Elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to climate warming

Warming will affect snowline elevation, potentially altering the timing and magnitude of streamflow from mountain landscapes. Presently, the assessment of potential elevation‐dependent responses is difficult because many gauged watersheds integrate drainage areas that are both snow and rain dominated. To predict the impact of snowline rise on streamflow, we mapped the current snowline (1980 m) for the Salmon River watershed (Idaho, USA) and projected its elevation after 3 °C warming (2440 m). This increase results in a 40% reduction in snow‐covered area during winter months. We expand this analysis by collecting streamflow records from a new, elevation‐stratified gauging network of watersheds contained within high (2250–3800 m), mid (1500–2250 m) and low (300–1500 m) elevations that isolate snow, mixed and rain‐dominated precipitation regimes. Results indicate that lags between percentiles of precipitation and streamflow are much shorter in low elevations than in mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds. Low elevation annual percentiles (Q₂₅ and Q₇₅) of streamflow occur 30–50 days earlier than in higher elevation watersheds. Extreme events in low elevations are dominated by low‐ and no‐flow events whereas mid‐ and high‐elevation extreme events are primarily large magnitude floods. Only mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds are strongly cross correlated with catchment‐wide flow of the Salmon River, suggesting that changes in contributions from low‐elevation catchments may be poorly represented using mainstem gauges. As snowline rises, mid‐elevation watersheds will likely exhibit behaviours currently observed only at lower elevations. Streamflow monitoring networks designed for operational decision making or change detection may require modification to capture elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to warming. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anisotropic mean-squared-displacement tensor in cubic almandine garnet: a single crystal 57Fe M?ssbauer study

This paper describes single-crystal measurements on a crystal plate cut from a naturally-occurring almandine-rich single crystal (Alm₆₉Pyr₁₉Spe₈Gro₄) from Wrangell Alaska. The objective was to measure the mean-squared-displacement (msd) tensor precisely using M?ssbauer spectroscopy. Parallel quantum-mechanical calculations based on X-ray determined atomic displacement parameters and M?ssbauer parameters from polycrystalline measurements indicated that the msd tensor should display significant anisotropy, easily measurable within the precision of the M?ssbauer experiment. For each single-crystal orientation the observed M?ssbauer spectrum represents a macroscopic quantity that is the average over six symmetry-related (local) dodecahedral sites in which the high-spin Fe²⁺ ions reside. The anisotropy in the measured msd tensor is, nevertheless, unequivocal. Furthermore, the magnitudes of the M?ssbauer-determined msd principal values exceed those of the corresponding X-ray-determined quantities by a factor 3.7. The equivalent recoilless fractions are also anisotropic and consequently one observes the Gol’danskii–Karyagin Effect (GKE), as manifested by an asymmetric quadrupole doublet in polycrystalline absorbers. Moreover, the line widths of the two quadrupole lines are markedly different but angle invariant. This is interpreted as implying that, in addition to anisotropy in the msd tensor, differential spin–spin relaxation is present in the $ m = \pm 3/2 \leftrightarrow \pm 1/2 $ and $ m = \pm 1/2 \leftrightarrow \pm 1/2,\, \mp 1/2 $ nuclear transitions. While both effects contribute to the quadrupole asymmetries observed in M?ssbauer spectra of polycrystalline almandine, the GKE is apparently predominant.     

Simultaneous multifrequency observations of Markarian 421

The highly variable BL Lacertae object Mrk 421 has been observed simultaneously in the radio, optical ultraviolet, and X-ray bands over a period of 4 days in early 1984 December and once again in early 1985 January. Using the EXOSAT observatory, we found that dramatic changes occurred in the X-ray flux on a time scale of less than a mouth. During this time the 2-10 keV flux dropped by a factor of 8, whereas the 0.1-1 keV flux decreased by a factor of only 2. These changes were not reproduced at longer wavelengths during the period of simultaneous observations. However, a drop in the ultraviolet flux occurred some months later, which is consistent with the longer characteristic loss times for the lower energy electrons. Since the ultraviolet through radio flux is stable when the X-ray flux is changing, it is extremely unlikely that a simple synchrotron model can account for the full spectrum; in this model the whole spectrum is expected to rise uniformly and in phase as a result of the injection of energetic particles. A simple synchroton self-Compton model that is self-absorbed in the radio also requires an X-ray flux which is many orders of magnitude greater than is observed. However, this discrepancy may be explained by relativistic beaming of electrons with delta > approximately 40 or by a model in which the self-absorption turnover occurs in the optical, and the synchrotron break occurs in the X-rays. Shorter time scale (approximately 10,000 s) variability was also apparent in the 2-10 keV X-ray light curves, and we suggest that it may be a direct measure of the injection time scale. Although reasonable fits resulted when the X-ray data were compared with a simple power-law model with some absorption, a substantial improvement in chi 2 was obtained by adding a high-energy exponential cutoff. Use of this model produced a spectral index close to that typically found in the optical for BL Lacertae objects, in contrast to the high values usually inferred from X-ray spectra.     

