Colony growth of corals transplanted for restoration depends on their site of origin and environmental factors

We determined that growth differences among coral fragments transplanted for restoration were influenced by both source population and environmental factors. In two common garden experiments, storm‐generated fragments of Acropora palmata were transplanted from two source populations in the British Virgin Islands to a restoration site (a ‘common garden’) that lacked A. palmata. In the first experiment, colonies from different sources grew at different rates in the first year after transplanting, suggesting either genetic differences among source populations or enduring acclimation to conditions at the source site. No differences in growth among source populations were detected in the second common garden experiment. To isolate environmental effects on growth, we subdivided fragments from three source populations to create genetically identical pieces that were attached separately at both source and restoration sites. Genetically identical pieces from all source populations grew slightly faster at their source than at the restoration site, implying a subtle home‐site advantage. Overall, our results suggest that matching environmental conditions at source and restoration sites may increase the success of restoration projects.     

Arsenic mobility in weathered gold mine tailings under a low-organic soil cover

Historical gold mining operations in Nova Scotia, Canada, resulted in numerous deposits of publicly accessible, arsenic (As)-rich mine waste that has weathered in situ for 75–150 years, resulting in a wide range of As-bearing secondary minerals. The geochemical heterogeneity of this mine waste creates a challenge for identifying a single remediation approach that will limit As mobility. A 30-cm-thick, low-organic content soil cover was evaluated in a laboratory leaching experiment where, to simulate natural conditions, the equivalent of 2 years of synthetic rainwater was leached through each column and two dry seasons were incorporated into the leaching protocol. Each column was a stratigraphic representation of the four major tailings types found at the historical Montague and Goldenville gold mine districts: hardpan tailings, oxic tailings, wetland tailings, and high Ca tailings. Hardpan tailings released acidic, As-rich waters (max 12 mg/L) under the soil cover but this acidity was buffered by surrounding oxic tailings. Leachate from the oxic tailings was circumneutral, with average As concentrations between 4.4 and 9.7 mg/L throughout the experiment. The presence of carbonates in the high Ca tailings resulted in near-neutral to weakly alkaline leachate pH values and average As concentrations between 2.1 and 6.1 mg/L. Oxidation of sulfides in the wetland tailings led to acidic leachate over time and a decrease in As concentrations to values that were generally less than 1 mg/L. This study shows that the use of a low-organic content soil cover does not create reducing conditions that would destabilize oxidized, As-bearing secondary phases in these tailings. However, oxygen penetration through the cover during dry seasons would continue to release As to tailings pore waters via sulfide oxidation reactions.     

The performance of an E−l scheme for the atmospheric boundary layer in a mesoscale model with grid spacing as small as 1 km

Summary ¶A new E–l boundary layer scheme is tested within the U.S. Navys COAMPS model. The goal is to give COAMPS the capability to simulate mesoscale cellular convection. The new scheme is aimed to be consistent with both classic results for clear entrainment and recent calibrations, derived from large-eddy simulations, for entrainment into smoke clouds and water clouds. A parameter is included in the scheme that allows sub-grid transport to be reduced so that, when the model has 2km grid spacing or less, more of the transport is forced to occur in resolved convection. At 2km grid spacing, the scheme allows COAMPS to simulate the break up of a stratocumulus cloud deck into mesoscale cellular convection.Received June 7, 2002; accepted August 13, 2002 Published online: February 20, 2003     

A structural phase-transition in K(Mg1−xCux)F3 perovskite

A complete solid-solution series between cubic (Pm 3 m) KMgF₃ and tetragonal (I4/mcm) KCuF₃ was synthesized at 730–735 °C in an inert atmosphere. X-ray powder-diffraction at room temperature shows that the transition between the cubic and tetragonal perovskite structures in the series K (Mg_1?xCu_x) F₃ occurs at x ～ 0.6. Rietveld structure-refinements were done for selected compositions. In the cubic phase, all parameters are linear with composition up to the transition point. At the transition point, there is a strong discontinuity in the cell volume; this is strongly anisotropic with expansion along the a axes and contraction along the c axis due to a pronounced axial elongation of the (Mg, Cu) F₆ octahedron that increases with increasing Cu content. The phase transition is first-order, with a discontinuity of ≈2% in the symmetry-breaking strain at x_C. It is proposed that the phase transition in K (Mg, Cu) F₃ is due to the onset of the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect. Compositional relationships for lattice vibrations in this solid solution were established using thin-film infrared spectroscopy. A phase transition occurring above 60 mole % KCuF₃ is indicated by the appearance of one of the two modes expected for the tetragonal phase; the weaker mode is not resolved below 80 mole % KCuF₃. Modes common to both structures vary smoothly and continuously across the binary; however, frequencies do not depend linearly on composition, nor is mode-softening discernable. Two-mode behaviour is observed only for the bending motion of the cubic phase, because this peak alone has non-overlapping end-member components.     

