Factors influencing biodeposit production by the New Zealand freshwater mussel Echyridella menziesii

Laboratory experiments on the New Zealand freshwater mussel Echyridella menziesii were used to investigate the short-term effects (7–8 days) of food type on rates of biodeposition and benthic substrate respiration. Post-feeding biodeposition rates ranged from 0.34 to 1.52?mg?g^?1?h^?1 (mean?=?0.50?mg g^?1?h^?1) and were unaffected by the addition of toxin-producing Microcystis. Addition of suspended sediment (30?mg?L^?1) visibly altered substrate composition, and increased total and inorganic biodeposit production rates by 24–33% compared to mussels fed commercial phytoplankton stock. Biodeposition rates of mussels in lake bed substrates were 38% higher than those in silica sand for identical feeding regimes, suggesting that a significant proportion of material produced in this experiment could have been derived from feeding on organic matter in the lake bed sediments. Respiration rates were higher in treatments with Microcystis but were unaffected by the presence of mussels. This laboratory study suggests that biodeposition by E. menziesii is resilient to short-term exposure to Microcystis, and highlights the ability of mussels to alter benthic substrate composition by incorporating suspended sediment into substrates.     

Parameters of Acoustic Signals Generated by the Atmospheric Meteoroid Explosion over Romania on January 7, 2015

System spectral analysis of temporal variations in the level of acoustic signals recorded at a number of European infrasound stations is carried out. The prevailing periods that varied within 3–5 s are found. Initial kinetic and acoustic energies of the Romanian meteoroid and infrasound parameters are calculated: celerity (280 m/s), acoustic efficiency, and stratospheric wind velocity (about 20 m/s). Parameters of cylindrical and explosive shock waves are found: duration, characteristic size, and amplitude. The dependence of the attenuation of infrasonic waves on distance is estimated. The results of the estimates are in good agreement with the results of the observations.     

On the coplanar eccentric non-restricted co-orbital dynamics

We study the phase space of eccentric coplanar co-orbitals in the non-restricted case. Departing from the quasi-circular case, we describe the evolution of the phase space as the eccentricities increase. We find that over a given value of the eccentricity, around 0.5 for equal mass co-orbitals, important topological changes occur in the phase space. These changes lead to the emergence of new co-orbital configurations and open a continuous path between the previously distinct trojan domains near the \(L_4\) and \(L_5\) eccentric Lagrangian equilibria. These topological changes are shown to be linked with the reconnection of families of quasi-periodic orbits of non-maximal dimension.     

Estimating average shock pressures recorded by impactite samples based on universal stage investigations of planar deformation features in quartz—Sources of error and recommendations

Planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz are the most widely used indicator of shock metamorphism in terrestrial rocks. They can also be used for estimating average shock pressures that quartz-bearing rocks have been subjected to. Here we report on a number of observations and problems that we have encountered when performing universal stage measurements and crystallographically indexing of PDF orientations in quartz. These include a comparison between manual and automated methods of indexing PDFs, an evaluation of the new stereographic projection template, and observations regarding the PDF statistics related to the c-axis position and rhombohedral plane symmetry. We further discuss the implications that our findings have for shock barometry studies. Our study shows that the currently used stereographic projection template for indexing PDFs in quartz might induce an overestimation of rhombohedral planes with low Miller–Bravais indices. We suggest, based on a comparison of different shock barometry methods, that a unified method of assigning shock pressures to samples based on PDFs in quartz is necessary to allow comparison of data sets. This method needs to take into account not only the average number of PDF sets/grain but also the number of high Miller–Bravais index planes, both of which are important factors according to our study. Finally, we present a suggestion for such a method (which is valid for nonporous quartz-bearing rock types), which consists of assigning quartz grains into types (A–E) based on the PDF orientation pattern, and then calculation of a mean shock pressure for each sample.     

Long-term variability of air temperature and precipitation conditions in the Polish Carpathians

Mountain regions are sensitive to climate changes, which make them good indicators of climate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of air temperature and precipitation in the Polish Carpathians. This study consists of climatological analyses for the historical period 1851-2010 and future projections for 2021-2100. The results confirm that there has been significant warming of the area and that this warming has been particularly pronounced over the last few decades and will continue in the oncoming years. Climate change is most evident in the foothills; however, these are the highest summits which have experienced the most intensive increases in temperature during the recent period. Precipitation does not demonstrate any substantial trend and has high year-to-year variability. The distribution of the annual temperature contour lines modelled for selected periods provides evidence of the upward shift of vertical climate zones in the Polish Carpathians, which reach approximately 350 meters, on average, what indicates further ecological consequences as ecosystems expand or become extinct and when there are changes in the hydrological cycle.     