Neutron powder diffraction study of the orientational order–disorder phase transition in calcite, CaCO3

Neutron powder diffraction studies of calcite on heating towards the orientational order–disorder phase transition show that the phase transition is not a simple analogue of an Ising-like transition, but more similar to a rotational analogue of Lindemann melting. The transition is precipitated by the librational amplitude of the carbonate molecular ions exceeding a critical value rather than a result of a statistical entropy of ‘wrong’ orientations. Using tested interatomic potentials the single-particle orientational potential and nearest-neighbour orientational interactions have been calculated.     

Electric-field gradient and mean-squared-displacement tensors in hedenbergite from single-crystal Mössbauer milliprobe measurements

We report Mössbauer milliprobe measurements on small single-crystals of a magnesium-rich hedenbergite, approximate composition CaFe_0.54Mg_0.46 (SiO₃)₂, in which each of the electric-field gradient and mean-squared displacement tensors for Fe²⁺ in the M1 site of the crystal are precisely determined. Each tensor has in common, as required of crystal symmetry, the twofold axis of the monoclinic unit cell, but the principal directions of the two tensors in the perpendicular plane are non-coincident. The mean-squared displacements determined in the Mössbauer experiment exceed those determined from the X-ray vibration ellipsoids for Fe²⁺/M1 by a factor of 1.6; the anisotropy in the mean-squared displacement tensor from the Mössbauer measurements exceeds that from X-ray by a factor of around 5. The ramifications of these differences are discussed.     

Two samplers for large-volume collection of chlorinated hydrocarbons

Two sampling devices for the in situ extraction of chlorinated hydrocarbons from water are described. Both samplers use the macroreticular adsorbent Amberlite XAD-2. They include a “fish” sampler which has been used to collect samples for PCB analysis from waters around the British Isles. Operation of this sampler causes a minimum of interruption to a ship's cruise programme and at the same time allows a large area to be surveyed. The second sampler is a self-powered in situ pump which is cheap to construct and can be left unattended to extract large volumes of water at a fixed station. The device is serviced by divers and samples may be collected daily on a routine sampling basis.     

A new flow cytometry method enabling rapid purification of diatoms from silica-rich lacustrine sediments

Sub-fossil diatoms represent an important archive of past environmental change in both terrestrial and marine settings. In recent years the isotopic analysis of diatom frustules has developed into an important area of paleo-environmental research. The extraction and concentration of diatoms from marine and lake sediments has proven difficult, particularly in silica rich samples. Here we present a new method for the rapid extraction of diatom frustules from lacustrine sediment using flow cytometry. This new technique produces samples suitable for geochemical and isotope-based research with a high degree of purity over a much shorter time frame than existing techniques, hours rather than days.     

Use of ultrasonically modulated electron resonance to study S-state ions in mineral crystals: Mn2+, Fe3+, in tremolite

The use of ultrasonically modulated electron resonance (UMER) to study S-state ions in substitutional sites of mineral single crystals is discussed. Mn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ in natural single crystals of tremolite are used as examples. Combined electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and UMER measurements establish almost certainly that Mn²⁺ enters predominantly into the distorted M4 sites occupied by Ca²⁺ in the ideal tremolite structure and only to a minor extent into the M1, M2 and M3 sites normally occupied by Mg²⁺. Fe³⁺ in tremolite gives rise to the well known high spin resonance with g _eff?4.3 but there is considerable uncertainty as to the site of the impurity ion.