The hydrochemistry of a semi-arid pan basin case study: Sua Pan,Makgadikgadi, Botswana

This study presents results on the fluid and salt chemistry for the Makgadikgadi, a substantial continental basin in the semi-arid Kalahari. The aims of the study are to improve understanding of the hydrology of such a system and to identify the sources of the solutes and the controls on their cycling within pans. Sampling took place against the backdrop of unusually severe flooding as well as significant anthropogenic extraction of subsurface brines. This paper examines in particular the relationship between the chemistry of soil leachates, fresh stream water, salty lake water, surface salts and subsurface brines at Sua Pan, Botswana with the aim of improving the understanding of the system’s hydrology. Occasionally during the short wet season (December–March) surface water enters the saline environment and precipitates mostly calcite and halite, as well as dolomite and traces of other salts associated with the desiccation of the lake. The hypersaline subsurface brine (up to TDS 190,000 mg/L) is homogenous with minor variations due to pumping by BotAsh mine (Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd.), which extracts 2400 m³ of brine/h from a depth of 38 m. Notable is the decrease in TDS as the pumping rate increases which may be indicative of subsurface recharge by less saline water. Isotope chemistry for Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr average 0.722087) and S (δ³⁴S average 34.35) suggests subsurface brines have been subject to a lithological contribution of undetermined origin. Recharge of the subsurface brine from surface water including the Nata River appears to be negligible.     

Late Holocene climates of the Near East deduced from Dead Sea level variations and modern regional winter rainfall

The Dead Sea is a terminal lake of one of the largest hydrological systems in the Levant and may thus be viewed as a large rain gauge for the region. Variations of its level are indicative of the climate variations in the region. Here, we present the decadal- to centennial-resolution Holocene lake-level curve of the Dead Sea. Then we determine the regional hydroclimatology that affected level variations. To achieve this goal we compare modern natural lake-level variations and instrumental rainfall records and quantify the hydrology relative to lake-level rise, fall, or stability. To quantify that relationship under natural conditions, rainfall data pre-dating the artificial Dead Sea level drop since the 1960s are used. In this respect, Jerusalem station offers the longest uninterrupted pre-1960s rainfall record and Jerusalem rains serve as an adequate proxy for the Dead Sea headwaters rainfall. Principal component analysis indicates that temporal variations of annual precipitation in all stations in Israel north of the current 200 mm yr⁻¹ average isohyet during 1940–1990 are largely synchronous and in phase (70% of the total variance explained by PC1). This station also represents well northern Jordan and the area all the way to Beirut, Lebanon, especially during extreme drought and wet spells. We (a) determine the modern, and propose the past regional hydrology and Eastern Mediterranean (EM) climatology that affected the severity and length of droughts/wet spells associated with multiyear episodes of Dead Sea level falls/rises and (b) determine that EM cyclone tracks were different in average number and latitude in wet and dry years in Jerusalem. The mean composite sea level pressure and 500-mb height anomalies indicate that the potential causes for wet and dry episodes span the entire EM and are rooted in the larger-scale northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation. We also identified remarkably close association (within radiocarbon resolution) between climatic changes in the Levant, reflected by level changes, and culture shifts in this region.     

Conservation tillage and input use

 There continues to be a question as to the overall effectiveness of conservation tillage practices in reducing the impact of agricultural production on the environment. While it is generally recognized that water runoff and soil erosion will decline further, as tillage and mulch tillage systems are not used more extensively on cropland, what will happen to pesticide and fertilizer use remains uncertain. To gain some insight into this, the conservation tillage adoption decision is modelled. On the assumption that the decision to adopt conservation tillage is a two-step procedure, the first decision is whether or not to adopt a conservation tillage production system and the second concerns the extent to which conservation tillage should be used – appropriate models of the Cragg and Heckman (dominance) type are estimated. Based on farm-level data on corn production in the United States for 1987, the profile of a farm on which conservation tillage was adopted is that the cropland had above-average slope and experienced above-average rainfall, the farm was a cash grain enterprise, and it had an above-average expenditure on pesticides and a below-average expenditure on fuel and custom pesticide applications. Additionally, for a farm adopting a no-tillage production practice, an above-average expenditure was made on fertilizer. Received: 18 September 1995 · Accepted: 6 December 1995     

The “geo” of United States national strategy

The paper discusses the geo dimensions of the new world order, with particular emphasis on the increasing role of geoeconomics, and its impact on US national strategy. While the paper uses the US experience to illustrate the growing importance of geoeconomic considerations, the issues raised have direct bearing on many other nations throughout the world.US post Cold War strategy is determined by its three geo challenges. The most important is the geoeconomic challenge caused by the tri-polar division of the world along trading bloc lines, instant global communication and other technologies overcoming the constraints of physical geography, transnational corporations (TNCS) that are becoming supranational in character, and the emergence of a well educated global labor force. The geopolitical challenge is characterized by America's declining relative economic power and its traditional military allies having become economic competitors, while religious, ethnic, and regional tensions threaten its global interests. The third challenge is the military geography issue of effectively projecting power over distance, within the constraints of greatly reduced budgets and loss of overseas bases.     

Electron depletion in the wake of ionospheric spacecraft—A comparison between results from Langmuir probes and antennas

In situ observations of the electron depletion in the wakes of satellites and rockets in the ionosphere using Langmuir type probes and antennas are analyzed and compared. The quantitative degree of agreement between the results is demonstrated and discussed. One consequence is an improved interpretation of results previously presented for the OGO II Satellite wake.     

