Biogeochemical and hydrographic controls on chromophoric dissolved organic matter distribution in the Pacific Ocean

Recent in situ observations of chromophoric dissolved organic material (CDOM) in the Pacific Ocean reveal the biogeochemical controls on CDOM and indicate predictive potential for open-ocean CDOM in diagnosing particulate organic matter (POM) remineralization rates within ocean basins. Relationships between CDOM and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, nutrients and inorganic carbon in the subthermocline waters of the Pacific reflect the relative influences of water mass ventilation and water-column oxidative remineralization. Apparent in situ oxygen utilization (AOU) accounts for 86% and 61% of variance in CDOM abundance, respectively, in Antarctic Intermediate Water and North Pacific Intermediate Water. In the deep waters of the Pacific below the zone of remineralization, AOU explains 26% of CDOM variability. The AOU–CDOM relationship results from competing biogeochemical and advective processes within the ocean interior. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is not statistically linked to the CDOM or AOU distributions, indicating that the majority of CDOM production occurs during the remineralization of sinking POM and thus potentially provides key information about carbon export. Once formed in the ocean interior, CDOM is relatively stable until it reaches the surface ocean where it is destroyed by solar bleaching. Susceptibility to bleaching confers an additional tracer-like quality for CDOM in water masses with active convection, such as mode waters that appear as subsurface CDOM minima. In the surface ocean, atypically low CDOM abundance highlights a region of unusually extreme oligotrophy: the subtropical South Pacific gyre. For these hyper-oligotrophic waters, the present CDOM observations are consistent with analysis of in situ radiometric observations of light attenuation and reflectance, demonstrating the accuracy of the CDOM spectrophotometric observations. Overall, we illustrate how CDOM abundance in the ocean interior can potentially diagnose rates of thermohaline overturning as they affect regional biogeochemistry and export. We further show how relative surface ocean CDOM abundances are driven in large part by processes occurring in the deep layers of the ocean. This is particularly significant for the interpretation of the global surface distribution of CDOM using satellite remote sensing.     

Understanding nesting ecology and behaviour of green marine turtles at Setiu,Terengganu, Malaysia

In this paper, we emphasize the importance of understanding the nesting ecology and nesting behaviour of green marine turtles (Chelonia mydas). Data were collected from 2007 until 2012 from nesting beaches at Setiu Terengganu, Malaysia. We focused on one of the beaches, Telaga Papan, based on data collected in 2012. We recorded the distribution of nesting areas, the emergence hour and the correlation between successful nesting attempts and false crawls. Telaga Papan had a significantly higher distribution of green marine turtle nesting compared with the other five beaches (ANOVA, F_5,42 = 8.874, P < 0.01, mean = 36.750 ± 3.727). The highest number of successful nesting attempts was recorded in 2012 (mean = 28.714). A majority of the species landed between 22:00 and 23:59 h (25%). There was a strong correlation between successful nesting attempts and false crawls (r_s = 0.883, P = 0.02). Based on these findings on the nesting ecology and nesting behaviour of green marine turtles, we suggest that scientific research, strict monitoring, awareness programs and policy implementation should be carried out proactively. Such activities are necessary to reduce the anthropogenic pressures at the nesting beaches as well as to ensure more successful nesting attempts of green marine turtles in Setiu.     

Macrobenthic composition of the southeast continental shelf of India

Macrobenthic faunal composition was studied at six different depth ranges (30–50, 51–75, 76–100, 101–150, 151–175 and >176 m) in five transects (off Karaikkal, Parangipettai, Cuddalore‐SIPCOT, Cheyyur and Chennai) in the continental shelf of southeast coast of India. Eleven diverse taxa were found, comprising 113 species of polychaetes, 14 species of bivalves, 10 species of amphipods and ‘others’ (five tanaids, five crabs, four isopods, three echinoderms, two shrimps, two cnidarians, two fishes and one cephalochordate). Polychaetes were the dominant taxa, constituting 88.5% of the total abundance and 30.7% of the total biomass. The number of species (seven per 0.2 m² at >176 m depth range in Chennai to 46 per 0.2 m² at 30–50 m in Cheyyur), abundance (216 per 0.2 m² at >176 m in Karaikkal to 353 per 0.2 m² at 30–50 m in Cheyyur) and biomass (0.09 g per 0.2 m² at 151–175 m in Karaikkal and 4.6 g per 0.2 m² at 30–50 m in Cheyyur) of macrobenthos decreased with increase in depth. DO decreased gradually from 30 m depth; beyond 150 m, the decrease was pronounced due to the presence of the oxygen minimum zone. Using the distance based linear model (DISTLM), it was found that the environmental variables explained about 73.3% of the total variability in macrofaunal distribution. The heavy metals cobalt and mercury, as well as water pressure (proxy for depth), showed a significant relationship with macrofauna, explaining respectively 9, 7.3 and 7% of the total variability. The contribution of other variables was smaller.     

