Review: Microbial biocenoses in pristine aquifers and an assessment of investigative methods

The current knowledge of microbial biocenoses (communities) in pristine aquifers is presented in a review, which also discusses their relevance for questions of groundwater protection. Aquifers are heterogeneous on all scales and structured in a variety of habitats. The void spaces in many aquifers are small. The biocenoses are thus predominantly composed of microorganisms and, often, microinvertebrates. Larger voids and macroorganisms occur in karst cavities. Due to the absence of light, the biocenoses depend on chemical energy resources, which are, however, scarce in non-contaminated groundwater. The microorganisms thus show small cell sizes, low population densities and reduced activity; they developed specific strategies to survive oligotrophic conditions. The review also discusses the impact of contamination on the biocenoses, and the potential use of the biocenoses or specific organisms as indicators for groundwater quality, and the limits of this approach. Bacteria are either planktonic or attached to aquifer material, which requires both fluid and solid phase sampling. Most groundwater bacteria are viable but non-culturable. Consequently, cultivation techniques give an incomplete picture of the biocenoses, while methods from molecular microbiology provide genetic fingerprints of the entire community. Different analytical methods are available to count microorganisms, identify species, characterise microbial diversity, and measure activity.     

Variscan to eo-Alpine events recorded in European lower-crust zircons sampled from the French Massif Central and Corsica, France

Ion-microprobe U–Pb zircon dating of lower-crust metasedimentary granulite are reported on samples from two localities in Europe in order to determine (a) how this environment recorded the Variscan and eo-Alpine events, and (b) whether the transition between the two orogenic cycles was continuous or separated by a gap. The samples come from enclaves hosted by Miocene volcanoes at Bournac in the French Massif Central, and from the granulitic metasedimentary basement of the Alpine Santa Lucia nappe in Corsica, on the South European paleomargin of the Ligurian branch of the Tethys Sea. The zircon ages from Bournac range between 630 and 430 Ma and between 380 and 150 Ma with a major frequency peak at 285 Ma; the zircons older than 430 Ma are interpreted as detrital, whereas those younger than 380 Ma are considered to have formed by metamorphic processes after burial in the lower crust. Zircon ages from Santa Lucia range from to 356 to 157 Ma, with exception of one inherited Archean grain, and are interpreted like the younger Bournac zircons as having been formed by metamorphic processes.

In a granulite metamorphic environment, as opposed to an anatectic environment, new zircon growth can occur in the solid state. Once Zr has been incorporated into zircon, however, it is difficult to remobilize without dissolution; thus Zr available for new zircon growth must result from the breakdown of Zr-bearing minerals during prograde and/or retrograde events. In this light, the U–Pb zircon-age probability curves are interpreted as markers for major tectonometamorphic events, as suggested by the close correspondence between peaks in the curve and geological events recorded in the upper-crust, such as magma emplacement and basin subsidence.

Evidence of a tectonometamorphic gap between the Variscan and Alpine orogeneses is provided by the Santa Lucia zircon-age probability curve, which reveals a probable interlude during the Variscan–Alpine transition between 240 and 210 Ma. Here, the peak at 240 Ma is interpreted as the very beginning of crustal extension and the low at 210 Ma as a period of quiescence prior to the formation of an active margin and oceanization.     

Daily Meteorological Observations in Cádiz – San Fernando. Analysis of the Documentary Sources and the Instrumental Data Content (1786–1996)

Meteorological observations in the city of Cádiz are acknowledged as having been made from the middle of the 18th century onwards although they were only recorded and preserved in documentary form from 1789 onwards. Data readings were taken at the new Naval Observatory in San Fernando, ten kilometres from Cádiz, from 1797 onwards. Continuous series for temperature and atmospheric pressure at a daily resolution have been compiled and constructed from 1817 until 1996. The data series is composed of thrice daily observations made at Cádiz (1821–1880) by local observers and hourly data from Naval Observatory at San Fernando (1870–1996).     

