Unit bar architecture in a highly-variable fluvial discharge regime: Examples from the Burdekin River,Australia

Unit bars are relatively large bedforms that develop in rivers over a wide range of climatic regimes. Unit bars formed within the highly-variable discharge Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia, were examined over three field campaigns between 2015 and 2017. These bars had complex internal structures, dominated by co-sets of cross-stratified and planar-stratified sets. The cross-stratified sets tended to down-climb. The development of complex internal structures was primarily a result of three processes: (i) superimposed bedforms reworking the unit bar avalanche face; (ii) variable discharge triggering reactivation surfaces; and (iii) changes in bar growth direction induced by stage change. Internal structures varied along the length and across the width of unit bars. For the former, down-climbing cross-stratified sets tended to pass into single planar cross-stratified deposits at the downstream end of emergent bars; such variation related to changes in fluvial conditions whilst bars were active. A hierarchy of six categories of fluvial unsteadiness is proposed, with these discussed in relation to their effects on unit bar (and dune) internal structure. Across-deposit variation was caused by changes in superimposed bedform and bar character along bar crests; such changes related to the three-dimensionality of the channel and bar geometry when bars were active. Variation in internal structure is likely to be more pronounced in unit bar deposits than in smaller bedform (for example, dune) deposits formed in the same river. This is because smaller bedforms are more easily washed out or modified by changing discharge conditions and their smaller dimensions restrict the variation in flow conditions that occur over their width. In regimes where unit bar deposits are well-preserved, their architectural variability is a potential aid to their identification. This complex architecture also allows greater resolution in interpreting the conditions before and during bar initiation and development.     

THE ORAL HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY∗

Book Reviewed in this article:

Latin America: Case Studies. Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser

Locality and Rurality: Economy and Society in Rural Regions. Tony Bradley And Philip Lowe

The City and the Grassroots. Manuel Castells

Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. Quarrels among Neighbors. Jack Child

Post-Industrial America: A Geographical Perspective. David Clark

Coastal Research: UK Perspectives. Malcolm W. Clark

A Rural Policy for the EEC? Hugh Clout

Peasant Agriculture in Assam: A Structural Analysis. M. M. Das.

Environmental Change and Tropical Geomorphology. I. Douglas and T. Spencer

Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Application to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America. Robert C. Eidt

Measuring Culture. Jonathan L. Gross and Steve Rayner

North America: A Human Geography. Paul Guinness and Michael Bradshaw

A Geographical Bibliography for American Libraries. Chauncy D. Harris et al.

Geography and the Urban Environment: Progress in Research and Applications, Vol. VI. D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston

Changes in Global Climate: A Study of the Effect of Radiation and Other Factors During the Present Century. K. Ya. Kondrat'ev.

Rural Development and the State: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Developing Countries. David A. M. Lea and D. P. Chaudhri

The Martial Metropolis: U.S. Cities in War and Peace. Roger W. Lotchin

The Climate of the Earth. Paul E. Lydolph.

Weather and Climate. Paul E. Lydolph.

Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and the Geography of Production. Doreen Massey.

Panorama of the Soviet Union. N. Mikhailov.

Soviet Armenia. K. S. Demirchian.

USSR: Geography of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period. K. Spidchenko.

Planung und Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone (Planning and Materialization of the Ringstrasse-Zone of Vienna). Kurt Mollik, Hermann Reining, Rudolf Wurzer.

The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War Gerald D. Nash.

An Overview of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Dawn Nelson, David McMillen, and Daniel Kasprzyk.

Phenomenology, Science and Geography: Spatiality and the Human Sciences. John Pickles.

Biological Diversification in the Tropics. Ghillean T. Prance

Die Wanderviehwirtschaft im gebirgigen Westen der U.S.A. und ihre Auswirkungen im Naturraum. Gisbert Rinschede.

Social and Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Considerations for Institutional Management

World-Wide Weather. K. Takahashi

Coastal Geomorphology in Australia. B. G. Thom

Settlement System in Rural India: A Case Study of the Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Ram Chandra Tiwari.

