Drastic shift in lava geochemistry in the volcanic-front to rear-arc region of the Southern Kamchatkan subduction zone: Evidence for the transition from slab surface dehydration to sediment melting

The shift of lava geochemistry between volcanic front to rear-arc volcanoes in active subduction zones is a widespread phenomenon. It is somehow linked to an increase of the slab surface depth of the subducting oceanic lithosphere and increasing thickness of the mantle wedge and new constraints for its causes may improve our understanding of magma generation and element recycling in subduction zones in general. As a case study, this paper focuses on the geochemical composition of lavas from two adjacent volcanic centres from the volcanic front (VF) to rear-arc (RA) transition of the Southern Kamchatkan subduction zone, with the aim to examine whether the shift in lava geochemistry is associated with processes in the mantle wedge or in the subducted oceanic lithosphere or both. The trace element and O-Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb (double-spike)-isotopic composition of the mafic Mutnovsky (VF) and Gorely (RA) lavas in conjunction with geochemical modelling provides constraints for the degree of partial melting in the mantle wedge and the nature of their slab components. Degrees of partial melting are inferred to be significantly higher beneath Mutnovsky (∼18%) than Gorely (∼10%). The Mutnovsky (VF) slab component is dominated by hydrous fluids, derived from subducted sediments and altered oceanic crust, eventually containing minor but variable amounts of sediment melts. The composition of the Gorely slab component strongly points to a hydrous silicate melt, most likely mainly stemming from subducted sediments, although additional fluid-contribution from the underlying altered oceanic crust (AOC) is likely. Moreover, the Hf-Nd-isotope data combined with geochemical modelling suggest progressive break-down of accessory zircon in the melting metasediments. Therefore, the drastic VF to RA shift in basalt chemistry mainly arises from the transition of the nature of the slab component (from hydrous fluid to melt) in conjunction with decreasing degrees of partial melting within ∼15 km across-arc. Finally, systematic variations of key inter-element with high-precision Pb-isotope ratios provide geochemical evidence for a pollution of the Mutnovsky mantle source with Gorely melt components but not vice versa, most likely resulting from trench-ward mantle wedge corner flow. We also present a geodynamic model integrating the location of the Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanic centres and their lava geochemistry with the recently proposed thermal structure of the southern Kamchatkan arc and constraints about phase equilibria in subducted sediments and AOC. Herein, the slab surface hosting the subducted sediments suffers a transition from dehydration to melting above a continuously dehydrating layer of AOC. Wider implications of this study are that an onset of (flush-) sediment melting may ultimately be the main trigger for the VF to RA transition of lava geochemistry in subduction zones.     

Suspended sediment dynamics in a large drainage basin: the River Rhine

The behaviour of suspended sediment in rivers is often a function of energy conditions, i.e. sediment is stored at low flow and transported under high discharge conditions. The timing of maximum sediment transport can, however, also be related to mixing and routing of water and sediment from different sources. In this study suspended sediment transport was studied in the River Rhine between Kaub and the German–Dutch border. As concentrations decrease over a runoff season and as the relationship between water discharge and suspended sediment concentrations during most floods is characterized by clockwise hysteresis, it is concluded that sediment depletion occurs during a hydrological year and during individual floods. However, analyses of the sediment contribution from the River Mosel indicate that clockwise hysteresis may result from sediment depletion as well as from early sediment supply from a tributary. Thus, although the suspended sediment behaviour in the downstream part of the River Rhine is partly a transport phenomenon related to energy conditions, mixing and routing of water from different sources also plays an important role. Suspended sediment transport during floods was modelled using a ‘supply‐based’ model. Addition of a sediment supply term to the sediment rating curve leads to a model that produces better estimates of instantaneous suspended sediment concentrations during high discharge events. A major constriction of the model is that it cannot be used to predict suspended sediment concentrations as long as the amount of sediment in storage and the timing of sediment supply are unknown. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The November 2002 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise,Réunion: tracking the pre-eruptive thermal evolution of magma using melt inclusions

