The Cost(s) of Geospatial Open Data

The provision of open data by governments at all levels has rapidly increased over recent years. Given that one of the dominant motivations for the provision of open data is to generate ‘value’, both economic and civic, there are valid concerns over the costs incurred in this pursuit. Typically, costs of open data are framed as internal to the data providing government. Building on the strong history of GIScience research on data provision via spatial data infrastructures, this article considers both the direct and indirect costs of open data provision, framing four main areas of indirect costs: citizen participation challenges, uneven provision across geography and user types, subsidy of private sector activities, and the creation of inroads for corporate influence on government. These areas of indirect cost lead to the development of critical questions, including constituency, purpose, enablement, protection, and priorities. These questions are posed as a guide to governments that provide open data in addressing the indirect costs of open data.     

The Physiography of the Southwest Indian Ridge

Marine Geophysical Research -     

Gravity-flow deposits from the St. Croix Ridge: Depositional history

Gravity-flow sediments from the South Virgin Islands Trough Escarpment (west of the island of St. Croix) contain Late Cretaceous through Late Miocene nannofossils that are well mixed even within individual samples. These sediments, reworked and redeposited in latest Miocene or Early Pliocene, apparently occur within a sequence of Late Miocene-to-recent fan deposits. Marine source beds representing all pre-Pliocene epochs of the Cenozoic and latest Cretaceous must have been exposed along the NW-facing West St. Croix Escarpment. Southward tilting of the St. Croix Ridge has subsequently altered the depositional pattern.     

Carbon and nitrogen primary productivity in three North Carolina estuaries

Uptake of inorganic carbon and ammonium by the plankton community of three North Carolina estuaries was measured using ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N isotope methods. At 0% light, C appeared to be lost via respiration, and at increasing light levels uptake of inorganic carbon increased linearly, saturated (mean I_k = 358±30 μEin m⁻² s⁻¹), and frequently showed inhibition at the highest light intensities. At 0% light NH₄⁺ uptake was significantly greater than zero and was frequently equivalent to uptake in the light (light independent); at increasing light levels NH₄⁺ uptake saturated (mean I_k = 172±44 μEin m⁻² s⁻¹) and frequently indicated strong inhibition. Light-saturated uptake rates of inorganic carbon and NH₄⁺ were a function of chlorophyll a (r² = 0·7−0·9); average assimilation numbers were 625 nmol CO₂ (μg chl. a)⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 12·9 nmol NH₄⁺ (μg chl. a)⁻¹ h⁻¹ and were positively correlated with temperature (r² = 0·3−0·7). The ratio of dark to light-saturated NH₄⁺ uptake tended to be near 1·0 for large algal populations at low NH₄⁺ concentrations, indicating near light independence of uptake; whereas the ratio was lower for the opposite conditions. These data are interpreted as indicative of nitrogen stress, and it is suggested that uptake of NH₄⁺ deep in the euphotic zone and at night are mechanisms for balancing the C:N of cellular pools. A 24-h study using summed short-term incubations confirmed this; the cumulative C:N of CO₂ and NH₄⁺ uptake during the daylight period was 10–20, whereas over the 24-h period the ratio was 6 due to dark NH₄⁺ uptake. Annual carbon and nitrogen primary productivity were respectively estimated as 24 and 4·0 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the South River estuary, 42 and 7·3 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the Neuse River estuary, and 9·6 and 1·6 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the Newport River estuary.     

An East-West Comparison of the Transition Zone Coastal Pelagic Nekton of the North Pacific Ocean

During the 1980s and 1990s, scientific research cruises were conducted in both the eastern and western boundary regions of the North Pacific Ocean. The main purpose of these cruises was to examine the abundance and distribution patterns of juvenile salmon in coastal waters. These studies created one of the most extensive databases ever collected on the species composition of coastal Transition Zone epipelagic nekton in the North Pacific Ocean. Catch data from two purse seine and two surface trawl surveys (one each from off northern Japan and eastern Russia and off the West Coast of the U.S.) were examined using multivariate techniques to analyze the community structure of nektonic cephalopods, elasmobranchs, and teleosts in the coastal zone during the summer and autumn months. Juvenile salmonids are generally among the most common species caught, but in terms of overall abundance, other potential competitors with juvenile salmon, such as small squids and clupeoid fishes predominated the catches. Species diversity and dominance varied among areas and gear types. Distinct assemblages were found in each area, but the two regions had closely related species occupying similar ecological positions in each habitat. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Co-occurrence of Methanotrophic and Chemoautotrophic Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacterial Symbionts in a Deep-sea Mussel

Abstract. In April 1990 a new species of mytilid containing bacterial endosymbionts was discovered at a deep-water seep site within Alaminos Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. Activities of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and ATP sulfurylase, as well as the presence of substantial levels of elemental sulfur in the gill tissues indicate the presence of chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing symbionts in the gills. Methanol dehydrogenase activity and the tissue stable carbon isotope ratios indicate the presence of methanotrophic bacteria in the gills of the same animals. Two distinct size classes and morphological types of gram negative bacteria are visible in transmission electron micrographs of the gill tissue, one of which contains the complex internal membranes typical of methanotrophs. Both general types of symbionts have been demonstrated singly in related species of deep-sea mytilids. In this species, however, both types are found in single individuals, often within the same cell vacuole.