The impact of over 100 years of wildfires on mercury levels and accumulation rates in two lakes in southern California,USA

In southern California, USA, wildfires may be an important source of mercury (Hg) to local watersheds. Hg levels and Hg accumulation rates were investigated in dated sediment cores from two southern California lakes, Big Bear Lake and Crystal Lake, located approximately 40-km apart. Between 1895 and 2006, fires were routinely minimized or suppressed around Big Bear Lake, while fires regularly subsumed the forest surrounding Crystal Lake. Mean Hg concentrations and mean Hg accumulation rates were significantly higher in Crystal Lake sediments compared to Big Bear Lake sediments (Hg levels: Crystal Lake 220 ± 93 ng g⁻¹, Big Bear Lake 92 ± 26 ng g⁻¹; Hg accumulation: Crystal Lake 790 ± 1,200 μg m⁻² year⁻¹, Big Bear 240 ± 54 μg m⁻² year⁻¹). In Crystal Lake, the ratio between post-1965 and pre-1865 Hg concentrations was 1.1, and several spikes in Hg levels occurred between 1910 and 1985. Given the remote location of the lake, the proximity of fires, and the lack of point sources within the region, these results suggested wildfires (rather than industrial sources) were a continuous source of Hg to Crystal Lake over the last 150 years.     

Binary Mixtures of Permanganate and Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds in Groundwater Samples: Sample Preservation and Analysis

Groundwater samples collected at sites where in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) has been deployed may contain binary mixtures of groundwater contaminants and permanganate (MnO₄^–), an oxidant injected into the subsurface to destroy the contaminant. Commingling of the oxidant and contaminant in aqueous samples may negatively impact the quality of the sample as well as the analytical instruments used to quantify contaminant concentrations. In this study, binary mixtures comprised of (1) a multicomponent standard with permanganate and (2) groundwater samples collected at two ISCO field sites were preserved with ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid reacts rapidly with the MnO₄^– and limits the reaction between MnO₄^– and the organic compounds in the mixture. Consequently, most of the compounds in the multicomponent standard were within the control limit for quality assurance. However, despite timely efforts to preserve the samples, the rapid reaction between permanganate and contaminant caused the concentration of several sensitive compounds to fall significantly below the lower control limit. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the field‐preserved binary mixture groundwater samples were greater than in samples refrigerated in the field and preserved upon arrival at the laboratory, indicating the time‐dependency and benefit of field preservation. The molar ratio of ascorbic acid required to neutralize KMnO₄ was 1.64 (mol ascorbic acid/mol KMnO₄); this provided a baseline to estimate the volume of ascorbic acid stock solution and/or the weight of crystalline ascorbic acid required to neutralize MnO₄^–. Excess ascorbic acid did not negatively impact the quality of the aqueous samples, or analytical instruments, used in the analyses.     

In‐situ gamma‐ray spectrometric study of weathered volcanic rocks in Hong Kong

In‐situ gamma‐ray spectrometry (GRS) measurements were conducted at 35 sites in Hong Kong where volcanic rocks with varying extent of weathering were exposed. Elemental analyses using X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry were carried out on samples collected from these 35 plus 22 other locations to assess the feasibility of using the GRS method to quantify the extent of weathering. The Parker weathering index, varying within a range of 0·0–0·8 for the samples studied, was used as a geochemically based reference scheme for correlating the gamma‐ray spectrometric results with the extent of weathering. For the former 35 sites, the concentrations of the three major radioelements, K, U and Th, determined by in‐situ GRS were compared to laboratory‐determined values from the samples. The study reveals that no significant change occurs to the contents of the three radioelements during the initial state of weathering. But once the rocks become highly weathered, further progression of weathering is accompanied by a systematic removal of K and an increased dispersion of U and Th. The results show that K content, which is indicative of the extent of weathering, can be retrieved reliably with the gamma‐ray spectrometry technique. The study has given support to the potential use of the downhole spectral gamma method for evaluation of weathering grade and the detection of subsurface clay‐rich levels. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The remarkable occurrence of large rainfall-induced debris flows at two different locations on July 12, 2008, Southern Sierra Nevada, CA, USA

On July 12, 2008, two convective cells about 155 km apart produced a brief period of intense rainfall triggering large debris flows in the southern Sierra Nevada. The northernmost cell was centered over Oak Creek Canyon, an east-flowing drainage, and its tributaries near Independence, CA, USA. About 5:00 p.m., debris flows passed down the South Fork and North Fork of Oak Creek to merge into a large single feature whose passage affected the historic Mt. Whitney Fish hatchery and blocked California State Highway 395. At about the same time, the southernmost cell was largely centered over Erskine Creek, a main tributary of the west-flowing Kern River. Debris flows issued from several branches to coalesce into a large debris flow that passed along Erskine Creek, through the town of Lake Isabella, CA, USA and into the Kern River. It was observed reaching Lake Isabella about 6:30 p.m. Both debris flows caused significant disruption and damage to local communities.     

