Sonar acoustic facies and sediment distribution on an area of the deep ocean floor

Long-range sidescan sonar can be used to map sediment distributions over wide expanses of deep ocean floor. Seven acoustic facies that arise from differing sediment or rock types have been mapped over the low-relief Saharan continental rise and Madeira abyssal plain. These have been calibrated with sampling, profiling and camera studies and the facies can be traced confidently on a regional scale using the sidescan data. The mapping of the sediment distribution shows that a complex interplay of turbidity current and debris flow processes can occur at a continental rise/abysaal plain transition over 1000 km from the nearest continental slope.     

Sea level and diagenesis: a case study on Pleistocene beaches,Whalebone Bay,Bermuda

Pleistocene fluctuations of sea level have left marine and aeolian limestones intercalated with glacial red soils on the Bermuda Carbonate Platform (Atlantic, 64°50W, 32°20N). Successive eustatic highstands of similar amplitude drowned the tectonically stable platform and piled up similar sets of sediments. Up to three Pleistocene beaches are stacked in shorelines sections. Post-depositional diagenetic histories of these beaches can be linked to repeated changes in sea level and pore waters.This paper presents field evidence and petrographic results (microscope, X-ray, cathodoluminescence, SEMEDAX) for the diagenetic histories of two superimposed Pleistocene beaches in Whalebone Bay, Bermuda North Shore. The younger beach was deposited during isotopic stage 5e, about 120 ka ago. The age of the older beach may be isotopic stage 9 or older.Diagenesis drastically altered the older beach before the stage 5e transgression. Primary high-Mg calcite (HMC) and aragonite were no longer present. Marine skeletal grains were instead leached or recrystallized to low-Mg calcite (LMC). Primary and secondary pore space were largely reduced by LMC cement. Lines of needle relics reminiscent of marine aragonite cement occur as inclusions within syntaxial rim cements around echinoderm grains, indicating that a marine influence had at least once interrupted this period of freshwater alteration. Finally, before the rocks became buried by the sediments of the younger beach, a crust of marine, bladed HMC cement was precipitated throughout the pore space.The younger beach consists of skeletal grains that are, apart from the effects of non-selective dissolution, essentially unaltered. The sediments are only weakly lithified by cryptocrystalline LMC showing an alveolar texture, tangential fibres and other features characteristic of calichification. A younger post-depositional marine influence is not recorded.These results suggest that, under favourable conditions, diagenetic processes can document sea-level fluctuations. The recorded fluctuations, however, are difficult to assess because even major sea-level highstands may not produce a diagenetic imprint. Correspondence to: R. Vollbrecht     

Évolution de l'onde semi-diurne M2 de la marée à Brest de 1846 à 2005

The work of searching, recovering and quality control of ancient sea-level measurements at Brest is presented. This work enables us to complete a study carried out by Cartwright in 1972, which showed a decrease in the tidal M2 semi-diurnal amplitude of 1% per century. After including these ancient data, as well as the last four decades of observations in the analysis, our results show an increase of the amplitude of M2 after 1960 and a decrease before 1880, suggesting a long-period oscillation rather than a steady secular trend. To cite this article: N. Pouvreau et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

New typologies for estuarine morphology

New theories to explain how tides and river flow determine estuarine bathymetries have been developed. The range of validity of these theories has been subsequently assessed against a recently available observational data set.Success in reproducing the evolution of estuarine bathymetries that has occurred over the last 10 000 years provides the basis for the translation, here, of these theories into new typologies. These then provide reference frameworks to enhance our perspective on existing morphologies and identify ‘anomalous’ estuaries. Further refinement of these new theories requires analyses of causal factors responsible for such anomalies drawing on classical morphological experience. These frameworks can also be used for calculating likely future bathymetric adjustments for prescribed changes in mean sea level, tidal amplitudes, river flow and sediment supply.     

川西北早志留世陆源碎屑──碳酸盐混积缓坡

研究区位于扬子地块西北缘，由一套巨厚的页岩、泥岩层夹生物礁及透镜状和不规则层状风暴生屑灰岩、瘤状灰岩组成。根据区内特征的岩石类型及其组合、分布和相应的化石生态，作者认为本区兰多维列期至早温洛克期时为一典型的陆源碎屑－－碳酸盐混积均斜缓坡，并且从浅到深划分为滨岸、浅缓坡、深缓坡及盆地等亚环境。滨岸区位于潮间带，以潮坪碳酸盐岩为代表；浅缓坡位于浪基面至风暴浪基面之间，岩性组合为Ａ、Ｂ类风暴岩，Ａ、Ｂ类瘤状灰岩、生物礁灰岩及粘结岩；深缓坡位于风暴浪基面至最大风暴浪基面之间，岩性以Ｄ、Ｅ类风暴岩、Ｃ类瘤状灰岩及泥页岩组合为特征；盆地处于最大风暴浪基面之下，为黑色泥页岩沉积。结合早志留世时全球冰川作用，文中讨论了海平面变化的原因及对环境的影响。     

