Climatic changes in central and eastern Canada inferred from deep borehole temperature data

We analyzed data from 23 boreholes at 19 sites in central and eastern Canada, for the purpose of estimating ground surface temperature (GST) histories. These boreholes were logged down to at least 550 m depth with thermistor probes. Thermal conductivity measurements had been previously made at small depth intervals for the entire depth ranges of most of the boreholes. The temperature profiles of these boreholes do not indicate water disturbance. We estimated terrain effects for each borehole using a time dependent solid-angle method. The thermal perturbations caused by lakes or deforestation near the borehole sites are insignificant in most cases. However, four of the holes were found to be severely influenced by terrain effects. GSTs estimated from the borehole data less influenced by the terraineffects form two groups. The first group, which are generally from data of better quality, show a cold period near the end of the last century before the recent warming trend; the second show it 80–100 years earlier. We consider the former typical of the climate of the Boreal climatic region of Canada. The difference between the two groups may reflect the spacial variability of the climate. Four GST estimates do not belong to either type, and the reasons are discussed.     

Photoadaptation of carboxylating enzymes and photosynthesis during a spring bloom

Properties of the light saturation curve of photosynthesis and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPC) activity are shown to change qualitatively in a natural population of marine phytoplankton during a spring bloom. Evidence is presented to show that these changes constitute photoadapative responses to increasing irradiance. As irradiance increased during the bloom, both the level of light-saturated photosynthesis (P_m) and the initial slope of the light saturation curve (α = photosynthetic efficiency) increased whether those parameters were normalized to chlorophyll a concentration (P_m^b, α^b) or to cell numbers (P_m^c, α^c). The magnitudes of these changes were such that I_k (= P_m/α, the photoadaptation parameter) did not change, but I_m, the light intensity at which photosynthesis becomes saturated, increased. RuBPC activity, both chlorophyll a (RuBPC^b) and cell number normalized (RuBPC^c), also increased during the bloom. We suggest that these adaptations were achieved by simultaneously increasing the number of photosynthetic units, proportionately decreasing the photosynthetic unit size, and increasing both the concentrations of the enzymes of the dark reactions and possibly also of photosynthetic electron transport components.We also observed diminished levels of photoinhibition in the high light adapted cells late in the bloom and have suggested that this was a consequence of the same suite of physiological changes.In situ carbon fixation per cell increased during the bloom whereas no change occurred in this parameter when normalized to chlorophyll a concentration. Although these photoadaptive responses thus permitted carbon to be fixed in situ more rapidly per cell, at a constant efficiency with respect to investment of energy in the photosynthetic apparatus, they did not result in a change in growth rate. Based on consideratios of the role of time scale in physiological adaptation, however, it is suggested that the observed alterations in photosynthesis with increasing irradiance might permit a cell to more rapidly fill an energy quota for division, possibly an advantage in a mixing environment in which energy is patchily distributed, both spatially and temporalyy.Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity when normalized to chlorophyll a (PEPC^b) did not change during the bloom while chlorophyll a normalized dark carbon fixation decreased sharply and was quantitatively small compared to PEPC^b. On this basis and considering that RuBPC^b increased during the bloom, it is suggested that, although PEPC may be involved in dark carbon fixation, its most important quantitative role is probably an indirect one in light dependent photosynthesis.We have also considered the relevance of laboratory results on photoadaptation to interpretations of field studies and have suggested that batch culture studies must be treated with caution but that turbidistat and semi-continuous methods provide reasonable simulations of natural conditions.     

Double-diffusive convection with a non-linear equation of state: Part I. The accurate conservation of properties in a two-layer system

If the equation of state is nonlinear, a given flux of heat across a double diffusive interface causes different buoyancy fluxes in the upper and lower layers. This results in different convective activity in the two layers and can lead to preferential entrainment across the interface in one direction (i.e. a migration of the interface). In this paper we derive the conservation equations for properties (e.g. heat and a solute) across a double diffusive interface between two well-mixed layers. A nondimensional measure of the entrainment across an interface and the most suitable choice for the buoyancy flux ratio are presented. Some surprising facts emerge. First, even for a linear equation of state and in the absence of direct entrainment across the interface, the flux of water across a finger interface is shown to be important. Second, for the heat-solute system, the heat balance equations for each well-mixed layer contain terms proportional to the heat of solution of the solute and the partial specific enthalpy of pure water in a seawater solution. Third, the rate of change of gravitational potential energy of the two-layer system is shown to have several extra terms in addition to the two commonly quoted major terms.     

An evaluation of systems for the integrated assessment of capture fisheries

Integrated fishery assessments are intended to take an integrated and wholistic view of fisheries management, to provide comprehensive systems-based evaluations of the sustainability of individual fisheries and their products. Using guidance derived from decision theory and management science, we develop 18 criteria to evaluate the likely effectiveness of nine integrated fishery assessment systems. The assessment systems do not consistently consider four key criteria: the socio-economic impacts of fisheries, the provision of food security, the local relevance of the assessment to the fishery under assessment, and the independent peer review of assessment outcomes. Other important areas of weakness include the lack of appropriate consultation processes relating to both the design of the assessment system and the outcomes of fishery assessments, and limitations in the quality of data and information used in assessments. Improvements will be needed in these areas across all the systems we evaluated if fishers, consumers, managers and other stakeholders are to be provided with consistently reliable assessment outcomes, and an assurance of the sustainability of capture fisheries.     

