 14 sites under low- and high-flow conditions. Water samples derived from aquifers hosted in crystalline, molasse, flysch, carbonate and evaporite rocks located in Western Switzerland. The concentration of REE in groundwater circulating in different rocks showed large variations: lowest concentrations (ΣREE≤10 ng/L) occurred in groundwater from evaporite aquifers; highest concentrations (ΣREE up to 516 ng/L) were observed in carbonate aquifers, although REE in these waters do vary under different hydrological conditions; groundwater from other aquifers had ΣREE from 10 to 100 ng/L. Distinct REE signatures were observed in waters draining specific rocks. The REE patterns in groundwater from crystalline, molasse and flysch aquifers showed heavy-REE enrichment at different degrees. Groundwaters circulating in crystalline rocks were distinguished by negative anomalies in Ce and Eu, whereas those from carbonate aquifers were nearly flat with ΣREE and the magnitude of negative anomaly in Ce is likely to be controlled by iron concentrations. The REE-Post-Archean Australian Shales (PAAS) normalized patterns appear useful to recognize the aquifer type and suggest the possibility to use the REE as geochemical tracers.     

Seasonality and magnitude of floods in Switzerland under future climate change

The flood seasonality of catchments in Switzerland is likely to change under climate change because of anticipated alterations of precipitation as well as snow accumulation and melt. Information on this change is crucial for flood protection policies, for example, or regional flood frequency analysis. We analysed projected changes in mean annual and maximum floods of a 22‐year period for 189 catchments in Switzerland and two scenario periods in the 21st century based on an ensemble of climate scenarios. The flood seasonality was analysed with directional statistics that allow assessing both changes in the mean date a flood occurs as well as changes in the strength of the seasonality. We found that the simulated change in flood seasonality is a function of the change in flow regime type. If snow accumulation and melt is important in a catchment during the control period, then the anticipated change in flood seasonality is most pronounced. Decreasing summer precipitation in the scenarios additionally affects the flood seasonality (mean date of flood occurrence) and leads to a decreasing strength of seasonality, that is a higher temporal variability in most cases. The magnitudes of mean annual floods and more clearly of maximum floods (in a 22‐year period) are expected to increase in the future because of changes in flood‐generating processes and scaled extreme precipitation. Southern alpine catchments show a different signal, though: the simulated mean annual floods decrease in the far future, that is at the end of the 21st century. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heuristic numerical and analytical models of the hydrologic controls over vertical solute transport in a domed peat bog,Jura Mountains,Switzerland

We report the results of numerical and analytical simulations to test the hypothesis that downward vertical flow of porewater from the crests of domed alpine and kettle bogs controls vertical porewater distributions of major solutes such as Ca and Mg. The domed Etang de la Gruère bog (EGr), Switzerland, characterized by a vertical downward gradient of 0·04 and stratified layers of peat, is chosen as a field site for the model calibration and evaluation. The middle 4‐m section of the 6·5 m thick bog peat is heavily humified and has a hydraulic conductivity of ～10^?5·6 cm s^?1. Above and below, peat is less humified with a hydraulic conductivity of ～10^?3 cm s^?1. Heuristic finite difference simulations, using Visual MODFLOW, of the bog hydraulics show that the higher conductivity peat at the bog base is critical to create the observed deep, local flow cells that substantively recharge porewater. Model results and Peclet number calculations show that before ～7000 ¹⁴C yr BP diffusion of solutes from underlying mineral soils controlled the vertical distribution of porewater chemistry. From 7000 to ～1250 ¹⁴C BP the porewater chemistry was probably controlled by both upward diffusion and downward advection, and after ～1250 ¹⁴C yr BP porewater chemistry was probably controlled by downward advection. Concentrations of conservative major solutes in the porewaters of alpine, ombrotrophic bogs are the net effect of both downward vertical porewater movement and upward vertical diffusion, the magnitudes of which are delicately poised to the configuration of the bog water table over time and subsurface peat stratigraphy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the applicability of a standardised growth curve approach on Middle Pleistocene sediments from northern Switzerland

