Direct evidence of central European forest refugia during the last glacial period based on mollusc fossils

Although there is evidence from molecular studies for the existence of central European last glacial refugia for temperate species, there is still a great lack of direct fossil records to confirm this theory. Here we bring such evidence in the form of fossil shells from twenty strictly forest land snail species, which were recorded in radiocarbon-dated late glacial or older mollusc assemblages of nine non-interrupted mollusc successions situated in the Western Carpathians, and one in the Bohemian Massif. We proposed that molluscs survived the last glacial period in central Europe in isolated small patches of broadleaf forest, which we unequivocally demonstrate for two sites of last glacial maximum age.     

Tectonic Phase Separation Applied to the Sudetic Marginal Fault Zone(NE part of the Czech Republic)

This study emphasizes the advantage of tectonic phase separation in determination of a tectonic evolution of complicated fault zones. The research focused on the Sudetic Marginal Fault Zone(SMFZ) –a 250 km long active fault zone with documented intraplate seismicity situated on the NE margin of the Bohemian Massif(the Czech Republic). The tectonic history of the SMFZ as well as its kinematic development has been rather complicated and not quite understood. A field structural investigation was carried out in extensive surroundings of the fault zone. The fault-slip data were collected in a number of natural outcrops and quarries with the aim at establishing a robust and field-constrained model for local brittle structural evolution of the studied area. A paleostress analysis was calculated using the collected fault-slip data inversion. The T-Tecto software was utilized for semiautomatic separation of the paleostress phases. Simultaneously three methods of data separation were employed:(1) the Gauss inverse method,(2) the Visualization of Gauss object Function, and(3) the frequency analysis. Within the fault zone multiphase movements were observed on various types of faults as well as wide range of the kinematic indicators orientations. The frequency analysis confirmed the multiphase history of the SMFZ. The calculated tectonic phases were divided according to their relative age as constrained by cross cutting relationships and, where observed, multiple striations on a single fault plane and classified from the oldest to the younger. Data separation and inversion usingT-Tecto software with the Gauss inverse method revealed four different stress phases which are 3 strike-slip stress regimes and one compressional regime. The strike-slip regimes are characterized by σ1 trending NW-SE(43), NNE-SSW(18), ENE-WSW(76) and the compressional one by σ1 trending W-E(26). First, compression occurred parallel to the SMFZ supposedly during the Variscan period. Second, compression at an angle of 60° to general direction of the SMFZ yielded right-lateral movement along the fault zone. This is considered to have occurred during the late-Variscan and post-Variscan period. Third, compression in the W-E direction with almost vertical extension led to reverse movement along the fault zone. This is considered to have occurred during Cenozoic. Fourth, compression almost perpendicular to the SMFZ led to left-lateral transpression along the SMFZ. This is considered to have occurred during Quaternary.     

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.