Sex expression and growth rates in natural populations of the desert soil crustal mossSyntrichia caninervis

The low elevation Mojave Desert cryptobiotic crust is dominated by the mossSyntrichia caninervis. In 16 populations of this moss, stem height and population were significantly associated with sex expression, with longer stems expressing sex more frequently and producing more perichaetia. The above-ground age of stems ranged up to 10 years, with a mean growth rate across populations of 0.36 mm year⁻¹. The overall stem sex ratio, as a proportion of the total number of stems, was 0.30♀: 0♂: 0.70 non-expressing. The probability of expressing sex in a given season was 0.09. The absence of sexual reproduction (no sporophytes) and likely absence of the male sex from the area indicate that the non-expressing plants are female individuals. The slow growth rates, low rates of sex expression, absence of male plants, and absence of sexual reproduction in this crustal species may help explain why re-establishment of mosses on desert soils can take decades.     

Resource-based development in the Russian Far East: Problems and prospects

The paper examines the prospects for resource-based development in the Russian Far East. It adopts a critical perspective on the potential for resource-based development by examining problems with Far East resource industries, specifically by looking at the experience of the other resource economies more generally. In particular, it highlights the new geo-economic context for resource development in the Far East of Russia as the world economy approaches the much touted, and now questioned, ‘Pacific Century’.     

A diagnostic model using ashfall data to determine eruption characteristic and atmospheric conditions during a major volcanic event

A model is developed for estimating location of a volcano relative to sample points in an associated ashfall, cloud height during eruption, and mean wind velocity during ash deposition. The ash deposit must cover a large area and have an elongate axis. The model appears to be applicable both to recent and to unobserved ashfalls in the past, provided adequate and representative ash samples are available. The opportunity to test the diagnostic model on volcanic ashfalls is limited by sparsity of the necessary input data. From more than 20 ashfalls described in the literature, the 1947 Hekla (Iceland) eruption is the only one which includes suitable particle size analyses taken from samples related to a well-defined axis. The application of the model to the Hekla ashfall is discussed.     

Vital and mortal staining of algae in the presence of chlorine-produced oxidants

Evans blue and neutral red were tested as mortal and vital stains respectively for eight estuarine algal species which had been exposed to chlorine-produced oxidants in a continuous-flow system. The effect of CPO on staining with Evans blue was negligible. High concentrations of CPO affected staining with neutral red in several instances; this is probably due to CPO-induced mortality of test organisms during the exposure or staining period. Neutral red leached fromSkeletonema costatum andOlisthodiscus luteus before the end of the staining period. Staining ofDunaliella tertiolecta with neutral red proceeded more slowly. Evens blue, which was incorporated quickly and remained in the cells, is recommended for live-dead determinations for all species examined exceptNitzschia closterium, for which neutral red should be used. Neither stain was effective onMychonastes ruminatus (Simpson and Van Valkenburg 1978).     

Moon—An albite depleted giant Skaergaard?

The chemical composition of 2188 terrestrial igneous rocks ranging from ultrabasic to granitic composition was analyzed statistically using the method of factor analysis (principal components). The resultant first and second factors were: $$\begin{gathered} {\text{ }}F_1 = 0.933{\text{ Na}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O + 0}}{\text{.143 SiO}}_{\text{2}} + 0.206{\text{ K}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}} - 0.346{\text{ CaO}} - 0.263{\text{ MgO}} - \hfill \\ .203{\text{ FeO}} \pm \cdot \cdot \cdot \hfill \\ {\text{ }}F_2 = 0.979{\text{ Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}} - 0.269{\text{ MgO}} - 0.151{\text{ SiO}}_{\text{2}} - 0.112{\text{ FeO}} \pm \cdot \cdot \cdot \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where oxides are in weight percent. A plot of the first factor against the second results in a useful igneous variation diagram. When the compositions of the 2188 terrestrial rocks and 604 lunar rocks are plotted on this diagram, the two groups of rocks are clearly separated within an albite-anorthite-forsterite-fayalite-quartz polygon. None of the terrestrial differentiation trends are significant for lunar rocks. The major difference in the chemistry of lunar and terrestrial rocks lies in the former being albite poor. Removal of most of the albite from the compositions of terrestrial layered intrusives such as the Skaergaard results in an excellent match between the compositions of the two groups of rocks. Albite subtracted compositions of Skaergaard rocks in particular cover the entire range of chemical variation in the lunar rocks. The statistical results prompt us to speculate further on the similarity of the moon and Skaergaard. We note that the average composition of the moon (Wanke et al., 1974) is similar to the albite subtracted composition of the Skaergaard magma. The lunar crust and a significant part of the lunar interior may match the albite subtracted and somewhat Mg enriched Skaergaard magma.     

