Techniques to measure grain-size distributions of loamy sediments: a comparative study of ten instruments for wet analysis

Ten instruments for measuring the grain‐size distribution of loamy sediments in water were tested in a comparative study. Instruments tested were: the Malvern Mastersizer S, the Coulter LS 200, the Fritsch Analysette 22 (version C), the Horiba Partica LA‐950, the Sedigraph 5100, the Atterberg cylinder, the Coulter Multisizer 3, the CIS‐100, the EyeTech and the image analysis software Histolab. The first four instruments use laser diffraction. The Sedigraph and Atterberg cylinder are based on sedimentation. The Coulter Multisizer 3 uses impedance measurements and the last three instruments use optical techniques. Grain‐size analyses were carried out on four sediments with median grain diameters of approximately 35, 30, 12 and 9 μm, respectively, and with no particles >90 μm. The laser diffraction instruments produced the best results for the various criteria considered in this study, followed by the Coulter Multisizer 3 (electrical sensing zone technique), the sedimentation techniques and the optical methods. However, the study also showed that there is no such thing as an ‘ideal’ method because techniques may score differently according to the criterion tested. An appropriate evaluation thus requires that various criteria be considered. Issues to be taken into account are: type of sediment, quantity of sediment available, speed of measurement, complexity of the measurement protocol, processing of the data, reproducibility of the results and the specific aims of the study undertaken.     

Field experiments of aeolian dust accumulation on rock fragment substrata

The effect of rock fragments and rock fragment cover on the accumulation of airborne dust was examined in a long-term field experiment in the Negev desert of Israel. Four parameters were studied: pebble eccentricity, pebble size, pebble flattening and cover density. The effect of these parameters on the accumulation of dust on the pebbles, on the accumulation of dust between and underneath the pebbles, and on total dust accumulation (pebbles+interpebble space) was measured separately. Accumulation on the pebbles increased as the pebbles became larger, less flattened and more elongated, and as cover density increased. Accumulation between and underneath the pebbles increased as the pebbles became smaller, more flattened and more elongated, and as cover density increased (although the accumulation area available became smaller). Total dust accumulation increased as the pebbles became smaller, more flattened and more elongated, and as cover density increased. Rock fragments act as a dust trap as dust accumulation on pebble-covered surfaces is several tens of times larger than dust accumulation on similar but pebble-free surfaces. However, less than 20% of the initially settled dust is protected from further erosion. In the Negev desert, dust erosion by wind is of the order of 10 times larger than dust erosion by water. The rate of long-term dust accumulation in the Negev is of the order of 15–30 g.m^?2.yr^?1. This is considerably lower than the rates proposed elsewhere in the literature, which are based upon over optimistic dust retainment percentages.     

Interference phenomena between particle flattening and particle rounding in free vertical sedimentation processes

In this paper interference phenomena between particle flattening and particle rounding during the free vertical sedimentation of natural particles are investigated. Particle flattening is measured by the Corey Shape Factor (CSF), particle rounding by the Powers Index (P). Using Dietrich's equation, the effect of the flattening and the effect of the rounding on the terminal fall velocity of the particle can be studied separately. This is done by examining the influence of particle flattening and particle rounding on the Particle Sedimentation Coefficient (PSC), which is the ratio of the nominal diameter D_n of the particle to the equivalent sedimentation diameter D_b. It appears that particle flattening and particle rounding are interdependent so that interference phenomena occur. In the case of positive interference, the combined effect of flattening and rounding on the PSC is larger than the sum of the effects of both parameters separately. If, on the other hand, the combined effect is smaller than the sum of the single effects, negative interference occurs. For fine-grained particles, the more the shape of a particle differs from a sphere in one variable (flattening or rounding), the higher will be the influence of the other variable on the free vertical fall. For coarse-grained particles, the inverse occurs. For very fine-grained particles (D_n < 200 μm (air) or < 370 μm (water)) the influence of particle rounding on free vertical settling is negligibly small. For coarser grained particles, flattening is the most important parameter if the grains are strongly flattened. If not, rounding will be the governing parameter.     

