Barnacle-dominated limestone with giant cross-beds in a non-tropical, tide-swept, Pliocene forearc seaway, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Pliocene, non-tropical, widespread and locally thick (up to 100 m) limestones occur in Hawke's Bay, eastern North Island, where they are intimately associated with very thick ( > 5 km), terrigenous-dominated, Neogene sequences that formed in a tectonically active convergent margin setting. The non-tropical character of the limestones is shown unequivocally by (1) the complete dominance of skeletal calcarenites and calcirudites, (2) the occurrence of oyster banks as the only in situ organic structures, (3) the dominance of barnacles, epifaunal molluscs, bryozoans, echinoderms, foraminifers, brachiopods and calcareous red algae as skeletal components, and (4) the preponderance of calcite over aragonite in the mineralogy of the skeletal grains and cements. The abundance of barnacle fragments in the limestones, and the related exclusive occurrence of only one major organic association, a barnacle-(epifaunal) bivalve-bryozoan assemblage, is striking and unusual given the extent of the limestones. Pecten and oyster valves acted as substrates for barnacle attachment, and their growth was promoted by strong tidal paleocurrents that swept the depositional setting: a long (450 km), narrow (30–50 km) forearc basin seaway, which formed between an actively deforming subduction complex to the east and an uplifting structural ridge to the west. Synsedimentary deformation promoted limestone formation on the margins of the seaway by creating current-swept, clastic-free submarine ridges that acted as the sites of carbonate production. Tidal flows dispersed the carbonate constituents and organised them into a wide spectrum of tide-influenced, cross-bedded and horizontal structures. Most spectacular are occurrences of giant tabular cross-beds, with sets 10–40 m thick and foreset dips of 7–36°, some interpreted as the deposits of major sand bars on carbonate deltas marginal to the mouths of saddles traversing the rising antiforms, and others analogous to modern linear sand ridges. The small- to large-scale planar and trough cross-beds, and the horizontal and lenticular beds that are invariably associated with the giant cross-beds and dominate most sections, represent mainly the deposits of sand waves and sand sheets at inner- to mid-shelf depths in the seaway.     

Elevated concentrations of formate, acetate and dissolved organic carbon found at the Lost City hydrothermal field

Fluids from the ultramafic-hosted Lost City hydrothermal field were analyzed for total dissolved organic carbon and dissolved organic acids. Formate (36-158 μmol/kg) and acetate (1-35 μmol/kg) concentrations are higher than in other fluids from unsedimented hydrothermal vents, and are a higher ratio of the total dissolved organic carbon than has been found in most marine geothermal systems. Isotopic evidence is consistent with an abiotic formation mechanism for formate, perhaps during serpentinization processes in the sub-surface. Further support comes from previous studies where the abiological formation of low molecular weight organic acids has been shown to be thermodynamically favorable during hydrothermal alteration of olivine, and laboratory studies in which the reduction of carbon dioxide to formate has been confirmed. As the second most prevalent carbon species after methane, formate may be an important substrate to microbial communities in an environment where dissolved inorganic carbon is limited. Acetate is found in locations where sulfate reduction is believed to be important and is likely to be a microbial by-product, formed either directly by autotrophic metabolic activity or indirectly during the fermentative degradation of larger organic molecules. Given the common occurrence of exposed ultramafic rocks and active serpentinization within the worlds ocean basins, the abiotic formation of formate may be an important process supporting life in these high pH environments and may have critical implications to understanding the organic precursors from which life evolved.     

Significant Increase of Oil and Natural Gas Reserves throughout 2013

正China’s Ministry of Land and Resources announced on 27th February 2014 that proven reserves of oil,natural gas and coal continued to increase significantly,and that their production shows a steady increase.This greatly improves China’s support capacity of fossil fuel resources.Oil resources:In 2013,China newly discovered oil geological reserves yielded 10.84×108 t,and     

Measured and perceived visual complexity: a comparative study among three online map providers

We present a study on human perception of map complexity, with the objective of better understanding design decisions that may lead to undesirable levels of complexity in web maps. We compare three complexity metrics to human ratings of complexity obtained through a user survey. Specifically, we use two algorithmic approaches published by others, which measure feature congestion (FC) and subband entropy (SE), as well as our own approach of counting object types rather than individual objects. We compare these metrics with each other as well as with human complexity ratings for three maps of the same area from map providers Google Maps, Bing Maps, and OpenStreetMap. Each map design is assessed at three different scales (levels of detail). We find that (1) the FC and SE metrics appear to be adequate predictors of what humans consider complex; (2) object-type counts are slightly less successful at predicting human-rated complexity, implying that clutter is more important in perceived complexity than diversity of symbology; and (3) generalization choices do impact human complexity ratings. These findings contribute to our understanding of what makes a map complex, with implications for designing maps that are easy to use.     

An in-depth look at the lunar crater Copernicus: Exposed mineralogy by high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy

Newly acquired, sequentially spaced, high-resolution near-infrared spectra across the central section of crater Copernicus’ interior have been analyzed using a range of complementary techniques and indexes.We have developed a new interpretative method based on a multiple stage normalization process that appears to both confirm and expand on previous mineralogical estimations and mapping. In broad terms, the interpreted distribution of the principle mafic species suggests an overall composition of surface materials dominated by calcium-poor pyroxenes and minor olivine but with notable exceptions: the southern rim displays strong ca-rich pyroxene absorption features and five other locations, the uppermost northern crater wall, opposite rim sections facing the crater floor, and the central peak Pk1 and at the foot of Pk3, show instead strong olivine signatures.We also propose impact glass an alternative interpretation to the source of the weak but widespread olivine-like spectral signature found in low-reflectance samples, since it probably represents a major regolith constituent and component in large craters such as Copernicus.The high quality and performance of the SIR-2 data allows for the detection of diagnostic key mineral species even when investigating spectral samples with very subdued absorption features, confirming the intrinsic high-quality value of the returned data.     

