Monitoring and characterisation of sand-mud sedimentation processes     

Alan J. S. Cuthbertson  Olugbenga Ibikunle  W. John McCarter  Gerard Starrs 《Ocean Dynamics》2016,66(6-7):867-891

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Phytopigments and fatty acids in the gut of the deposit-feeding heart urchin Echinocardium cordatum in the southern North Sea: Selective feeding and its contribution to the benthic carbon budget     

Arjen R. Boon  Gerard C.A. Duineveld 《Journal of Sea Research》2012,67(1):77-84

As part of a broader study on benthic-pelagic coupling in the southern North Sea, specimens of the common heart urchin Echinocardium cordatum were sampled for analyses on phytopigments and fatty acids in their guts. Results were interpreted in the context of feeding and ecological functioning of the heart urchins in the benthic system. Ingestion selection factors for both component groups were relatively high, 5 to 9 for chlorophyll a and 9 to 130 for total fatty acids. The data point to at least partially different sources of the pigments and of the fatty acids. Next to algal detritus, small infauna relatively rich in fatty acids might be preferentially co-ingested with the detritus. Due to digestive breakdown and absorption, the concentrations of pigments and fatty acids were importantly decreased, indicating a rather high digestion efficiency for this subsurface deposit feeder, up to 80%. The results indicate that E. cordatum increases its energy acquisition by strong selectivity and a high digestive efficiency. Optimal foraging is likely to apply on deposit-feeding invertebrates in relatively food-rich coastal environments as much as it does in the food-poor deep-sea environment. Using chlorophyll a as a proxy for carbon, the contribution of the urchin population to the momentary benthic carbon budget was calculated at 7% to 42%.  相似文献   

The response of soil erosion and sediment export to land-use change in four areas of Europe: The importance of landscape pattern   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

Martha M. Bakker  Gerard Govers  Anne van Doorn  Fabien Quetier  Dimitris Chouvardas  Mark Rounsevell 《Geomorphology》2008,98(3-4):213

The response of erosion and sediment export to past land-use change has been studied in four agricultural areas of Europe. Three of these areas were subject to land abandonment or de-intensification and one to intensification of land-use practices. Erosion and sediment yield were modeled using the WaTEM/SEDEM model, which combines the RUSLE equation with a sediment routing algorithm. Spatial relationships between the RUSLE C-factor (i.e. land-use) and other erosion and sediment export-determining factors (slope, soil erodibility and distance to rivers) were investigated, as these account for non-linearity in the response of erosion and sediment export to land-use change.Erosion and sediment export have decreased enormously in the de-intensified areas, but slightly increased in the intensively cultivated area. The spatial pattern of land-use change in relation to other erosion and sediment export-determining factors appears to have a large impact on the response of soil erosion and sediment export to land-use change. That the drivers of abandonment of arable land and erosion coincide indicates that de-intensification leads to a more favourable landscape pattern with respect to reduction of erosion and sediment export. This mechanism applies not only within the study areas, but also among the European study areas where the process of intensification of some areas and de-intensification of others might result in an overall decrease of erosion and sediment yield through time.  相似文献   

Environmental factors controlling spatial variation in sediment yield in a central Andean mountain area     

Armando Molina  Gerard Govers  Jean Poesen  Hendrik Van Hemelryck  Bert De Bivre  Veerle Vanacker 《Geomorphology》2008,98(3-4):176

A large spatial variability in sediment yield was observed from small streams in the Ecuadorian Andes. The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental factors controlling these variations in sediment yield in the Paute basin, Ecuador. Sediment yield data were calculated based on sediment volumes accumulated behind checkdams for 37 small catchments. Mean annual specific sediment yield (SSY) shows a large spatial variability and ranges between 26 and 15,100 Mg km^− 2 year^− 1. Mean vegetation cover (C, fraction) in the catchment, i.e. the plant cover at or near the surface, exerts a first order control on sediment yield. The fractional vegetation cover alone explains 57% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). The negative exponential relation (SSY = a × e^{−b C}) which was found between vegetation cover and sediment yield at the catchment scale (10³–10⁹ m²), is very similar to the equations derived from splash, interrill and rill erosion experiments at the plot scale (1–10³ m²). This affirms the general character of an exponential decrease of sediment yield with increasing vegetation cover at a wide range of spatial scales, provided the distribution of cover can be considered to be essentially random. Lithology also significantly affects the sediment yield, and explains an additional 23% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). Based on these two catchment parameters, a multiple regression model was built. This empirical regression model already explains more than 75% of the total variance in the mean annual sediment yield. These results highlight the large potential of revegetation programs for controlling sediment yield. They show that a slight increase in the overall fractional vegetation cover of degraded land is likely to have a large effect on sediment production and delivery. Moreover, they point to the importance of detailed surface vegetation data for predicting and modeling sediment production rates.  相似文献   

