Hydrogen photoproduction ofA. Variabilis incorporated in a photobioreactor

H₂ photoproduction and nitrogenase activities in two strains ofAnabaena variabilis marked wild type ATCC 29413 and mutant PK84 exposed to thermal stress (temperature higher than the normal incubation temperature of 30°C) were studied. Cultures of both strains collected from any interval of logarithmic growth phase exhibited high H₂ photoproduction and nitrogenase activities when exposed to limited time heat shock during the assay process. In contrast, the algal H₂ photoproduction rate of both strains fluctuated with long term thermal stress caused by increasing the growth temperature from 30°C to 36°C.

The changes of nitrogenase (the key H₂ photobiosynthetic enzyme) activities in the mutant PK84 showed variation tendency similar to that of H₂ photoproduction during exposure to thermal stress, indicating that fluctuation of H₂ photoproduction in the mutant was mainly due to the variation of nitrogenase activities. A temporary maximal H₂ photoproduction in the mutant PK84 (wild type ATCC29413) was observed when cells grew at 36°C for 14 (6) days. However, the responses of nitrogenase activities in the wild type to thermal stress were not completely similar to those in the mutant in spite of similar variations of H₂ photoproduction in both strains. The data obtained in these studies suggested that the activities of other enzymes (in the wild strain) involved in H₂ photoproduction were affected by thermal stress since H₂ photoproduction maximized or dropped to 0 without variation tendency similar to that of nitrogenase activities.

Furthermore, an enhancement of H₂ photoproduction speed of the mutant strain cultured in a 4.4 L laboratory photobioreactor was also observed when it was subjected to short time continuous charge of argon, and temperature rise.

All these results indicated that high temperature plays an important role in the photo-autotrophic H₂ photoproduction, and that long term thermal stress is unfavourable for net H₂ photoproduction in both strains ofA. variabilis though short-time heat shock is conducive to H₂ photoproduction.

     

Potential salinity limitations on nitrogen fixation in sediments from Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake is a hypersaline alkaline lake in the high altitude Great Basin desert of eastern California. Algal productivity of the lake is nitrogen-limited, and a contributing source is derived from benthic nitrogen fixation. Lake level and salinity have fluctuated with natural climatic variations but have also been affected by the diversion of tributary streams. This research examines the influence of varied salinity and lake level on the potential for benthic nitrogen fixation in Mono Lake. A sediment-surface microbial mat community was exposed directly, and in acclimated cultures, to a range of Mono Lake salinities under anaerobic incubations and the activity of nitrogenase assayed by acetylene reduction. Activity was stimulated in light, but also occurred in darkness. Over an experimental salinity range from 50 to 150 g L⁻¹ TDS, nitrogenase activity was reduced by 90 per cent, with the activity persisting at the highest salinity being attributable to dark fixation alone. Between a salinity of 50 g L⁻¹, occurring in Mono Lake over 50 years ago, and 100 g L⁻¹, nitrogenase activity was reduced by nearly half. Changes in the area of the littoral zone at varied lake levels also affect the total amount of potential benthic nitrogen fixation in the lake. An accounting of yearly inputs of nitrogen to Mono Lake suggests N₂-fixation could contribute as much as 76–81 percent of the total. Inhibition of nitrogen fixation rates by increased salinity could limit the long-term nutrient supply and benthic primary productivity of this ecosystem.     

Is pure groundwater safe to drink?: natural "contamination' of groundwater in Norway

The title of this article is designed to provoke. Naturally occurring parameters are, by definition, not contamination. Nevertheless, nature is not necessarily nice, and naturally occurring trace toxins can be every bit as undesirable as their counterparts derived from human pollution.     

Life in sandy deserts: the scorpion model

The biology, ecology, biogeography, phylogeny, and evolution of sand-dwelling scorpions are reviewed. We present general features of sand that form the ecological theatre on which psammophiles have evolved. Sand scorpions, compared to those that live off sand, are not very diverse in any one local habitat, although they are often relatively abundant. Worldwide, they are represented by 29 genera, 11 of which exist exclusively in sand. Endemic genera belong to non-related families, suggesting that psammophilic adaptations evolvedin situin different sand deserts of the world.     