Foraging economics and performance of polar and subpolar Atlantic seabirds

Seabirds of high latitudes in the North and South Atlantic (chiefly penguins, Procellariformes, alcids, shags, Gannet and Kittiwake) are compared (on absolute and energy-, mass- and time-specific scaled bases) in terms of the rate at which they supply energy to their offspring, the rate of offspring growth, and the duration of the dependence (fledging) period. For a smaller suite of species, time and energy budgets during complete foraging cycles (including time ashore) and while at sea are compared. The broad-scale comparisons show storm petrels to have consistently low provisioning and growth rates, and Kittiwakes, Gannets, shags and some penguins to have consistently high rates. Penguins (except the Gentoo Penguin) and albatrosses spend most of a foraging cycle at sea; murres, shags, gannet and kittiwake spend at least half the time ashore, guarding their offspring. Energy budgets are much more similar, because of the disproportionate cost of at-sea activities, although the time spent flying, swimming, resting, and diving varies widely between species and is often difficult to interpret in terms of active foraging. Other apparent anomalies include the large amount of time Common Murres spend resting at sea and the high resting and low flight metabolic rates of kittiwakes and gannets. Assessments of foraging performance need to be more broadly based than hitherto and to take account of both physical constraints and ecological contexts. Further development of these approaches, especially critical interspecies comparisons, requires better discrimination of activities at sea, measurement of activity-specific energy costs and more accurate data on provisioning rates to offspring, particularly of North Atlantic species, notably Gannets and shags.     

Quantification of the dry aeolian deposition of dust on horizontal surfaces: an experimental comparison of theory and measurements

Eight techniques to quantify the deposition of aeolian dust on horizontal surfaces were tested in a wind tunnel. The tests included three theoretical techniques and five measurement techniques. The theoretical techniques investigated were: the gradient technique, the inferential technique without grain-shape correction, and the inferential technique corrected for grain shape. The measuring techniques included the following surrogate surfaces: a water surface, a glass surface, a metal surface, a vertical array of metal plates, and an inverted frisbee filled with glass marbles. The efficiency of the techniques was investigated for the sediment as a whole (all grain sizes together) as well as for a large number of grain sizes extending from 1 to 104 μm. The surrogate surfaces showed more or less comparable catch efficiencies, although the water surface nearly always caught the highest quantities of dust and the marble-filled frisbee and the vertical array of metal plates the lowest quantities of dust. The dust fluxes calculated by theoretical methods were markedly different from those obtained by direct measurements. The fluxes calculated by the inferential technique approximated those of the direct measurements only for grain sizes between 30 and 40 μm. For smaller and coarser grains, deviations from the measured fluxes were high. The gradient method, in its turn, provided extremely low calculated fluxes for grains in all size classes investigated. The latter technique was not considered very reliable for the dust used in the tests.     

Ichnology and sedimentology of the Triassic carbonates of North‐west Sardinia,Italy

The classical Middle to Upper Triassic carbonate sections at Monte Santa Giusta and Punta del Lavatoio, North‐west Sardinia (Italy), referred to the Muschelkalk and Keuper lithofacies group, are revisited and their trace fossil content is investigated for the first time. A combined ichnological and sedimentological study reveals insights into the depositional environments, regional context, palaeogeography and sequence stratigraphy. The results indicate deposition on a homoclinal carbonate ramp with broad facies belts. All recognized trace fossils are also known from time‐equivalent deposits of Germany and thus indicate a close affinity between the North‐west Sardinian Triassic and the Germanic Basin. Only a few trace fossils are particularly abundant and these indicate opportunistic colonization by their producers, which is probably related to restricted endobenthic conditions due to reduced oxygen and/or increased salinity. The trace fossil association can be grouped into a softground suite belonging to the Cruziana ichnofacies, and a firmground suite of the Glossifungites ichnofacies. This discrimination enables an interpretation of the northern Monte Santa Giusta section as a carbonate ramp with extensive tidal flats and abundant carbonate accumulation in a relatively proximal position, whereas the southern Punta del Lavatoio section exhibits broad lagoonal environments with reduced sedimentation in a deeper and more Tethys‐influenced area. The Sardinian sections are ichnologically similar to the Anisian–Ladinian succession known from the Tatra Mountains, but differ from it by having a slightly higher ichnodiversity, which again can be attributed to a less restricted lagoonal environment. This study demonstrates the importance of integrating trace fossil analysis in sedimentological and palaeontological investigations of carbonate systems.     