Computer Programming for Geographers. David J. Unwin and John A. Dawson.

Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union. A. A. Velichko, ed. H. E. Wright, Jr. and C. W. Barnosky

Ethics in Planning. Martin Wachs     

Variations of horizontal and vertical velocities over two-dimensional transverse dunes: A wind tunnel simulation of the effect of windward slope

The changes in wind velocity induced by dune topography have an important significance in dune dynamics. In this paper, the horizontal and vertical velocities over six transverse dune models were measured non-intrusively by means of Particle Image Velocimetry in a wind tunnel. The windward slope angle and the free-stream wind velocity both affected the horizontal and vertical velocity components. On the windward side, the acceleration of horizontal velocity depended mainly on the windward slope angle and the height above the dune surface, but was also affected by the free-stream wind velocity. The speed-up ratio increased with increasing slope angle but decreased with increasing height. The ascending vertical velocities also increased with increasing slope angle and free-stream wind velocity. The maximum values moved upper along the dune when the windward angle became steeper. In the leeward sides, the horizontal velocity decreased and reversed because of airflow separation; the maximum reverse velocity in the separation cell was about 17% of the free-stream wind velocity. Behind the dune crest, the airflow moves downwards, and its maximum downward velocity is found near the flow reattachment point. Finally, we discussed the significance of these velocity variations for sediment transport and dune dynamics.     

海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价研究进展与展望

海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价揭示海岸沙丘系统脆弱性的基本特征,为海岸沙丘保护与利用提供重要依据,是海岸沙丘研究近期备受关注的一个重要方面。论文基于国内外海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价研究相关概念、发展历程、评价指标及技术方法等的回顾,概括了其在概念内涵深化、指标体系完善、脆弱性因子辨识、技术方法发展以及评价结果应用等方面的主要进展;并针对当前概念定义难以共识、指标体系争议较大、评价方法存在局限性和理论基础略显薄弱等研究不足,提出明晰相关概念、完善指标体系、改进评价方法、强化机理研究及增强趋势研判等海岸沙丘系统脆弱性近期研究的主要方向。     

沙丘差巴嘎蒿(Artemisia halodendron)群落与裸地土壤呼吸特征

沙丘差巴嘎蒿(Artemisia halodendron)群落与裸地的土壤呼吸是荒漠生态系统碳循环的重要过程。运用LI-6400土壤呼吸配套系统对科尔沁半流动沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸进行测定,分析了沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸的日、季变化及其影响因子。结果表明:(1)沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸的日变化,夜间显著高于昼间(P<0.01和P<0.05),且呈多峰型,与空气湿度呈显著的幂函数正相关(P<0.05)。(2)土壤呼吸的季变化,除重度干旱胁迫的7月7日、19日以外,其余观测日均为差巴嘎蒿群落显著高于裸地(P<0.01)。(3)土壤呼吸的季变化与土壤温度相关不显著(P>0.05),但在控制测试日土壤含水量的条件下,沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸和土壤温度的偏相关显著(P<0.05),偏相关系数分别为0.602与0.562;在控制测试日土壤温度的条件下,沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸和土壤含水量的偏相关显著(P<0.05),偏相关系数分别为0.804与0.624。土壤表层(10 cm深处)细菌数量与土壤呼吸呈极显著的幂函数正相关(P<0.01),可解释沙丘差巴嘎蒿群落与裸地土壤呼吸变化的80.8%与65.4%。     

Hydrogeologically controlled freshwater dynamics in the coastal sand dune aquifer of Ongole coast (AP), India

Abstract

A sand dune area, ~50 km² in size, the only source of freshwater in the coastal zone of Prakasham district, Andhra Pradesh, India, is bounded by marine sediments in the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal in the southeast. Measurements of groundwater level, hydrochemistry and stable isotopes for three years facilitated the identification of the aquifer response to drought and intense cyclonic storms. There was no major change in hydrochemistry and isotope values between drought and highly saturated conditions, except in a few wells in the northwest. During drought, the groundwater remained fresh, although the levels dipped to 2–5 m b.m.s.l., signifying no saline water ingression (no measurable bromide). Based on the field observations, resistivity soundings, electrical conductivity and groundwater level change due to pumping, the existence of impermeable boundaries in the northwest and southeast are hypothesized. Thus, the existing hydrogeological settings appear to be inhibiting the movement of the freshwater–saline water interface into the freshwater zone.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis     

