Biogeochemical conversion of sulfur species in saline lakes of Steppe Altai

The aim of the present research is to identify the main mechanisms of sulfur behavior in saline lakes in the course of time and followed transformations in their chemical composition. The influence of water on chemical composition of biochemical processes involved in decomposition of organic matter was determined by the study of behavior of reduced forms of sulfur in lakes. The determination of reduced forms of sulfur was carried out by successive transfer of each form of sulfur to hydrogen sulfide followed by photometric measurements. The other chemical components were determined by standard methods(atomic absorption, potentiometric method, titration method and others). The salt lakes of the Altai steppe were studied in summer season 2013–2015. Analysis of the chemical composition of the saline lakes of Altai Krai has shown that carbonate-, hydrocarbonate-and chloride ions dominate among anions; sodium is main cation; sulfates are found in subordinate amounts. Reduced forms of sulfur occur everywhere: hydrogen and hydrosulfide sulfur S~(2-) prevail in the bottom sediments; its derivative—elemental S~0—prevails in the lakes water. The second important species in water of soda lakes is hydrosulfide sulfur S~(2-), and in chloride lakes is thiosulfate sulfur S_2O_2~(3ˉ). The lag in the accumulation of sulfates in soda lakes in comparison to chloride lakes can be explained by their bacterial reduction, followed by the formation and deposition of iron sulfides in sediments. In chloride lakes gypsum is a predominantly barrier for sulfates.     

Compaction trend versus seismic anisotropy in shaly formations

Shales comprise more than 60% of sedimentary rocks and form natural seals above hydrocarbon reservoirs. Their sealing capacity is also used for storage of nuclear wastes. The world's most important conventional oil and gas reservoirs have their corresponding source rocks in shale. Furthermore, shale oil and shale gas are the most rapidly expanding trends in unconventional oil and gas. Shales are notorious for their strong elastic anisotropy, i.e., so‐called vertical transverse isotropy. This vertical transverse isotropy, characterised by a vertical axis of invariance, is of practical importance as it is required for correct surface seismic data interpretation, seismic to well tie, and amplitude versus offset analysis. A rather classical paradigm makes a clear link between compaction in shales and the alignment of the clay platelets (main constituent of shales). This would imply increasing anisotropy strength with increasing compaction. Our main purpose is to check this prediction on two large databases in shaly formations (more than 800 samples from depths of 0–6 km) by extracting the major trends in the relation between seismic anisotropy and compaction. The statistical analysis of the database shows that the simultaneous increase in density and velocity, a classical compaction signature, is quite weakly correlated with the anisotropy strength. As a consequence, compaction can be excluded as a major cause of seismic anisotropy, at least in shaly formations. Also, the alignment of the clay platelets can explain most of the anisotropy measurements of both databases. Finally, a method for estimating the orientation distribution function of the clay platelets from the measurement of the anisotropy parameters is suggested.     

Exploring image data assimilation in the prospect of high-resolution satellite oceanic observations

Satellite sensors increasingly provide high-resolution (HR) observations of the ocean. They supply observations of sea surface height (SSH) and of tracers of the dynamics such as sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea surface temperature (SST). In particular, the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will provide measurements of the surface ocean topography at very high-resolution (HR) delivering unprecedented information on the meso-scale and submeso-scale dynamics. This study investigates the feasibility to use these measurements to reconstruct meso-scale features simulated by numerical models, in particular on the vertical dimension. A methodology to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) multivariate meso-scale scenes is developed by using a HR numerical model of the Solomon Sea region. An inverse problem is defined in the framework of a twin experiment where synthetic observations are used. A true state is chosen among the 3D multivariate states which is considered as a reference state. In order to correct a first guess of this true state, a two-step analysis is carried out. A probability distribution of the first guess is defined and updated at each step of the analysis: (i) the first step applies the analysis scheme of a reduced-order Kalman filter to update the first guess probability distribution using SSH observation; (ii) the second step minimizes a cost function using observations of HR image structure and a new probability distribution is estimated. The analysis is extended to the vertical dimension using 3D multivariate empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) and the probabilistic approach allows the update of the probability distribution through the two-step analysis. Experiments show that the proposed technique succeeds in correcting a multivariate state using meso-scale and submeso-scale information contained in HR SSH and image structure observations. It also demonstrates how the surface information can be used to reconstruct the ocean state below the surface.     