RESEARCH FACILITIES IN AEOLIAN GEOSCIENCES: AN INVENTORY

The results are presented of an inquiry set up to make an inventory of the technical facilities currently (1995) available in aeolian geosciences. A questionnaire was sent to 358 research units involved in aeolian georesearch. Seventy-two units responded. Although this is only 20 per cent, the major aeolian units did respond. The inquiry consists of five parts. Part one sought general information about the research units. Part two investigated the importance of aeolian research in the total research activity of each unit, and the way the research is carried out. Part three focused on the laboratory equipment, and part four on the field equipment. Part five lists the research topics and major fields of interest.     

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENTS OF AEOLIAN DUST DEPOSITION ALONG RANGES OF HILLS

Wind tunnel experiments of aeolian dust deposition on topographic scale models of ranges of hills were conducted. Different hill sizes and hill spacings were used, and comparisons with the deposition patterns over single, isolated hills were made. Dust profiles over ranges of hills differ from the profiles over identical, but isolated hills. On isolated hills the sedimentation maximum on the windward hillslope is always single and located on the concave part of the slope. In the case of ranges of hills, the maximum is either single or double, with the second peak on the convex part of the windward slope in the latter case. The local sedimentation maximum on the convex leeslope, which is rather unimportant on isolated hills, is much more developed in multiple-hill topography. Also, dust deposition on the leeslopes is significantly higher in multiple-hill topography than on isolated hills. Dust patterns on ranges of hills may be affected by the dust shadow created by the most upstream-located hill. If hills succeed each other quickly, they are located within the shadow zone and are protected from important dust deposition. The plume of high air dust concentration that is created by a hill largely determines the dust pattern on the next hill. As a result of the supply of dust from above by the descending plume, areas that are normally devoid of dust now experience significant dust deposition.     

AN EVALUATION OF FRACTAL DIMENSIONS TO QUANTIFY CHANGES IN THE MORPHOLOGY OF FLUVIAL SUSPENDED SEDIMENT PARTICLES DURING BASEFLOW CONDITIONS

The morphology of suspended sediment particles reflects the origin of the suspended load and any modifying processes that may have occurred during transport and storage in the aquatic system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of four fractal dimensions to quantify visually observed changes in the morphology of fluvial suspended sediment particles during baseflow conditions. Samples were collected during summer low flow in a small stream on the Canadian Prairies. Particle morphology data were obtained with a transmitted light microscope, a CCD camera and an image analysis system. The morphology of the particle population was characterized using four fractal dimensions (D, D_K, D₁ and D₂). D was derived from the area–perimeter relationship and showed an increase from 1·26±0·02 on 30 June, to 1·34±0·02 on 4 July, to 1·42±0·01 on 7 July. Visually, the increase in D represented the formation of large particles with intricate shapes and increased perimeters. D_K was determined from the area–rank relationship and varied from 1·86±0·01 on 30 June, to 1·90±0·00 on 4 July, to 1·74±0·00 on 7 July. The decrease in D_K between 4 July and 7 July would indicate a greater concentration of the particle area over a small number of large particles. Although the decrease in D_K is consistent with observed changes in the particle size distributions, D_K should be used with the considerable caution because D_K varied more than one standard error between replicates. D₁ and D₂ were determined from the length–perimeter and length–area relationships, respectively. D₁ proved to be of little value for quantifying changes in particle morphology as it showed little change with time, despite considerable visual changes. D₂ however, was useful, despite some variation between replicates. Over the sampling period, D₂ for the composite data sets showed a steady decrease from 1·74±0·02 on 30 June, to 1·68±0·02 on 4 July, to 1·60±0·01 on 7 July. This change in D₂ indicates that, through time, the larger particles became longer and thinner relative to the smaller ones. This study shows that temporal changes in D, D_K and D₂ were consistent with, and allow quantification of, observed changes in particle morphology. D₁ did not reflect observed morphological changes, and is therefore of little value for this type of study. The changes in particle morphology coincided with an increase in primary production in the form of algae. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.