Glacial and post-glacial sedimentary processes in the Irish Rockall Trough from an integrated acoustic analysis of near-seabed sediments     

Fabio Sacchetti  Sara Benetti  Rory Quinn  Colm Ó Cofaigh 《Geo-Marine Letters》2013,33(1):49-66

Near-seabed (<50 m) sediments were studied throughout the Irish sector of the Rockall Trough (ca. 123,000 km²) based on a combined analysis of shallow seismic (3.5 kHz) and multibeam swath data acquired by the Irish National Seabed Survey and reprocessed here at higher resolution. The detailed identification of seven acoustic facies served to classify the Rockall Trough into six main sedimentary provinces, incorporating the well-known Feni Drift, Donegal-Barra Fan and Rockall Bank mass flow. In the northern part of the study area, extensive mass transport deposits from both flanks of the trough are the dominant depositional features. Debris flow deposits formed by ice streaming of the British-Irish ice sheet characterise most of the Donegal-Barra Fan, whereas turbidite deposition occurs towards the toe of the fan. On the western margin of the trough, the post-glacial Rockall Bank mass flow deposit displays a rough topography with no acoustic penetration. Several failure scarps are visible on the flank of the bank where the mass flow originated, and pass downslope into large sediment lobes and smaller debris flow deposits. Smaller-scale mass transport deposits were also discovered close to some canyons indenting the eastern slope. High seismic penetration characterises the Feni contourite drift deposit, and precise mapping of its geographical extent shows that it is considerably wider than previously reported. The sediment waves that drape this drift are interpreted as predominantly relict features, and their varied geometry suggests a complex oceanographic regime. In the deeper part of the trough, the data reveal novel evidence of the widespread occurrence (about 12,000 km²) of distinct seismic and backscatter signatures indicating the possible presence of fluid escape structures within fine-grained sediments of mixed contouritic, hemipelagic and turbiditic origin. Sediment overloading and increased pore pressure resulting from extensive mass wasting to the north of the area is a likely cause of dewatering-rooted fluid migration towards the seabed, but further investigations are required to confirm the nature and origin of such fluids in the Rockall Trough.  相似文献   

Improving the Coastal Mean Dynamic Topography by Geodetic Combination of Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry     

Ole Baltazar Andersen  Karina Nielsen  Per Knudsen  Chris W. Hughes  Rory Bingham  Luciana Fenoglio-Marc 《Marine Geodesy》2013,36(6):517-545

Abstract

The ocean mean dynamic topography (MDT) is the surface representation of the ocean circulation. The MDT may be determined by the ocean approach, which involves temporal averaging of numerical ocean circulation model information, or by the geodetic approach, wherein the MDT is derived using the ellipsoidal height of the mean sea surface (MSS), or mean sea level (MSL) minus the geoid as the geoid. The ellipsoidal height of the MSS might be estimated either by satellite or coastal tide gauges by connecting the tide gauge datum to the Earth-centred reference frame. In this article we present a novel approach to improve the coastal MDT, where the solution is based on both satellite altimetry and tide gauge data using new set of 302 tide gauges with ellipsoidal heights through the SONEL network. The approach was evaluated for the Northeast Atlantic coast where a dense network of GNSS-surveyed tide gauges is available. The typical misfit between tide gauge and satellite or oceanographic MDT was found to be around 9?cm. This misfit was found to be mainly due to small scale geoid errors. Similarly, we found, that a single tide gauge places only weak constraints on the coastal dynamic topography.  相似文献   

Land‐use impacts and water quality targets in the intensive dairying catchment of the Toenepi Stream,New Zealand     

Robert J. Wilcock  Ross M. Monaghan  John M. Quinn  Alan M. Campbell  Bruce S. Thorrold  Maurice J. Duncan 《新西兰海洋与淡水研究杂志》2013,47(1):123-140

Water quality monitoring in Toenepi Stream, New Zealand, started in 1995 in a study of dairy farming influences on lowland stream quality and has continued since then with brief interruptions. Surveys have provided information about changes in farm and soil management practices as they relate to environmental sustainability. Although average water quality in Toenepi Stream has changed little during 1995–2004, there have been some notable improvements. Water clarity measured by black disc has improved from 0.6m to 1.5m, and median ammonia‐N and nitrate‐N concentrations have declined by 70% and 57%, respectively. The frequency and magnitude of extreme concentrations have declined—most notably for nitrogen (N) forms, which also had decreased mean values. Specific yields for suspended solids (SS) and phosphorus (P) forms in 2002–04 were 47–67% of 1995–97 values, mainly because of lower water yields. Reduced specific yields for N forms in 2002–04 (34–37% of 1995–97 yields) were also attributable to lower mean concentrations in stream water. Faecal bacteria concentrations have not abated and are on average 2–3 times recommended guideline values for contact recreation. Fewer dairy farms and an increased proportion irrigating dairyshed effluent to land, rather than discharging it to the stream via two‐pond systems, were likely causes of improvement in water quality. Water quality targets were developed for Toenepi Stream to achieve contact recreation criteria for the Piako River (downstream) and for intrinsic habitat values for Toenepi Stream. A range of mitigation measures has been formulated to meet these targets, but substantial uptake of sustainable farming practices is needed to improve water quality in Toenepi Stream.  相似文献   

