Effects of tributyltin on activity and burrowing behavior of the fiddler crab,Uca pugilator

Fiddler crabs,Uca pugilator, collected from the field showed no avoidance to burrowing in 1 μg g^?1 tributyltin (TBT)-contaminated sand held in laboratory trays. Treatment ofU. pugilator with levels of tributyltin as low as 0.5 μg l^?1 for 1–3 wk resulted in an acceleration of the righting reflex in females, indicative of hyperactivity. Crabs of both sexes exhibited a reduction in burrowing activity, as measured by the number of burrows dug at 15 and 60 min after release into laboratory trays containing sand, and by the number of crabs within burrows at those times. The reduction in burrowing activity was not dose-dependent at concentrations of 0.5 to 50 μg l^?1, and was unchanged between one and three weeks of exposure. Since fiddler crabs are dependent on burrows for many aspects of their lives, the reduction in burrowing behavior, should it occur in nature, would have serious consequences for the species.     

Localized ductile thrusting north of the Variscan Front,Ross Island,southwest Ireland

Two thrusts occur on Ross Island: the Head of Ross Thrust and the more southerly Ross Island Thrust. These lie to the north of the Killarney–Mallow Fault (KMF), the boundary frequently interpreted as the Variscan Front. The Ross Island Thrust, exposed in outcrop and in seven borehole cores, has emplaced dark blue–grey limestones of the Courceyan Ballysteen Formation over pale grey–brown Rockfield Limestone Formation of Chadian–Holkerian age. These lithologies at Ross Island exhibit a continuum of deformation at both the micro‐ and macro‐scale, beginning with the generation of a spaced cleavage, formed during layer parallel shortening, that was subsequently rotated into parallelism with fold axial planes. Extensional microstructures are predominant in thin section and are associated with attenuation of the fold limb. Calcite veins are also attenuated and lie parallel to a mylonitic fabric close to the thrust plane. Lithological boundaries, the prominent pressure solution cleavage and the southerly dipping limb of an asymmetrical antiform are all parallel and form a composite planar anisotropy. This has controlled the location of the ductile Ross Island Thrust, which formed during the attenuation and shearing of a common fold limb. Ductile thrusts within the limestones at Ross Island contrast with the reactivation of basin‐margin extensional faults further to the south along the major KMF. The Ross Island Thrust is considered to result from deformation ahead of the major northerly propagating Variscan décollement thrust and does not necessitate a continuous décollement structure north of the KMF. Mineralization at Ross Island exhibits remobilization associated with the formation of a pressure‐solution cleavage and probably pre‐dates thrusting. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mapping Curvilinear Structures with Local Anisotropy Kriging

Interpolating geo-data with curvilinear structures using geostatistics is often disappointing. Channels, for example, become disconnected sets of lakes when interpolated from point data. In order to improve the interpolation of geological structures (e.g., curvilinear structures), we present a new form of kriging, local anisotropy kriging (LAK). Local anisotropy kriging combines a gradient algorithm from image analysis with kriging in an iterative way. After an initial standard kriging interpolation, the gradient algorithm determines the local anisotropy for each cell in the grid using a search area around the cell. Subsequently, kriging is carried out with the spatially varying anisotropy. The anisotropy calculation and subsequent kriging steps will then succeed until the result is satisfactory in the way of reproducing the curvilinear structures. Depending on the size of the search area more or less detail in the geological structures can be reproduced with LAK. Using test examples we show that LAK interpolates data with curvilinear structures more realistically than standard kriging. In a real world case, using bathymetric data of the Oosterschelde estuary, LAK also proves to be quantitatively superior to standard kriging. Absolute interpolation errors are decreased by 23%. Local anisotropy kriging only uses information from point data, which makes the method very objective, it only presents “what the data can tell.”     

Simulated impacts of artificial groundwater recharge and discharge on the source area and source volume of an Atlantic Coastal Plain stream, Delaware, USA

A numerical groundwater-flow model was used to characterize the source area and volume of Phillips Branch, a baseflow-dominated stream incising a highly permeable unconfined aquifer on the low relief Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Particle-tracking analyses indicate that the source area (5.51 km²) is ～20% smaller than the topographically defined watershed (6.85 km²), and recharge entering ～37% of the surface watershed does not discharge to Phillips Branch. Groundwater residence time within the source volume ranges from a few days to almost 100 years, with 95% of the volume “flushing” within 50 years. Artificial discharge from groundwater pumping alters the shape of the source area and reduces baseflow due to the interception of stream flow paths, but has limited impacts on the residence time of groundwater discharged as baseflow. In contrast, artificial recharge from land-based wastewater disposal substantially reduces the source area, lowers the range in residence time due to the elimination of older flow paths to the stream, and leads to increased discharge to adjacent surface-water bodies. This research suggests that, in this and similar hydrogeologic settings, the “watershed” approach to water-resource management may be limited, particularly where anthropogenic stresses alter the transport of soluble contaminants through highly permeable unconfined aquifers.     

3D model of fracture zones at Soultz-sous-Forêts based on geological data,image logs,induced microseismicity and vertical seismic profiles

This study presents a new deterministic 3D model of the fracture zones observed in the granitic reservoir of the Soultz European geothermal project. The major fracture zones encountered around 6 wells (4550, EPS1, GPK1, GPK2, GPK3 and GPK4) consist in 53 main structures that are located and characterized in terms of size and orientation: 39 fracture zones, 8 microseismic structures and 6 structures derived from vertical seismic profiles are represented in the 3D model using Discrete Fracture Network tools of the gOcad modelling platform (Paradigm?, Earth Decision?). This work illustrates the complexity of 3D fracture zone correlation and interpretation in crystalline rock masses characterized at meter scale (borehole) and at the reservoir scale (kilometer) thanks to geophysical imaging techniques.     

Curating NASA's extraterrestrial samples—Past, present, and future

The NASA Johnson Space Center Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office has the unique responsibility to curate NASA's extraterrestrial samples – from past and forthcoming missions – into the indefinite future. Presently curation includes documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples from the Moon, asteroids, comets, the solar wind, and the planet Mars. Each of these sample sets has a unique history and comes from a unique environment. The curation laboratories and procedures developed over forty years have proven both necessary and sufficient to serve the evolving needs of a worldwide research community. A new generation of sample return missions is being planned and proposed to destinations across the solar system. Curation must evolve to meet the increased challenges of these new samples.     

The nature of publishing and assessment in Geography and Environmental Studies: evidence from the Research Assessment Exercise 2008

We present a summary of the kinds of outputs submitted to the Geography and Environmental Studies sub-panel (H-32) for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and examine the relationships between the peer assessment of research quality that the RAE process has typified, and alternative modes of assessment based on bibliometrics. This comparison is effected using (in aggregate form) some of the results from the RAE, together with citation data gathered after completion of the RAE assessment, specifically for the purpose of this paper. We conclude that, if it continues to be necessary and desirable to assess, in some measure and however imprecisely, research quality, then peer assessment cannot be replaced by bibliometrics. Bibliometrics permit measurement of something that may be linked to quality but is essentially a different phenomenon – a measure of 'impact', for example.