Fresh Water Inflow and Oyster Productivity in Apalachicola Bay,FL (USA)

Apalachicola Bay lies at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, where seasonally variable freshwater inflows and shifting winds have long been thought to contribute to the support of an unusually productive and commercially important oyster fishery. Links between the river and productivity have been shown to lie in salinity-induced reductions in oyster predators and oyster disease as well as organic supplements from an extensive floodplain. Several studies have also indicated that nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) carried by the river are important in fertilization of bay primary production. While there is concern that upstream water withdrawals may impact the fishery, the importance of riverine N to oyster diets remains unclear. We measured N and carbon (C) stable isotopes (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) in macroalgae, surface-water nitrate, and surface sediments, which showed a gradient from enriched riverine δ¹⁵N values to more depleted values in the Gulf of Mexico. In contrast, δ¹³C of particulate matter is depleted in the river and enriched offshore. Oyster stable isotope values throughout Apalachicola Bay are more complex, but are dominated by freshwater inputs and reflect the variability and hydrodynamics of the riverine inflows.     

The pressure and temperature dependence of the elastic properties of single-crystal fayalite Fe2SiO4

The nine adiabatic elastic stiffness constants of synthetic single-crystal fayalite, Fe₂SiO₄, were measured as functions of pressure (range, 0 to 1.0 GPa) and temperature (range, 0 to 40° C) using the pulse superposition ultrasonic method. Summary calculated results for a dense fayalite polycrystalline aggregate, based on the HS average of our single-crystal data, are as follows: V_p = 6.67 km/s; V_s = 3.39km/s; K= 127.9 GPa; μ = 50.3 GPa; (?K/?P)_T = 5.2; (?μ/?P)_T=1.5;(?K/?T)_P= ?0.030 GPa/K;and,(?/?T)_P =-0.013 GPa/K (the pressure and temperature data are referred to 25° C and 1 atm, respectively). Accuracy of the single-crystal results was maintained by numerous cross and redundancy checks. Compared to the single-crystal elastic properties of forsterite, Mg₂SiO₄, the fayalite stiffness constants, as well as their pressure derivatives, are lower for each of the on-diagonal (C _ij for which i=j) values, and generally higher for the off-diagonal (C _ij for which i≠j) data. As a result, the bulk moduli (K) and dK/dP for forsterite and fayalite are very similar, but the rigidity modulus (μ) and dμ/dP for polycrystalline fayalite are much lower than their forsterite counterparts. The bulk compression properties derived from this study are very consistent with the static-compression x-ray results of Yagi et al. (1975). The temperature dependence of the bulk modulus of fayalite is somewhat greater (in a negative sense) than that of forsterite. The rigidity dependencies are almost equivalent. Over the temperature range relevant to this study, the elastic property results are generally consistent with the data of Sumino (1978), which were obtained using the RPR technique. However, some of the compressional modes are clearly discrepant. The elastic constants of fayalite appear to be less consistent with a theoretical HCP model (Leibfried 1955) than forsterite, reflecting the more covalent character of the Fe-O bonding in the former.     

Bedform signature of a West Antarctic palaeo-ice stream reveals a multi-temporal record of flow and substrate control

The presence of a complex bedform arrangement on the sea floor of the continental shelf in the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, indicates a multi-temporal record of flow related to the activity of one or more ice streams in the past. Mapping and division of the bedforms into distinct landform assemblages reveals their time-transgressive history, which implies that bedforms can neither be considered part of a single downflow continuum nor a direct proxy for palaeo-ice velocity, as suggested previously. A main control on the bedform imprint is the geology of the shelf, which is divided broadly between rough bedrock on the inner shelf, and smooth, dipping sedimentary strata on the middle to outer shelf. Inner shelf bedform variability is well preserved, revealing information about local, complex basal ice conditions, meltwater flow, and ice dynamics over time. These details, which are not apparent at the scale of regional morphological studies, indicate that past ice streams flowed across the entire shelf at times, and often had onset zones that lay within the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet today. In contrast, highly elongated subglacial bedforms on sedimentary strata of the middle to outer shelf represent a timeslice snapshot of the last activity of ice stream flow, and may be a truer representation of fast palaeo-ice flow in these locations. A revised model for ice streams on the shelf captures complicated multi-temporal bedform patterns associated with an Antarctic palaeo-ice stream for the first time, and confirms a strong substrate control on a major ice stream system that drained the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the Late Quaternary.     

