High-sediment tolerance in the reef coral Turbinaria mesenterina from the inner Great Barrier Reef lagoon (Australia)

Sedimentation is an important stressor on coral reefs subjected to run-off, dredging and resuspension events. Reefs with a history of high-sediment loads tend to be dominated by a few tolerant coral species. A key question is whether such species live close to their tolerance thresholds or near their niche optima. Here, we analyse experimentally the sediment tolerance of a spatially dominant coral, Turbinaria mesenterina (Dendrophylliidae), at nearshore reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Testing was conducted in a 5-week tank experiment under manipulated sediment loading and flow conditions. Physiological stress was assessed based on the behaviour of three key response variables: skeletal growth rate, energy reserves (lipid content) and photosynthetic performance. Because sediment effects are likely to vary between flow regimes, sediment and flow responses were tested using a full factorial design. Sediment loads greater than 110 mg cm⁻² had no effect on any of the physiological variables, regardless of flow (0.7–24 cm s⁻¹). Turbinaria mesenterina is thus tolerant to sediment loads an order of magnitude higher than most severe sediment conditions in situ. Likely mechanisms for such tolerance are that: (1) colonies covered in sediment (60–120 μm) in low-flow were able to clear themselves rapidly (within 4–5 h); and (2) sediment provides a source of food. These results suggest that intensified sediment regimes on coastal reefs may shift coral communities towards dominance by a few well-adapted species.     

A comparison of water vapor line parameters for modeling the Venus deep atmosphere

The discovery of the near infrared windows into the Venus deep atmosphere has enabled the use of remote sensing techniques to study the composition of the Venus atmosphere below the clouds. In particular, water vapor absorption lines can be observed in a number of the near-infrared windows allowing measurement of the H₂O abundance at several different levels in the lower atmosphere. Accurate determination of the abundance requires a good database of spectral line parameters for the H₂O absorption lines at the high temperatures (up to ∼700 K) encountered in the Venus deep atmosphere. This paper presents a comparison of a number of H₂O line lists that have been, or that could potentially be used, to analyze Venus deep atmosphere water abundances and shows that there are substantial discrepancies between them. For example, the early high-temperature list used by Meadows and Crisp [Meadows, V.S., Crisp, D., 1996. J. Geophys. Res. 101 (E2), 4595-4622] had large systematic errors in line intensities. When these are corrected for using the more recent high-temperature BT2 list of Barber et al. [Barber, R.J., Tennyson, J., Harris, G.J., Tolchenov, R.N., 2006. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 368, 1087-1094] their value of 45±10 ppm for the water vapor mixing ratio reduces to 27±6 ppm. The HITRAN and GEISA lists used for most other studies of Venus are deficient in “hot” lines that become important in the Venus deep atmosphere and also show evidence of systematic errors in line intensities, particularly for the 8000 to 9500 cm⁻¹ region that includes the 1.18 μm window. Water vapor mixing ratios derived from these lists may also be somewhat overestimated. The BT2 line list is recommended as being the most complete and accurate current representation of the H₂O spectrum at Venus temperatures.     

Stable isotope and C study of biogenic calcrete in a termite mound, Western Cape, South Africa, and its palaeoenvironmental significance

Late Quaternary terrestrial climate records from the semi-arid zone of the Western Cape of South Africa are rare. However, palaeoenvironmental information may be inferred from ancient termite mounds of the region. Calcrete lenses in these mounds have δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values that show systematic changes with radiocarbon dates, which range from 33,629–36,709 to 21,676–23,256 cal yr BP. These dates confirm that these heuweltjies had been present in the landscape since the last glacial period. The decrease in δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O from 33,629–36,709 to 21,676–23,256 cal yr BP indicates that climate information is recorded by the calcretes. It is suggested that a progressive decline in air temperature and an increase in moisture availability, and a decline in abundance of C₄ or CAM plants, occurred in the region during the time heuweltjie calcite precipitated.     

Pressure effects on the joint elastic‐electrical properties of reservoir sandstones

We conducted a laboratory study of the joint elastic‐electrical properties of sixty‐three brine‐saturated sandstone samples to assess the likely impact of differential pressure (confining minus pore fluid pressures) in the range 8–60 MPa on the joint interpretation of marine seismic and controlled‐source electromagnetic survey data. The samples showed a wide range of petrophysical properties representative of most sandstone reservoirs. We found that a regression equation comprising both a constant and an exponential part gave a good fit to the pressure dependence of all five measured geophysical parameters (ultrasonic P‐ and S‐wave velocity, attenuation and electrical resistivity). Electrical resistivity was more pressure‐sensitive in clay‐rich sandstones with higher concentrations of low aspect ratio pores and micropores than in clean sandstones. Attenuation was more pressure‐sensitive in clean sandstones with large open pores (macropores) than in clay‐rich sandstones. Pore shape did not show any influence on the pressure sensitivity of elastic velocity. As differential pressure increases, the effect of the low aspect ratio pores and micropores on electrical resistivity becomes stronger than the effect of the macropores on attenuation. Further analysis of correlations among the five parameters as a function of pressure revealed potentially diagnostic relationships for geopressure prediction in reservoir sandstones.     

