Spatial and temporal variability and drivers of net ecosystem metabolism in western Gulf of Mexico estuaries

Net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) is becoming a commonly used ecological indicator of estuarine ecosystem metabolic rates. Estuarine ecosystem processes are spatially and temporally variable, but the corresponding variability in NEM has not been properly assessed. Spatial and temporal variability in NEM was assessed in four western Gulf of Mexico shallow water estuaries. NEM was calculated from high-frequency dissolved oxygen measurements. Interbay, intrabay, and water column spatial scales were assessed for NEM, gross primary production (GPP), and respiration (R) rate variability. Seasonal, monthly, and daily temporal scales in NEM, GPP, and R were also assessed. Environmental conditions were then compared to NEM to determine which factors were correlated with each temporal and spatial scale. There was significant NEM spatial variability on interbay, intrabay, and water column spatial scales. Significant spatial variability was ephemeral, so it was difficult to ascertain which environmental conditions were most influential at each spatial scale. Significant temporal variability in NEM on seasonal, monthly, and daily scales was found and it was correlated to temperature, salinity, and freshwater inflow, respectively. NEM correlated strongly with dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity, but the relationships where different in each bay. The dynamics of NEM on daily scales indicate that freshwater inflow events may be the main driver of NEM in the semiarid estuaries studied. The variable nature of NEM found here is further evidence that it is not valid to use single station monitoring deployments for assessment of whole estuarine ecosystem metabolic rates in large ecosystems. The relationship between NEM and temperature, salinity, and freshwater inflow events could drive predictive models assessing the potential influence of projected climate change and watershed development scenarios on estuarine metabolic rates.     

A 2000-yr reconstruction of air temperature in the Great Basin of the United States with specific reference to the Medieval Climatic Anomaly

A sediment core representing the past two millennia was recovered from Stella Lake in the Snake Range of the central Great Basin in Nevada. The core was analyzed for sub-fossil chironomids and sediment organic content. A quantitative reconstruction of mean July air temperature (MJAT) was developed using a regional training set and a chironomid-based WA-PLS inference model (r²_jack = 0.55, RMSEP = 0.9°C). The chironomid-based MJAT reconstruction suggests that the interval between AD 900 and AD 1300, corresponding to the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), was characterized by MJAT elevated 1.0°C above the subsequent Little Ice Age (LIA), but likely not as warm as recent conditions. Comparison of the Stella Lake temperature reconstruction to previously published paleoclimate records from this region indicates that the temperature fluctuations inferred to have occurred at Stella Lake between AD 900 and AD 1300 correspond to regional records documenting hydroclimate variability during the MCA interval. The Stella Lake record provides evidence that elevated summer temperature contributed to the increased aridity that characterized the western United States during the MCA.     

SMLTM simulations of the diurnal tide: comparison with UARS observations

Wind and temperature observations in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) reveal strong seasonal variations of tides, a dominant component of the MLT dynamics. Simulations with the Spectral mesosphere/lower thermosphere model (SMLTM) for equinox and solstice conditions are presented and compared with the observations. The diurnal tide is generated by forcing specified at the model lower boundary and by in situ absorption of solar radiation. The model incorporates realistic parameter-izations of physical processes including various dissipation processes important for propagation of tidal waves in the MLT. A discrete multi-component gravity-wave parameterization has been modified to account for seasonal variations of the background temperature. Eddy diffusion is calculated depending on the gravitywave energy deposition rate and stability of the background flow. It is shown that seasonal variations of the diurnal-tide amplitudes are consistent with observed variations of gravity-wave sources in the lower atmosphere.     

Re‐establishment of soil water repellency after destruction by intense burning in a Mediterranean heathland (SW Spain)

