A Synoptic Climatology of Severe Storms in Virginia*

A synoptic climatology is developed for Virginia using 21 years of late spring and summer surface and upper air observations. The climatology is produced by applying a combination of principal components analysis and cluster analysis such that each day is classified into one of a distinct number of synoptic situations. Days on which at least one severe storm occurred in Virginia are merged with the synoptic climatology. A majority of severe storms are associated with one synoptic situation distinguished by moderate instability and a high moisture content.     

The Northeast Kingdom batholith,Vermont: magmatic evolution and geochemical constraints on the origin of Acadian granitic rocks

Five Devonian plutons (West Charleston, Echo Pond, Nulhegan, Derby, and Willoughby) that constitute the Northeast Kingdom batholith in Vermont show wide ranges in elemental abundances and ratios consistent with major crustal contributions during their evolution. The batholith consists of metaluminous quartz gabbro, diorite and quartz monzodiorite, peraluminous granodiorite and granite, and strongly peraluminous leucogranite. Contents of major elements vary systematically with increasingSiO<₂ (48 to 77 wt.%). The batholith has calc-alkaline features, for example a Peacock index of 57, and values for K<₂O/Na₂O (<1), K/Rb (60–350), Zr/Hf (30–50), Nb/Ta (2–22), Hf/Ta (up to 10), and Rb/Zr (<2) in the range of plutonic rocks found in continental magmatic ares. Wide diversity and high values of minor- and trace-element ratios, including Th/Ta (0.5–22), Th/Yb (0–27), Ba/La (0–80), etc., are attributed to intracrustal contributions. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of metaluminous and relatively mafic intrusives have slightly negative slopes (La/Yb_cn<10) and negative Eu anomalies are small orabsent. The metaluminous to peraluminous inter-mediate plutons are relatively enriched in the light REE (La/Yb_cn>40) and have small negative Eu anomalies. The strongly peraluminous Willoughby leucogranite has unique trace-element abundances and ratios relative to the rest of the batholith, including low contents of Hf, Zr, Sr, and Ba, low values of K/Rb (80–164), Th/Ta (<9), Rb/Cs (7–40), K/Cs (0.1–0.5), Ce/Pb (0.5–4), high values of Rb/Sr (1–18) low to moderate REE contents and light-REE enriched patterns (with small negative Eu anomalies). Flat REE patterns (with large negative Eu anomalies) are found in a small, hydrothermally-altered area characterized by high abundances of Sn (up to 26 ppm), Rb (up to 670 ppm), Li (up to 310 ppm), Ta (up to 13.1 ppm), and U (up to 10 ppm). There is no single mixing trend, fractional crystallization assemblage, or assimilationscheme that accounts for all trace elementvariations from quartz gabbro to granite in the Northeast Kingdom batholith. The plutons originated by mixing mantle-derived components and crustal melts generated at different levels in the heterogeneous lithosphere in a continental collisional environment. Hybrid rocks in the batholith evolved by fractional crystallization and assimilation of country rocks (<50% by mass), and some of the leucogranitic rocks were subsequently disturbed by a mild hydrothermal event that resulted in the deposition of small amounts of sulfide minerals.     

Dielectric constants of apatite,epidote, vesuvianite,and zoisite,and the oxide additivity rule

The dielectric constants and dielectric loss values of 4 Ca-containing minerals were determined at 1 MHz using a two-terminal method and empirically determined edge corrections. The results are: vesuvianitel κ′ _a=9.93 tan δ=0.006 κ′ _c=9.79 tan δ=0.005 vesuvianitel κ′ _a=10.02 tan δ=0.002 κ′ _c=9.85 tan δ=0.003 zoisite1 κ′ _a =10.49 tan δ=0.0006 κ′ _b =15.31 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ _c=9.51 tan δ=0.0008 zoisite2 κ′ _a =10.55 tan δ=0.0011 κ′ _b =15.45 tan δ=0.0013 κ′ _c=9.39 tan δ=0.0008 epidote κ′ ₁₁= 9.52 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ ₂₂=17.1 tan δ=0.0009 κ′ ₃₃= 9.37 tan δ=0.0006 fluorapatite1 κ′ _a =10.48 tan δ=0.0008 κ′ _c = 8.72 tan δ=0.0114 fluorapatite2 κ′ _a =10.40 tan δ=0.0010 κ′ _c=8.26 tan δ=0.0178 The deviation (δ) between measured dielectric polarizabilities as determined from the Clausius-Mosotti equation and those calculated from the sum of oxide polarizabilities according to α _D (mineral)=∑ α _D (oxides) for vesuvianite is ～ 0.5%. The large deviations of epidote and zoisite from the additivity rule with Δ=+ 10.1 and + 11.7%, respectively, are attributed to “rattling” Ca ions. The combined effects of both a large F thermal parameter and possible F-ion conductivity in fluorapatite are believed to be responsible for Δ=+2–3%. Although variation of oxygen polarizability with oxygen molar volume (V_o) is believed to affect the total polarizabilities, the variation of V_o in these Ca minerals is too small to observe the effect.     