Evaluation of the intermediate-term periodicities in solar and cosmic ray activities during cycle 23

In this paper we investigate the presence and temporal evolution of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) time-series and three solar parameters, namely the daily sunspot number, the coronal green line and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux over the period 1996–2003 by the wavelet technique. A number of short- and intermediate-term quasi-periodicities were also detected in both GCR and solar parameters. For the short-term range, we have identified quasi-periods of 16–30 days, 40–55 days, 60–70 days, 80–90 days and 80–100 days. In the case of intermediate range, the significant periods were 120–140 days, 150–170 days, 190–210 days, 240–260 days, ≈1.09 yr. and ≈1.23 yr. The wavelet power spectra show that all the above-mentioned periods are intermittent in nature and occurred in different time-series in different intervals. The result exhibits that the well-known “Rieger period” of (150–160 days) was prominent in both GCR and solar data sets during the ascending phase of cycle 23. Possible reasons behind the observed periods were discussed with the help of previous results and existing numerical models.     

Multi-stage reaction history in different eclogite types from the Pakistan Himalaya and implications for exhumation processes

Metabasites were sampled from rock series of the subducted margin of the Indian Plate, the so-called Higher Himalayan Crystalline, in the Upper Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. These vary from corona dolerites, cropping out around Saif-ul-Muluk in the south, to coesite–eclogite close to the suture zone against rocks of the Kohistan arc in the north. Bulk rock major- and trace- element chemistry reveals essentially a single protolith as the source for five different eclogite types, which differ in fabric, modal mineralogy as well as in mineral chemistry. The study of newly-collected samples reveals coesite (confirmed by in situ Raman spectroscopy) in both garnet and omphacite. All eclogites show growth of amphiboles during exhumation. Within some coesite-bearing eclogites the presence of glaucophane cores to barroisite is noted whereas in most samples porphyroblastic sodic–calcic amphiboles are rimmed by more aluminous calcic amphibole (pargasite, tschermakite, and edenite). Eclogite facies rutile is replaced by ilmenite which itself is commonly surrounded by titanite. In addition, some eclogite bodies show leucocratic segregations containing phengite, quartz, zoisite and/or kyanite. The important implication is that the complex exhumation path shows stages of initial cooling during decompression (formation of glaucophane) followed by reheating: a very similar situation to that reported for the coesite-bearing eclogite series of the Tso Morari massif, India, 450 km to the south-east.     

Mechanical Behaviour of the Interface Between Cemented Tailings Backfill and Retaining Structures Under Shear Loads

Understanding the shear behaviour of the interface between cemented tailings backfill and retaining wall structures (barricades, bulkheads) is important for the optimal design of barricades or bulkheads, and for mine operators to balance strength and safety against cost. However, our understanding of the shear behaviour of the aforementioned interface is limited. This paper is aimed at investigating the interfacial behaviour and properties of cemented tailings backfill-retaining wall structures, including stress–strain behaviour, cohesion, friction angle and shear stiffness through direct shear tests. Two different types of barricade or bulkhead materials (brick and concrete) are used in this study. Interface shear tests are performed at various curing times of the cemented backfill. Valuable results are obtained with regards to the interface shear behaviour of backfill-retaining structures. Based on these results, interfacial properties between cemented tailings backfill and barricades or bulkheads show a significant time-dependent variation.     