The November 2002 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise in the Indian Ocean was typical of the activity of the volcano from 1999 to 2006 in terms of duration and volume of magma ejected. The first magma erupted was a basaltic liquid with a small proportion of olivine phenocrysts (Fo₈₁) that contain small numbers of melt inclusions. In subsequent flows, olivine crystals were more abundant and richer in Mg (Fo_83–84). These crystals contain numerous melt and fluid inclusions, healed fractures, and dislocation features such as kink bands. The major element composition of melt inclusions in this later olivine (Fo_83–84) is out of equilibrium with that of its host as a result of extensive post-entrapment crystallization and Fe²⁺ loss by diffusion during cooling. Melt inclusions in Fo₈₁ olivine are also chemically out of equilibrium with their hosts but to a lesser degree. Using olivine–melt geothermometry, we determined that melt inclusions in Fo₈₁ olivine were trapped at lower temperature (1,182 ± 1°C) than inclusions in Fo_83–84 olivine (1,199–1,227°C). This methodology was also used to estimate eruption temperatures. The November 2002 melt inclusion compositions suggest that they were at temperatures between 1,070°C and 1,133°C immediately before eruption and quenching. This relatively wide temperature range may reflect the fact that most of the melt inclusions were from olivine in lava samples and therefore likely underwent minor but variable amounts of post-eruptive crystallization and Fe²⁺ loss by diffusion due to their relatively slow cooling on the surface. In contrast, melt inclusions in tephra samples from past major eruptions yielded a narrower range of higher eruption temperatures (1,163–1,181°C). The melt inclusion data presented here and in earlier publications are consistent with a model of magma recharge from depth during major eruptions, followed by storage, cooling, and crystallization at shallow levels prior to expulsion during events similar in magnitude to the relatively small November 2002 eruption.     

Effects of a melted greenland ice sheet on climate, vegetation, and the cryosphere

This paper investigates the possible implications for the earth-system of a melting of the Greenland ice-sheet. Such a melting is a possible result of increased high latitude temperatures due to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Using an atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM), we investigate the effects of the removal of the ice sheet on atmospheric temperatures, circulation, and precipitation. We find that locally over Greenland, there is a warming associated directly with the altitude change in winter, and the altitude and albedo change in summer. Outside of Greenland, the largest signal is a cooling over the Barents sea in winter. We attribute this cooling to a decrease in poleward heat transport in the region due to changes to the time mean circulation and eddies, and interaction with sea-ice. The simulated climate is used to force a vegetation model and an ice-sheet model. We find that the Greenland climate in the absence of an ice sheet supports the growth of trees in southern Greenland, and grass in central Greenland. We find that the ice sheet is likely to regrow following a melting of the Greenland ice sheet, the subsequent rebound of its bedrock, and a return to present day atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. This regrowth is due to the high altitude bedrock in eastern Greenland which allows the growth of glaciers which develop into an ice sheet.     

Using species traits to guide conservation actions under climate change

Few assessments of species vulnerability to climate change used to inform conservation management consider the intrinsic traits that shape species’ capacity to respond to climate change. This omission is problematic as it may result in management actions that are not optimised for the long-term persistence of species as climates shift. We present a tool for explicitly linking data on plant species’ life history traits and range characteristics to appropriate management actions that maximise their capacity to respond to climate change. We deliberately target data on easily measured and widely available traits (e.g. dispersal syndrome, height, longevity) and range characteristics (e.g. range size, climatic/soil niche breadth), to allow for rapid comparison across many species. We test this framework on 1237 plants, categorising species on the basis of their potential climate change risk as related to four factors affecting their response capacity: reproduction, movement capability, abiotic niche specialisation and spatial coverage. Based on these four factors, species were allocated risk scores, and these were used to test the hypothesis that the current protection status under national legislation and related management actions capture species response capacity to climate change. Our results indicate that 20% of the plant species analysed (242 species) are likely to have a low capacity to respond to climate change based on the traits assessed, and are therefore at high risk. Of the 242 high risk species, only 10% (24 species) are currently listed for protection under conservation legislation. Importantly, many management plans for these listed species fail to address the capacity of species to respond to climate change with appropriate actions: 70% of approved management plans do not include crucial actions which may improve species’ ability to adapt to climate change. We illustrate how the use of easily attainable traits associated with ecological and evolutionary responses to changing environmental conditions can inform conservation actions for plant species globally.     

Analysis of village accessibility and its impact on land use dynamics in a mountainous province of northern Vietnam

Surveys carried out in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam at research sites selected across a gradient of market integration, revealed strong relationships between the location of the village with respect to the national road network and the nature of its land-use systems, its poverty level and more generally its potential for development. We developed and tested in Bac Kan province a method to give an objective and quantitative definition of accessibility over a large geographic area. Accessibility maps integrated in a provincial GIS showed that despite recent improvements to the road network, some remote areas do not benefit from recent development.     

