Effect of low salinity on the survival of recently hatched veliger of Nassarius reticulatus (L.) in estuarine habitats: A case study of Ria de Aveiro

The effect of low salinity on the survival of recently hatched veliger of the gastropod Nassarius reticulatus (L.) was studied under laboratory conditions at 17 °C ± 1 °C. Significant mortality occurred for salinities ≤ 17 psu and the LS₅₀ (salinity that causes 50% mortality) varied from 14.5 psu to 17.2 psu for exposures between 1 h and 48 h, respectively. The results were included in a mathematical model in order to estimate the mortality of N. reticulatus veliger in Ria de Aveiro under different salinity scenarios determined by numerical simulation. The model predicts a massive mortality of veliger immediately after their eclosion (1 h) in Ria de Aveiro during spring tide when the river input reaches its expected maximum — a situation that has been observed occasionally and may overlap a massive eclosion of veliger in the water. Except in this extreme situation, the mortality in Ria de Aveiro is generally restricted to the upstream limits of the channels. The results indicate that N. reticulatus recruitment in estuaries may strongly depend on the prevailing salinity regime.     

Obtaining Potential Virtual Temperature Profiles,Entrainment Fluxes,and Spectra from Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data

We present a simple but effective small unmanned aerial vehicle design that is able to make high-resolution temperature and humidity measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer. The air model used is an adapted commercial design, and is able to carry all the instrumentation (barometer, temperature and humidity sensor, and datalogger) required for such measurements. It is fitted with an autopilot that controls the plane’s ascent and descent in a spiral to 1800 m above ground. We describe the results obtained on three different days when the plane, called Aerolemma-3, flew continuously throughout the day. Surface measurements of the sensible virtual heat flux made simultaneously allowed the calculation of all standard convective turbulence scales for the boundary layer, as well as a rigorous test of existing models for the entrainment flux at the top of the boundary layer, and for its growth. A novel approach to calculate the entrainment flux from the top-down, bottom-up model of Wynagaard and Brost is used. We also calculated temperature fluctuations by means of a spectral high-pass filter, and calculated their spectra. Although the time series are small, tapering proved ineffective in this case. The spectra from the untapered series displayed a consistent −5/3 behaviour, and from them it was possible to calculate a dimensionless dissipation function, which exhibited the expected similarity behaviour against boundary-layer bulk stability. The simplicity, ease of use and economy of such small aircraft make us optimistic about their usefulness in boundary-layer research.     

The Alignment of the Mean Wind and Stress Vectors in the Unstable Surface Layer

A significant non-alignment between the mean horizontal wind vector and the stress vector was observed for turbulence measurements both above the water surface of a large lake, and over a land surface (soybean crop). Possible causes for this discrepancy such as flow distortion, averaging times and the procedure used for extracting the turbulent fluctuations (low-pass filtering and filter widths etc.), were dismissed after a detailed analysis. Minimum averaging times always less than 30 min were established by calculating ogives, and error bounds for the turbulent stresses were derived with three different approaches, based on integral time scales (first-crossing and lag-window estimates) and on a bootstrap technique. It was found that the mean absolute value of the angle between the mean wind and stress vectors is highly related to atmospheric stability, with the non-alignment increasing distinctively with increasing instability. Given a coordinate rotation that aligns the mean wind with the x direction, this behaviour can be explained by the growth of the relative error of the u–w component with instability. As a result, under more unstable conditions the u–w and the v–w components become of the same order of magnitude, and the local stress vector gives the impression of being non-aligned with the mean wind vector. The relative error of the v–w component is large enough to make it undistinguishable from zero throughout the range of stabilities. Therefore, the standard assumptions of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory hold: it is fair to assume that the v–w stress component is actually zero, and that the non-alignment is a purely statistical effect. An analysis of the dimensionless budgets of the u–w and the v–w components confirms this interpretation, with both shear and buoyant production of u–w decreasing with increasing instability. In the v–w budget, shear production is zero by definition, while buoyancy displays very low-intensity fluctuations around zero. As local free convection is approached, the turbulence becomes effectively axisymetrical, and a practical limit seems to exist beyond which it is not possible to measure the u-w component accurately.     

Gondwana breakup: Messages from the North Natal Valley

The Natal Valley, offshore Mozambique, is a key area for understanding the evolution of East Gondwana. Within the scope of the integrated multidisciplinary PAMELA project, we present new wide‐angle seismic data and interpretations, which considerably alter Geoscience paradigms. These data reveal the presence of a 30‐km‐thick crust that we argue to be of continental nature. This falsifies all the most recent palaeo‐reconstructions of the Gondwana. This 30‐km‐thick continental crust 1,000 m below sea level implies a complex history with probable intrusions of mantle‐derived melts in the lower crust, connected to several occurrences of magmatism, which seems to evidence the crucial role of the lower continental crust in passive margin genesis.     

Extended time weather forecasts contributes to agricultural productivity estimates

Weather conditions in critical periods of the vegetative crop development influence crop productivity, thus being a basic parameter for crop forecast. Reliable extended period weather forecasts may contribute to improve the estimation of agricultural productivity. The production of soybean plays an important role in the Brazilian economy, because this country is ranked among the largest producers of soybeans in the world. This culture can be significantly affected by water conditions, depending on the intensity of water deficit. This work explores the role of extended period weather forecasts for estimating soybean productivity in the southern part of Brazil, Passo Fundo, and Londrina (State of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná, respectively) in the 2005/2006 harvest. The goal was to investigate the possible contribution of precipitation forecasts as a substitute for the use of climatological data on crop forecasts. The results suggest that the use of meteorological forecasts generate more reliable productivity estimates during the growth period than those generated only through climatological information.     

