Distribution and vertical dynamics of planktonic communities at Sofala Bank, Mozambique

Coastal ecosystem processes are largely influenced by the interaction of different factors operating at various temporal and spatial scales, specifically those responsible for primary production patterns that modulate zooplankton and subsequent trophic levels. Hydrological processes, such as tidal cycles and coastal currents, nutrients availability, phytoplankton groups (studied through algal pigment signatures analysed by HPLC), and zooplankton abundance and distribution were investigated at the Sofala Bank (Mozambique), with special emphasis on their horizontal distribution and vertical dynamics (48 h). Horizontal distribution has shown inshore–offshore gradients in all analysed parameters, as well as inshore waters intrusion probably related to Zambezi River delta runoff. Tidal currents were responsible for major hydrological vertical variations and for horizontal and vertical advection of phytoplankton biomass in the surface and deepest layers, respectively. Nutrient concentrations were typical from oligotrophic regions, and nutrient ratios were strongly influenced by depleted nitrate + nitrite concentrations, indicating low estuarine discharges typical from the dry season. The very low N:P ratio obtained suggests strong nitrogen limitation to phytoplankton communities, supporting the low phytoplankton abundance observed. Both phytoplankton pigments and zooplankton were found mainly near the bottom (40 m depth), despite the latter displayed vertical migrations triggered by light variations. Phytoplankton community was dominated by microflagellates, specifically prymnesiophyceans, and behaved as a whole, except Cyanobacteria that displayed vertical distribution movements different from other phytoplankton groups, being mainly concentrated at mid-water column depths (10–20 m). This investigation enhances physico-chemical phenomena and their importance determining the planktonic communities vertical dynamics at Sofala Bank, a tropical coastal ecosystem of the Western Indian Ocean where planktonic dynamics are still poorly described and understood.     

Effects of naphthalene and phenanthrene on visual and prey capture endpoints during early stages of the dourado Salminus brasiliensis

Naphthalene (NAP) and phenanthrene (PHE) effects on Salminus brasiliensis, a carnivorous freshwater fish, were investigated using behavioral tests. Larval stages of S. brasiliensis were exposed to water concentrations of 0, 0.04 mg/l, 0.20mg/l and 0.50mg/l for naphthalene and 0, 0.01 mg/l, 0.05 mg/l and 0.1mg/l for phenanthrene during two developmental phases. The prey fish Prochilodus lineatus were not exposed. Visual acuity was measured at the end of phase 2 in individual S. brasiliensis, which were also tested at the end of each phase for number of attacks on prey, number of prey captured, prey capture efficiency, and distance swam. Vision was impaired by PHE exposure, as acuity angles increased in exposed fish. At Stage I 2.3+/-1.2 prey were captured with 46% efficiency in controls compared to 0.4+/-0.3 prey captured with 13.4% efficiency in fish exposed to 0.05 mg PHEl(-1), the LOEL for both endpoints. At Stage II 4.0+/-1.1 preys were captured in controls compared to 2.5+/-0.9 preys captured in fish exposed to 0.01 mg PHEl(-1), the LOEL. Stage II control fish captured prey with 70% efficiency compared to 30% efficiency at Stage II fish exposed to 0.05 mg PHEl(-1), the LOEL. Distance swam was not affected by either NAP or PHE exposure. The exposure of larval stages of S. brasiliensis to realistic water concentrations of PHE impairs foraging skills and could affect recruitment of the species.     

Freshwater export from the Labrador Current to the North Atlantic Current at the Tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

Historical hydrographic data, spanning the period 1896–2006, are used to examine the annual mean and seasonal variations in the distribution of freshwater along and across the shelf/slope boundary along the Labrador and Newfoundland Shelves and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Particular attention is paid to the export of freshwater along the eastern Grand Banks, between Flemish Cap and the Tail of the Grand Banks, as this has long been identified as a preferential region for the loss of mass and freshwater from the boundary. The data are combined into isopycnally averaged long-term annual and monthly mean gridded property fields and the evolving distribution of fresh arctic-origin water is analyzed in fields of salinity anomaly, expressed as departures from the “central water” temperature–salinity relation of the Gulf Stream. The climatology confirms that cold/fresh northern-source waters are advected offshore within the retroflecting Labrador Current along the full length of the boundary between Flemish Cap and the Tail of the Grand Banks. In fact, it is estimated that most of the equatorward baroclinic transport at the boundary must retroflect back toward the north in order to explain the annual mean distribution of salinity in the climatology. While the retroflection of the Labrador Current appears seasonally robust, the freshwater distribution within the retroflection region varies in response to (1) the freshness of the water available for export which is set by the arrival and rapid flushing of the seasonal freshwater pulse at the boundary, (2) seasonal buoyancy forcing at the surface which alters the vertical stratification across the retroflection region, restricting certain isopycnal export pathways, and (3) the density structure along the eastern Grand Banks, which defines the progressive retroflection of the Labrador Current.     

