Increase in Dissolved Silica of Rivers Due to a Volcanic Eruption in an Estuarine Bay (Sorsogon Bay,Philippines)

Mount Bulusan, the Philippines’ fourth most active volcano, erupted in February 21, 2011, sending volcanic ash and pyroclastic materials to its surrounding rivers. The waters drained into the estuary of harmful algal blooms plagued Sorsogon Bay. We aim to determine the impact of the 2011 volcanic eruption and the preceding volcanic ash emissions to the dissolved silica concentration of rivers draining the flanks of Mt. Bulusan and its possible implications to the phytoplankton assemblage of the bay. Six river water sampling periods from August 2010 to October 2012 overlapped with Mt. Bulusan’s active phase of volcanism. Our data shows that mean river silica from pre-eruption levels of ~?500 μM increased by more than 200% during and post-eruption. Highest Si concentration of 2270 μM was measured from Cadacan River in August 2011. Here, we argue that the sustained general increase of dissolved silica is due to the silica-containing materials from Mt. Bulusan’s eruption and that their concentration in river waters is also a function of watershed lithology and precipitation. Increase in dissolved silica and other nutrients caused a shift to diatom domination and, possibly, termination of Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum blooms. Silica load increase in embayments is a natural process that controls the dominance of algae. Our study also highlights the importance of Philippine rivers to the global ocean silica budget as a function of high precipitation, tectonics in general, and volcanism in particular.     

Low‐cost monitoring of snow height and thermal properties with inexpensive temperature sensors

Small, self‐recording temperature sensors were installed at several heights along a metal rod at five locations in a case study catchment. For each sensor, the presence or absence of snow cover was determined on the basis of its insulating effect and the resulting reduction of the diurnal temperature oscillations. Sensor coverage was then converted into a time series of snow height for each location. Additionally, cold content was calculated. Snow height and cold content provide valuable information for spring flood prediction. Good agreement of estimated snow heights with reference measurements was achieved and increased discharge in the study catchment coincided with low cold content of the snow cover. The results of the proposed distributed assessment of snow cover and snow state show great potential for (i) flood warning, (ii) assimilation of snow state data and (iii) modelling snowmelt process. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

格陵兰岛西南部Nassaq地区辉钼矿Re-Os年龄及意义

格陵兰矿产资源丰富,种类繁多,目前已探明的金属矿点(床)有800多个,具有巨大的找矿潜力,世界主要矿业公司多数对格陵兰的找矿与开发表现出积极态度。因此,选择典型地区开展深入研究对进一步找矿有重要的理论指导意义。格陵兰西南部的那萨克(Nassaq)地区交通较为便利,本文在对该地区系统的野外地质特征研究基础上,采集了含辉钼矿斜长角闪岩样品,并从中选择代表性样品,进行辉钼矿Re-Os年代学研究,为其成矿作用及相关问题的研究提供基本依据。该地区辉钼矿的形成年龄为2553 Ma,为新太古界末期的产物,其矿化是Qorqut花岗岩侵入时(2550Ma)所形成,在格陵兰西南部应重视Qorqut花岗岩有关的辉钼矿的找矿与评价工作。     

Process identification at a slow‐moving landslide in the Vorarlberg Alps

A fine‐grained slope that exhibits slow movement rates was investigated to understand how geohydrological processes contribute to a consecutive development of mass movements in the Vorarlberg Alps, Austria. For that purpose intensive hydrometeorological, hydrogeological and geotechnical observations as well as surveying of surface movement rates were conducted during 1998–2001. Subsurface water dynamics at the creeping slope turned out to be dominated by a three‐dimensional pressure system. The pressure reaction is triggered by fast infiltration of surface water and subsequent lateral water flow in the south‐western part of the hillslope. The related pressure signal was shown to propagate further downhill, causing fast reactions of the piezometric head at 5·5 m depth on a daily time scale. The observed pressure reactions might belong to a temporary hillslope water body that extends further downhill. The related buoyancy forces could be one of the driving forces for the mass movement. A physically based hydrological model was adopted to model simultaneously surface and subsurface water dynamics including evapotranspiration and runoff production. It was possible to reproduce surface runoff and observed pressure reactions in principle. However, as soil hydraulic functions were only estimated on pedotransfer functions, a quantitative comparison between observed and simulated subsurface dynamics is not feasible. Nevertheless, the results suggest that it is possible to reconstruct important spatial structures based on sparse observations in the field which allow reasonable simulations with a physically based hydrological model. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of hydrocarbon-contaminated fluctuating groundwater on magnetic properties of shallow sediments

