NanoSIMS isotopic analysis of small presolar grains: Search for Si3N4 grains from AGB stars and Al and Ti isotopic compositions of rare presolar SiC grains

We report isotopic ratio measurements of small SiC and Si₃N₄ grains, with special emphasis on presolar SiC grains of type Z, and new nucleosynthesis models for ²⁶Al/²⁷Al and the Ti isotopic ratios in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. With the NanoSIMS we analyzed 310 SiC grains from Murchison (carbonaceous CM2 chondrite) separate KJB (diameters 0.25-0.45 μm) and 153 SiC grains from KJG (diameters 1.8-3.7 μm), 154 SiC and 23 Si₃N₄ grains from Indarch (enstatite EH4 chondrite) separate IH6 (diameters 0.25-0.65 μm) for their C and N isotopic compositions, 549 SiC and 142 Si₃N₄ grains from IH6 for their C and Si isotopic compositions, 13 SiC grains from Murchison and 66 from Indarch for their Al-Mg compositions, and eight SiC grains from Murchison and 10 from Indarch for their Ti isotopic compositions. One of the original objectives of this effort was to compare isotopic analyses with the NanoSIMS with analyses previously obtained with the Cameca IMS 3f ion microprobe. Many of the Si₃N₄ grains from Indarch have isotopic anomalies but most of these apparently originate from adjacent SiC grains. Only one Si₃N₄ grain, with ¹³C and ¹⁴N excesses, has a likely AGB origin. The C, N, and Si isotopic data show that the percentage of SiC grains of type Y and Z increase with decreasing grain size (from ∼1% for grains >2 μm to ∼5-7% for grains of 0.5 μm), providing an opportunity for isotopic analyses in these rare grains. Our measurements expand the number of Al-Mg analyses on SiC Z grains from 4 to 23 and the number of Ti analyses on Z grains from 2 to 11. Inferred²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios of Z grains are in the range found in mainstream and Y grains and do not exceed those predicted by models of AGB nucleosynthesis. Cool bottom processing (CBP) has been invoked to explain the low ¹²C/¹³C ratios of Z grains, but this process apparently does not lead to increased ²⁶Al production in the parent stars of these grains. This finding is in contrast to presolar oxide grains where CBP is needed to explain their high ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios. The low ^46,47,49Ti/⁴⁸Ti ratios found in Z grains and their correlation with low ²⁹Si/²⁸Si ratios extend the trend seen in mainstream grains and confirm an origin in low-metallicity AGB stars. The relatively large excesses in ³⁰Si and ⁵⁰Ti in Z grains are predicted by our models to be the result of increased production of these isotopes by neutron-capture nucleosynthesis in low-metallicity AGB stars. However, the predicted excesses in ⁵⁰Ti (and ⁴⁹Ti) are much larger than those found. Even lowering the strength of the ¹³C pocket cannot solve this discrepancy in a consistent way.     

Changes in fine sediment size distributions due to interactions with streambed sediments

In the classical view of fine sediment transport and deposition in streams, particles are expected to be removed from flowing water simply by direct sedimentation onto the streambed. However, recent research has demonstrated that fine sediments can propagate into pore spaces in the streambed due to hyporheic exchange and be removed by a combination of physical and chemical processes. This behaviour can significantly alter fine sediment size distributions during in-stream sediment transport because the physical transport of fine particles and their attachment to bed sediment grains are both a function of the particle size. Herein, we present model simulations for deposition of suspended sediments with a bimodal size distribution. We also applied this approach to analyse the results of laboratory flume observations of suspended sediment deposition. Results from model simulations and flume experiments clearly show that the rate of particle deposition increases with increasing particle size. Thus, the larger particles are preferentially removed from mixtures and there is a fining of the mixed suspensions over time. Both particle deposition mechanisms, i.e. particle sedimentation and filtration, contribute to the fining of the mixed fine particle suspensions over time, and their effects are clearly demonstrated using the fundamental process-based model. These results clearly demonstrate the effects of stream-subsurface exchange on the temporal evolution of the suspended fine sediment size distribution in downstream transport.     

