Evaluation of an empirical orthogonal function–based method to downscale soil moisture patterns based on topographical attributes

Soil moisture influences many hydrologic applications including agriculture, land management and flood prediction. Most remote‐sensing methods that estimate soil moisture produce coarse resolution patterns, so methods are required to downscale such patterns to the resolutions required by these applications (e.g. 10‐ to 30‐m grid cells). At such resolutions, topography is known to affect soil moisture patterns. Although methods have been proposed to downscale soil moisture based on topography, they usually require the availability of past high‐resolution soil moisture patterns from the application region. The objective of this article is to determine whether a single topographic‐based downscaling method can be used at multiple locations without relying on detailed local observations. The evaluated downscaling method is developed on the basis of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of space–time soil moisture data at a reference catchment. The most important EOFs are then estimated from topographic attributes, and the associated expansion coefficients are estimated on the basis of the spatial‐average soil moisture. To test the portability of this EOF‐based method, it is developed separately using four data sets (Tarrawarra, Tarrawarra 2, Cache la Poudre and Satellite Station), and the relationships that are derived from these data sets to estimate the EOFs and expansion coefficients are compared. In addition, each of these downscaling methods is applied not only for the catchment where it was developed but also to the other three catchments. The results suggest that the EOF downscaling method performs well for the location where it is developed, but its performance degrades when applied to other catchments. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lacustrine records of post‐glacial environmental change from the Nulhegan Basin,Vermont, USA

The sedimentary records of Nulhegan Pond and Beecher Pond in the Nulhegan Basin of north‐eastern Vermont were analyzed to yield a history of environmental change since the latest Pleistocene. Shoreline landforms indicate that part of the Nulhegan Basin was inundated by Glacial Lake Nulhegan (GLN), which was impounded behind a dam of glacial sediment. Outwash derived from stagnant ice forms the bottom 176 cm of the Nulhegan Pond core. Fine‐grained inorganic sediment deposited between 13.4 and 12.2k cal a BP is interpreted as a deep‐water facies representing GLN, while coarser sediment from 12.2 to 11.8k cal a BP records draining of the glacial lake. Rapid, simultaneous increases in organic matter and biogenic silica signal the onset of productivity following the Younger Dryas. Beecher Pond formed c. 11.3k cal a BP through surface collapse over a buried ice block; buried stagnant ice may have persisted in the vicinity of the pond into the early Holocene. From 8.9 to 5.5k cal a BP, sediment in both lakes became coarser and richer in aquatic organic matter, suggesting a low‐water phase in which previously deposited lacustrine sediments were reworked and the littoral zone shifted basinward. Low water levels at this time are consistent with other records from Maine and southern Quebec, but contrary to records from ～325 km to the south. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular and isotopic characteristics of gas hydrate-bound hydrocarbons in southern and central Lake Baikal

We investigated the molecular composition (methane, ethane, and propane) and stable isotope composition (methane and ethane) of hydrate-bound gas in sediments of Lake Baikal. Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from eight gas seep sites, located in the southern and central Baikal basins. Empirical classification of the methane stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δD) for all the seep sites indicated the dominant microbial origin of methane via methyl-type fermentation; however, a mixture of thermogenic and microbial gases resulted in relatively high methane δ¹³C signatures at two sites where ethane δ¹³C indicated a typical thermogenic origin. At one of the sites in the southern Baikal basin, we found gas hydrates of enclathrated microbial ethane in which ¹³C and deuterium were both highly depleted (mean δ¹³C and δD of –61.6‰ V-PDB and –285.4‰ V-SMOW, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C₂ δ¹³C–δD classification for hydrate-bound gas in either freshwater or marine environments.     

Geochemistry of the Early Miocene volcanic succession of Northland,New Zealand,and implications for the evolution of subduction in the Southwest Pacific

Latest Oligocene and Early Miocene volcanic rocks occur on the Northland Peninsula, New Zealand, and record the inception of Cenozoic subduction-related volcanism in the North Island that eventually evolved to its present manifestation in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. This NW-striking Northland Arc is continuous with the Reinga Ridge and comprises two parallel belts of volcanic centres ca. 60 km apart. A plethora of tectonic models have been proposed for its origins. We acquired new trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data to better constrain such models. All Northland Arc rocks carry an arc-type trace element signature, however distinct differences exist between rocks of the eastern and western belt. Eastern belt rocks are typically andesites and dacites and have relatively evolved isotope ratios indicating assimilated crustal material, and commonly contain hornblende. Additionally some eastern belt rocks with highly evolved isotope compositions show fractionated REE compositions consistent with residual garnet, and some contain garnetiferous inclusions in addition to schistose crustal fragments. In contrast, western belt rocks are mostly basalts or basaltic andesites with relatively primitive Sr–Nd isotope compositions, do not contain hornblende and show no rare earth element evidence for cryptic amphibole fractionation. Eastern and western belt rocks contain comparable slab-derived fractions of fluid-mobile trace elements and invariably possess an arc signature. Therefore the difference between the belts may be best explained as due to variation in crustal thickness across the Northland Peninsula, where western belt centres erupted onto a thinner crustal section than eastern belt rocks.The consistent arc signature throughout the Northland arc favours an origin in response to an actual, if short-lived subduction event, rather than slab detachment as proposed in some models. No Northland Arc rocks possess a convincing adakite-like composition that might reflect the subduction of very young oceanic lithosphere such as that of the Oligocene South Fiji Basin. Therefore we favour a model in which subduction of old (Cretaceous) lithosphere drove subduction.     