(Ca,Mg)2Si2O6 clinopyroxenes: A solution model based on nonconvergent site-disorder

Experiments at high pressure and temperature indicate that excess Ca may be dissolved in diopside. If the (Ca, Mg)₂Si₂O₆ clinopyroxene solution extends to more Ca-rich compositions than CaMgSi₂O₆, macroscopic regular solution models cannot strictly be applied to this system. A nonconvergent site-disorder model, such as that proposed by Thompson (1969, 1970), may be more appropriate. We have modified Thompson's model to include asymmetric excess parameters and have used a linear least-squares technique to fit the available experimental data for Ca-Mg orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene equilibria and Fe-free pigeonite stability to this model. The model expressions for equilibrium conditions \(\mu _{{\text{Mg}}_{\text{2}} {\text{Si}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{6}} }^{{\text{opx}}} = \mu _{{\text{Mg}}_{\text{2}} {\text{Si}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{6}} }^{{\text{cpx}}} \) (reaction A) and \(\mu _{{\text{Ca}}_{\text{2}} {\text{Si}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{6}} }^{{\text{opx}}} = \mu _{{\text{Ca}}_{\text{2}} {\text{Si}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{6}} }^{{\text{cpx}}} \) (reaction B) are given by: 1 $$\begin{gathered} \Delta \mu _{\text{A}}^{\text{O}} = {\text{RT 1n}}\left[ {\frac{{(X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{opx}}} )^2 }}{{X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M1}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} }}} \right] - \frac{1}{2}\{ W_{21} [2(X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^3 - (X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} ] \hfill \\ {\text{ + 2W}}_{{\text{22}}} [X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^2 - (X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^3 + \Delta {\text{G}}_{\text{*}}^{\text{0}} (X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )\} \hfill \\ {\text{ + W}}^{{\text{opx}}} (X_{{\text{Wo}}}^{{\text{opx}}} )^2 \hfill \\ \Delta \mu _{\text{B}}^{\text{O}} = {\text{RT 1n}}\left[ {\frac{{(X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{opx}}} )^2 }}{{X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} }}} \right] - \frac{1}{2}\{ 2W_{21} [2(X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^2 - (X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^3 ] \hfill \\ {\text{ + W}}_{{\text{22}}} [2(X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^3 - (X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )^2 + \Delta {\text{G}}_{\text{*}}^{\text{0}} (X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M1}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} )\} \hfill \\ {\text{ + W}}^{{\text{opx}}} (X_{{\text{En}}}^{{\text{opx}}} )^2 \hfill \\ \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where 1 $$\begin{gathered} \Delta \mu _{\text{A}}^{\text{O}} = 2.953 + 0.0602{\text{P}} - 0.00179{\text{T}} \hfill \\ \Delta \mu _{\text{B}}^{\text{O}} = 24.64 + 0.958{\text{P}} - (0.0286){\text{T}} \hfill \\ {\text{W}}_{{\text{21}}} = 47.12 + 0.273{\text{P}} \hfill \\ {\text{W}}_{{\text{22}}} = 66.11 + ( - 0.249){\text{P}} \hfill \\ {\text{W}}^{{\text{opx}}} = 40 \hfill \\ \Delta {\text{G}}_*^0 = 155{\text{ (all values are in kJ/gfw)}}{\text{.}} \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ . Site occupancies in clinopyroxene were determined from the internal equilibrium condition 1 $$\begin{gathered} \Delta G_{\text{E}}^{\text{O}} = - {\text{RT 1n}}\left[ {\frac{{X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M2}}} }}{{X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} \cdot X_{{\text{Mg}}}^{{\text{M1}}} }}} \right] + \tfrac{1}{2}[(2{\text{W}}_{{\text{21}}} - {\text{W}}_{{\text{22}}} )(2{\text{X}}_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} - 1) \hfill \\ {\text{ + }}\Delta G_*^0 (X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} - X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M2}}} ) + \tfrac{3}{2}(2{\text{W}}_{{\text{21}}} - {\text{W}}_{{\text{22}}} ) \hfill \\ {\text{ (1}} - 2X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} )(X_{{\text{Ca}}}^{{\text{M1}}} + \tfrac{1}{2})] \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where δG _E ⁰ =153+0.023T+1.2P. The predicted concentrations of Ca on the clinopyroxene Ml site are low enough to be compatible with crystallographic studies. Temperatures calculated from the model for coexisting ortho- and clinopyroxene pairs fit the experimental data to within 10° in most cases; the worst discrepancy is 30°. Phase relations for clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and pigeonite are successfully described by this model at temperatures up to 1,600° C and pressures from 0.001 to 40 kbar. Predicted enthalpies of solution agree well with the calorimetric measurements of Newton et al. (1979). The nonconvergent site disorder model affords good approximations to both the free energy and enthalpy of clinopyroxenes, and, therefore, the configurational entropy as well. This approach may provide an example for Febearing pyroxenes in which cation site exchange has an even more profound effect on the thermodynamic properties.     

