Constraining the timescales of sediment sequestration associated with large woody debris using cosmogenic Be-7

The beneficial ecogeomorphic functions associated with large woody debris (LWD) in fluvial environments are well documented and include positive sediment impacts such as channel margin sequestration, increased substrate heterogeneity, and decreased channel embeddedness, as well as numerous secondary benefits such as nutrient retention and increased habitat heterogeneity. Despite an extensive literature documenting such positive sediment attributes of LWD in forested channels, a quantitative analysis of in-channel sediment storage times associated with channel obstructions has traditionally been difficult to assess. In this study along a 9 km stretch of the Ducktrap River in coastal Maine we present a novel application of fallout cosmogenic Be-7 (t(1/2) = 53 days) coupled with a constant initial activity (CIA) sediment aging model to quantitatively assess transitional bed load storage times in bars associated with in-channel obstructions (LWD and boulders). We find that reach-scale variability in unit stream power and LWD frequency affect sediment storage times, with transport-limited reaches providing longer-term sediment sequestration (generally \u3e 100 days) associated with in-channel obstructions than supply limited ones (\u3c100 \u3edays). Estimates of sediment baraccumulation rates also varied between reaches from 0.2 g cm(-2) d(-1) in the supply limited reach to 0.7 g cm(-2) d(-1) in the transport-limited reach. Last, greater frequency of sites, increased sediment volumes and storage times, and naturally viable recruitment mechanisms for LWD in forested channels document its superior ecogeomorphic function when compared to boulders in this study, even in the Ducktrap river, where twentieth century logging has greatly reduced the size, frequency, and geomorphic efficacy of in-channel wood. This study has implications for channel restoration efforts and documents a novel application of 7Be and CIA methodology to constraining transitional bed load storage times in the fluvial environment

Stormy geomorphology: an introduction to the Special Issue

The degree to which the climate change signal can be seen in the increasing frequency and/or magnitude of extreme events forms a key part of the global environmental change agenda. Geomorphology engages with this debate through extending the instrumental record with palaeogeomorphological research; studying resilience and recovery of geomorphic systems under extreme disturbance; documenting the mediation by catchment organisation of transport processes during extreme events; applying new monitoring methods to better understand process-response systems; and illustrating how process, experimental and modelling insights can be used to define the buffering of geomorphic systems and human assets from the effects of extremes, providing practical outcomes for practitioners.The authors are grateful to the British Society for Geomorphology, Wiley and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) as lead sponsors in support of the Fixed Term Working Group on Stormy Geomorphology which led to this collection of papers. We also acknowledge meeting support from Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), NERC Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS) and EU FP7 Resilience-Increasing Strategies for Coasts – Toolkit (RISC-KIT). Underpinning research was funded through grants from UK NERC (NE/M010546/1 (Naylor), NE/J015423/1 (Spencer, Möller), NE/JO21970/1 (Darby)), USA National Science Foundation (BCS-1160301 and BCS-1222531, Magilligan) and the European Union (FP7-SPACE-2013 grant 607131 and FP7-ENV.2013 grant 603458, Möller, Spencer)

Isospin mixing and the cubic isobaric multiplet mass equation in the lowest <i>T</i>=2, <i>A</i>=32 quintet

The isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) is known to break down in the first T = 2, A = 32 isospin quintet. In this work we combine high-resolution experimental data with state-of-the-art shell-model calculations to investigate isospin mixing as a possible cause for this violation. The experimental data are used to validate isospin-mixing matrix elements calculated with newly developed shell-model Hamiltonians. Our analysis shows that isospin mixing with nonanalog T = 1 states contributes to the IMME breakdown, making the requirement of an anomalous cubic term inevitable for the multiplet