A methodology to estimate the maximum offset and reflection imaging radius for a 2D/3D vertical seismic profiling survey     

Min Lou  Rick Williamson  Dan Quinn 《Geophysical Prospecting》2012,60(6):1018-1023

We have developed a straightforward and ray based methodology to estimate both the maximum offset and reflection imaging radius for multi‐layered velocity models, which can be used for a 2D/3D VSP survey design. Through numerical examples, we demonstrate that the presence of a high‐velocity layer above a target zone significantly reduces the maximum offset and reflection imaging radius. Our numerical examples also show that including in a migration VSP data acquired beyond a recommended maximum offset, radically degrades the quality of the final VSP image. In addition, unlike the conventional straight‐line based approximation that often produces an incorrect large reflection imaging radius, our methodology predicts the VSP imaging radius with more accuracy than does the conventional approximation.  相似文献   

An archeomagnetic analysis of burnt grain bin floors from ca. 1200 to 1250 AD Iron-Age South Africa     

Levi P. Neukirch  John A. Tarduno  Thomas N. Huffman  Michael K. Watkeys  Cecilia A. Scribner  Rory D. Cottrell 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》2012

Recognition of the rapid decay of Earth’s magnetic field over the last 150 years, chronicled in magnetic observatory and satellite data, highlights the need for a higher resolution record of geomagnetic field behavior over the past millennium. Such a record would help us better understand the nature of the recent dramatic changes. A limitation of the existing database is undersampling of the Southern Hemisphere. Here we investigate the potential of obtaining archeomagnetic data from Iron-Age burnt grain bins from southern Africa. These structures preserve oriented material that can record both paleodirections and paleointensity information. Directional data collected from three sites (ca. 1200–1250 AD) fall 9–22° to the East of predictions. Thellier–Coe and Shaw paleointensity results differ from model values by ～15%. The consistency of results between the three sites suggests that further investigations of these materials with different ages could markedly improve the current spatial distribution of the archeomagnetic database.  相似文献   

Deep-water geomorphology of the glaciated Irish margin from high-resolution marine geophysical data     

F. Sacchetti  S. Benetti  A. Georgiopoulou  P.M. Shannon  B.M. O'Reilly  P. Dunlop  R. Quinn  C. Ó Cofaigh 《Marine Geology》2012

The continental margin offshore of western Ireland offers an opportunity to study the effects of glacial forcing on the morphology and sediment architecture of a mid-latitude margin. High resolution multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, combined with shallow seismic and TOBI deep-towed side-scan sonar profiles, provide the basis for this study and allow a detailed geomorphological interpretation of the northwest Irish continental margin. Several features, including submarine mass failures, canyon systems and escarpments, are identified in the Rockall Trough for the first time. A new physiographic classification of the Irish margin is proposed and linked to the impact of glaciations along the margin. Correlation of the position and dimensions of moraines on the continental shelf with the level of canyon evolution suggests that the sediment and meltwater delivered by the British–Irish Ice Sheet played a fundamental role in shaping the margin including the upslope development of some of the canyon systems. The glacial influence is also suggested by the variable extent and backscatter signal of sedimentary lobes associated with the canyons. These lobes provide an indirect measurement of the amount of glaciogenic sediment delivered by the ice sheet into the Rockall Trough during the last glacial maximum. None of the sedimentary lobes demonstrates notable relief, indicating that the amount of glaciogenic sediment delivered by the British–Irish Ice Sheet into the Rockall Trough was limited. Their southward disappearance suggests a more restricted BIIS, which did not reach the shelf edge south of 54°23′ N. The various slope styles observed on the Irish margin represent snapshots of the progressive stages of slope development for a glacially-influenced passive margin and may provide a predictive model for the evolution of other such margins.  相似文献   

Influences of climate change on California and Nevada regions revealed by a high-resolution dynamical downscaling study     

Lin-Lin Pan  Shu-Hua Chen  Dan Cayan  Mei-Ying Lin  Quinn Hart  Ming-Hua Zhang  Yubao Liu  Jianzhong Wang 《Climate Dynamics》2011,37(9-10):2005-2020

