Characterization of hydrogeologic properties for a multi-layered alluvial aquifer using hydraulic and tracer tests and electrical resistivity survey

A multi-layered aquifer, typical of riverbank alluvial deposits in Korea, was studied to determine the hydrologic properties. The geologic logging showed that the subsurface of the study site was comprised of four distinctive hydrogeologic units: silt, sand, highly weathered and fresh bedrock layers. The electrical resistivity survey supplied information on lateral extension of hydrogeologic strata only partially identified by a limited number of the geologic loggings. The laboratory column tracer test for the recovered core of the sand layer resulted in a hydraulic conductivity of 5.00×10⁻² cm/s. The slug tests performed in the weathered rock layer yielded hydraulic conductivities of 4.32–7.72×10⁻⁴ cm/s. Hydraulic conductivities for the sand layer calculated from the breakthrough curves of bromide ranged between 2.08×10⁻³ and 2.44×10⁻² cm/s with a geometric mean of 6.89×10⁻³ cm/s, which is 7 times smaller than that from the laboratory column experiment. The trend of increasing hydraulic conductivity with an increase in tracer travel length is likely a result of the increased likelihood of encountering a high conductivity zone as more of the aquifer is tested. The combined hydrogeologic site characterization using hydraulic tests, tracer tests, and column test with geologic loggings and geophysical survey greatly enhanced the understanding of the hydrologic properties of the multi-layered alluvial aquifer.     

Environmental significance of C/C and O/O ratios of modern land-snail shells from the southern great plains of North America

¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of aragonite shells of modern land snails from the southern Great Plains of North America were measured for samples from twelve localities in a narrow east-west corridor that extended from the Flint Hills in North Central Oklahoma to the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Northern New Mexico, USA. Across the study area, shell δ¹⁸O values (PDB scale) ranged from −4.1‰ to 1.2‰, while δ¹³C values ranged from −13.2‰ to 0.0‰. δ¹⁸O values of the shell aragonite were predicted with a published, steady state, evaporative flux balance model. The predicted values differed (with one exception) by less than 1‰ from locality averages of measured δ¹⁸O values. This similarity suggests that relative humidity at the time of snail activity is an important control on the δ¹⁸O values of the aragonite and emphasizes the seasonal nature of the climatic information preserved in the shells. Correlated δ¹³C values of coexisting Vallonia and Gastrocopta suggest similar feeding habits and imply that these genera can provide information on variations in southern Great Plains plant ecology. Although there is considerable scatter, multispecies, transect average δ¹³C values of the modern aragonite shells are related to variations in the type of photosynthesis (i.e., C₃, C₄) in the local plant communities. The results of this study emphasize the desirability of obtaining isotope ratios representing averages of many shells in a locale to reduce possible biases associated with local variations among individuals, species, etc., and thus better represent the “neighborhood” scale temporal and/or spatial environmental variations of interest in studies of modern and ancient systems.     

An Eocene/Oligocene blueschist‐/greenschist facies P–T loop from the Cycladic Blueschist Unit on Naxos Island,Greece: Deformation‐related re‐equilibration vs. thermal relaxation

