Influence from Hydrological Modification on Energy and Nutrient Transference in a Deltaic Food Web

Alterations of hydrology are known to trigger changes in coastal ecosystems, such as the composition and abundances of local flora and fauna. It is less well known how these alterations lead to changes in nutrient and energy transfers in these systems. We used comparisons of stable isotope signatures (δ ¹³C, δ ¹⁵N, and δ ³⁴S) in the tissues of conspecific plants and animals collected on each side of the Mobile Bay Causeway to determine the extent to which the causeway may have altered energy and nutrient exchange between the Mobile–Tensaw Delta and upper Mobile Bay. While the δ ¹³C signatures of most plants and animals varied irrespective of their location relative with causeway location, their δ ¹⁵N and δ ³⁴S signatures were almost always more enriched south of the causeway, indicating significant alterations of trophic linkages within this estuarine food web. Dual isotope plots and mixing model analyses indicated that while terrestrial and floating plants were trophically important to consumers north of the causeway, submerged aquatic vegetation was more important to consumers south of the causeway. Although limited in spatial and temporal scale, our results preliminarily show that there are noteworthy differences in stable isotope signatures most likely due to the Mobile Bay Causeway altering energy and nutrient transference.     

First report of the small bird track Koreanaornis from the Cretaceous of North America: implications for avian ichnotaxonomy and paleoecology

Although body fossils of shorebirds and shorebird-like species are extremely rare from the Cretaceous, rapid increase in the discovery of bird footprint sites provides valuable alternate evidence to help fill gaps in the story of the early evolution of shorebird-like species. Newly discovered bird tracks from the Albian-Cenomanian Dakota Formation in northeastern Utah represent the first report of the ichnogenus Koreanaornis from North America and only the second report of bird tracks from this formation. These tracks are not attributable to Aquatilavipes as previously claimed. Three well-preserved trackways are described and provisionally referred to Koreanaornis cf. hamanensis (Kim). However, a review of the ichnotaxonomy of shorebird ichnites reveals that this ichnotaxon also closely resembles the Miocene ichnospecies Avipeda sirin (Vyalov). This latter comparison points to the need for a thorough evaluation of the similarity between Mesozoic and Cenozoic avian ichnotaxa, which may be over-split in some cases and under-differentiated in others.The new material helps distinguish ichnogenus Koreanaornis from the larger bird track Aquatilavipes, which is more abundant and widespread in North America. In some cases Aquatilavipes has been incorrectly used as a catch-all ichnogenus both in North America and Asia. The Dakota Formation stratigraphy at the tracksite indicates that the track makers lived in a marginal marine paleoenvironment. However, despite the widespread distribution of such facies, often replete with dinosaur tracks, the bird track record of the Dakota Formation, and the Cretaceous of the western USA remains relatively sparse in comparison with other areas such as east Asia.     

Exploration potential of Cu isotope fractionation in porphyry copper deposits

We examined the copper isotope ratio of primary high temperature Cu-sulfides, secondary low temperature Cu-sulfides (and Cu-oxides) as well as Fe-oxides in the leach cap, which represent the weathered remains of a spectrum of Cu mineralization, from nine porphyry copper deposits. Copper isotope ratios are reported as δ⁶⁵Cu‰ = ((⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu_sample/⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu_{NIST 976 standard}) − 1) ? 10³. Errors for all the analyses are ± 0.14‰ (determined by multiple analyses of the samples) and mass bias was corrected through standard-sample-standard bracketing. The overall isotopic variability measured in these samples range from − 16.96‰ to 9.98‰.     