Sea State and Rain: A Second Take on Dual-Frequency Altimetry

TOPEX and Jason were the first two dual-frequency altimeters in space, with both operating at K_u- and C-band. Thus, each gives two measurements of the normalized backscatter, σ⁰, (from which wind speed is calculated) and two estimates of wave height. Departures from a well-defined relationship between the K_u- and C-band σ⁰ values give an indication of rain. This study investigates differences between the two instruments using data from Jason's verification phase. Jason's K_u-band estimates of wave height are ∼1.8% less than TOPEX's, whereas its σ⁰ values are higher. When these effects have been removed the root mean square (rms) mismatch between TOPEX and Jason's K_u-band observations is close to that for TOPEX's observations at its two frequencies, and the changes in σ⁰ with varying wave height conditions are the same for the two altimeters. Rain flagging and quantitative estimates of rain rate are both based on the atmospheric attenuation derived from the σ⁰ measurements at the two frequencies. The attenuation estimates of TOPEX and Jason agree very well, and a threshold of-0.5 dB is effective at removing the majority of spurious data records from the Jason GDRs. In the high σ⁰ regime, anomalous data can be caused by processes other than rain. Consequently, for these low wind conditions, neither can reliable rain detection be based on altimetry alone, nor can a generic rain flag be expected to remove all suspect data.     

珊瑚高精度硼同位素组成分析：PTIMS与NTIMS方法的对比研究

珊瑚的B同位素组成是海水pH值记录的良好替代指标。对传统的高精度的B同位素组成分析的方法正离子热电离质谱（PTIMS）和负离子热电离质谱（NTIMS）方法进行了对比研究。结果显示,NTIMS分析方法具有极高的灵敏度,可以分析微小样品量,但由于其分馏较明显,并且我们的实验结果表明前人建议的使用O同位素进行分馏校正的方法仅在某些特定情况下适用,而对大多数的测定缺乏有效分馏校正,同时有机质或者激发剂带来的CNO-干扰难以完全排除,因此NTIMS的结果重现性稍差,δ11B外部精度约为±1．0‰（2σ）左右。PTIMS则分馏不明显,Cs2CNO^＋干扰可以有效监控并排除,可以获得很好的结果：δ11B内部精度和外部精度均优于±0．2‰（2σ）,可以满足高精度pH值重建的要求。然而PTIMS方法的灵敏度低,难以对微小样品量进行分析。因此PTIMS和NTIMS方法是相互补充的,相互无法完全取代。     

Multi-model projections of twenty-first century North Pacific winter wave climate under the IPCC A2 scenario

A dynamical wave model implemented over the North Pacific Ocean was forced with winds from three coupled global climate models (CGCMs) run under a medium-to-high scenario for greenhouse gas emissions through the twenty-first century. The results are analyzed with respect to changes in upper quantiles of significant wave height (90th and 99th percentile H_S) during boreal winter. The three CGCMs produce surprisingly similar patterns of change in winter wave climate during the century, with waves becoming 10–15 % smaller over the lower mid-latitudes of the North Pacific, particularly in the central and western ocean. These decreases are closely associated with decreasing windspeeds along the southern flank of the main core of the westerlies. At higher latitudes, 99th percentile wave heights generally increase, though the patterns of change are less uniform than at lower latitudes. The increased wave heights at high latitudes appear to be due a variety of wind-related factors including both increased windspeeds and changes in the structure of the wind field, these varying from model to model. For one of the CGCMs, a commonly used statistical approach for estimating seasonal quantiles of H_S on the basis of seasonal mean sea level pressure (SLP) is used to develop a regression model from 60 years of twentieth century data as a training set, and then applied using twenty-first century SLP data. The statistical model reproduces the general pattern of decreasing twenty-first century wave heights south of ~40 N, but underestimates the magnitude of the changes by ~50–70 %, reflecting relatively weak coupling between sea level pressure and wave heights in the CGCM data and loss of variability in the statistically projected wave heights.     