Application of a multimetric fish index to assess the environmental condition of South African estuaries

A multimetric fish index, the Estuarine Fish Community Index (EFCI) of Harrison and Whitfield (2004), was applied to data collected for 190 South African estuaries. Estuaries spanned three biogeographic regions and included three distinct estuarine typologies. The EFCI is based on 14 metrics or measures that represent four broad fish community attributes: species diversity and composition, species abundance, nursery function, and trophic integrity. Metric reference conditions and scoring criteria were developed separately for each estuary type within each zoogeographic region. The final EFCI was applied to each estuary by comparing its fish community with the appropriate reference. Index values ranged between 18 (very poor) and 66 (very good). A comparison of the EFCI with independent measures of estuarine condition revealed that the index was able to effectively differentiate between poor and good quality sites. Applying the EFCI to estuaries in which multiple samples were taken also showed that the index is reproducible. The EFCI is both a robust and sensitive method for assessing the ecological condition of estuarine systems; it is also an effective communication tool for converting ecological information into an easily understood format for managers, policy makers, and the general public.     

Effects of detailed soil spatial information on watershed modeling across different model scales

Hydro-ecological modelers often use spatial variation of soil information derived from conventional soil surveys in simulation of hydro-ecological processes over watersheds at mesoscale (10–100 km²). Conventional soil surveys are not designed to provide the same level of spatial detail as terrain and vegetation inputs derived from digital terrain analysis and remote sensing techniques. Soil property layers derived from conventional soil surveys are often incompatible with detailed terrain and remotely sensed data due to their difference in scales. The objective of this research is to examine the effect of scale incompatibility between soil information and the detailed digital terrain data and remotely sensed information by comparing simulations of watershed processes based on the conventional soil map and those simulations based on detailed soil information across different simulation scales. The detailed soil spatial information was derived using a GIS (geographical information system), expert knowledge, and fuzzy logic based predictive mapping approach (Soil Land Inference Model, SoLIM). The Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) is used to simulate two watershed processes: net photosynthesis and stream flow. The difference between simulation based on the conventional soil map and that based on the detailed predictive soil map at a given simulation scale is perceived to be the effect of scale incompatibility between conventional soil data and the rest of the (more detailed) data layers at that scale. Two modeling approaches were taken in this study: the lumped parameter approach and the distributed parameter approach. The results over two small watersheds indicate that the effect does not necessarily always increase or decrease as the simulation scale becomes finer or coarser. For a given watershed there seems to be a fixed scale at which the effect is consistently low for the simulated processes with both the lumped parameter approach and the distributed parameter approach.     

Knickpoint recession rate and catchment area: the case of uplifted rivers in Eastern Scotland

Knickpoint behaviour is a key to understanding both the landscape responses to a base‐level fall and the corresponding sediment fluxes from rejuvenated catchments, and must be accommodated in numerical models of large‐scale landscape evolution. Knickpoint recession in streams draining to glacio‐isostatically uplifted shorelines in eastern Scotland is used to assess whether knickpoint recession is a function of discharge (here represented by its surrogate, catchment area). Knickpoints are identified using DS plots (log slope versus log downstream distance). A statistically significant power relationship is found between distance of headward recession and catchment area. Such knickpoint recession data may be used to determine the values of m and n in the stream power law, E = KA^mSⁿ. The data have too many uncertainties, however, to judge definitively whether they are consistent with m = n = 1 (bedrock erosion is proportional to stream power and KPs should be maintained and propagate headwards) or m = 0·3, n = 0·7 (bedrock incision is proportional to shear stress and KPs do not propagate but degrade in place by rotation or replacement). Nonetheless, the E Scotland m and n values point to the dominance of catchment area (discharge) in determining knickpoint retreat rates and are therefore more consistent with the stream power law formulation in which bedrock erosion is proportional to stream power. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Basal sediment evacuation by subglacial meltwater: suspended sediment transport from Haut Glacier d'Arolla,Switzerland

Proglacial suspended sediment transport was monitored at Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, during the 1998 melt season to investigate the mechanisms of basal sediment evacuation by subglacial meltwater. Sub‐seasonal changes in relationships between suspended sediment transport and discharge demonstrate that the structure and hydraulics of the subglacial drainage system critically influenced how basal sediment was accessed and entrained. Under hydraulically inefficient subglacial drainage at the start of the melt season, sediment availability was generally high but sediment transport increased relatively slowly with discharge. Later in the melt season, sediment transport increased more rapidly with discharge as subglacial meltwater became confined to a spatially limited network of channels following removal of the seasonal snowpack from the ablation area. Flow capacity is inferred to have increased more rapidly with discharge within subglacial channels because rapid changes in discharge during highly peaked diurnal runoff cycles are likely to have been accommodated largely by changes in flow velocity. Basal sediment availability declined during channelization but increased throughout the remainder of the monitored period, resulting in very efficient basal sediment evacuation over the peak of the melt season. Increased basal sediment availability during the summer appears to have been linked to high diurnal water pressure variation within subglacial channels inferred from the strong increase in flow velocity with discharge. Basal sediment availability therefore appears likely to have been increased by (1) enhanced local ice‐bed separation leading to extra‐channel flow excursions and[sol ]or (2) the deformation of basal sediment towards low‐pressure channels due to a strong diurnally reversing hydraulic gradient between channels and areas of hydraulically less‐efficient drainage. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.