Magnetic fields,bremsstrahlung and synchrotron emission in the flare of 24 October 1969

An impulsive flare October 24, 1969 produced two bursts with virtually identical time profiles of 8800 MHz emission and X-rays above 48 keV. The two spikes of hard X-rays correspond in time to the times of sharp brightening and expansion in the H flare. The first burst was not observed at frequencies below 3000 MHz. This cut off is ascribed to plasma cutoff above the low-lying flare.A model of the flare based on H observations at Big Bear shows that the density of electrons with energy above 10 keV is 5 × 10⁷ if the field density is 10¹¹. The observed radio flux would be produced by this electron distribution with the observed field of 200 G. The H emission accompanying the hard electron acceleration is presumed due to excitation of the field atoms by the hard electrons.     

Biogeochemical characterization of particulate organic matter from a coastal hydrothermal vent zone in the Aegean Sea

Three particle interceptor traps were moored from June to September 1996 along the SE coast of Milos Island (Aegean Sea), in an area known for its extensive seabed geothermal activity. The settling particles collected differed between sites not only in quantity but also in their geochemical composition. In the area directly influenced by warm water vents, the vertical flux of particulate material was almost one order of magnitude higher than that observed at the reference sites 6.5 km away from the vents, with a higher contribution of biogenic material in the former. The neutral lipid fractions exhibited a significant zooplankton biomarker signature (e.g. cholesterol and wax esters), followed by those of microalgal and terrigenous remains. The biogeochemical cycle of sterols included the formation of steroidal ketones, thiols and stanols, the latter two particularly associated with the venting activity. Moreover, the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in the particles from the venting area reflected a locally enhanced maturity of the organic matter. Although part of the material collected in the traps may have been exported in the vent waters, the higher fluxes observed in the vicinity of the hydrothermal plumes are mainly the result of an assemblage of zooplankton which, in turn, may contribute significantly to the sedimentation, through fast sinking faecal pellets, of the petrogenic hydrocarbons possibly generated in the vents.     

Dynamic deformations and the M6.7, Northridge, California earthquake

A method of estimating the complete time-varying dynamic formation field from commonly available three-component single station seismic data has been developed and applied to study the relationship between dynamic deformation and ground failures and structural damage using observations from the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. Estimates from throughout the epicentral region indicate that the horizontal strains exceed the vertical ones by more than a factor of two. The largest strains (exceeding 100 pstrain) correlate with regions of greatest ground failure. There is a poor correlation between structural damage and peak strain amplitudes. The smallest strains,35 pstrain, are estimated in regions of no damage or ground failure. Estimates in the two regions with most severe and well mapped permanent deformation, Potrero Canyon and the Granada-Mission Hills regions, exhibit the largest strains; peak horizontal strains estimates in these regions equal 1351 and 229 μstrain respectively. Of note, the dynamic principal strain axes have strikers consistent with the permanent failure features suggesting that, while gravity, sub-surface materials, and hydrologic conditions undoubtedly played fundamental roles in determining where and what types of failures occurred, the dynamic deformation field may have been favorably sized and oriented to initiate failure processes. These results support other studies that conclude that the permanent deformation resulted from ground shaking, rather than from static strains associated with primary or secondary faulting. They also suggest that such an analysis, either using data or theoretical calculations, may enable observations of paleo-ground failure to be used as quantitative constraints on the size and geometry of previous earthquakes.     

Determing the effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation events on coastal water quality

The importance of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on regional-scale climate variability is well recognized although the associated effects on local weather patterns are poorly understood. Little work has addressed the ancillary impacts of climate variability at the community level, which require analysis at a local scale. In coastal communities water quality and public health effects are of particular interest. Here we describe the historical influence of ENSO events on coastal water quality in Tampa Bay, Florida (USA) as a test case. Using approximate randomized statistics, we show significant ENSO influences on water quality particularly during winter months, with significantly greater fecal pollution levels during strong El Niño winters and significantly lower levels during strong La Niña winters as compared to neutral conditions. Similar significant patterns were also noted for El Niño and La Niña fall periods. The success of the analysis demonstrates the feasibility of assessing local effects associated with large-scale climate variability. It also highlights the possibility of using ENSO forecasts to predict periods of poor coastal water quality in urban region which local agencies may use to make appropriate prepations.     

