The effects of beach nourishment on the sandy-beach amphipod Exoediceros fossor: impact and recovery in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Beach nourishment is increasingly being implemented to address problems of erosion. However, the ecological consequences of nourishment are poorly understood, especially in Australia. In Botany Bay, sand was piped from an intertidal borrow area at Elephant's Trunk to nourish the nearby eroding beach at Towra Point. The effects on an intertidal exoedicerotid amphipod, Exoediceros fossor (Stimpson, 1856), were examined using a beyond-BACI (Before–After, Control–Impact) sampling design. Sampling was conducted before and after engineering operations at sites within the borrow and nourishment locations and multiple control locations. Hypotheses concerning impact and recovery were tested using asymmetrical ANOVAs and two-tailed F-tests. These examined the effects on abundance and spatial variability, respectively. The impact of the engineering operations on abundance was very large at both borrow and nourishment locations. However, recovery started within several weeks and, using space × time interactions as a criterion, appeared to be complete within a year. This conclusion is made cautiously because of low statistical power and because other criteria for recovery suggest that it was not complete at some sites. As beach erosion is likely to increase in severity with rising sea levels and greater storm surges associated with climate change, management authorities will need a better understanding of the ecological effects of beach nourishment.     

Sulfide and iron control on mercury speciation in anoxic estuarine sediment slurries

In order to understand the role of sulfate and Fe(III) reduction processes in the net production of monomethylmercury (MMHg), we amended anoxic sediment slurries collected from the Venice Lagoon, Italy, with inorganic Hg and either potential electron acceptors or metabolic byproducts of sulfate and Fe(III) reduction processes, gradually changing their concentrations. Addition of sulfide (final concentration: 0.2–6.3 mM) resulted in an exponential decrease in the sulfate reduction rate and MMHg concentration with increasing concentrations of sulfide. Based on this result, we argue that the concentration of dissolved sulfide is a critical factor controlling the sulfate reduction rate, and in turn, the net MMHg production at steady state. Addition of either Fe(II) (added concentration: 0–6.1 mM) or Fe(III) (added concentration: 0–3.5 mM) resulted in similar trends in the MMHg concentration, an increase with low levels of Fe additions and a subsequent decrease with high levels of Fe additions. The limited availability of dissolved Hg, associated with sulfide removal by precipitation of FeS, appears to inhibit the net MMHg production in high levels of Fe additions. There was a noticeable reduction in the net MMHg production in Fe(III)-amended slurries as compared to Fe(II)-amended ones, which could be caused by a decrease in the sulfate reduction rate. This agrees with the results of Hg methylation assays using the enrichment cultures of anaerobic bacteria: whereas the enrichment cultures of sulfate reducers showed significant production of MMHg (4.6% of amended Hg), those of Fe(III), Mn(IV), and nitrate reducers showed no production of MMHg. It appears that enhanced Fe(III)-reduction activities suppress the formation of MMHg in high sulfate estuarine sediments.     

Some chemical characteristics of the brines in Bannock and Tyro Basins: salinity, sulphur compounds, Ca, F, pH, At, PO4, SiO2, NH3

Results of the chemical investigation on the Bannock and Tyro Basins are reported.Both basins were found to be hypersaline ( 10 times higher than salinity of normal seawater) and anoxic. In all investigated basins a region of transition, a few meters thick, was identified at depths > 3327 dbar. It is characterized by a sharp gradient of salinity, and all concentrations of analysed species increase strongly except for dissolved oxygen and nitrate, which immediately drop to zero. This region appears as a sharp boundary that prevents mixing. As a result, in the presence of organic matter, an anoxic condition developed with the complete depletion of dissolved oxygen. At the same time, hydrogen sulphide and ammonium accumulated within the brine. Between the Bannock and the Tyro brines differences occur in the measured concentrations of H₂S, SO²⁻₄, Ca²⁺ and NH₃. There are some differences also within the Bannock area sub-basins.The Libeccio sub-basin, in the Bannock area, contains a double-layered brine: the upper layer is 140 dbar thick and the lower layer is 300 dbar thick. A second interface between upper and lower brines develops at a depth of 3500 dbar. Nearly all of the measured concentrations vs. depth show the double layer, with the exception of ammonium, the concentration of which remains nearly constant throughout the anoxic column. Profiles of the other species analyzed show remarkable differences on passing from the upper to the lower brine. Hydrogen sulphide, sulphate and fluoride concentrations appear constant and then increase at the second interface. The calcium concentration is also constant in the upper brine, but decreases at the second interface. Total alkalinity and phosphate concentrations show a maximum peak just below the first interface. However, after passing through the second interface all the chemical parameters exhibit an almost constant behaviour down to the bottom.Hypersaline conditions are attributed to the dissolution of Messinian evaporite, and anoxia is suggested to originate from the oxidation of organic matter present in sediments and from the absence of bottom water circulation in such a deep and enclosed environment.The chemical conditions can be summarized as follows: in the Libeccio Basin the values for the species analysed have the ranges: 39–321 psu for ‘salinity’, 8.2−6.5 for pH, 2.7–4.0 mM for total alkalinity, 0.2-0 mM for dissolved oxygen, 0–1669 μM for hydrogen sulphide, 0–198 μM for thiol, 31–99 mM for sulphate, 11–21 mM for calcium, 7–100 μM for fluoride, 0.2–3080 μM for ammonium, 5.8-0 μM for nitrite, 0.2–12 μM for phosphate and 8–130 μM for silicate.     