Late Neogene Atlantic circulation model

A hydrodynamical-numerical model of the general circulation in the Paleo-Atlantic Ocean is applied to the climatological conditions of the period 3.6 to 2.4 m.a. b.p. For three different stages of this interval representing the transition from a warmer to a cooler climate the circulation and the temperature fields are calculated. Generally, a tendency towards a weakening of the currents is achieved.

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Zusammenfassung Ein hydrodynamisch-numerisches Modell der allgemeinen Zirkulation im Paläoatlantik wird mit den klimatologischen Randbedingungen der Periode 3.6 bis 2.4 m.a. zurück betrieben. Für drei verschiedene Zustände dieses Intervalls, die den Übergang von einer Warmzeit zu einer Kaltzeit darstellen, werden die Zirkulation und die Temperaturverteilung berechnet. Generell ergibt sich ein Trend zu einer Abschwächung des Strömungssystems.

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Résumé Un modèle numérique hydrodynamique de la circulation générale dans l'Océan Paléoatlantique est appliqué aux conditions climatiques de la période comprise entre 3.6 et 2.4 ma. Pour trois moments différents de cet intervalle, représentant la transition entre un climat plus chaud et un climat plus froid, on a calculé la distribution des circulations et des températures. En général, on observe que les courants ont tendance à atténuer.

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3,6 2,4 . , . .

     

Late Quaternary mammalian zoogeography of eastern Washington

The late Quaternary mammalian zoogeographic history of eastern Washington as revealed by archaeological and paleontological research conforms to a set of past environmental conditions inferred from botanical data. During the relatively cool and moist late Pleistocene and early Holocene, Cervus cf. elaphus, Ovis canadensis, Vulpes vulpes, Martes americana, Alopex lagopus, and perhaps Rangifer sp., taxa with ecological preferences for mesic steppe habitats, were present in the now xeric Columbia Basin. As the climate became progressively warmer and drier during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, Antilocapra americana, Onychomys leucogaster, Spermophilus townsendii, and Neotoma cinerea, taxa with ecological preferences for xeric steppe habitats, appear in the Columbia Basin. Bison sp. and Taxidea taxus may have been present in eastern Washington for the last 20,000 yr. Middle and late Holocene records for Oreamnos americanus, Spermophilus columbianus, S. townsendii, Lagurus curtatus, and Urocyon cinereoargenteus in central eastern Washington suggest fluctuations in the ranges of these taxa that conform to a middle Holocene period of less effective precipitation and a ca. 3500-yr-old period of more effective precipitation before essentially modern environmental conditions prevailed.     

Towards socio-spatial inclusion? Disabled people, neoliberalism and the contemporary labour market

In many Western countries, disability assistance programmes have been restructured to encourage paid work. This paper examines the opportunities and barriers facing disabled people entering the labour market. Using data from semi-structured interviews, the study explores employers' conceptualization and treatment of disabled workers. While meaningful accommodation does occur, less promising outcomes are also common. For example, some disabled people face exclusion from service work on grounds that have little to do with the capacity to perform the essential functions of specific jobs. Others face exploitation in downgraded service occupations. Moreover, funding cuts and market discipline in public and non-profit organizations limit their capacity to accommodate disabled workers. While employment can offer material security and social status, successful employment for many disabled people cannot occur without an effective challenge to the contextual constraints of non-accommodating workplaces and labour processes.     

The two Suvasvesi impact structures,Finland: Argon isotopic evidence for a “false” impact crater doublet

The two neighboring Suvasvesi North and South impact structures in central‐east Finland have been discussed as a possible impact crater doublet produced by the impact of a binary asteroid. This study presents ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronologic data for impact melt rocks recovered from the drilling into the center of the Suvasvesi North impact structure and melt rock from glacially transported boulders linked to Suvasvesi South. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step‐heating analysis yielded two essentially flat age spectra indicating a Late Cretaceous age of ~85 Ma for the Suvasvesi North melt rock, whereas the Suvasvesi South melt sample gave a Neoproterozoic minimum (alteration) age of ~710 Ma. Although the statistical likelihood for two independent meteorite strikes in close proximity to each other is rather low, the remarkable difference in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of >600 Myr for the two Suvasvesi impact melt samples is interpreted as evidence for two temporally separate, but geographically closely spaced, impacts into the Fennoscandian Shield. The Suvasvesi North and South impact structures are, thus, interpreted as a “false” crater doublet, similar to the larger East and West Clearwater Lake impact structures in Québec, Canada, recently shown to be unrelated. Our findings have implications for the reliable recognition of impact crater doublets and the apparent rate of binary asteroid impacts on Earth and other planetary bodies in the inner solar system.