Controls on denudation along the East Australian continental margin

We report a comprehensive inventory of 10Be-based basin-wide denudation rates (n = 160) and 26Al/10Be ratios (n = 67) from 48 drainage basins along a 3000 km stretch of the East Australian passive continental margin. We provide data from both basins draining east of the continental divide (n = 37) and discharging into the Tasman and Coral Seas, and from basins draining to the west as part of the larger Murray-Darling and Lake Eyre river systems (n = 11). 10Be-derived denudation rates in mainstem samples from east-draining basins range between 7.7 ± 1.9 (± 1σ; Mary) and 54.6 ± 13.7 mm kyr−1 (North Johnstone). Denudation rates in tributary samples range between 3.0 ± 0.7 (Burdekin) and 70.2 ± 18.9 mm kyr−1 (Liverpool). For west-draining basins, denudation rates are overall lower and with a more restricted range of 4.8 ± 1.2 (Barcoo) to 15.4 ± 3.6 mm kyr−1 (Maranoa) in mainstem samples, and between 4.4 ± 1.0 (Murrumbidgee) and 38.5 ± 7.8 mm kyr−1 (Murray) in tributary samples. East Australian denudation rates (median = 14.5 mm kyr−1) are similar to those found in other postorogenic landscapes (global median = 12.4 mm kyr−1) and the medians of the top 10% denudation rates recorded here (46.5 mm kyr−1) and in other passive margin settings are also similar, despite differences in topography and precipitation. These median denudation rate values are close to the 95th percentile denudation rate for all tectonically passive basins (≈53 mm kyr−1) and are very similar to the global silicate weathering speed limit (≈58 mm kyr−1) calculated as the 95th percentile of global soil weathering rates. The above suggests that in post-orogenic terrain, the overall rates of topographic decay have a ‘speed limit’ that is imposed by the rate at which rock is converted to soil by chemical weathering. Denudation rates along the East Australian margin correlate with topographic metrics at both the mainstem basin scale and at the smaller tributary basin scale suggesting that topography exerts the main control on rates of landscape lowering in this setting. An important link between denudation rate and rainfall is also inferred: the highest mainstem 10Be denudation rates all occur in basins which also have the highest rainfall amounts and there is a strong correlation between the distance knickpoints have travelled upstream from the river mouth and basin area — a proxy for discharge and so to some extent also rainfall. On both sides of the divide, in all but a few of the samples, 26Al/10Be ratios are consistently lower than what is expected in a setting where sediments experience a simple and continuous exposure history. East of the continental divide, the lowest 26Al/10Be ratios are found in basins that also experience increased flood variability. We posit that there is a causal link between the hydrological variability that characterises the coastal rivers of eastern Australia and the observed non-steady state 26Al/10Be ratios: the periodic stripping of vertically accreted floodplains by large floods means that deeper and potentially older material is periodically incorporated into the sediment mix transported by the modern river

Pre-development denudation rates for the Great Barrier Reef catchments derived using Be-10

Understanding of the pre-development, baseline denudation rates that deliver sediment to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has been elusive. Cosmogenic 10Be in sediment is a useful integrator of denudation rates and sediment yields averaged over large spatial and temporal scales. This study presents 10Be data from 71 sites across 11 catchments draining to the GBR: representing 80% of the GBR catchment area and provide background sediment yields for the region. Modern, short-term, sediment yields derived from suspended load concentrations are compared to the 10Be data to calculate an Accelerated Erosion Factor (AEF) that highlights denudation “hot-spots” where sediment yields have increased over the long-term background values. The AEF results show that 58% basins have higher modern sediment yields than long-term yields. The AEF is considered a useful approach to help prioritise on-ground investments in remediation and the additional measured empirical data in this paper will help support future predictive models

Survival After In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rates of immediate survival and survival to discharge for adult patients undergoing in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and to identify demographic and clinical variables associated with these outcomes. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The MEDLARS database of the National Library of Medicine was searched. In addition, the authors' extensive personal files and the bibliography of each identified study were searched for further studies. Two sets of inclusion criteria were used, minimal (any study of adults undergoing in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and strict (included only patients from general ward and intensive care units, and adequately defined cardiopulmonary arrest and resuscitation). Each study was independently reviewed and abstracted in a nonblinded fashion by two reviewers. The data abstracted were compared, and any discrepancies were resolved by consensus discussion. For the subset of studies meeting the strict criteria, the overall rate of immediate survival was 40.7% and the rate of survival to discharge was 13.4%. The following variables were associated with failure to survive to discharge: sepsis on the day prior to resuscitation (odds ratio [OR] 31.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9, 515), metastatic cancer (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.2, 12.6), dementia (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.1, 8.8), African-American race (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.4, 5.6), serum creatinine level at a cutpoint of 1.5 mg/dL (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.2, 3.8), cancer (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2, 3.0), coronary artery disease (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.4, 0.8), and location of resuscitation in the intensive care unit (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.4, 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: When talking with patients, physicians can describe the overall likelihood of surviving discharge as 1 in 8 for patients who undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation and 1 in 3 for patients who survive cardiopulmonary resuscitation