Underwater observations of the giant spoon worm <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ikeda taenioides</Emphasis> (Annelida: Echiura: Ikedidae) in a subtidal soft-bottom environment in northeastern Japan,which survived tsunamis of the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake

Tsunamis associated with the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake seriously disrupted the shallow marine ecosystem along a 2000 km stretch of the Pacific coast of Japan. The effects of the 2011 tsunamis on the soft-bottom benthic community have been relatively well studied in the intertidal zone, whereas tsunami effects on the subtidal benthos remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated populations of the world’s largest spoon worm Ikeda taenioides (Annelida: Echiura: Ikedidae) in subtidal zone of Funakoshi Bay, Tohoku District, northeastern Japan. Subtidal scuba-diving surveys at two sites in the bay showed extremely long proboscises frequently extending from small holes in the sandy seafloor shortly before and soon after the tsunami disturbances. Based on morphological and molecular identification, the proboscises were revealed to be parts of I. taenioides. On 30 November 2011, 265 days after the tsunami event, many large-sized individuals with >1 m long proboscises were observed; these individuals were probably not derived from post-tsunami larval recruitment but more likely survived the tsunami disturbances. This is surprising because other sympatric megabenthos (e.g. spatangoid echinoids and venerid bivalves) and seagrass beds were almost completely destroyed (although they later recovered) by the tsunamis in this bay. The burrows of I. taenioides are known to be very deep (70–90 cm), which may have sheltered them from the impacts of the tsunamis. Our observations suggest that the effects of the 2011 tsunamis on benthos in soft sediments may differ depending on their burrowing depth.     

Optimization of dissolved urea measurements in coastal waters with the combination of a single reagent and high temperature

Urea is an unstable and intermediate organic nitrogenous compound present in coastal environments and is derived from the excretion of some aquatic organisms and wastewater discharges. Urea plays an important role in the nitrogen cycle, where it is utilized by algae, including diatoms. However, there are very limited relevant data on the production, consumption, and degradation of urea because of the lack of appropriate measurement techniques. The conventional method is based on the formation of a colored product when urea reacts with diacetyl monoxime in a sulfuric acid solution. We examined the optimal conditions for the formation of the colored product; specifically, we evaluated different temperatures (22–80 °C), reaction times, mixing ratios of color reagents, and sample storage times. Application of the single mixed color-developing reagent (COLDER) at 70 °C resulted in the optimal formation of the colored product within a short reaction time of 60 min. This method was then used to measure dissolved urea in different coastal environments. The concentrations detected were as follows: 0.65–0.72, 0.49–0.58, and 1.09–2.28 µM urea-N at coral reef, seagrass, and mangrove sites, respectively. Our results showed high precision (SD = 0.02, CV = 1.2%), a low detection limit (0.03 µM urea-N), and a high recovery rate (94–99%). In summary, this high-temperature procedure for urea measurements should be valuable for obtaining high-precision data that can further the understanding of urea dynamics and its role in coastal ecosystems.     

A note on ocean surface drift with application to surface velocities measured with HF Radar

The ocean drift current consists of a (local) pure drift current generated by the interaction of wind and waves at the sea surface, to which the surface geostrophic current is added vectorially. We present (a) a similarity solution for the wave boundary layer (which has been validated through the prediction of the 10-m drag law), from which the component of pure drift current along the direction of the wind (and hence the speed factor) can be evaluated from the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and (b) a similarity solution for the Ekman layers of the two fluids, which shows that under steady-state neutral conditions the pure drift current lies along the direction of the geostrophic wind, and has a magnitude 0.034 that of the geostrophic wind speed. The co-existence of these two similarity solutions indicates that the frictional properties of the coupled air-sea system are easily evaluated functions of the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and also leads to a simple expression for the angle of deflection of the pure drift current to the 10 m wind. The analysis provides a dynamical model for global ocean drift on monthly and annual time scales for which the steady-state neutral model is a good approximation. In particular, the theoretical results appear to be able to successfully predict the mean surface drift measured by HF Radar, which at present is the best technique for studying the near surface velocity profile.     

