SMART-1 after lunar capture: First results and perspectives

SMART-1 is a technology demonstration mission for deep space solar electrical propulsion and technologies for the future. SMART-1 is Europe’s first lunar mission and will contribute to developing an international program of lunar exploration. The spacecraft was launched on 27th September 2003, as an auxiliary passenger to GTO on Ariane 5, to reach the Moon after a 15-month cruise, with lunar capture on 15th November 2004, just a week before the International Lunar Conference in Udaipur. SMART-1 carries seven experiments, including three remote sensing instruments used during the mission’s nominal six months and one year extension in lunar science orbit. These instruments will contribute to key planetary scientific questions, related to theories of lunar origin and evolution, the global and local crustal composition, the search for cold traps at the lunar poles and the mapping of potential lunar resources     

Acid mine drainage and acid rock drainage processes in the environment of Herrerías Mine (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Huelva-Spain) and impact on the Andevalo Dam

The present work describes the process of acid water discharge into the Andévalo Dam (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Huelva-Spain) starting from the interpretation of rainfall data and chemical analyses regarding pH, conductivity, metal and sulphate content in water, from a time series corresponding to the sampling of two confluent channels that discharge water into the referred dam. Statistical data treatment allows us to conclude the existence of acid mine drainage processes in the Chorrito Stream, which are translated into very low pH values and high sulphate and metal concentrations in the water coming from Herrerías Mine. On the other hand, the Higuereta Stream shows, for the same parameters, much lower values that can be interpreted as the channel response to acid rock drainage processes in its drainage basin induced by the rocky outcrops of the Iberian Pyrite Belt.     

Metazoan/microbial biostalactites from present‐day submarine caves in the Mediterranean Sea

Biostalactites formed by metazoan–microbialite associations from three submerged marine caves in the Plemmirio Peninsula (south of Syracuse, Ionian Sea) are randomly distributed and show different sizes and morphologies, as well as variations in surface roughness/smoothness. The biostalactites consist of crusts a few centimeters thick of small serpulids and other metazoans, associated with fine‐grained carbonate; the larger ones often include a nucleus of serpulid tubes (Protula). The metazoans include mainly serpuloideans, sponges, bryozoans and foraminifers but microbial carbonates are also significant components. The composition of both the living communities and thanatocoenoses on the outer surfaces, as well as the composition and fabric of the internal framework, were analysed and used to reconstruct the history of the caves. All of the identified sessile faunas mainly consist of cryptic and sciaphilic dwellers that reflect cave conditions and their variations through time. The distribution pattern, composition and abundance of the present‐day dwellers largely depend on the degree of roughness of the biostalactite surfaces and their positions within the caves. It has been suggested that the Protula specimens in the nuclei represent pioneer populations that formed aggregates during the early cave colonization phase, in response to relatively high food supply from seawater inflow and intruding continental waters. By contrast, the outer metazoan–microbialite carbonates reflect more confined conditions in the caves caused by Holocene sea‐level rises. Hypotheses are proposed for biostalactite growth, taking into account information about the growth rates of some constituents, and evidence of dissolution effects. Similarities and differences between these biostalactites and other Holocene deposits previously described from submarine caves in the Mediterranean Sea and in tropical reefs are discussed.     

Acute Effects of Drought on Emergent and Aquatic Communities in a Brackish Marsh

Plants and animals in brackish marshes are adapted to live within a wide, yet finite, range of conditions. Events that shift the environmental state beyond that range can dramatically alter habitats and, potentially, the numerous ecosystem services they provide. A prolonged exceptional drought in Texas (October 2010–January 2012) provided a unique opportunity to understand how brackish wetland habitats respond to an extreme environmental event. We examined marshes in the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (Texas, USA) that fell within the drought affected area, including restored areas and an adjacent reference marsh. To test our hypothesis that the brackish marsh community would be sensitive to drought conditions, we quantified emergent plant and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and animal (invertebrates, fish) characteristics in summer 2010 and 2011. In spite of its severity, the exceptional drought of 2011 did not have a negative impact on emergent plant communities: biomass, stem density, and chlorophyll a concentrations were the same in pre-drought and drought years in all restored and reference areas. In contrast, SAV biomass was reduced by up to 100 % in the drought year. Some fish and invertebrate densities were also reduced by an order of magnitude or more, possibly due to the loss of SAV. Aquatic faunal species composition was markedly different in the drought year, largely due to the loss of the hydrobiid snail Probythinella protera and the gain of some marine species, including Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), and white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus). By altering aquatic the plant and animal community, this drought event may subsequently reduce trophic support for higher consumers, or contribute to a decline in water quality. Restoration monitoring programs that only focus on relatively stress-resistant, emergent wetland plant communities may underestimate the sensitivity of these ecosystems to extreme environmental events like droughts.