Panta Rhei 2013–2015: global perspectives on hydrology,society and change

ABSTRACT

In 2013, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) launched the hydrological decade 2013–2022 with the theme “Panta Rhei: Change in Hydrology and Society”. The decade recognizes the urgency of hydrological research to understand and predict the interactions of society and water, to support sustainable water resource use under changing climatic and environmental conditions. This paper reports on the first Panta Rhei biennium 2013–2015, providing a comprehensive resource that describes the scope and direction of Panta Rhei. We bring together the knowledge of all the Panta Rhei working groups, to summarize the most pressing research questions and how the hydrological community is progressing towards those goals. We draw out interconnections between different strands of research, and reflect on the need to take a global view on hydrology in the current era of human impacts and environmental change. Finally, we look back to the six driving science questions identified at the outset of Panta Rhei, to quantify progress towards those aims.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor not assigned     

In situ LA-ICPMS Isotopic and Geochronological Studies on Carbonatites and Phoscorites from the Guli Massif,Maymecha-Kotuy,Polar Siberia

In this study we present a fresh isotopic data, as well as U–Pb ages from different REE-minerals in carbonatites and phoscorites of Guli massif using in situ LA-ICPMS technique. The analyses were conducted on apatites and perovskites from calcio-carbonatite and phoscorite units, as well as on pyrochlores and baddeleyites from the carbonatites. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios obtained from apatites and perovskites from the phoscorites are 0.70308–0.70314 and 0.70306–0.70313, respectively; and 0.70310–0.70325 and 0.70314–0.70327, for the pyrochlores and apatites from the carbonatites, respectively.Furthermore, the in situ laser ablation analyses of apatites and perovskites from the phoscorite yield εNd from 3.6 (±1) to 5.1 (±0.5) and from 3.8 (±0.5) to 4.9 (±0.5), respectively; εNd of apatites, perovskites and pyrochlores from carbonatite ranges from 3.2 (±0.7) to 4.9 (±0.9), 3.9 (±0.6) to 4.5 (±0.8) and 3.2 (±0.4) to 4.4 (±0.8), respectively. Laser ablation analyses of baddeleyites yielded an eHf(t)d of +8.5 (± 0.18); prior to this study Hf isotopic characteristic of Guli massif was not known. Our new in situ εNd, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and eHf data on minerals in the Guli carbonatites imply a depleted source with a long time integrated high Lu/Hf, Sm/Nd, Sr/Rb ratios.In situ U–Pb age determination was performed on perovskites from the carbonatites and phoscorites and also on pyrochlores and baddeleyites from carbonatites. The co-existing pyrochlores, perovskites and baddeleyites in carbonatites yielded ages of 252.3 ± 1.9, 252.5 ± 1.5 and 250.8 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. The perovskites from the phoscorites yielded an age of 253.8 ± 1.9 Ma. The obtained age for Guli carbonatites and phoscorites lies within the range of ages previously reported for the Siberian Flood Basalts and suggest essentially synchronous emplacement with the Permian-Triassic boundary.     

Resistance of Lophelia pertusa to coverage by sediment and petroleum drill cuttings

In laboratory experiments, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa was exposed to settling particles. The effects of reef sediment, petroleum drill cuttings and a mix of both, on the development of anoxia at the coral surface were studied using O₂, pH and H₂S microsensors and by assessing coral polyp mortality. Due to the branching morphology of L. pertusa and the release of coral mucus, accumulation rates of settling material on coral branches were low. Microsensors detected H₂S production in only a few samples, and sulfate reduction rates of natural reef sediment slurries were low (<0.3 nmol S cm⁻³ d⁻¹). While the exposure to sediment clearly reduced the coral’s accessibility to oxygen, L. pertusa tolerated both partial low-oxygen and anoxic conditions without any visible detrimental short-term effect, such as tissue damage or death. However, complete burial of coral branches for >24 h in reef sediment resulted in suffocation.     

