Microbial responses using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to oil and chemical dispersant in enclosed ecosystems

Microbial responses to the addition of oil with or without a chemical dispersant were examined in mesocosm and microcosm experiments by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of bacterial ribosomal DNA and direct cell counting. When a water-soluble fraction of oil was added to seawater, increases in cell density were observed in the first 24h, followed by a decrease in abundance and a change in bacterial species composition. After addition of an oil-dispersant mixture, increases in cell density and changes in community structure coincided, and the amount of bacteria remained high. These phenomena also occurred in response to addition of only dispersant. Our results suggest that the chemical dispersant may be used as a nutrient source by some bacterial groups and may directly or indirectly prevent the growth of other bacterial groups.     

Biogeochemical impacts due to mesoscale eddy activity in the Sargasso Sea as measured at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS)

A comparison of monthly biogeochemical measurements made from 1993 to 1995, combined with hydrography and satellite altimetry, was used to assess the impacts of nine eddy events on primary productivity and particle flux in the Sargasso Sea. Measurements of primary production, thorium-234 flux, nitrate+nitrite, and photosynthetic pigments made at the US JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site were used. During the 3 years of this study, four out of six high thorium-234 flux events occurred during the passage of an eddy. Primary production nearly as high as the spring bloom maximum was observed in two mode-water eddies (May 1993 and July 1995). The 1994 spring bloom at BATS was suppressed by the passage of an anticyclone. Distinct phytoplankton community shifts were observed in mode-water eddies, which had an increased percentage of diatoms and dinoflagellates, and in cyclones, which had an increased percentage of Synechococcus. These variations in species composition within mode-water eddies and cyclones may be associated with the ages of the sampled eddies, and/or differences in physical, chemical, and biological factors in these two distinct eddy types. In general, eddies that were 1–2 months old elicited a large biological response; eddies that were 3 months old may show a biological response and were accompanied by high thorium flux; eddies that were 4 months old or older did not show a biological response or high thorium flux. A conceptual model depicting temporal changes during eddy upwelling, maturation, and decay can explain the observations in all seven upwelling eddies present in the time-series investigated herein.     

Influences of the snow cover on landslide displacement in winter period: a case study in a heavy snowfall area of Japan

The displacement of a relatively small reactivated landslide in a snowy area in Japan was monitored over a long period. The displacement rate of the landslide, which was approximately of 20 mm d^?1 before the formation of snow cover, decelerated drastically during the continuous snow cover period every winter period. Possible causes included reduction in the amount of water that reached the ground surface (MR: meltwater and/or rainwater) and increase in snow load. Given that the actual displacement of the landslide was far below the predicted value based on the relationship between landslide displacement and MR immediately before the continuous snow cover period, the deceleration of landslide displacement was more likely attributable to the increase in snow load than to the reduction in MR. An investigation of the link between snow load and landslide displacement showed a negative logarithmic relationship. A dynamic analysis based on the limit equilibrium method showed that snow load increases the effective normal stress and the stability of a landslide in which the mean inclination angle of the slip surface is smaller than the internal friction angle. The stability of the actual slope was also analyzed by conducting soil tests on samples collected at the site and using the resultant parameters. The analysis also showed that the increase in snow load increases the safety factor and reduces the landslide displacement. The displacement of a relatively small landslide that has a shallow slip surface was found to be greatly influenced by snow cover.     

Evolution processes of Ordovician–Devonian arc system in the South‐Kitakami Massif and its relevance to the Ordovician ophiolite pulse

