Continental rifting as a function of lithosphere mantle strength

The role of the uppermost mantle strength in the pattern of lithosphere rifting is investigated using a thermo-mechanical finite-element code. In the lithosphere, the mantle/crust strength ratio (S_M/S_C) that decreases with increasing Moho temperature T_M allows two strength regimes to be defined: mantle dominated (S_M > S_C) and crust dominated (S_M < S_C). The transition between the two regimes corresponds to the disappearance of a high strength uppermost mantle for T_M > 700 °C. 2D numerical simulations for different values of S_M/S_C show how the uppermost mantle strength controls the style of continental rifting. A high strength mantle leads to strain localisation at lithosphere scale, with two main patterns of narrow rifting: “coupled crust–mantle” at the lowest T_M values and “deep crustal décollement” for increasing T_M values, typical of some continental rifts and non-volcanic passive margins. The absence of a high strength mantle leads to distributed deformations and wide rifting in the upper crust. These numerical results are compared and discussed in relation with series of classical rift examples.     

Plasticity,Not Adaptation to Salt Level,Explains Variation Along a Salinity Gradient in a Salt Marsh Perennial

Evolutionary ecologists have long been intrigued by the fact that many plant species can inhabit a broad range of environmental conditions and that plants often exhibit dramatic differences in phenotype across environmental gradients. We investigated responses to salinity treatments in the salt marsh plant Borrichia frutescens to determine if the species is responding to variation in edaphic salt content through phenotypic plasticity or specialized trait response. We grew seedlings from fruits collected in high- and low-salt microhabitats, assigned seedlings to high- and low-salt treatments in a greenhouse, and measured traits related to salt tolerance. All traits were highly plastic in response to salinity. Plants from the two microhabitats did not differ in trait means or respond differently to the treatments. These results suggest that environmental differences between the two microhabitats are not creating genotypes adapted to high and low salt levels. In addition, despite evidence for variation in allozyme markers in this population, there was no significant genotypic variation (family effect) in any of the trait means measured across microhabitats. There was variation in plasticity for only leaf Na and leaf B concentration. The high degree of plasticity for all traits and the lack of differences among microhabitats across the salinity gradient suggest plasticity in many traits may be fixed for this species.     

Ten guiding principles for the delineation of priority habitat for endangered small cetaceans

The adoption of endangered species laws in various nations has intensified efforts to better understand, and protect, at-risk species or populations, and their habitats. In many countries, delineating a portion of a species' habitat as particularly worthy of protection has become a mantra of these laws. Unfortunately, the laws themselves often provide scientists and managers with few, if any, guidelines for how to define such habitat. Conservationists and scientists may view protecting part of the habitat of an endangered species as an ineffectual compromise, while managers may be under pressure to allow a range of human activities within the species' habitat. In the case of small cetaceans, establishing boundaries for such areas can also be complicated by their mobility, the fluid nature of their environment, and the often ephemeral nature of their habitat features. The convergence of multiple human impacts in coastal waters around the world is impacting many small cetaceans (and other species) that rely on these areas for feeding, reproducing, and resting. The ten guiding principles presented here provide a means to characterize the habitat needs of small, at-risk cetaceans, and serve as a basis for the delineation of ‘priority habitat’ boundaries. This conceptual approach should facilitate a constructive discourse between scientists and managers engaged in efforts to recover endangered species. The degree to which the recovery of an at-risk species can be reconciled with sustainable economic activity will depend in part on how well these principles are incorporated into the delineation of priority habitat.     

