The summit hydrothermal system of Stromboli. New insights from self-potential,temperature, CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and fumarolic fluid measurements,with structural and monitoring implications

Accurate and precisely located self-potential (SP), temperature (T) and CO₂ measurements were carried out in the summit area of Stromboli along 72 straight profiles. SP data were acquired every metre and T data every 2.5 m. CO₂ concentrations were acquired with the same density as T, but only along seven profiles. The high density of data and the diversity of the measured parameters allows us to study structures and phenomena at a scale rarely investigated. The shallow summit hydrothermal activity (Pizzo–Fossa area) is indicated by large positive SP, T and CO₂ anomalies. These anomalies are focused on crater faults, suggesting that the fracture zones are more permeable than surrounding rocks at Stromboli. The analysis of the distribution of these linear anomalies, coupled with the examination of the geologic, photographic and topographic data, has led us to propose a new structural interpretation of the summit of Stromboli. This newly defined structural framework comprises (1) a large Pizzo circular crater, about 350 m in diameter; (2) a complex of two concealed craters nested within the Pizzo crater (the Large and the Small Fossa craters), thought to have formed during the eruption of the Pizzo pyroclastites unit; the Small Fossa crater is filled with highly impermeable material that totally impedes the upward flow of hydrothermal fluids; and (3) The present complex of active craters. On the floor of the Fossa, short wavelength SP lows are organized in drainage-like networks diverging from the main thermal anomalies and converging toward the topographic low in the Fossa area, inside the Small Fossa crater. They are interpreted as the subsurface downhill flow of water condensed above the thermal anomalies. We suspect that water accumulates below the Small Fossa crater as a perched water body, representing a high threat of strong phreatic and phreatomagmatic paroxysms. T and CO₂ anomalies are highly correlated. The two types of anomalies have very similar shapes, but the sensitivity of CO₂ measurements seems higher for lowest hydrothermal flux. Above T anomalies, a pronounced high frequency SP signal is observed. Isotopic analyses of the fluids show similar compositions between the gases rising through the faults of the Pizzo and Large Fossa craters. This suggests a common origin for gases emerging along different structural paths within the summit of Stromboli. A site was found along the Large Fossa crater fault where high gas flux and low air contamination made gas monitoring possible near the active vents using the alkaline bottle sampling technique.     

AVIATR—Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance

We describe a mission concept for a stand-alone Titan airplane mission: Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance (AVIATR). With independent delivery and direct-to-Earth communications, AVIATR could contribute to Titan science either alone or as part of a sustained Titan Exploration Program. As a focused mission, AVIATR as we have envisioned it would concentrate on the science that an airplane can do best: exploration of Titan??s global diversity. We focus on surface geology/hydrology and lower-atmospheric structure and dynamics. With a carefully chosen set of seven instruments??2 near-IR cameras, 1 near-IR spectrometer, a RADAR altimeter, an atmospheric structure suite, a haze sensor, and a raindrop detector??AVIATR could accomplish a significant subset of the scientific objectives of the aerial element of flagship studies. The AVIATR spacecraft stack is composed of a Space Vehicle (SV) for cruise, an Entry Vehicle (EV) for entry and descent, and the Air Vehicle (AV) to fly in Titan??s atmosphere. Using an Earth-Jupiter gravity assist trajectory delivers the spacecraft to Titan in 7.5 years, after which the AVIATR AV would operate for a 1-Earth-year nominal mission. We propose a novel ??gravity battery?? climb-then-glide strategy to store energy for optimal use during telecommunications sessions. We would optimize our science by using the flexibility of the airplane platform, generating context data and stereo pairs by flying and banking the AV instead of using gimbaled cameras. AVIATR would climb up to 14?km altitude and descend down to 3.5?km altitude once per Earth day, allowing for repeated atmospheric structure and wind measurements all over the globe. An initial Team-X run at JPL priced the AVIATR mission at FY10 $715M based on the rules stipulated in the recent Discovery announcement of opportunity. Hence we find that a standalone Titan airplane mission can achieve important science building on Cassini??s discoveries and can likely do so within a New Frontiers budget.     

