Comparison of toxicity between populations of Gonyaulax tamarensis of eastern North American waters

Isolates of the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax tamarensis were established from benthic cysts or motile cells collected along the north-western Atlantic coast from the Bay of Fundy to Long Island. All clones were grown under the same conditions and assayed in a blind test for toxin content and composition. Differences in toxin content (μmouse unit per cell) spanning two orders of magnitude were found, with decreasing toxicity from north to south. Some isolates had undetectable toxin levels. The low toxicity of southern strains of G. tamarensis may explain the historical absence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in areas where cysts and motile cells have been reported. The cause of the observed geographic pattern is unknown, but is does suggest that there may be an environmentally-determined southern limit to the regional PSP problem.Qualitative data on the toxin composition of some clones indicate that saxitoxin, neosaxitoxin and gonyautoxins -II, -III and -IV are generally present. A more quantitative approach (i.e. one which examines each isolate for all of the 12 Gonyaulax toxins) is needed to fully utilize the potential of toxin composition in discriminating between strains.     

Observed Changes in One-in-20 Year Extremes of Canadian Surface Air Temperatures

Weather and climate extremes are often associated with substantial adverse impacts on society and the environment. Assessment of changes in extremes is of great and broad interest. This study first homogenizes daily minimum and maximum surface air temperatures recorded at 146 stations in Canada. In order to assess changes in one-in-20 year extremes (i.e., extremes with a 20-year return period) in temperature, annual maxima and minima of both daily minimum temperatures and daily maximum temperatures are derived from the homogenized daily temperature series and analyzed with a recently developed extreme value analysis approach based on a tree of generalized extreme value distributions (including stationary and non-stationary cases). The procedure is applied to estimate the changes over the period 1911 to 2010 at 115 stations, located mainly in southern Canada, and over the period 1961 to 2010 at 146 stations across Canada (including 37 stations in the North). The results show that warming is strongest for extreme low temperature and weakest for extreme high temperature and is much stronger in the Canadian Arctic than in southern Canada. Warming is stronger in winter than in summer and stronger during nighttime than daytime of the same season.     

Preserving Continuity of Long-Term Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperature Observations with Automation of Reference Climate Stations using Overlapping Data and Meteorological Conditions

The seasonal-by-wind bias method for aligning time series of daily maximum and minimum temperatures from past conventional staffed and new automated sites using closely collocated, overlapping observations is presented for twenty-two modernized Reference Climate Stations in Canada. The method consists of adjusting for incompatible observing times and deriving biases from the daily “manual-minus-automated” temperature differences classified into seasons and wind-speed conditions. Most of the biases vary with the season, and many show limited wind dependency. Four sets of adjusted time series are prepared based on two-year and five-year overlapping data and on seasonal bias with or without wind conditions; the adjusted data are compared with the original observations. Based on the mean of the absolute differences and examination of box plots, the results show that, for this particular set of stations, the two-year versus five-year and seasonal versus seasonal-by-wind bias adjusted time series are overall similar. The largest contribution to the improvements in the adjusted observations came from matching the times of observation. Additionally, daily temperatures are adjusted using statistical methods applied with neighbouring station data but no overlapping observations at collocated stations; it is concluded that these do not necessarily resolve the bias between staffed and automated sites.     

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in Narragansett Bay

A two-year survey for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) was conducted in Narragansett Bay using the mouse assay method. The suspected causative organisms,Dinophysis spp., were monitored at the same time. Only one shellfish sample, in September 1984, yielded an unequivocal positive result at a time when the dinoflagellate population was dominated byD. acuminata. False positive results were suspected in May, when the mussels appeared sexually matured, and in, the summer of 1985, at the time of an unusual massive picoplanktonic bloom. Evidence of toxin production byD. acuminata was obtained from an almost monospecific sample; we calculated that over 5.4×10⁵ cells would be necessary to produce one mouse unit. The specificity and sensitivity of the assay method are questioned and improvements for DSP detection are suggested.     