Assessment of uncertainty sources in water quality modeling in the Niagara River

This paper presents a framework to quantify the overall variability of the model estimations of Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Total PCBs) concentrations in the Niagara River on the basis of the uncertainty of few model parameters and the natural variability embedded in some of the model input variables. The results of the uncertainty analysis are used to understand the importance of stochastic model components and their effect on the overall reliability of the model output and to evaluate multiple sources of uncertainty that might need to be further studied. The uncertainty analysis is performed using a newly developed point estimate method, the Modified Rosenblueth method. The water quality along the Niagara River is simulated by coupling two numerical models the Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code (EFDC) – for the hydrodynamic portion of the study and the Water Quality Analysis and Simulation Program (WASP) – for the fate and transport of contaminants. For the monitoring period from May 1995 to March 1997, the inflow Total PCBs concentration from Lake Erie is the stochastic component that most influences the variability of the modeling results for the simulated concentrations at the exit of the Niagara River. Other significant stochastic components in order are as follows: the suspended sediments concentration, the point source loadings and to a minor degree the atmospheric deposition, the flow and the non-point source loadings. Model results that include estimates of uncertainty provide more comprehensive information about the variability of contaminant concentrations, such as confidence intervals, and, in general offer a better approach to compare model results with measured data.     

Geochemistry of mylonitic gneisses from the Cycladic Basement Unit (Paros and Serifos,Aegean Sea): implications for protoliths of the high-grade gneisses

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The nature of the protolith(s) of high-grade gneisses from the Aegean Cycladic Basement Unit of the islands of Paros and Serifos is investigated using...     

中国湖北钉螺(腹足纲:圆口螺科)分类现状

本文对采自中国境内不同水域、不同螺壳类型的14个螺群的同工酶数据进行了遗传分化研究,探讨中国湖北钉螺的分类现状。结果表明,中国钉螺存在重要的遗传分化及与遗传分化相关的可分辨的类型。对此进行研究后还发现了县城交叉传播和亚种间可能存在3个例外杂合螺群的依据;此外,螺群遗传分化类型与地理分布、螺壳刻纹和形态特征相一致。以此为基础,湖北钉螺(Oncomelania hupensis)再分成3个独立的亚种:滇川亚种(O.h. robertsoni )、福建亚种(O.h. tangi )和湖北亚种(O,h. hupensis).     

Catchment-wide estimate of single storm interrill soil erosion using an aggregate instability index: a model based on geographic information systems

The main objective of this paper is to estimate interrill erosion after rainfall in the basin of Mourganis river (442?km²; Kalabaka province, Trikala prefecture, Thessaly, Greece). For the estimation of the interrill erosion, the method of Valmis et al. (1988) was used, in combination with Nearing et al. (1989). Input data of the algorithm include the slope angle of the ground surface, the rainfall, the ground cover type, the height of canopy, and the instability of ground of the study area. The spatial data were processed by standard GIS software. Soil samples were collected in the field to calibrate the model. The results comprise soil erosion maps for two specific rainfall scenarios. The first rainfall scenario refers to the most extreme rainfall in this catchment that happened on the 7/21/1959 with 48?mm/h. The second scenario is closer to average as the intensity rainfall is 3.54?mm/h. The total mass of eroded material ranges from 0.048?t/ha (assuming mean rainfall intensity) up to 3.5?t/ha (for the extreme scenario). We note that the western part of the Mourgani basin exhibits higher erosion than the eastern part.     

Seasonal survey of copper-complexing ligands and thiol compounds in a heavily utilized, urban estuary: Elizabeth River, Virginia

