Potential protostars in cloud cores

We present H₂CO observations of young protostar candidates in the Serpens Cloud Core. We find evidence for dense molecular gas in the cores of these objects that is warmer than the surrounding dust. The strong emission and gas properties support the premise that many of these sources may be very young protostars.     

Fluxes and sources of suspended organic matter in an estuarine turbidity maximum region during low discharge conditions

Water column concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS), particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate nitrogen (PN) were measured at three different depths in four different locations bracketing the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) along the main channel of a temperate riverine estuary (Winyah Bay, South Carolina, USA). Measurements were carried out over full tidal cycle (over 24 h). Salinity, temperature, current magnitude and direction were also monitored at the same time throughout the water column. Tidally averaged net fluxes of salt, TSS, POC and PN were calculated by combining the current measurements with the concentration data. Under the extreme low river discharge conditions that characterized the study period, net landward fluxes of salt were measured in the lower part of the study area, suggesting that the landward transport through the main channel of the estuary was probably balanced by export out through the sides. In contrast, the net fluxes of salt in the upper reaches of the study area were near zero, indicating a closed salt balance in this part of the estuary. In contrast to salt, the net fluxes of TSS, POC and PN in the deeper parts of the water column were consistently landward at all four sites in Winyah Bay indicating the non-conservative behavior of particulate components and their active transport up the estuary in the region around the ETM.The carbon contents (%POC), carbon:nitrogen ratios (org[C:N]a) and stable carbon isotopic compositions (δ¹³C_POC) of the suspended particles varied significantly with depth, location and tidal stage. Tidally averaged compositions showed a significant increase up the estuary in the %POC and org[C:N]a values of suspended particles consistent with the preferential landward transport of carbon-rich particles with higher vascular plant debris content. The combination of tidal resuspension and flood-dominated flow appeared to be responsible for the hydrodynamic sorting of particles along the estuary that resulted in denser, organic-poor particles being transported landward less efficiently. The elemental and isotopic compositions indicated that vascular C₃ plants and estuarine algae were the major sources of the particulate organic matter of all the samples, without any significant contributions from salt marsh C₄ vegetation (Spartina alterniflora) and/or marine phytoplankton.     

Effects of benzene and dimethylnaphthalene on homeostatic processes in two species of crabs

Long-term exposure of animals to sub-lethal doses of toxicants such as benzene (B) and dimethylnaphthalene (DMN) may result in subtle changes in their physiology and biochemistry. In crustaceans such changes include decreased rate of limb regeneration, extended time to molt and decreased growth increment at molt.^1,2 These processes depend upon an adequate supply of stored nutrients in the tissues and appropriate release of neuroendocrine substances from the central nervous system.^3,4 We are examining the effects of sub-lethal doses of B and DMN on osmotic and ionic regulation and on nutrient storage in the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, and the green crab, Carcinus maenas. Disturbances in these physiological processes may reflect alterations in neuroendocrine functions brought about by the presence of toxicants. We find that exposure of C. maenas to B or DMN, followed by transfer to a dilute medium, results in impaired osmoregulatory capacity, while addition of these compounds to a dilute medium to which the animal is already acclimated does not affect their regulatory ability. Storage of carbohydrate in the midgut gland (hepatopancreas) is decreased by B or DMN, while the accessory storage tissues (gill, muscle) are not significantly affected.     

Microbiological and chitinoclastic activities associated withPenaeus setiferus

Analysis of microbiological and chitinase activities relative to the white shrimpPenaeus setiferus, and its chitinoclastic endosymbionts, have demonstrated the relevance of total chitinolytic processes in penaeid biology. Microorganisms may serve as a direct source of nutrients for the animal as well as in the elaboration of extracellularin situ chitinase enzymes. The enzyme produced by the predominant gut bacteria,Beneckea neptuna, is a moderately actively inducible chitinase while the shrimp has an indigenous constitutive chitinase and chitobiase system. Factors of temperature, pH, ion inhibition and reducing sugar ratios have been compared for the bacterial and animal enzymes. This dual enzyme system suggests that metabolic chitin transformation may play a vital role in crustacean metabolism.     

