Biomimetic phosphoryl transfer catalysed by iron(II)-mineral precipitates

Iron(II) minerals have been found to catalyse the formation of pyrophosphate from activated phosphate compounds and inorganic phosphate at near neutral pH in water. Iron(II) phosphate catalyses the formation of pyrophosphate, from either acetyl phosphate or phosphoenolpyruvate as the activated phosphoryl donor, in yields of up to 25% and 14% respectively. Under similar conditions, these minerals also retard the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate. The catalysis of pyrophosphate formation is tolerant of sulfide ions: pyrophosphate being produced from acetyl phosphate in 12% yield in the presence of equimolar amounts of sulfide. These reactions mimic the extant biosynthesis of ATP from acetyl phosphate or phosphoenolpyruvate; they counter the concern that hydrolysis of polyphosphates would out-compete their accumulation under prebiotic conditions; and hence suggest a possible prebiotic route to polyphosphates under conditions that may have occurred on the early earth.     

Oyster reefs in 1878 seascape pattern—Winslow revisited

An analysis of Winslow’s 1878 oyster survey data of Tangier Sound relates the Euclidean dimensions of oyster beds to plan-channel morphology, water depths, bottom slopes, and relief. Results show that at a regional scale the Tangier oyster beds followed a benthic seascape density pattern related to the main axial Tangier Sound Channel: its morphology, meanders, and east-west location. The north-south axis of the channel was intersected by estuarine flows into its central-eastern section, where meanders began with a tight meander around a western shoal, followed by wider second and third meanders. The location of the deepest axial depths of the channel’s bottom indicates a lateral, side-to-side switching between opposite beds, and a vertical undulation in a deepening trend to 31 m at the apex of the first meander. The depth then generally shallowed as the channel plan-form meandered southward to the sound’s entrance. Oyster beds flanked the upper sides of the channel, their generally long and narrow linear axes oriented with that of the main channel in width-to-length ratios of <0.4. Bed lengths increased from the north to the second meander, then decreased. The widest (2.3 km), longest (8.3 km), and largest (7 km²) beds laid opposite each other in the channel’s second meander. Eastern beds were generally wider and larger than western beds, and water depths along their channel sides indicate a deepening trend from 3.6 m in the north to 16.5 m in the south, unlike western beds, which reached a maximum depth of 10.4 m north of the meanders. Minimum water depths on the shoal sides of beds varied little, described by mean values of 4.6 m (SD = 1.1) for eastern beds and 3.3 m (SD = 0.56) for western beds. Analysis of profiles indicates that the deeper southeastern beds had variable relief with longer and more gradual slopes into the channel than the shallower northwestern beds with flatter bed-tops and abrupt, steeper transitions into the channel. The profiles indicate variability of a single bed in distributions of oysters and bed morphologies to make analysis at the small scale difficult. However, at the regional scale, a seascape pattern emerges that relates the distributions of oysters to the channel and shoals. This re-examination of the historic database in the context of regional tidal channel patterns provides parameters for considering the interactive role of oysters with hydrodynamics and the structural importance of oyster reefs for land and seascape processes.     

Trace metal uptake by the grass <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melinis repens</Emphasis> from roadside soils and sediments,tropical Australia