Dynamic issues in the SE South America storm surge modeling

The ability of the SMARA storm surge numerical prediction system to reproduce local effects in estuarine and coastal winds was recently improved by considering one-way coupling of the air–sea momentum exchange through the wave stress, and best forecasting practices for downscaling. The inclusion of long period atmospheric pressure forcing in tide and tide/surge calculations corrected a systematic error in the surge, produced by the South Atlantic Ocean quasi-stationary pressure patterns. The maximum forecast range for the storm surge at Buenos Aires provided by the real-time use of water level observations is approximately 12 h. The best available water level prediction is the 6-h forecast (nowcast) based on the closest water level observations. The 24-h forecast from the numerical models slightly improves this nowcast. Although the numerical forecast accuracy degrades after the first 48 h, the improvement to the full range observation-based prediction is maintained at the inner Río de la Plata area and extends to the first 3 days at the intermediate navigation channels.     

Climatic Influences on Autochthonous and Allochthonous Phytoplankton Blooms in a Subtropical Estuary, St. Lucie Estuary, Florida, USA

The St. Lucie Estuary, located on the southeast coast of Florida, provides an example of a subtropical ecosystem where seasonal changes in temperature are modest, but summer storms alter rainfall regimes and external inputs to the estuary from the watershed and Atlantic Ocean. The focus of this study was the response of the phytoplankton community to spatial and temporal shifts in salinity, nutrient concentration, watershed discharges, and water residence times, within the context of temporal patterns in rainfall. From a temporal perspective, both drought and flood conditions negatively impacted phytoplankton biomass potential. Prolonged drought periods were associated with reduced nutrient loads and phytoplankton inputs from the watershed and increased influence of water exchange with the Atlantic Ocean, all of which restrict biomass potential. Conversely, under flood conditions, nutrient loads were elevated, but high freshwater flushing rates in the estuary diminished water residence times and increase salinity variation, thereby restricting the buildup of phytoplankton biomass. An exception to the latter pattern was a large incursion of a cyanobacteria bloom from Lake Okeechobee via the St. Lucie Canal observed in the summer of 2005. From a spatial perspective, regional differences in water residence times, sources of watershed inputs, and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean influenced the composition and biomass of the phytoplankton community. Long water residence times in the North Fork region of the St. Lucie Estuary provided an environment conducive to the development of blooms of autochthonous origin. Conversely, shorter residence times in the mid-estuary limit autochthonous increases in biomass, but allochthonous sources of biomass can result in bloom concentrations of phytoplankton.     

