The Venusian induced magnetosphere: A case study of plasma and magnetic field measurements on the Venus Express mission

Plasma and magnetic field measurements made onboard the Venus Express on June 1, 2006, are analyzed and compared with predictions of a global model. It is shown that in the orbit studied, the plasma and magnetic field observations obtained near the North Pole under solar minimum conditions were qualitatively and, in many cases also, quantitatively in agreement with the general picture obtained using a global numerical quasi-neutral hybrid model of the solar wind interaction (HYB-Venus). In instances where the orbit of Venus Express crossed a boundary referred to as the magnetic pileup boundary (MPB), field line tracing supports the suggestion that the MPB separates the region that is magnetically connected to the fluctuating magnetosheath field from a region that is magnetically connected to the induced magnetotail lobes.     

Ecosystem under pressure: ballast water discharge into Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) from 2005 to 2010

Ballast water exchange processes facilitate the dispersal and unnatural geographic expansion of phytoplankton, including harmful algal bloom species. From 2005 to 2010, over 45,000 vessels (≈ 8000 annually) travelled across Galveston Bay (Texas, USA) to the deep-water ports of Houston (10th largest in the world), Texas City and Galveston. These vessels (primarily tankers and bulkers) discharged ≈ 1.2 × 10(8) metrictons of ballast water; equivalent to ≈ 3.4% of the total volume of the Bay. Over half of the ballast water discharged had a coastwise origin, 96% being from US waters. Galveston Bay has fewer non-indigenous species but receives a higher volume of ballast water discharge, relative to the highly invaded Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays. Given the magnitude of shipping traffic, the role of Galveston Bay, both as a recipient and donor region of non-indigenous phytoplankton species is discussed here in terms of the invasibility risk to this system by way of ballast water.     

Evidences of Holocene transgression on Domingos Petrolini Swamp, southern coastal plain, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The Domingos Petrolini Swamp, located on the Southern Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul, near the town of Rio Grande, constitutes an ample holocene lagoonal deposit. Events related to the holocene transgression and their diverse phases of glacial-eustatic ocillations were found through palynological analysis. Bases on these palynological data, four distinct phases to the paleoenvironmental evolution of the ecosystem were identified. It has also shown a transgressive restricted marine sequence on the base , which suggests the existence of a coastal brackish lagoon or a marisme type of environment. Later, there was a gradation for continentality conditions along with a scarce pollinical record. The third phase is characterized by the presence of marine components and halophyte vegetation, showing another transgressive event in that place. Lastly, the end of direct marine influence over the swamp was recorded and also the vegetation development as it appears these days.     

Rotational properties of ten main belt asteroids: Analysis of the results obtained by photoelectric photometry

V photoelectric lightcurves of ten main belt asteroids (11 Partenope, 20 Massalia, 31 Euphrosyne, 41 Daphne, 55 Pandora, 71 Niobe, 79 Eurynome, 129 Antigone, 344 Desiderata, and 387 Aquitania), obtained during the 1981–1983 oppositions, are reported. The rotation period of 11 Partenope is P = 7.83 hr and that of 344 Desiderata P = 10.53 hr. The shape and the pole coordinates of 20 Massalia, 31 Euphrosyne, and 129 Antigone were also derived and those of 41 Daphne confirmed. The lightcurves of the remaining objects are presented: a preliminary discussion of their possible rotational properties and their morphological features is given.     

Fifty-Five Years of Fish Kills in Coastal Texas

The designation of Texas as a “hotspot” for fish mortalities relative to the other 22 coastal US states is of serious concern for scientists, resource managers, and the public alike. We investigated the major sources and causes of fish kills in coastal Texas from 1951 to 2006. During this 55-year period, more than 383 million fish were killed, 72% of which were Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia spp.). We examined the relationships between climate and the physical features of Texas bays and estuaries as well as the consequences of high-density industrialization and urbanization along several coastal centers on fish kills, including the impact of eutrophication, algal blooms (toxic and nontoxic), and hypoxia. Galveston and Matagorda Bays had the highest number of fish kill events and total number of fish killed. The largest number of fish kill events and the highest number of fish killed occurred during the warmest months, particularly in August. The leading cause of fish kills was found to be low dissolved oxygen concentrations caused by both physical and biological factors. From 1958 to 1997, about two thirds of the mortalities from low oxygen concentrations were caused by human activities. With the population predicted to double in Texas by 2050, mostly along the coastal areas, natural resources will require additional protection. Further increases in nutrient loading are expected in areas unable to keep up with construction of sewage treatment facilities. Defining the sources and causes of fish kill events in Texas will allow better management and conservation efforts.     

