A weighted multi-attribute method for matching user-generated Points of Interest

To a large degree, the attraction of Big Data lies in the variety of its heterogeneous multi-thematic and multi-dimensional data sources and not merely its volume. To fully exploit this variety, however, requires conflation. This is a two-step process. First, one has to establish identity relations between information entities across different data sources; and second, attribute values have to be merged according to certain procedures that avoid logical contradictions. The first step, also called matching, can be thought of as a weighted combination of common attributes according to some similarity measures. In this work, we propose such a matching based on multiple attributes of Points of Interest (POI) from the Location-based Social Network Foursquare and the local directory service Yelp. While both contain overlapping attributes that can be used for matching, they have specific strengths and weaknesses that make their conflation desirable. For instance, Foursquare offers information about user check-ins to places, while Yelp specializes in user-contributed reviews. We present a weighted multi-attribute matching strategy, evaluate its performance, and discuss application areas that benefit from a successful matching. Finally, we also outline how the established POI matches can be stored as Linked Data on the Semantic Web. Our strategy can automatically match 97% of randomly selected Yelp POI to their corresponding Foursquare entities.     

Behavior of carbonate-associated sulfate during meteoric diagenesis and implications for the sulfur isotope paleoproxy

Although carbonate-associated sulfate (CAS) is used widely as a proxy for the sulfur isotope composition of ancient seawater, little is known about the effects of diagenesis on retention of primary δ³⁴S signals. Our case study of the Key Largo Limestone, Pleistocene, Florida, is the first systematic assessment of the impact of meteoric diagenesis on CAS properties. Geochemical and petrographic data show that meteoric diagenesis has affected the exposed coralline facies to varying degrees, yielding differences now expressed as sharp reaction fronts between primary and secondary carbonate minerals within individual coral heads. Specifically, analyses across high-resolution transects in the Key Largo Limestone show that concentrations of strontium and sodium decrease across the recrystallization front from original aragonite to meteoric low-magnesium calcite by factors of roughly 5 and 10, respectively. Predictably, δ¹⁸O values decrease across these same fronts. The δ¹³C relationships are more complex, with the most depleted values observed in the latest-formed calcite. Such trends likely reflect carbon isotope buffering capacity that decreased as reaction progressed, as well as protracted development of soil profiles and the associated terrestrial biomass and thus depleted δ¹³C during sea-level lowstand. Conversely, δ³⁴S values of CAS vary within a narrow ‘buffered’ range from 20.6 to 22.6‰ (compared to 20.8-22.0‰ of coeval Pleistocene seawater) across the same mineralogical transition, despite sulfate concentrations that drop in the diagenetic calcite by an average factor of 12. Collectively, these data point to robust preservation of primary δ³⁴S for carbonates that have experienced intense meteoric diagenesis, which is encouraging news for those using the isotopic composition of CAS as a paleoceanographic proxy. At the same time, the vulnerability of CAS concentrations to diagenetic resetting is clear.     

Inter-annual variability in isotope and elemental ratios recorded in otoliths of an anadromous fish

Isotope ratios and elemental concentrations in otoliths are often used as natural tags to reconstruct migratory movements and connectivity patterns in marine and anadromous fishes. Although differences in otolith geochemistry have been documented among geographically separated populations, inter-annual variation within locations is less frequently examined. We compared otolith isotope (δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr:⁸⁶Sr) and elemental ratios (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) from several annual cohorts of juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in three rivers. These four geochemical signatures distinguished among river-specific populations of this species at both large and small geographic scales, with δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr:⁸⁶Sr generating the majority of multivariate variation. We found significant variation among years for all variables in two to three rivers. However, the magnitude of variability differed among ratios, with δ¹⁸O ratios showing substantial inter-annual shifts while ⁸⁷Sr:⁸⁶Sr ratios were relatively stable across years. Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca ratios also varied among years. These results imply that investigators using environmentally labile signatures must quantify geochemical signatures for each cohort of interest in order to confidently identify origins of migrants.     

Synthesis and Preliminary Characterisation of New Silicate, Phosphate and Titanite Reference Glasses

Eleven synthetic silicate and phosphate glasses were prepared to serve as reference materials for in situ microanalysis of clinopyroxenes, apatite and titanite, and other phosphate and titanite phases. Analytical results using different micro-analytical techniques showed that the glass fragments were homogeneous in major and trace elements down to the micrometre scale. Trace element determinations using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and secondary ionisation mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed good agreement for most elements (Li, Be, B, Cs, Rb, Ba, Sr, Ga, Pb, U, Th, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) studied and provide provisional recommended values.     

