America's Changing Farmscape: A Study of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan*

Agricultural tourism incorporates visits to farms for the purposes of on‐site retail purchases, enjoyment, and education. Long popular in the European Union (EU), agritourism is gaining popularity throughout the United States. Interest has grown as a result of stagnant grain prices, rising farm costs, and growing international competition. For rural areas seeking new economic options, the potential of these operations to generate new sources of income through sales and horizontal linkages to other tourism‐based activities has sparked interest beyond the farm gate. This article, based on a survey and a statistical analysis of 300 agritourism operations in Michigan, summarizes factors associated with successful operations.     

THE IMPACT OF METAL AND ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF PERIPHYTON IN LOTIC SEDIMENTS: OBSERVATIONS AT VARIOUS SCALES

1 INTRODUCTION While wastewater discharge regulations have significantly reduced water column pollution, historical and accidental releases of organic pollutants and heavy metals continue to pose an ecological threat as these contaminants have become 搃n-place?sediment pollutants. It had been previously assumed that natural attenuation processes, such as burial or biodegradation, would decrease the contamination levels in surface sediments and, thus, diminish the environmental impact of t…     

Planktic foraminiferal porosity: a water mass proxy for latest Cenomanian paleoceanography, Greenhorn Sea, Western Interior USA and Canada

Planktic foraminiferal porosity analyses can be used as a water mass proxy and were conducted on samples from above the latest Cenomanian Neocardioceras or B bentonite from the Western Interior Seaway of North America. This time slice provides a snapshot of water mass characteristics in this vast epicontinental sea during the early phase of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Mean sample porosity decreases northward and is interpreted as northward decrease in water temperature at the depth Hedbergella delrioensis (Carsey) calcified. Four water masses are defined by porosity, their boundaries are extremely similar to water mass boundaries previously identified by others using the distributions of macrofossils, microfossils and lithology. The boundary between the Subtropical–Tropical Water Mass and Central Subtropical Water Mass was located in southern Colorado. The boundary between the Central Subtropical Water Mass and the Northern Temperate Water Mass lay at approximately 48°N latitude. This boundary is displaced northward approximately 8° latitude as compared to the Holocene planktic foraminiferal temperate ocean province. Within-sample porosity variation suggests all water masses except the Temperate Water Mass were thermally stratified. Samples from the south indicate that the Subtropical–Tropical Water Mass was the most stratified. The porosity data support a previously published data-based paleoceanographic circulation of the southwestern seaway.     

Equus species as stratigraphic markers reality or wishful thinking?

This paper addresses the use of fossil species of the horse Equus as stratigraphic markers in the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Current research shows that the species recently so used do not succeed one another in orderly fashion, but occur and co-occur at ages other than presupposed by the stratigraphic schemes (usually earlier). Horse species should be identified on their morphology, not on their stratigraphic age. ‘Subspecies’ of fossil horses do not conform to subspecies in zoology, as they lack a geographic range. They thus lack taxonomic status and stratigraphic significance and should be avoided.     

Solar Total Irradiance: A Reference Value for Solar Minimum

Simultaneous solar total irradiance observations performed by absolute radiometers on board satellites during the quiet-Sun period between solar cycles 21 and 22 (1985–1987), are analyzed to determine the solar total irradiance at 1 AU for the solar minimum. During the quiet-Sun period the total solar irradiance, UV irradiance, and the various solar activity indices show very little fluctuation. However, the absolute value of the solar total irradiance derived from the observations differ within the accuracy of the radiometers used in the measurements. Therefore, the question often arises about a reference value of the solar total irradiance for use in climate models and for computation of geophysical, and atmospheric parameters. This research is conducted as a part of the Solar Electromagnetic Radiation Study for Solar Cycle 22 (SOLERS22). On the basis of the study we recommended a reference value of 1367.0 ± 0.04 W m^-2 for the solar total irradiance at 1 AU for a truly quiet Sun. We also find that the total solar irradiance data for the quiet-Sun period reveals strong short-term irradiance variations.     

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in Chesapeake Bay

We measured dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) in samples collected along 13 transects of the salinity gradient of Chesapeake Bay. Riverine DOC and POC end-members averaged 232±19 μM and 151±53 μM, respectively, and coastal DOC and POC end-members averaged 172±19 μM and 43±6 μM, respectively. Within the chlorophyll maximum, POC accumulated to concentrations 50–150 μM above those expected from conservative mixing and it was significantly correlated with chlorophylla, indicating phytoplankton origin. POC accumulated primarily in bottom waters in spring, and primarily in surface waters in summer. Net DOC accumulation (60–120 μM) was observed within and downstream of the chlorophyll maximum, primarily during spring and summer in both surface and bottom waters, and it also appeared to be derived from phytoplankton. In the turbidity maximum, there were also net decreases in chlorophylla (?3 μg l^?1 to ?22 μg l^?1) and POC concentrations (?2 μM to ?89 μM) and transient DOC increases (9–88 μM), primarily in summer. These occurred as freshwater plankton blooms mixed with turbid, low salinity seawater, and we attribute the observed POC and DOC changes to lysis and sedimentation of freshwater plankton. DOC accumulation in both regions of Chesapeake Bay was estimated to be greater than atmospheric or terrestrial organic carbon inputs and was equivalent to ≈10% of estuarine primary production.     

Gas Production from an Ombrotrophic Bog-Effect of Climate Change on Microbial Ecology

Gases are produced from wetlands when plant biomass is degraded by microbial consortia, producing carbon dioxide aerobically and methane when oxygen is lacking. In anaerobic waterlogged situations, such as the catotelm of ombrotrophic bogs, this methane forms minute gas bubbles that severely reduce the hydraulic conductivity and hence the degradation of biomass due to the lack of nutrients. The bogs thus become carbon sinks, formed from the partially degraded biomass that accumulates as peat. The results of an investigation of an ombrotrophic bog, Mer Bleue, Ontario, Canada are summarized here, and the effects that climate change may have on such bogs are discussed. Any change of the water table in wetlands will have a substantial effect upon their ecology. If the water table should fall allowing bogs to become aerobic, most of the accumulated biomass carbon could be returned to the atmosphere by degradation to carbon dioxide, and as well, methane entrapped within the matrix would be released directly to the atmosphere. If on the other hand, the bogs are flooded, then the entrapped bubbles will coalesce allowing the gas to escape to the atmosphere, while at the same time the degradation of the peat will be enhanced.     

Vibracoring from lake ice with a lightweight monopod and piston coring apparatus

A monopod and piston coring apparatus for coring water-saturated sediment is described. The lightweight apparatus can be used from either an ice platform or the ground surface and can be transported by aircraft. Using a piston, core recovery is increased to better than 90%, and depending upon the monopod height, 7 m-long cores can be obtained. Tips for coring in freezing temperatures are also given.     

A freshwater population of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus,from the Susquehanna River drainage in Pennsylvania

An established population of mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in the Susquehanna drainage is reported from Pennsylvania for the first time. Three year classes of this brackish water species were taken on 17 August 1976 from Letort Spring Run, a tributary of the Conodoguinet Creek in Cumberland County. A survey of unpublished records and museum specimens revealed occurrences in Wissahickon Creek, Montgomery County, and Brandywine Creek, Chester County; both Delaware drainage. Presence in these drainages is believed the result of bait bucket introduction.