Valleys

This article describes the first attempt to conduct electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in solid permafrost-affected rock faces. Electrode design, instrument settings, and processing routines capable of measuring under relevant conditions were developed. Four transects, with ...

Quaternary sedimentary successions are described from the Linda Valley, a small valley in western Tasmania that was dammed by ice during Early and Middle Pleistocene glaciations. Mapping and logging of exposures suggest that an orderly sequence of deposits formed during ice incursion, occupation and withdrawal from tributary valleys. Four principal sediment assemblages record different stages of ice occupation in the valley. As the glacier advanced, a proglacial, lacustrine sediment assemblage dominated by laminated silts and muds deposited from suspension accumulated in front of the glacier. A subglacial sediment assemblage consisting of deformed lacustrine deposits and lodgement till records the overriding of lake-bottom sediments as the glacier advanced up the valley into the proglacial lake. As the glacier withdrew from the valley, a supraglacial sediment assemblage of diamict, gravel, sand and silt facies formed on melting ice in the upper part of the valley. A lacustrine regression in the supraglacial assemblage is inferred on the basis of a change from deposits mainly resulting from suspension in a subaqueous setting to relatively thin and laterally discontinuous laminated sediments, occurrence of clastic dykes, and increasing complexity of the geometry of deposits that indicate deposition in a subaerial setting. A deltaic sediment assemblage deposited during the final stage of ice withdrawal from the valley consists of steeply dipping diamict and normally graded gravel facies formed on delta foresets by subaqueous sediment gravity flows. The sediment source for the delta, which prograded toward the retreating ice margin, was the supraglacial sediment assemblage previously deposited in the upper part of the valley. A depositional model developed from the study of the Linda Valley may be applicable to other alpine glaciated areas where glaciers flowed through or terminated in medium- to high-relief topography.

We find the exponential generating function for permutations with all valleys even and all peaks odd, and use it to determine the asymptotics for its coefficients, answering a question posed by Liviu Nicolaescu. The generating function can be expressed as the reciprocal of a sum involving Euler numbers. We give two proofs of the formula. The first uses a system of differential equations. The second proof derives the generating function directly from general permutation enumeration techniques, using noncommutative symmetric functions. The generating function is an "alternating" analogue of David and Barton's generating function for permutations with no increasing runs of length 3 or more. Our general results give further alternating analogues of permutation enumeration formulas, including results of Chebikin and Remmel.

Several laterally offset and aggradational sinuous submarine channels are contained within a 54 km long segment of the Benin-major Canyon. Axial channel deposits produce high amplitude reflections on three-dimensional (3-D) seismic profiles. Some seismic reflections have U- or V-shaped cross-sectional motifs that were correlated with confidence along linear to meandering paths for distances up to 70 km. They are referred to here as channel-forms (CFs), and are believed to be the axial parts of submarine channels preserved during overall channel floor aggradation. A total of 15 separate CFs were mapped allowing thalweg-gradients, dimensions, and morphology to be studied spatially and through time, providing insight into how submarine canyons fill. Their planform geometry evolved predominantly in a stepwise fashion through alternating periods of cut-and-fill, but more gradual channel migrations are also observed. The largest offsets in successive channel floor position occur after periods of significant vertical CF fill (‘thalweg plugging’—with deposits commonly consisting of lower amplitude, transparent to chaotic seismic reflections). The passage of erosive flows after such periods of fill caused abrupt shifts in channel position, particularly at meander bends, with increased potential for the formation of pseudo meander loop cut-offs. Significant spatial differences in the stacking architecture of CFs are attributed to local slope deformation and perhaps also to a recent channel avulsion just west of the study area. Abrupt channel straightening in the western study area coincides with a period of increased valley-gradient associated with amplification of an underlying anticlinal fold. The youngest CFs in this area show limited aggradation and are characterized by repeated episodes of headward erosion causing knickpoint migration as the recent channel floor tried, unsuccessfully, to establish a smooth graded depth profile. This is in stark contrast to the time-equivalent predominantly aggradational CFs in the eastern study area that show a progressive increase in sinuosity through time.