The South Kitakami Massif is one of the oldest geological domains in Japan having Silurian strata with acidic pyroclastic rocks and Ordovician–Silurian granodiorite–tonalite basement, suggesting that it was matured enough to develop acidic volcanisms in the Silurian period. On the northern and western margin of the South Kitakami Massif, an Ordovician arc ophiolite (Hayachine–Miyamori Ophiolite) and high‐pressure and low‐temperature metamorphic rocks (Motai metamorphic rocks) exhumed sometime in the Ordovician–Devonian periods are distributed. Chronological, geological, and petrochemical studies on the Hayachine–Miyamori Ophiolite, Motai metamorphic rocks, and other early Paleozoic geological units of the South Kitakami Massif are reviewed for reconstruction of the South Kitakami arc system during Ordovician to Devonian times with supplementary new data. The reconstruction suggests a change in the convergence polarity from eastward‐ to westward‐dipping subduction sometime before the Late Devonian period. The Hayachine–Miyamori Ophiolite was developed above the eastward‐dipping subduction through three distinctive stages. Two separate stages of overriding plate extension inducing decompressional melting with minor involvement of slab‐derived fluid occurred before and after a stage of melting under strong influence of slab‐derived fluids. The first overriding plate extension took place in the back‐arc side forming a back‐arc basin. The second one took place immediately before the ophiolite exhumation and near the fore‐arc region. We postulate that the second decompressional melting was triggered by slab breakoff, which was preceded by slab rollback inducing trench‐parallel wedge mantle flow and non‐steady fluid and heat transport leaving exceptionally hydrous residual mantle. The formation history of the Hayachine–Miyamori Ophiolite implies that weaker plate coupling may provide preferential conditions for exhumation of very hydrous mantle. Very hydrous peridotites involved in arc magmatism have not yet been discovered except for in the Cambrian–Ordovician periods, suggesting its implications for global geodynamics, such as the thermal state and water circulation in the mantle.     

Tumbi Landslide, Papua New Guinea: rainfall induced?

On 24 January 2012, a fatal landslide with an estimated volume of 3 Mm³ hit villagers and infrastructure in the Tagali Valley, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Although a moderate event by PNG standards, the associated human casualties and infrastructure destruction give a human as well as a scientific need to review the potential causes for the event. PNG experiences numerous landslides annually, most of which are trigged either by rainfall events or seismic activity. Here, we review the short-term rainfall patterns leading up to the slope failure at Tumbi Quarry and compare the rainfall accumulations obtained over durations of 30, 60 and 90 days prior to the landslide, with comparable rainfall accumulations obtained for other failures observed in PNG over a 12-year period. Additionally, a review of long-term rainfall over a period of 6 months prior to the failure is completed as well as an assessment of seismic activity. Based on our analysis, we believe a seismic trigger to be very unlikely, while the increase in rainfall in the 2 weeks prior to the failure in conjunction with a high-intensity rainfall event at the end of October 2011 could have had a greater influence in enhancing rather than restraining slope failure. This, in addition to natural denudational processes, geological structure and the anthropogenic activity in the vicinity of the landslide, could all have served to affect slope stability.     

Multispectral thermal infrared mapping of the 1 October 1988 Kupaianaha flow field,Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

Multispectral thermal infrared radiance measurements of the Kupaianaha flow field were acquired with the NASA airborne Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) on the morning of 1 October 1988. The TIMS data were used to map both the temperature and emissivity of the surface of the flow field. The temperature map depicted the underground storage and transport of lava. The presence of molten lava in a tube or tumulus resulted in surface temperatures that were at least 10° C above ambient. The temperature map also clearly defined the boundaries of hydrothermal plumes which resulted from the entry of lava into the ocean. The emissivity map revealed the boundaries between individual flow units within the Kupaianaha field. In general, the emissivity of the flows varied systematically with age but the relationship between age and emissivity was not unique. Distinct spectral anomalies, indicative of silica-rich surface materials, were mapped near fumaroles and ocean entry sites. This apparent enrichment in silica may have resulted from an acid-induced leaching of cations from the surfaces of glassy flows. Such incipient alteration may have been the cause for virtually all of the emissivity variations observed on the flow field, the spectral anomalies representing areas where the acid attack was most intense.     

一种移动式海洋地震仪的硬件电路研究

针对移动式海洋地震仪对控制系统电路设计的可靠性和低功耗的需求,提出了一种基于Cor-tex-M4内核芯片的硬件电路设计方案.首先选用超低功耗的STM32L4芯片作为微控制单元,在保证高运行能力的同时降低自身功耗;其次针对MCU(Microprogrammed Control Unit)、传感器等超低功耗模块提出针对性的...     

