In coastal environments, evaporation is an important driver of subsurface salinity gradients in marsh systems. However, it has not been addressed in the intertidal zone of sandy beaches. Here, we used field data on an estuarine beach foreshore with numerical simulations to show that evaporation causes upper intertidal zone pore-water salinity to be double that of seawater. We found the increase...

The complex tectonic and volcanic processes in the Ethiopian rift valley have resulted in the formation of volcano-tectonic structural depressions that became sites for many rift valley lakes. Lake Beseka is one of the rift valley lakes in the northern section of the MER near to the Afar triangle. The lake plays an important role in the ecology of birds and wildlife, as it is located in the nor...

North American railroads transport a wide variety of chemicals, chemical mixtures and solutions in railroad tank cars. In the event of an accident, these materials may be spilled and impact the environment. Among the chemicals commonly transported are a number of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs). If these are spilled they can contaminate soil and groundwater and result in costly cleanup...

Ecotones represent locations where vegetation change is likely to occur as a result of climate and other environmental changes. Using a model of an ecotone vulnerable to such future changes, we estimated the resilience of the ecotone to disturbances. The specific ecotone is that between two different vegetation types, salinity-tolerant and salinity-intolerant, along a gradient in groundwater sa...

The great majority of Southern African aquifers depend on rainfall for their recharge. The accurate estimation of recharge remains one of the biggest challenges for groundwater investigators. Accurate recharge estimations are needed for proper groundwater management as this governs the estimation of sustainable exploitation. Current estimates of recharge to aquifers range between 0.2 and 3% of ...

We developed a coupled salt and water balance model to represent the stream salinity generation process following land use changes. The conceptual model consists of three main components with five stores: (i) Dry, Wet and Subsurface Stores, (ii) a saturated Groundwater Store and (iii) a transient Stream zone Store. The Dry and Wet Stores represent the salt and water movement in the unsaturated ...

Exploring soil water dynamics under different land use types is important for resource management and vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau. In this study, we investigated hydrogen oxygen isotopic compositions of from four to explore mechanism movement transformation analyse influence use. The results show that range stable isotopes (δD δ18O) was smaller than precipitation. Values δD δ18O...

Introduction: Gully features were first observed in the images taken by MOC in impact craters, south polar pits and large martian valleys [1], tending to midlatitudes [2]. HiRISE imagery supports the conclusion that the gullies were formed by fluvial erosion [3], but the source and composition of this fluid is unclear. The superposition of the gully aprons over aeolian features, e.g. dunes, sug...