Geothermobarometric and geochronological work indicates a complete Eocene/early Oligocene blueschist/greenschist facies metamorphic cycle of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit on Naxos Island in the Aegean Sea region. Using the average pressure–temperature (P–T) method of thermocalc coupled with detailed textural work, we separate an early blueschist facies event at 576 ± 16 to 619 ± 32°C and 15.5 ± 0.5 to 16.3 ± 0.9 kbar from a subsequent greenschist facies overprint at 384 ± 30°C and 3.8 ± 1.1 kbar. Multi‐mineral Rb–Sr isochron dating yields crystallization ages for near peak‐pressure blueschist facies assemblages between 40.5 ± 1.0 and 38.3 ± 0.5 Ma. The greenschist facies overprint commonly did not result in complete resetting of age signatures. Maximum ages for the end of greenschist facies reworking, obtained from disequilibrium patterns, cluster near c. 32 Ma, with one sample showing rejuvenation at c. 27 Ma. We conclude that the high‐P rocks from south Naxos were exhumed to upper mid‐crustal levels in the late Eocene and early Oligocene at rates of 7.4 ± 4.6 km/Ma, completing a full blueschist‐/greenschist facies metamorphic cycle soon after subduction within c. 8 Ma. The greenschist facies overprint of the blueschist facies rocks from south Naxos resulted from rapid exhumation and associated deformation/fluid‐controlled metamorphic re‐equilibration, and is unrelated to the strong high‐T metamorphism associated with the Miocene formation of the Naxos migmatite dome. It follows that the Miocene thermal overprint had no impact on rock textures or Sr isotopic signatures, and that the rocks of south Naxos underwent three metamorphic events, one more than hitherto envisaged.     

Nine thousand years of upper montane soil/vegetation dynamics from the summit of Caratuva Peak,Southern Brazil

Biodiversity loss, climate change, and increased freshwater consumption are some of the main environmental problems on Earth. Mountain ecosystems can reduce these threats by providing several positive influences, such as the maintenance of biodiversity, water regulation, and carbon storage, amongst others. The knowledge of the history of these environments and their response to climate change is very important for management, conservation, and environmental monitoring programs. The genesis of the soil organic matter of the current upper montane vegetation remains unclear and seems to be quite variable depending on location. Some upper montane sites in the very extensive coastal Sea Mountain Range present considerable organic matter from the late Pleistocene and other from only the Holocene. Our study was carried out on three soil profiles (two cores in grassland and one in forest) on the Caratuva Peak of the Serra do Ibitiraquire (a sub-range of Sea Mountain Range – Serra do Mar) in Southern Brazil. The δ¹³C isotopic analyses of organic matter in soil horizons were conducted to detect whether C₃ or C₄ plants dominated the past communities. Complementarily, we performed a pollen analysis and ¹⁴C dating of the humin fraction to obtain the age of the studied horizons. Except for a short and probably drier period (between 6000 and 4500 cal yr BP), C₃ plants, including ombrophilous grasses and trees, have dominated the highlands of the Caratuva Peak (Pico Caratuva), as well as the other uppermost summits of the Serra do Ibitiraquire, since around 9000 cal yr BP. The Caratuva region represents a landscape of high altitude grasslands (campos de altitude altomontanos or campos altomontanos) and upper montane rain/cloud forests with soils that most likely contain some organic matter from the late Pleistocene, as has been reported in Southern and Southeastern Brazil for other sites. However, our results indicate that the studied deposits (near the summit) are from the early to late Holocene, when somewhat wetter and warmer conditions (since around 9000 cal yr BP) enabled a stronger colonization of the ridge of Pico Caratuva by mainly C₃ plants, especially grassland species. However, at the same time, even near the summit, the soil core from the forest site already presented the current physiognomy (or a shrubby/elfin or successional forest), indicating that the colonization of the neighboring uppermost saddles and valleys were probably populated mainly by upper montane forest species.     

Money for nothin’ and coal for free: ‘Technology neutrality’ and biomass development under the Flemish tradable green certificate scheme

Recent literature has highlighted the creation of multiple equivalences as an important factor underpinning the rise of market-based mechanisms for environmental regulation. Extending these insights into the field of renewable energy policy, this article focuses on one example of this trend – namely the principle of technology neutrality as applied under the Flemish tradable green certificate scheme – and analyzes the concrete ways in which it has shaped the evolution of the Flemish renewable energy landscape. Concretely, the article shows that technology neutrality played a key role in promoting the uptake of biomass combustion in old coal power plants in Flanders, which led to a number of undesirable outcomes and gave rise to significant opposition. Correcting these shortcomings required a number of policy interventions on the part of the Flemish government that fundamentally moved the scheme away from the principle of technology neutrality and towards a more hybrid RE support system, suggesting that the promotion of technology neutrality was fundamentally misguided. Together with similar experiences from related market-based instruments, this suggests that the promotion of technology neutrality has far-reaching implications for the environmental effectiveness of climate and energy policies. In light of the continued promotion of the principle, the article calls for full recognition of the inherent technological choices that are being made through the promotion of policies that purport to be technology-neutral.     