The Picillo Farm, EPA Superfund Site, in western Rhode Island was an unauthorized disposal site of hazardous organic chemicals. Predominantly organic contaminants have entered an aquifer comprised of layered glacial deposits and fractured bedrock and spread past the site boundaries with groundwater flow. Hydraulic conductivities in the glacial deposits range over two orders of magnitude and fractures and faults in the granitic bedrock further complicate the spreading of contaminants. Monitoring wells delineate two plumes that extend towards a fault-controlled valley with lakes and wetlands; one to the northwest and the other to the southwest. In this investigation we studied the electrical characteristics of both plumes. One dimensional Schlumberger depth soundings were conducted along several profile lines over the plumes and compared to those over non-contaminated sections of the site. With regard to the southwestern plume, high formation factors (ratio of bulk layer to pore water resistivity) between 12 and 45 were observed compared to values between 2.5 and 7.7 measured over the non-contaminated sections. Also, high values (> 5) of vertical electrical anisotropy (ratio of geoelectrically determined depth to high resistivity bedrock to drilled depth to bedrock) were measured over the contaminated part of the site. These values are extremely high compared to other non-contaminated sites (range: 2 to 3) in glacial stream channels of southern Rhode Island. Geoelectric measurements were affected by lateral effects. However, the consistency of high formation factors (11 to 35) and high vertical anisotropies (3 to 5) over the southwestern plume in comparison to low formation factors (3 to 8) and vertical anisotropies (1 to 1.5) over non-contaminated sites represents a marked difference between both sites. Overall, the Schlumberger depth soundings are less susceptible to near-surface lateral inhomogeneities than expected from other geoelectrical methods. Also, the disadvantage of a 1D interpretation was compensated by estimating resistivity and thickness ranges within the concept of non-uniqueness using the Dar Zarrouk parameters (Maillet, R., 1947. The fundamental equations of electrical prospecting. Geophysics, 12(4): 529-556.). The results over the northwestern plume, i.e. an area with higher contaminant concentration than the southwestern plume, were mixed and showed no consistent trends. Predominantly reducing conditions, as indicated by the presence of soluble ferric (FeII) iron hydroxides in ground water samples, increased the electrical conductivity. This is believed to have compensated the effect of high formation factors on the bulk saturated layer resistivity within the affected area.

Drought is a noteworthy cause of low agricultural profitability and of crop production vulnerability, yet in numerous countries of Africa little to no consideration has been paid to readiness for drought calamity, particularly to spatial evaluation and indicators of drought occurrence. In this study, biophysical and socio-economic data, farmers’ community surveys and secondary data from remote sensing on soil characteristics and water demand were used to evaluate the predictors of drought in inland valley rice-based production systems and the factors affecting farmers’ mitigation measures. The study intervened in three West African countries located in the Sudan-Sahel zone, viz. Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria. Significant drying trends occurred at latitudes below 11°30′ whilst significant wetting trends were discerned at latitude above 11°30′. Droughts were more frequent and had their longest duration in the states of Niger and Kaduna located in Nigeria and in western Burkina Faso d...

Numerous investigations have examined the growth of wetland tree species under a variety of hydrologic conditions. Most studies have compared flooded versus non-flooded conditions in greenhouses or in one to a few field sites near each other or within the same region. Comparisons of wetland tree growth among widely separated areas of the country are rare. This study compared the diametet; growth of Nyssa sylva/ica var. biflora, Nyssa aqua/ica, and Taxodium dis/ichum trees from Louisiana (Gulf Coastal Plain) and South Carolina (Atlantic Coastal Plain), In both regions. individual trees were distributed along a gradient of hydrologic regimes from infrequent to permanent flooding. Nyssa sylva/ica var. biflora was restricted to periodic.ally flooded sites in both regions. Within these sites. this species showed little response to differences in mean water depth. In contrast, significant differences among hydrologic regimes were detected for N. aqua/ica in both regions. In Louisiana. pat...