This study reports on trace metal uptake by the grass species Melinis repens, growing in roadside soils and sediments in tropical northeastern Australia. Median total Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn concentrations were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in road edge soils (Cu = 61.1 mg/kg, Pb = 97.3 mg/kg, Ni = 28.6 mg/kg, Zn = 729 mg/kg) than in background soils collected away from roads (Cu = 5.8 mg/kg, Pb = 11.2 mg/kg, Ni = 3.7 mg/kg, Zn = 21 mg/kg). Significantly (P < 0.05) elevated Zn values were recorded in the stems of the M. repens specimens growing on roadside soils (231.6 mg/kg dry weight of tissue) compared with those of grasses growing on background soils (40.8 mg/kg dry weight of tissue). Moreover, median Cu, Ni and Zn values in the roots of roadside grasses (Cu = 29.1 mg/kg, Ni = 2.73 mg/kg, Zn = 169 mg/kg) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than their respective levels in the roots of background M. repens samples (Cu = 5.98 mg/kg, Ni = 0.70 mg/kg, Zn = 22 mg/kg). A greenhouse experiment showed that Cu and Zn in road sediments are labile and are available for uptake by M. repens. The studied roadside soils and sediments were leached with a diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid–CaCl₂–triethanolamine–HCl extraction solution, which proved to be a rudimentary indicator of Zn availability and uptake to the root tissue of M. repens. The results demonstrate that trace metals in roadside grasses have the potential to be directed up the food-chain as grasses are consumed by herbivores. In addition, bioavailable metal contaminants hosted by road sediments have the capacity to impact on ecosystems downstream of roads because these sediments are mobilised by road runoff waters from road surfaces into adjoining catchments.     

New media, the new economy and new spaces

This paper counters proponents of the ‘weightless economy’ who have suggested the ‘death of distance’ in relation to economic and social activities that use the worldwide web (WWW). An analysis of new media developers in New York’s ‘Silicon Alley’ demonstrates that place and distance are still important. The most important aspect of this co-location is the possibility of social interaction. This paper points to the value of analysis of the material practice of the social (and the economic and cultural). The notion of ‘untraded dependencies’ is developed through looking at its manifestation and constitution in the specificity of space, time and economic activity.     

Tectonically induced change in lake evolution recorded by seismites in the Eocene Green River Formation,Wyoming

Seismogenic sedimentary structures – seismites – provide an opportunity to understand the effects of syndepositional tectonics on lacustrine sedimentation. The lowermost Wilkins Peak Member (Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA) contains laterally extensive intervals displaying folds, load structures, mixed brittle–ductile deformation, microfaults, breccias and sedimentary dykes, which formed intrastratally in a low‐energy, sublittoral lacustrine environment. They developed in situ by liquefaction and plastic or brittle behaviour of semi‐lithified sediment, or by remobilization and injection of granular material. Their morphological attributes and lateral extent, zonation in deformation intensity and the depositional setting all imply deformation triggered by earthquake‐induced stresses in shallow‐buried sediment. Their stratigraphic distribution coincides with a shift in hydrological conditions from a balanced‐filled to an underfilled lake type, independent of climate change. This study is the first to ascribe seismites to a pulse of tectonic activity that caused a synchronous change in lacustrine evolution.     

A simple DEM assessment procedure for gully system analysis in the Lake Manyara area,northern Tanzania

Gully erosion is a major threat concerning landscape degradation in large areas along the northern Tanzanian Rift valley. It is the dominant erosion process producing large parts of the sediments that are effectively conducted into the river network. The study area is located in the Lake Manyara—Makuyuni River catchment, Arusha, northern Tanzania. During fieldwork, we measured topographic data of eight gully systems close to Makuyuni Town. The main focus of this study is to assess gully erosion dynamics using improved DEMs with original resolutions of 30 and 20 m, respectively. We assessed terrain characteristics to extract information on environmental drivers. To improve the DEM, we integrated information deduced from satellite images as well as from acquired GPS field data. Topographic indices such as Stream Power Index or Transport Capacity Index were derived from the re-interpolated DEM. To evaluate gully evolution, we assessed also the longitudinal slope profiles. Finally, the gully evolution phases of each gully were classified according to the concept proposed by Kosov et al. (Eksperimental’naya geomorfologiya, vol 3. Moscow University, Moskva, pp 113–140, 1978). The re-interpolated DEMs revealed a positive response especially for the more developed gullies. We show that the extraction of information on this spatial process scale based on “low-resolution” data is feasible with little additional fieldwork and image interpretation. In fact, areas identified as having a greater risk of gully erosion have been confirmed by observations and surveys carried out in the field.