An inexpensive, optical (infrared) detector to locate the sediment/water interface in lakes with unconsolidated sediments

Unconsolidated, flocculent sediments that are frequently resuspended by wind action are found in many shallow-water lakes. Collecting sediment/water interface cores in such lakes for paleolimnological study may be problematic because it is difficult to determine the depth to the water/sediment interface. Accurately determining this water depth is necessary to guarantee that a piston corer does not penetrate the sediments prior to the drive and to maximize the core length. A simple instrument constructed with inexpensive, readily available components is described. This infrared floc detector (IFD) is used to sense the increased optical density of unconsolidated sediments as the detector is lowered into a lake. The IFD, in effect, yields a precise as well as an accurate measure of water depth. The depth to the water/sediment interface can be measured with an accuracy of approximately 1 cm, provided surface waters are relatively calm.     

A high-resolution diatom reconstruction between 21,000 and 17,4000 14C yr BP from the southern Bolivian Altiplano (18–23°S)

A diatom study of lacustrine sediments in the southern part of the Bolivian Altiplano (Salar of Coipasa) provides a continuous record of the period 21,000–17,500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Constrained by seven AMS ¹⁴C dates, this record provides evidence that the Coipasa basin was filled by a shallow body of water during this time. Diatom/salinity and diatom/ionic composition transfer functions indicate that the lake was saline, dominated by sodium-chloride throughout all the period.A comparison with regional data shows that Lake Titicaca could not have overflowed towards the southern Bolivian Altiplano at that time. As this dry phase was not registered in Lake Coipasa, this lake was probably supplied by winter precipitation originating from the Pacific. But, recent data from the deep basin of Lake Titicaca show that the lake-level was higher during this time interval, and the question arises whether precipitation from Atlantic and Amazonia sources could have played an important role on the Altiplano during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This hypothesis needs to match other available paleoclimatic data from the lowlands of tropical South America, where there is evidence that during the LGM, conditions were drier than today. Global climate simulations suggest a positive P-E on the Altiplano, due to a strong cooling, reducing evaporative demand more than any increase in precipitations. An increase of winter precipitation from the Pacific is in agreement with data from the Chilean coast showing a northward locations of the Westerlies during the LGM. This paleoclimatic hypothesis is also in agreement with a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, which indicates weaker summer precipitation and stronger winter precipitation in the tropical areas.     

太湖水体理化指标在夏季短时间尺度上的分层及其控制因素

通过连续9d(2010年7月24日至2010年8月1日)对太湖水体理化指标垂向分层的高频率观测,揭示太湖多指标垂向分层规律.观测表明:(1)太湖中各水质指标频繁出现分层现象,但不稳定;(2)分层的主要控制因素包含气温的日变化、蓝藻水华堆积与风浪扰动等;(3)气温和太阳辐射日变化影响水温分层,水温垂向变幅可达3.94℃,...     

Geographic variations in shell growth rates of the mussel Diplodon chilensis from temperate lakes of Chile: Implications for biodiversity conservation

The Chilean lake district includes diverse lentic ecosystems along ca. 700 km of the country (36°–43°S), including the “Nahuelbutan lakes”, “Araucanian lakes” and “Chiloe lakes”. This area is recognized as an important “hot spot” of benthic freshwater biodiversity in Southern South America. In Chilean temperate lakes, increased nutrient loads of P and N caused eutrophication, particularly in the Nahuelbutan Lakes. The freshwater Hyriidae mussel Diplodon chilensis (Gray, 1828) which is one of the most abundant species in Chilean temperate lakes, is known to be very susceptible to eutrophication. This species presents a clear reduction in its geographic ranges and is considered to be a threatened species in many Chilean lakes. In this study, we used a correlative approach to determine how eutrophication-driven changes in the food supply and in geographical parameters of different Chilean lakes affected the shell growth rates of D. chilensis. The results obtained from sclerochronological analyses of the mussel shells suggest an association with a group of environmental variables, including geographical types (negative), such as latitude and altitude, and limnological types (positive), especially phosphorous and turbidity. However, the D. chilensis populations under extreme conditions of turbidity in eutrophic and hypertrophic lakes are extinct or nearly so. The high positive correlation of the mean D. chilensis growth rates with orthophosphate (R=0.76; P<0.05), in relation to dissolved inorganic nitrogen, suggests that P is the major limiting factor of the primary productivity in Chilean temperate lakes. We discuss some implications of our results in terms of the conservation of biodiversity in temperate lake ecosystems at different taxonomic levels.     

THE 1998 FLOOD OF THE YANGTZE RIVER

1INTRODUCTIONDuringthefloodseasonof1998,anothercatastrophicfloodoccurredinthemiddleandlowerYangtzeRiverfollowingthecatastrophicfloodin1954.Ascomparedwiththe54flood,the1998floodwascharacterizedbythefactsthatthedurationofthehighwaterstagewasmuchlonger,thefloodcontrolwasmuchmoredifficult,andthetotalmanpowerandmaterialresourcesexpelldedintilefloodfightingweremuchmoreenormous.TOsummarizetheexperienceandlessonsfromthefloodissignificanttotilehydraulicengineeringandfloodcontroloftheYangtzeRiver.…     

东南极内陆格罗夫山地区冰厚及冰下地形特征

中国第30次南极科学考察队格罗夫山分队(CHINARE30, 2013-2014年)利用雪地车载深层探冰雷达在东南极格罗夫山地区开展了测线总长度超过200 km大范围、高分辨率的冰厚及冰下地形调查, 获得了哈丁山北部和萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间详细的冰厚及冰下地形特征. 通过对雷达数据分析表明, 哈丁山北部区域平均冰厚为580 m, 最大冰厚超过1 000 m, 出现在该区域的东北方向, 而东南方向冰厚相对较小; 萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间区域的平均冰厚为610 m, 最大冰厚超过1 100 m, 该区域槽谷发育十分成熟, 槽谷形态近似呈U型. 通过对雷达剖面影像的筛选和分析, 推测在格罗夫山地区可能存在2个液态冰下湖泊.     

