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"Carling, Paul"
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Coevolving edge rounding and shape of glacial erratics: the case of Shap granite, UK
The size distributions and the shapes of detrital rock clasts can shed light on the environmental history of the clast assemblages and the processes responsible for clast comminution. For example, mechanical fracture due to the stresses imposed on a basal rock surface by a body of flowing glacial ice releases initial \"parent\" shapes of large blocks of rock from an outcrop, which then are modified by the mechanics of abrasion and fracture during subglacial transport. The latter processes produce subsequent generations of shapes, possibly distinct in form from the parent blocks. A complete understanding of both the processes responsible for block shape changes and the trends in shape adjustment with time and distance away from the source outcrop is lacking. Field data on edge rounding and shape changes of Shap granite blocks (dispersed by Devensian ice eastwards from the outcrop) are used herein to explore the systematic changes in block form with distance from the outcrop.
Journal Article
A wetland oasis at Wadi Gharandal spanning 125–70 ka on the human migration trail in southern Jordan
Former lakes and wetlands can provide valuable insights to the late Pleistocene environments encountered by the first humans to enter the Levant from Africa. Fluvial incision along Wadi Gharandal in hyperarid southern Jordan has exposed remnants of a small riverine wetland that accumulated as a sedimentary sequence up to ~20 m thick. We conducted a chronometric and sedimentological study of this wetland, including 10 optically stimulated luminescence dates. The wetland sequence accumulated during the period ~125 to 70 ka in response to a positive water balance coupled with a (possibly coseismic) landslide that dammed the outlet. The valley fill was dissected when the dam was incised shortly after ~36 ± 3 ka. Comparison of our ages with regional palaeoclimate indicates that the Gharandal oasis developed during the relatively humid Marine Isotope Stage 5. A minimum age of 74 ± 7 ka for two Levallois flakes collected from stratified sediments suggests that the oasis was visited by humans during the critical 130–90 ka time window of human migration out of Africa. Gharandal joins a growing network of freshwater sites that enabled humans to cross areas of the Levant and Arabia along corridors of human dispersal.
Journal Article
Sustainable sediment management in reservoirs and regulated rivers: Experiences from five continents
By trapping sediment in reservoirs, dams interrupt the continuity of sediment transport through rivers, resulting in loss of reservoir storage and reduced usable life, and depriving downstream reaches of sediments essential for channel form and aquatic habitats. With the acceleration of new dam construction globally, these impacts are increasingly widespread. There are proven techniques to pass sediment through or around reservoirs, to preserve reservoir capacity and to minimize downstream impacts, but they are not applied in many situations where they would be effective. This paper summarizes collective experience from five continents in managing reservoir sediments and mitigating downstream sediment starvation. Where geometry is favorable it is often possible to bypass sediment around the reservoir, which avoids reservoir sedimentation and supplies sediment to downstream reaches with rates and timing similar to pre‐dam conditions. Sluicing (or drawdown routing) permits sediment to be transported through the reservoir rapidly to avoid sedimentation during high flows; it requires relatively large capacity outlets. Drawdown flushing involves scouring and re‐suspending sediment deposited in the reservoir and transporting it downstream through low‐level gates in the dam; it works best in narrow reservoirs with steep longitudinal gradients and with flow velocities maintained above the threshold to transport sediment. Turbidity currents can often be vented through the dam, with the advantage that the reservoir need not be drawn down to pass sediment. In planning dams, we recommend that these sediment management approaches be utilized where possible to sustain reservoir capacity and minimize environmental impacts of dams.
Key Points
Reservoirs trap sediment, losing storage capacity
Downstream reaches can become sediment starved
Many dams can be designed/operated to pass sediment
Journal Article
Repeated glacial-lake outburst floods in Patagonia: an increasing hazard
Five similar glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs) occurred in April, October, December 2008, March and September 2009 in the Northern Patagonia Icefield. On each occasion, Cachet 2 Lake, dammed by the Colonia Glacier, released circa 200-million m³ water into the Colonia River. Refilling has occurred rapidly, such that further outbreak floods can be expected. Pipeflow calculations of the subglacial tunnel drainage and 1D hydraulic models of the river flood give consistent results, with an estimated peak discharge surpassing 3,000 m³ s⁻¹. These floods were larger in magnitude than any flood on record, according to gauged data since 1963. However, geomorphological analysis of the Colonia valley shows physical evidence of former catastrophic outburst floods from a larger glacial-lake, with flood discharges possibly as high as 16,000 m³ s⁻¹. Due to potential impacts of climate change on glacier dynamics in the area, jökulhlaups may increase future flood risks for infrastructure and population. This is particularly relevant in view of the current development of hydropower projects in Chilean Patagonia.