The implications of data selection for regional erosion and sediment yield modelling     

Joris de Vente  Jean Poesen  Gerard Govers  Carolina Boix‐Fayos 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2009,34(15):1994-2007

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Exploring for Geothermal Resources with Electromagnetic Methods   总被引：5，自引：3，他引：2  

Gerard Muñoz 《Surveys in Geophysics》2014,35(1):101-122

Electrical conductivity of the subsurface is known to be a crucial parameter for the characterization of geothermal settings. Geothermal systems, composed by a system of faults and/or fractures filled with conducting geothermal fluids and altered rocks, are ideal targets for electromagnetic (EM) methods, which have become the industry standard for exploration of geothermal systems. This review paper presents an update of the state-of-the-art geothermal exploration using EM methods. Several examples of high-enthalpy geothermal systems as well as non-volcanic systems are presented showing the successful application of EM for geothermal exploration but at the same time highlighting the importance of the development of conceptual models in order to avoid falling into interpretation pitfalls. The integration of independent data is key in order to obtain a better understanding of the geothermal system as a whole, which is the ultimate goal of exploration.  相似文献   

Spatio-temporal prediction of daily temperatures using time-series of MODIS LST images   总被引：5，自引：2，他引：3  

Tomislav Hengl  Gerard B. M. Heuvelink  Melita Perčec Tadić  Edzer J. Pebesma 《Theoretical and Applied Climatology》2012,107(1-2):265-277

A computational framework to generate daily temperature maps using time-series of publicly available MODIS MOD11A2 product Land Surface Temperature (LST) images (1 km resolution; 8-day composites) is illustrated using temperature measurements from the national network of meteorological stations (159) in Croatia. The input data set contains 57,282 ground measurements of daily temperature for the year 2008. Temperature was modeled as a function of latitude, longitude, distance from the sea, elevation, time, insolation, and the MODIS LST images. The original rasters were first converted to principal components to reduce noise and filter missing pixels in the LST images. The residual were next analyzed for spatio-temporal auto-correlation; sum-metric separable variograms were fitted to account for zonal and geometric space-time anisotropy. The final predictions were generated for time-slices of a 3D space-time cube, constructed in the R environment for statistical computing. The results show that the space-time regression model can explain a significant part of the variation in station-data (84%). MODIS LST 8-day (cloud-free) images are unbiased estimator of the daily temperature, but with relatively low precision (±4.1°C); however their added value is that they systematically improve detection of local changes in land surface temperature due to local meteorological conditions and/or active heat sources (urban areas, land cover classes). The results of 10–fold cross-validation show that use of spatio-temporal regression-kriging and incorporation of time-series of remote sensing images leads to significantly more accurate maps of temperature than if plain spatial techniques were used. The average (global) accuracy of mapping temperature was ±2.4°C. The regression-kriging explained 91% of variability in daily temperatures, compared to 44% for ordinary kriging. Further software advancement—interactive space-time variogram exploration and automated retrieval, resampling and filtering of MODIS images—are anticipated.  相似文献   

Spatial Variation in MTBE Biodegradation Activity of Aquifer Solids Samples Collected in the Vicinity of a Flow-Through Aerobic Biobarrier     

Luis E. Lesser  Paul C. Johnson  Gerard E. Spinnler  Cristin L. Bruce  Joseph P. Salanitro 《Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation》2010,30(2):63-72

