Synthesis of barite,celestite and barium-strontium sulfate solid solution crystals

Crystals of synthetic barite (BaSO₄), celestite (SrSO₄), and their solid solutions were recrystallized from brine by thermal cycling. Electron probe microanalyses show that the solid solutions are homogeneous within detection limits. The molar composition of solid solution crystals approximates the ideal value based on the ratio of equilibrium constants for barium and strontium sulfates.     

Lunar Palaeoregolith Deposits as Recorders of the Galactic Environment of the Solar System and Implications for Astrobiology

One of the principal scientific reasons for wanting to resume in situ exploration of the lunar surface is to gain access to the record it contains of early Solar System history. Part of this record will pertain to the galactic environment of the Solar System, including variations in the cosmic ray flux, energetic galactic events (e.g., supernovae and/or gamma-ray bursts), and passages of the Solar System through dense interstellar clouds. Much of this record is of astrobiological interest as these processes may have affected the evolution of life on Earth, and perhaps other Solar System bodies. We argue that this galactic record, as for that of more local Solar System processes also of astrobiological interest, will be best preserved in ancient, buried regolith (‘palaeoregolith’) deposits in the lunar near sub-surface. Locating and sampling such deposits will be an important objective of future lunar exploration activities.     

Preservation potential of implanted solar wind volatiles in lunar paleoregolith deposits buried by lava flows

The lunar surface is bathed in a variety of impacting particles originating from the solar wind, solar flares, and galactic cosmic rays. These particles can become embedded in the regolith and/or produce a range of other molecules as they pass through the target material. The Moon therefore contains a record of the variability of the solar and galactic particle fluxes through time. To obtain useful temporal snapshots of these processes, discrete regolith units must be shielded from continued bombardment that would rewrite the record over time. One mechanism for achieving this preservation is the burial of a regolith deposit by a later lava flow. The archival value of such deposits sandwiched between lava layers is enhanced by the fact that both the under- and over-lying lava can be dated by radiometric techniques, thereby precisely defining the age of the regolith layer and the geologic record contained therein. The implanted volatile species would be vulnerable to outgassing by the heat of the over-lying flow, at temperatures exceeding 300-700 °C. However, the insulating properties of the finely particulate regolith would restrict significant heating to shallow depths. We have therefore modeled the heat transfer between lunar mare basalt lavas and the regolith in order to establish the range of depths below which implanted volatiles would be preserved. We find that the full suite of solar wind volatiles, consisting predominantly of H and He, would survive at depths of ∼13-290 cm (for 1-10 m thick lava flows, respectively). A substantial amount of CO, CO₂, N₂ and Xe would be preserved at depths as shallow as 3.7 cm beneath meter-thick flows. Given typical regolith accumulation rates during mare volcanism, the optimal localities for collecting viable solar wind samples would involve stacks of thin mare lava flows emplaced a few tens to a few hundred Ma apart, in order for sufficient regolith to develop between burial events. Obtaining useful archives of Solar System processes would therefore require extraction of regolith deposits buried at quite shallow depths beneath radiometrically-dated mare lava flows. These results provide a basis for possible lunar exploration activities.     

Equity and efficiency in adaptation finance: initial experiences of the Adaptation Fund

The Adaptation Fund, established under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has now been approving funding for adaptation projects for more than two years. Given its particular institutional status and specific focus on concrete adaptation, it is particularly relevant to study the initial experiences of it for any future upscaling of international adaptation finance, despite the fact that its own resources are getting scarce. Alternative rationales for allocating funds, based on equity and efficiency concerns at both international and subnational levels, are here tested against the criteria and priorities of the Fund and decisions made on project approval. It is concluded that equity concerns appear to be the primary motivation and that allocation is de facto made between states rather than by considering inequity between subnational communities. However, the currency of vulnerability for determining equitable outcomes in allocation decisions has not been formalized, despite its central importance to the Fund. Instead, uniform national caps have been introduced. Such an equality approach can be considered inequitable. Finally, it is noted that although the Adaptation Fund Board has continuously developed its proposal review practices and adopted a learning-by-doing approach, it should provide both a further specification of the evaluation criteria and a compilation of best practices from approved proposals, and moreover enhance the transparency of the review process, all of which would clarify its core priorities for current and future project proponents.     

The other's perception of a streamflow sample: From a bottle of water to a data point

In scientific communication, ambiguities in term usage can go unnoticed due not only to the distance between reader and writer but also to the existence of highly specialized scientific subcommunities. This commentary therefore aims at raising awareness about the use of terms that have different meanings within different hydrological subcommunities such as field hydrology, hydrological modelling, or statistical hydrology. To do so, we discuss the use of the following commonly used hydrological terms: sample, runoff, discharge, and streamflow. We performed three types of analyses to provide evidence of term usage and understanding, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches: a drawing exercise, a survey, and a literature corpus analysis. These analyses allow for a comparison of spontaneous definitions and the actual use of these terms in scientific publications. Our various information sources revealed that the dialogue between hydrologists within and across subdisciplines is substantially influenced by personal conceptualizations of terms that are not always shared across conversational partners. The terms discussed and illustrated in this commentary have to be seen as a small sample used to demonstrate the need for a thoughtful use of hydrological terms when communicating research, not only to a general audience but even across subdisciplines within hydrology.     

Tropical harmful algal blooms: An emerging threat to coral reef communities?

Tropical harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and are substantially affecting marine communities. In October/November 2008 a large-scale HAB event (> 500 km², dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides) in the Gulf of Oman caused the complete loss of the branching corals, Pocillopora and Acropora spp., and substantial reductions in the abundance, richness and trophic diversity of the associated coral reef fish communities. Although the causative agents of this C. polykrikoides bloom are unknown, increased coastal enrichment, natural oceanographic mechanisms, and the recent expansion of this species within ballast water discharge are expected to be the main agents. With rapid changes in oceanic climate, enhanced coastal eutrophication and increased global distribution of HAB species within ballast water, large-scale HAB events are predicted to increase dramatically in both intensity and distribution and can be expected to have increasingly negative effects on coral reef communities globally.