Impact of urban stormwater runoff on estuarine environmental quality

Urban stormwater runoff could contribute to the deterioration of water quality of a receiving water body. In this research, field studies and laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the microbial contamination resulting from urban stormwater runoff into the Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Fecal coliform, Escherichia coli and enterococci were used as indicator organisms. The specific objectives of the research were to examine the distribution of the indicator organisms in different environmental elements (water column, suspended particles and sediment) and to further investigate the mechanisms related to their fate. Results of the research indicated satisfactory water quality at the study sites during dry weather periods. However, a significant increase was observed in the concentrations of the indicator organisms in the water columns and sediment at specific study sites following a given stormwater event. Three to seven days were needed for the elevated indicator organisms to return back to their background levels in the water column and sediment, respectively. The mechanism of sedimentation contributed to a reduction in the microbial concentration in the water column, as the indicator organisms were found to attach to the suspended particles in the stormwater. The percentage of fecal coliform, E. coli and enterococci attached to the suspended particles was found to be within the range of 9.8–27.5%, 21.8–30.4%, and 8.4–11.5% of the total indicator organisms in the stormwater loaded into the estuary, respectively. About 75–80% of the total indicator organisms remained free-floating for some distance in the water column before dying off.     

Chemical and biological features of the saline Lake Krasnovishnevoye (Baraba,Russia) in comparison with Lake Malinovoe (Kulunda,Russia): a reconnaissance study

The Baraba and Kulunda steppes are located in southwestern Siberia in an area with an arid continental climate. This paper presents results of the first study of the hypersaline Lake Krasnovishnevoye(Baraba steppe, TDS(total dissolved solids)=297 g/L, pH 7.88). The major chemical, mineralogical and biological features of the lake were studied and compared to those of Lake Malinovoe, a typical saline neutral lake of Kulunda steppe(TDS=396 g/L, pH 7.63). The phytoplankton composition and the culturable diversity of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria from Lake Krasnovishnevoye correspond to the ones in the Kulunda lakes. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of water composition and regime of Lake Krasnovishnevoye reduce the biodiversity to prokaryotes and unicellular algae.     

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene lake‐level fluctuations in the Lahontan Basin,Nevada: Implications for the distribution of archaeological sites

The Great Basin of the western U.S. contains a rich record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene lake‐level fluctuations as well as an extensive record of human occupation during the same time frame. We compare spatial‐temporal relationships between these records in the Lahontan basin to consider whether lake‐level fluctuations across the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition controlled distribution of archaeological sites. We use the reasonably well‐dated archaeological record from caves and rockshelters as well as results from new pedestrian surveys to investigate this problem. Although lake levels probably reached maximum elevations of about 1230–1235 m in the different subbasins of Lahontan during the Younger Dryas (YD) period, the duration that the lakes occupied the highest levels was brief. Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are concentrated on somewhat lower and slightly younger shorelines (_1220–1225 m) that also date from the Younger Dryas period. This study suggests that Paleoindians often concentrated their activities adjacent to large lakes and wetland resources soon after they first entered the Great Basin. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cleantech clusters: Transformational assemblages for a just,green economy or just business as usual?