利用地质成果优化3010皮带上山设计

3010皮带上 山 建成 后将 担 负着 范各 庄 矿三 水平 、四 水平 的 煤炭 运输 任 务,服务 年 限要 求 至 少 30a。 此 皮 带上山 位于 岩 溶陷 落柱 较 发育 的井 口 区域 ,范 各庄 矿 发现 的 12个 陷落 柱 全部 位于 此 区域 。由 于 陷落 柱直 接 导通 下部 奥 灰水 ,一 旦揭 露 将有 淹没 整 个矿 井的 危 险。为 保 证矿 井安 全 ,在 工程 施工 前 ,利用 地 质手 段对 设 计区 域进 行 了探 查,发现皮 带上 山 的中 上部 发 育有 岩溶 陷 落柱 ,两 次对 设 计进 行了 修 改,为 施 工提 供了 安 全保 障。     

Estimating Sea-Level Allowances for Atlantic Canada using the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC

Abstract

Sea-level allowances at 22 tide-gauge sites along the east coast of Canada are determined based on projections of regional sea-level rise for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) and on the statistics of historical tides and storm surges (storm tides). The allowances, which may be used for coastal infrastructure planning, increase with time during the twenty-first century through a combination of mean sea-level rise and the increased uncertainty of future projections with time. The allowances show significant spatial variation, mainly a consequence of strong regionally varying relative sea-level change as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). A methodology is described for replacement of the GIA component of the AR5 projection with global positioning system (GPS) measurements of vertical crustal motion; this significantly decreases allowances in regions where the uncertainty of the GIA models is large. For RCP8.5 with GPS data incorporated and for the 1995–2100 period, the sea-level allowances range from about 0.5?m along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to more than 1?m along the coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland.     

单个粘土体裂缝中水流规律的研究

通过模型实验,研究粘土体裂缝中的水流规律,提出了临界水位上升速度的概念。水位上升速度大于临界值时,裂缝中水流量增加,反之则减少。裂缝水流量与水位不呈正比关系。指出粘土裂缝中最大水流量要比相同条件下基岩裂缝水流量小30—40倍。随着水流运动的延续,水流量将逐渐变小。在水流作用下,粘土裂缝宽度将变窄3.0—4.0cm,裂缝深度也大幅度变浅到裂缝水深的50％以上。     

Exploring the sensitivity of coastal inundation modelling to DEM vertical error

As sea level is projected to rise throughout the twenty-first century due to climate change, there is a need to ensure that sea level rise (SLR) models accurately and defensibly represent future flood inundation levels to allow for effective coastal zone management. Digital elevation models (DEMs) are integral to SLR modelling, but are subject to error, including in their vertical resolution. Error in DEMs leads to uncertainty in the output of SLR inundation models, which if not considered, may result in poor coastal management decisions. However, DEM error is not usually described in detail by DEM suppliers; commonly only the RMSE is reported. This research explores the impact of stated vertical error in delineating zones of inundation in two locations along the Devon, United Kingdom, coastline (Exe and Otter Estuaries). We explore the consequences of needing to make assumptions about the distribution of error in the absence of detailed error data using a 1 m, publically available composite DEM with a maximum RMSE of 0.15 m, typical of recent LiDAR-derived DEMs. We compare uncertainty using two methods (i) the NOAA inundation uncertainty mapping method which assumes a normal distribution of error and (ii) a hydrologically correct bathtub method where the DEM is uniformly perturbed between the upper and lower bounds of a 95% linear error in 500 Monte Carlo Simulations (HBM+MCS). The NOAA method produced a broader zone of uncertainty (an increase of 134.9% on the HBM+MCS method), which is particularly evident in the flatter topography of the upper estuaries. The HBM+MCS method generates a narrower band of uncertainty for these flatter areas, but very similar extents where shorelines are steeper. The differences in inundation extents produced by the methods relate to a number of underpinning assumptions, and particularly, how the stated RMSE is interpreted and used to represent error in a practical sense. Unlike the NOAA method, the HBM+MCS model is computationally intensive, depending on the areas under consideration and the number of iterations. We therefore used the HBM+ MCS method to derive a regression relationship between elevation and inundation probability for the Exe Estuary. We then apply this to the adjacent Otter Estuary and show that it can defensibly reproduce zones of inundation uncertainty, avoiding the computationally intensive step of the HBM+MCS. The equation-derived zone of uncertainty was 112.1% larger than the HBM+MCS method, compared to the NOAA method which produced an uncertain area 423.9% larger. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages and requires value judgements to be made. Their use underscores the need for transparency in assumptions and communications of outputs. We urge DEM publishers to move beyond provision of a generalised RMSE and provide more detailed estimates of spatial error and complete metadata, including locations of ground control points and associated land cover.     

考虑海平面上升影响的极值水位计算

本研究基于非平稳序列极值理论,定量分析极端水位事件年超越概率受海平面上升的影响;以工程设计使用年限内极端水位发生概率作为控制条件,构建考虑海平面上升的极值水位计算方法;结合平均海平面的长期变化过程,推算海平面上升下的极值水位。基于全球10个验潮站历史水位观测资料,验证历史平均海平面长期变化与高、低水位耿贝尔分布位置参数变化的一致性以及构建方法的合理性。结合政府间气候变化专门委员会对海平面上升的预测,推算和对比分析不同海平面上升情景下的极值水位,并评估相应极值水位在当前极值分布中的重现期。