Comparison of coral growth and survival under enclosed,semi-natural conditions and in the field

Two closely related scleractinian coral species, Porites cylindrica and Porites rus, were transplanted to two different locations: the natural environment on the reef flat, and culture tanks on land. The use of tanks enabled the regulation of certain environmental factors, and, hence, the evaluation of specific responses of the corals to these factors. For both species, growth and survival were much better in the field than in the land-based tanks most probably due to unrestricted water circulation. Since the two species were subjected to identical experimental treatments, it was possible to distinguish inherent differences between them in terms of responses to external variables. Porites cylindrica was more susceptible than P. rus to predation by corallivores. Predators, as well as grazers, occurred in significant numbers in the field, but not in the land-based tanks. Porites rus, on the other hand, succumbed more readily to overgrowth by macroalgae which thrived in the culture tanks presumably because of significantly higher nutrient levels and the conspicuous absence of grazers. These results have broader ecological implications because of accelerated environmental changes taking place in present-day reefs due to human impact. Major examples are eutrophication and alterations in water circulation which frequently result in sub-optimal conditions for coral survival and growth.     

Source structure and dynamics of Pc 1 pulsations at low latitudes

Structured Pc 1 signals propagate in the ionospheric F2 region duct from their secondary sources at high latitudes to lower latitudes. Propagation directions to low latitude stations can be inferred from measurements of polarization parameters. The analysis of five events recorded at two low latitude stations (L = 1.9) are presented. Direction of arrival measurements are used to investigate the spatial and temporal structure of Pc 1 sources. Results show a close relationship between the structure of events identified in the frequency-time representation and direction of arrival measurement patterns. Multiple sources are sometimes indicated.     

The accumulation rate of meteorite falls at the Earth's surface: The view from Roosevelt County,New Mexico

Abstract— The discovery of 154 meteorite fragments within an 11 km² area of wind-excavated basins in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, permits a new calculation of the accumulation rate of meteorite falls at the Earth's surface. Thermoluminescence dating of the coversand unit comprising the prime recovery surface suggests the maximum terrestrial age of the meteorites to be about 16.0 ka. The 68 meteorite fragments subjected to petrological analyses represent a minimum of 49 individual falls. Collection bias has largely excluded carbonaceous chondrites and achondrites, requiring the accumulation rate derived from the recovered samples to be increased by a factor of 1.25. Terrestrial weathering destroying ordinary chondrites can be modelled as a first-order decay process with an estimated half-life of 3.5 ± 1.9 ka on the semiarid American High Plains. Having accounted for the age of the recovery surface, area of field searches, pairing of finds, collection bias and weathering half-life, we calculate an accumulation rate of 9.4 × 10² falls/a per 10⁶ km² for falls > 10 g total mass. This figure exceeds the best-constrained previous estimate by more than an order of magnitude. One possible reason for this disparity may be the extraordinary length of the fall record preserved in the surficial geology of Roosevelt County. The high accumulation rate determined for the past 16 ka may point to the existence of periods when the meteorite fall rate was significantly greater than at present.     

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)     

Timing and rate of isothermal decompression in Pan-African granulites from Rundvågshetta, East Antarctica

Geochronological data, combined with field and petrological evidence, constrain the timing and rate of near‐isothermal decompression at granulite facies temperatures in rocks from the Lützow‐Holm Complex of East Antarctica. Granulite facies gneisses from Rundvågshetta in Lützow‐Holm Bay experienced a peak metamorphic temperature of over 900 °C at c. 11 kbar, as evidenced by primary orthopyroxene–sillimanite‐bearing assemblages, and secondary cordierite–sapphirine‐bearing assemblages in metapelites. Peak metamorphic assemblages show strong preferred mineral orientation, interpreted to have developed synchronously with pervasive ductile deformation. Zircon from a syndeformational leucosome has a U–Pb age of 517±9 Ma, which is interpreted as a melt crystallization age. This age provides the best estimate of the time of peak metamorphic conditions. The post‐peak metamorphic history is characterized by near‐isothermal decompression, recorded by mineral textures in a variety of rock compositions. Field and textural relations indicate that decompression post‐dated pervasive ductile deformation. K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from hornblende and biotite represent closure ages during cooling subsequent to decompression, and indicate cooling to temperatures between c. 350 and 300 °C by c. 500 Ma, thus placing a lower time limit on the duration of the high‐temperature isothermal decompression episode. The combination of the zircon age from a syndeformational melt with K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar closure ages indicates that near‐isothermal decompression from c. 11 to c. 4 kbar at granulite facies temperatures, followed by cooling to c. 300 °C, took place within a time interval of 20±10 Myr. Simple one‐dimensional models for exhumation‐controlled cooling indicate that these data require exhumation rates of the order of c. 3 km Myr^?1 for several million years, then cessation of exhumation followed by relatively isobaric cooling during thermal re‐equilibration.     

Factors influencing the release of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved forms of nitrogen from a small upland headwater during autumn runoff events

We identify and assess the relative importance of the principal factors influencing the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved forms of nitrogen (N) from a small upland headwater dominated by podzolic soils during a sequence of autumn runoff events. We achieve this by subjecting high‐resolution hydrometeorological and hydrochemical data to an R‐mode principal component factor analysis and a stepwise multivariate regression analysis. We find that the release of DOC and N is influenced by four principal factors, namely event magnitude, soil water flow through the Bs horizon, the length of time since the soil profile was last flushed, and rewetting of the H horizon. The release of DOC and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is most strongly influenced by the combination of event magnitude and soil water flow through the Bs horizon, and to a lesser extent by the length of time since the soil profile was last flushed. Rewetting of the H horizon also influences the release of DOC, but this is not the case for DON. The release of nitrate (NO₃‐N) is most strongly influenced by the combination of the length of time since the soil profile was last flushed and rewetting of the H horizon, and to a lesser extent by event magnitude. Soil water flow through the Bs horizon does not influence the release of NO₃‐N. We argue that the mechanisms by which the above factors influence the release of DOC and N are probably strongly associated with moisture‐dependent biological activity, which governs the turnover of organic matter in the soil and limits the availability of NO₃‐N in the soil for leaching. We conclude that the release of DOC and N from upland headwaters dominated by podzolic soils is largely controlled by the variable interaction of hydrometeorological factors and moisture‐dependent biological processes, and that a shift in climate towards drier summers and wetter winters may result in the release of DOC and N becoming increasingly variable and more episodic in the future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.