Spatio-temporal variability in sea surface temperatures for the Yellow Sea based on MODIS dataset

The spatio-temporal variabilities in sea surface temperature (SST) were analyzed using a time series of MODIS datasets for four separate regions in the Yellow Sea (YS) that were located along a north-south axis. The space variant temporal anomaly was further decomposed using an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) for estimating spatially distributed SST. The monthly SSTs showed similar temporal patterns in each region, which ranged from 2.4°C to 28.4°C in the study years 2011 to 2013, with seasonal cycles being stronger at the higher latitudes and weaker at the lower latitudes. Spatially, although there were no significant differences among the four regions (p < 0.05) in any year, the geographical distribution of SST was characterized by an obvious gradient whereby SST decreased along the north-south axis. The monthly thermal difference among regions was largest in winter since the SST in the southeast was mainly affected by the Yellow Sea Warm Currents. The EOF1 mode accounted for 56% of the total spatial variance and exhibited a warming signal during the study period. The EOF2 mode accounted for 8% of the total variance and indicated the warm current features in the YS. The EOF3 mode accounted for 6% of the total variance and indicated the topographical features. The methodology used in this study demonstrated the spatio-temporal variabilities in the YS.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera marina</Emphasis> seed burial can be enhanced by Manila clam <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruditapes philippinarum</Emphasis>: A microcosm study

Seagrass seed bank plays a key role in the regeneration of new vegetation when seagrasses are removed by the natural or man-made disaster. Various factors may affect the development of sediment seed bank. We conducted a microcosm experiment to test the effects of burrowing and feeding activities of Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum on the burial of Zostera marina seeds in sediments. The effects of lasting time (3-hour, 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, 14-day and 28-day), clam density (0, 2, 4 and 8 clams with shell length of 3 cm in each microcosm) and clam size (shell length of 2, 3 and 4 cm at 4-clam density) on seed burial were examined in plastic microcosm cores (30 cm high × 10 in inner diameter) in a 28-day period. Results showed that the seed burial depth significantly increased with time, the density and the size of clams. No seeds were buried in the sediment in the cores without clams during the whole experiment period. For the 3-cm clams, about 91.61% of the seeds were buried in the sediment at the end of the experiment in the high-density treatment (8 clams at each core); while in the medium and low-density treatments (4 and 2 clams in each core, respectively), about 76.93% and 60.61% of the seeds were buried in the sediment, respectively. For the size treatments, large (4 cm) clams buried 89.56% of the seeds at the end of the experiment, much more than those of medium (3 cm, 76.93%) and small (2 cm, 61.50%) size clams. During the whole experiment period, nearly all of the buried seeds were at a depth of from 0 cm to 5 cm. These results suggested that Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum may play an important positive role in seagrass seed bank dynamics in the field.     

Numerical simulation of groundwater flowing to horizontal seepage wells under a river

A horizontal seepage well, consisting of an interconnected vertical well, galleries, chambers and small-diameter radiating bores, is used to acquire relatively clean water that has been filtered through natural alluvial deposits in a riverbed. It has wide application, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. The lack of calculation formulae or models for horizontal seepage wells, up until now, has resulted in several false applications. Based on the analysis of groundwater flow characteristics, it has been concluded that several flow regimes coexist and hydraulic head loss exists in the horizontal seepage well. To avoid the difficulty of confirming the flux or head distribution in such a complex system, the model boundary of the whole horizontal seepage well has been moved to that of just the vertical well, and the well-aquifer system was treated as a heterogeneous medium, where the horizontal seepage well itself is a highly permeability medium. A mathematical model has been developed, based on the coupled seepage-pipe flow, by the introduction of equivalent hydraulic conductivity according to different flow regimes. Then a three-dimensional finite difference numerical model, based on the mathematical model, was developed and applied to a horizontal seepage well in China. The numerical model verified the groundwater flow characteristics of the horizontal seepage well. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Paleoproterozoic quartz-pebble conglomerate type uranium mineralisation in Mankarhachua area,Angul district,Orissa

Ground Radiometric survey of Paleoproterozoic pyritiferous quartz-pebble conglomerate (QPC) occurring to the north of Pallahara area led to the discovery of a QPC type uranium mineralisation near Mankarhachua village. Significant radioactivity is recorded in three sub-parallel uraniferous QPC horizons with metamorphosed pebbly to medium grained recrystallised massive sandstones. Detrital grains of uranothorite, thorite, radioactive allanite, monazite, zircon, minute uraninite grains in carbonaceous matter and thucolite contributes to the radioactive phases present in QPC matrix. Adsorbed U on limonite and goethite, secondary uranyl minerals in matrix, along bedding planes and fractures are commonly observed. This discovery has opened up a new horizon for future exploration for QPC type uranium mineralization in the area. The paper presents observations on geology, radioactivity, petrological and geochemical nature of the uraniferous QPC horizons.     

