Episodic colonization of an intertidal mudflat by native cordgrass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina foliosa</Emphasis>) at Tijuana Estuary

Following heavy winter storms and sedimentation in 1993,Spartina foliosa (Pacific cordgrass) clones established on a 6.5-ha mudflat in Tijuana Estuary, with over 80 new clones counted by 1997. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) storms in 1993 apparently facilitated the habitat conversion through river flooding, which caused a temporary reduction in soil salinity and delivered large volumes of sediment. Extreme sedimentation likely raised mudflat elevations enough to allowSpartina establishment. We hypothesized that clones, once established, increased sedimentation in a positive feedback loop leading to accelerated habitat conversion. We collected data on elevation,Spartina expansion, and sediment accretion in two consecutive years (1998–1999). The elevation range of the mudflats in 1998 (0.5–0.83 m NGVD) was within the elevation range ofSpartina at this site (0.39–0.83 m NGVD), indicating that remaining mudflats are at elevations suitable for further expansion. Sediment accretion ranged from 4.0–12.7 cm between 1997–1998 (ENSO conditions), but was close to long-term averages (? cm yr^?1) in 1998–1999 (nonflood year) indicating how susceptible Tijuana Estuary is to sedimentation from episodic storms. Although accretion rates were similar withinSpartina clones and on bare mudflats over the ENSO winter, clones were typically dome-shaped suggesting higher sediment retention rates within clones. The radial expansion rates of clones (1.31±0.25 m in 1998; 1.12±0.07 m in 1999) approximated the maxima reported for this species and were not related to clone size or vigor. Conditions on the mudflat appear ideal forSpartina growth, masking differences that might otherwise be observed. Given the likelihood of sedimentation-driven habitat conversion in southern California and other Mediterranean-type estuaries, management efforts are needed to address sedimentation issues on a watershed scale. We recommend that wetland restoration projects in southern California include large areas of intertidal mudflat, both to maintain habitat for shorebird feeding and to allow colonization by salt marsh vegetation.     

Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors     

The Northern North Atlantic: A Changing Environment, edited by P. Schäfer, W. Ritzrau, M. Schläter and J. Thiede (Book Review)

Volume Contents

Volume contents     

Stable Isotope Ratios: Hurricane Olivia

The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of rains from HurricaneOlivia (1994) in the eastern Pacific were measured. The rains werecollected on 24 and 25 September during airplane flights conducted at anelevation of 3 km. Hurricane Olivia peaked in intensity to a category-4storm between the two dates. Isotope ratios of rains from HurricaneOlivia were markedly lower ( ¹⁸O = –13.9to –28.8) than that of rain collected from a thunderstormat an elevation of 2.3 km outside the influence of Olivia (¹⁸O = –3.8). A distinct decrease in isotoperatios from the first day to the next ( ¹⁸O =–18.4 to –21.9) in Hurricane Olivia wasattributed to decreased updraft velocities and outflow aloft. Thisshifted the isotopic water mass balance so that fewer hydrometeors werelifted and more ice descended to flight level. A decrease in the averagedeuterium excess from the first day to the next (d = 15.5 to 7.1)was attributed to an increase in the relative humidity of the watervapor `source' area. We hypothesize that the `source' region for therain was in the boundary layer near the storm center and that becausethe hurricane was at peak intensity prior to the second day the relative humidity was higher.     

Oxygen isotope study of the Long Valley magma system, California: isotope thermometry and convection in large silicic magma bodies

Products of voluminous pyroclastic eruptions with eruptive draw-down of several kilometers provide a snap-shot view of batholith-scale magma chambers, and quench pre-eruptive isotopic fractionations (i.e., temperatures) between minerals. We report analyses of oxygen isotope ratio in individual quartz phenocrysts and concentrates of magnetite, pyroxene, and zircon from individual pumice clasts of ignimbrite and fall units of caldera-forming 0.76 Ma Bishop Tuff (BT), pre-caldera Glass Mountain (2.1-0.78 Ma), and post-caldera rhyolites (0.65-0.04 Ma) to characterize the long-lived, batholith-scale magma chamber beneath Long Valley Caldera in California. Values of '¹⁸O show a subtle 1‰ decrease from the oldest Glass Mountain lavas to the youngest post-caldera rhyolites. Older Glass Mountain lavas exhibit larger (~1‰) variability of '¹⁸O(quartz). The youngest domes of Glass Mountain are similar to BT in '¹⁸O(quartz) values and reflect convective homogenization during formation of BT magma chamber surrounded by extremely heterogeneous country rocks (ranging from 2 to +29‰). Oxygen isotope thermometry of BT confirms a temperature gradient between "Late" (815 °C) and "Early" (715 °C) BT. The '¹⁸O(quartz) values of "Early" and "Late" BT are +8.33 and 8.21‰, consistent with a constant '¹⁸O(melt)=7.8ǂ.1‰ and 100 °C temperature difference. Zircon-melt saturation equilibria gives a similar temperature range. Values of '¹⁸O(quartz) for different stratigraphic units of BT, and in pumice clasts ranging in pre-eruptive depths from 6 to 11 km (based on melt inclusions), and document vertical and lateral homogeneity of '¹⁸O(melt). Worldwide, five other large-volume rhyolites, Lava Creek, Lower Bandelier, Fish Canyon, Cerro Galan, and Toba, exhibit equal '¹⁸O(melt) values of earlier and later erupted portions in each of the these climactic caldera-forming eruptions. We interpret the large-scale '¹⁸O homogeneity of BT and other large magma chambers as evidence of their longevity (>10⁵ years) and convection. However, remaining isotopic zoning in some quartz phenocrysts, trace element gradients in feldspars, and quartz and zircon crystal size distributions are more consistent with far shorter timescales (10²-10⁴ years). We propose a sidewall-crystallization model that promotes convective homogenization, roofward accumulation of more evolved and stagnant, volatile-rich liquid, and develops compositional and temperature gradients in pre-climactic magma chamber. Crystal + melt + gas bubbles mush near chamber walls of variable '¹⁸O gets periodically remobilized in response to chamber refill by new hotter magmas. One such episode of chamber refill by high-Ti, Sr, Ba, Zr, and volatile-richer magma happened 10³-10⁴ years prior to the 0.76-Ma caldera collapse that caused magma mixing at the base, mush thawing near the roof and walls, and downward settling of phenocrysts into this hybrid melt.     