Cloud condensation nuclei from biomass burning during the Amazonian dry-to-wet transition season

Aircraft measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) during the Large-Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) were conducted over the Southwestern Amazon region in September–October 2002, to emphasize the dry-to-wet transition season. The CCN concentrations were measured for values within the range 0.1–1.0% of supersaturation. The CCN concentration inside the boundary layer revealed a general decreasing trend during the transition from the end of the dry season to the onset of the wet season. Clean and polluted areas showed large differences. The differences were not so strong at high levels in the troposphere and there was evidence supporting the semi-direct aerosol effect in suppressing convection through the evaporation of clouds by aerosol absorption. The measurements also showed a diurnal cycle following biomass burning activity. Although biomass burning was the most important source of CCN, it was seen as a source of relatively efficient CCN, since the increase was significant only at high supersaturations.     

First record of stereospondyls (Tetrapoda,Temnospondyli) in the Upper Triassic of Southern Brazil

Stereospondyls survived the Permo-Triassic extinctions in a refuge probably located in the landmass that nowadays comprises Australia. Subsequently, they radiated to other parts of Pangaea, reaching their highest distribution and diversification during the Early Triassic. An incomplete interclavicle from the Caturrita Formation represents their first record in the Upper Triassic of Brazil. Previously, Upper Triassic South American stereospondyls were restricted to Argentina. This new record reinforces a former hypothesis that suggests the presence of a more diverse stereospondyl fauna in South America during the Late Triassic than previously assumed. Additionally, the presence of a stereospondyl and a phytosaur in the Caturrita Formation reinforces the hypothesis of a change to more humid climatic conditions in the Paraná Basin during the Upper Triassic. The record of Early Triassic stereospondyls in South America suggests that they first colonized Brazil and/or Uruguay, spreading from South Africa during the Early Triassic, subsequently reaching Argentina. Up till now, there is no record of Middle Triassic stereospondyls in either Argentina and Brazil, probably due to either taphonomic bias or insufficient prospecting. Despite the lack of direct evidence, one should not dismiss an earlier stereospondyl colonization of Argentina still during the Early or Middle Triassic.     

Understanding the enhanced aqueous solubility of styrene by terrestrial dissolved organic matter using stable isotope mass balance and FTIR

We present a new stable isotope mass balance method for measuring the enhanced aqueous solubility of specific organic compounds in the presence of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). It involves interfacing a standard dissolved organic carbon (DOC) analyzer with a stable isotope ratio monitoring system, is applicable to a wide range of model organic compounds and can be tuned to provide maximum precision for a given range of compound solubility and initial natural DOC concentration. Using ¹³C-labeled styrene as a model compound, we applied the method to investigate the reactivity of Dismal Swamp DOM as a function of season, nominal molecular size and chemical composition as determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The solubility enhancement of styrene ranged from 23% to 118% relative to deionized water, while DOC-normalized enhancements varied from about 0.04 to 0.35 μM styrene/μM DOC as a function of season and nominal molecular weight. Statistical analysis of FTIR spectra reveals a strong positive correlation between the styrene concentration and the carboxyl content of the natural DOM. Reactivity differences between high molecular weight (HMW), low molecular weight (LMW) and total DOM samples are consistent with potential variations in their higher order structures.     

Lysimeter soil water balance evaluation for an experiment developed in the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest region

This study aims at monitoring the behaviour of the rainfall, runoff, drainage, soil water storage, and evapotranspiration variables involved in the water balance measured by lysimeter data. The evaluation of the water balance considered different time scales, where the components were monitored daily and in 10‐day accumulated period intervals. The results demonstrated that in wet periods the soil water content was greater at a depth of 10 cm, whereas in the dry periods a greater concentration was observed at 70 cm depth. At the depth of 30 cm, the lowest values of soil water content were observed for both wet and dry periods. The results, obtained through the use of tensiometers and time domain reflectometry installed internally and externally to the lysimeter, were very close, which was more noticeable during the periods of lower water loss by the soil. The water balance, calculated from the lysimeter data, demonstrated that 70% of the total rainfall was lost by the process of evapotranspiration. The drainage accounted for 27·5% of the precipitated water, highlighting the fact that this component should not be disregarded in the water balance calculation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative analysis of rating curve and ADP estimates of instantaneous water discharge through estuaries in two contrasting Brazilian rivers

This work quantifies, using ADP and rating curve techniques, the instantaneous outflows at estuarine interfaces: higher to middle estuary and middle to lower estuary, in two medium‐sized watersheds (72 000 and 66 000 km² of area, respectively), the Jaguaribe and Contas Rivers located in the northeastern (semi‐arid) and eastern (tropical humid) Brazilian coasts, respectively. Results from ADP showed that the net water balances show the Contas River as a net water exporter, whereas the Jaguaribe River Estuary is a net water importer. At the Jaguaribe Estuary, water retention during flood tide contributes to 58% of the total volume transferred during the ebb tide from the middle to lower estuary. However, 42% of the total water volume (452 m³ s^?1) that entered during flood tide is retained in the middle estuary. In the Contas River, 90% of the total water is retained during the flood tide contributing to the volume transported in the ebb tide from the middle to the lower estuary. Outflows obtained with the rating curve method for the Contas and Jaguaribe Rivers were uniform through time due to river flow normalization by dams in both basins. Estimated outflows with this method are about 65% (Contas) and 95% (Jaguaribe) lower compared to outflows obtained with ADP. This suggests that the outflows obtained with the rating curve method underestimate the net water balance in both systems, particularly in the Jaguaribe River under a semi‐arid climate. This underestimation is somewhat decreased due to wetter conditions in the Contas River basin. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.