Direct evidence of the South Java Current system in Ombai Strait

Direct velocity measurements from 2004 through 2006 confirm the eastward flowing surface South Java Current (SJC) and its deeper Undercurrent (SJUC) crosses the Savu Sea to reach Ombai Strait, a main outflow portal of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). The extension of the South Java Current system into Ombai Strait was hinted at by earlier measurement and modeling studies, but the 3-year velocity time series from two moorings in Ombai Strait clearly show separate distinct cores of flow in the SJC and SJUC. The deeper SJUC is driven by Kelvin waves forced by intraseasonal and semi-annual winds in the equatorial Indian Ocean and, when present, is observed across the entire strait. Eastward flow in the surface SJC is near year-round, although it appears that the mechanisms responsible for this flow differ throughout the year. Both the wind-driven Ekman flow during the northwest monsoon and the strongest semi-annual Kelvin waves that have surface signatures can result in eastward surface layer flow across the entire strait. In contrast, during the southeast monsoon the SJC has a subsurface maximum eastward flow at 50–100 m depth in the northern part of Ombai Strait, while the westward ITF is at an annual maximum at the surface in the southern part of the strait. Surface temperature maps suggest the presence of a front during the southeast monsoon that seems to trap the SJC to within ∼10–15 km of the northern boundary of Ombai Strait. The SJC and the frontal location are related to a complex interplay between local wind-driven Ekman dynamics, the strong ITF flow and topography. Significant energy is found at short intraseasonal time scales (20–60 days) in the along-strait flow that is probably related to the short duration westerly wind bursts that drive the Kelvin waves into Ombai Strait. There is a distinct lack of energy at longer intraseasonal time scales (60–90 days) that is likely attributable to interannual climate variability.     

Rare earth elements in an ice core from Mt. Everest: Seasonal variations and potential sources

Rare earth element (REE) concentrations in ice samples from the upper 8.4 m of a Mt. Everest ice core retrieved from the col of the East Rongbuk Glacier (28.03°N, 86.96°E, 6518 m a.s.l.) on the northeast ridge of Mt. Everest in September 2002 are presented. REEs display large seasonal variations, with high concentrations in the non-monsoon season and low concentrations in the summer monsoon season. This seasonality is useful for ice core dating. When normalized to a shale standard, the Mt. Everest REEs exhibit a consistent shale-like pattern with a slight enrichment of middle REEs during both seasons. However, individual monsoon REE patterns display differences, possibly resulting from diversified sources. Non-monsoon REE patterns are stable and are associated with the westerlies. Investigation of potential sources for the Everest REEs suggests an absence of anthropogenic contributions and minimal input from local provenances. REEs in Mt. Everest samples are most likely representative of a stable well-mixed REE background of the upper troposphere consisting of a mixture of aerosols transported by the atmospheric circulation from the west windward arid regions such as the Thar Desert, West Asia, the Sahara Desert and other uncertain provenances.     

Late Quaternary glaciation in the Nun‐Kun massif,northwestern India

The late Quaternary glacial history of the Nun‐Kun massif, located on the boundary between the Greater Himalaya and the Zanskar range in northwestern India, was reconstructed. On the basis of morphostratigraphy and ¹⁰Be dating of glacial landforms (moraines and glacial trimlines), five glacial stages were recognized and defined, namely: (i) the Achambur glacial stage dated to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 to 4 (38.7–62.7 ka); (ii) the Tongul glacial stage dated to the early part of the Lateglacial (16.7–17.4 ka); (iii) the Amantick glacial stage dated to the later part of the Lateglacial (14.3 ka, 11.7–12.4 ka); (iv) the Lomp glacial stage dated to the Little Ice Age; and (v) the Tanak glacial stage, which has the youngest moraines, probably dating to the last few decades or so. Present and former equilibrium‐line altitudes (ELAs) were calculated using the standard area accumulation ratio method. The average present‐day ELA of ～4790 m above sea level in the Greater Himalaya is lower than those in the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges, namely 5380 and ～5900 m a.s.l., respectively. The ELA in the Zanskar range is higher than in the Ladakh range, possibly due to the higher peaks in the Ladakh range that are able to more effectively capture and store snow and ice. ELA depressions decrease towards the Ladakh range (i.e. inner Plateau). Peat beds interbedded with aeolian deposits that cap the terminal moraine of Tarangoz Glacier suggest millennial‐time‐scale climate change throughout the Holocene, with soil formation times at c. 1.5, c. 3.4 and c. 5.2 ka, probably coinciding with Holocene abrupt climate change events. Given the style and timing of glaciation in the study area, it is likely that climate in the Nun‐Kun region is linked to Northern Hemisphere climate oscillations with teleconnections via the mid‐latitude westerlies.     

