Hydrologic and water isotope characterization of a regulated Canadian Shield river basin

Stable water isotope surveys have increasingly been integrated into river basins studies, but fewer have used them to evaluate impact of hydropower regulation. This study applies hydrologic and water isotope survey approaches to a Canadian Shield river basin with both regulated and natural flows. Historical streamflow records were used to evaluate the influence of three hydroelectric reservoirs and unregulated portions of the basin on downstream flows and changes in water level management implemented after an extreme flood year (1979). In 2013, water isotope surveys of surface and source waters (e.g., rainfall, groundwater, snowmelt) were conducted to examine spatial and temporal variation in contributions to river flow. Seasonal changes in relative groundwater contribution were assessed using a water‐isotope mass balance approach. Within the basin, two regulated reservoirs exhibited inverted hydrographs with augmented winter flows, whereas a third exhibited a hydrograph dominated by spring snowmelt. In 2013, spatial variation in rain‐on‐snow and air temperatures resulted in a critical lag in snowmelt initiation in the southern and northern portions of the basin resulting in a dispersed, double peak spring hydrograph, contrasting with 1979 when a combination of rain‐on‐snow and coincident snowmelt led to the highest flood on record. Although eastern basin reservoirs become seasonally enriched in δ¹⁸O and δ²H values, unregulated western basin flows remain less variable due to groundwater driven baseflow with increasing influence downstream. Combined analysis of historical streamflow (e.g., flood of 1979, drought of 2010) and the 2013 water isotope surveys illustrate extreme meteorological conditions that current management activities are unable to prevent. In this study, the influence of evaporative fractionation on large surface water reservoirs provides important evidence of streamflow partitioning, illustrating the value of stable water isotope tracers for study of larger catchments.     

Late Quaternary moisture export across Central America and to Greenland: evidence for tropical rainfall variability from Costa Rican stalagmites

We present a high-resolution terrestrial archive of Central American rainfall over the period 100–24 and 8.1–6.5 ka, based on δ¹⁸O time series from U-series dated stalagmites collected from a cave on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Our results indicate substantial δ¹⁸O variability on millennial to orbital time scales that is interpreted to reflect rainfall variations over the cave site. Correlations with other paleoclimate proxy records suggest that the rainfall variations are forced by sea surface temperatures (SST) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in a fashion analogous to the modern climate cycle. Higher rainfall is associated with periods of a warm tropical North Atlantic Ocean and large SST gradients between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Rainfall variability is likely linked to the intensity and/or latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Periods of higher rainfall in Costa Rica are also associated with an enhanced sea surface salinity gradient on either side of the isthmus, suggesting greater freshwater export from the Atlantic Basin when the ITCZ is stronger and/or in a more northerly position. Further, wet periods in Central America coincide with high deuterium excess values in Greenland ice, suggesting a direct link between low latitude SSTs, tropical rainfall, and moisture delivery to Greenland. Our results indicate that a stronger tropical hydrological cycle during warm periods and large inter-ocean SST gradients enhanced the delivery of low latitude moisture to Greenland.     

Relative contributions of sulfate- and iron(III) reduction to organic matter mineralization and process controls in contrasting habitats of the Georgia saltmarsh

The objectives of this study were to partition out the predominant anaerobic respiration pathways coupled to C oxidation and to further elucidate the controls of anaerobic C respiration in three major saltmarsh habitats at Skidaway Island, GA; the short form of Spartina alterniflora (SS), the tall form of S. alterniflora (TS), and unvegetated, bioturbated creekbank (CB). Geochemical analysis of pore water and solid phase constituents revealed that the SS site experienced highly reducing conditions with two orders of magnitude higher pore water sulfide inventories (1.884 mmol m⁻²) than TS (0.003 mmol m⁻²) and CB (0.005 mmol m⁻²), respectively. Conversely, reactive Fe(III) inventories at TS (2208 mmol m⁻²) and CB (2881 mmol m⁻²) were up to 7–9 times higher than at SS (338 mmol m⁻²). Incubations and intact core experiments indicated that reduction accounted for 95% (SS), 37% (TS) and 66% (CB) of total anaerobic respiration. There was no detectable Fe(III) reduction at SS, while Fe(III) reduction accounted for up to 70% of C oxidation in the 3–6 cm depth interval at TS and 0–3 cm depth of CB, and on average, approximately 55% of C oxidation over two-thirds of marsh surface area. Laboratory manipulations provided further evidence for the importance of Fe(III) reduction as the accumulation rates of fermentation products were high when Fe(III) reduction was inhibited by removing the Fe(III) minerals from highly bioturbated CB sediments with higher Fe(III) mineral contents. Anaerobic C oxidation, - and Fe(III)-reduction rates appeared to be highest at the TS site during active plant growth in summer. Overall results suggest that bioturbation by macrofauna is the overriding factor in modulating the pathway of C mineralization in the saltmarsh, whereas availability of organic substrates from plants is a key factor in controlling the C oxidation rate.     