We investigate magnetic phase (trans)formation in the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons and its relation to bacterial activity, in particular in the zone of remediation driven fluctuating water levels at a former military air base in the Czech Republic. In a previous study an increase of magnetite concentration from the groundwater table towards the top of the groundwater fluctuation zone (GWFZ) was reported, however with limited reliability as there was no control on small-scale effects. To recognize statistically significant magnetic signatures versus depth, we obtained multiple sediment cores from three locations in January 2011 and April 2012, penetrating the unsaturated zone, the GWFZ and the uppermost one meter below the groundwater level (～2.3 m depth at the time of sampling). Magnetic concentration variation versus depth was determined by measuring magnetic susceptibility (MS) and remanence parameters. Small-scale features were identified and eliminated by statistical processing of multiple cores. A trend of increasing MS values from the lowermost position of the groundwater table upward was verified and highest magnetic concentration was found at the top of the GWFZ. Magnetic mineralogy indicates that newly formed fine-grained magnetite in the single domain to small pseudo-single domain range is responsible for the MS enhancement confirming previous results. There is no correlation with the depth variation of hydrocarbon (HC) concentrations; however, total organic carbon is linked to MS and may represent a degradation product of HC that is bioavailable for microorganisms. Bacterial activity is likely responsible for magnetite formation as indicated by most probable number (MPN) results of iron-metabolizing bacteria. The comparison of our results with an earlier study conducted at the same site revealed that magnetic concentration clearly decreased since remediation was terminated in 2008, possibly due to dissolution of magnetite.     

Differential developmental toxicity of naphthoic acid isomers in medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread persistent pollutants that readily undergo biotic and abiotic conversion to numerous transformation products in rivers, lakes and estuarine sediments. Here we characterize the developmental toxicity of four PAH transformation products each structural isomers of hydroxynaphthoic acid: 1H2NA, 2H1NA, 2H3NA, and 6H2NA. Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) embryos and eleutheroembryos were used to determine toxicity. A 96-well micro-plate format was used to establish a robust, statistically significant platform for assessment of early life stages. Individual naphthoic acid isomers demonstrated a rank order of toxicity with 1H2NA > 2H1NA > 2H3NA > 6H2NA being more toxic. Abnormalities of circulatory system were most pronounced including pericardial edema and tube heart. To determine if HNA isomers were AhR ligands, spatial-temporal expression and activity of CYP1A was measured via in vivo EROD assessments. qPCR measurement of CYP1A induction proved different between isomers dosed at respective concentrations affecting 50% of exposed individuals (EC50s). In vitro, all ANH isomers transactivated mouse AhR using a medaka CYP1A promoter specific reporter assay. Circulatory abnormalities followed P450 induction and response was consistent with PAH toxicity. A 96-well micro-plates proved suitable as exposure chambers and provided statistically sound evaluations as well as efficient toxicity screens. Our results demonstrate the use of medaka embryos for toxicity analysis thereby achieving REACH objectives for the reduction of adult animal testing in toxicity evaluations.     