Optimized and robust experimental design: a non-linear application to EM sounding

Pragmatic experimental design requires objective consideration of several classes of information including the survey goals, the range of expected Earth responses, acquisition costs, instrumental capabilities, experimental conditions and logistics. In this study we consider the ramifications of maximizing model parameter resolution through non-linear experimental design. Global optimization theory is employed to examine and rank different EM sounding survey designs in terms of model resolution as defined by linearized inverse theory. By studying both theoretically optimal and heuristic experimental survey configurations for various quantities of data, it is shown that design optimization is critical for minimizing model variance estimates, and is particularly important when the inverse problem becomes nearly underdetermined. We introduce the concept of robustness so that survey designs are relatively immune to the presence of potential bias errors in important data. Bias may arise during practical measurement, or from designing a survey using an appropriate model.     

Petrology and geochronology of basalt breccia from the 1996 earthquake swarm of Loihi seamount, Hawaii: magmatic history of its 1996 eruption

 Samples of basalt were collected during the Rapid Response cruise to Loihi seamount from a breccia that was probably created by the July to August 1996 Loihi earthquake swarm, the largest swarm ever recorded from a Hawaiian volcano. ²¹⁰Po–²¹⁰Pb dating of two fresh lava blocks from this breccia indicates that they were erupted during the first half of 1996, making this the first documented historical eruption of Loihi. Sonobuoys deployed during the August 1996 cruise recorded popping noises north of the breccia site, indicating that the eruption may have been continuing during the swarm. All of the breccia lava fragments are tholeiitic, like the vast majority of Loihi's most recent lavas. Reverse zoning at the rim of clinopyroxene phenocrysts, and the presence of two chemically distinct olivine phenocryst populations, indicate that the magma for the lavas was mixed just prior to eruption. The trace element geochemistry of these lavas indicates there has been a reversal in Loihi's temporal geochemical trend. Although the new Loihi lavas are similar isotopically and geochemically to recent Kilauea lavas and the mantle conduits for these two volcanoes appear to converge at depth, distinct trace element ratios for their recent lavas preclude common parental magmas for these two active volcanoes. The mineralogy of Loihi's recent tholeiitic lavas signify that they crystallized at moderate depths (∼8–9 km) within the volcano, which is approximately 1 km below the hypocenters for earthquakes from the 1996 swarm. Taken together, the petrological and seismic evidence indicates that Loihi's current magma chamber is considerably deeper than the shallow magma chamber (∼3–4 km) in the adjoining active shield volcanoes. Received: 21 August 1997 / Accepted: 15 February 1998     

Modelling the dynamics and thermodynamics of volcanic degassing

 The rates of passive degassing from volcanoes are investigated by modelling the convective overturn of dense degassed and less dense gas-rich magmas in a vertical conduit linking a shallow degassing zone with a deep magma chamber. Laboratory experiments are used to constrain our theoretical model of the overturn rate and to elaborate on the model of this process presented by Kazahaya et al. (1994). We also introduce the effects of a CO₂–saturated deep chamber and adiabatic cooling of ascending magma. We find that overturn occurs by concentric flow of the magmas along the conduit, although the details of the flow depend on the magmas' viscosity ratio. Where convective overturn limits the supply of gas-rich magma, then the gas emission rate is proportional to the flow rate of the overturning magmas (proportional to the density difference driving convection, the conduit radius to the fourth power, and inversely proportional to the degassed magma viscosity) and the mass fraction of water that is degassed. Efficient degassing enhances the density difference but increases the magma viscosity, and this dampens convection. Two degassing volcanoes were modelled. At Stromboli, assuming a 2 km deep, 30% crystalline basaltic chamber, containing 0.5 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼700 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 4–10 m radius conduit, degassing 20–100% of the available water and all of the 1 to 4 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. At Mount St. Helens in June 1980, assuming a 7 km deep, 39% crystalline dacitic chamber, containing 4.6 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼500 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 22–60 m radius conduit, degassing ∼2–90% of the available water and all of the 0.1 to 3 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. The range of these results is consistent with previous models and observations. Convection driven by degassing provides a plausible mechanism for transferring volatiles from deep magma chambers to the atmosphere, and it can explain the gas fluxes measured at many persistently active volcanoes. Received: 26 September 1997 / Accepted: 11 July 1998     

An Exceptionally Thick Middle Pleistocene Tephra Layer from Epirus, Greece

A newly recognized 2-m-thick trachytic volcanic ash deposit from northwestern Greece is dated at 374,000 ± 7000 yr and correlated with the Middle Pleistocene volcanic activity of central Italy. The deposit represents ash fallout from one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Europe of the past 400,000 yr and should provide an important stratigraphic marker within the poorly dated Middle Pleistocene deposits of Italy and Greece.