Reef development on a deepening platform: two Early Cretaceous coralgal patch reefs (Catí, Llàcova Formation, eastern Spain) compared

Two coralgal patch reefs of the Hauterivian Llàcova Formation (Maestrat Basin, eastern Spain), exposed at two consecutive stratigraphic levels within a single section, have been studied to document taxonomic implications of a changing environment. These two reefal palaeocommunities differ substantially in coral taxonomic composition, microbialite formation pattern and in abundance and composition of encrusters and bioeroders. Of a total of 14 coral species, just one (Stylina parvistella) occurs in both reefs, yet is abundant in the (lower) reef A and rare, occurring near the reef base, in the reef B assemblage. Reef A is dominated by a phototrophic fauna and coral species with small corallites and imperforate septa (a stylinid-thamnasteriid-heterocoeniid-actinastreid association), along with an encruster association dominated by Bacinella and Lithocodium. Reef B is characterised by a balanced phototrophic-heterotrophic fauna that gradually passes into a heterotrophic-dominated assemblage. During this latest growth stage, microsolenid corals dominated the assemblage. The encruster fauna is characterised by sponges, polychaetes and bryozoans. Moderate deepening during a transgressive systems tract (TST) depositional sequence and elevated nutrient supply are interpreted to represent the driving environmental parameters that caused faunal compositions to differ between these two reefal palaeocommunities. Nine coral taxa, previously known only from younger (Barremian–Cenomanian) strata, have been identified, namely Dimorphocoenia? rudis, Eocomoseris raueni, Eocomoseris sp., Holocoenia jaccardi, Latusastrea irregularis, Mesomorpha sp., Microsolena kugleri, Polyphylloseris mammillata and Polyphylloseris sp. This observation emphasises the importance of the Hauterivian Stage as a period of evolutionary transition in Late Jurassic–Cretaceous coral faunas.     

Observation of DMSO and CH3S(O)OH from the gas phase reaction between DMS and OH

Products and mechanisms have been investigated for the reactions between dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and the hydroxyl radical (OH) in the presence of NO_x. All of the experiments were performed in a 480 L reaction chamber, applying Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ion chromatography as the analytical techniques.In addition to the sulfur containing products that are known to be produced from the gas phase reaction between DMS and OH (SO₂, dimethylsulfone, methylsulfonyl peroxynitrate, methanesulfonic acid, H₂SO₄), DMSO and methanesulfinic acid (CH₃S(O)OH) were also observed as products. Only SO₂, DMSO₂ and methylsulfonyl peroxynitrate were found as sulfur containing products in the reaction between DMSO and OH. Based on these new results we propose a mechanism for the atmospheric oxidation of DMS and DMSO by OH radical.     

Effect of monochloramine on isolated fulvic acid

Monochloramine is interesting both as a selective oxidant of fulvic acid and as a drinking water disinfectant. In this study, the controlled reaction of aquatic fulvic acid with monochloramine did not result in products detectable by ether extraction-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection techniques. Evidence of a reaction was shown by bleaching of the fulvic acid solution (decreased absorbance at 465 nm) and chlorine substitution. Chlorine-containing products were quantified by the total carbon adsorbable organic halide (TOX) parameter. Bleaching and organic chlorine formation were much less extensive than in the reaction of free chlorine with fulvic acid. Monochloramine was shown to produce an organic chlorine fraction more hydrophilic and with higher molecular size than that produced by chlorine and fulvic acid. Results suggest that monochloramine may be useful tool for the investigation of certain humic functionalities because it reacts rather selectively and to a small extent with aquatic fulvic acid.     

Detection of Cyclic Patterns Using Wavelets: An Example Study in the Ormskirk Sandstone, Irish Sea

This study shows how wavelet analysis can be used on well log and drill core data to identify cyclicity in sedimentary sequences. Three possible methods for determining wavelength were investigated: the Morlet wavelet, the Fourier transform, and the semivariogram. When applied to several hypothetical signals similar to those observed in petrophysical measurements in hydrocarbon reservoirs, all three methods could identify the presence of cyclicity. Only the wavelet scalogram, however, gave a clear indication of when the cyclic element was present and where frequency changes occurred in the signal. To illustrate the wavelet analysis, we processed well log and core data from a well in the Ormskirk Sandstone and determined the wavelet coefficients for each zone and the wavelengths of the strongest cyclicities. The cyclicities observed corresponded well with sedimentary features of the formation (e.g., channels and channel sets). Also, ratios of the cyclicity wavelengths corresponded with ratios of the Milankovitch precession, obliquity, and eccentricity periods. This result is in agreement with other investigators, who have proposed that Milankovitch-driven climate changes exercised an important control on Ormskirk Sandstone deposition.     