Journal Article
Water level fluctuations drive bank instability in a hypertidal estuary
Hypertidal estuaries are very dynamic environments characterized by high tidal ranges (> 6 m) that can experience rapid rates of bank retreat. Whilst a large body of work on the processes, rates, patterns, and factors driving bank erosion has been undertaken in fluvial environments, the process mechanics affecting the stability of the banks with respect to mass failure in hypertidal settings are not well-documented. In this study, the processes and trends leading to bank failure and consequent retreat in hypertidal estuaries are treated within the context of the Severn Estuary (UK) by employing a combination of numerical models and field-based observations. Our results highlight that the periodic fluctuations in water level associated with the hypertidal environment drive regular fluctuations in the hydrostatic pressure exerted on the incipient failure surfaces that range from a confinement pressure of 0 kPa (at low tide) to ∼ 100 kPa (at high tide). However, the relatively low transmissivity of the fine-grained banks (that are typical of estuarine environments) results in low seepage inflow/outflow velocities (∼ 3 × 10−10 m s−1), such that variations in positive pore water pressures within the saturated bank are smaller, ranging between about 10 kPa (at low tide) and ∼ 43 kPa (at high tides). This imbalance in the resisting (hydrostatic confinement) versus driving (positive pore water pressures) forces thereby drives a frequent oscillation of bank stability between stable (at high tide) and unstable states (at low tide). This transition between stability and instability is found not only on a semidiurnal basis but also within a longer time frame. In the spring-to-neap transitional period, banks experience the coexistence of high degrees of saturation due to the high spring tides and decreasing confinement pressures favoured by the still moderately high channel water levels. This transitional period creates conditions when failures are more likely to occur.
Journal Article
A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine-grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion
Hydraulic erosion of bank toe materials is the dominant factor controlling the long‐term rate of riverbank retreat. In principle, hydraulic bank erosion can be quantified using an excess shear stress model, but difficulties in estimating input parameters seriously inhibit the predictive accuracy of this approach. Herein a combination of analytical modeling and novel field measurement techniques is employed to improve the parameterization of an excess shear stress model as applied to the Lower Mekong River. Boundary shear stress is estimated using a model (Kean and Smith, 2006a, 2006b) for flow over the irregular bank topography that is characteristic of fine‐grained riverbanks. Bank erodibility parameters were obtained using a cohesive strength meter (Tolhurst et al., 1999). The new model was used to estimate annual bank erosion rates via integration across the Mekong's annual flow regime. Importantly, the simulations represent the first predictions of hydraulic bank erosion that do not require recourse to calibration, thereby providing a stronger physical basis for the simulation of bank erosion. Model predictions, as evaluated by comparing simulated annual rates of bank toe retreat with estimates of bank retreat derived from analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery, indicate a tendency to overpredict erosion (root‐mean‐square error equals ±0.53 m/yr). Form roughness induced by bank topographic features is shown to be a major component (61%–85%) of the spatially averaged total shear stress, and as such it can be viewed as an important factor that self‐limits bank erosion.