Modelling of Ocean Shallow Convection under Fast Ice in the Arctic

Ocean convection in the Antarctic has been studied many times and has been revealed to be responsible for ice-cover reduction. In the Arctic, proof of that phenomenon has not been documented. It is believed that this phenomenon happens on a smaller scale in the Arctic when local circulation of deep warmer water melts and slows ice production. An example of this is the North Water (NOW) polynya in northern Baffin Bay. A polynya is an area of open water in an otherwise ice-covered area. As ice forms under the fast ice near the boundary of the polynya, ocean salts (brine) are ejected from the newly formed ice. This water, which has an increased concentration of salt, sinks and is replaced by warmer water from below, and this slows ice formation. In our study a coupled one-dimensional thermodynamic snow–fast ice model incorporating ocean heat flux input via a shallow convection model was used. Ice thickness was calculated using a thermodynamic model that included a current-induced entrainment model and a convection model to account for brine rejection during ice growth. Atmospheric observations from Grise Fiord and Thule and ocean profiles around the NOW polynya near these sites were used as input to the model. This purely thermodynamic study enables us to obtain ice thickness values that can be compared with qualitative observations. This modelling study compares two sites related to the NOW polynya. The results indicate that the shallow convection model simulates the reduction of fast ice near Thule but not near Grise Fiord.     

High Arctic sea ice conditions influence marine birds wintering in Low Arctic regions

Ocean climate change is having profound biological effects in polar regions. Such change can also have far-reaching downstream effects in sub-polar regions. This study documents an environmental relationship between High Arctic sea ice changes and mortality events of marine birds in Low Arctic coastal regions. During April 2007 and March 2009, hundreds of beached seabird carcasses and moribund seabirds were found along the east and northeast coasts of Newfoundland, Canada. These seabird “wrecks” (i.e. dead birds on beaches) coincided with a period of strong, persistent onshore winds and heavily-accumulated sea ice that blocked bays and trapped seabirds near beaches. Ninety-two percent of wreck seabirds were Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia). Body condition and demographic patterns of wreck murres were compared to Thick-billed Murres shot in the Newfoundland murre hunt. Average body and pectoral masses of wreck carcasses were 34% and 40% lighter (respectively) than shot murres, indicating that wreck birds had starved. The acute nature of each wreck suggested that starvation and associated hypothermia occurred within 2–3 days. In 2007, first-winter murres (77%) dominated the wreck. In 2009, there were more adults (78%), mostly females (66%). These results suggest that spatial and temporal segregation in ages and sexes can play a role in differential survival when stochastic weather conditions affect discrete areas where these groups aggregate. In wreck years, southward movement of Arctic sea ice to Low Arctic latitudes was later and blocked bays longer than in most other years. These inshore conditions corresponded with recent climate-driven changes in High Arctic ice break-up and ice extent; coupled with local weather conditions, these ice conditions appeared to be the key environmental features that precipitated the ice-associated seabird wrecks in the Low Arctic region.     

Does plot size affect the performance of GIS-based species distribution models?

Species distribution models are used extensively in predicting the distribution of vegetation across a landscape. Accuracy of the species distribution maps produced by these models deserves attention, since low accuracy maps may lead to erroneous conservation decisions. While plot size is known to influence measures of species richness, its effect on our ability to predict species distribution ranges has not been tested. Our aim is to test whether the accuracy of the distribution maps produced depend on the size of the plot (quadrat) used to collect biological data in the field. In this study, the presences of four plant species were recorded in five sizes of circular plots, with radii ranging from 8 to 100 m. Logistic regression-based models were used to predict the distributions of the four plant species based on empirical evidence of their relationship with eight environmental predictors: distance to river, slope, aspect, altitude, and four principle component axes derived using reflectance values from Aster images. We found that plot size affected the probability of recording the four species, with reductions in plot size generally increasing the frequency of recorded absences. Plot size also significantly affected the likelihood of correctly predicting the distribution of species whenever plot size was below the minimum size required to consistently record species’ presence. Furthermore, the optimal plot size for fitting species distribution models varied among species. Finally, plot size had little impact on overall accuracy, but a strong, positive impact on Kappa accuracy (which provides a stronger measure of model accuracy by accounting for the effects of chance agreements between predictions and observations). Our results suggest that optimal plot size must be considered explicitly in the creation of species distribution models if they are to be successfully adopted into conservation efforts.     

Landforms,sediments, soil development,and prehistoric site settings on the Madaba‐Dhiban Plateau,Jordan

This paper examines recurrent spatial patterns of prehistoric sites in relation to landforms, alluvial fills, and soil development in the uplands and valleys of the Madaba and Dhiban Plateaus of Jordan. Mousterian lithics (Middle Paleolithic) are largely found on high strath terraces plateaus, where they are associated with red Mediterranean soils. In valleys, Upper Paleolithic sites are often associated with reworked loess deposits of the Dalala allostratigraphic unit. Epipaleolithic occupations are found stratified in deposits of the Thamad Terrace, and Pre‐Pottery Neolithic and Pottery Neolithic occupations are associated with colluvium mantling the Thamad Terrace. The Tur al‐Abyad Terrace and the Iskanderite alluvial inset are the remnants of middle Holocene floodplains, which were attractive areas for Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements. Sometime around 4000 B.C., stream incision and further lateral erosion destroyed these floodplains. These historic terraces are underlain by alluvial deposits ranging in age from Roman to Early Islamic periods. The sequence of allostratigraphic units, paleosols, and terraces are the basis for reconstructing phases of fluvial aggradation and stream incision during the past 20,000 years. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.