Coral Transplantation: A Useful Management Tool or Misguided Meddling?

The primary objectives of coral transplantation are to improve reef ‘quality' in terms of live coral cover, biodiversity and topographic complexity. Stated reasons for transplanting corals have been to: (1) accelerate reef recovery after ship groundings, (2) replace corals killed by sewage, thermal effluents or other pollutants, (3) save coral communities or locally rare species threatened by pollution, land reclamation or pier construction, (4) accelerate recovery of reefs after damage by Crown-of-thorns starfish or red tides, (5) aid recovery of reefs following dynamite fishing or coral quarrying, (6) mitigate damage caused by tourists engaged in water-based recreational activities, and (7) enhance the attractiveness of underwater habitat in tourism areas. Whether coral transplantation is likely to be effective from a biological standpoint depends on, among other factors, the water quality, exposure, and degree of substrate consolidation of the receiving area. Whether it is necessary (apart from cases related to reason 3 above), depends primarily on whether the receiving area is failing to recruit naturally.

The potential benefits and dis-benefits of coral transplantation are examined in the light of the results of research on both coral transplantation and recruitment with particular reference to a 4.5 year study in the Maldives. We suggest that in general, unless receiving areas are failing to recruit juvenile corals, natural recovery processes are likely to be sufficient in the medium to long term and that transplantation should be viewed as a tool of last resort. We argue that there has been too much focus on transplanting fast-growing branching corals, which in general naturally recruit well but tend to survive transplantation and re-location relatively poorly, to create short-term increases in live coral cover, at the expense of slow-growing massive corals, which generally survive transplantation well but often recruit slowly. In those cases where transplantation is justified, we advocate that a reversed stance, which focuses on early addition of slowly recruiting massive species to the recovering community, rather than a short-term and sometimes short-lived increase in coral cover, may be more appropriate in many cases.     

Spectra® fishing twine entanglement of a bottlenose dolphin: A case study and experimental modeling

We report here the first documented case of a cetacean fatality from entanglement in recreational Spectra® fishing twine. Spectra® twine is a relatively new microfilament braided twine that is marketed to replace nylon monofilament twine in rod and reel fisheries. Following the case of this entangled bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), we conducted tests with Spectra® and comparable monofilament twines on Tursiops tissue from stranded animals to compare the abrasion properties of the twines. We found that Spectra® twine was significantly more abrasive on bottlenose dolphin fluke tissue than a similar strength and diameter monofilament. With the same forces applied, the Spectra® twine cut deeper than the monofilament, exhibiting a linear relationship with force applied where the monofilament appeared to reach a maximum depth of penetration of approximately 2 mm. These tests may explain why this bottlenose dolphin was so severely debilitated from carrying a relatively light load of twine over a short period of time (20 days). Future public and corporate outreach will be essential to minimize the effect that this increasingly popular fishing twine will have on non-target species.     

Sub-Saharan African urbanisation and global environmental change

Scientific evidence for global environmental change in Africa presents a prima facia case for increased human migration and displacement. Closer scrutiny of the evidence on demographic change, however, suggests that migration and displacement are less important variables in explaining the human dimensions of global environmental change on the continent than is commonly projected. Natural population growth in cities is a more important dynamic in the evolving system of human settlement in Africa and this significant shift in where people live, both now and in the future is overlooked by the emphasis on the potential impact of environmentally induced migration. Even without any movement from the countryside, cities represent the fastest growing sector of the sub-Saharan African population. The existing vulnerability of African cities, with their fast growing populations and weak management means any environmental change is likely to have significant consequences for cities. Taking the sub-Saharan African demographic evidence seriously means that the scholarly and policy emphasis currently directed to GEC migration and displacement might be more effectively redirected to questions of the interface between global environmental change and urban areas.     

Replacing carbon lost from forests: an assessment of insurance, reserves, and expiring credits

Concern over the “non-permanence” or reversibility of carbon sequestration projects has been prominent in discussions over how to develop guidelines for forest project investments under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol. Accordingly, a number of approaches have been proposed that aim to help ensure that parties do not receive credit for carbon that is lost before project obligations are fulfilled. These approaches include forest carbon insurance, land reserves, and issuance of expiring credits. The potential costs of each of these different approaches are evaluated using a range of assumptions about project length, risk and discount rate, and a comparison of costs is ventured based on the estimated reduction in value of these credits compared with uninsured, and permanent credits. Obstacles to participation in the different approaches are discussed related to problems of long-term commitments, project scale, rising replacement costs, and low credit value. It is concluded that a system of expiring credits, which could be coupled with insurance or reserves, could guarantee obligations that span time-scales longer than that of conventional insurance policies while maintaining incentives for long-term sequestration.     

Textural analysis and modelling of a flood deposit: River severn,U.K.

Samples of sediment collected from the Severn floodplain between Worcester and Gloucester following the severe flooding in January and February 1990, were analysed for their grain size distribution. The results show that most sand was deposited within 20 m of the channel bank, but that fine sand may contribute to flood sediment across the width of the floodplain. James' (1985) numerical model of overbank sedimentation attempts to predict the transfer of sediment to the floodplain during flooding. Geometrical and hydraulic data relating to the Severn flood are used as input for a computer program of James' (1985) model. The pattern of sediment concentrations predicted by the model was compared with that obtained from statistical analysis of the flood sediment. The patterns were found to be similar, so James' (1985) model was considered to predict in a relative sense the distribution of flood sediment.