Late Quaternary (24–10 ka BP) environmental history of the Neotropical lowlands inferred from ostracodes in sediments of Lago Petén Itzá, Guatemala

We inferred late Pleistocene and early Holocene (24–10 ka BP) environmental conditions in and around Lago Petén Itzá, Guatemala from ostracode remains in the lake sediments. Multivariate statistics were run on autecological information for 29 extant ostracode species collected in 63 aquatic ecosystems on the Yucatán Peninsula along a steep, increasing NW–S precipitation gradient and across a large altitudinal range. Conductivity and water depth are the most important factors that shape ostracode communities. Transfer functions were developed and applied to fossil ostracode assemblages in a ~76-m sediment core (PI-6, ~85 ka) taken in 71 m of water from Lago Petén Itzá, to infer past shifts in conductivity and water level. Results suggest climate was cold and wet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Alternating dry and wet conditions characterized the deglacial. Early Holocene climate was warmer and wetter. The LGM was characterized by low ostracode species richness (4 spp.) and abundance (<940 valves g⁻¹), dominance of benthic over nektobenthic taxa, abundant Physocypria globula, conductivity as low as 190 μS cm⁻¹, and clay-rich sediments with relatively high total organic carbon and low C/N ratios (<14), suggesting relatively deeper water at the core site associated with abundant precipitation. Greatest water depth at the core site during the LGM occurred late in the period and was ~50 m. The deglacial was characterized by drier conditions, higher ostracode species richness (6 spp.) and abundances up to 18,115 valves g⁻¹, dominance of nektobenthic species, and presence of shallow-water and littoral-zone indicators such as Heterocypris punctata and Strandesia intrepida, conductivity up to 550 μS cm⁻¹, C/N ratios as high as 37, and gypsum deposition. Lowest inferred lake depth at the core site during the deglacial was ~20 m. The early Holocene was characterized by high numbers of ostracode remains, up to 25,500 valves g⁻¹, and the presence of L. opesta and P. globula. Cytheridella ilosvayi was absent from late Pleistocene sediments, suggesting it colonized northern Central America during the Holocene.     

Ostracod assemblages and their environmental significance from the lake core of the Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau 8.4 kaBP

A 332-cm long lacustrine core was drilled in the Nam Co in the central-southern part of the Tibetan Plateau. From the core, 15 species of ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda), which belong to 6 genera have been identified. According to the variations of the ostracod assemblages and the ostracods ecological features, which are sensitive to the changing environment, three main stages can be distinguished as follows: Stage I was from 8400 to 6800 a BP, during which the climate was cold-humid, and the lake depth changed from shallow to deep. Stage II was from 6400 to 2500 a BP, during which the climate changed from warm-humid to cold-humid, and then to cold-dry. The lake depth gradually became deep. The shifting of climate, from wet-cold to dry-cold during this period, had constructed the basis of present environment in the Nam Co. Stage III was from 2500 a BP to the present, which showed a trait of lake depth increasing. At the earlier period of this stage, the climate kept as cold-dry as that in the former stage, but the salinity of the lake increased. At the later period of this stage, the degree of cold-dry was enhanced, and the activities of land surface runoff tended to be weakened. Our research also found that the peak values of ostracods with black shell was coherent with the maximum production of the ostracods, and agreed with the increasing sedimentary water dynamics. This indicated that the ostracods with black shell was simultaneous with the high prolificacy of ostracod, and transported from other places. The abundance of Candona juvenile shells reflected the high mortality of that kind of ostracods under an unfavorable condition. This was probably a result of the rapid change of water dynamics of sedimentary environment.     

Isotopic compositions,nitrogen functional chemistry,and low‐loss electron spectroscopy of complex organic aggregates at the nanometer scale in the carbonaceous chondrite Renazzo

Organic matter (OM) was widespread in the early solar nebula and might have played an important role for the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth. We investigated the textures, isotopic compositions, and functional chemistries of organic grains in the Renazzo carbonaceous chondrite by combined high spatial resolution techniques (electron microscopy–secondary ion mass spectrometry). Morphologies are complex on a submicrometer scale, and some organics exhibit a distinct texture with alternating layers of OM and minerals. These layered organics are also characterized by heterogeneous ¹⁵N isotopic abundances. Functional chemistry investigations of five focused ion beam‐extracted lamellae by electron energy loss spectroscopy reveal a chemical complexity on a nanometer scale. Grains show absorption at the C‐K edge at 285, 286.6, 287, and 288.6 eV due to polyaromatic hydrocarbons, different carbon‐oxygen, and aliphatic bonding environments with varying intensity. The nitrogen K‐edge functional chemistry of three grains is shown to be highly complex, and we see indications of amine (C‐NH_x) or amide (CO‐NR₂) chemistry as well as possible N‐heterocycles and nitro groups. We also performed low‐loss vibrational spectroscopy with high energy resolution and identified possible D‐ and G‐bands known from Raman spectroscopy and/or absorption from C=C and C‐O stretch modes known from infrared spectroscopy at around 0.17 and 0.2 eV energy loss. The observation of multiglobular layered organic aggregates, heterogeneous ¹⁵N‐anomalous compositions, and indication of NH_x‐(amine) functional chemistry lends support to recent ideas that ¹⁵N‐enriched ammonia (NH₃) was a powerful agent to synthesize more complex organics in aqueous asteroidal environments.     