Spatial and temporal variation of the nekton and hyperbenthos from a temperate European estuary with regulated freshwater inflow

The aquatic macrofauna of the Guadalquivir estuary were sampled (1 mm mesh persiana net) at 5 sampling sites located along the entire (except the tidal freshwater region) estuarine gradient of salinity (outer 50 km). A total of 134 fish and macroinvertebrate species was collected but only 62 were considered common or regularly present in the estuary. Univariate measures of the community structure showed statistically significant differences among sampling sites: species richness, abundance, and biomass decreased in the upstream direction, being positively correlated with the salinity. Temporal differences of these three variables were also statistically significant. While a clear seasonal pattern (minimum densities in winter and maximum in spring-summer) was observed for abundance and biomass, no such pattern existed for the number of species. Mysids was the most dominant group throughout the estuary (96% to 99% of abundance; 49% to 85% of biomass), although fish biomass was also important at the outer estuary (36% to 38%). Multivariate analyses indicated highly significant spatial variation in the macrofaunal communities observed along the salinity gradient. These analyses suggest that the underlying structure was a continuum with more or less overlapping distributions of the species dependent on their ability to tolerate different physicochemical conditions. There were also significant temporal (intermonthly + interannual) variation of the estuarine community; the relative multivariate dispersion indicated that monthly variation was more considerable (relative multivariate dispersion >1) at the outer part of the estuary during the wet year (last 20 km) and was higher in the inner stations during the dry year (32 to 50 km from the river mouth). Since a clear negative exponential relationship was observed between the freshwater input (from a dam located 110 km upstream) and water salinity at all sampling stations, it is concluded that the human freshwater management is probably affecting the studied estuarine communities. While the higher seasonal (long-term) stability of the salinity gradient, due to the human control of the freshwater input, may facilitate the recruitment of marine species juveniles during the meteorologically unstable early-spring, the additional (short-term) salinity fluctuations during the warm period may negatively affect species that complete their lifecycle within the estuary.     

Alpujarride attribution of the supposed ‘Almagride Complex’ (Betic Internal Zone,Almerı́a Province,Spain)Appartenance Alpujarride du prétendu « Complexe almagride » (Zones internes bétiques,province d'Almeria,Espagne)

The differentiation of units in the Sierra de Almagro has been a source of controversy. There were defined the Almagride and Ballabona–Cucharón complexes, the former considered by several authors as part of a Subbetic metamorphosed and outcropping in a tectonic window. In this study, the units of Ballabona, Almagro and Cucharón are integrated into a single one, that of Tres Pacos, because they correspond to different parts of the same stratigraphic series. This unit is tectonically over the Nevado–Filabride Complex. The existence of the Almagride and Ballabona–Cucharón complexes is discarded and their units form part of the Alpujarride Complex. To cite this article: C. Sanz de Galdeano, F.J. Garc??a Tortosa, C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 355–362.     

A Comparison of Benzene and Toluene Plume Lengths for Sites Contaminated with Regular vs. Ethanol-Amended Gasoline

This article describes various statistical analyses of plume-length data to evaluate the hypothesis that the presence of ethanol in gasoline may hinder the natural attenuation of hydrocarbon releases. Plume dimensions were determined for gasoline-contaminated sites to evaluate the effect of ethanol on benzene and toluene plume lengths. Data from 217 sites in Iowa (without ethanol; set 1) were compared to data from 29 sites in Kansas that were contaminated by ethanol-amended gasoline (10% ethanol by volume; set 2). The data were log-normally distributed, with mean benzene plume lengths (± standard deviation) of 193 ± 135 feet for set 1 and 263 ± 103 feet for set 2 (36% longer). The median lengths were 156 feet and 263 feet (69% longer), respectively. Mean toluene plume lengths were 185± 131 feet for set 1 and 211 ±99 feet for set 2 (14% longer), and the median lengths were 158 feet and 219 feet (39% longer), respectively. Thus, ethanol-containing BTEX plumes were significantly longer for benzene (p < 0.05), but not for toluene. A Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that toluene plumes were generally shorter than benzene plumes, which suggests that toluene was attenuated to a greater extent than benzene. This trend was more pronounced for set 2 (with ethanol), which may reflect that benzene attenuation is more sensitive to the depletion of electron acceptors caused by ethanol degradation. These results support the hypothesis that the presence of ethanol in gasoline can lead to longer benzene plumes. The importance of this effect, however, is probably site-specific, largely depending on the release scenario and the available electron acceptor pool.     

