Dominant amphipods of Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows display considerable trophic diversity

Gut content examination and trophic markers (fatty acids, stable isotopes of C and N) were combined to delineate the diet of the dominant species of amphipods from Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows and to highlight trophic diversity among this community. Our results indicate that, although all dominant species heavily relied on macroalgal epiphytes, considerable interspecific dietary differences existed. Carbon stable isotope ratios notably showed that some of the amphipod species favored grazing on epiphytes from leaves or litter fragments (Apherusa chiereghinii, Aora spinicornis, Gammarus aequicauda), while others such as Dexamine spiniventris preferred epiphytes from rhizomes. The remaining amphipods (Caprella acanthifera, Ampithoe helleri and Gammarella fucicola) readily consumed both groups. In addition, SIAR modeling suggested that most species had a mixed diet, and relied on several food items. Fatty acid analysis and gut contents revealed that contributions of microepiphytic diatoms and of benthic and suspended particulate organic matter to the diet of amphipods were anecdotal. None of the examined species seemed to graze on their seagrass host [low 18:2(n‐6) and 18:3(n‐3) fatty acids contents], but Gammarus aequicauda partly relied on seagrass leaf detritus, as demonstrated by the lesser ¹³C‐depletion of their tissues. Overall, our findings suggest that amphipods, because of their importance in the transfer of organic matter from primary producers and detritus to higher rank consumers, are key items in P. oceanica‐associated food webs.     

Die Entstehung einiger tektonischer Grundbegriffe. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Geologie

Zusammenfassung Die ersten tektonischen Vorstellungen legte 1669Nic. Steno in seinem Prodromus nieder. Seine Beobachtungen an horizontalen und geneigten Schichten führten später zu dem Begriffe der orogenetischen Diskordanzen. L.Élie de Beaumont ist sein direkter Nachfolger geworden, während J.Hutton ganz unabhängig von beiden den Diskordanzbegriff entwickelte. Die neptunistische Lehre von A. G.Werner ging von einem primären, von Wasserfluten geschaffenen Relief der Erdoberfläche aus, das überschichtet wurde. Doch auchWerner dachte daneben ebenfalls an große Höhlen, deren Decken einbrechen würden. Die neptunistischen Schwierigkeiten ergaben sich aus der Unmöglichkeit einer vertikalen Sedimentation von primär senkrecht gestellten Schichten. Die Anfänge der Erforschung der Tektonik des Rheingrabens werden dargelegt, und es wird besonders gezeigt, daßÉlie de Beaumont, der 1836 von einem eingebrochenen Gewölbe sprach, schon vorher Kenntnis eines eingebrochenen Gewölbes von Island und eines Schichtgewölbes von Württemberg über Schwarz wald — Vogesen nach Lothringen hatte. Die Zeit des Einbruches legteÉ. de Beaumont irrtümlich in die Zeit des Buntsandsteins.Theorien der Gebirgsbildung wurden mit L. v.Buch's Erhebungstheorie und geognostischen Gebirgssystemen um zwei weitere Ideen 1824–1835 erweitert.Élie de Beaumont baute diese Theorie sehr aus und sprach von Revolutionen der Erdkruste (1829). Die Faltengebirge fanden in J.Thurmann (1832) ihren ersten gründlichen Bearbeiter, der am Beispiel des Faltenjuras nachwies, daß doch nur Horizontalkräfte am Werke gewesen sein können und die Erhebungstheorie L. v.Buch's für diese Gebirgsarten keine Erklärung bringe. Zum Schlusse wird die Geschichte des Geologenkompasses gebracht.

