Thermal springs,fumaroles and gas vents of continental Yemen: Their relation with active tectonics,regional hydrology and the country’s geothermal potential

Most thermal springs of continental Yemen (about 65 emergences at 48 sampling sites) and a couple of fumaroles and boiling water pools have been sampled and analyzed for chemical and isotopic composition in the liquid phase and the associated free-gas phase. Whatever the emergence, all the water discharges have an isotopic signature of meteoric origin. Springs seeping out from high altitudes in the central volcanic plateau show a prevalent Na–HCO₃-composition, clearly affected by an anomalous flux of deep CO₂ deriving from active hydrothermal systems located in the Jurassic Amran Group limestone sequence and/or the Cretaceous Tawilah Group, likely underlying the 2000–3000 m thick volcanic suite. At lower elevations, CO₂ also affects the composition of some springs emerging at the borders of the central volcanic plateau.     

Atom‐probe analyses of nanodiamonds from Allende

Atom‐probe tomography (APT) is currently the only analytical technique that, due to its spatial resolution and detection efficiency, has the potential to measure the carbon isotope ratios of individual nanodiamonds. We describe three different sample preparation protocols that we developed for the APT analysis of meteoritic nanodiamonds at sub‐nm resolution and present carbon isotope peak ratios of meteoritic and synthetic nanodiamonds. The results demonstrate an instrumental bias associated with APT that needs to be quantified and corrected to obtain accurate isotope ratios. After this correction is applied, this technique should allow determination of the distribution of ¹²C/¹³C ratios in individual diamond grains, solving the decades‐old question of the origin of meteoritic nanodiamonds: what fraction, if any, formed in the solar system and in presolar environments? Furthermore, APT could help us identify the stellar sources of any presolar nanodiamonds that are detected.     

Real-time radar detection of iceberg shadows

The Hough transform is used to estimate the radial direction of shadows cast by icebergs in surface-based marine radar returns using a Warp systolic computer. Automatically locating these shadows leads directly to automatically locating the icebergs casting the shadows. This is useful for the unattended navigation of a vessel through sea ice, as well as for improving the accuracy of a classified sea-ice image. The results reported show that the Hough transform can successfully estimate the radial directions of the shadows cast by the icebergs, and that the implementation on the Warp computer is commensurate with a real-time requirement for shadow detection     

Phototrophic bacteria dominate consortia,potentially to remove CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and H<Subscript>2</Subscript>S from biogas under microaerophilic conditions

The use of microbial consortia to remove contaminants in industrial systems and in natural environments could be an alternative to the use of unique strains of microorganisms, since microbial consortia have greater robustness to environmental fluctuations. However, it is necessary to evaluate the relationship between the genetic structure and functionality of the consortia. In this work, the functional and structural stability over time of two bacterial consortia (C5 and C6) with the potential to remove CO₂ and H₂S from biogas was evaluated. Both consortia decreased the dissolved CO₂ by over 30% at the end of the incubation period, but C5 presented shorter removal kinetics (3.9 days) than C6 (6.4 days). Additionally, a chemical oxidation of H₂S could have occurred in the microcosms. Moreover, both consortia presented a stable genetic structure, measured by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles of the 16S rRNA gene, characterized by high homogeneity and prevalence of the genus Rhodopseudomonas throughout the incubation period, and an increasing abundance of Xanthobacter during the exponential phase of the growth curve in C5, which would account for the functionality of the consortia.     

Biogeochemical processes involving dissolved CO2 and CH4 at Albano, Averno, and Monticchio meromictic volcanic lakes (Central–Southern Italy)

This paper focuses on the chemical and isotopic features of dissolved gases (CH₄ and CO₂) from four meromictic lakes hosted in volcanic systems of Central–Southern Italy: Lake Albano (Alban Hills), Lake Averno (Phlegrean Fields), and Monticchio Grande and Piccolo lakes (Mt. Vulture). Deep waters in these lakes are characterized by the presence of a significant reservoir of extra-atmospheric dissolved gases mainly consisting of CH₄ and CO₂. The δ¹³C-CH₄ and δD-CH₄ values of dissolved gas samples from the maximum depths of the investigated lakes (from ?66.8 to ?55.6?‰ V-PDB and from ?279 to ?195?‰ V-SMOW, respectively) suggest that CH₄ is mainly produced by microbial activity. The δ¹³C-CO₂ values of Lake Grande, Lake Piccolo, and Lake Albano (ranging from ?5.8 to ?0.4?‰ V-PDB) indicate a significant CO₂ contribution from sublacustrine vents originating from (1) mantle degassing and (2) thermometamorphic reactions involving limestone, i.e., the same CO₂ source feeding the regional thermal and cold CO₂-rich fluid emissions. In contrast, the relatively low δ¹³C-CO₂ values (from ?13.4 to ?8.2?‰ V-PDB) of Lake Averno indicate a prevalent organic CO₂. Chemical and isotopic compositions of dissolved CO₂ and CH₄ at different depths are mainly depending on (1) CO₂ inputs from external sources (hydrothermal and/or anthropogenic); (2) CO₂–CH₄ isotopic exchange; and (3) methanogenic and methanotrophic activity. In the epilimnion, vertical water mixing, free oxygen availability, and photosynthesis cause the dramatic decrease of both CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations. In the hypolimnion, where the δ¹³C-CO₂ values progressively increase with depth and the δ¹³C-CH₄ values show an opposite trend, biogenic CO₂ production from CH₄ using different electron donor species, such as sulfate, tend to counteract the methanogenesis process whose efficiency achieves its climax at the water–bottom sediment interface. Theoretical values, calculated on the basis of δ¹³C-CO₂ values, and measured δ¹³C_TDIC values are not consistent, indicating that CO₂ and the main carbon-bearing ion species (HCO₃ ^?) are not in isotopic equilibrium, likely due to the fast kinetics of biochemical processes involving both CO₂ and CH₄. This study demonstrates that the vertical patterns of the CO₂/CH₄ ratio and of δ¹³C-CO₂ and δ¹³C-CH₄ are to be regarded as promising tools to detect perturbations, related to different causes, such as changes in the CO₂ input from sublacustrine springs, that may affect aerobic and anaerobic layers of meromictic volcanic lakes.     

