TREND SURFACE ANALYSIS OF GLACIALLY BURIED PLEISTOCENE ORGANIC DEPOSITS IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN*

Trend surfaces were determined and compared for the bedrock surface, two characteristics of the present topography, and 42 water well log reports of glacially buried carbonaceous horizons within drift from an area in central Michigan. Data almost certainly indicate that the glacially buried Pleistocene organic deposits represent two or more pre-Woodfordian paleosurfaces. Trend surface analysis of buried organic horizons may be useful for recognizing paleosurfaces and separating drift sheets in other areas with limited subsurface data.     

Occurrence of the endangered shortnose sturgeon,Acipenser brevirostrum,in the Delaware River estuary

All available capture records of the endangered shortnose sturgeon,Acipenser brevirostrum, for the Delaware River Estuary from the early nineteeth century to the present were compiled. During 1817 through 1913 some 1,949 captures were reported, most as a bycatch of the shad gill net fishery. No documented captures during 1913 to 1954 were reported in the literature. Thirty-seven shortnose sturgeon were reported captured from 1954 through 1979, mostly incidental to fishery and ecological studies. Most specimens were taken in the upper tidal freshwater portion of the estuary (rkm 200–214). Seasonal-spatial distribution appeared similar to that observed for northern shortnose sturgeon populations. Taxonomic data obtained from seven specimens generally agreed with those from other drainages.     

柴达木盆地北缘古生代超高压带中花岗质岩浆作用

祁连南缘古生代超高压变质带 (榴辉岩年龄为 4 6 6～ 4 95 Ma)上一套中高级变质岩系 (达肯大坂片麻岩 )中存在三类花岗岩组合 : 类 :石英二长闪长岩 -花岗闪长岩 -二长花岗岩 , 类 :二长花岗岩 -二云母花岗岩-含白云母花岗岩 -正长花岗岩 , 类 :花岗闪长岩 -二长花岗岩 -黑云母花岗岩。 类岩石组合中的二长花岗岩锆石SHRIMP年龄为 4 73Ma, 类岩石组合中的正长花岗岩锆石 SHRIMP年龄为 4 4 6 Ma, 类岩石组合中的二长花岗岩锆石 SHRIMP年龄为 397Ma。从三类花岗岩组合的组成矿物来看 , 类和 类的矿物组合主要为斜长石、角闪石、石英、碱性长石、黑云母 , 类的矿物组合为钾长石、石英、白云母、黑云母、斜长石 ;从岩石地球化学特征上看 , 类和 类花岗岩为 型花岗岩 ,岩石的 Si O2 =6 1%～ 6 9% ,Na2 O/ K2 O>1,ANK<1,δEu=0 .7～ 1.0 ; 类花岗岩为 S型花岗岩 ,岩石的 Si O2 =70 %～ 76 % ,Na2 O/ K2 O<1,ANK>1,δEu=0 .1～ 0 .3;从构造环境上看 , 类花岗岩形成于岛弧环境或活动大陆边缘 , 类花岗岩形成于同碰撞 , 类花岗岩形成于碰撞后。结合区域地质特征 ,我们认为 ,早奥陶世 ,南祁连洋板块向北俯冲于祁连陆块之下 ,规模不大的南祁连洋很快闭合 ,但俯冲下去的大洋板块仍拖动柴达木陆块继续俯冲 ,俯冲     

Discovery of a binary Centaur

We have identified a binary companion to (42355) 2002 CR₄₆ in our ongoing deep survey using the Hubble Space Telescope's High Resolution Camera. It is the first companion to be found around an object in a non-resonant orbit that crosses the orbits of giant planets. Objects in orbits of this kind, the Centaurs, have experienced repeated strong scattering with one or more giant planets and therefore the survival of binaries in this transient population has been in question. Monte Carlo simulations suggest, however, that binaries in (42355) 2002 CR₄₆-like heliocentric orbits have a high probability of survival for reasonable estimates of the binary's still-unknown system mass and separation. Because Centaurs are thought to be precursors to short period comets, the question of the existence of binary comets naturally arises; none has yet been definitively identified. The discovery of one binary in a sample of eight observed by HST suggests that binaries in this population may not be uncommon.     

The infrared spectrum of asteroid 433 Eros

The mineralogical composition of asteroid Eros has been determined from its infrared spectrum (0.9–2.7μm; 28cm^?1 resolution). Major minerals include metallic NiFe and pyroxene; no spectroscopic evidence for olivine or plagioclase feldspar was found. The IR spectrum of Eros is most consistent with a stony-iron composition.     