Reasoning about climate uncertainty

This paper argues that the IPCC has oversimplified the issue of uncertainty in its Assessment Reports, which can lead to misleading overconfidence. A concerted effort by the IPCC is needed to identify better ways of framing the climate change problem, explore and characterize uncertainty, reason about uncertainty in the context of evidence-based logical hierarchies, and eliminate bias from the consensus building process itself.     

Autochthonous inheritance of zircon through Cretaceous partial melting of Carboniferous plutons: the Arthur River Complex,Fiordland, New Zealand

TIMS and SHRIMP U–Pb analyses of zircons from Milford Orthogneiss metadiorite (P = 1–1.4 GPa; T ≥ 750°C) of the Arthur River Complex of northern Fiordland reveal a bimodal age pattern. Zircons are predominantly either Paleozoic (357.0 ± 4.2 Ma) and prismatic with oscillatory zoning, or Cretaceous (133.9 ± 1.8 Ma) and ovoid with sector or patchy zoning. The younger age component is not observed overgrowing older grains. Most grains of both ages are overgrown by younger Cretaceous (~120 Ma) metamorphic zircon with very low U and Th/U (0.01). We interpret the bimodal ages as indicating initial igneous emplacement and crystallisation of a dioritic protolith pluton at ~357 Ma, followed by Early Cretaceous granulite-facies metamorphism at ~134 Ma, during which a significant fraction (~60%) of the zircon grains dissolved, and subsequently reprecipitated, effectively in situ, in partial melt pockets. The remaining ~40% of original Paleozoic grains were apparently not in contact with the partial melt, remained intact, and show only slight degrees of Pb loss. Sector zoning of the Cretaceous grains discounts their origin by solid state recrystallisation of Paleozoic grains. The alternative explanation—that the Paleozoic component represents a 40% inherited component in an Early Cretaceous transgressive dioritic magma—is considered less likely given the relatively high solubility of zircon in magma of this composition, the absence of 134 Ma overgrowths, the single discrete age of the older component, equivalent time-integrated ¹⁷⁷Hf/¹⁷⁶Hf compositions of both age groups, and the absence of the Cambrian-Proterozoic detrital zircon that dominates regional Cambro-Ordovician metasedimentary populations. Similar bimodal Carboniferous-Early Cretaceous age distributions are characteristic of the wider Arthur River Complex; 8 of 12 previously dated dioritic samples have a Paleozoic component averaging 51%. Furthermore, the age and chemical suite affinity of these and several more felsic rocks can be matched with those of the relatively unmetamorphosed Carboniferous plutonic terrane along the strike of the Mesozoic margin in southern Fiordland, also supporting the in situ derivation of the Carboniferous “inherited” component.     

Development and verification of the comprehensive model for physical properties of hydrate sediment

Natural gas hydrate is widely distributed all over the world and may be a potential resource in the near future, whereas hydrate dissociation during the development affects wellbore stability and drilling safety. However, the present modeling of hydrate reservoir parameters ignored the influence of effective stress and only considered the hydrate saturation. In this paper, a series of stress sensitivity experiments for the unconsolidated sandstone were carried out, and the influence of mean effective stress on physical parameters was obtained; a comprehensive model for the physical parameters of hydrate reservoir was developed subsequently. With the help of ABAQUS finite element software, the established comprehensive model was verified by the use of the wellbore stability numerical model of hydrate reservoir. The verification results show that ignoring the effect of mean effective stress on the parameters of hydrate formation aggravates the invasion of drilling fluid into the hydrate formation. Besides, ignoring the stress sensitivity of reservoir physical parameters will underestimate the wellbore instability during hydrate drilling, which will be a threat to the safety of gas hydrate drilling. At the end of the drilling operation, the maximum plastic strain of the model for considering and not considering stress sensitivity was 0.0145 and 0.0138, respectively. Therefore, the established comprehensive model will provide a theoretical support for accurately predicting the engineering geological disasters in hydrate development process.