Exploring an ‘ideal hill': how lithology and transport mechanisms affect the possibility of a steady state during weathering and erosion

We present a model of chemical reaction within hills to explore how evolving porosity (and by inference, permeability) affects flow pathways and weathering. The model consists of hydrologic and reactive-transport equations that describe alteration of ferrous minerals and feldspar. These reactions were chosen because previous work emphasized that oxygen- and acid-driven weathering affects porosity differently in felsic and mafic rocks. A parameter controlling the order of the fronts is presented. In the absence of erosion, the two reaction fronts move at different velocities and the relative depths depend on geochemical conditions and starting composition. In turn, the fronts and associated changes in porosity drastically affect both the vertical and lateral velocities of water flow. For these cases, estimates of weathering advance rates based on simple models that posit unidirectional constant-velocity advection do not apply. In the model hills, weathering advance rates diminish with time as the Darcy velocities decrease with depth. The system can thus attain a dynamical steady state at any erosion rate where the regolith thickness is constant in time and velocities of both fronts become equal to one another and to the erosion rate. The slower the advection velocities in a system, the faster it attains a steady state. For example, a massive rock with relatively fast-dissolving minerals such as diabase – where solute transport across the reaction front mainly occurs by diffusion – can reach a steady state more quickly than granitoid rocks in which advection contributes to solute transport. The attainment of a steady state is controlled by coupling between weathering and hydrologic processes that force water to flow horizontally above reaction fronts where permeability changes rapidly with depth and acts as a partial barrier to fluid flow. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Mineralogy,petrology, and oxygen isotopic compositions of chondritic and achondritic lithologies in the anomalous CB carbonaceous chondrites Sierra Gorda 013 and Fountain Hills

The CB (Bencubbin-like) metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites are subdivided into the CB_a and CB_b subgroups. The CB_a chondrites are composed predominantly of ~cm-sized skeletal olivine chondrules and unzoned Fe,Ni-metal ± troilite nodules. The CB_b chondrites are finer grained than the CB_as and consist of chemically zoned and unzoned Fe,Ni-metal grains, Fe,Ni-metal ± troilite nodules, cryptocrystalline and skeletal olivine chondrules, and rare refractory inclusions. Both subgroups contain exceptionally rare porphyritic chondrules and no interchondrule fine-grained matrix, and are interpreted as the products of a gas–melt impact plume formed by a high-velocity collision between differentiated planetesimals about 4562 Ma. The anomalous metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites, Fountain Hills and Sierra Gorda 013 (SG 013), have bulk oxygen isotopic compositions similar to those of other CBs but contain coarse-grained igneous clasts/porphyritic chondrule-like objects composed of olivine, low-Ca-pyroxene, and minor plagioclase and high-Ca pyroxene as well as barred olivine and skeletal olivine chondrules. Cryptocrystalline chondrules, zoned Fe,Ni-metal grains, and interchondrule fine-grained matrix are absent. In SG 013, Fe,Ni-metal (~80 vol%) occurs as several mm-sized nodules; magnesiochromite (Mg-chromite) is accessory; daubréelite and schreibersite are minor; troilite is absent. In Fountain Hills, Fe,Ni-metal (~25 vol%) is dispersed between chondrules and silicate clasts; chromite and sulfides are absent. In addition to a dominant chondritic lithology, SG 013 contains a chondrule-free lithology composed of Fe,Ni-metal nodules (~25 vol%), coarse-grained olivine and low-Ca pyroxene, interstitial high-Ca pyroxene and anorthitic plagioclase, and Mg-chromite. Here, we report on oxygen isotopic compositions of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, and ±Mg-chromite in Fountain Hills and both lithologies of SG 013 measured in situ using an ion microprobe. Oxygen isotope compositions of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, and Mg-chromite in these meteorites are similar to those of magnesian non-porphyritic chondrules in CB_a and CB_b chondrites: on a three-isotope oxygen diagram (δ¹⁷O vs. δ¹⁸O), they plot close to a slope-1 (primitive chondrule mineral) line and have a very narrow range of Δ¹⁷O (=δ¹⁷O–0.52 × δ¹⁸O) values, −2.5 ± 0.9‰ (avr ± 2SD). No isotopically distinct relict grains have been identified in porphyritic chondrule-like objects. We suggest that magnesian non-porphyritic (barred olivine, skeletal olivine, cryptocrystalline) chondrules in the CB_as, CB_bs, and porphyritic chondrule-like objects in SG 013 and Fountain Hills formed in different zones of the CB impact plume characterized by variable pressure, temperature, cooling rates, and redox conditions. The achondritic lithology in SG 013 represents fragments of one of the colliding bodies and therefore one of the CB chondrule precursors. Fountain Hills was subsequently modified by impact melting; Fe,Ni-metal and sulfides were partially lost during this process.     