A review of marine mammal,sea turtle and seabird bycatch in USA fisheries and the role of policy in shaping management

This paper reviews the available information (observer programs, estimates, statutes, regulations) for bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds in fisheries of the United States. Goals of the review were to evaluate the state of knowledge of bycatch and the role of existing protective legislation in shaping bycatch management for different taxa. Pressing issues are identified, as well as knowledge gaps and policy limitations that hinder multi-species bycatch reduction. The USA has made important progress toward reducing bycatch in its fisheries, but the efficacy of its management has been limited somewhat by a focus on taxon- and fishery-specific regulation and the lack of consistent mandate across taxa for taking a cumulative perspective on bycatch. Applying consistent criteria across taxa for setting bycatch limits (e.g., extending the approach used for marine mammals to sea turtles and seabirds) would be the first step in a multi-species approach to bycatch reduction. A population-based multi-species multi-gear approach to bycatch would help identify priority areas where resources are needed most and can be used most effectively.     

Characterization of the lithological contact in the shergottite EETA79001—A record of igneous differentiation processes on Mars

Abstract— Elephant Moraine (EET) A79001 is the only Martian meteorite that consists of both an olivine‐phyric shergottite (lithology A) and a basaltic shergottite (lithology B). The presence of these lithologies in one rock has previously been ascribed to mixing processes (either magmatic or impact‐induced). Here we present data regarding phase changes across the contact between the lithologies. These data show that the contact is gradational and suggest that it is a primary igneous feature consistent with crystallization of a single cooling magma. We present a model to establish a petrogenetic connection between an olivine‐phyric and a basaltic shergottite through differentiation. The model involves the shallow or surface emplacement of a magma that contained pre‐eruptive solids (phenocrysts and minor xenocrysts). Subsequent differentiation via crystal settling and in situ crystallization (Langmuir 1989) resulted in a layered sequence of lithology A overlain by lithology B, with gradations in modal abundance of maskelynite (increasing from A to B) and pigeonite/maskelynite (decreasing from A to B), and a gradational change in pattern of pyroxene zonation (zones of magnesian augite separating magnesian and ferroan pigeonite appear and thicken into B) across the contact. A pigeonite phenocryst‐bearing zone near the contact in lithology B appears to be intermediate between lithology A and the bulk of lithology B (which resembles basaltic shergottite Queen Alexandra Range [QUE] 94201). Re‐examination of Sr isotopic compositions in lithology A and across the contact is required to test and constrain the model.     

A data assimilation approach to discharge estimation from space

River discharge is currently monitored by a diminishing network of gauges, which provide a spatially incomplete picture of global discharges. This study assimilated water level information derived from a fused satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image and digital terrain model (DTM) with simulations from a coupled hydrological and hydrodynamic model to estimate discharge in an un‐gauged basin scenario. Assimilating water level measurements led to a 79% reduction in ensemble discharge uncertainty over the coupled hydrological hydrodynamic model alone. Measurement bias was evident, but the method still provided a means of improving estimates of discharge for high flows. The study demonstrates the potential of currently available synthetic aperture radar imagery to reduce discharge uncertainty in un‐gauged basins when combined with model simulations in a data assimilation framework, where sufficient topographic data are available. The work is timely because in the near future the launch of satellite radar missions will lead to a significant increase in the volume of data available for space‐borne discharge estimation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of food quality on energy uptake

The dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory assumes that the feeding of an organism in relation to food density follows the type-II functional response when food consists of purely digestible organic matter. However when faced with a food source high in inorganic content, an organism needs to adapt physiologically to maximise organic extraction. Indeed filter-feeding marine bivalves inhabiting turbid coastal waters cope with large fluctuations in food quality by selectively ingesting and pseudofaeces production. Data from feeding experiments with the New Zealand greenshell mussel Perna canaliculus have demonstrated that inorganic particles contribute some uncertainty to the estimate of the half-saturation coefficient. Incorporating inorganic matter into the functional response would improve the prediction of energy uptake.     

Abrupt climate change as an important agent of ecological change in the Northeast U.S. throughout the past 15,000 years

We use a series of tests to evaluate two competing hypotheses about the association of climate and vegetation trends in the northeastern United States over the past 15 kyrs. First, that abrupt climate changes on the scale of centuries had little influence on long-term vegetation trends, and second, that abrupt climate changes interacted with slower climate trends to determine the regional sequence of vegetation phases. Our results support the second. Large dissimilarity between temporally close fossil pollen samples indicates large vegetation changes within 500 years across >4° of latitude at ca 13.25–12.75, 12.0–11.5, 10.5, 8.25, and 5.25 ka. The evidence of vegetation change coincides with independent isotopic and sedimentary indicators of rapid shifts in temperature and moisture balance. In several cases, abrupt changes reversed long-term vegetation trends, such as when spruce (Picea) and pine (Pinus) pollen percentages rapidly declined to the north and increased to the south at ca 13.25–12.75 and 8.25 ka respectively. Abrupt events accelerated other long-term trends, such as a regional increase in beech (Fagus) pollen percentages at 8.5–8.0 ka. The regional hemlock (Tsuga) decline at ca 5.25 ka is unique among the abrupt events, and may have been induced by high climatic variability (i.e., repeated severe droughts from 5.7 to 2.0 ka); autoregressive ecological and evolutionary processes could have maintained low hemlock abundance until ca 2.0 ka. Delayed increases in chestnut (Castanea) pollen abundance after 5.8 and 2.5 ka also illustrate the potential for multi-century climate variability to influence species' recruitment as well as mortality. Future climate changes will probably also rapidly initiate persistent vegetation change, particularly by acting as broad, regional-scale disturbances.