Effects of the suspension feeding mussel Mytilus trossulus on a brackish water macroalgal and associated invertebrate community

The importance of suspension-feeding mussels is particularly apparent in benthic communities; however, the role of this feeding strategy on the development of macroalgal and associated invertebrate communities is in general poorly known. The effect of suspension-feeding mussels Mytilus trossulus on benthic communities was studied in an in situ factorial field experiment in the Northern Baltic Sea over one ice-free season. The experiment was performed under different regimes of wave exposure (low and moderate) and on different sedimentary habitats (soft bottom with high organic content, soft bottom with low organic content, and hard bottom). In general the presence of mussels was associated with increased biomass of filamentous algae, herbivores and deposit feeders and decreased biomass of charophytes. The effect of M. trossulus interacted with the effect of exposure and substrate. Stronger responses were observed in moderately exposed than in sheltered areas. The presence of M. trossulus affected charophytes and deposit feeders on sand with low content of organic matter and filamentous algae on pebbles but not on other substrate types. The magnitude of the effects varied between months. The results suggest that (i) even in dynamic coastal systems the biodeposits and excretions of mussels are at least partly assimilated locally and are not flushed away to the open sea, (ii) the accumulation of faecal material induced elevated growth of deposit feeders, (iii) mussels enhanced the growth of ephemeral macroalgae and reduced the growth of perennial macroalgae, and (iv) together with increasing benthic primary production, mussels indirectly increase the production of herbivores.     

Comparison of benthic and pelagic suspension feeding in shallow water habitats of the Northeastern Baltic Sea

Combining field experiments with the biomass distribution data of dominant suspension feeders we compared the benthic and pelagic suspension feeding rates in shallow non-tidal brackish water coastal habitats. We found that pelagic grazing exceeded benthic grazing in almost all cases, on average from 14 to 4819 times depending on the site. Benthic grazing rates were related to site-specific environmental parameters and showed no relationship with water chlorophyl a (Chl a ) content, whereas pelagic grazing rates varied both spatially and temporally and were related to water Chl a content. Our results indicate that in several shallow coastal habitats, pelagic suspension feeding substantially exceeds benthic suspension feeding. This suggests that pelagic recycling is higher than the amounts of energy redirected from pelagic to benthic food webs by benthic suspension feeders. These results increase our knowledge of the energy flows in coastal ecosystems.     

Geochemistry and petrology of howardite Miller Range 11100: A lithologically diverse piece of the Vestan regolith

The howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) clan of meteorites, which most likely originate from the asteroid Vesta, provide an opportunity to combine in‐depth sample analysis with the comprehensive remote‐sensing data set from NASA's recent Dawn mission. Miller Range (MIL) 11100, an Antarctic howardite, contains diverse rock and mineral fragments from common HED lithologies (diogenites, cumulate eucrites, and basaltic eucrites). It also contains a rare pyroxferroite‐bearing lithology—not recognized in HED until recently—and rare Mg‐rich (Fo_86‐91) olivine crystals that possibly represent material excavated from the Vestan mantle. Clast components underwent different histories of thermal and impact metamorphism before being incorporated into this sample, reflecting the diversity in geological histories experienced by different parts of Vesta. The bulk chemical composition and petrography of MIL 11100 suggest that it is akin to the fragmental howardite meteorites. The strong lithological heterogeneity across this sample suggests that at least some parts of the Vestan regolith show heterogeneity on the mm‐scale. We combine the outcomes of this study with data from NASA's Dawn mission and hypothesize on possible source regions for this meteorite on the surface of Vesta.     

ESR isochron dating analyses at Bau de l'Aubesier,Provence, France: Clues to U uptake in fossil teeth

At Bau de l'Aubesier, Provence, Mousterian artifacts and human teeth occur in inhomogeneous (“lumpy”) sedimentary deposits that include bone and tooth fragments and extensive burnt horizons. Electron spin resonance (ESR) isochron analyses of mammal teeth, which use multiple subsamples with different U concentrations, can measure the external dose rate experienced by the tooth regardless of reworking and sedimentary dose rate changes. Isochron analyses do depend on the U uptake model assumed, but can also identify teeth that have experienced secondary U uptake or leaching. Using 11 teeth from six archaeological layers, the isochrons demonstrate that at least three teeth have experienced secondary uptake. For eight teeth, the U uptake has apparently not followed strictly early (EU), linear (LU), or recent uptake (RU), but more closely approximates LU‐RU. Comparing volumetrically averaged sedimentary geochemistry with thermoluminescent dosimetry suggests that fossil tissues in the sediment have also experienced LU‐RU uptake. LU‐RU uptake can explain standard ESR ages that underestimate the true fossil age. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hybrid Neoliberalism: Implications for Sustainable Development

Neoliberalism is frequently blamed for challenges in achieving sustainable development; consequently some also question if sustainability is still a useful concept. Neoliberal influence on natural resource management has evolved over the last 30?years to a hybrid form that seeks to compensate for its negative social and environmental externalities. Through review of literature and critical analysis of three case studies of resource development in Australia and New Zealand, we argue that, in spite of modifications under hybrid approaches, neoliberalism still tests achievement of sustainability goals, due to privileging industry and shifting risk and costs to future generations, through inadequate regulation, neglect of public consultation, lack of transparency, and weak impact assessment. We suggest that while neoliberal approaches bring both benefits and disadvantages, sustainability principles must continue to be kept at the forefront of legislation, regulation and management.     

