St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines conjures up images of a yachting haven and a quiet tourists' paradise. The conflicting demands of a growing population, a middle-income economy dominated by fishing, plantation agriculture and tourism, and environmental and social concerns, all contribute to marine stress on the limited, precious, but internationally important resources. While the vision exists to manage effectively coastal and offshore resources, the institutional, financial and social capital to achieve that vision is limited. Development of the fledgling partnerships between local communities, national governmental structures and the international research, government and donor organisations seems the best hope to conserve the environment and coastal livelihoods of the islands.     

The Mars oxidant experiment (MOx) for Mars '96

The MOx instrument was developed to characterize the reactive nature of the martian soil. The objectives of MOx were: (1) to measure the rate of degradation of organics in the martian environment; (2) to determine if the reactions seen by the Viking biology experiments were caused by a soil oxidant and measure the reactivity of the soil and atmosphere: (3) to monitor the degradation, when exposed to the martian environment, of materials of potential use in future missions; and, finally, (4) to develop technologies and approaches that can be part of future soil analysis instrumentation. The basic approach taken in the MOx instrument was to place a variety of materials composed as thin films in contact with the soil and monitor the physical and chemical changes that result. The optical reflectance of the thin films was the primary sensing-mode. Thin films of organic materials, metals, and semiconductors were prepared. Laboratory simulations demonstrated the response of thin films to active oxidants.     

Use of fluorescein as a ground water tracer in brackish water aquifers

A drift and pumpback experiment was conducted in a brackish water sandfill. The sandfill was reclaimed from the sea in the eastern part of Singapore and contains sands with low organic and clay/silt contents. The high salinity in the ground water precludes the use of chloride and bromide as tracers in such an environment, and a field experiment was conducted to assess the viability of using fluorescein as a tracer in brackish water aquifers. Nitrate was used as a second tracer to serve as a check. Initial laboratory studies showed that fluorescence was unaffected over the range of electrical conductivity and pH of the ground water. Results from the field experiment show that fluorescein appears to behave conservatively.     

Can dynamite-blasted reefs recover? A novel, low-tech approach to stimulating natural recovery in fish and coral populations

Throughout Southeast Asia, blast fishing creates persistent rubble fields with low coral cover and depauperate fish communities. We stabilized a 20-year-old rubble field in a Marine Protected Area in the Philippines, using plastic mesh and rock piles in replicated 17.5m(2) plots, thereby increasing topographic complexity, fish habitat, and recruitment substrate surface area. Multivariate analysis revealed fish community shifts within the rehabilitated area from that characteristic of rubble fields to one similar to the adjacent healthy reef within three years, as measured by changes in fish abundance and body size. Coral recruitment and percent cover increased over time, with 63.5% recruit survivorship within plots, compared with 6% on rubble. Our low-cost approach created a stable substrate favoring natural recovery processes. Both rehabilitation and the elimination of poaching were integral to success, emphasizing the synergism between the two and the need to incorporate both when considering mitigation.     

东秦岭钼矿带内碳酸岩脉型钼（铅）矿床地质 地球化学特征、成矿机制及成矿构造背景

东秦岭钼矿带位于华北板块南缘,NW-NWW向的固始―栾川深断裂带控制着钼矿床的空间分布.黄水庵碳酸岩脉型钼(铅)矿床的确定,为本矿带内已有碳酸岩脉型钼(铅)矿床(黄龙铺地区的大石沟、石家湾和桃园等)增添了又一新成员.本矿带不仅钼金属储量居世界已知单个钼矿带之首,而且碳酸岩脉和花岗斑岩两个成矿体系并存,亦是本区钼矿带的一大特色.业已查明,黄水庵和黄龙铺(大石沟)等碳酸岩脉型钼(铅)矿床的δ~(13)C=-5.3‰～-7.0‰,~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr=0.7049～0.7065.同时,方解石富含轻稀土(LREE/HREE=1.8～2.9).辉钼矿以富含Re(平均为110×10~(-6)～244×10~(-6))为特征.基于含矿碳酸岩脉方解石的Sr、Nd、Pb同位素比值(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr对~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb、~(207)Pb/~(204)Pb对~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb和~(143)Nd/~(144)Nd对~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)的关系图,我们初步判断本矿带区域陆壳之下可能存在有EMI(富集地幔Ⅰ),这些含矿碳酸岩脉是源于EMI的碱性硅酸盐-碳酸盐熔体-溶液结晶分异的产物,成矿金属Mo、Pb主要来自EMI.根据黄水庵和黄龙铺(大石沟)钼(铅)矿床的成矿年龄(Re-Os年龄分别为209.5 Ma和221 Ma),我们推断,碳酸岩脉型钼(铅)矿床形成于华北和扬子两大板块三叠纪碰撞造山后伸展阶段的晚三叠世时期,而在侏罗纪陆内造山晚期的伸展阶段,形成了晚侏罗-早白垩世的斑岩型和斑岩-矽卡岩型钼矿床(Re-Os年龄介于147～116 Ma).     

热液脉型铅-锌-银矿床富铁闪锌矿中硫化物包裹体成因探讨

通过对热液脉型的铅－锌－银矿床（３个）和银矿床（１个）和闪锌矿中硫化物包囊体的特征研究表明,石英－硫化物阶段富铁闪锌矿（主矿物）的硫化物包裹体十分发育：沿生长带产出的乳滴状黄铜矿与主矿物为共同沉淀成因;沿穿切主矿物的黄铜矿或石英细脉两侧,和受粗粒黄铜矿溶蚀的富铁闪锌矿近接触部位发育的乳滴状黄铜矿为渗透－交代产物;沿解理（裂隙）或粒间、粒内产出的各种形态磁黄铁矿是充填－交代的结果;沿解理分布的脉状毒     

Macrobenthic community for assessment of estuarine health in tropical areas (Northeast, Brazil): Review of macrofauna classification in ecological groups and application of AZTI Marine Biotic Index

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ecological quality of tropical estuaries on the northeastern coast of Brazil using the AMBI. Macrofauna classification based on ecological groups was reviewed using the Indicator Value (IndVal) coefficient. The results indicate that the ecosystems exhibit some level of disturbance. Most sites are situated between slightly-moderately disturbed boundaries due to the higher proportion of Nematoda (assigned here as Ecological Group I) and of Oligochaeta and Tubificidae (both classified as Ecological Group V). The AMBI proved efficient in evaluating environmental status, although the applicability of this index requires adjustments regarding some species in ecological groups. The present study also highlights the merits of the IndVal method for examining the assignments of species/taxa to an ecological group and demonstrates the validity of this coefficient is an assessment tool. Moreover, the complementary use of different methods is recommended for the assessment of ecosystem quality.