An investigation into robust spectral indices for leaf chlorophyll estimation

Quantifying photosynthetic activity at the regional scale can provide important information to resource managers, planners and global ecosystem modelling efforts. With increasing availability of both hyperspectral and narrow band multispectral remote sensing data, new users are faced with a plethora of options when choosing an optical index to relate to their chosen or canopy parameter. The literature base regarding optical indices (particularly chlorophyll indices) is wide ranging and extensive, however it is without much consensus regarding robust indices. The wider spectral community could benefit from studies that apply a variety of published indices to differing sets of species data. The consistency and robustness of 73 published chlorophyll spectral indices have been assessed, using leaf level hyperspectral data collected from three crop species and a variety of savanna tree species. Linear regression between total leaf chlorophyll content and bootstrapping were used to determine the leafpredictive capabilities of the various indices. The indices were then ranked based on the prediction error (the average root mean square error (RMSE)) derived from the bootstrapping process involving 1000 iterative resampling with replacement. The results show two red-edge derivative based indices (red-edge position via linear extrapolation index and the modified red-edge inflection point index) as the most consistent and robust, and that the majority of the top performing indices (in spite of species variability) were simple ratio or normalised difference indices that are based on off-chlorophyll absorption centre wavebands (690–730 nm).     

Integrated Hazards Mapping Tool

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 formally establishes a national program for pre‐disaster mitigation. As part of the mitigation planning effort, state and local governments are required to perform assessments of hazards vulnerability, including the development of multi‐hazard maps. However, the number of communities possessing the technology, expertise, and time to create multi‐hazard vulnerability maps is limited due to technical and resource constraints. The use of Internet mapping technology has the potential to overcome these hurdles because it does not require users to possess a high level of GIS expertise or costly software, and it standardizes the vulnerability mapping approach. This article describes the Integrated Hazards Assessment Tool, a web‐based multi‐hazard vulnerability mapping application for local and state hazard mitigation practitioners in the state of South Carolina. The initial findings suggest the application holds strong potential as a viable decision support tool for hazard mitigation planning.     

A global ranking of port cities with high exposure to climate extremes

This paper presents a first estimate of the exposure of the world’s large port cities (population exceeding one million inhabitants in 2005) to coastal flooding due to sea-level rise and storm surge now and in the 2070s, taking into account scenarios of socio-economic and climate changes. The analysis suggests that about 40 million people (0.6% of the global population or roughly 1 in 10 of the total port city population in the cities considered) are currently exposed to a 1 in 100 year coastal flood event. For assets, the total value exposed in 2005 across all cities considered is estimated to be US$3,000 billion; corresponding to around 5% of global GDP in 2005 (both measured in international USD) with USA, Japan and the Netherlands being the countries with the highest values. By the 2070s, total population exposed could grow more than threefold due to the combined effects of sea-level rise, subsidence, population growth and urbanisation with asset exposure increasing to more than ten times current levels or approximately 9% of projected global GDP in this period. On the global-scale, population growth, socio-economic growth and urbanization are the most important drivers of the overall increase in exposure particularly in developing countries, as low-lying areas are urbanized. Climate change and subsidence can significantly exacerbate this increase in exposure. Exposure is concentrated in a few cities: collectively Asia dominates population exposure now and in the future and also dominates asset exposure by the 2070s. Importantly, even if the environmental or socio-economic changes were smaller than assumed here the underlying trends would remain. This research shows the high potential benefits from risk-reduction planning and policies at the city scale to address the issues raised by the possible growth in exposure.