The impact of the nitrogen carryover effect on economic activity and the environment

 The economic and environmental consequences of soil nitrogen tests can have significant impacts on agricultural production. Some of these are explored here. The pre-side-dress soil N-test is evaluated for a hypothetical farmer growing corn at the ARS Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Farm site in southern Maryland. For a farmer not currently using a soil N-test, adoption of this technology can lead to the enhancement of net farm income and the reduction in nitrogen loss to the environment. This will transpire only if the farmer is currently underestimating nitrogen carryover by more than 25% or applying nitrogen fertilizer based solely on an expected plateau-yield goal. Received: 13 February 1997 · Accepted: 13 May 1997     

Identification of Milankovitch Cycles and Calculation of Net Primary Productivity of Paleo-peatlands using Geophysical Logs of Coal Seams

Individual coal seams formed in paleo-peatlands represent sustained periods of terrestrial carbon accumulation and a key environmental indicator attributed to this record is the rate of carbon accumulation. Determining the rate of carbon accumulation requires a measure of time contained within the coal. This study aimed to determine this rate via the identification of Milankovitch orbital cycles in the coals. The geophysical log is an ideal paleoclimate proxy and has been widely used in the study of sedimentary records using spectral analysis. Spectral analyses of geophysical log from thick coal seams can be used to identify the Milankovitch cycles and to calculate the period of the coal deposition. By considering the carbon loss during coalification, the long-term average carbon accumulation rate and net primary productivity (NPP) of paleo-peatlands in coal seams can be obtained. This review paper presents the procedures of analysis, assessment of results and interpretation of geophysical logs in determining the NPP of paleo-peatlands.     

Comparison of theory and in situ observations for electron and ion distributions in the near wake of the explorer 31 and AE-C satellites

Measurements of electron density, plasma potential, and mean ion mass from the Explorer 31 satellite and measurements of ion current, plasma potential, and ion composition from the Atmosphere Explorer C (AE-C) satellite were used in a comparative study with theory regarding the charged particle distribution in the near wake of an ionospheric satellite. The theoretical wake model of Parker (1976) has been used in the study. It is shown that theory and experiment agree fairly well in the angle-of-attack range between 90 and 135°. In that angular range even the neutral approximation (which treats ions as if they were neutral particles thus ignoring the influence of the electric field) gives fair agreement with the measurements. In the maximum rarefaction zone (145 < θ < 180°), however, the theoretical model overestimates the measured ion depletion (AE-C measurements) by several orders of magnitude. A similar conclusion is drawn from the comparison between theory and the Explorer 31 electron measurements where the theory also significantly overestimates the electron depletion. The study indicates that the discrepancies are mainly due to the use of a steady-state theory and of a single ion equation (using a mean ion mass). It is recommended that improved agreement between theory and experiment be obtained by the use of the timedependent Vlasov-Poisson equations with separate equations for the various ion species.     

The origin and mechanisms of salinization of the lower Jordan river

The chemical and isotopic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹¹B, δ³⁴S_sulfate, δ¹⁸O_water, δ¹⁵N_nitrate) compositions of water from the Lower Jordan River and its major tributaries between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea were determined in order to reveal the origin of the salinity of the Jordan River. We identified three separate hydrological zones along the flow of the river:

(1)

A northern section (20 km downstream of its source) where the base flow composed of diverted saline and wastewaters is modified due to discharge of shallow sulfate-rich groundwater, characterized by low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7072), δ³⁴S_sulfate (−2‰), high δ¹¹B (∼36‰), δ¹⁵N_nitrate (∼15‰) and high δ¹⁸O_water (−2 to-3‰) values. The shallow groundwater is derived from agricultural drainage water mixed with natural saline groundwater and discharges to both the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers. The contribution of the groundwater component in the Jordan River flow, deduced from mixing relationships of solutes and strontium isotopes, varies from 20 to 50% of the total flow.

(2)

A central zone (20-50 km downstream from its source) where salt variations are minimal and the rise of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and SO₄/Cl ratios reflects predominance of eastern surface water flows.

(3)

A southern section (50-100 km downstream of its source) where the total dissolved solids of the Jordan River increase, particularly during the spring (70-80 km) and summer (80-100 km) to values as high as 11.1 g/L. Variations in the chemical and isotopic compositions of river water along the southern section suggest that the Zarqa River (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.70865; δ¹¹B∼25‰) has a negligible affect on the Jordan River. Instead, the river quality is influenced primarily by groundwater discharge composed of sulfate-rich saline groundwater (Cl^-=31-180 mM; SO₄/Cl∼0.2-0.5; Br/Cl∼2-3×10^-3; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.70805; δ¹¹B∼30‰; δ¹⁵N_nitrate ∼17‰, δ³⁴S_sulfate=4-10‰), and Ca-chloride Rift valley brines (Cl^-=846-1500 mM; Br/Cl∼6-8×10^-3; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.7080; δ¹¹B>40‰; δ³⁴S_sulfate=4-10‰). Mixing calculations indicate that the groundwater discharged to the river is composed of varying proportions of brines and sulfate-rich saline groundwater. Solute mass balance calculations point to a ∼10% contribution of saline groundwater (Cl⁻=282 to 564 mM) to the river. A high nitrate level (up to 2.5 mM) in the groundwater suggests that drainage of wastewater derived irrigation water is an important source for the groundwater. This irrigation water appears to leach Pleistocene sediments of the Jordan Valley resulting in elevated sulfate contents and altered strontium and boron isotopic compositions of the groundwater that in turn impacts the water quality of the lower Jordan River.