Origin of salinity in a multilayered aquifer with high salinization vulnerability

The Kaluvelly watershed is a coastal area (Tamil Nadu, India) where water abstraction has resulted in a dramatic fall in the level of the water table and a piezometric depression in the most exploited aquifer, the Vanur aquifer. In addition, intensification/mechanization of agriculture may have affected the quality of recharge water. An initial hydrodynamic study showed that the Vanur aquifer is highly vulnerable to salinization due to potential seawater intrusion, and our aim was to determine the source of salinity recorded in the groundwater of this multilayered aquifer. Our approach involved the use of existing boreholes and of a moderate number of samples, with the aim of developing appropriate water resource management techniques. Major element, ¹⁸O/¹⁶O, ²H/¹H and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ratios were measured in rainwater, surface water and groundwater collected during five sampling campaigns over a 2‐year period. Geochemical data indicate that the Vanur aquifer is recharged and that small mixings between aquifers fluctuate according to monsoon intensity. There was no evidence of seawater intrusion. The range of recorded salinity originated mainly from water–rock interaction but a disconnection of some deeper parts of the aquifer was apparent. Strontium isotopic ratios in the recharge area suggest an anthropogenic influence, possibly related to fertilizer use. A high SO₄/Cl ratio was observed in the aquifer; in the deeper parts, the influence of a formation containing lignite is hypothesized, whereas near the surface, sulphate may partly originate from fertilizer use and fossil fuel combustion. Water isotopic data suggest that the origin of precipitation in this region has been unchanged for several hundreds or thousands of years. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trends,drivers and impacts of changes in swidden cultivation in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers: A global assessment

This meta-analysis of land-cover transformations of the past 10–15 years in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers world-wide shows that swidden agriculture decreases in landscapes with access to local, national and international markets that encourage cattle production and cash cropping, including biofuels. Conservation policies and practices also accelerate changes in swidden by restricting forest clearing and encouraging commercial agriculture. However, swidden remains important in many frontier areas where farmers have unequal or insecure access to investment and market opportunities, or where multi-functionality of land uses has been preserved as a strategy to adapt to current ecological, economic and political circumstances. In some areas swidden remains important simply because intensification is not a viable choice, for example when population densities and/or food market demands are low. The transformation of swidden landscapes into more intensive land uses has generally increased household incomes, but has also led to negative effects on the social and human capital of local communities to varying degrees. From an environmental perspective, the transition from swidden to other land uses often contributes to permanent deforestation, loss of biodiversity, increased weed pressure, declines in soil fertility, and accelerated soil erosion. Our prognosis is that, despite the global trend towards land use intensification, in many areas swidden will remain part of rural landscapes as the safety component of diversified systems, particularly in response to risks and uncertainties associated with more intensive land use systems.     

Deriving TDS values in coarse sediments from long normal and electromagnetic logs

This paper presents an empirical relationship of quantitatively linked electromagnetic (EM) borehole recordings of the total dissolved solids (TDS) in pore water in the Quaternary deposits of the Belgian coastal plain. First, the long normal (LN) logs are linked to EM logs, then the already developed relationships between LN resistivity measurements and the TDS values are rewritten for EM recordings. The main parameter in these equations is the formation factor, which is derived from ground water analyses and LN logs through Archie's law. The EM recording has several advantages compared to the LN logs. The EM analysis allows measuring in PVC-cased wells and is not hindered by the invasion zone around the well. Furthermore, it has a high vertical resolution. LN logs can be measured only once, after drilling a well; EM recordings can be repeated several times in monitoring wells, which allows the gathering of time-dependent data over a complete vertical cross section. Such data could be obtained with LN logs only in wells with screens over the full-depth interval, which causes a hydraulic short circuit. This short circuit can result in a large artificial flow through the well between different levels, resulting in a salinity profile, which is no longer representative for the studied site. Remediation against short circuiting is a reduction of the screened interval, which strongly reduces the gathered information. The application of the derived equations is one of setting up a monitoring network along the Belgian coast to monitor the trend in salinity levels and comparing present salinity levels with older LN recordings to investigate the salinity changes in the last 30 years. Deep wells already present in the Belgiancoastal plain can then be used to monitor both the fresh water head changes and the salt water evolution. The technique has also been used for parameter identification for which real concentration measurements were needed.