Isotopic and Elemental Composition of Marine Macrophytes as Biotracers of Nutrient Recycling Within a Coastal Lagoon in Baja California,Mexico

Nutrient sources of San Quintin Bay, a coastal lagoon affected by coastal upwelling off Baja California (Mexico), were traced using generalized additive (mixed) models (GAMM) to the stable nitrogen isotopic composition, C:N and N content of two co-occurring macrophytes (the macroalgae Ulva spp. and the seagrass Zostera marina). The geochemical tracers followed a spatial trend that partly responded to the long-term nutrient gradient from the ocean towards the interior of the bay. N content in Z. marina and Ulva spp. decreased linearly (while C:N increased) towards the middle section of the bay to concentration levels that indicate potential N limitation for growth. Concurrently midway into the bay (6–9 km), the δ¹⁵N of both macrophytes showed a gradual enrichment in ¹⁵N reflecting progressive denitrification. The spatial pattern of δ¹⁵N and the decrease in C:N of the macrophytes towards the innermost section of the bay indicated an additional nonoceanic source of dissolved nitrogen in this zone. The similarity of the δ¹⁵N pattern of Z. marina and Ulva spp. implies that their δ¹⁵N composition is mainly controlled by the availability of N, in spite of the physiological differences between taxa. A better fit of GAMM to N content and C:N was obtained for Z. marina than for Ulva spp. indicating that the former delineate more steadily and smoothly the influence of upwelling along the spatial gradient. Nonetheless, Ulva spp. may be analyzed in combination with Z. marina to characterize the environmental conditions at the time of sampling.     

The diffusive boundary layer of sediments: oxygen microgradients over a microbial mat

Oxygen microelectrodes were used to analyze the distribution of the diffusive boundary layer (DBL) at the sediment-water interface in relation to surface topography and flow velocity. The sediment, collected from saline ponds, was covered by a microbial mat that had high oxygen consumption rate and well-defined surface structure. Diffusion through the DBL constituted an important rate limitation to the oxygen uptake of the sediment. The mean effective DBL thickness decreased from 0.59 to 0.16 mm as the flow velocity of the overlying water was increased from 0.3 to 7.7 cm s-1 (measured 1 cm above the mat). The oxygen uptake rate concurrently increased from 3.9 to 9.4 nmol cm-2 min-1. The effects of surface roughness and topography on the thickness and distribution of the DBL were studied by three-dimensional mapping of the sediment-water interface and the upper DBL boundary at 0.1-mm spatial resolution. The DBL boundary followed mat structures that had characteristic dimensions > 1/2 DBL thickness but the DBL had a dampened relief relative to the mat. The effective surface area of the sediment-water interface and of the upper DBL boundary were 31 and 14% larger, respectively, than a flat plane. Surface topography thereby increased the oxygen flux across the sediment-water interface by 49% relative to a one-dimensional diffusion flux calculated from the vertical oxygen microgradients.     

Status of the physics of substellar objects project

A full understanding of the properties of substellar objects is one of the major challenges facing astrophysics. Since their discovery in 1995, hundreds of brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets have been discovered. While these discoveries have enabled important comparisons with theory, observational progress has been much more rapid than the theoretical understanding of cool atmospheres. The reliable determination of mass, abundances, gravities and temperatures is not yet possible. The key problem is that substellar objects emit their observable radiation in the infrared region of the spectrum where our knowledge of atomic, molecular and line broadening data is poor. Here we report on the status of our PoSSO (Physics of SubStellar Objects) project. In order to understand brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets increasing more like those in our solar system, we are studying a wide range of processes. Here we give an update on the project and sketch an outline of atoms, molecules and processes requiring study. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A theoretical model of the stable sulfur isotope distribution in marine sediments

A diffusion-diagenesis model of the sulfur cycle is developed to calculate theoretical distributions of stable sulfur isotopes in marine sediments. The model describes the depth variation in δ³⁴S of dissolved sulfate and H₂S. and of pyrite. The effects of sulfate reduction, sulfate and H₂S diffusion. and of sedimentation are considered as well as the bacterial isotope fractionation and the degree of pyrite formation. Under open system conditions of sulfur diagenesis the isotopic difference, ΔSO^2?₄ — H₂S, tends to increase with depth being smaller than the bacterial fractionation factor near the sediment surface and larger in deeper layers. The two isotopes in SO^2?₄ or in H₂S do not diffuse in the same proportion as they occur in the porewater. This explains why sulfur, which is incorporated from seawater sulfate by diffusion and precipitation as pyrite, can be enriched in ³²S relative to the seawater sulfate. The model calculations demonstrate the importance of taking the whole dynamic sulfur cycle into account before drawing conclusions about sulfur diagenesis from the stable isotope distribution.     

Alaska Tsunami Warning Center's automatic and interactive computer processing system

The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center has the responsibility of providing timely tsunami warning services for Alaska and the west coasts of Canada and the United States. Recently, the ATWC implemented a new microcomputer system which is used for both automatic and interactive earthquake processing, and for disseminating critical information to the Tsunami Warning System recipients.Real-time seismic wave form data from 23 short-period and 9 long-period sites in Alaska, the lower 48 States, and Hawaii, are continually computer-monitored for the occurrence of an earthquake. Once detected from the short-period wave form data, pre- and post-earthquake data are displayed on a graphics terminal along with an indicator to identify the time of the onset of theP waves (P-picks). TheP-picks can easily be changed during or after data collection via a mouse. Magnitudes (M _b ,M _l ,M _B ,M _S ) are automatically computed from appropriate short- and long-period wave form data concurrently with the above processing. A second graphics terminal displays cycle-by-cycle long-period wave form data that was used to compute an earthquake'sM _B andM _S magnitudes.An earthquake's parametric data and other information are available and printed within tens of seconds after theP wave arrivals are recorded at the first 5 sites, then 7 sites, 9 sites, and a final parametric computation using all collected data. Three video display monitors are used for displaying the parameters, procedural aids, and a map showing the epicenter. Additionally, selected event parameters are immediately transmitted by VHF radio to alphanumeric beepers which are carried by standby duty personnel during those times that the Center is not manned.Using a dedicated video display terminal and printer, the interactive system can use data and parameters resulting from the automatic processes for concurrent parameter recomputations; perform additional computations; disseminate critical information; and generate procedural aids for duty geophysicists to facilitate an earthquake/tsunami investigation.