Prediction of the Caspian Sea level using ECMWF seasonal forecasts and reanalysis

The hydrological budget of the Caspian Sea (CS) is investigated using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts interim reanalysis (ERAi) and seasonal forecast (FCST) data with the aim of predicting the Caspian Sea Level (CSL) some months ahead. Precipitation and evaporation are used. After precipitation events over the Volga River, the discharge (Volga River discharge (VRD)) follows with delays, which are parameterized. The components of the water budget from ERAi and FCSTs are integrated to obtain time series of the CSL. Observations of the CSL and the VRD are used for comparison and tuning. The quality of ERAi data is sufficiently good to calculate the time variability of the CSL with a satisfactory accuracy. Already the storage of water within the Volga Basin allows forecasts of the CSL a few months ahead, and using the FCSTs of precipitation improves the CSL forecasts. The evaporation in the seasonal forecasts is deficient due to unrealistic sea surface temperatures over the CS. Impacts of different water budget terms on the CSL variability are shown by a variety of validation tools. The importance of precipitation anomalies over the catchment of the Volga River is confirmed, but also impacts from the two southern rivers (Sefidrud and Kura River) and the evaporation over the CS become obvious for some periods. When pushing the FCSTs beyond the limits of the seasonal FCSTs to 1 year, considerable forecast skill can still be found. Validating only FCSTs by the present approach, which show the same trend as one based on a statistical method, significantly enhances the skill scores.     

Gravity anomalies,flexure, and deformation of the converging Indian lithosphere in Nepal and Sikkim–Darjeeling Himalayas

Researchers ubiquitously noted that the common processes of partitioning oblique convergence in response to drag from the trench-hanging plate simultaneously produce radial slips, along-strike translation, and extension parallel to the deformation front. Here, we focus on the area between Nepal and Sikkim–Darjeeling Himalayas, and carry out gravity and finite-element stress modeling of the strike-orthogonal converging Indian lithosphere. We delineate the geometries of different layers and their interfaces through gravity modeling. The optimum model parameters along with rheological parameters of different layers are used for finite-element modeling. Finite-element modeling is done with boundary conditions of keeping the upper surface free and rigidly fixing the section of the northern boundary below the Main Himalayan Thrust. We impart on its frontal section an amount of 6 × 10¹² N/m force, equivalent to resistive force of the Himalayan–Tibet system, and analyze the maximum and minimum compressive stress fields evolved in the lithosphere. We testify our observations with earthquake database and other geophysical and geological studies. We note that an increasing flexing of the Indian lithosphere beyond the Main Boundary Thrust becomes maxima between the Main Central Thrust and South Tibetan Detachment in both the areas; however, more steepening of the Moho boundary is identified in the Sikkim–Darjeeling Himalaya. This abrupt change in lithospheric geometry beneath the Greater Himalaya is likely correlated with the sharp elevation changes in the topography. Although the highest seismicity concentration is dominant in this zone, the Lesser and the Tethys Himalayas in Sikkim–Darjeeling area also record relatively fair seismic activity. More compressive stress field in different layers right within the sharp bending zone supports this observation. We thus propose that the sharp bending zone beneath the Greater Himalaya is suffering maximum deformation, and the deformation is continued in the mantle too. We also identify both right-lateral shear and radial vergence slip, which are presumably associated with the general dynamics and kinematics of the Himalaya.     

Optimization of sample preparation method of total sulphur measurement in mine tailings

A sample preparation method of total sulphur measurement of reactive mine tailings was optimized. The total sulphur was measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and ultrasound technique was used for sample digestion. The optimization process was adopted by a combined approach of experimental design and response surface methodology. The digestion time, temperature and acid-oxidant combination (i.e. effect of H₂O₂ with a fixed amount of acid mixture) were investigated. A two-level and three-factor (2³) full factorial design of experiment was applied to identify the most significant factors, and a central composite design was used to optimize the digestion procedure. KZK-1, a sericite schist, was selected as the certified reference material. The optimum methodology at 95 % confidence level (P < 0.05) was identified to be 10 min of digestion at 77 °C, with a solution of 1 ml HNO₃:1 ml HCl:1.35 ml H₂O₂. This combination resulted in 100 % sulphur recovery. The investigated method was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The optimum digestion level was applied to a reactive mine tailings, which achieved satisfactory results with a percentage relative standard deviation < 3 %.