3D numerical models of magnetic field evolution in galaxies interacting with the ICM

A fully three-dimensional (3D) MHD model is applied to simulate the evolution of large-scale magnetic field in galaxies interacting with the intra-cluster medium (ICM). As the model input we use a time dependent velocity field of gas clouds (HI) resulting from 3D N-body sticky-particle model of a galaxy. These clouds are affected by ram pressure due to their rapid motion through the ICM. The gas evolves in an analytically given gravitational potential which includes a dark matter halo, a disk, and a bulge component. We found that due to the interaction with the ICM the resultant magnetic field correctly reproduces the observed structures of the magnetic field forming peculiar spiral arms and magnetic features widely observed in cluster spiral galaxies. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinematics of an Anaemic Cluster Galaxy

We present new HI and CO data including velocity information of NGC 4548, an anaemic galaxy in the Virgo Cluster. The distribution of the atomic gas shows a ring-like structure. The HI rotation curve is deduced and can be extrapolated inwards with the help of the CO data. The derived molecular fraction decreases continuously up to a radius of about 40″ showing a rather sharp transition between the molecular and the atomic disc. A three-dimensional visualization of the data cube permits us to detect a perturbation of the velocity field in the northern part of the galaxy. In a first approach we reconstruct the possible sites of HI emission with the help of a simple kinematical model in three dimensions. The reconstructed model shows a ridge which is believed to be due to ram-pressure stripping. In addition, we show first results of a dynamical model to simulate the interaction between the intra-cluster medium and the galaxy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Timing of atmospheric precipitation in the Zagros Mountains inferred from a multi-proxy record from Lake Mirabad, Iran

A sediment core 7.2 m long from Lake Mirabad, Iran, was examined for loss-on-ignition, mineralogy, oxygen-isotopic composition of authigenic calcite, and trace-element composition of ostracodes to complement earlier pollen and ostracode-assemblage studies. Pollen, ostracode-inferred lake level, and high Sr/Ca ratios indicate that the early Holocene (10000 to 6500 cal yr BP) was drier than the late Holocene. Low δ¹⁸O values during this interval are interpreted as resulting from winter-dominated precipitation, characteristic of a Mediterranean climate. Increasing δ¹⁸O values after 6500 cal yr BP signal a gradual increase in spring rains, which are present today. A severe 600-yr drought occurred at ca. 5500 cal yr BP, shortly after the transition from pistachio-almond to oak forest. During the late Holocene, two milder droughts occurred at about 1500 and 500 cal yr BP. Within the resolution of the record, no drought is evident during the collapse of the Akkadian empire (4200–3900 cal yr BP). Rather, a decrease in δ¹⁸O values to early-Holocene levels may indicate the return to a Mediterranean precipitation regime.     

Anaerobic oxidation of methane and sulfate reduction along the Chilean continental margin

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) and sulfate reduction (SR) were investigated in sediments of the Chilean upwelling region at three stations between 800 and 3000 m water depth. Major goals of this study were to quantify and evaluate rates of AOM and SR in a coastal marine upwelling system with high organic input, to analyze the impact of AOM on the methane budget, and to determine the contribution of AOM to SR within the sulfate-methane transition zone (SMT). Furthermore, we investigated the formation of authigenic carbonates correlated with AOM. We determined the vertical distribution of AOM and SR activity, methane, sulfate, sulfide, pH, total chlorins, and a variety of other geochemical parameters. Depth-integrated rates of AOM within the SMT were between 7 and 1124 mmol m⁻² a⁻¹, effectively removing methane below the sediment-water interface. Single measurements revealed AOM peaks of 2 to 51 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹, with highest rates at the shallowest station (800 m). The methane turnover was higher than in other diffusive systems of similar ocean depth. This higher turnover was most likely due to elevated organic matter input in this upwelling region offering significant amounts of substrates for methanogenesis. SR within the SMT was mostly fuelled by methane. AOM led to the formation of isotopically light DIC (δ¹³C: −24.6‰ VPDB) and of distinct layers of authigenic carbonates (δ¹³C: −14.6‰ VPDB).     

How special are Etendeka mesas? Flora and elevation gradients in an arid landscape in north-west Namibia

Seven mesas (i.e. flat-topped, isolated mountains) and the Grootberg mountain in arid north-west Namibia were investigated with regard to floristic relationships in relation to environmental gradients. Relationships between mesas and their surrounding, species richness and number of mesa specialists were used as measures to explore the influence of elevation on these floristic parameters. Also soil properties were investigated along these elevation gradients. The overall questions were designed to investigate the importance, i.e. ‘special status’, of these mesas in terms of contributing to species diversity and to elucidating ecological processes in this arid landscape.With regard to special floristic status, the tops of mesas supported different plant communities than their surrounding plains, while slopes indicated various levels of intermingling with plain vegetation. Differences between mesas and plains became more pronounced with increasing elevation. There were, however, no clear vegetation belts related to elevation. Plant species richness and number of mesa specialists showed a trend of increasing numbers with elevation, but these trends were statistically poorly supported, largely due to high variability between samples.Do soil gradients and elevation, as two important environmental variables, affect this ‘special’ status? Pronounced soil gradients were evident for many soil properties. These in combination with altitudinal effects of increased moisture and lower temperatures were believed to directly influence plant species composition and richness. The soil gradients may also indicate nutrient flow from the mesas to the surrounding lowlands, a process of ecological importance, particularly should degradation due to over grazing become a problem in the lowland areas.