A high resolution record of storm-induced erosion from lake sediments,New Zealand

The sustainable management of erodible pastoral hill country is a major focus of land use research in New Zealand. A multi-disciplinary study, using a high resolution lake sedimentation record, is being conducted to determine the role that cyclonic storms and natural and human-induced vegetation changes play in the erosion history of a landslide-prone hill country watershed.Sediment cores from Lakes Tutira and Waikopiro in northern Hawke's Bay were analysed to construct the magnitude-frequency history of storm-induced erosion since European settlement. Pulses of sediment representing individual storms can be clearly identified and are correlated to a storm history derived from analysis of a 93 year daily rainfall record. Correlation and dating are confirmed by pollen and diatom analysis,¹³⁷Cs distribution, tephrochronology and reference to a well documented land use history. Annually laminated, organic rich deposits, which occur in the uppermost sediments and represent the annual decomposition of biogenic material associated with eutrophication, are also used to confirm the chronology.A high correlation was found between storm sediment thickness and total storm rainfall (R²=0.8). Although sediment producing storms (>150 mm) occur on a near annual basis, the two largest storms (>600 mm) contributed 54% of the total sediment thickness.The presence of well defined storm sediment pulses has enabled the lake storage component of a sediment budget to be calculated for Cyclone Bola (1988), the most recent and largest rainstorm on record. The integration of this budget with the storm-magnitude-frequency history will be used to develop watershed-based models to predict the impacts of land use changes and the erosion response to climate scenarios.This is the third paper in a series of papers published in this issue on high-resolution paleolimnology. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnological Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. F. Lotter and Dr. M. Sturm served as guest editors for these papers.     

Using fire regimes to delineate zones in a high-resolution lake sediment record from the western United States

Paleoenvironmental reconstructions are important for understanding the influence of long-term climate variability on ecosystems and landscape disturbance dynamics. In this paper we explore the linkages among past climate, vegetation, and fire regimes using a high-resolution pollen and charcoal reconstruction from Morris Pond located on the Markagunt Plateau in southwestern Utah, USA. A regime shift detection algorithm was applied to background charcoal accumulation to define where statistically significant shifts in fire regimes occurred. The early Holocene was characterized by greater amounts of summer precipitation and less winter precipitation than modern. Ample forest fuel and warm summer temperatures allowed for large fires to occur. The middle Holocene was a transitional period between vegetation conditions and fire disturbance. The late Holocene climate is characterized as cool and wet reflecting an increase in snow cover, which reduced opportunities for fire despite increased availability of fuels. Similarities between modern forest fuel availability and those of the early Holocene suggest that warmer summers projected for the 21st century may yield substantial increases in the recurrence and ecological impacts of fire when compared to the fire regime of the last millennium.     

Regionalizing mean annual flow and daily flow variability for basin‐scale sediment and nutrient modelling

River discharges vary strongly through time and space, and quantifying this variability is fundamental to understanding and modelling river processes. The river basin is increasingly being used as the unit for natural resource planning and management; to facilitate this, basin‐scale models of material supply and transport are being developed. For many basin‐scale planning activities, detailed rainfall‐runoff modelling is neither necessary nor tractable, and models that capture spatial patterns of material supply and transport averaged over decades are sufficient. Nevertheless, the data to describe the spatial variability of river discharge across large basins for use in such models are often limited, and hence models to predict river discharge at the basin scale are required. We describe models for predicting mean annual flow and a non‐dimensional measure of daily flow variability for every river reach within a drainage network. The models use sparse river gauging data, modelled grid surfaces of mean annual rainfall and mean annual potential evapotranspiration, and a network accumulation algorithm. We demonstrate the parameterization and application of the models using data for the Murrumbidgee basin, in southeast Australia, and describe the use of these predictions in modelling sediment transport through the river network. The regionalizations described contain less uncertainty, and are more sensitive to observed spatial variations in runoff, than regionalizations based on catchment area and rainfall alone. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.