Twelve years of tracking 52-Hz whale calls from a unique source in the North Pacific

A unique whale call with 50–52 Hz emphasis from a single source has been tracked over 12 years in the central and eastern North Pacific. These calls, referred to as 52-Hz calls, were monitored and analyzed from acoustic data recorded by hydrophones of the US Navy Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and other arrays. The calls were noticed first in 1989, and have been detected and tracked since 1992. No other calls with similar characteristics have been identified in the acoustic data from any hydrophone system in the North Pacific basin. Only one series of these 52-Hz calls has been recorded at a time, with no call overlap, suggesting that a single whale produced the calls. The calls were recorded from August to February with most in December and January. The species producing these calls is unknown. The tracks of the 52-Hz whale were different each year, and varied in length from 708 to 11,062 km with travel speeds ranging from 0.7 to 3.8 km/h. Tracks included (A) meandering over short ranges, (B) predominantly west-to-east movement, and (C) mostly north-to-south travel. These tracks consistently appeared to be unrelated to the presence or movement of other whale species (blue, fin and humpback) monitored year-round with the same hydrophones.     

Remote sensing and surface POC concentration in the South Atlantic

Several SeaWiFS products have been compared with shipboard data to assess the possibility of using remote sensing to estimate particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration in surface waters. Transmissometer data were collected during six South Atlantic Ventilation Experiment (SAVE) hydrographic expeditions conducted between November 1987 and March 1989 from R/V Knorr, and Melville. A total of 361 beam attenuation profiles were made with a SeaTech transmissometer interfaced with a CTD/rosette. In order to calculate the POC concentration from transmissometer profiles, a regression between beam attenuation and POC for open Atlantic Ocean waters derived from our research in the North Atlantic (North Atlantic Bloom Experiment, NABE) and enhanced by data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Station (BATS) was applied. The profiles were processed and examined as vertical sections of the surface 250 m. The data were collected in two successive years, during the same season, which allowed us to compile a combined data set over the austral summer for examination. Beam attenuation/POC concentrations were integrated down to one attenuation depth with the intent of making comparisons with satellite optical data. No satellite optical data were available for 1987–1989, so the only option was to compare our integrated data with SeaWiFS-derived variables from later years averaged over the same season as SAVE data. Analysis of four SeaWiFS products acquired from 1997 to 2002 demonstrated very low variations from year to year for seasonally averaged data, suggesting that making comparisons of the beam attenuation/POC fields with averaged satellite optical products from later years is a valid (though not optimal) approach for this area. The highest correlation between beam attenuation/POC concentration and remotely derived products was found with normalized water-leaving radiance at 555 nm. Other SeaWiFS-derived variables—chlorophyll concentration, diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm and integral chlorophyll (integrated over one attenuation depth)—were also compared but showed a slightly less satisfactory correlation.     

A coupling of mixed and discontinuous Galerkin finite-element methods for poroelasticity

In this paper, we formulate a finite-element procedure for approximating the coupled fluid and mechanics in Biot’s consolidation model of poroelasticity. We approximate the flow variables by a mixed finite-element space and the displacement by a family of discontinuous Galerkin methods. Theoretical convergence error estimates are derived and, in particular, are shown to be independent of the constrained specific storage coefficient, c _o . This suggests that our proposed algorithm is a potentially effective way to combat locking, or the nonphysical pressure oscillations, which sometimes arise in numerical algorithms for poroelasticity.     

Diagenesis of vascular plant organic matter components during burial in lake sediments

Diagenetic changes are difficult to distinguish from variations in sources of organic matter to sediments. Organic geochemical comparisons of samples of wood, bark, and needles from a white spruce (Picea glauca) living today and one buried for 10,000 years in lake sediments have been used to identify the effects of diagenesis on vascular plant matter. Important biogeochemical changes are evident in the aged spruce components, even though the cellular structures of the samples are well preserved. Concentrations of total fatty acids dramatically diminish; unsaturated and shorter chainlength components are preferentially lost from the molecular distributions. Concentrations of total alcohols are similar in the modern and 10,000-year-old wood and bark but markedly lowered in the aged needles. Hydrocarbon concentrations and distributions show little diagenetic change in the 10,000-year-old plant materials. Cellulose components in the wood decrease relative to lignin components, although both types of materials remain in high concentration in comparison to other organic components. Aromatization of abietic acid proceeds more rapidly in buried spruce wood than in bark; retene is the dominant polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the aged wood. In contrast to the variety of changes evident in molecular compositions, neither ¹³C values nor C/N ratios differ significantly in the bulk organic matter of modern and aged spruce components.