Mössbauer study of a California desert celadonite and its pedogenically-related smectite

Celadonite from the northwestern Mojave Desert area of California was examined by detailed Mössbauer spectroscopy at temperatures from 10 K to 400 K. In addition to the predominant Fe³⁺ doublet with isomer shift 0.4 mm s^–1 and quadrupole splitting 0.4 mm s^–1, another Fe³⁺ doublet with 0.4, 1.2 mm/s and two Fe²⁺ doublets with 1.1, 1.7, 2.7 mm s^–1 at 300 K were distinguished. The minor Fe³⁺ component is ascribed to dehydroxylated surface sites. Most of the remaining Fe(90%) is M2 cis-OH octahedral in an ordered M⁺–M²⁺ array. However, about 10% is M1 trans-OH Fe²⁺. Isomer shift vs. T gives Debye temperatures of 570 K for Fe³⁺ in M2 and 380 K for both Fe²⁺ sites, indicating greater vibrational freedom for Fe²⁺. Quadrupole splitting vs. T for Fe²⁺ gives a valence electronic energy splitting of 760 cm^–1 between the ground and first excited state for M2. The M1 sites have a more drastic variation in vs. T which indicates not only a lower first excited state but a rhombic distortion at these sites. A proposed explanation is a neighboring M2 site vacancy. The soil clay formed from this celadonite, which is mostly Fe-rich smectite, was also studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy. About half the Fe²⁺ has been oxidized in the clay, but the isomer shifts and quadrupole splittings are essentially the same as in the original celadonite. A texture orientation in the clay absorber was detected by measuring the absorber at 55° to the source radiation. This texture effect produces asymmetric doublets in the usual 90° measurement.     

A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Management of Coastal Marsh Systems

Sea level rise is causing shoreline erosion, increased coastal flooding, and marsh vulnerability to the impact of storms. Coastal marshes provide flood abatement, carbon and nutrient sequestration, water quality maintenance, and habitat for fish, shellfish, and wildlife, including species of concern, such as the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus). We present a climate change adaptation strategy (CCAS) adopted by scientific, management, and policy stakeholders for managing coastal marshes and enhancing system resiliency. A common adaptive management approach previously used for restoration projects was modified to identify climate-related vulnerabilities and plan climate change adaptive actions. As an example of implementation of the CCAS, we describe the stakeholder plans and management actions the US Fish and Wildlife Service and partners developed to build coastal resiliency in the Narrow River Estuary, RI, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. When possible, an experimental BACI (before-after, control-impact) design, described as pre- and post-sampling at the impact site and one or more control sites, was incorporated into the climate change adaptation and implementation plans. Specific climate change adaptive actions and monitoring plans are described and include shoreline stabilization, restoring marsh drainage, increasing marsh elevation, and enabling upland marsh migration. The CCAS provides a framework and methodology for successfully managing coastal systems faced with deteriorating habitat, accelerated sea level rise, and changes in precipitation and storm patterns.     