Lead analysis of sediment cores from seven Connecticut lakes

Lead analyses were performed on sediment cores from seven Connecticut lakes by dilute acid leaching. The absolute concentrations of lead varied from core to core, but the lead profiles were similar in all of the cores, and each depicted a point where the concentration of lead sharply increased above background levels. The background lead concentrations observed in the bottom portions of the cores ranged from 12-54 g Pb/g sediment with a mean of 30 g Pb/g, and increased to a mean maximum of 310 g Pb/g. In six of the lakes significant increases above background levels were not noted until between 1924 and 1952, suggesting that, at least for Connecticut lakes, the point in a lake sediment core where the concentration of lead began to increase was after ca. 1924, and on average about 1930. Lead concentrations declined in the surface sediments of only three of the lakes, mostly since the 1980's, and presumably in response to the phasing out of leaded gasoline. However, significant declines in lead concentrations were not observed in the remaining cores, possibly due to increased motor vehicle use within the airshed of the lakes and/or changes in the export of lead to the lakes from their watersheds.     

The sediment infill of subglacial meltwater channels on the West Antarctic continental shelf

Subglacial meltwater plays a significant yet poorly understood role in the dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheets. Here we present new swath bathymetry from the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, showing meltwater channels eroded into acoustic basement. Their morphological characteristics and size are consistent with incision by subglacial meltwater. To understand how and when these channels formed we have investigated the infill of three channels. Diamictons deposited beneath or proximal to an expanded grounded West Antarctic Ice Sheet are present in two of the channels and these are overlain by glaciomarine sediments deposited after deglaciation. The sediment core from the third channel recovered a turbidite sequence also deposited after the last deglaciation. The presence of deformation till at one core site and the absence of typical meltwater deposits (e.g., sorted sands and gravels) in all three cores suggest that channel incision pre-dates overriding by fast flowing grounded ice during the last glacial period. Given the overall scale of the channels and their incision into bedrock, it is likely that the channels formed over multiple glaciations, possibly since the Miocene, and have been reoccupied on several occasions. This also implies that the channels have survived numerous advances and retreats of grounded ice.     

Potential salinity limitations on nitrogen fixation in sediments from Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake is a hypersaline alkaline lake in the high altitude Great Basin desert of eastern California. Algal productivity of the lake is nitrogen-limited, and a contributing source is derived from benthic nitrogen fixation. Lake level and salinity have fluctuated with natural climatic variations but have also been affected by the diversion of tributary streams. This research examines the influence of varied salinity and lake level on the potential for benthic nitrogen fixation in Mono Lake. A sediment-surface microbial mat community was exposed directly, and in acclimated cultures, to a range of Mono Lake salinities under anaerobic incubations and the activity of nitrogenase assayed by acetylene reduction. Activity was stimulated in light, but also occurred in darkness. Over an experimental salinity range from 50 to 150 g L⁻¹ TDS, nitrogenase activity was reduced by 90 per cent, with the activity persisting at the highest salinity being attributable to dark fixation alone. Between a salinity of 50 g L⁻¹, occurring in Mono Lake over 50 years ago, and 100 g L⁻¹, nitrogenase activity was reduced by nearly half. Changes in the area of the littoral zone at varied lake levels also affect the total amount of potential benthic nitrogen fixation in the lake. An accounting of yearly inputs of nitrogen to Mono Lake suggests N₂-fixation could contribute as much as 76–81 percent of the total. Inhibition of nitrogen fixation rates by increased salinity could limit the long-term nutrient supply and benthic primary productivity of this ecosystem.     

Spatial and temporal geochemical variability in lacustrine sedimentation in the East African Rift System: Evidence from the Kenya Rift and regional analyses

Many previous studies on lacustrine basins in the East African Rift System have directed their attention to climatic controls on contemporary sedimentation or climate change as part of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. In contrast, this research focuses on the impact of tectonism and volcanism on rift deposition and develops models that help to explain their roles and relative importance. The study focuses on the spatial and temporal variability in bulk sediment geochemistry from a diverse range of modern and ancient rift sediments through an analysis of 519 samples and 50 major and trace elements. The basins examined variously include, or have contained, wetlands and/or shallow to deep, fresh to hypersaline lakes. Substantial spatial variability is documented for Holocene to modern deposits in lakes Turkana, Baringo, Bogoria, Magadi and Malawi. Mio‐Pleistocene sediments in the Central Kenya Rift and Quaternary deposits of the southern Kenya Rift illustrate temporal variability. Tectonic and volcanic controls on geochemical variability are explained in terms of: (i) primary controlling factors (faulting, subsidence, uplift, volcanism, magma evolution and antecedent lithologies and landscapes); (ii) secondary controls (bedrock types, rift shoulder and axis elevations, accommodation space, meteoric and hydrothermal fluids and mantle CO ₂); and (iii) response factors (catchment area size, orographic rains, rain shadows, vegetation densities, erosion and weathering rates, and spring/runoff ratios). The models developed have, in turn, important implications for palaeoenvironmental interpretation in other depositional basins.