Soil water repellency has been conventionally considered as a fire‐induced effect, but an increasing number of studies have suggested that natural background repellency occurs in many soil types, and many of them have suggested that water repellency can be re‐established over time after being destroyed. An experimental fire was conducted to study changes of the soil surface during the first 18 months following intense burning. The main objectives of this paper are as follows: (1) to investigate in situ water repellency changes at three soil depths (0, 2 and 4 cm) immediately after burning; (2) to evaluate the medium‐term evolution of water repellency under field conditions; and (3) to outline the main hydrological consequences of these changes. Also, different water repellency tests (water drop penetration time, ethanol percentage test (EPT) and contact angle (CA) between water drops and the soil surface) were carried out for comparison purposes. Field experiments showed that soil water repellency was partly destroyed after intense burning. Changes were relatively strong at the soil surface, but diminished progressively with depth. Levels of water repellency were practically re‐established 18 months after burning. This suggests that water repellency in the studied area is not necessarily a consequence of fire, but can instead be a natural attribute. Finally, although limited in time, destruction of soil water repellency has important consequences for runoff flow generation and soil loss rates, and, indirectly, for water quality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A SuperWASP search for additional transiting planets in 24 known systems

We present results from a search for additional transiting planets in 24 systems already known to contain a transiting planet. We model the transits due to the known planet in each system and subtract these models from light curves obtained with the SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) survey instruments. These residual light curves are then searched for evidence of additional periodic transit events. Although we do not find any evidence for additional planets in any of the planetary systems studied, we are able to characterize our ability to find such planets by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Artificially generated transit signals corresponding to planets with a range of sizes and orbital periods were injected into the SuperWASP photometry and the resulting light curves searched for planets. As a result, the detection efficiency as a function of both the radius and orbital period of any second planet is calculated. We determine that there is a good (>50 per cent) chance of detecting additional, Saturn-sized planets in   P ∼  10 d orbits around planet-hosting stars that have several seasons of SuperWASP photometry. Additionally, we confirm previous evidence of the rotational stellar variability of WASP-10, and refine the period of rotation. We find that the period of the rotation is  11.91 ± 0.05  d, and the false alarm probability for this period is extremely low  (∼10⁻¹³)  .     

Laboratory simulation of infrared astrophysical features

Laboratory infrared emission and absorption spectra have been taken of terrestrial silicates, meteorites and lunar soils in the form of micrometer and sub-micrometer grains. The emission spectra were taken in a way that imitates telescopic observations. The purpose was to see which materials best simulate the 10 m astrophysical feature.The emission spectra of dunite, fayalite and Allende give a good fit to the 10 m broadband emission feature of comets Bennett and Kohoutek. A study of the effect of grain size on the presence of the 10 m emission feature of dunite shows that for particles larger than 37 m no feature is seen.The emission spectrum of the Murray meteorite, a Type 2 carbonaceous chondrite, is quite similar to the intermediate resolution spectrum of comet Kohoutek in the 10 m region. Hydrous silicates or amorphous magnesium silicates in combination with high-temperature condensates, such as olivine or anorthite, would yield spectra that match the intermediate resolution spectrum of comet Kohoutek in the 10 m region. Glassy olivine and glassy anorthite in approximately equal proportions would also give a spectrum that is a good fit to the cometary 10 m feature.Invited contribution to the Proceedings of a Workshop onThermodynamics and Kinetics of Dust Formation in the Space Medium held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, 6 8 September, 1978.     

Sputtering and high altitude meteors

Conventional ablation theory assumes that a meteoroid undergoes intensive heating during atmospheric flight and surface atoms are liberated through thermal processes. Our research has indicated that physical sputtering could play a significant role in meteoroid mass loss. Using a 4th order Runge-Kutta numerical integration technique, we tabulated the mass loss due to the two ablation mechanisms and computed the fraction of total mass lost due to sputtering. We modeled cometary structure meteoroids with masses ranging from 10⁻¹³ to 10⁻³ kg and velocities ranging from 11.2 to 71 km s⁻¹. Our results indicate that a significant fraction of the mass loss for small, fast meteors is due to sputtering, particularly in the early portion of the light curve. In the past 6 years evidence has emerged for meteor luminosity at heights greater than can be explained by conventional ablation theory. We have applied our sputtering model and find excellent agreement with these observations, and therefore suggest that sputtered material accounts for the new type of radiation found at great heights.     

Global climatic change – the latest scientific understanding

IPCCs statement in its 1995 report (IPCC 1996) that a human influence was discernible in global climate has been widely quoted but often misunderstood. The character of the evidence underpinning this detection statement is explained so that its strengths and weaknesses can be better understood and the subtleties of its message better appreciated. To demonstrate the close linkage between the government-approved summary and the underlying chapters of the IPCC report the detailed evolution of the detection statement from first draft through to the form finally approved by the IPCC is described.