南海东沙东北部甲烷缺氧氧化作用的生物标志化合物及其碳同位素组成

南海东沙东北部碳酸盐岩和泥质沉积物中的生物标志化合物组合及其碳同位素组成分析表明,研究区内甲烷缺氧氧化作用(anaerobic oxidation of methane-AOM)发育.研究区内碳酸盐岩中含丰富的AOM标志化合物,2,6,11,15-四甲基十六烷(Crocetane-Cr.)、2,6,10,15,19-五甲基番茄烷(Pentamethylicosane-PMI)和2,6,10,15,19,23-六甲基二十四烷(Squalane-Sq角鲨烷)的13C亏损强烈(δ13C值介于-74.2‰~-119.0‰PDB之间),表明碳酸盐岩形成于AOM,同时反映该研究区曾发生过强烈、持续的富CH₄流体释放活动.柱状泥质沉积物中,AOM生物标志化合物在硫酸岩-甲烷过渡带(SMI-Sulfate-Methane Interface)边界附近相对丰度高,SMI之上样品中含量低,或未检出,表明现代环境在SMI附近有大量嗜甲烷微生物生长,使得深部上升的甲烷被大量消耗,很少有甲烷逸出海底.AOM生物标志化合物可用来指示SMI边界.不同站位、不同岩性AOM生物标志化合物组成(包括碳同位素组成)的差异反映了嗜甲烷古细菌组成的不同.     

Sulfurous acid (H2SO3) on Io?

Sulfurous acid (H₂SO₃) has never been characterized or isolated on Earth. This is caused by the unfavorable conditions for H₂SO₃ within Earth's atmosphere due to the high temperatures, the high water content and the oxidizing environment. Kinetic investigations by means of transition state theory showed that the half-life of H₂SO₃ at 300 K is 1 day but at 100 K it is increased to 2.7 billion years. Natural conditions to form H₂SO₃ presumably require cryogenic SO₂ or SO₂/H₂O mixtures and high energy proton irradiation at temperatures around 100 K. Such conditions can be found on the Jupiter moons Io and Europa. Therefore, we calculated IR-spectra of H₂SO₃ which we compared with Galileo's spectra of Io and Europa. From the available data we surmise that H₂SO₃ is present on Io and probably but to a smaller extent on Europa.     

Fidelity and time resolution of the magnetostratigraphic record in Siwalik sediments: high-resolution study of a complete polarity transition and evidence for cryptochrons in a Miocene fluviatile section

The Surai Khola section in southwest Nepal, a 5000 m continuously exposed record of fluvial sedimentation since Middle Miocene, was revisited for high-resolution magnetostratigraphy in sequences with expected cryptochrons and reversals of the geomagnetic field. Polarity intervals with durations of a few tens of thousands of years are recorded as zones of stable palaeomagnetic directions. Polarity transitions are recorded as zones with complex demagnetization behaviour of specimens in the sedimentary column. Almost antiparallel palaeoremanence directions, residing in different haematite phases in the same specimens, could generally not be separated properly by thermal demagnetization. Differing demagnetization paths for neighbouring specimens during a reversal suggest that measured transitional directions are not true geomagnetic field directions, but rather are generated by the superposition of variable amounts of at least two almost antiparallel components of magnetization. Accompanying studies of recent river sand deposits demonstrate that these sediments acquire a true depositional remanent magnetization (DRM) with considerable inclination errors and scattered directions for individual specimens.     

The Multiple Sources and Patterns of Methane inNorth Sea Waters

The methane concentration in the atmosphere andsurface water was surveyed along 58° N acrossthe North Sea. In addition, the vertical methanedistribution in the water column was determined at sixstations along the transect. The methane contents ofthe surface water as well as in the water column wereextremely inhomogeneous. Input by freshwater fromriver discharge and injection of methane from thesediment were both observed. The survey continued fromthe western side of the North Sea to the Elbe Riverestuary. The Elbe River appears to have low methaneconcentrations compared to other European rivers, itsaverage input into the North Sea is estimated to be70 nmol s-1 of methane. Near 58° N,1°40' E, an abandoned drill site releases about 25 % ofthe North Sea's emission of methane to the atmosphere.The advective methane transport induced by watercirculation was assessed for May 16, 1994, using a 3-DNorth Sea circulation model. For the period of thissurvey, the North Sea's source strength foratmospheric methane is estimated using in situwind velocities. In comparison to the advectivetransport by the water circulation, the gas flux tothe atmosphere appears to be the dominant sink ofNorth Sea methane. This flux is estimated to bebetween 1500 · 106 mol a-1 and 3100 ·106mol a-1, depending on the relationbetween wind speed and gas transfer velocity.