Erosion of lithospheric mantle beneath the East African Rift system: geochemical evidence from the Kivu volcanic province

This study presents new major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic results for a suite of Miocene–Recent mafic lavas from the Kivu volcanic province in the western branch of the East African Rift. These lavas exhibit a very wide range in chemical and isotopic characteristics, due to a lithospheric mantle source region that is heterogeneous on a small scale, probably <1 km. The chemical and isotopic variations are mostly geographically controlled: lavas from Tshibinda volcano, which lies on a rift border fault on the northwestern margin of the province, have higher values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, (La/Sm)_n, Ba/Nb, and Zr/Hf than the majority of Kivu (Bukavu) samples. The range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr at Tshibinda (0.70511–0.70514) overlaps some compositions found in the neighboring Virunga province, while Bukavu group lavas include the lowest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70314) and highest _Nd (+7.6) yet measured in western rift lavas. The Tshibinda compositions trend towards a convergence for Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic values among western rift lavas. Among Kivu lavas, variations in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd correlate with those for certain incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Th/Nb, Zr/Hf, La/Nb, Ba/Rb), with Tshibinda samples defining one compositional extreme. There are covariations of isotopic and trace element ratios in mafic lavas of the East African Rift system that vary systematically with geographic location. The lavas represent a magmatic sampling of variations in the underlying continental lithospheric mantle, and it appears that a common lithospheric mantle (CLM) source is present beneath much of the East African Rift system. This source contains minor amphibole and phlogopite, probably due to widespread metasomatic events between 500 and 1000 Ma. Lava suites which do not show a strong component of the CLM source, and for which the chemical constraints also suggest the shallowest magma formation depths, are the Bukavu group lavas from Kivu and basanites from Huri Hills, Kenya. The inferred extent of lithospheric erosion therefore appears to be significant only beneath these two areas, which is generally consistent with lithospheric thickness variations estimated from gravity and seismic studies.     

The molecular and isotopic effects of hydrothermal alteration of organic matter in the Paleoproterozoic McArthur River Pb/Zn/Ag ore deposit

The molecular distribution and compound specific stable carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios were measured on solvent extractable hydrocarbons from the Late Paleoproterozoic McArthur River, or “Here's Your Chance” (HYC) Pb/Zn/Ag ore deposit in the Northern Territory of Australia. Five samples were collected from the McArthur River mine on a northeast–southwest transect in order to sample a gradient of hydrothermal alteration. One sample was taken from the unmineralized W-Fold Shale unit immediately below the HYC ore deposit. δD of n-alkanes, branched alkanes and bulk aromatic fractions were measured, and δ¹³C of n-alkanes, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and bulk kerogen were measured to assess the isotopic effects of a varying degree of hydrothermal alteration on different components of HYC organic matter (OM). Relative to n-alkanes in Barney Creek Formation sediments that did not undergo mineralization, HYC n-alkanes are enriched in deuterium (D) by 50–60‰. This is likely to be a result of equilibrium hydrogen exchange during ore genesis with a highly D-enriched fluid that originated in an evaporitic basin. Trends with distance along the sample transect are ambiguous, but from the northernmost to southernmost point, n-alkanes are less D-enriched, and PAHs are less abundant and less ¹³C-enriched. This could be due to decreasing hydrothermal alteration effects, decreasing delivery of highly altered OM by the mineralizing fluid, or both. The carbon isotopic composition of HYC PAHs is inconsistent with a Barney Creek Fm source, but consistent with an origin in the underlying Wollogorang Formation. PAHs are ¹³C-depleted relative to n-alkanes, reflecting a kerogen source that was ¹³C-depleted compared to n-alkanes, typical for Precambrian sediments. PAHs are more ¹³C-depleted with increasing molecular weight and aromaticity, strengthening the case for a negative isotopic effect associated with aromatization in ancient sediments. Together, these data are consistent with a an ore deposition model in which fluids originated in an evaporitic deposit lower in the basin and interacted with metals and OM in the Tawallah Group at temperatures above 250 °C and a depth of ~ 6 km before ascending along a flower structure associated with the Emu Fault and cooling to 200 ± 20 °C before reaching Barney Creek sediments.