Organic facies and geochemical aspects in Neogene neritic sediments of the Takafu syncline area of central Japan: Paleoenvironmental and sedimentological reconstructions

Abstract Organic petrological observations of kerogen macerals and organic geochemical analyses of carbon isotopes of kerogen macerals and biomarkers were conducted on Neogene neritic sediments of the Takafu syncline area of central Japan. The Senmi, Sakainomiya and Lower Shigarami Formations in that area were deposited at the neritic provinces on the southern edge of the paleo‐Japan Sea during the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Sedimentary organic matter in these formations was almost terrigenous in origin. Changes in kerogen maceral compositions reflect sedimentological and tectonic histories evaluated in previous studies from sedimentary facies and paleontology. It was found that carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) of kerogen macerals increased from ?28‰ to ?25‰ from the Sakainomiya to the lower part of the Lower Shigarami Formations. The cause of that increase was presumably the expansion of C₄ plants into southwest Japan. The timing was concordant with that of the expansion of C₄ plant grasslands in East Asia. The oxicity (oxic to anoxic) conditions of sea bottoms evaluated from pristane/phytane ratios varied. Particularly, in the lower part of the Senmi Formation, layers in which no steroid biomarkers could be detected were found, and had presumably formed under oxic conditions when strong biodegradation had occurred. Concentrations of regular (C₂₇–C₂₉) steranes and dinosteranes were higher in the Sakainomiya and Lower Shigarami Formations. This indicates that dinoflagellates‐dominant primary productions were higher at those stages. In addition, concentrations of diatomaceous biomarkers such as C₂₆ norsterane increased from the Lower Shigarami Formation, thus adding diatoms to the major producers. Furthermore, similar associations between the increases of δ¹³C values of kerogen macerals and concentrations of diatomaceous biomarkers were observed in the Takafu syncline area. Thus, the expansion of C₄ plants was possibly associated with the high production of diatom in the shallow‐marine areas of the paleo‐Japan Sea during the Neogene Period.     

Magnitude of σ1, σ2, and σ3 at mid-crustal levels in an orogenic belt: Microboudin method applied to an impure metachert from Turkey

We revised an equation for estimating palaeostress magnitude using the microboudin technique by incorporating the influence of time on the fracture strength of minerals. The equation was used to estimate triaxial palaeostresses from a rare sample of metachert from Turkey that contains microboudinaged, columnar tourmaline grains in a wide range of orientations within the foliation plane. The estimated principal palaeostresses are σ₁ = 605 MPa, σ₂ = 598 MPa, and σ₃ = 597 MPa. As the microboudinage is considered to have occurred immediately before the rock encountered the brittle-plastic transition during exhumation, these stress values correspond to conditions at approximately 18 km depth and 300 °C within a Cretaceous orogenic belt.     

Sediment organic matter source estimation and ecological classification in the semi-enclosed Batan Bay Estuary,Philippines

The large organic matter flow in tropical coastal areas is recognized as an important process in the global carbon(C)cycle.However,the nature of organic matter flow in semi-enclosed tropical estuaries remains unclear due to the various environmental processes(tidal change,river flow,waves from the sea,and internal circulation)and organic matter sources therein.Thus,sediment organic matter(SOM)sources,and their distribution pattern,are key to understanding ecosystem material flow.Our research in the Batan Bay Estuary,Philippines,a semi-enclosed estuary under large mangrove deforestation,was conducted to determine ecosystem properties through analysis of C and nitrogen stable isotope ratios and environmental factors.First,we determined that mangrove litter,microphytobenthos,and phytoplankton are the main SOM sources in the Batan Bay Estuary.Second,the estuary was classified into three ecological zones(the Bay zone,Back-barrier zone,and River zone).In addition,we estimated SOM source ratios using the Stable Isotope Analysis in R package and determined different organic matter sources in different zone.The high ratios of mangrove litter as SOM indicate that a large amount of terrestrial plant organic matter remains despite the heavy mangrove deforestation that has occurred since the 1980s,and that the Back-barrier zone consists of a different type of ecosystem that promotes accumulation of C from mangrove litter and microphytobenthos.