Larval Brachyuran Crab Timing and Distribution in Relation to Water Properties and Flow in a High-Latitude Estuary

Crab larval dispersal and, thus, adult population size can be influenced by oceanographic conditions, especially in highly dynamic and variable environments such as high-latitude estuaries. This study's primary goal was to understand larval timing, abundance, and distribution in relation to oceanographic effects between the more estuarine inner and more oceanic outer part of the subarctic estuary of Kachemak Bay (south-central Alaska, USA). Temperature and salinity measurements and plankton tows were taken along the boundary between the two bay parts from 31 March to 28 October 2008 on spring and neap tides. Summer water flow and stratification in Kachemak Bay were chiefly buoyancy driven, and predominant flow patterns were not affected by the large tidal range in the region. Larvae of seven brachyuran species were found over the sampling period, with seasonally different peak abundances. Larval spatial distribution patterns, presence of most larval stages for each species, and their seasonal timing and persistence within the water column suggest that most species are locally transported within or close to Kachemak Bay. The larval assemblage was correlated with seasonal changes in water temperature, and peak abundances of some species coincided with spring tides and/or frontal systems between the in- and outflow regions of the bay. The strong influence of freshwater on the local circulation pattern in the summer indicates that larval transport will likely be strongly affected by future changes in glacial melt and precipitation.     

Geomorphic analysis reveals active tectonic deformation on the eastern flank of the Pir Panjal Range,Kashmir Valley,India

There are plenty of faults that show evidence that they are active. Most of the valley’s floor is occupied by unconsolidated Karewa deposits, in particular on the south–southwest of the Kashmir Valley. In such situations, geomorphic data can reveal the location of active faults. Accordingly, we tried to identify geomorphic indices in SW of the Kashmir Valley (Veshav, Rambiara, and Romushi drainage basins), which revealed the area to be potentially tectonically active. This active faulting was further substantiated by drainage anomalies and field investigations, which provides evidence for an emergent out-of-sequence NE-dipping active reverse fault (identified first time on ground) named the Balapur Fault (BF). The BF can be traced over at least 40 km along the southwest side of the Kashmir Valley. The existence of the active Balapur Fault and of two other inferred faults north of the Panjal Thrust or Murree Thrust presents a picture of a more complex strain-partitioning regime in the Kashmir Himalayas than is usually visualized.     

A late Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction from Agua Caliente,southern Belize,linked to regional climate variability and cultural change at the Maya polity of Uxbenká

We report high-resolution macroscopic charcoal, pollen and sedimentological data for Agua Caliente, a freshwater lagoon located in southern Belize, and infer a late Holocene record of human land-use/climate interactions for the nearby prehistoric Maya center of Uxbenká. Land-use activities spanning the initial clearance of forests for agriculture through the drought-linked Maya collapse and continuing into the historic recolonization of the region are all reflected in the record. Human land alteration in association with swidden agriculture is evident early in the record during the Middle Preclassic starting ca. 2600 cal yr BP. Fire slowly tapered off during the Late and Terminal Classic, consistent with the gradual political demise and depopulation of the Uxbenká polity sometime between ca. 1150 and 950 cal yr BP, during a period of multiple droughts evident in a nearby speleothem record. Fire activity was at its lowest during the Maya Postclassic ca. 950–430 cal yr BP, but rose consistent with increasing recolonization of the region between ca. 430 cal yr BP and present. These data suggest that this environmental record provides both a proxy for 2800 years of cultural change, including colonization, growth, decline, and reorganization of regional populations, and an independent confirmation of recent paleoclimate reconstructions from the same region.     

The RHESSI Spectrometer

RHESSI observes solar photons over three orders of magnitude in energy (3 keV to 17 MeV) with a single instrument: a set of nine cryogenically cooled coaxial germanium detectors. With their extremely high energy resolution, RHESSI can resolve the line shape of every known solar gamma-ray line except the neutron capture line at 2.223 MeV. High resolution also allows clean separation of thermal and non-thermal hard X-rays and the accurate measurement of even extremely steep power-law spectra. Detector segmentation, fast signal processing, and two sets of movable attenuators allow RHESSI to make high-quality spectra and images of flares across seven orders of magnitude in intensity. Here we describe the configuration and operation of the RHESSI spectrometer, show early results on in-flight performance, and discuss the principles of spectroscopic data analysis used by the RHESSI software.     