Long-term survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and synchronous brain metastasis treated with whole-brain radiotherapy and thoracic chemoradiation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brain metastases occur in 30-50% of Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and confer a worse prognosis and quality of life. These patients are usually treated with Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) followed by systemic therapy. Few studies have evaluated the role of chemoradiotherapy to the primary tumor after WBRT as definitive treatment in the management of these patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed the outcome of 30 patients with primary NSCLC and brain metastasis at diagnosis without evidence of other metastatic sites. Patients were treated with WBRT and after induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel and cisplatin for two cycles. In the absence of progression, concurrent chemoradiotherapy for the primary tumor with weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin was indicated, with a total effective dose of 60 Gy. If disease progression was ruled out, four chemotherapy cycles followed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Median Progression-free survival (PFS) and Overall survival (OS) were 8.43 ± 1.5 and 31.8 ± 15.8 months, respectively. PFS was 39.5% at 1 year and 24.7% at 2 years. The 1- and 2-year OS rates were 71.1 and 60.2%, respectively. Three-year OS was significantly superior for patients with N0-N1 stage disease vs. N2-N3 (60 vs. 24%, respectively; Response rate [RR], 0.03; <it>p</it>= 0.038).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with NSCLC and brain metastasis might benefit from treatment with WBRT and concurrent thoracic chemoradiotherapy. The subgroup of N0-N1 patients appears to achieve the greatest benefit. The result of this study warrants a prospective trial to confirm the benefit of this treatment.</p

A Lidar‐Derived Evaluation Of Watershed‐Scale Large Woody Debris Sources And Recruitment Mechanisms: Coastal Maine, USA

In‐channel large woody debris (LWD) promotes quality aquatic habitat through sediment sorting, pool scouring and in‐stream nutrient retention and transport. LWD recruitment occurs by numerous ecological and geomorphic mechanisms including channel migration, mass wasting and natural tree fall, yet LWD sourcing on the watershed scale remains poorly constrained. We developed a rapid and spatially extensive method for using light detection and ranging data to do the following: (i) estimate tree height and recruitable tree abundance throughout a watershed; (ii) determine the likelihood for the stream to recruit channel‐spanning trees at reach scales and assess whether mass wasting or channel migration is a dominant recruitment mechanism; and (iii) understand the contemporary and future distribution of LWD at a watershed scale. We utilized this method on the 78‐km‐long Narraguagus River in coastal Maine and found that potential channel‐spanning LWD composes approximately 6% of the valley area over the course of the river and is concentrated in spatially discrete reaches along the stream, with 5 km of the river valley accounting for 50% of the total potential LWD found in the system. We also determined that 83% of all potential LWD is located on valley sides, as opposed to 17% on floodplain and terrace surfaces. Approximately 3% of channel‐spanning vegetation along the river is located within one channel width of the stream. By examining topographic and morphologic variables (valley width, channel sinuosity, valley side slope) over the length of the stream, we evaluated the dominant recruitment processes along the river and often found a spatial disconnect between the location of potential channel‐spanning LWD and recruitment mechanisms, which likely explains the low levels of LWD currently found in the system. This rapid method for identification of LWD sources is extendable to other basins and may prove valuable in locating future restoration projects aimed at increasing habitat quality through wood additions

Geomorphic effectiveness, sandur development, and the pattern of landscape response during jökulhlaups: Skeiöarársandur, southeastern Iceland

By contrast with other historical outburst floods on Skeióarársandur, the 1996 jökulhlaup was unprecedented in its magnitude and duration, attaining a peak discharge of ~53,000 m3/s in \u3c17 h. Using a combination of field sampling and remote sensing techniques (Landsat TM, SAR interferometry, airphotos, and laser altimetry), we document the sandur-wide geomorphic impacts of this event. These impacts varied widely across the Skeióarársandur and cannot be singularly attributed to jökulhlaup magnitude because pre-jökulhlaup glacial dynamics and the extant setting largely conditioned the spatial pattern, type, and magnitude of these impacts. Topographic lowering and asymmetric retreat of the ice front during the late twentieth century has decoupled the ice sheet from the moraine/sandur complex along the central and western sandur. This glacial control, in combination with the convex topography of the proximal sandur, promoted a shift from a primarily diffuse-source braided outwash system to a more point-sourced, channelized discharge of water and sediment. Deposition dominated within the proglacial depression, with approximately 3.8*107 m3 of sediment, and along channel systems that remained connected to subglacial sediment supplies. This shift to a laterally dissimilar, channelized routing system creates a more varied depositional pattern that is not explicitly controlled by the concave longitudinal profile down-sandur. Laterally contiguous units, therefore, may vary greatly in age and sediment character, suggesting that current facies models inadequately characterize sediment transfers when the ice front is decoupled from its sandur. Water was routed onto the sandur in a highly organized fashion; and this jökulhlaup generated major geomorphic changes, including sandur incision in normally aggradational distal settings and eradication of proximal glacial landforms dating to ~A.D. 1892