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Nic. Steno was the first who developed tectonic ideas in his Prodromus in 1669. His observations in the surroundings of Firenze (Italy) led him to the notion what nowadays is called a discordance by orogeny. He was followed by the French L.Élie de Beaumont, while the Scotchman J.Hutton developed this term of tectonic discordance quite independently of both.The neptunic theory of A. G.Werner in Freiberg (Saxony) started from the idea that the primary relief of the surface of the earth was formed by floods and covered with sediments. Furtheron he assumed large caves, the tops of them having broken down, explaining in this manner very inclined strata. The difficulties in this neptunic theory resulted from the fact that it was impossible to account for a sedimentation in a vertical line as seen in vertical layers.The author gives a survey of the first researches in the tectonics of the Rhinegraben and shows thatÉlie de Beaumont, who in 1836 mentioned the breakdown of the central ridge of a vault, so forming the rift-valley, had already some information of such a pressure arch in Iceland and of a second one stretching from Würtemberg via Black Forest—Vosges to Lorraine.Élie de Beaumont misdated the collapse of this large vault, stating erroneously the time of Buntsandstein (=New Red Sandstone).Between 1824 and 1835 L. v.Buch developed two further theories on orogenesis, that of the elevation-crater hypothesis and that of the geognostic systems of mountains. É.de Beaumont completedBuch's theory and in 1829 he spoke of revolutions of the earth's crust.The first who thoroughly researched the Swiss Jura was J.Thurmann. Quoting the folded strata of this region as an example he proved that only horizontal stresses could have been responsible for the formation of these mountains and that the elevation-crater hypothesis of L. v.Buch acting only with vertical forces could not give any explanation for it.Finally the author recapitulates the history of the geologist's compass.

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Résumé Les premières conceptions tectoniques ont été exposées en 1669 par N.Steno dans son « Prodrome ». Ses observations sur des strates horizontales ou inclinées ont conduit ultérieurement à la notion de discordances orogéniques. L.Élie de Beaumont fut son successeur direct, cependant que J.Hutton, tout à fait indépendamment des deux premiers développa la notion de discordance. La théorie neptuniste de A. G.Werner se basait sur l'existence préalable d'un relief terrestre créé par les flots et qui aurait été noyé sous les strates des dépôts ultérieurs. Pourtant, dans un autre ordre d'idées,Werner pensait aussi à l'existence d'immenses grottes dont les toits s'effondreraient. Les neptunistes éprouvèrent des difficultés résultant de l'impossibilité d'expliquer des couches redressées par une sédimentation verticale. L'auteur expose les débuts des recherches sur la tectonique du fossé rhénan et montre en particulier qu'Élie de Beaumont, qui parla en 1836 d'une voûte effondrée avait déjà auparavant eu connaissance d'une voûte effondrée en Islande et d'une voûter structurale allant du Wurttemberg en Lorraine par-dessus la Forêt-Noire et les Vosges. Par erreur,É de Beaumont plaça le moment de cet effondrement à l'époque du grès bigarré.Avec la théorie des soulèvements et des orogènes géognostiques L. v.Buch enrichit de 1824–1835 les théories orogéniques de deux concepts supplémentaires.Élie de Beaumont les développa et parla de révolution de la croûte terrestre (1829). Les premières recherches approfondies sur les chaînes plissées sont dues à J.Thurmann (1832) qui, d'après l'exemple du Jura plissé, démontra que seules des forces horizontales ont pu avoir été à l'oeuvre et que la théorie des soulèvements de L.von Buch n'apportait pas d'explication pour les chaînes de ce type.Pour terminer, l'auteur expose l'histoire de la boussole du géologue.

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The use of 3D modeling for the prediction of the seismic demands on the gravity dams

Seismic behavior of gravity dams has long been evaluated using a representative two‐dimensional (2D) system. Formulated for the gravity dams built in wide canyons, the assumption is nevertheless utilized extensively for almost all concrete dams due to the established procedures as well as the expected computational costs of a three‐dimensional model. However, a significant number of roller‐compacted concrete dams, characterized as such systems, do not conform to the basic assumptions of these methods by violating the conditions on canyon dimensions and joint‐spacing/details. Based on the premise that the 2D modeling assumption is overstretched for practical purposes in a variety of settings, the purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the use of 2D modeling for the prediction of the seismic demands on these systems. Using a rigorous soil–structure interaction approach, the difference between the two and three‐dimensional response for gravity dams was investigated first in the frequency domain for a range of canyon widths and foundation to dam moduli ratios. Then, the time domain differences between the crest displacements and the maximum principal stress were obtained using 70 different ground motions in order to show the possible bias introduced into the analysis results due to the modeling approach. The results of the study show that even for relatively wide canyons, the 2D analysis can lead to misleading predictions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental hazard analysis of a gypsum karst depression area with geophysical methods: a case study in Sivas (Turkey)

