Productivity, management and development problems in the arid rangelands of the central Mendoza plains (Argentina)

The central Mendoza plains (56,000 km²), located in the eastern foothills of the Andes, belong to the vast phytogeographic province of ‘Monte’ (c.500,000 km²) in Argentina. This area is a typical warm arid zone and vegetation is typically a shrubland. Perennial grasses are predominantly C₄species. Land-use is for livestock grazing; the average stocking rate is 28 ha per large stock unit (LSU), year-long. Ecological and range research have been actively pursued in the region by IADIZA over the past 25 years. Two experiment stations were established 25 and 10 years ago, respectively: The Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve and the El Divisadero Cattle and Range Station. Primary production and its relationship to climatic and edaphic parameters were analysed and compared in the two stations. Rain-use efficiency (RUE, kg DM ha⁻¹year⁻¹mm⁻¹) and useful rains efficiency (URE, P −0·1 PETp) were similar in both cases (RUE = 1·7 and 2·0; URE = 3·0 and 2·9, respectively), when herbs are concerned. However, the variability of annual production was much higher on the silty soils of Ñacuñán than on the coarse sands of El Divisadero; PRVR (Production to Rain Variability Ratio) was 2·5 and 0·53, respectively. Utilization of such experimental figures allows for the prediction of primary production and carrying capacity for a given year, based on rainfall probabilities and, therefore, to determine stocking rates in a rational manner. Basing stocking rates on annual dependable rains (f 0·8) and on useful rains probability (P − 0·1 PETp) proved to be a sound and realistic assessment, validated by long-term experiments and experience. The results of the studies on brush control, cattle diet composition, animal productivity and feed value of forage species were analysed. Current and future research programmes in IADIZA for the Mendoza plains are mentioned. Although research on resource inventory and basic ecological processes in the Mendoza plains should carry on, the emphasis and therefore the resources should henceforth be devoted to the consequences of resource management alternatives on overall arid land productivity, i.e. research for development. A better integration of applied ecology for management and investigations on basic arid land ecological processes should appear in IADIZA programmes.     

Keck AO survey of Io global volcanic activity between 2 and 5 μm

We present in this Keck AO paper the first global high angular resolution observations of Io in three broadband near-infrared filters: Kc (2.3 μm), Lp (3.8 μm), and Ms (4.7 μm). The Keck AO observations are composed of 13 data sets taken during short time intervals spanning 10 nights in December, 2001. The MISTRAL deconvolution process, which is specifically aimed for planetary images, was applied to each image. The spatial resolution achieved with those ground-based observations is 150, 240, and 300 km in the Kc, Lp, and Ms band, respectively, making them similar in quality to most of the distant observations of the Galileo/NIMS instrument. Eleven images per filter were selected and stitched together after being deprojected to build a cylindrical map of the entire surface of the satellite. In Kc-band, surface albedo features, such as paterae (R>60 km) are easily identifiable. The Babbar region is characterized by extremely low albedo at 2.2 μm, and shows an absorption band at 0.9 μm in Galileo/SSI data. These suggest that this region is covered by dark silicate deposits, possibly made of orthopyroxene. In the Lp-Ms (3-5 μm) bands, the thermal emission from active centers is easily identified. We detected 26 hot spots in both broadband filters over the entire surface of the minor planet; two have never been seen active before, nine more are seen in the Ms band. We focused our study on the hot spots detected in both broadband filters. Using the measurements of their brightness, we derived the temperature and area covered by 100 brightness measurements. Loki displayed a relatively quiescent activity. Dazhbog, a new eruption detected by Galileo/NIMS in August 2001, is a major feature in our survey. We also point out the fading of Tvashtar volcanic activity after more than two years of energetic activity, and the presence of a hot, but small, active center at the location of Surt, possibly a remnant of its exceptional eruption detected in February 2001. Two new active centers, labeled F and V on our data, are detected. Using the best temperature and the surface area derived from the L and M band intensities, we calculated the thermal output of each active center. The most energetic hot spots are Loki and Dazhbog, representing respectively 36 and 19% of the total output calculated from a temperature fit of all hot spots (20.6×¹⁰¹² W). Based on the temperature derived from hot spots (∼400 K), our measurement can unambiguously identify the contribution to the heat flux from the silicate portion of the surface. Because the entire surface was observed, no extrapolation was required to calculate that flux. It is also important to note that we measured the brightness of the individual hot spots when they were located close to the Central Meridian. This minimizes the line-of-sight effect which does not follow strictly a classical cosine law. Finally, we argue that despite the widespread volcanic activity detected, Io was relatively quiescent in December 2001, with a minimum mean total output of 0.4-1.2 W m⁻². This output is at least a factor of two lower than those inferred from observations made at longer wavelengths and at different epochs.     

Late glacial and early Holocene hydroclimate variability in northwest Iran (Talesh Mountains) inferred from chironomid and pollen analysis