Nitrile,Latex, Neoprene and Vinyl Gloves: A Primary Source of Contamination for Trace Element and Zn Isotopic Analyses in Geological and Biological Samples

Exogenic contamination is of primary concern for geochemical and biological clean laboratories working with sample sizes at the nanogram or even subpicogram level. Here, we determined sixty trace elements in fifteen different types of gloves from major suppliers world‐wide to evaluate whether gloves could be potential sources of contamination for routine trace element and isotope measurements. We found that all gloves contain some trace elements that can be easily mobilised in significant amounts. In weak acid at room temperature, the tested gloves released up to 17 mg of Zn, more than 1 μg of Mg, Ti, Mn, Fe, Rb, Sr, Zr, Sn, Hf and Pb and between 100 and 1000 ng of Li, Sc, V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Ga, As, Se, Y, Ag, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Tl and Th. Vinyl gloves released lower quantities of biologically and geologically important elements, with the exception of In and Sn. Isotopic analyses indicate that all gloves share roughly the same Zn isotopic composition (average δ⁶⁶Zn = +0.10 ± 0.32‰ (2s)). A single contact between glove and labware releases an average of ~ 6 ng of Zn and hence can significantly shift δ⁶⁶Zn above the precision level when the amount of Zn determined is below 500 ng.     

Fractal dimensions of individual flocs and floc populations in streams

The fractal dimension of an individual floc is a measure of the complexity of its external shape. Fractal dimensions can also be used to characterize floc populations, in which case the fractal dimension indicates how the shape of the smaller flocs relates to that of the larger flocs. The objective of this study is to compare the fractal dimensions of floc populations with those of individual flocs, and to evaluate how well both indicate contributions of sediment sources and reflect the nature and extent of flocculation in streams. Suspended solids were collected prior to and during snowmelt at upstream and downstream sites in two southern Ontario streams with contrasting riparian zones. An image analysis system was used to determine area, longest axis and perimeter of flocs. The area–perimeter relationship was used to calculate the fractal dimension, D, that characterizes the floc population. For each sample, the fractal dimension, D_i , of the 28 to 30 largest individual flocs was determined from the perimeter–step‐length relationship. Prior to snowmelt, the mean value of D_i ranged from 1·19 (Cedar Creek, downstream) to 1·22 (Strawberry Creek, upstream and downstream). A comparison of the means using t‐tests indicates that most samples on this day had comparable mean values of D_i . During snowmelt, there was no significant change in the mean value of D_i at the Cedar Creek sites. In contrast, for Strawberry Creek the mean value of D_i at both sites increased significantly, from 1·22 prior to snowmelt to 1·34 during snowmelt. This increase reflects the contribution of sediment‐laden overland flow to the sediment load. At three of the sampling sites, the increase in fractal dimensions was accompanied by a decreases in effective particle size, which can be explained by an increase in bed shear stress. A comparison of fractal dimensions of individual flocs in a sample with the fractal dimensions of the floc populations indicates that both fractal dimensions provide similar information about the temporal changes in sediment source contributions, about the contrasting effectiveness of the riparian buffer zones in the two basins, and about the hydraulic conditions in the streams. Nevertheless, determining the individual fractal dimensions of a set of large flocs in a sample is very time consuming. Using fractal dimensions of floc populations is therefore the preferred method to characterize suspended matter. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of the Phaeocystis globosa spring bloom on the intertidal benthic compartment in the eastern English Channel: a synthesis

From 1999 to 2005, studies carried out in the frame of regional and national French programs aimed to determine whether the Phaeocystisglobosa bloom affected the intertidal benthic communities of the French coast of the eastern English Channel in terms of composition and/or functioning. Study sites were chosen to cover most of the typical shore types encountered on this coast (a rocky shore, an exposed sandy beach and a small estuary). Both the presence of active Phaeocystis cells and their degradation product (foam) did have a significant impact on the studied shores. The primary production and growth rates of the kelp Saccharina latissima decreased during the bloom because of a shortage of light and nutrient for the macroalgae. On sandy sediments, the benthic metabolism (community respiration and community primary production), as well as the nitrification rate, were enhanced during foam deposits, in relation with the presence of bacteria and active pelagic cells within the decaying colonies. In estuarine sediments, the most impressive impact was the formation of a crust at the sediment surface due to drying foam. This led to anoxic conditions in the surface sediment and resulted in a high mortality among the benthic community. Some organisms also tended to migrate upward and were then directly accessible to the higher trophic level represented by birds. Phaeocystis then created a shortcut in the estuarine trophic network. Most of these modifications lasted shortly and all the systems considered came back to their regular properties and activities a few weeks after the end of the bloom, except for the most impacted estuarine area.     