Assessing streamflow sensitivity to variations in glacier mass balance

We examine long-term streamflow and mass balance data from two Alaskan glaciers located in climatically distinct basins: Gulkana Glacier, a continental glacier located in the Alaska Range, and Wolverine Glacier, a maritime glacier located in the Kenai Mountains. Over the 1966–2011 study interval, both glaciers lost mass, primarily as a result of summer warming, and streamflow increased in both basins. We estimate total glacier runoff via summer mass balance and quantify the fraction of runoff related to annual mass imbalances. In both climates, annual (net) mass balance contributes, on average, less than 20 % of total streamflow, substantially less than the fraction related to summer mass loss (>50 %), which occurs even in years of glacier growth. The streamflow fraction related to changes in annual balance increased significantly only in the continental environment. In the maritime climate, where deep winter snowpacks and frequent rain events drive consistently high runoff, the magnitude of this streamflow fraction was small and highly variable, precluding detection of any existing trend. Furthermore, our findings suggest that glacier mass change is likely to impact total basin water yield, timing of runoff and water quality in the continental environment. However, the impacts of maritime glacier change appear more likely to be limited to water quality and runoff timing.     

Cimetidine,acetaminophen, and 1,7-dimethylxanthine,as indicators of wastewater pollution in marine sediments from Masan Bay,Korea

Concerns have emerged regarding the presence of human-use pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments. We investigated the status of contamination by 29 human-use pharmaceuticals as well as wastewater indicator compounds, fecal sterols and the synthetic endocrine disruptor nonylphenol, in marine sediments from Masan Bay, one of the most contaminated bays in Korea as a result of untreated and/or treated sewage. Among the 29 pharmaceuticals determined, 10 including antacid, analgesic, antibiotic, and antipruritic compounds, and metabolites of caffeine and nicotine were detected in all sediment samples. Cimetidine, acetaminophen, and 1,7-dimethylxanthine were the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals (frequency > 50%), and at high concentrations. The highest concentrations and detection frequencies were at stations located close to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls and at the river mouth. The spatial distributions of pharmaceutical were significantly correlated with those of wastewater compounds. These results indicate that occurrence of the pharmaceuticals in marine environments is likely associated with direct sewage inputs, such as WWTP effluents and with other sewage-influenced sources, such as river discharge.     

Analysis of Ultimate Fossil Fuel Reserves and Associated CO2 Emissions in IPCC Scenarios

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) commissioned a special report on emissions scenarios in 2000 so as to forecast global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for a variety of assumptions. These scenarios have been subjected to a multitude of criticisms, alleging overoptimistic predictions for fossil fuel production rates. Intrigued by this controversy, this paper employs the Hubbert linearization technique to solve for ultimately recoverable resources (URR) of fossil fuels for six significant IPCC scenarios. The predictions are substantially higher than geological URR estimates found in recent literature, ranging from 19 to over 200% higher for oil, 16 to over 500% for coal, and 171 to over 500% for natural gas, depending on the scenario. Subsequently, the atmospheric CO₂ concentrations resulting from full consumption of URR related to IPCC data, as well as literature-based URR, are determined with a simple model. The former concentrations range from 640 to over 1,300 ppm. In comparison, the peak-based URR in the literature yield 463–577 ppm. All of these figures are higher than the 450 ppm ‘threshold’ which some see as critical. Therefore, despite peaking fossil fuels, concern over climate change is still warranted. At the same time, the fossil fuel production inputs to the IPCC’s CO₂ emissions models appear predominantly overoptimistic, which calls into question the accuracy of the climate change assessment outputs. Moving forward, the IPCC is encouraged to re-assess its fossil fuel forecasts, incorporating more reasonable scenarios for peak production of fossil fuels.     

Effect of extraction-method,period of incubation and tidal emersion on the viability of haemocytes from oysters

The impacts of pollution on marine organisms are often investigated using the viability of their haemocytes. Although this assay is routinely used in monitoring, field and laboratory experimentation, there has been less effort in further optimizing procedures to reduce artefacts and facilitate sampling over large geographic areas.     

Genotyping of Rhodopirellula baltica organisms using multispacer sequence typing

Rhodopirellula baltica is a ubiquitous Planctomycetes organism isolated from marine environments worldwide. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) has been the only method used to assess the diversity of R. baltica organisms. Here, we developed multispacer sequence typing (MST) genotyping and applied it to four R. baltica isolates from the French Mediterranean Sea and R. baltica DSM10527^T type strain. While MLSA yielded interpretable sequences for two of nine genes in three R. baltica isolates, MST based on sequencing two intergenic spacers yielded an unambiguous, strain‐specific profile for each one of the four R. baltica isolates under investigation. We propose that MST could be used as an alternative R. baltica genotyping method to assess the diversity of these Planctomycetes organisms.