Late Pleistocene–Holocene environments in Valle Carbajal, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

The authors discuss Late Pleistocene–Holocene depositional environments in one of the Fuegian Andes valleys on the basis of palynological, geomorphological, and sedimentological analyses from two sites located near the Beagle Channel. The results obtained at these localities reinforce and refine the Late Pleistocene–Holocene climatic pattern previously recorded there. A colder period, associated with the Younger Dryas stadial event, is suggested by low Nothofagus pollen frequency, and communities of grass, low scrub, and shrub heath expanded into the low/middle slopes (10,310 ¹⁴C yr BP). By ca. 9500 ¹⁴C yr BP, warmer and drier conditions occurred, as evidenced by the development of open-grown vegetation in the valley floors (pollen zone O-3), followed by the expansion of open Nothofagus woodland (pollen zone O-2) in the middle Holocene. The milder climate subsequently changed, as indicated by the spreading of the closed forest and mire (pollen zone O-1), to more humid and cooler conditions during the last ca. 5000 yr BP.     

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France): A new lacustrine sequence of the early Middle Pleistocene in western Europe

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France) provides a long lacustrine sequence (40.6 m) attributed to the early Middle Pleistocene. Sediment, pollen and diatoms analysis of its upper part (AL2 core, 14.6 m) indicates two temperate phases marked by high lake levels, forest development and vegetation expansion. They are separated by a cold period during which lake level drops, coarse sediment input increases and steppic and xerophilous plants develop. Pollen data suggests that this sequence belongs to the upper part of the Cromerian complex. These results are in agreement with the 557 ± 3 ka (±12 ka, including all errors) ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age obtained from an interbedded tephra layer emitted by the Mont-Dore/Sancy strato-volcano and establish that this sequence probably covers the MIS 15 substages.     

The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 — distribution patterns of the oder discharge in the Pomeranian Bight

The exceptional Oder flood in summer 1997 was a unique event in order to investigate the impacts on and the consequences for the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea of about 6.5 km³ additional water loaded with nutrients and contaminants and discharged within only 5 weeks. About 15 institutions participated in this investigation in both the Szczecin Lagoon and the Pomeranian Bight. The Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde studied the water and nutrient inflow, the spreading of the Oder discharge, and the impact of the discharge on the ecosystem. The main topic of the presented investigations is a detailed study of the spatial and temporal spreading of the extreme river discharge in the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Baltic Sea by satellite data, ship observations and continuous buoy measurements as well as numerical modelling. The meteorological conditions were characterized by mainly easterly winds which guided the outflowing riverine water along the German coast into the Arkona Sea. The spatial and temporal development of the distribution patterns of the Oder discharge was monitored by about 80 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) images of NOAA satellites. Shipborne measurements showed that the vertical extent of the Oder plume ranged between 5 and 7 metres. The concentrations of inorganic nutrients, except higher silicate, were comparable to typical winter/early spring values (seasonal maximum) in this region. The high dilution effect of the flood water reduced the concentration of contaminants and thus, prevented a direct negative impact of trace metals and chlorinated organic compounds on the marine environment. Coupled physical-biochemical modelling in combination with SST-images demonstrated the temporal development and satellite data in the visible spectral range delivered the maximum extent of discharged river water into the southern Arkona Sea where a further western transport was limited by the upwelling region off Hiddensee. Thus, all detected effects of the Oder flood were confined to the Pomeranian Bight and the southern Arkona Sea, without long-term consequences for the ecosystem.     