Edifice and substrata deformation induced by intrusive complexes and gravitational loading in the Mull volcano (Scotland)

It is likely that the structure of a volcanic edifice can be significantly modified by deformation caused by large, shallow intrusions. Such deformation may interact with that caused by volcano loading. We explore such intrusion-related and loading-related deformation with field evidence and analogue models. To do this we have chosen the eroded Palaeogene Mull volcano (Scotland) that had a major edifice, has well exposed intrusions and significant deformation. There are thin Mesozoic sedimentary rocks forming ductile layers below the volcano, but their thickness is insufficient to allow the gravitational spreading of the volcanic edifice, especially when considering that a thick lava pile covers them. Thus intrusive push may have been the driving force for deformation. The Mull activity migrated toward the northwest, forming three successive intrusive complexes (Centres 1, 2 and 3). Our detailed fieldwork reveals that deformation due to these was accommodated on three levels; along thrust planes in lava sequences, along a décollement located in a thin clay-rich sediment succession and in basement schists. A relative chronology has been established between different groups of structures using dyke and sill cross-cutting relationships. Centre 1 is surrounded by a fold and thrust belt leading to radial expansion. In contrast, Centre 2 and 3 are connected to thrusts located to the south and east, bounded by strike-slip faults, leading to expansion to the southeast. The migration of centres and the directed sliding of the edifice may be related to the presence to the southeast of low-resistance Dalradian basement that failed significantly during growth of Centres 2 and 3. To study the observed relationships we have carried out scaled analogue models. Models are made with fine powder intruded by a viscous magma analogue. The models show an intimate relationship between intrusion growth, uplift of the volcano and subsequent flank sliding. The structures produced can be compared with Mull and suggest that the Centre 1 thrust belt probably formed following edifice gravitational sliding as a consequence of the uplift associated with Centre 1 formation. Centre 2 and 3 are responsible for the sector sliding of the edifice flank toward the southeast as the magmatic complex became more asymmetric. The features observed at Mull and in the models are similar to those seen on active volcanoes, such as Etna, providing a structural framework for their deformation and evolution.     

Combined solar and QBO effects on the modes of low-frequency atmospheric variability in the Northern Hemisphere

We examine joint effects of the solar activity and phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on modes of low-frequency variability of tropospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere in winter. The winter months (December–March) are stratified by the solar activity into two (below/above median) classes, and each of these classes is subdivided by the QBO phase (west or east). The variability modes are determined by rotated principal component analysis of 500 hPa heights separately in each class of solar activity and QBO phase. Detected are all the modes known to exist in the Northern Hemisphere. The solar activity and QBO jointly affect the shapes, spatial extent, and intensity of the modes; the QBO effects are, however, generally weaker than those of solar activity. For both solar maxima and minima, there is a tendency to the east/west phase of QBO to be accompanied by a lower/higher activity of zonally oriented modes and increased meridionality/zonality of circulation. This means that typical characteristics of circulation under solar minima, including a more meridional appearance of the modes and less activity of zonal modes, are strengthened during QBO-E; on the other hand, circulation characteristics typical of solar maxima, such as enhanced zonality of the modes and more active zonal modes, are more pronounced during QBO-W. Furthermore, the zonal modes in the Euro-Atlantic and Asian sectors (North Atlantic Oscillation, East Atlantic pattern, and North Asian pattern) shift southwards in QBO-E, the shift being stronger in solar maxima.     

Evolution of paleostress fields and brittle deformation in Hronov-Poříčí Fault Zone,Bohemian Massif

This paper investigates the tectonic history and describes the paleostress evolution of the Hronov-Po?í?í Fault Zone in the northeastern part of the Bohemian Massif. A detailed structural research has been carried out in 50 localities. Faults and fractures have been investigated and measured. An analysis of the fault-slip data within the studied area resulted in the identification of four tectonic phases. The maximum principal stress was observed to be acting NE-SW during the first and youngest phase. The trend of the horizontal compression runs at 223° in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the reverse faults occurring in this phase, as well as to the studied fault zone. The minimum principal stress was found to be subvertical dipping at 87° and trending at 358°. Both the brittle tectonic investigations and paleostress analysis have documented that, at present, the Hronov-Po?í?í Fault Zone is under compressive regime with dextral component.