Joint elastic‐electrical properties of reservoir sandstones and their relationships with petrophysical parameters

We measured in the laboratory ultrasonic compressional and shear‐wave velocity and attenuation (0.7–1.0 MHz) and low‐frequency (2 Hz) electrical resistivity on 63 sandstone samples with a wide range of petrophysical properties to study the influence of reservoir porosity, permeability and clay content on the joint elastic‐electrical properties of reservoir sandstones. P‐ and S‐wave velocities were found to be linearly correlated with apparent electrical formation factor on a semi‐logarithmic scale for both clean and clay‐rich sandstones; P‐ and S‐wave attenuations showed a bell‐shaped correlation (partial for S‐waves) with apparent electrical formation factor. The joint elastic‐electrical properties provide a way to discriminate between sandstones with similar porosities but with different clay contents. The laboratory results can be used to estimate sandstone reservoir permeability from seismic velocity and apparent formation factor obtained from co‐located seismic and controlled source electromagnetic surveys.     

Laser depth profiling studies of helium diffusion in Durango fluorapatite

Ultraviolet lasers coupled with sensitive mass spectrometers provide a useful way to measure laboratory-induced noble gas diffusion profiles in minerals, thus enabling the calculation of diffusion parameters. We illustrate this laser ablation depth profiling (LADP) technique for a previously well-studied mineral-isotopic system: ⁴He in Durango fluorapatite. LADP studies were conducted on oriented, polished slabs from a single crystal that were heated under vacuum to a variety of temperatures between 300 and 450 °C for variable times. The resolved ⁴He profiles exhibited error-function loss as predicted by previous bulk ⁴He diffusion studies. All of the slabs, regardless of crystallographic orientation, yielded modeled diffusivities that are statistically co-linear on an Arrhenius diagram, suggesting no diffusional anisotropy of ⁴He in this material. The data indicate an activation energy of 142.2 ± 5.0 (2σ) kJ/mol and diffusivity at infinite temperature - reported as ln(D₀) - of −4.71 ± 0.94 (2σ) m²/s. These values imply a bulk closure temperature for ⁴He in Durango fluorapatite of 74 °C for a 50 μm radius grain, infinite cylinder geometry, and a cooling rate of 10 °C/Myr.     

Trace metal enrichments in Lake Tanganyika sediments: Controls on trace metal burial in lacustrine systems

We investigate the distributions of several key diagenetic reactants (C, S, Fe) and redox-sensitive trace metals (Mo, Cd, Re, U) in sediments from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. This study includes modern sediments from a chemocline transect, which spans oxygenated shallow waters to sulfidic conditions at depth, as well as ancient sediments from a longer core (∼2 m) taken at ∼900 m water depth. Modern sediments from depths spanning ∼70-335 m are generally characterized by increasing enrichments of C, S, Mo, Cd, and U with increasing water depth but static Fe distributions. It appears that the sedimentary enrichments of these elements are, to varying degrees, influenced by a combination of organic carbon cycling and sulfur cycling. These modern lake characteristics contrast with a period of high total organic carbon (C_org), total sulfur (S_Tot), and trace metal concentrations observed in the 900 m core, a period which follows the most recent deglaciation (∼18-11 ky). This interval is followed abruptly by an interval (∼11-6 ky) that is characterized by lower C, S, U, and Mo. Consistent with other work we suspect that the low concentrations of S, Mo, and U may indicate a period of intense lake mixing, during which time the lake may have been less productive and less reducing as compared to the present. An alternative, but not mutually exclusive, hypothesis is that changes in the lake’s chemical inventory, driven by significant hydrological changes, could be influencing the distribution of sedimentary trace elements through time.     

Temperature Inverted Haloclines Provide Winter Warm-Water Refugia for Manatees in Southwest Florida

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) overwintering in the Ten Thousand Islands and western Everglades have no access to power plants or major artesian springs that provide warm-water refugia in other parts of Florida. Instead, hundreds of manatees aggregate at artificial canals, basins, and natural deep water sites that act as passive thermal refugia (PTR). Monitoring at two canal sites revealed temperature inverted haloclines, which provided warm salty bottom layers that generally remained above temperatures considered adverse for manatees. At the largest PTR, the warmer bottom layer disappeared unless significant salt stratification was maintained by upstream freshwater inflow over a persistent tidal wedge. A detailed three-dimensional hydrology model showed that salinity stratification inhibited vertical convection induced by atmospheric cooling. Management or creation of temperature inverted haloclines may be a feasible and desirable option for resource managers to provide passive thermal refugia for manatees and other temperature sensitive aquatic species.