The introduction of the Single Aliquot Regenerative Dose (SAR) protocol established luminescence dating as an indispensable tool in Quaternary research. A major impediment of this technique is the time required for measurements, since the protocol is repeated for various aliquots of each sample to establish a sound statistical basis. To reduce the demand on machine time, Standardised Growth Curve (SGC) approaches have been developed and successfully applied for samples from some regions. However, differences in luminescence properties require careful testing of this techniques when applied to samples with other geological background.In this study, the application of the SGC approach of Li et al. (2016) is successfully verified for multi-grain aliquots of coarse-grained quartz and feldspar samples from three sites in northern Switzerland. In-depth quality control measures ensure the reproducibility of equivalent dose (D_e) values obtained by the common SAR protocol and sample-specific SGCs. For both minerals little sensitivity was found to the re-normalisation dose and the sample-specific SGCs performed well. In contrast to other studies, no different types of dose response curve shape were observed for quartz. A minimum number of full SAR measurements of eight and six aliquots per sample has been found appropriate for quartz and feldspar, respectively. For the fading corrected feldspar signals, site-specific SGC worked well and D_e values of up to 800 Gy were consistently replicated.In summary, sample-specific SGCs for samples from northern Switzerland perform well and their application reduces measurement times by up to 70%. The construction of a regional SGC may well be beneficial, however, caution regarding the choice of given doses and curve fitting is recommended and a thorough verification of SGC results is needed before the technique is widely applied.     

Water resources in mountain regions: a methodological approach to assess the water balance in a highland‐lowland‐system

Mountains and highlands are typically areas that provide considerable quantities of water, the latter being an important resource for the lowlands. These run‐off quantities remain discernible in the superior‐scale river systems and significantly contribute to the global water resources. Therefore, mountain regions ought to be given specific consideration with regard to management endeavours. Although well known in principle, details of water resources originating from mountains remain under discussion. A new approach has been introduced, which depicts the water balance of Switzerland in a spatially distributed manner, based on catchments of about 150 km². The main feature of this approach is the areal precipitation, which is calculated using run‐off, evaporation and storage change of glaciers, instead of being derived from gauged precipitation values. This methodology was selected because measurement and regionalization of precipitation remain subject to large uncertainties in mountainous areas. Subsequently, the view is widened to the European Alps, which, as compared with the surrounding lowlands, contribute considerably higher annual discharge, especially in the summer months. Finally, the focus is put on the hydrological significance of mountains in general. In dry regions, mountains, in particular, are indispensable contributors to the water resources downstream. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of suspended sediment in the upper rhone river,switzerland, including the particulate forms of phosphorus

Six stations along the Upper Rhone River above Lake Geneva were sampled by continuous flow centrifuge for recovery of suspended sediment. The samples were taken four times, once in 1982 and three times in 1983. In addition the mouth of the river was sampled in a like manner every two weeks during 1982 until August 1983. Samples were analysed for the major elements SiO₂, Al₂O₃, K₂O, MgO, Na₂O, CaO, and Fe₂O₃; for trace elements, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn, and Cr; for Org. C and Kjeldahl N; and the forms of phosphorus bound as Organic P (OP), Apatite P (AP), and Non Apatite Inorganic P (NAIP). The major elements and trace metals confirmed that there is virtually no change in the major geochemical characteristics of the suspended solids in the Rhone, spatially or temporally, indicating that this river is a well-mixed sedimentary system. AP also remained consistent in concentration throughout the year. Sediment recovered during the winter low flow, low turbidity period has been designated SED 1 whereas sediment from the high flow, high turbidity summer condition of the river has been designated SED 2. Org C, OP, and NAIP show a dramatic decrease in concentration from SED 1 to SED 2. The decline is ascribed to dilution of a relatively constant supply of organic matter and phosphorus derived mainly from point source sewage treatment plants to the Rhone. This results in variable partitioning of the OP/NAIP and Org C under the different turbidity condition in the river between winter and summer. This interpretation is confirmed by a low and consistent C-N ratio which except for March remains below 10. Higher values in March may be indicative of soil erosion during spring melt in the agricultural lands of the Rhone Valley. The estimated proportion of particulate bio-available phosphorus is 14 per cent for SED 1 and 7 per cent for SED 2. These low values would suggest that there would be no observable direct effect on the primary production of the receiving waters of Lake Geneva, which would thus respond only to the cumulative loading of phosphorus from the Rhone River.     

A COMPARISON OF EVAPORATION FROM SNOW AND SOIL SURFACES

ABSTRACT

During the spring of 1961, evaporation from snow and soil surfaces was measured in the central Rocky Mountains near Fraser, Colorado. Measurements were made in natural forest openings at 9,000 feet elevation. Evaporation from wet soil surfaces greatly exceeded evaporation from nearby snow. There was little evidence of transfer of vapor from soil to nearby patches of snow, but as areas of bare, wet soil increased and evaporation amounts from such surfaces increased, evaporation from snow decreased. It was concluded that, as greater amounts of water evaporated from soils, the vapor pressure of the air was raised sufficiently to reduce evaporation from snow. Since transfer of vapor from soil to snow appeared small at best, evaporation losses from snow and soil surfaces essentially constituted a total moisture loss from the area.