External nutrient sources,internal nutrient pools,and phytoplankton production in Chesapeake Bay

External nutrient loadings, internal nutrient pools, and phytoplankton production were examined for three major subsystems of the Chesapeake Bay Estuary—the upper Mainstem, the Patuxent Estuary, and the 01 Potomac Estuary—during 1985–1989. The atomic nitrogen to phosphorus ratios (TN:TP) of total loads to the 01 Mainstem, Patuxent, and the Potomac were 51, 29 and 35, respectively. Most of these loads entered at the head of the estuaries from riverine sources and major wastewater treatment plants. Approximately 7–16% for the nitrogen load entered the head of each estuary as particulate matter in contrast to 48–69% for phosphorus. This difference is hypothesized to favor a greater loss of phosphorus than nitrogen through sedimentation and burial. This process could be important in driving estuarine nitrogen to phosphorus ratios above those of inputs. Water column TN: TP ratios in the tidal fresh, oligohaline, and mesohaline salinity zones of each estuary ranged from 56 to 82 in the Mainstem, 27 to 48 in the Patuxent, and 72 to 126 in the Potomac. A major storm event in the Potomac watershed was shown to greatly increase the particulate fraction of nitrogen and phosphorus and lower the TN:TP in the river-borne loads. The load during the month that contained this storm (November 1985) accounted for 11% of the nitrogen and 31% of the phosphorus that was delivered to the estuary by the Potomac River during the entire 60-month period examined here. Within the Mainstem estuary, salinity dilution plots revealed strong net sources of ammonium and phosphate in the oligohaline to upper mesohaline region, indicating that these areas were sites of considerable internal recycling of nutrients to surface waters. The sedimentation of particulate nutrient loads in the upper reaches of the estuary is probably a major source of these recycled nutrients. A net sink of nitrate was indicated during summer. A combination of inputs and these internal recycling processes caused dissolved inorganic N to P ratios to approach 16:1 in the mesohaline zone of the Mainstem during late summer; this ratio was much higher at other times and in the lower salinity zones. Phytoplankton biomass in the mesohaline Mainstem reached a peak in spring and was relatively constant throughout the other seasons. Productivity was highest in spring and summer, accounting for approximately 33% and 44%, respectively, of the total annual productivity in this region. In the Patuxent and Potomac, the TN:TP ratios of external loads documented here are 2–4 times higher than those observed over the previous two decades. These changes are attributed to point-source phosphorus controls and the likelihood that nitrogen-rich nonpoint source inputs, including contributions from the atmosphere, have increased. These higher N:P ratios relative to Redfield proportions (16:1) now suggest a greater overall potential for phosphorus-limitation rather than nitrogen-limitation of phytoplankton in the areas studied.     

Swimming velocities and behavior of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus rathbun) megalopae in still and flowing water

Habitat selection capabilities of the recruiting larval stages of marine invertebrates are limited, in part, by their ability to maneuver in flowing water. Distributional and experimental evidence suggest that blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) megalopae may preferentially settle into vegetated habitats. However, the behavior and swimming capabilities of megalopae in flowing water have not previously been investigated. Laboratory experiments were conducted in a small, recirculating seawater flume to determine the swimming response of megalopae to varying flow velocities. Nighttime trials were conducted at six flow velocities: 0, 1.9, 3.6, 4.8, 6.3, and 9.3 cm s^?1. Behavior and swimming velocities of field-collected C. sapidus megalopae were video recorded. Megalopae exhibited negative phototaxis and were found in the water column at all flows in the dark. The maximum sustained swimming speed observed was 12.6 cm s^?1 and the mean swimming speed in still water was 5.0 cm s^?1, with short bursts in excess of 20 cm s^?1. Megalopae frequently oriented into the current and were capable of swimming upstream against the current at flow speeds <4.8 cm s^?1; at greater velocities they were not able to do so. The results suggest that at low to moderate current velocities C. sapidus megalopae have the ability to actively move in search of settlement sites and to maintain their positions in desirable sites rather than relying strictly on passive movements by currents.     

Experimental determination of the reaction dolomite + 2 coesite = diopside + 2 CO2 to 6 GPa

 The carbonation reaction CaMg(CO₃)₂ (dolomite)+2SiO₂ (coesite)=CaMgSi₂O₆ (diopside)+2 CO₂ (vapor) has been determined experimentally between 3.5 and 6 GPa in a multiple-anvil, solid-media apparatus. This reaction, a candidate for carbonation of eclogites (garnet+clinopyroxene) in the Earth’s mantle, lies at higher pressure for a given temperature than do the carbonation reactions for peridotites (olivine+orthopyroxene±clinopyroxene). A depth interval may exist within the Earth’s mantle under either ‘normal’ or ‘subduction’ thermal regimes where carbonated peridotite could coexist with carbonate-free, CO₂-bearing eclogite. Received: 25 May 1994/Accepted: 13 June 1995