We reconstructed the paleohydrologic and climatic history of the Lake Neor region, NW Iran, from the end of the late glacial to the middle Holocene (15,500–7500 cal yr BP). Subfossil chironomid and pollen assemblages in a sediment core from a peatland located south of Lake Neor enabled identification of four main hydrologic phases. The period 15,500–12,700 cal yr BP was characterized by a relatively dry climate with an open landscape, suggested by the abundance of Irano-Turanian steppe plants (e.g. Amaranthaceae, Artemisia and Cousinia). Dominance of several shallow-water and semi-terrestrial chironomid taxa (e.g. Pseudosmittia, Smittia/Parasmittia and Paraphaenocladius/Parametriocnemus) during this period is indicative of lower water tables in the wetland. Between 12,700 and 11,300 cal yr BP, chironomid taxa indicate higher wetland water tables, as suggested by the presence of Zavrelia, Chironomus anthracinus/plumosus-type and Micropsectra, which are inhabitants of open-water, lacustrine areas. The open-steppe vegetation remained dominant in the watershed during this time. Increasing wetland moisture could be explained by: (1) cool summers that reduced the evaporation rate; and/or (2) a decrease in duration of the summer dry season. The period 11,300–8700 cal yr BP was characterized by lower wetland moisture, contemporaneous with a delay in the expansion of deciduous forest, suggesting persistent dry climate conditions throughout the beginning of the Holocene, which may have been related to the intensified seasonality of precipitation. Around 8700 cal yr BP, higher wetland water levels, inferred from chironomids, occurred simultaneously with the onset of regional deciduous forest expansion, probably caused by a shortening of the summer dry period. We concluded that chironomids are appropriate paleoecological proxies to investigate global and local hydrologic variability in the Middle East.     

Improving the seeing with wide-field adaptive optics in the near-infrared

In this paper, we present simulation results of a ground-layer correction adaptive optics system (GLAO), based on four laser guide stars and a single deformable mirror. The goal is to achieve a seeing improvement over an 8-arcmin field of view, in the near-infrared (from 1.06 to 2.2 μm). We show results on the scaling of this system (number of subapertures, frame rates), and the required number of tip-tilt stars. We investigate the use for GLAO of both sodium and Rayleigh guide stars. We also show that if the lasers can be repositioned, the performance of the adaptive optics can be tailored to the astronomical observations.     

Transcriptome of hepatopancreas in kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus under low-salinity stress

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - The kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus is one of the most commercially important shrimp species in the world. Low salinity would affect the penetration and...     

Reproductive ecology of the seabob shrimp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xiphopenaeus kroyeri</Emphasis> (Heller, 1862) in a coastal area of Southern Brazil

The predictability of certain environmental factors that affect the life cycle of the seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) was evaluated in a study of its reproductive biology in an area adjacent to Babitonga Bay, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Monthly sampling was conducted from July 2010 through June 2011 at depths of 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17 m. 76 004 individuals were obtained, with a pronounced peak in absolute abundance in austral autumn (34 208), coinciding with the annual closed season from March to May. Grain size composition of the sediment showed the closest relationship to the distribution of individuals (multiple linear regression, P <0.05), related to their burying habit. The observed correlations between the abundance of reproductive males (bearing spermatophores) and females with spent gonads (cross-correlation, P <0.05), and between reproductive males and reproductive females (with a 1-month lag) suggest that the peak of reproductive males preceded the peak of female ones. This result agrees with the pattern expected for females, which copulate in post-ecdysis (spent gonads). Spawning seemed to take place at greater depths, as evidenced by the concentration of reproductive females in these areas. The reproductive activities observed here confirm that this species follows a tropical/subtropical reproductive pattern, spawning continuously throughout the year, with the highest peaks in spring and autumn. The data indicate that the juvenile recruitment period observed in August-September resulted from the reproductive output noted in April–May. Additionally, the reproductive period recorded in November led to the juvenile peak observed in March–May.     

Glaciation and deglaciation of the Libyan Desert: The Late Ordovician record

Detailed outcrop studies at the flanks of Al Kufrah Basin, Libya, reveal the nature of glacially-related sedimentation and post-depositional deformation styles produced in association with the Late Ordovician glaciation, during which ice sheets expanded northward over North Africa to deposit the Mamuniyat Formation. At the SE basin flank (Jabal Azbah), the Mamuniyat Formation is sand-dominated, and incises interfingering braidplain and shallow marine deposits of the Hawaz Formation. The glacially-related sediments include intercalations of mud-chip bearing tabular sandstones and intraformational conglomerates, which are interpreted as turbidite and debrite facies respectively. These record aggradation of an extensive sediment wedge in front of a stable former ice margin. An increase in mudstone content northward is accompanied by the occurrence of more evolved turbidites. A widespread surface, bearing streamlined NW–SE striking ridges and grooves, punctuates this succession. The structures on the surface are interpreted to have formed during a regional north-westward ice advance. Above, siltstones bearing Arthrophycus burrows, and Orthocone-bearing sandstones beneath tidal bars testify to glaciomarine conditions for deposition of the underflow deposits beneath. By contrast, the northern basin margin (Jabal az-Zalmah) is appreciably different in recording shallower water/paralic sedimentation styles and major glaciotectonic deformation features, although facies analysis also reveals northward deepening. Here, a siltstone wedging from 8 to 50 m toward the north was deposited (lower delta plain), succeeded by climbing ripple cross-laminated sandstones up to 60 m in thickness (distal through proximal delta mouth bar deposits) with occasional diamictite interbeds. These rocks are deformed by thrusts and > 50 m amplitude fault-propagation folds, the deformation locally sealed by a diamictite then overlain by conglomeratic lag during ultimate deglaciation. Integrating observations from both basin margins, a model of fluvial-dominated delta systems feeding a pulsed debrite and turbidite fan system in a shallow proglacial shelf is proposed.     

广饶县地面沉降成因及预测分析

地面沉降是指由于自然因素或人类工程活动引发的地下松散岩层固结压缩,并导致一定区域范围内地面高程降低的地质现象,是一种缓变性地质灾害。广饶县地处东营市南端,根据2004—2016年地面沉降监测资料,其沉降中心累计沉降量已超过了1 500mm,最大沉降速率超过70mm/a,属地面沉降强发育。通过对地面沉降发生、发展规律和引发地面沉降的成因进行了分析,并在现状条件下对地面沉降趋势进行了预测分析。