Atmospheric palaeo-CO2 estimates based on the carbon isotope and stomatal data of Cheirolepidiaceae from the Lower Cretaceous of the Jiuquan Basin,Gansu Province

The stable carbon isotope compositions and the stomatal parameters (stomatal density and stomatal index) of four Cheirolepidiaceae species, Brachyphyllum ningxiaensis, Brachyphyllum obtusum, Pseudofrenelopsis dalatzensis and Pseudofrenelopsis gansuensis, were analyzed to recover the late Early Cretaceous atmospheric CO₂ levels. The fossil plants were collected from 5 consecutive sedimentary members of the uppermost Zhonggou Formation. Based on the stomatal data, the estimated palaeo-atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in the Jiuquan Basin during the late Early Cretaceous were 1060–882 ppmv based on the carboniferous standardization and were 641–531 ppmv based on the recent standardization; the pCO₂ values present at first a decreasing and then an increasing trend within the sedimentary time of the five members. The δ¹³Cp values based on the 21 Brachyphyllum specimens showed a large variation, which ranged from −20.98‰ to −25.69‰, with an average of −24.2‰. The values also identified a C3 photosynthetic pathway for the Brachyphyllum specimens. The predicted δ¹³Ca values varied from −2.1‰ to −6.38‰, with an average of −5.03‰. These two proxies were irregular within the different members; therefore, the correlation with the change in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations was not significant. Moreover, a water-stressed environment was proposed based on the δ¹³C values of the present fossil plants, a proposal that was also supported by the previous palaeobotanical, palynological and stratigraphical evidence. In the present study, an inconsistent relationship between the stable carbon isotope and the stomata values was apparent, which most likely indicated that the stomata numbers of the plant were more sensitive to the variation in the concentration of the atmospheric CO₂, whereas the δ¹³C values were sensitive to the moisture conditions.     

Late Cenomanian environmental conditions at the submerged Tatric Ridge,Central Western Carpathians during the period preceding Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 – A palaeontological and isotopic approach

Micropalaeontological and isotopic studies of the upper Cenomanian turbiditic/hemipelagic sediments from the High-Tatric unit (Central Western Carpathians; Polish part of the Tatra Mountains) has been undertaken to characterize the sedimentary conditions in the Tatric basin, a part of the Western Tethys, related to the interval preceding the late Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2). The deposition of these sediments, including organic-rich layers (TOC up to 0.7%), corresponds to the Rotalipora cushmani foraminiferal Zone. Microfacial, foraminiferal and palynological analyses show that the sea floor was located at upper bathyal depths and the water column was poorly oxygenated. The intrabasinal carbonate material indicates moderate primary productivity with rare periods of upwellings. The scarcity of marine fossils in redeposited material and features of carbonate lithoclasts suggest very low productivity in the nearshore surface water, most probably due to a low-density hyposaline cap as surface runoff from the southern margin of the basin. The carbon isotopic study documents the negative values of δ¹³C_carb in the whole section as an effect of transfer of isotopically light carbon sourced from various sources. Such negative values of δ¹³C_carb are characteristic of the upper Cenomanian sediments, deposited in relatively shallow water basins, characterized by input of terrestrial organic matter and/or carbonate particles known from the Western Interior sections, the Atlantic coastal plain, the northwestern African margin, the eastern margin of the Apulian Platform and shelf sediments in the NW Europe and Tethyan Himalayas. Most probably, all of these events could be related to the global sea level fluctuations that occurred ca. 95.5–94.5 Ma comparing with the Haq (2014) eustatic curve.     