A comparison of residence time calculations using simple compartment models of the Altamaha River estuary, Georgia

The residence and flushing times of an estuary are two different concepts that are often confused. Flushing time is the time required for the freshwater inflow to equal the amount of freshwater originally present in the estuary. It is specific to freshwater (or materials dissolved in it) and represents the transit time through the entire system (e.g., from head of tide to the mouth). Residence time is the average time particles take to escape the estuary. It can be calculated for any type of material and will vary depending on the starting location of the material. In the literature, the term residence time is often used to refer to the average freshwater transit time and is calculated as such. Freshwater transit time is a more precise term for a type of residence time (that of freshwater, starting from the head of the estuary), whereas residence time is a more general term that must be clarified by specifying the material and starting distribution. We explored these two mixing time scales in the context of the Altmaha River estuary, Georgia, and present a comparison of techniques for their calculation (fraction of freshwater models and variations of box models). Segmented tidal prism models, another common approach, have data requirements similar to other models but can be cumbersome to implement properly. Freshwater transit time estimates from simple steady-state box models were virtually, identical to flushing times for four river-flow cases, as long as boxes were scaled appropriately to river flow, and residence time estimates from different box models were also in good agreement. Mixing time estimates from box models, were incorrect when boxes were imporperly scaled. Mixing time scales vary nonlinearly with river flow, so characterizing the range as well as the mean or median is important for a thorough understanding of the potential for within-estuary processing. We are now developing an imporved box model that will allow the calculation of a variety of mixing time scales using simulations with daily variable river discharge.     

Coastal rainwater hydrogen peroxide: Concentration and deposition

Correlation analysis between rainwater component concentrations (hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen ion, nitrate, nonseasalt sulfate and chloride ion) was used to investigate patterns of variation in hydrogen peroxide concentrations in rain collected in Wilmington, North Carolina, a coastal southeastern United States location, between October 1992, and October 1994. Rainwater hydrogen peroxide concentrations in general correlated positively with the pollutant components (hydrogen ion, nitrate and non-seasalt sulfate). This pattern suggests that destruction of hydrogen peroxide by sulfur dioxide is not the dominant factor controlling the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in this rainwater, with the possible exception of winter rain from coastal storms where an inverse correlation between hydrogen peroxide and nonseasalt sulfate was observed. Sequential sampling indicates rapid production of hydrogen peroxide and incorporation into rain within time periods of hours during summer daytime rains.Rain is an important transport mechanism for removal of atmospheric hydrogen peroxide, which may affect the oxidizing capacity of surface waters that receive the rain. During this study time, the annual deposition of hydrogen peroxide by rain was 12 mmole m^-2 yr^-1. An average rain event added approximately half of the resident amount of hydrogen peroxide to the shallow lakes typical of eastern North Carolina; extreme rain events can triple the amount normally present. The episodic nature of rain contributes to the variability in hydrogen peroxide concentration in surface waters. Higher hydrogen peroxide concentrations and greater rainfall amounts cause wet deposition of hydrogen peroxide to be approximately seven times greater during the warm season than the cold season.     

Mineral magnetic properties of mixtures of environmental and synthetic materials: linear additivity and interaction effects

Mineral magnetic properties have been used recently to classify and to attempt to quantify the sources of sediments through environmental systems. Linear modelling techniques could be used with a wide range of concentration-dependent magnetic measurements to quantify the sources of sediments. To investigate wider application of linear modelling techniques using mineral magnetic properties, research has been conducted using laboratory mixtures of up to six source materials, including both natural environmental materials and synthetic compounds. While six sources may seem ambitious, this figure was used as an absolute upper limit rather than giving a real prospect of mathematically unmixing six sources. It has been found that even with the most magnetically differentiable materials, large errors are encountered when modelling the sources of the mixtures. This paper investigates the causes of 'non-additivity' of certain magnetic measurements and the failure of the linear modelling of the sources of the mixtures. Possible reasons for this failure include source homogeneity, calibration and linearity of equipment, magnetic viscosity of materials and/or the changing physical characteristics of the source materials once mixed together (interaction effects). In testing linear additivity, low-frequency susceptibility is the most reliable mineral magnetic measurement, while remanence measurements suffer from a systematic error in the expected results. Results have shown that in the best controlled conditions where the sources are identified and are artificially mixed together, the results of linear modelling are quite poor and at best four sources can be 'unmixed' with reasonable success. It is suggested that interaction within the mixtures, especially when containing highly ferrimagnetic burnt environmental materials, causes some of the non-additivity phenomena.     