Long-Term Trends in Intertidal and Subtidal Benthic Communities in Response to Water Quality Improvement Measures

Long-term monitoring studies are needed to understand changes in ecosystem status when restoration measures are implemented. A long-term data series (1996–2007) of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) intertidal and subtidal benthic communities was collected in a degraded area where mitigation measures were implemented. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze spatial and temporal patterns in benthic community composition and trends in five benthic community metrics (i.e., taxonomic richness, density, biomass, Shannon–Wiener diversity and the AMBI index) were also examined. The results revealed a clear separation between intertidal and subtidal assemblages, although they had 50% of taxa in common, including the most abundant. Significant positive trends were found for all metrics showing that both intertidal and subtidal communities responded to the restoration measures implemented. Nevertheless, biotic indices need some adaptation before being universally applied to intertidal and subtidal habitats.     

Soil characterization for seismic damage scenarios purposes: application to Angra do Heroísmo (Azores)

Angra do Heroismo, the main town of Terceira Island in the Azores Archipelago, was hit in 1980 by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that caused great destruction in the central part of the town. Taking into consideration the high seismic hazard of the region and the cultural and social importance of Angra do Heroísmo, the elaboration of damage scenarios is of particular importance to implement measures for preserve and protect the town against future earthquakes. The first step is to perform microzonation studies in order to characterize the soil seismic behaviour. Taking into consideration the available geologic, geotechnical and geophysical information, a detailed soil characterization was performed based on the results from numerical modelling and the analysis of microtremor experimental measurements. Nine different soil profiles were identified, characterized and classified. Discussion on the detailed soil classification and the Eurocode 8 soil classification is presented. This study shows that even with an available code, microzonation studies must be developed in order to identify differences on soil behaviour inside the interested area. It shows also that the use of experimental measurements presents a great help on soil characterization. The obtained detailed classification will be used on the estimation of damage scenarios for Angra do Heroísmo.     

Formation of uranium‐thorium‐rich bitumen nodules in the Lockne impact structure,Sweden: A mechanism for carbon concentration at impact sites

Abstract— The Ordovician Lockne impact structure is located in central Sweden. The target lithology consisted of limestone and black unconsolidated shale overlaying a Precambrian crystalline basement. The Precambrian basement is uranium‐rich, and the black shale is both uranium‐ and organic‐rich. This circumstance makes Lockne a good candidate for testing the occurrence of U‐Th‐rich bitumen nodules in an impact structure setting. U‐Th‐rich bitumen nodules are formed through irradiation; hence the increase in the complexity of organic matter by a radioactive (uranium‐ and thorium‐rich) mineral phase. U‐Th‐rich bitumen nodules were detected in crystalline impact breccia and resurge deposits from the impact structure, but samples of non‐impact‐affected rocks from outside the impact structure do not contain any U‐Th‐rich bitumen nodules. This implies that in the Lockne impact structure, the nodules are associated with impact‐related processes. U‐Th‐rich bitumen nodules occur throughout the geological record and are not restricted to an impact structure setting, but our studies at Lockne show that this process of irradiation can readily occur in impact structures where fracturing of rocks and a post‐impact hydrothermal system enhances fluid circulation. The irradiation of organic matter by radioactive minerals has previously been proposed as a process for concentration of carbon on the early Earth. Impact structures are suggested as sites for prebiotic chemistry and primitive evolution, and irradiation by radioactive minerals could be an important mechanism for carbon concentration at impact sites.     

Conjugated asymmetry of the onset and magnitude of GPS scintillation driven by the vertical plasma drift

Traditional intersatellite communications for shared timing information rely on microwave transceivers such as those in Milstar, AEHF, and Iridium constellations. With extensive space heritage and well-established engineering and performance specifications, these methods have typified the field of high-performance satellite synchronization for decades, recently introduced into active GNSS satellite constellations such as BeiDou. Optical crosslinks, currently investigated as an augmentation or alternative to traditional microwave-based methods, can provide enhanced precision to intersatellite ranging and time transfer, performing beyond one-way or uplink/downlink microwave-based communications. The challenges of time transfer through optical links and crosslinks can significantly impact the systems architecture, optical terminal complexity, and agreements on international standards. Orders-of-magnitude precision enhancement can enable novel timing and ranging technologies allowing for advanced navigation capabilities. Additionally, basic scientific studies with a fleet of synchronized satellites could inform fundamental physics studies on a truly global scale. We evaluate the benefits, drawbacks, and potential applications of satellite synchronization through microwave and optical crosslinks for shared timing and ephemeris data in support of enhanced constellation state estimation and reduced range error. The risks and value associated with these technologies are also discussed with an emphasis on challenges for aerospace.