Aeolian landform processes since the last deglaciation revealed by OSL chronology and stratigraphy in the Hulunbuir dune field in NE China

The Hulunbuir dune field (HLB) is situated near the northern limit of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and vulnerable to climate change. The aeolian sand–paleosol sequences of this region are crucial for understanding the past landform processes in response to climate change, but not yet understood well due to chronological controversies. Here, we presented 20 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from five aeolian sand–paleosol profiles in the HLB, and reconstructed the aeolian landform processes since 18 ka. The findings of this study suggested that the HLB was probably dominated by mobile dunes before 18 ka, as 10 out of 11 aeolian samples were dated to 18–12 ka. Two strong sandy paleosol layers were found and dated to ∼9 ka and 5–0.5 ka, indicating that strong in situ pedogenic process on the accumulative sand could occur during the Holocene. The OSL ages of samples near the top of three profiles were >9.5 ka, indicating two possible surface processes. First, the land surface was stable since 9.5 ka after stabilization, with no accumulation or erosion. Alternatively, the surface could have been erosive with the eroded sediments feeding downwind active dunes. The latter explanation is consistent with the current local landforms, which has widespread blowout pits, indicators of strong wind erosion. We emphasized that the OSL age of a sand layer sample in fossil dunes implied the onset of mobile dune stabilization, not the age of dune activity, as previously stated.     

Dunefield Activity and Interactions with Climatic Variability in the Southwest Kalahari Desert

An analysis is undertaken of the temporal variability of climatic parameters that influence dunefield aeolian activity. Data from seven meteorological stations in the southwestern Kalahari Desert are used, spanning the period 1960–1992. Erosivity is considered through analysis of wind data, and erodibility through analysis of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, which together influence dune surface plant growth. The data are integrated using Lancaster's ‘mobility’ index which provides a measure of potential dune surface sand transport. This is renamed ‘potential dune surface activity index’, to reflect the actual characteristic that is measured. The subsequent analysis indicates that dunefield activity is episodic and temporally variable, that both erosivity and erodibility vary through time, and that present levels of activity cannot be characterized by a single simple state. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Threshold wind velocity in the lee of two-dimensional transverse dunes

Secondary flow plays an important role in the development of dunes. To investigate this phenomenon, we simulated models of transverse dunes with different stoss slopes in a wind tunnel. We measured the threshold wind velocity at different locations in the lee of the dunes, and observed the corresponding particle movement characteristics under threshold conditions to assess the sedi-mentological significance of secondary airflow. Threshold wind velocity changed with both horizontal distance and stoss slope. Its variation with horizontal distance is characterized by a region in which a rapid reduction occurs, a region with a minimum value, and a region with high value. We confirmed the presence of reversal cells, irrespective of the stoss slope. Neither the variation in threshold wind velocity nor the variation in reattachment distance as a function of stoss slope followed a monotonic function. The 15° stoss slope had the greatest threshold wind velocity and reattachment distance.     

澳大利亚西南部风成砂屑灰岩的分布、形态和时代特征

在澳大利亚西南沿海,特别是在南邦(Nambung)国家公园,成千上万个高达5 m、宽2 m、相距0.5 m的锥形风成砂屑灰岩组成壮观的喀斯特地貌,为形成于更新世含钙质/微生物的古土壤沉积物。锥形风成砂屑灰岩的形态多种多样,可以随岩性不同而变化,构成锥形风成沉积岩和圆柱形微生物岩。在南邦,锥形风成砂屑灰岩大量溶解,最后形成大量石英碎屑,石英碎屑经再沉积掩埋再形成这些锥状风成砂屑灰岩,属于风成岩溶作用,发生在70 ka前;340~380 ka间风成砂屑灰岩发育要弱。