Journal Article
Ice-buttressing-controlled rock slope failure on a cirque headwall, Lake District, UK
Rock slope failures in the Lake District, UK, have been associated with deglacial processes after the Last Glacial Maximum, but the controls and timing of the failures remain poorly known. A cirque headwall failure was investigated to determine failure mechanisms and timing. The translated wedge of rock is thin and lies on a steep failure plane, yet the friable strata were not disrupted by downslope movement. Fault lines and a failure surface, defining the wedge, were used as input to a numerical model of rock wedge stability. Various failure scenarios indicated that the slope was unstable and would have failed catastrophically if not supported by glacial ice in the base of the cirque. The amount of ice required to buttress the slope is insubstantial, indicating likely failure during the thinning of the cirque glacier. We propose that, as the ice thinned, the wedge was lowered slowly down the cirque headwall, gradually exposing the failure plane. A cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure age of 18.0±1.2 ka from the outer surface of the wedge indicates Late Devensian de-icing of the backwall of the cirque, with a second exposure age from the upper portion of the failure plane yielding 12.0±0.8 ka. The 18.0±1.2 ka date is consistent with a small buttressing ice mass being present in the cirque at the time of regional deglaciation. The exposure age of 12.0±0.8 ka represents a minimum age, as the highly fractured surface of the failure plane has experienced post-failure mass-wasting. Considering the chronology, it appears unlikely that the cirque was reoccupied by a substantial ice mass during the Younger Dryas stadial.
Journal Article
In situ occurrence of Muong Nong-type Australasian tektite fragments from the Quaternary deposits near Huai Om, northeastern Thailand
There are several reports of Australasian tektites found within a stratum called “laterite” layer widely distributed in Indochina. However, it has been debated whether these tektites are in situ or reworked. This uncertainty is because a detailed description of their field occurrence is lacking. Here, we describe the detailed occurrence of a cluster of tektite fragments recovered from the “laterite” layer near Huai Om, northeastern Thailand, and demonstrate the evidence of in situ occurrence of the tektites. At least 331 tektite fragments with a total weight of 713 g were found from a 40 × 30 cm area with 10 cm thickness in the uppermost part of the “laterite” layer. The very angular shapes and very poorly sorted nature of the fragments, restoration of larger tektite fragments into one ellipsoidal Muong Nong-type (MN) tektite mass, and the similar chemical composition of the fragments suggest that these MN tektite fragments represent a tektite mass that fragmented in situ. The fact that the fragments were found within the “laterite” layer is inconsistent with a previous interpretation that the upper surface of the “laterite” layer is a paleo-erosional surface, on which the tektites are reworked. The size distribution of the fragments is bi-fractal following two power laws in the range from 10 to 26 mm and from 26 to 37 mm, respectively, with fractal dimensions (
Ds
) of 2.2 and 7.5. The
Ds
for the coarse fraction of the tektite fragments is larger than the
Ds
for rock fragments generated by rockfalls and rock avalanches and similar to the
Ds
for the coarser fraction fragments generated by high-speed impact experiments, suggesting that the tektite fragments were formed through intense fragmentation by a relatively high energetic process. The occurrence of the fragments forming a cluster indicates that the fragments were not moved apart significantly after fragmentation and burial. Based on these results, we concluded that the mass of a tektite was fragmented at the time of the landing on the ground after traveling a ballistic trajectory and has not been disturbed further.
Journal Article
Back to the Future: Foundations and Change in Campus Ministry
[...]2,926 graduate and 3,933 professional students study at Yale,2 among them students at the Yale Divinity School, which includes the Berkeley Divinity School, an Episcopal seminary, and the Institute of Sacred Music, a collaboration between YDS and the Yale School of Music. Forty percent of undergraduates have some contact with mental health services while at Yale. [...]ECY programs stress physical, emotional, and spiritual self-care by including speakers on life balance at dinner, mini-classes on prayer, and a new peer ministry program which will teach mental health first aid. Episcopal Church at Yale: A Brief History ECY began as the Berkeley Association on All Saints' Day, 1869.3 It was thus the second independent college chaplaincy in the United States, forming four years after the Bishop Seabury Association at Brown University.4 The Berkeley Association brought clergy to campus to preach to Episcopalians and talk about various topics, meeting regularly for prayer and eventually celebrations of the eucharist in the decades that followed. [...]they evolved a practice of daily liturgy, which was well attended. [...]if they are to succeed, campus ministries need consistent investment from the rest of the church, principally at the diocesan level, including financial support and ministry network development. PAUL J. CARLING* AND ARMANDO GHINAGLIA** * Paul J. Carling is a developmental and clinical psychologist, an Episcopal priest, and Chaplain and Priest-in-Charge at the Episcopal Church at Yale. ** Armando Ghinaglia is a graduate of Yale College, a seminarian at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, a Postulant for Holy Orders...
Journal Article