中国夏季气温对东亚土壤湿度异常响应的统计评估

基于欧亚夏季土壤湿度变化特征及其与中国夏季气温的相关分析,选取东亚地区作为土壤湿度异常影响中国夏季气温的陆面关键区,采用广义平衡反馈分析方法(GEFA)探讨了我国夏季气温对东亚地区土壤湿度异常的可能响应,并初步讨论了相关的物理过程。结果表明:中国夏季气温与东亚地区初夏和同期的土壤湿度异常具有密切的联系;进一步分析表明,夏季气温距平场对土壤湿度第一模态的响应最显著:当东亚中纬度及我国东部地区土壤湿度异常偏干时,夏季气温表现为一致增暖;而土壤湿度第二模态对长江流域至我国西部地区的气温有较弱的强迫作用;气温对第三模态的响应主要表现为华南地区的显著降温。并以对气温影响最为显著的土壤湿度异常第一模态为例,初步探讨了气温对土壤湿度异常响应的可能物理过程。当贝加尔湖以南以及我国东部的土壤偏干时,地表异常加热容易引起我国北方高层大气出现明显正异常和低层的反气旋性异常环流,上述环流异常容易导致温度偏高,同时不利于该区域降水的发生,进而导致土壤湿度偏低,上述正反馈机制可能是该区域土壤湿度与大气之间联系的一种可能途径。     

青藏高原晚始新世干旱化事件：改则盆地康托组碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素的记录

改则盆地位于青藏高原腹地,盆地内沉积物记录了高原古环境变化的重要信息。本文对改则盆地康托组碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素进行研究,结果显示改则盆地中-晚始新世的演化分为两个阶段:1中始新世湿润气候下开放湖盆阶段:虽然碳酸盐岩δ~(18)O值在43层处向正值偏移,但整体~(18)O和~(13)C强烈亏损,并且该时期碳酸盐岩δ~(18)O值和δ~(13)C变化相关系数为R~2=0.082。表明该阶段的研究区虽然经历过短期蒸发作用增强或补给水减少,但整体是气候湿润条件下补给水丰富的开放型湖盆。2晚始新世干旱气候下封闭湖盆阶段:经过中新世晚期(63层)气候和湖泊水文状态的过渡,晚始新世~(18)O和~(13)C同位素富集,δ~(18)O值和δ~(13)C值变化相关系数为R~2=0.7762。表明该阶段气候干旱,蒸发作用强烈,湖盆萎缩成为封闭湖盆。综合前人研究,认为青藏高原腹地及北缘、东北缘在晚始新世存在明显的区域性干旱化事件。对比分析青藏高原隆升、全球气候记录、全球海水Sr和大气CO_2记录,认为青藏高原腹地和北部的干旱化事件主要受青藏高原隆升的影响。     

Recent advances in (soil moisture) triple collocation analysis

To date, triple collocation (TC) analysis is one of the most important methods for the global-scale evaluation of remotely sensed soil moisture data sets. In this study we review existing implementations of soil moisture TC analysis as well as investigations of the assumptions underlying the method. Different notations that are used to formulate the TC problem are shown to be mathematically identical. While many studies have investigated issues related to possible violations of the underlying assumptions, only few TC modifications have been proposed to mitigate the impact of these violations. Moreover, assumptions, which are often understood as a limitation that is unique to TC analysis are shown to be common also to other conventional performance metrics. Noteworthy advances in TC analysis have been made in the way error estimates are being presented by moving from the investigation of absolute error variance estimates to the investigation of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metrics. Here we review existing error presentations and propose the combined investigation of the SNR (expressed in logarithmic units), the unscaled error variances, and the soil moisture sensitivities of the data sets as an optimal strategy for the evaluation of remotely-sensed soil moisture data sets.