Annihilation model of quasi-stellar objects

The possibility that annihilation is a major source of energy in cosmic physics is discussed. Since Klein suggested that the Universe might be matter-antimatter symmetric over two decades ago, there have been a significant number of papers developing the consequences of this view. These, however, have been largely ignored in the general literature. There have also been a number of papers claiming to prove that there cannot be antimatter anywhere in the observable Universe. In the first part of this paper an assessment of the differing views is given, and it is shown that none of the arguments against antimatter is convincing. The existence of antimatter is not in conflict with any observational fact. The reason for the negative attitude towards the existence of antimatter seems to be that this view is in conflict with a number of speculative but generally accepted theories. However, recent magnetospheric and heliospheric research, includingin situ measurements of cosmic plasmas, is now drastically changing cosmic plasma physics in a way that leads to growing scepticism about quite a few of the speculative theories.An attempt is made to develop a simple phenomenological model of QSOs based on star-antistar collisions. This model can account for such basic observational properties as the acceleration to very large (non-cosmological) velocities, the existence of broad emission lines, and at the same time narrow absorption lines with different redshifts. The absence of blueshifts is also explained. The model predicts that relatively young QSOs should be at cosmological distances whereas the old ones may very well be much closer to us than indicated by their redshift.     

Hubble expansion in a euclidean framework

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Life history, habitat utilisation, and biomass of introduced Mysis relicta

Life history, habitat utilisation, and biomass of benthic and pelagic opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta) were studied in the oligotrophic Lake Jonsvatn, central Norway. Sampling in the pelagic zone was done by means of a closing zooplankton net; in the benthic zone by means of a benthic beam trawl.

M. relicta had a mixed one or two year life cycle. In the autumn, the proportion of mature females and males were larger in the pelagic than in the benthic habitat. Copulation took place in late autumn, and the first females with eggs occurred in November. In February, the first juvenile M. relicta were released in the benthic habitat. In May and July, however, juveniles were found in large numbers in all parts of the lake. The length distribution of M. relicta indicates that juveniles partly segregate between benthic and pelagic habitats.

Both juvenile and adult M. relicta performed vertical diel migrations in the pelagic habitat. In the benthic habitat, diel vertical migrations along the bottom were not as pronounced as vertical migrations in the pelagic habitat. In the benthic habitat, major migrations were performed only by adults in the autumn. Our results indicate that the light intensity in the green part of the spectrum gives the proximate cue for regulation of vertical distribution of M. relicta.

The mean total biomass varied between 288 and 1576 kg dry weight, corresponding to 23.2–127.1 mg dry weight m⁻² surface area. M. relicta had smallest biomass during late spring/early summer and largest biomass during autumn and early winter. Estimated pelagic biomasses were largest in February, August, October and November, while benthic biomasses were largest in May and July. Estimated biomass of pelagic M. relicta during autumn was approximately 1/10 of the estimated biomass of zooplankton in this lake.     

Distinguishing Carbonate Reservoir Pore Facies with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Measurements

  Characterization of carbonate rocks may involve identifying the important pore types which are present. In the past, this task has required detailed petrographic analysis of many core samples. Here, we describe a method which uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements to reduce the amount of petrographic analysis needed for porosity typing of carbonate reservoir rocks. For a rock sample which has been measured with NMR, our method decomposes the log(T₂) spectrum into at most three Gaussian-shaped components and gives a set of nine parameters. Two characteristic quantities having geological significance are extracted from the nine parameters. Values of the two quantities are compared with a reference set, established from samples having both NMR and petrographic evaluations of porosity types. We use a Bayesian approach to the classification of the dominant porosity type. Tests of our method on 103 samples show a correct prediction in 60 to 90 percent of the samples. The lower success rate was obtained for samples with five porosity types from three fields; the higher success rate obtained with samples with three porosity types from one well. The use of geologically significant quantities extracted from the decomposition gives comparable success rate to those obtained using a standard, non-geological approach such as canonical variates.