Development of a Default Vapor Intrusion Attenuation Factor for Industrial Buildings

An investigation at a major industrial facility in the Midwestern United States provides insights regarding the amount of attenuation of sub-surface vapors occurring at industrial buildings. The buildings at the facility were ranked in terms of vapor intrusion potential and testing began in October 2016 and is ongoing. Results have been evaluated for data collected at 718 unique locations across 77 buildings. A total of 1646 sample pairs (sub-slab and indoor air) have been collected and analyzed for 65 analytes, resulting in a total of 106,990 data pairs. As many as 49 sample pairs were collected within a given building during a single sampling event and up to 11 rounds of seasonal testing have been performed at selected buildings. Seasonal variability in sub-slab soil-gas concentrations was found to be negligible. Data analysis was performed to look for data trends across the entire data set and identify inter-building comparisons. This data evaluation focused on individual volatile organic compounds (e.g., tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene) present in the sub-slab soil gas at concentrations exceeding 1000 μg/m³. A total of 157 building-specific attenuation coefficients (α) were evaluated. This evaluation demonstrated that large industrial buildings have a much greater attenuation than that assumed for single-family residential buildings. All attenuation coefficient values were lower than 0.03, which is the standard regulatory default for non-residential buildings. The median value was 9.3E-05 and the 95% upper confidence limit was 2.7E-04. There is some evidence of lower attenuation under wintertime conditions. The data suggests that the default attenuation factor of 0.03 over-predicts indoor air impacts at this industrial facility by at least two orders of magnitude.     

Atmospheric river orientation determines flood occurrence

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) have been linked to many of the largest recorded UK winter floods. These large-scale features can be 500–800 km in width but produce markedly different flood responses in adjacent catchments. Here we combine meteorological and hydrological data to examine why two impermeable catchments on the west coast of Britain respond differently to landfalling ARs. This is important to help better understand flood generation associated with ARs and improve flood forecasting and climate-change impact assessment. Analysis of 32 years of a newly available ERA5 high-resolution atmospheric reanalysis and corresponding 15-min river flow data show that the most impactful ARs arise through a combination of the orientation and magnitude of their water vapour flux. At the Dyfi catchment, AR orientations of between 238–258° result in the strongest hydrological responses, whereas at the Teifi the range is 224–243°. We believe this differential flood response is the result of catchment orientation and topography enhancing or suppressing orographic rainfall totals, even in relatively low-relief coastal catchments. Further to the AR orientation, ARs must have an average water vapour flux of 400–450 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹ across their lifetime. Understanding the preferential properties of impactful ARs at catchments allows for the linking of large-scale synoptic features, such as ARs, directly to winter flood impacts. These results using two test catchments suggest a novel approach to flood forecasts through the inclusion of AR activity.     

Oscillatory instability of radiative shocks with multiple cooling processes

The stand-off shock formed in the accretion flow on to a stationary wall, such as the surface of a white dwarf, may be thermally unstable, depending on the cooling processes which dominate the post-shock flow. Some processes lead to instability, while others tend to stabilize the shock. We consider competition between the destabilizing influence of thermal bremsstrahlung cooling, and a stabilizing process which is a power law in density and temperature. Cyclotron cooling and processes which are of order 1, 3/2 and 2 in density are considered. The relative efficiency and power-law indices of the second mechanism are varied, and particular effects on the stability properties and frequencies of oscillation modes are examined.     

Dissolved trace metals in the Western Mediterranean Sea: total concentration and fraction isolated by C18 Sep-Pak technique

An investigation of trace metal distributions in the Western Mediterranean Sea was carried out during the RRS Discovery cruise (July 1993) in which a transect from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Strait of Sicily was conducted. Organically complexed dissolved trace metals and their total concentrations were measured to investigate the end-members and to predict the environmental capacity of the Mediterranean for potential toxic metals. The distribution of trace metals can be accounted for by the mixing of several end-members and by some atmospheric inputs to the surface water. For Pb and Fe, the effects of the atmospheric inputs are more pronounced than for the other metals. Due to the rapid exchange of water masses, the Western Mediterranean may have the ability to assimilate the increased external inputs for some trace metals such as Cu, Cd, Ni and Zn. But the external inputs for Pb and Fe exceed the removal capacity of the Western Mediterranean and these elements may accumulate in the water column of the western basin. The C18 Sep-Pak technique and direct determination by DPASV were used to determine the amount of trace metal–organic complexes. The C18 Sep-Pak column isolates only a small fraction of trace metals except for Cu. The maximum hydrophobic fractions for the studied trace metals, except for Cd and Pb, which are not detectable, were found in the subsurface layer at all stations. This maximum may well be linked to picoplankton activity and the picoplankton, prochlorophytes may have an important role in the speciation of dissolved Cu as well as Synechococcus. These organic ligands for Cu were produced at the maximum of biological activity in the Western Mediterranean basin and seem to be accumulated at halocline level by Mediterranean hydrodynamic characteristics. However, direct determination by DPASV showed that the major part of Cu, Cd and Pb, complexed by organic materials, was not isolated by C18 Sep-Pak technique.