Biological changes — Anak Krakatau

Editorial

Biological changes — Anak Krakatau     

Estimating carbon sequestration in the piedmont ecoregion of the United States from 1971 to 2010

Human activities have diverse and profound impacts on ecosystem carbon cycles. The Piedmont ecoregion in the eastern United States has undergone significant land use and land cover change in the past few decades. The purpose of this study was to use newly available land use and land cover change data to quantify carbon changes within the ecoregion. Land use and land cover change data (60-m spatial resolution) derived from sequential remotely sensed Landsat imagery were used to generate 960-m resolution land cover change maps for the Piedmont ecoregion. These maps were used in the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) to simulate ecosystem carbon stock and flux changes from 1971 to 2010. Results show that land use change, especially urbanization and forest harvest had significant impacts on carbon sources and sinks. From 1971 to 2010, forest ecosystems sequestered 0.25 Mg C ha?1 yr?1, while agricultural ecosystems sequestered 0.03 Mg C ha?1 yr?1. The total ecosystem C stock increased from 2271 Tg C in 1971 to 2402 Tg C in 2010, with an annual average increase of 3.3 Tg C yr?1. Terrestrial lands in the Piedmont ecoregion were estimated to be weak net carbon sink during the study period. The major factors contributing to the carbon sink were forest growth and afforestation; the major factors contributing to terrestrial emissions were human induced land cover change, especially urbanization and forest harvest. An additional amount of carbon continues to be stored in harvested wood products. If this pool were included the carbon sink would be stronger.     

The CO2 system in rivers of the Australian Victorian Alps: CO2 evasion in relation to system metabolism and rock weathering on multi-annual time scales

The patterns of dissolved inorganic C (DIC) and aqueous CO₂ in rivers and estuaries sampled during summer and winter in the Australian Victorian Alps were examined. Together with historical (1978–1990) geochemical data, this study provides, for the first time, a multi-annual coverage of the linkage between CO₂ release via wetland evasion and CO₂ consumption via combined carbonate and aluminosilicate weathering. δ¹³C values imply that carbonate weathering contributes ∼36% of the DIC in the rivers although carbonates comprise less than 5% of the study area. Baseflow/interflow flushing of respired C3 plant detritus accounts for ∼50% and atmospheric precipitation accounts for ∼14% of the DIC. The influence of in river respiration and photosynthesis on the DIC concentrations is negligible. River waters are supersaturated with CO₂ and evade ∼27.7 × 10⁶ mol/km²/a to ∼70.9 × 10⁶ mol/km²/a CO₂ to the atmosphere with the highest values in the low runoff rivers. This is slightly higher than the global average reflecting higher gas transfer velocities due to high wind speeds. Evaded CO₂ is not balanced by CO₂ consumption via combined carbonate and aluminosilicate weathering which implies that chemical weathering does not significantly neutralize respiration derived H₂CO₃. The results of this study have implications for global assessments of chemical weathering yields in river systems draining passive margin terrains as high respiration derived DIC concentrations are not directly connected to high carbonate and aluminosilicate weathering rates.     

Arsenic repartitioning during biogenic sulfidization and transformation of ferrihydrite

Iron (hydr)oxides are strong sorbents of arsenic (As) that undergo reductive dissolution and transformation upon reaction with dissolved sulfide. Here we examine the transformation and dissolution of As-bearing ferrihydrite and subsequent As repartitioning amongst secondary phases during biotic sulfate reduction. Columns initially containing As(V)-ferrihydrite coated sand, inoculated with the sulfate reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough), were eluted with artificial groundwater containing sulfate and lactate. Rapid and consistent sulfate reduction coupled with lactate oxidation is observed at low As(V) loading (10% of the adsorption maximum). The dominant Fe solid phase transformation products at low As loading include amorphous FeS within the zone of sulfate reduction (near the inlet of the column) and magnetite downstream where Fe(II)_(aq) concentrations increase; As is displaced from the zone of sulfidogenesis and Fe(III)_(s) depletion. At high As(V) loading (50% of the adsorption maximum), sulfate reduction and lactate oxidation are initially slow but gradually increase over time, and all As(V) is reduced to As(III) by the end of experimentation. With the higher As loading, green rust(s), as opposed to magnetite, is a dominant Fe solid phase product. Independent of loading, As is strongly associated with magnetite and residual ferrihydrite, while being excluded from green rust and iron sulfide. Our observations illustrate that sulfidogenesis occurring in proximity with Fe (hydr)oxides induce Fe solid phase transformation and changes in As partitioning; formation of As sulfide minerals, in particular, is inhibited by reactive Fe(III) or Fe(II) either through sulfide oxidation or complexation.