Reef microhabitats mediate fish feeding intensity and agonistic interactions at Príncipe Island Biosphere Reserve,Tropical Eastern Atlantic

The benthic assemblage of reefs provides an important resource of food and habitat for reef fishes. However, how benthic composition mediates reef fishes' biotic interactions at isolated environments such as oceanic islands remains largely unknown. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of four different reef microhabitats over biological interactions of fishes in an understudied oceanic island, Príncipe Island. For that, we recorded a total of 46 Underwater Remote Videos (RUVs) to document benthic composition and fishes' trophic and agonistic interactions. We used benthic cover estimates to group the samples into four microhabitats (dominated by epilithic algal matrix [EAM], sand/rock, corals and sponges), then quantified fishes' trophic and agonistic interactions in each microhabitat. All microhabitats presented a different structure of trophic and agonistic interactions of the fish assemblage. Feeding pressure (FP) and agonistic interactions were higher on the EAM microhabitat and lower in coral microhabitat. Herbivores were the main responsible group for the FP in all microhabitats. Territorial damselfishes used microhabitats differently for both trophic and agonistic interactions. We demonstrated that reef fish diversity and intensity of biotic interactions varied according the spatial distribution of benthic resources, which suggests that benthic composition plays an important role on structuring biological interactions at isolated reef systems.     

Deep-sea bacterial communities in sediments and guts of deposit-feeding holothurians in Portuguese canyons (NE Atlantic)

Deposit-feeding holothurians often dominate the megafauna in bathyal deep-sea settings, in terms of both abundance and biomass. Molpadia musculus is particularly abundant at about 3400 m depth in the Nazaré Canyon on the NE Atlantic Continental Margin. However, these high abundances are unusual for burrowing species at this depth. The objective of this research was to understand the reasons of the massive occurrence of these molpadiid holothurians in the Nazaré Canyon. To address this question we investigated possible trophic interactions with bacteria at sites where the organic content of the sediment was different (Setúbal and Cascais Canyons, NE Atlantic Continental Margin). The molecular fingerprinting technique of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) with band sequencing, combined with non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and statistical analyses, was used to compare the bacterial community diversity in canyon sediments and holothurian gut contents. Our results suggest that M. musculus does not need to develop a specialised gut bacterial community to aid digestion where the sediment is rich in organic matter (Nazaré Canyon); in contrast, such a community may be developed where the sediment is poorer in organic matter (Cascais Canyon).     

Land use change in a 200‐year period and its effect on blue and green water flow in two Slovenian Mediterranean catchments—lessons for the future

The overexploitation and impairment of our freshwater resources require land management strategies that support the preservation of green and blue water flow and various ecosystem services. Historical landscape analysis and the influential driving factors of landscape development provide an essential basis for tackling current environmental questions in land and water management. Hence, this article investigates the influence of historical land use pattern on the hydrological processes and provision of blue and green water flow and storage for man and ecosystems under current climate conditions. Moreover, we discuss in how far these findings could be used to predict or optimise future land management options or as a reference for future land and water management. We used digitalized historical land use maps from 1787, 1827, 1940 and 1984 and a digital land use map of present situation from 2009 for our study areas, which are two small scale Slovenian catchments (Reka and Dragonja). The integrated river basin model soil and water assessment tool was used to simulate the land use change effects on blue and green water flow. The results showed for both catchments that the influence of land use change on total and green water quantity would be statistically insignificant but would have considerable effects on the seasonal flows. In the Reka catchment, historical situations indicate effects on spring and summer blue and green water flow due to a decreased percentage of forest and an increased percentage of grassland and vineyards in the past. Results for the Dragonja catchment indicate past shift from arable land use to forest as decrease in summer green water flow and increase in blue water flow. Possible effects are also increased levels of blue water flow and decreased levels of green water flow during the growing period of the year. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accumulative Landforms in Valleys with Gas-Hydrothermal Occurrences (from the Example of Watercourses of Some Volcanic Massifs in the Kuril—Kamchatka Region)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The sulfur isotope anomalies ∆33S and ∆36S known today in ancient rocks exhibit common geochemical patterns reflected in the existence of a correlation like...