Because the mixture of seawater and freshwater in the Gyeongin-Ara Waterway in South Korea can lead to the intrusion of saline water into surrounding aquifers, systematic management through the establishment of a groundwater protection area is required. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model is used to delineate this protection area based on two primary factors and five secondary factors related to saline water intrusion. The study area is divided into 987 gridded cells with a unit size of 100 × 100 m, and the final evaluation score for each cell is calculated using the AHP model. Consequently, several artificial neural network models based on a multilayer perceptron are developed using the AHP’s secondary criteria and the evaluation score. Comparing the evaluation scores of ANN and AHP, more than 180 samples are required in the ANN model to insure high R2 between the original and estimated values. The ANN model is more consistent than the AHP model when determining groundwater protection area, because it can be re-constructed due to the changes in some secondary criteria and also changed due to a standardization process. The final evaluation score by the ANN model based on 300 samples, with the highest R2, is calculated and the regions with a score higher than 2.0 are selected as the groundwater protection area, accounting for 15% of the total cells. This area is similar to the range within approximately 200 m of the GA Waterway and also includes some changing sites in hydrogeochemistry and electric conductivity, which is produced by saline water intrusion. If the land-use type, groundwater levels, and some other criteria change at any cell, the ANN model can be re-executed to verify whether the cell belongs to a groundwater protection area. Considering that salinity of groundwater near the waterway can be affected by various factors including well depth, pumping conditions, and groundwater levels, the ANN model, which is a non-linear model, can be more effective for prediction than the AHP model.     

Oil-generation kinetics for organic facies with Type-II and -IIS kerogen in the Menilite Shales of the Polish Carpathians

The Menilite Shales (Oligocene) of the Polish Carpathians are the source of low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt and some high-sulfur oils in the Carpathian Foredeep. These oil occurrences indicate that the high-sulfur oils in the Foredeep were generated and expelled before major thrusting and the low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt were generated and expelled during or after major thrusting. Two distinct organic facies have been observed in the Menilite Shales. One organic facies has a high clastic sediment input and contains Type-II kerogen. The other organic facies has a lower clastic sediment input and contains Type-IIS kerogen. Representative samples of both organic facies were used to determine kinetic parameters for immiscible oil generation by isothermal hydrous pyrolysis and S₂ generation by non-isothermal open-system pyrolysis. The derived kinetic parameters showed that timing of S₂ generation was not as different between the Type-IIS and -II kerogen based on open-system pyrolysis as compared with immiscible oil generation based on hydrous pyrolysis. Applying these kinetic parameters to a burial history in the Skole unit showed that some expelled oil would have been generated from the organic facies with Type-IIS kerogen before major thrusting with the hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters but not with the open-system pyrolysis kinetic parameters. The inability of open-system pyrolysis to determine earlier petroleum generation from Type-IIS kerogen is attributed to the large polar-rich bitumen component in S₂ generation, rapid loss of sulfur free-radical initiators in the open system, and diminished radical selectivity and rate constant differences at higher temperatures. Hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters are determined in the presence of water at lower temperatures in a closed system, which allows differentiation of bitumen and oil generation, interaction of free-radical initiators, greater radical selectivity, and more distinguishable rate constants as would occur during natural maturation. Kinetic parameters derived from hydrous pyrolysis show good correlations with one another (compensation effect) and kerogen organic-sulfur contents. These correlations allow for indirect determination of hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters on the basis of the organic-sulfur mole fraction of an immature Type-II or -IIS kerogen.     

