Generalised observations of wave characteristics on near‐horizontal shore platforms: Synthesis of six case studies from the North Island,New Zealand

Most field studies of wave processes on shore platforms in front of eroding cliffs focus on a single site, revealing aspects of wave dynamics at that location. Here, we analyse data from six platforms around northeastern New Zealand and describe the fundamental control of shore platform width, gradient and elevation on wave processes, including greater attenuation of short‐period waves at lower tidal stages and increases in longer period wave energy towards the cliff toe. These data suggest that empirical formulae developed from coral‐reef environments provide better predictions of wave height on platforms than formulae currently used in shore platform models.     

砒砂岩区地貌形态三维分形特征量化及空间变异

针对现有地貌形态三维分形模型结构存在的不足,构建一个新的地貌形态三维分形维数测算模型。基于该模型对砒砂岩区274个小流域的地貌形态三维分形维数进行计算并分析其空间变异规律。研究表明：① 基于该模型计算的分形维数能更准确地反映地貌形态复杂度信息;② 砒砂岩区小流域地貌形态三维分形维数介于1.683 6~1.948 6之间;③ 地貌形态三维分形维数整体上覆土砒砂岩区（均值为1.765 9）<裸露砒砂岩强度侵蚀区（均值为1.785 4）和剧烈侵蚀区（均值为1.774 8）<覆沙砒砂岩区（均值为1.796 6）。由于地表覆盖物、砒砂岩裸露程度和土壤侵蚀机理的差异而形成的不同地貌特征是该区地貌形态分形特征空间变异的主要原因。     

黄河中游砒砂岩地区长川流域植被盖度及其动态分析

应用遥感监测并结合地面实测数据,分析黄河中游砒砂岩地区典型流域——内蒙古长川流域植被盖度及其变化特征。经野外实测数据进行检验植被盖度遥感监测的精度发现,以遥感手段通过植被盖度与归一化植被指数(NDVI)之间关系来估算长川流域植被盖度的精度达到81.3%。长川流域上游地区(北部)植被盖度相对较高,达到40%~70%;沟道两侧也有相对较高的植被盖度,也达到了30%~60%;一般梁峁地植被盖度较低,只有5%~15%。从1983年开始实施的小流域第一期水土流失重点治理和1993年至1997年期间实施的小流域第二期第一阶段水土流失重点治理的效果明显,使得长川流域植被盖度在该期间内大幅度增高。     

Palaeolimnological studies of the eutrophication of volcanic Lake Albano (Central Italy)

We use palaeolimnological techniques to reconstruct the eutrophication history of a volcanic lake (Lake Albano, central Italy) over the past three centuries. The presence of annual varves down to the bottom of the core (c. 1700 A.D.) indicated the lack of bioturbation and likely long-term meromixis. Sedimentation rates were estimated by varve counts (calcite/diatom couplets), indicating a mean rate of 0.15 cm yr^–1. The reconstruction of eutrophication was traced using past populations of algal and photosynthetic bacteria (through their fossil pigment), and geochemistry, as well as fossil remains of chironomids. Phaeophorbidea and the red carotenoid astaxanthin were used to detect past zooplankton development.The first sign of trophic change related to human activities is datedc. 1870 A.D. From that period onward a sharp increase of authigenic CaCO₃, nitrogen, N:P ratio, and dinoxanthin, a characteristic carotenoid of Chrysophyceae and Dinophyceae, is observed.Chironomid analyses showed the near absence of a deep water fauna throughout the core length. The populations of chironomid larvae are restricted to oxygenated littoral zones. In fact, the few fossil remains found are primarily of littoral origin, representing shallow water midges that were transported to profundal waters. The reduction of total chironomid in the uppermost layers of the core is to be related to human land uses.     

The geological evolution of southern McMurdo Sound — new evidence from a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey

Magnetic anomaly data are presented from a new helicopter-borne high-resolution aeromagnetic survey in southern McMurdo Sound. Anomaly data have been acquired at a common 305 m elevation above the McMurdo and southern McMurdo ice shelves and draped over the volcanic islands that pin them. The resulting anomaly patterns provide a significant advance in the understanding of the rift related geology beneath the floating ice shelves. More extensive Erebus Volcanic Province (McMurdo Volcanic Group) rocks are indicated along with a significant blanket of glaci-volcaniclastic sediment on the seafloor between the volcanic islands in southern McMurdo Sound. These glaci-volcaniclastic sediments are inferred to originate from former grounding of the southern McMurdo Ice Shelf as a marine ice sheet. A strong N–S fabric is also observed in the anomaly data suggesting that the rift structure observed in the Victoria Land basin persists to the south beneath the McMurdo and southern McMurdo ice shelves. W–N–W transfer faults identified within the Transantarctic Mountain rift flank to the west are not obvious in the aeromagnetic data set, implying that the 'Discovery Accommodation Zone' may be restricted to the region between a southward extension of the range bounding fault that marks the limit of the Victoria Land Basin and the right lateral offset in the Transantarctic Mountain front in southern Victoria Land.     

Efficiency of heavy liquid separation to concentrate magnetic particles

Low-temperature rock magnetic measurements have distinct diagnostic value. However, in most bulk marine sediments the concentration of ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic minerals is extremely low, so even sensitive instrumentation often responds to the paramagnetic contribution of the silicate matrix in the residual field of the magnetometer. Analysis of magnetic extracts is usually performed to solve the problems raised by low magnetic concentrations. Additionally magnetic extracts can be used for several other analyses, for example electron microscopy or X-ray diffraction. The magnetic extraction technique is generally sufficient for sediments dominated by magnetite. In this study however, we show that high-coercivity components are rather underrepresented in magnetic extracts of sediments with a more complex magnetic mineralogy. We test heavy liquid separation, using hydrophilic sodium polytungstenate solution Na₆[H₂W₁₂O₄₀], to demonstrate the efficiencies of both concentration techniques. Low-temperature cycling of zero-field-cooled, field-cooled and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization acquired at room temperature was performed on dry bulk sediments, magnetic extracts, and heavy liquid separates of clay-rich pelagic sediments originating from the Equatorial Atlantic. The results of the thermomagnetic measurements clarify that magnetic extraction favours components with high spontaneous magnetization, such as magnetite and titanomagnetite. The heavy liquid separation is unbiased with respect to high- and low-coercive minerals, thus it represents the entire magnetic assemblage.