Salinity tolerance of brown shrimpFarfantepenaeus aztecus as it relates to postlarval and juvenile survival, distribution, and growth in estuaries

The brown shrimp,Farfantepenaeus aztecus, is the major component of the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery, and it is critical that we understand its environmental requirements. Brown shrimp spend a large portion of their post-larval (PL) and juvenile life within estuaries distributed along salinity gradients and yet our understanding of the salinity tolerance of various age groups is limited. A series of 48-hr bioassays were conducted in which various ages ofF. aztecus (PL-10, PL-13, PL-15, PL-17, PL-20, and PL-23) were acclimated from a salinity of 26‰ to 1‰, 2‰, 4‰, 8‰, 12‰, and 26‰ in order to determine their tolerance to these salinities. Finally, PL-80.F. aztecus were transferred directly from 25‰ to 2‰, 4‰, and 8‰ waters to study the effects of rapid salinity reductions on juvenile survival. Survival of 10-and 13-day-old PLs was significantly, different from the control (26‰) for all salinities tested. Survival of PL-15 shrimp and older was significantly lower than survival of the controls at 1‰ and 2‰ but similar to the control at all other salinities tested. A 4-wk growth trial was conducted with juvenile shrimp at 2‰, 4‰, 8‰, and 12‰. There was no significant difference in survival among treatments, although shrimp maintained at 8‰ and 12‰ grew significantlymore than shrimp maintained at 2‰ and 4‰. There was no growth difference between shrimp at the two low salinities or between shrimp at the two high salinities. Survival of juveniles transferred directly from 25‰ to various salinities were 100% at 25‰, 94.2% at 8‰, 67.3% at 4‰, and 63.5% at 2‰. These results suggest that PL-13 and younger brown shrimp would have a better chance of survival by delaying entry into estuaries susceptible to rapid salinity declines. The brown shrimp juveniles would, be more densely distributed in areas with salinities greater than 4‰ than in salinities less than 4‰. Although food availability, and bottom type also affect shrimp distribution survival and growth, salinity may also greatly affect the shrimp and its fishery.     

Complete metamorphic cycle and long-lived anatexis in the c. 2.1 Ga Mistinibi Complex,Canada

Secular changes in the architecture, thermal state, and metamorphic style of global orogens are thought to have occurred since the Archean; however, despite widespread research, the driving mechanisms for such changes remain unclear. The Paleoproterozoic may prove to be a key era for investigating secular changes in global orogens, as it marks the earliest stage of an eon that saw the onset of modern-style global tectonics. The 2.1 Ga granulite-facies Mistinibi-Raude Domain (MRD), located in the Southeastern Churchill Province, Canada, offers a rare exposure of Paleoproterozoic high metamorphic grade supracrustal sequences (Mistinibi Complex, MC). Rocks from this domain were subjected to petrochronological investigations to establish P–T–t–X evolutions and to provide first order thermal state, burial and exhumation rates, and metamorphic gradients for the transient Paleoproterozoic times. To obtain comprehensive insight into the P–T–t–X evolution of the MRD, we used multi-method geochronology—Lu–Hf on garnet and U–Pb on zircon and monazite—integrated with detailed petrography, trace element chemistry, and phase equilibria modelling. Despite the extensive use of zircon and monazite as geochronometers, their behaviour in anatectic conditions is complex, leading to substantial ambiguity in interpreting the timing of prograde metamorphism. Our results indicate a clockwise metamorphic path involving significant melt extraction from the metasedimentary rocks, followed by cooling from >815°C to ~770°C at ~0.8 GPa. The timing of prograde burial and cooling from supra- to subsolidus conditions is constrained through garnet, monazite, and zircon petrochronology at 2,150–2,120 Ma and at 2,070–2,080 Ma, respectively. These results highlight long-lived residence of the rocks at mid-crustal supra-solidus conditions (55–70 Ma), with preserved prograde and retrograde supra-solidus monazite and zircon. The rocks record extremely slow burial rates (0.25–0.30 km/Ma) along a high metamorphic gradient (900–1,000°C/GPa), which appears symptomatic of Paleoproterozoic orogens. The MC did not record any significant metamorphism after 2,067 Ma, despite having collided with terranes that record high-grade metamorphism during the major 1.9–1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny. The MC would therefore represent a remnant of a local early Paleoproterozoic metamorphic infrastructure, later preserved as superstructure in the large hot Trans-Hudson orogen.     

The Alaska Wrangell Arc: ~30 Ma of subduction‐related magmatism along a still active arc‐transform junction

The Oligocene to Present Wrangell Volcanic Belt (WVB) extends for ~500 km across south‐central Alaska (USA) into Canada at a volcanic arc‐transform junction. Previously, geochemistry documented mantle wedge and slab‐edge melting in <12 Ma WVB volcanic rocks; new geochemistry shows that the same processes characterized ~18–30 Ma WVB magmatism in Alaska. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages demonstrate that WVB magmatism in Alaska initiated at ~30 Ma due to flat‐slab subduction of the Yakutat microplate and that the dextral Totschunda fault was active at this time. Our results, together with prior studies, show that Alaskan WVB magmatism occurred chiefly due to subduction and should be considered a volcanic arc (e.g. the Wrangell Arc). The WVB provides a long‐term geological record of subduction, strike‐slip and magmatism. Slab‐edge upwelling, flat‐slab defocused fluid‐flux and faults acting as magma conduits are likely responsible for the exceptionally large volcanoes and high eruption rates of the Wrangell Arc.     

The growth of filaments by the condensation of coronal arches

A model of filament formation based on the condensation of coronal arches is described. The condensation results from initiating the radiative instability within an arch by superimposing a transient energy supply upon the steady state heating mechanism. The transient energy supply increases the density within the arch so that when it is removed the radiative losses are sufficient to lead to cooling below the minimum in the power loss curve.Times from the initial formation of the condensation to its temperature stabilization as a cool filament have been calculated for various initial conditions. They lie in the range 10⁴ to 10⁵ s with the majority of the time spent above a temperature of 1 × 10⁶ K.Under the assumption that the condensation of a single arch forms an element of the filament, a complete filament requires the condensation of an arcade of loops. Using experimentally derived parameters, filament densities of 10¹¹ to 10¹² cm^–3 can be obtained.     

The relationship between solar activity and coronal hole evolution

We examine the relationship between coronal hole evolution and solar active regions during the Skylab period. We find a tendency for holes to grow or remain stable when the activity nearby, seen as calcium plages and bright regions in X-rays, is predominantly large, long-lived regions. This is consistent with results of previous studies, using somewhat different methods. We also find that there is a significantly higher number of small, short-lived active regions, as indicated by X-ray bright points, in the vicinity of decaying holes than there is near other holes. We interpret this to mean that holes disappear at least in part because they become filled with many small scale, magnetically closed, X-ray emitting features. This interpretation, together with the previously reported observation that the number of X-ray bright points was much larger near solar minimum than it was during the Skylab period, provides a possible explanation for the disappearance of the large, near-equatorial coronal holes at the time of solar minimum.