Growth increment and stable isotope analysis of marine bivalves: Implications for the geoarchaeological record of El Niño

The 1982–1983 El Niño event afforded the opportunity to develop criteria for the recognition of ancient El Niños using mollusks from archaeological sites along coastal South America. A combination of growth increment and stable isotope analyses indicated that elevated sea surface temperatures during large scale El Niños leave a record decodable from the growth patterns of selected bivalve shells. The intertidal venerid Chione subrugosa displayed a pronounced break in the valve margin profile following the 1982-1983 event but provided an inconsistent stable isotope pattern. The subtidal carditid Trachycardium procerum, on the other hand, preserved a discernible and diagnostic growth interruption as well as an expected trend in stable isotope indicators of salinity and temperature change. We conclude that some of the major culturally disruptive El Niño events can be recognized in the geoarchaeological record by these techniques, especially if ancillary information, such as faunal distribution patterns, are also considered. Perhaps the most serious constraint upon application of this approach involves microstratigraphic resolution of shell midden deposits. Stratigraphic sampling of midden material should be accompanied, if possible, by sampling of proximal natural strata. The chances of discovery of major El Niño perturbations in the geoarchaeological record of shell middens is enhanced by the catastrophic nature of such events and by the indication that major El Niños have a high probability of being closely spaced in time.     

Abundance and distribution of ichthyoplankton in the upwelling zone off Oregon during anomalous El Niño conditions

The abundance and distribution patterns of nearshore ichthyoplankton were investigated during a year of anomalously high sea temperatures off Oregon. Samples collected from 2 to 18 km offshore from April through September of 1983 showed increased occurrences and higher abundances of taxa usually found at distances offshore of 37 km in other years. The dominant species collected, comprising more than half of the total larval fish abundance, was the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax). Larval anchovy have rarely been collected inshore in previous studies. Many of the dominant taxa normally found inshore, especially osmerids, were present in reduced numbers in 1983. Changes in the hydrographic conditions associated with onshore surface drift and reduced summer upwelling during the 1983 El Niño could explain the distributional patterns observed. The warm inshore waters apparently provided a substantial spatial and temporal expansion of the spawning habitat for E. mordax.     

Life histories of large,grazing copepods in a subarctic ocean gyre: Neocalanus plumchrus,Neocalanus cristatus, and Eucalanus bungii in the Northeast Pacific

Life histories for the dominant, larger copepods of the subartic Pacific have been constructed by sampling from weatherships patrolling Ocean Station P (50°N, 145°W) during 1980 and 1981. Neocalanus plumchrus reproduced at depths below 250 m from July through February. Copepodite stages were present in surface layers from October through August with a large peak in numbers and biomass in spring. Fifth copepodites prepared for diapuse in 38 days during spring and descended to depths below 250 m. They commenced immediately to mature, and the females reproduced without renewed feeding. This schedule contrasts with that of the population in the Strait of Georgia, which remains in diapause from July to January and matures exclusively in January and February. There appears to be a difference between the coastal and oceanic habitats in preparing the diapausing individuals for maturation.Maturation of the diapausing stock of N. plumchrus maintained constant adult populations, averaging 714 males m^?2 from June through October and 1,434 females m^?2 from August through January. This constancy, together with the exponential pattern of decline in the diapause stock from September through February, suggests that density of adults may regulate maturation of fifth copepodites. Offspring of individuals delaying maturation and, thus, reproduction would benefit from the resulting moderation of intraspecific competition, probably that among copepodites.Reproduction of Neocalanus cristatus also occurred below 250 m, and, while spawning was continuous through the year, there was a substantial peak in November. That resulted in a peak of abundance for early copepodite stages in mid-winter, and a peak for the fifth copepodite stage in June. Stocking of the population of fifth copepodites in diapause below 250 m occurred from July through October. Some fifth copepodites were present in surface layers through the entire summer, and some younger copepodites persisted through the summer in progressively declining abundance just below the mixed layer. In autumn 1980 resurgence of early copepodite populations was rapid, occurring during the course of a prolonged October storm. The storm may have improved the habitat either by cooling the mixed layer or by resupplying nutrients to the euphotic zone.Eucalanus bungii reproduced in the mixed layer in early May and in early July. The first event was a spawning by females that had previously spawned in 1979 and then had returned to diapause. The second, heavier spawning (more females, more eggs per female) was by newly matured females from stocks that had overwintered as fifth copepodites. Nauplii peaked sharply in abundance on 19 July, one week after the peak in spawning. First and second copepodites peaked on 1 August, and all had advanced to the third copepodite stage by September. The diapause stock was established by September, principally between 250 and 500 m, and consisted of copepodite stages from third to sixth. Duration of the E. bungii life cycle appears to be typically two years. New nauplii develop as far as the third or fourth copepodite stage during their first summer, then enter diapause. The second summer they advance to the fifth copepodite stage and reenter diapause. Fifth copepodites mature in their third summer at two years of age. The males remain at depth and mate without subsequent feeding. Females migrate at night to the mixed layer where spawning occurs. About 20% of females that had already spawned in 1980 reentered diapause. They would reproduce again in their fourth summer at three years of age. All aspects of the life cycle suggest low mortality rates for copepodite stages, particularly at depth in the habitat occupied during diapuse. There can be no premium on rapid reproduction for E. bungii in the subartic Pacific, and there must even be benefit from spreading reproduction between years. This iteroparity may amount to a “bet-hedging” tactic, the young from a given mother having more than one chance to find sustaining conditions. It also produces gene flow between the year classes of the biennial life cycle.