First cosmogenic 10Be age constraint on the timing of Younger Dryas glaciation and ice cap thickness,western Scottish Highlands

We use cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure age techniques at a locality close to Rannoch Moor, western Scottish Highlands, in order to establish the age and chronology of its most recent glaciation. Glacial erratics and an in situ bedrock quartz vein sampled from this site—the summit of Beinn Inverveigh—have yielded zero‐erosion exposure ages of 12.9 ± 1.5 ka to 11.6 ± 1.0 ka, implying complete ice cover of the mountain during the Younger Dryas, or Loch Lomond Stadial. These results fit closely with published ¹⁴C dates that bracket the maximum (lateral) extent of ice cap outlet glaciers, and are the first internally consistent ages to specifically address this period of glaciation in Scotland. Furthermore, the dates imply that previous palaeoglaciological reconstructions for this area may have underestimated both the thickness of the former ice cap and, by implication, its volume. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2007. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Statistical biases and errors inherent in photoclinometric surface slope estimation with natural light

Photoclinometry is the most common method used to obtain high-resolution topographic maps of planetary terrain. We derive the likelihood function of photoclinometric surface slope from (1) the probability distribution of the measured photon count of natural sunlight through a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) including uncertainty due to camera shot noise, camera read noise, small-scale albedo fluctuation and atmospheric haze, and (2) a photometric model relating photocount to surface orientation. We then use classical estimation theory to determine the theoretically exact biases and errors inherent in photoclinometric surface slope and show when they may be approximated by asymptotic expressions for sufficiently high sample size. We show how small-scale albedo variability often dominates biases and errors, which may become an order of magnitude larger than surface slopes when surface reflectance has a weak dependence on surface tilt. We provide bounds on the minimum possible error of any unbiased photoclinometric surface slope estimate, and compute the sample sizes necessary to constrain errors within desired design thresholds.     

Garnet polycrystals and the significance of clustered crystallization

Polycrystalline garnets are common in metamorphic rocks and may form as a result of close spacing of nuclei (if clustering is early) or impingement of larger grains (if clustering occurs later in the growth history). The timing of clustering relative to garnet growth is relevant to understanding the formation and evolution of porphyroblasts and evaluating the significance (if any) of clustering. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis of garnet-bearing metamorphic rocks reveals the presence of polycrystalline garnet in nine localities examined in this study: the northern Appalachians (Vermont, Maine, New York, USA); North American Cordillera (North Cascades Range, Washington; Snake Range, Nevada, USA); western Rocky Mountains (British Columbia, Canada); southern Menderes Massif (Turkey); Santander Massif (Colombia); and the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone (Hamadan, Iran). In some samples, polycrystals comprise ~20–30% of garnets analyzed, and chemical and textural evidence suggests that early coalescence of garnet polycrystals is common. Some early-coalescing polycrystals exhibit growth zoning that is concentric about the geometric center of the polycrystal. In thin section, these garnets may be undetectable as polycrystals based on morphology or zoning. In some polycrystals, zoning is unrelated to the location of internal grain boundaries; in others, Fe–Mn–Mg zoning has a different pattern than that of Ca; zoning patterns may vary on the scale of a single thin section. In addition, some polycrystals are characterized by high-angle misorientation boundaries that may be in special (non-random) orientations, an observation that indicates that these polycrystals are not random clusters of grains. The presence of internal grain boundaries may affect diffusion pathways and length scales, and may facilitate communication of porphyroblast interiors with matrix phases, thereby influencing reaction history of the rock and the composition/zoning of garnet.