Habitat provision of barnacle tests for overcrowded periwinkles

In habitats where competition for space is a shaping force of animal distribution such as in the intertidal rocky ecosystem, new habitats are readily taken by colonising species. We examined the importance of empty Chthamalus spp. tests as a habitat for the intertidal common periwinkle Melaraphe neritoides on Portuguese rocky shores. The role played by the space between neighbouring barnacles as a habitat for other species has been largely studied with regard to how an ecosystem functions, whereas the equivalent role of empty barnacle tests remains largely unknown. The small periwinkle is one of the most abundant snails in European rocky shores and is an important prey for key mobile predators. Biological facilitation is common in the rocky intertidal zone, where biological structures often potentiate the abundance of other species. The role played by barnacles as biological facilitators through habitat provision is not fully understood. In this study, the abundance and morphometric features of empty barnacle tests and their occupants were examined across shore levels and shores with differing exposures, as these are important gradients explaining barnacle distribution. The availability of empty barnacle tests was also experimentally manipulated to examine the percentage, time and length of occupation. Empty barnacles were more abundant on the midshore of sheltered shores and barnacle tests were wider on the upper shore but taller on the midshore. The minimum barnacle test occupation rate by the periwinkle was 70%. Barnacle shell height was an important factor determining snail occupation, where taller barnacles harboured significantly more, but not necessarily larger, snails. Snails outside the barnacle tests were significantly larger than those found within, suggesting that this crustacean group has an increased importance as a habitat for juvenile snails, thus potentially influencing the population dynamics of M. neritoides. We found that occupation of experimentally created empty barnacles was extremely high (70%) on the day after, and remained at 100% after 3 months of monitoring. Our study is the first of its kind to focus on the features of barnacle tests that snails occupy and their occupying snail traits. According to our results, it is clear that barnacles have an important role in providing additional habitat for young gastropods. The small periwinkle is an important grazer and prey for intertidal and subtidal foraging predators; hence, the potential refuge role of barnacle tests for juvenile M. neritoides may be important in the dynamics of intertidal communities.     

The Fresnel space imager as a disk evolution watcher

The Fresnel Diffractive Imaging Arrays form high resolution images by diffraction with low radiometric efficiencies. They are extremely good devices to make high resolution imaging and integral field spectroscopy of bright sources. Thirty meter arrays will provide a spatial resolution of 0.8 mas at Lyman-?? that will open a completely new field of research: the study of matter distribution around disks and their gravitational drives. In this contribution, the potentials of the 3.6 m precursors (or probes) for astrophysical disks and jets research, are described. Main emphasis is made on young planetary disks.     

Pre main sequence stars as UV sources for the World Space Observatory-UV mission

Pre-main sequence stars are bright UV (UV) sources compared with their main sequence analogues. The source of this excess is the high energy processes associated with the physics of accretion/outflow during early stellar evolution. In this review, the main sources of UV excess are described as well as the most significant “unknowns” in the field. Special emphasis is made on the results from the last observations carried out with the Hubble Space Telescope and on the relevance of future dedicated monitoring programs with the World Space Observatory-UV.     

Correlation between electron paramagnetic resonance and thermoluminescence in natural sodalite

Samples of natural sodalite, Na₈Al₆Si₆O₂₄Cl₂, submitted to gamma irradiation and to thermal treatments, have been investigated using the thermoluminescence (TL) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. Both, natural and heat-treated samples at 500°C in air for 30 min, present an EPR signal around g = 2.01132 attributed to oxygen hole centers. The EPR spectra of irradiated samples show an intense line at g = 2.0008 superimposed by a hyperfine multiplet of 11 lines due to an O⁻ ion in an intermediate position with respect to two adjacent Al nuclei. In the TL measurements, the samples were annealed at 500°C for 30 min and then irradiated with γ doses varying from 0.001 to 20 kGy. All the samples have shown TL peaks at 110, 230, 270, 365, and 445°C. A correlation between the EPR g = 2.01132 line and the 365°C TL peak was observed. A TL model is proposed in which a Na⁺ ion acts as a charge compensator when an Al³⁺ ion replaces a Si⁴⁺ lattice ion. The γ ray destruction of the Al–Na complex provides an electron trapped at the Na and a hole trapped at a non-bridging oxygen ion adjacent to the Al³⁺ ion.     

Mobility of potentially harmful metals in latosols impacted by the municipal solid waste deposit of Londrina,Brazil

The contamination of soils by metals issuing from municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal in tropical environments has hardly been studied with regard to the particular problems associated with them, i.e., generally a high permeability of soils despite the abundance of clay, and the role of reactive Fe compounds. From a previous geotechnical and chemical survey, three latosol profiles differently affected by MSW leachates in the region of Londrina (Paraná, Brazil) were selected. The aims were to evaluate the extent of their contamination, to better understand the fate of potentially harmful metals in tropical soils and rank the determining factors. Samples between 0.5 and 7 m depth were analyzed for their physical, mineralogical and chemical properties, and their micro-morphology was described by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Two steps of a sequential extraction procedure helped to assess the mobility of elements and to better discriminate between metals originating from pedogenesis and issued from MSW. These combined approaches showed that exposed soil profiles have been impacted at various depths, down to 7 m, through increased metal content, especially enhanced mobility of Zn, Co, Mn, Cu and Fe, and through increased salinity and organic matter. The mobility of potentially harmful metals should decrease with pH, which significantly increased in some impacted horizons, but other factors can reverse this trend.