Dynamics of suprabenthos off the Ebro Delta (Catalan Sea: western Mediterranean): Spatial 13 and temporal patterns and relationships with environmental factors

Dynamics of suprabenthos (hyperbenthos) composition and biomass have been simultaneously analyzed at two sites (S1, S2) off the Ebro River Delta (western Mediterranean). The stations, separated by ca. 5 km, differed in terms of depth (S1, 47 m; S2, 61 m), distance to the river mouth (S2 south of S1 and farther from the mouth) and fishing activity (S1 is a fishing ground; S2 is in an area closed to fishing). Peracarids (gammaridean amphipods, mysids, and cumaceans) were dominant among suprabenthic taxa. Seasonality was the main explanation for changes in taxonomic composition, with two seasonal groups indicated by MDS analyses (late summer–autumn, August–September, and November 2003; early summer, June and July samples). Peracarids at both S1 and S2 showed a peak of abundance in early July, with the highest densities reaching 5400 individuals (100 m)⁻² at S2. There was a sharp decrease of density in late July (S1) and August (S2), then an increase in August (S1) and in September (S2), respectively. A secondary peak of abundance occurred in November (S1) and December (S2). There was, therefore, a similar picture in the dynamics of suprabenthic peracarids at both sites, though with a delay of 1 month at the deeper S2. This pattern coincided with changes in river discharge (specifically, a decrease of suprabenthos when influx was below 200 m³ s⁻¹ in the period June–September 2003), and with the formation of a thermal gradient (also in June–September 2003) between S1 and S2 associated with the 15 °C isotherm. In addition, the decrease of suprabenthos in late July–August also coincided with the massive occurrence of mucilaginous aggregates close to the bottom (at between 0 and 4 m above the bottom), in the usual habitat of suprabenthos. C/N ratios in sediments (an indicator of the degree of degradation of organic matter (OM)) increased during this peak abundance of mucilaginous aggregates. The impoverishment of sediments in total organic carbon (TOC) was parallel to the decline of suprabenthos in late July–August, which is consistent with negative or non-significant correlations (evidenced both by Spearman's r and multi-regression models) between suprabenthos densities and TOC. Zooplankton taxa (e.g., copepods, chaetognaths, and fish/crustacean larvae living in the entire water column) showed significant correlations with a number of environmental factors (basically temperature), in contrast to suprabenthos. In conclusion, suprabenthos abundance was influenced by a number of natural factors, both intra-annual (e.g., OM quality, river discharges) and inter-annual (e.g., accumulation of mucilaginous remains). Probably due to their swimming capability, suprabenthos were not influenced by trawling activity. Considering the high P/B exhibited by suprabenthic crustaceans in comparison to infauna, this compartment likely has an important role in regulating food webs in those communities submitted to high fishing impact.     

Physical and Geotechnical Properties and Assessment of Sediment Stability on the Continental Slope and Basin of the Bransfield Basin (Antarctica Peninsula)

Our investigation is centred on the continental slope of the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent basin. Type of sediments, sedimentary stratigraphy, and physical and geotechnical characterization of the sediments have been integrated. Four different types of sediments have been defined: diamictons, silty and muddy turbidites, muddy, silty and muddy matrix embedded clast contourites. There is a close correspondence between the physical properties (density, magnetic susceptibility and p-wave velocity) and the texture and/or fabric as laminations and stratification. From a quantitative point of view, only a few statistical correlations between textural and physical properties have been found. Within the geotechnical properties, only water content is most influenced by texture. This slope, with a maximum gradient observed (20°), is stable, according to the stability under gravitational loading concepts, and the maximum stable slope that would range from 22° to 29°. Nevertheless, different instability features have been observed. Volcanic activity, bottom currents, glacial loading-unloading or earthquakes can be considered as potential mechanisms to induce instability in this area.     

A New Plankton Sampler for Coral Reefs

Abstract. A new self-contained Horizontal Plankton Sampler (HOPLASA) collects near-reef plankton that is not captured by conventional net tows and emergence traps. An electrical motor-propeller assembly inside a large acrylic cylinder drives water past an in-line flowmeter and through a rigidly attached plankton net. When positioned in the coral reef environment this sampling gear filters known quantities of bottom water. Larvae and developmental stages of many invertebrates and some fishes that never migrate to upper water layers but constitute an important fraction of the food chain are captured. Larvae of sponges, corals, and gorgonians, the most important animal reef builders, are obtained live and undamaged and can be cultured in the laboratory for identification after metamorphosis.