Elastic properties of six silicate garnet end members from accurate ab initio simulations

The elastic properties of six silicate garnet end members, among the most important rock-forming minerals, are investigated here for the first time via accurate ab initio theoretical simulations. The Crystal program is used, which works within periodic boundary conditions and allows for all-electron basis sets to be adopted. From the computed elastic tensor, Christoffel’s equation is solved along a set of crystallographic directions in order to fully characterize the seismic wave velocity anisotropy in such materials. Polycrystalline isotropic aggregate elastic properties are derived from the computed single-crystal data via the Voigt-Reuss-Hill averaging procedure. Transferability of the elastic properties from end members to their solid solutions with different chemical compositions is also addressed.     

Pilocarpus microphyllus seedling growth threatened by climate change: an ecophysiological approach

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The climate change endangers many species of the Amazon Forest. An example, in the endangered medicinal species Pilocarpus microphyllus (popularly known as...     

Electron transport and precipitation at Mercury during the MESSENGER flybys: Implications for electron-stimulated desorption

To examine electron transport, energization, and precipitation in Mercury's magnetosphere, a hybrid simulation study has been carried out that follows electron trajectories within the global magnetospheric electric and magnetic field configuration of Mercury. We report analysis for two solar-wind parameter conditions corresponding to the first two MESSENGER Mercury flybys on January 14, 2008, and October 6, 2008, which occurred for similar solar wind speed and density but contrasting interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) directions. During the first flyby the IMF had a northward component, while during the second flyby the IMF was southward. Electron trajectories are traced in the fields of global hybrid simulations for the two flybys. Some solar wind electrons follow complex trajectories at or near where dayside reconnection occurs and enter the magnetosphere at these locations. The entry locations depend on the IMF orientation (north or south). As the electrons move through the entry regions they can be energized as they execute non-adiabatic (demagnetized) motion. Some electrons become magnetically trapped and drift around the planet with energies on the order of 1–10 keV. The highest energy of electrons anywhere in the magnetosphere is about 25 keV, consistent with the absence of high-energy (>35 keV) electrons observed during either MESSENGER flyby. Once within the magnetosphere, a fraction of the electrons precipitates at the planetary surface with fluxes on the order of 10⁹ cm⁻² s⁻¹ and with energies of hundreds of eV. This finding has important implications for the viability of electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) as a mechanism for contributing to the formation of the exosphere and heavy ion cloud around Mercury. From laboratory estimates of ESD ion yields, a calculated ion production rate due to ESD at Mercury is found to be on par with ion sputtering yields.     

Anomalous birefringence in andradite–grossular solid solutions: a quantum-mechanical approach

The static linear optical properties (refractive indices, birefringence and axial angle) of andradite–grossular (Ca₃Fe₂Si₃O₁₂–Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂) solid solutions have been computed at the ab initio quantum-mechanical level through the Coupled Perturbed Kohn–Sham scheme, using an all-electron Gaussian-type basis set. Geometry relaxation after substitution of 1–8 Al for Fe atoms in the primitive cell of andradite yields 23 non-equivalent configurations ranging from cubic to triclinic symmetry. Refractive indices vary quite regularly between the andradite (1.860) and grossular (1.671) end-members; the birefringence δ and the axial angle 2V at intermediate compositions can be as large as 0.02° and 89°, respectively. Comparison with experiments suffers from inhomogeneities and impurities of natural samples; however, semi-quantitative agreement is observed.     

Architecture of the deep critical zone in the Río Icacos watershed (Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory,Puerto Rico) inferred from drilling and ground penetrating radar (GPR)

In the critical zone, surficial bedrock interactions result in the formation of a mantle of chemically‐ and physically‐altered material defined here as regolith. In the watershed of the Río Icacos, an upland river draining the Luquillo Mountains in tropical Puerto Rico, we explored the influence of lithology (quartz diorite versus hornfels‐facies volcaniclastic rock) on weathering. Regolith profiles were studied by drilling boreholes and imaging the subsurface using ground penetrating radar (GPR). Overall, the regolith structure is not laterally continuous but rather is punctuated by zones of deep fractures that host in situ weathering, corestones, and colluvial material. GPR images of these vertical zones show reflectors at 15–20 m depth. Thus, the architecture of the critical zone in the upper Luquillo Mountains is highly dependent on lithology and its influence on fracture development. At the highest elevations where hornfels overlies quartz diorite, positive feedbacks occur when the water table drops so that oxidative weathering of biotite in the more felsic rock creates microfractures and allows deeper infiltration of meteoric waters. Such exposure results in some of the fastest weathering rocks in the world and may contribute to formation of the knickpoint in the Río Icacos watershed. This work represents the first study combining GPR and drilling to look at the structure of the deep critical zone and demonstrates: (1) the importance of combining direct methods (such as drilling) with indirect methods (such as GPR) to understand the architecture of the critical zone in tropical systems; (2) the interplay of the surficial stress regime, lithology and climate in dictating the architecture of weathering. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.