Oxidation of the Kaapvaal lithospheric mantle driven by metasomatism

The oxidation state, reflected in the oxygen fugacity (fO₂), of the subcratonic lithospheric mantle is laterally and vertically heterogeneous. In the garnet stability field, the Kaapvaal lithospheric mantle becomes progressively more reducing with increasing depth from Δlog fO₂ FMQ-2 at 110 km to FMQ-4 at 210 km. Oxidation accompanying metasomatism has obscured this crystal-chemical controlled depth-fO₂ trend in the mantle beneath Kimberley, South Africa. Chondrite normalized REE patterns for garnets, preserve evidence of a range in metasomatic enrichment from mild metasomatism in harzburgites to extensive metasomatism by LREE-enriched fluids and melts with fairly unfractionated LREE/HREE ratios in phlogopite-bearing lherzolites. The metasomatized xenoliths record redox conditions extending up to Δlog fO₂ = FMQ, sufficiently oxidized that magnesite would be the stable host of carbon in the most metasomatized samples. The most oxidized lherzolites, those in or near the carbonate stability field, have the greatest modal abundance of phlogopite and clinopyroxene. Clinopyroxene is modally less abundant or absent in the most reduced peridotite samples. The infiltration of metasomatic fluids/melts into diamondiferous lithospheric mantle beneath the Kaapvaal craton converted reduced, anhydrous harzburgite into variably oxidized phlogopite-bearing lherzolite. Locally, portions of the lithospheric mantle were metasomatized and oxidized to an extent that conversion of diamond into carbonate should have occurred. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Application and validation of FLEMOcs – a flood-loss estimation model for the commercial sector

Abstract

The estimation of flood loss is difficult, especially in the commercial sector, because of its great inhomogeneity. However, the reliability of loss modelling is fairly unknown, since flood-loss models are scarcely validated. The newly developed Flood Loss Estimation MOdel for the commercial sector (FLEMOcs) was validated on the micro-scale using a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure. Additionally, different meso-scale loss functions were compared. Meso-scale model application was undertaken in 19 municipalities which were affected during the 2002 flood in Germany. Model results were compared with the results of three other loss models, as well as with official loss records. The micro-scale validation shows very good results, with no bias and mean absolute errors between 23 and 31%. The meso-scale validation indicates that FLEMOcs provides good results, especially in large areas with many affected companies where high losses are expected.

Citation Seifert, I., Kreibich, H., Merz, B. & Thieken, A. H. (2010) Application and validation of FLEMOcs – a flood-loss estimation model for the commercial sector. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(8), 1315–1324.     

Recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the potential impacts on growth and alkaloid production in wild poppy (Papaver setigerum DC.)

In the current study, we quantified changes in the growth and alkaloid content of wild poppy, (Papaver setigerum) as a function of recent and projected changes in global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, [CO₂]. The experimental [CO₂] values (300, 400, 500 and 600μmol mol^?1) correspond roughly to the concentrations that existed during the middle of the twentieth century, the current concentration, and near and long-term projections for the current century (2050 and 2090), respectively. Additional carbon dioxide resulted in significant increases in leaf area and above ground biomass for P. setigerum at all [CO₂] relative to the 300μmol mol^?1 baseline. Reproductively, increasing [CO₂] from 300 to 600μmol mol^?1 increased the number of capsules, capsule weight and latex production by 3.6, 3.0 and 3.7×, respectively, on a per plant basis. Quantification of secondary compounds (i.e. those not involved in primary metabolism) included the alkaloids morphine, codeine, papaverine and noscapine. The amount of all alkaloids increased significantly on a per plant basis, with the greatest relative increase occurring with recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (e.g. from 300 to 400μmol mol^?1). Overall, these data suggest that as atmospheric [CO₂] continues to increase, significant effects on the production of secondary plant compounds of pharmacological interest (i.e. opiates) could be expected.