Influence of food web structure on the biochemical composition of seston,zooplankton and recently deposited sediment in experimental freshwater mesocosms

The effects of food web structure on the quantity and biochemical composition of seston, zooplankton and recently deposited sediment in experimental freshwater mesocosms were examined. Food web structure was manipulated by addition of zooplanktivorous fish. Biochemical characterisations were carried out using lipid biomarkers (sterols, fatty acids, chlorophyll-derived compounds and long-chain alkanediols). Fish addition decreased zooplankton biomass and increased seston biomass and deposited sediment through a trophic cascade. Fish presence strongly influenced the biochemical characteristics of seston and sediment. In contrast, food web structure had a minor impact on the lipid biomarker composition of zooplankton. Although the relative abundance of sterols in the different compartments did not differ strongly between treatments, sterol profiles in seston and sediment depended on food web structure. The predominance of Δ⁷-sterols in seston and sediment in the fish treatment indicated a major contribution of Chlorophyceae. In contrast, the distribution of sterols in seston and sediment in the fishless treatment, dominated by cholesterol, indicated a major zooplanktonic input. The distribution of fatty acids and the relative abundance of chlorophyll-derived compounds and long-chain alkanediols agreed with the predominant contribution of phytoplankton or zooplankton to seston and sediment in the two treatments. The relative abundance of bacterial biomarkers suggested that the contribution of bacteria was rather low. The high relative abundance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the absence of stanols in sediments suggested low microbial reworking of organic matter in the recently accumulated sediments. The trophic cascade, generated by the addition of fish, increased the relative abundance of PUFAs in deposited organic matter, thus enhancing sediment quality and potential degradability.     

Local magnitude scale for earthquakes in Turkey

Based on the earthquake event data accumulated by the Turkish National Seismic Network between 2007 and 2013, the local magnitude (Richter, Ml) scale is calibrated for Turkey and the close neighborhood. A total of 137 earthquakes (Mw?>?3.5) are used for the Ml inversion for the whole country. Three Ml scales, whole country, East, and West Turkey, are developed, and the scales also include the station correction terms. Since the scales for the two parts of the country are very similar, it is concluded that a single Ml scale is suitable for the whole country. Available data indicate the new scale to suffer from saturation beyond magnitude 6.5. For this data set, the horizontal amplitudes are on average larger than vertical amplitudes by a factor of 1.8. The recommendation made is to measure Ml amplitudes on the vertical channels and then add the logarithm scale factor to have a measure of maximum amplitude on the horizontal. The new Ml is compared to Mw from EMSC, and there is almost a 1:1 relationship, indicating that the new scale gives reliable magnitudes for Turkey.     

Geoid, topography, and the Bouguer plate or shell

 Topography plays an important role in solving many geodetic and geophysical problems. In the evaluation of a topographical effect, a planar model, a spherical model or an even more sophisticated model can be used. In most applications, the planar model is considered appropriate: recall the evaluation of gravity reductions of the free-air, Poincaré–Prey or Bouguer kind. For some applications, such as the evaluation of topographical effects in gravimetric geoid computations, it is preferable or even necessary to use at least the spherical model of topography. In modelling the topographical effect, the bulk of the effect comes from the Bouguer plate, in the case of the planar model, or from the Bouguer shell, in the case of the spherical model. The difference between the effects of the Bouguer plate and the Bouguer shell is studied, while the effect of the rest of topography, the terrain, is discussed elsewhere. It is argued that the classical Bouguer plate gravity reduction should be considered as a mathematical construction with unclear physical meaning. It is shown that if the reduction is understood to be reducing observed gravity onto the geoid through the Bouguer plate/shell then both models give practically identical answers, as associated with Poincaré's and Prey's work. It is shown why only the spherical model should be used in the evaluation of topographical effects in the Stokes–Helmert solution of Stokes' boundary-value problem. The reason for this is that the Bouguer plate model does not allow for a physically acceptable condensation scheme for the topography. Received: 24 December 1999 / Accepted: 11 December 2000