The relation of conducting polymer actuator material properties to performance

Materials used in many branches of engineering are of low molecular weight and not flexible. As we develop more sophisticated engineering devices one can look to nature for inspiration and advocate the use of high molecular weight flexible materials. Conducting polymer actuators will soon be used in applications where traditional low molecular weight actuator systems are incapable of mimicking the functionality provided by nature's muscle. To incorporate conducting polymer actuators into engineering systems it is of high importance to not only model and predict the behavior of these actuators but also understand the connection of material properties to performance. In this paper, the importance of fundamental actuation mechanisms and the fundamental material properties of conducting polymer muscles such as ionic diffusion rate, electrochemical operating window, strain to charge ratio, ratio of charge carried by positive versus negative ions, and salt draining are discussed and their effect on performance is demonstrated. The relevance of engineered geometry to the performance of conducting polymer muscles is also shown. Our understanding of what limits the performance of existing conducting polymers actuators provides directions for the improvement of the next generation of conducting polymer actuators.     

The Low Metallicity ISM of Dwarf Galaxies

The properties of the low metallicity environments of dwarf galaxies are studied through dust observations in conjunction with the FIR fine-structure cooling lines. There is a striking enhancement of the I[CII]/I(CO) in dwarf galaxies that is explained by the decreased attenuation of the UV light in molecular clouds. An important consequence is that a significant mass of the molecular gas mass inventory can be missed through CO observations alone. Modeling the infrared spectral energy distribution into submillimeter wavelengths in dwarf galaxies reveals the presence of very cold (∼ 8K) dust,which accounts for a large fraction of the dust mass, until now missed by models using IRAS observations alone. In spite of the striking defficiency of the mid-infrared aromatic band carriers, cooling in the photodissociation regions, via [CII] line emission is a very efficient process. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Simple Relation to Constrain Groundwater Models Using Surface Deformation

A simple relation between pore pressure change and one-dimensional surface deformation is presented. The relation is for pore pressure change in a confined aquifer that causes surface deformation. It can be applied to groundwater models of any discretization and is computationally efficient. The estimated surface deformation from model results can be compared to observed surface deformation through geodetic techniques such as Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. Model parameters then are constrained using the observed surface deformation. The validity of this relation is shown through constraint of model parameters for surface uplift due to pore pressure increase caused by wastewater disposal injection.     

Building and Testing an <Emphasis Type="Italic">a priori</Emphasis> Geophysical Model for Western Eurasia and North Africa

We construct and evaluate a new three-dimensional model of crust and upper mantle structure in Western Eurasia and North Africa (WENA) extending to 700 km depth and having 1° parameterization. The model is compiled in an a priori fashion entirely from existing geophysical literature, specifically, combining two regionalized crustal models with a high-resolution global sediment model and a global upper mantle model. The resulting WENA1.0 model consists of 24 layers: water, three sediment layers, upper, middle, and lower crust, uppermost mantle, and 16 additional upper mantle layers. Each of the layers is specified by its depth, compressional and shear velocity, density, and attenuation (quality factors, Q _P and Q _S ). The model is tested by comparing the model predictions with geophysical observations including: crustal thickness, surface wave group and phase velocities, upper mantle _n velocities, receiver functions, P-wave travel times, waveform characteristics, regional 1-D velocities, and Bouguer gravity. We find generally good agreement between WENA1.0 model predictions and empirical observations for a wide variety of independent data sets. We believe this model is representative of our current knowledge of crust and upper mantle structure in the WENA region and can successfully be used to model the propagation characteristics of regional seismic waveform data. The WENA1.0 model will continue to evolve as new data are incorporated into future validations and any new deficiencies in the model are identified. Eventually this a priori model will serve as the initial starting model for a multiple data set tomographic inversion for structure of the Eurasian continent.