The spatial variation in methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) biodegradation activity of aquifer solids samples collected in the vicinity of a flow-through aerobic biobarrier was assessed through use of standard laboratory microcosms. These were prepared by collecting soil cores at a range of locations and depths along different flow paths through the biobarrier. Sections of core samples were placed in sealed bottles with MTBE-free groundwater from the site. The groundwater was filtered to remove microbes, and sparged with O₂. The initial MTBE concentration in the microcosms was adjusted to about 1 mg/L. Biodegradation activity was characterized by the magnitude of MTBE concentration reductions occurred over 4 weeks relative to control microcosms. Sampling locations and depths were selected to allow investigation of relationships between MTBEdegrading activity and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, MTBE, soil type, and initial microbial conditions (biostimulated vs. bioaugmented). The results suggest a relatively wide-spread presence of MTBE-degrading microbial consortia, with varying levels of MTBE-degrading activity. Significant changes in activity were observed over 0.3-m vertical distances in the same location; for example, cores from the most upgradient sampling locations contained sections with no discernible MTBEbiodegradation over 4 weeks, as well as sections that achieved order-of-magnitude MTBE concentration reductions within 2 weeks. None of those cores, however, achieved MTBE biodegradation to nondetect levels (<0.005 mg/L), as was observed in some cores from downgradient locations. Cores from the bioaugmented regions had the highest frequency of MTBE biodegradation to nondetect levels among their sections suggesting a direct effect of the inoculum and its distribution when it was implanted. Most cores with no activity were associated with the upgradient, low-DO, and high-MTBE concentration field environments, but low-DO field environments also yielded MTBE-degrading samples. There were no other clear correlations between MTBE-degrading activity in the microcosms and the local field environment conditions at the time of sampling.  相似文献   

Amorphous silica mobilization by inter‐rill erosion: insights from rainfall experiments          下载免费PDF全文

Wim Clymans  Eric Struyf  An Van den Putte  Christoph Langhans  Zhengang Wang  Gerard Govers 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2015,40(9):1171-1181

Amorphous silica (ASi) carried in suspension by rivers is an important component in the global Si budget. Water erosion processes in cultivated catchments are likely to drive ASi delivery to the river system. However, no studies have investigated the controls on ASi mobilization by erosional processes in croplands. Rainfall experiments were performed on split fields (i.e. a part conventionally ploughed and a part under reduced tillage) to simulate ASi mobilization by inter‐rill erosion in croplands, and identify its dependency on soil, field and rainfall characteristics. The ASi content of the soil and the inter‐rill erosion rate were determined as the major controls on ASi mobilization. Variables such as tillage technique and crop type did not have a consistent direct or indirect effect. Inter‐rill erosion is clearly selective with respect to ASi, indicating association of ASi with the fine soil fraction and with soil organic carbon. Our experiments demonstrate that erosion increases due to human perturbation will increase the delivery of reactive Si to aquatic systems. We estimate that globally, c. 7% of all reactive Si that enters aquatic systems is derived from erosion of agricultural soils. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

The compatibility of erosion data at different temporal scales     

Iris Peeters  Kristof Van Oost  Gerard Govers  Gert Verstraeten  Tom Rommens  Jean Poesen 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2008,265(1-2):138-152

Soil erosion processes have been studied intensively throughout the last decades and rates have been measured at the plot scale as well as at larger scales. However, the relevance of this knowledge for the modelling of long-term landscape evolution remains a topic of considerable debate. Some authors state that measurements of current rates are irrelevant to landscape evolution over a longer time span, as they are inconsistent with some fundamental characteristics of landscapes, such as the fact that the long-term sediment delivery ratio needs to be equal to 1 and that extrapolation of current rates would imply that all soils in Europe should have disappeared by now (e.g. Parsons, A.J., Wainwright, J., Brazier, R.E., Powell, D.M., 2006. Is sediment delivery a fallacy? Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 31, 1325–1328). In this study, we investigate if and to what extent estimates of long-term erosion rates are consistent with information obtained over much shorter time spans for the Loam Belt of Belgium.In a first step, observed short-term and long-term patterns in the Belgian loess area are compared statistically by classifying the study area into landscape element classes and comparing average erosion values per class. This analysis shows that the erosion intensities on the two temporal scales are of the same order of magnitude for each landscape element class. Next, the spatially distributed model WaTEM LT (Water and Tillage Erosion Model Long Term) is calibrated based on the available short-term data by optimising average erosion values for the same landscape element classes. Finally, the calibrated model is used to simulate long-term landform evolution, and is validated using long-term data based on soil profile truncation. We found that the model allows simulating landscape evolution on a millennial time scale using information derived from short-term erosion and deposition data. However, it is important that land use is taken into account for the calibration in order to obtain realistic patterns on a longer time scale. Our analysis shows that, at least for the study area considered, data obtained on erosion and deposition rates over various temporal scales have the same orders of magnitude, thereby demonstrating that measurements of current rates of processes can be highly relevant for interpreting long-term landscape evolution.  相似文献