Concentrations of thiol compounds, copper-complexing ligands, and total dissolved copper were followed over the course of 1 year (October 2002 until September 2003) in the Elizabeth River, Virginia to evaluate seasonality. Copper-complexing ligand concentrations were determined by competitive ligand equilibration-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE/ACSV). Thiol detection was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and calibration using a suite of nine thiol compounds (cysteine, glutathione, mercaptoacetic acid, 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid, 2-mercaptoethanol, 2-mercaptopropionic acid, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, mercaptosuccinic acid, and monothioglycerol). Total dissolved copper concentrations reached a January low of 13.1 nM to a June high of 24.7 nM and were found to vary seasonally with higher concentrations occurring from June to September. With a low of 26 nM during April to a high of 56 nM in October, copper-complexing ligand (average log K′_CuL of 12.0 ± 0.2) concentrations displayed a similar seasonal pattern to that of total dissolved copper. Free cupric ion concentrations remained below 1.5 pM for a majority of the year except during March, April, and December when values reached pM levels greater than 1.5. Six of the nine thiol compounds surveyed were detected in the Elizabeth River samples and ranged in concentration from below detectable concentrations (< 5 nM) to individual highs ranging from 25.3 to168.5 nM. The thiol compound concentrations displayed a clear seasonality fluctuating at below detection limits during November to February then increasing with increasing surface water temperatures from March to July. CLE/ACSV was used to assess whether or not the suite of thiol compounds detected by HPLC could contribute to the copper-complexing ligand pool. Conditional stability constants for each one of six thiol standards (average log K′_CuL  12.1 ± 0.5) were found to be statistically equivalent to the naturally occurring copper-complexing ligands (average log K′_CuL  12.0 ± 0.2). This suggests that these thiol compounds could act as copper-complexing ligands in natural samples and could contribute to the copper-complexing ligand pool detected by CLE/ACSV. This study involving seasonality of copper-complexing ligands and thiols in an industrialized, urban estuary underscored several points that have to be substantiated in future research efforts including copper-complexing ligands sources and the role that thiol compounds as well as other unidentified organic compounds play in the copper-complexing ligand pool.     

Petrogenesis of main group pallasite meteorites based on relationships among texture,mineralogy, and geochemistry

Main group pallasite meteorites are samples of a single early magmatic planetesimal, dominated by metal and olivine but containing accessory chromite, sulfide, phosphide, phosphates, and rare phosphoran olivine. They represent mixtures of core and mantle materials, but the environment of formation is poorly understood, with a quiescent core–mantle boundary, violent core–mantle mixture, or surface mixture all recently suggested. Here, we review main group pallasite data sets and petrologic characteristics, and present new observations on the low‐MnO pallasite Brahin that contains abundant fragmental olivine, but also rounded and angular olivine and potential evidence of sulfide–phosphide liquid immiscibility. A reassessment of the literature shows that low‐MnO and high‐FeO subgroups preferentially host rounded olivine and low‐temperature P₂O₅‐rich phases such as the Mg‐phosphate farringtonite and phosphoran olivine. These phases form after metal and silicate reservoirs back‐react during decreasing temperature after initial separation, resulting in oxidation of phosphorus and chromium. Farringtonite and phosphoran olivine have not been found in the common subgroup PMG, which are mechanical mixtures of olivine, chromite with moderate Al₂O₃ contents, primitive solid metal, and evolved liquid metal. Lower concentrations of Mn in olivine of the low‐MnO PMG subgroup, and high concentrations of Mn in low‐Al₂O₃ chromites, trace the development and escape of sulfide‐rich melt in pallasites and the partially chalcophile behavior for Mn in this environment. Pallasites with rounded olivine indicate that the core–mantle boundary of their planetesimal may not be a simple interface but rather a volume in which interactions between metal, silicate, and other components occur.     

Quantifying Annual Nitrogen Loads to Virginia’s Coastal Lagoons: Sources and Water Quality Response

Coastal lagoons of the Delmarva Peninsula receive varying annual nitrogen loads because of differing land uses. Extensive development and agriculture contribute to elevated nutrient loads in Maryland and Delaware. Agriculture and forests dominate Virginia’s landscape, suggesting these systems receive lower loads. We used a watershed model to achieve three objectives: (1) quantify loads to Virginia lagoons; (2) determine the sources of the loads; and (3) project changes in annual loads under different development scenarios. Model simulations indicated that some Virginia lagoons receive relatively high annual nutrient loads (kg N year⁻¹) due to intensive agriculture and a high watershed/lagoon areal ratio. Model projections also suggested that increased agricultural and residential development in Virginia could lead to annual loads (kg N year⁻¹) typical of impacted Maryland systems. A comparison of Maryland and Virginia water quality responses to nutrient loading suggested that Virginia’s lagoons exhibit a different response to nutrient loading, though the exact mechanism for this difference is unclear.