Climatological aspects of convective parameters from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis

Annual cycles of convectively important atmospheric parameters have been computed for a variety of from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) global reanalysis, using 7 years of reanalysis data. Regions in the central United States show stronger seasonality in combinations of thermodynamic parameters than found elsewhere in North America or Europe. As a result, there is a period of time in spring and early summer when climatological mean conditions are supportive of severe thunderstorms.The annual cycles help in understanding the large-scale processes that lead to the combination of atmospheric ingredients necessary for strong convection. This, in turn, lays groundwork for possible changes in distribution of the environments associated with possible global climate change.     

Business associations and local development: The Okanagan wine industry’s response to NAFTA

Business associations (BAs) represent a widely prevalent institution contingent upon a plethora of regional and industrial contexts around the world. Although their role in local development is rarely highlighted this paper argues that analysis of the structure and strategies of BAs reveals important insights into the problematic nature of external economies, typically based on the willingness of highly independent small firms to share and possibly fund some common service(s). BAs illustrate cooperative behaviour and their fragmentation indicates limits to cooperation and thereby to the contested nature of this particular external economy. Conceptually, the paper interprets BAs as institutional expressions of local cooperation and theorizes their strategy and structure in terms of a ‘logic of exchange’ model. This model defines the relationships between BAs, their members (organizational domains) and governments in terms of the logics of ‘membership’ and ‘influence’ that help understand the opportunities afforded and tensions imposed by the rationale and dynamics of cooperation. Empirically, the paper examines the formation and performance of BAs in the restructuring of the Okanagan’s wine industry that was stimulated by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the US and Canada in 1989 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1991. In the Okanagan wine industry, a newly formed BA was vital in helping firms overcome the crisis generated by free trade. However, subsequent fragmentation that arose out of member disenchantment with logics of influence and membership, indicated limits to local cooperation that may constitute a significant diseconomy in a future crisis.     

Efficacy of PIT tags and an autonomous antenna system to study the juvenile life stage of an estuarine-dependent fish

Many marine fishes use spatially distinct habitats as juveniles and adults. Determining which juvenile habitats are most important to sustaining adult populations (i.e., which habitats are nurseries) has proven difficult, in part due to challenges in estimating survival of juveniles in putative nursery habitats. Recent technological advances have made largescale tagging efforts a viable approach to estimating survival of juvenile fishes by increasing recapture rates and enabling the use of individual-identification tags. These techniques, using Passive Integrated transponder (PIT) tags and autonomous antenna detection systems (antenna), have been successfully applied in freshwater environments. This paper reports the adaptation of these techniques to estuarine mangrove creeks (salinity: 2–28‰) for research of the juvenile life stage on an estuarine-dependent marine fish,Centropomus undecimalis. Retention rate of PIT tags in juveniles >120 mm standard length was 100%, with no mortality. The antenna detection field covered 48% of the creek water column, and the antenna was experimentally determined to detect approximately 67% of tagged fish that swam through. Overall recapture rate of tagged fish by the antenna was >40%. This recapture rate is higher than the sparse data typical of traditional tag-recapture studies. A time-dependent Jolly-Seber model was fit to the data, providing estimates of capture probability (0.8) and weekly apparent survival (0.41) that will be invaluable in comparing juvenile habitats of different quality (e.g., natural versus anthropogenically degraded). This research demonstrates the viability of this approach to fish research in estuarine habitats.     

On the Measurement of PANs by Gas Chromatography and Electron Capture Detection

A fast, automated, gas chromatographic system for the airborne measurement of PAN and a series of its homologues is described and its performance is evaluated. Response factors for PAN, PPN, APAN, PiBN, and MPAN have been determined and are discussed with regard to ECD response and to potential losses in the analytical system. Calibration methods used for these tasks are described and compared. The results from this work should help investigators who are employing the widely used GC/ECD method for the measurement of peroxyacyl nitrates to evaluate peaks of PAN homologues that cannot be calibrated for by using the reported response factors.