The rhetorical zeal for green enterprise as a global fix for the tripartite challenges of economic recession, environmental degradation and social inequality is increasingly visible in state and non-state pronouncements around the globe under the banner of ‘The Green Economy’. In particular, many policy-facing statements call for transitions leading to a transformation in development practices. Yet there is little detail either in policy or research regarding the types of transitions needed and how they are to be initiated, nor agreement about what a transformed economy might look like. Despite this, there are emergent activities within the cleantech arena which are being heralded as actually existing examples of green economy activities. One means through which these activities are seeking to exert influence over development trajectories is by clustering both at the subnational and transnational level. While diverse in formation, many of these clusters are hybridised, involving actors from public, private and civil society sectors. Critiquing the efficacy of mainstream industrial cluster theory to analyse hybridised cleantech clustering, this paper presents a unique synthesis of current thought on multiscalar environmental governance and socio-spatial formations to explore the practices and potentialities of these hybridised cleantech clusters. Surveying the landscape of cleantech clustering and meta-clustering, before focusing in depth on one case study, the contribution of clustering to transitioning towards a transformed green economy is considered. Despite strong forces, both within and beyond cleantech clusters, for maintaining neoliberalised approaches to cleantech activity, it is concluded that for as long as cleantech clusters remain open and inclusive of actors proposing alternative pathways they do represent potential, albeit provisional, assemblages for transformation.     

The XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey: First Extragalactic Results

We present here some initial results from the ongoing XMM-Newton bright serendipitous survey. The survey is aimed at selecting and spectroscopically identifying a large and statistically representative sample of bright (f _x ≳ 7× 10⁻¹⁴ c.g.s) serendipitous X-ray sources in the 0.5–4.5 keV energy band (BSS) and a complementary (smaller) sample in the 4.5–7.5 keV energy band (HBSS). The work is partly based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributors directly founded by ESA member states and the USA(NASA) and on observations collected at TNG. The TNG telescope is operated on the island of La Palma by the Centro Galileo Galilei of the INAF in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. On behalf of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Center.     

Stochastic models in the DORIS position time series: estimates for IDS contribution to ITRF2014

This paper focuses on the investigation of the deterministic and stochastic parts of the Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) weekly time series aligned to the newest release of ITRF2014. A set of 90 stations was divided into three groups depending on when the data were collected at an individual station. To reliably describe the DORIS time series, we employed a mathematical model that included the long-term nonlinear signal, linear trend, seasonal oscillations and a stochastic part, all being estimated with maximum likelihood estimation. We proved that the values of the parameters delivered for DORIS data are strictly correlated with the time span of the observations. The quality of the most recent data has significantly improved. Not only did the seasonal amplitudes decrease over the years, but also, and most importantly, the noise level and its type changed significantly. Among several tested models, the power-law process may be chosen as the preferred one for most of the DORIS data. Moreover, the preferred noise model has changed through the years from an autoregressive process to pure power-law noise with few stations characterised by a positive spectral index. For the latest observations, the medians of the velocity errors were equal to 0.3, 0.3 and 0.4 mm/year, respectively, for the North, East and Up components. In the best cases, a velocity uncertainty of DORIS sites of 0.1 mm/year is achievable when the appropriate coloured noise model is taken into consideration.     

Revised marine reservoir offset (ΔR) values for molluscs and marine mammals from Arctic North America

Appropriate marine–terrestrial reservoir offset (ΔR) values are essential for accurate calibration of marine radiocarbon dates. However, ΔR values are only valid for the specific calibration curve that their calculation is based on. Here, we present revised ΔR values for the Marine20 calibration curve from Arctic North America, based on previously published ¹⁴C dates on pre-bomb live-collected marine molluscs (n = 124) and cetaceans (beluga whales; tooth dentine; n = 12), and bowhead whale–driftwood age comparisons from the same glacio-isostatically uplifted shorelines (n = 18). Molluscan-based ΔR are: Chukchi/Beaufort sea coasts, 265±116 ¹⁴C years; NW Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 188±91 ¹⁴C years; NE Baffin Island, 81±18 ¹⁴C years; SE Baffin Island, 14±58 ¹⁴C years; Hudson Strait, −73±64 ¹⁴C years; Ungava Bay, 0±86 ¹⁴C years; Foxe Basin, 175±89 ¹⁴C years; Hudson Bay, −21±72 ¹⁴C years; James Bay, 209±114 ¹⁴C years; West Greenland, −93±111 ¹⁴C years. Species-specific marine mammal ΔR terms are 107±59 ¹⁴C years for beluga and 24±58 ¹⁴C years for bowheads. Our revised ΔR values are applicable for as long as the same broad oceanographic conditions (circulation, ventilation) have persisted, i.e. through the Holocene. While molluscan values are applicable to other marine carbonate (e.g. foraminifera), cetacean ΔR are valid only for the species they were calculated for and should not be applied to other marine mammals. Importantly, the ΔR terms calculated here are only valid for Marine20 and should not be used with earlier or later calibration curves.