An Early-Cambrian UPb apatite cooling age for the high-temperature regional metamorphism in the Piancó area,Borborema Province (NE Brazil): initial conclusions

The Borborema Province (BP) of northeastern Brazil is a complex crustal assemblage, which has undergone a polycyclic evolution during the Proterozoic. In the Piancó-Alto Br??gida belt, a metamorphosed leucosome vein inserted in amphibolites has a trace element pattern suggesting a T-MORB protolith. Apatites yield a REE pattern indicating growth in equilibrium with garnet, thus pointing to its metamorphic origin. UPb analyses yield an age of 540±5 Ma interpreted as a cooling age following amphibolite facies regional metamorphism associated with granitic emplacement at ca. 580 Ma. The resulting slow cooling rates (ranging from ca. 2.5 to 5 °C Ma^?1) are consistent with underplating of mafic magmas, or crustal thickening caused by nappe stacking, as possible processes governing the metamorphic evolution of the BP. To cite this article: B. Dhuime et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Tree growth response to the 1913 eruption of Volcán de Fuego de Colima, Mexico

The impact of volcanic eruptions on forest ecosystems can be investigated using dendrochronological records. While long-range effects are usually mediated by decreased air temperatures, resulting in frost rings or reduced maximum latewood density, local effects include abrupt suppression of radial growth, occasionally followed by greater than normal growth rates. Annual rings in Mexican mountain pine (Pinus hartwegii Lindl.) on Nevado de Colima, at the western end of the Mexican Neovolcanic Belt, indicate extremely low growth in 1913 and 1914, following the January 1913 Plinian eruption of Volcán de Fuego, 7.7 km to the south. That event, which is listed among the largest explosive eruptions since A.D. 1500, produced ashflow deposits up to 40 m thick and blanketed our study area on Nevado de Colima with a tephra fallout 15–30 cm deep. Radial growth reduction in 1913–14 was ≥30% in 73% of the sampled trees. We geostatistically investigated the ecological impact of the eruption by mapping the decrease in xylem increment and found no evidence of a spatial structure in growth reduction. Little information has been available to date on forest species as biological archives of past environments in the North American tropics, yet this historical case study suggests that treeline tropical sites hold valuable records of prehistoric phenomena, including volcanic eruptions.     

Yucatán karst features and the size of Chicxulub crater

The buried Chicxulub impact structure is marked by a dramatic ring of sinkholes (called cenotes if containing water), and adjacent less prominent partial rings, which have been shown to coincide with maxima in horizontal gravity gradients and a topographic depression. These observations, along with the discreteness and spacing of the features, suggest a formation mechanism involving faulting in the outer slump zone of the crater, which would thus have a diameter of approximately 180 km.
An opposing view, based primarily on the interpretation of gravity data, is that (he crater is much larger than the cenote ring implies. Given the association of the known cenote ring with faults, we here examine northern Yucatan for similar rings in gravity, surface features and elevation, which we might expect to be associated with outer concentric faults in the case of a larger, possibly multiring, structure.
No such outer rings have been found, although definite patterns are seen in the distribution of karst features outside the crater rim. We explain these patterns as resulting mainly from deformation related to the block fault zone that parallels tbe shelf edge of eastern Yucatan.