Element sets for high-order Poincaré mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion

The propagation and Poincaré mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion is a key topic in Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics, e.g., to study the stability of orbits or design bounded relative trajectories. The high-order transfer map (HOTM) method enables efficient mapping of perturbed Keplerian orbits using the high-order Taylor expansion of a Poincaré or stroboscopic map. The HOTM is only accurate close to the expansion point and therefore the number of revolutions for which the map is accurate tends to be limited. The proper selection of coordinates is of key importance for improving the performance of the HOTM method. In this paper, we investigate the use of different element sets for expressing the high-order map in order to find the coordinates that perform best in terms of accuracy. A new set of elements is introduced that enables extremely accurate mapping of the state, even for high eccentricities and higher-order zonal perturbations. Finally, the high-order map is shown to be very useful for the determination and study of fixed points and center manifolds of Poincaré maps.     

Studies on the Application of Steady State Assumption in 1DV Model for the Estimation of Settling Velocity of Suspended Sediments in a Shallow Estuary

Settling velocity is one of the important parameters in sediment transport modeling of estuaries. The methods adopted for its determination vary from theoretical equations to experimental methods. The theoretical equation generally adopted in the 1DV model include assumptions in order to simplify the solution. It is generally assumed that either the condition is steady or the vertical diffusion is negligible. This study evaluated the relative importance of the two assumptions made for the estimation of settling velocity. Two approaches were adopted: unsteady and negligible vertical diffusion (NS-NVD) and steady with vertical diffusion (S-VD) to estimate the settling velocity. The Muthupet Estuary in the Coromandal coast of India was selected for the study. The S-VD approach estimated settling velocity fairly well at the two locations with appreciable vertical diffusion. The NS-NVD approach was observed to be superior for estimating settling velocity at shallow reaches of the estuary having low flow velocity. The calculated settling velocity was further applied in 1DV model to predict the suspended sediment concentration. The S-VD approach predicted suspended sediment concentration at those locations with appreciable vertical diffusion with an R² value of 0.82 against 0.67 for the NS-NVD approach. At the other shallow reach of the estuary with low flow velocity, the NS-NVD approach gave an R² value of 0.822 against 0.71 for the S-VD approach. The vertical diffusion was observed to play a secondary role at those locations which are shallow with a water depth of 0.6 m and with a low flow velocity of the order of 0.01 m/s. The study demonstrated that localized hydrodynamic conditions influence the method adopted for the estimation of settling velocity.     

Exact solution of anisotropic compact stars via mass function

Studying relativistic compact objects is important in modern astrophysics to understand several astrophysical issues. It is therefore natural to ask for an internal structure and physical properties of specific classes of compact stars from astrophysical observations. We obtain a class of new relativistic solutions with anisotropic distribution of matter for compact stars. More specifically, stellar models, described by an anisotropic fluid, establishing a relation between metric potentials and generating a specific form of mass function, are explicitly constructed within the framework of General Relativity. New solutions can be used to model compact objects, which adequately describe compact strange star candidates like SMC X-1, Her X-1 and 4U 1538-52, with observational data taken from Gangopadhyay et al. (Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 431:3216, 2013). As a possible astrophysical application the obtained solutions could explain the physics of selfgravitating objects, and might be useful for strong-field regimes where data are currently inadequate.     

Grains of Nonferrous and Noble Metals in Iron–Manganese Formations and Igneous Rocks of Submarine Elevations of the Sea of Japan

Iron–manganese formations and igneous rocks of submarine elevations in the Sea of Japan contain overlapping mineral phases (grains) with quite identical morphology, localization, and chemical composition. Most of the grains conform to oxides, intermetallic compounds, native elements, sulfides, and sulfates in terms of the set of nonferrous, noble, and certain other metals (Cu, Zn, Sn, Pb, Ni, Mo, Ag, Pd, and Pt). The main conclusion that postvolcanic hydrothermal fluids are the key sources of metals is based upon a comparison of the data of electron microprobe analysis of iron–manganese formations and igneous rocks dredged at the same submarine elevations in the Sea of Japan.