In this study, the influence of climate change to California and Nevada regions was investigated through high-resolution (4-km grid spacing) dynamical downscaling using the WRF (Weather Research & Forecasting) model. The dynamical downscaling was performed to both the GFS (Global forecast model) reanalysis (called GFS-WRF runs) from 2000?C2006 and PCM (Parallel Climate Model) simulations (called PCM-WRF runs) from 1997?C2006 and 2047?C2056. The downscaling results were first validated by comparing current model outputs with the observational analysis PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) dataset. In general, the dominant features from GFS-WRF runs and PCM-WRF runs were consistent with each other, as well as with PRISM results. The influences of climate change on the California and Nevada regions can be inferred from the model future runs. The averaged temperature showed a positive trend in the future, as in other studies. The temperature increases by around 1?C2°C under the assumption of business as usual over 50?years. This leads to an upward shifting of the freezing level (the contour line of 0°C temperature) and more rain instead of snow in winter (December, January, and February). More hot days (>32.2°C or 90°F) and extreme hot days (>37.8°C or 100°F) are predicted in the Sacramento Valley and the southern parts of California and Nevada during summer (June, July, and August). More precipitation is predicted in northern California but not in southern California. Rainfall frequency slightly increases in the coast regions, but not in the inland area. No obvious trend of the surface wind was indicated. The probability distribution functions (PDF) of daily temperature, wind and precipitation for California and Nevada showed no significant change in shape in either winter or summer. The spatial distributions of precipitation frequency from GFS-WRF and PCM-WRF were highly correlated (r?=?0.83). However, overall positive shifts were seen in the temperature field; increases of 2°C for California and 3°C for Nevada in summer and 2.5°C for California and 1.5°C for Nevada in winter. The PDFs predicted higher precipitation in winter and lower precipitation in the summer for both California and Nevada.  相似文献   

Detection of deep water benthic macroalgae using image-based classification techniques on multibeam backscatter at Cashes Ledge,Gulf of Maine,USA   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Chris McGonigle  Jonathan H. Grabowski  Craig J. Brown  Thomas C. Weber  Rory Quinn 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2011

Benthic macroalgae form an important part of temperate marine ecosystems, exhibiting a complex three-dimensional character which represents a vital foraging and spawning ground for many juvenile fish species. In this research, image-based techniques for classification of multibeam backscatter are explored for the detection of benthic macroalgae at Cashes Ledge in the Gulf of Maine, USA. Two classifications were performed using QTC-Multiview, differentiated by application of a threshold filter, and macroalgal signatures were independently extracted from the raw sonar datagrams in Matlab. All classifications were validated by comparison with video ground-truth data. The unfiltered classification shows a high degree of complexity in the shallowest areas within the study site; the filtered demonstrates markedly less variation by depth. The unfiltered classification shows a positive agreement with the video ground-truth data; 82.6% of observations recording Laminaria sp., 39.1% of Agarum cribrosum and 100.0% (n = 3) of mixed macroalgae occur within the same acoustically distinct group of classes. These are discrete from the 8.1% recorded agreement with absences and nulls (>40 m) of macrophytes (n = 32) from a total of 86 ground-truth locations. The results of the water column data extraction (WCDE) show similar success, accurately predicting 78.3% of Laminaria sp. and 30.4% of A. cribrosum observations.  相似文献   

Composition and petrology of HED polymict breccias: The regolith of (4) Vesta     

David W. Mittlefehldt  Jason S. Herrin  Julie E. Quinn  Stanley A. Mertzman  Julia A. Cartwright  Karen R. Mertzman  Zhan X. Peng 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2013,48(11):2105-2134

We have done petrologic and compositional studies on a suite of polymict eucrites and howardites to better understand regolith processes on their parent asteroid, which we accept is (4) Vesta. Taking into account noble gas results from companion studies, we interpret five howardites to represent breccias assembled from the true regolith: Elephant Moraine (EET) 87513, Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95535, GRO 95602, Lewis Cliff (LEW) 85313, and Meteorite Hills (MET) 00423. We suggest that EET 87503 is paired with EET 87513, and thus is also regolithic. Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 02066 is dominated by melt‐matrix clasts, which may have been formed from true regolith by impact melting. These meteorites display a range in eucrite:diogenite mixing ratio from 55:45 to 76:24. There is no correlation between degree of regolith character and Ni content. The Ni contents of howardite, eucrite, and diogenites (HEDs) are mostly controlled by the distribution of coarse chondritic clasts and metal grains, which in some cases resulted from individual, low‐velocity accretion events, rather than extensive regolith gardening. Trace element compositions indicate that the mafic component of HED polymict breccias is mostly basalt similar to main‐group eucrites; Stannern‐trend basaltic debris is less common. Pyroxene compositions show that some trace element‐rich howardites contain abundant debris from evolved basalts, and that cumulate gabbro debris is present in some breccias. The scale of heterogeneity varies considerably; regolithic howardite EET 87513 is more homogeneous than fragmental howardite Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 97001. Individual samples of a given howardite can have different compositions even at roughly 5 g masses, indicating that obtaining representative meteorite compositions requires multiple or large samples.  相似文献   

Zooplankton dynamics from inundation to drying in a complex ephemeral floodplain-wetland     

Cassandra S. James  Martin C. Thoms  Gerry P. Quinn 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》2008,70(3):259-271

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