The Lago di Varano: Hydrologic Characteristics and Sediment Composition

Abstract. The Lago di Varano is situated on the north side of the Gargano National Park (southeast Italy) and covers a surface area of about 65 km². It communicates with the Adriatic Sea through two artificial canals (Foce Capoiale and Foce Varano) located at the two ends of a long and narrow coastal dune. This work presents preliminary results of four seasonal surveys (1999–2000) carried out to measure chemical and physical parameters of the water column (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH) and to analyse a number of biogeochemical characteristics of surface sediments (organic matter, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and total Hg, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Ni content). Water analysis indicated poor exchange between the coastal pond and the open sea, limited to autumn and winter. Surface sediments were rich in organic matter, whose distribution was influenced by chemical-physical and hydrodynamic variations in the water column. At the sediment level, the highest values of Cd were found in the central zone of the basin, while the highest Cr values were measured in the central and southeastern areas. With the exception of Cd and Pb, the metal content did not indicate anthropogenic pollution, in particular when compared with the Venice Lagoon and the Central Adriatic Sea.     

Padé coefficients for the solution of the wave dispersion equation under ice

The equations governing the propagation of linear gravity waves in ice-covered waters of finite depth is delineated for the linear elastic deformation of the ice plates that are modeled as elastically supported. The possible limiting condition for the validity of the assumptions involved in the formulation of the problem is discussed. A solution procedure for the solution of the wave dispersion equation under ice is discussed and a set of coefficients synthesized using the properties of infinite series and Padé approximants. Direct application of these coefficients for the calculation of wave characteristics in ice-covered sea will eliminate the need for iterative procedure, and hence will reduce the computational time. The derived coefficients were used for the computation of the wave characteristics of laboratory simulated waves and compared with the values obtained through iteration and the error was found to be less than 2%.     

Instability of sand–silt mixtures

The instability of the sand–silt mixtures with different amount of fines contents were studied in this paper. It showed that the slope of the instability lines increases with the increasing relative densities, and it approaches the slope of the failure line (steady state line) at a high relative density. The relationship between the peak stress ratio and the intergranular void ratio can be described by a common curve for all the mixtures with fines contents less than the transitional fines content. There may also exist a unique curve for the relationship between the peak stress ratio and interfine void ratio for the mixtures with fines contents higher than the transitional fines content. If the yield strength ratio is used instead of the peak stress ratio, the relationships can be characterized in the same way.     

Application of <Emphasis Type="Italic">fuzzy logic and data mining</Emphasis> techniques as tools for qualitative interpretation of acid mine drainage processes

In this article, a set of clustering algorithms based on Fuzzy Logic and Data Mining are applied, allowing to obtain data in the form of linguistic rules and charts about the behaviour of the Tinto and Odiel river estuary (SW Spain) affected by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). In order to provide researchers with no skills on data mining techniques an easy and intuitive interpretation, we have developed a computer tool based on fuzzy logic that allows immediate qualitative analysis of the data contained in a data from the estuary water chemical analyses, and serves as a contrast to functioning models previously proposed with classical statistics.     

Going West: Nutrient Limitation of Primary Production in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and the Importance of the Atchafalaya River

To investigate controls on phytoplankton production along the Louisiana coastal shelf, we mapped salinity, nutrient concentrations (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (P_i), silicate (Si)), nutrient ratios (DIN/P_i), alkaline phosphatase activity, chlorophyll and ¹⁴C primary productivity on fine spatial scales during cruises in March, May, and July 2004. Additionally, resource limitation assays were undertaken in a range of salinity and nutrient regimes reflecting gradients typical of this region. Of these, seven showed P_i limitation, five revealed nitrogen (N) limitation, three exhibited light (L) limitation, and one bioassay had no growth. We found the phytoplankton community to shift from being predominately N limited in the early spring (March) to P limited in late spring and summer (May and July). Light limitation of phytoplankton production was recorded in several bioassays in July in water samples collected after peak annual flows from both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. We also found that organic phosphorus, as glucose-6-phosphate, alleviated P limitation while phosphono-acetic acid had no effect. Whereas DIN/P_i and DIN/Si ratios in the initial water samples were good predictors of the outcome of phytoplankton production in response to inorganic nutrients, alkaline phosphatase activity was the best predictor when examining organic forms of phosphorus. We measured the rates of integrated primary production (0.33?C7.01 g C m^?2 d^?1), finding the highest rates within the Mississippi River delta and across Atchafalaya Bay at intermediate salinities. The lowest rates were measured along the outer shelf at the highest salinities and lowest nutrient concentrations (<0.1 ??M DIN and Pi). The results of this study indicate that P_i limitation of phytoplankton delays the assimilation of riverine DIN in the summer as the plume spreads across the shelf, pushing primary production over a larger region. Findings from water samples, taken adjacent the Atchafalaya River discharge, highlighted the importance of this riverine system to the overall production along the Louisiana coast.