Bedded jaspers of the Ordovician Løkken ophiolite,Norway: seafloor deposition and diagenetic maturation of hydrothermal plume-derived silica-iron gels

Sedimentary beds of jasper (red hematitic chert) in the Ordovician Løkken ophiolite of Norway are closely associated with volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. The jaspers occur in the immediate hangingwall and laterally peripheral to the large Løkken (25–30 Mt) and small Høydal (0.1 Mt) VMS deposits, and are exposed discontinuously for several kilometres along strike. Massive or laminated types predominate; jasper-sulphide debris-flow deposits are also abundant near VMS deposits. The jaspers contain hematite-rich laminae showing soft-sediment deformation structures and microtextural evidence that record the presence of a colloidal precursor and an origin as gels. Early textures include: (1) straight or curved chains of hematitic filaments 3–10 µm in diameter and 20–100 µm long; (2) branching networks of 15–25 µm-thick, tubular structures surrounded by cryptocrystalline hematite and filled with quartz and euhedral hematite; (3) small (up to 10 µm) spherules composed of cryptocrystalline hematite and silica; and (4) up to 50 µm silica spherules with hematitic cores. The small filaments seem to have been deposited in varying proportions in the primary laminae, possibly together with hematitic and siliceous microspheroids. Diagenetic changes are represented by polygonal syneresis cracks, and the presence of cryptocrystalline (originally opaline) silica, chalcedony, quartz, carbonate and cryptocrystalline hematite and/or goethite forming botryoidal masses and spheroids <10 µm to 5 mm in diameter. Coarser euhedral grains of quartz, carbonate, and hematite are integral parts of these textures. Bleached, silica-rich jaspers preserve only small relics of fine-grained hematite-rich domains, and locally contain sparse pockets composed of coarse euhedral hematite±epidote. The jaspers are interpreted to record colloidal fallout from one or more hydrothermal plumes, followed by maturation (ageing) of an Si-Fe-oxyhydroxide gel, on and beneath the Ordovician sea floor. Small hematitic filaments in the jaspers reflect bacteria-catalysed oxidation of Fe ²⁺ within the plume. The larger tubular filaments resulted from either microbial activity or inorganic self-organized mineral growth of Fe-oxyhydroxide within the Si-Fe-oxyhydroxide gel after deposition on the sea floor, prior to more advanced maturation of the gel as represented by the spheroidal and botryoidal silica-hematite textures. Bleaching and hematite±epidote growth are interpreted to reflect heat and fluids generated during deposition of basaltic sheet flows on top of the gels.     

Geochemistry of ice-covered, meromictic Lake A in the Canadian High Arctic

The geochemical processes occurring within meromictic Lake A (maxdepth 120 m) on northern Ellesmere Island, Canada, were investigated to determinethe history of the lake and to provide a baseline for future studies. The lake contained seawaterdiluted by freshwater input that had been mixed prior to the lake's isolation from tidalaction. Input of freshwater after isolation of the lake created vertical stratification resultingin the creation of distinct oxic, suboxic and anoxic zones. Dissolved oxygen was present to 13 m,and sulphide beneath 32 m. Manganese and iron cycling dominated the redox chemistrybetween these depths. Total manganese concentrations reached 176 M, higher thanin most other natural stratified lake or marine environments.     

Tar ball frequency data and analytical results from a long-term beach monitoring program

Following the spill of fuel oils from the New Carissa in February 1999, approximately 300 km of beaches on the Pacific coast of North America were surveyed. A long-term observation program focused on the documentation of stranded tar balls in the vicinity of the spill site. Systematic beach surveys which were conducted over the period March 1999 to April 2001 and semi-logarithmic scale, time-series plots proved the most useful format for identifying trends. Beach monitoring continued through to August 2001. by which time 212 tar balls had been analyzed by GC/MS for their chemical characteristics. The samples of tar balls collected between February 1999 and August 2001 were qualitatively compared with New Carissa source oils (NCSO) and 101 (48%) were not consistent with NSCO. The presence of tar balls that are not related to an incident can confound attempts to define cleanup or endpoint criteria and to assess possible injury to natural resources.     

Wide-Field Camera for Gravitational Microlensing Survey: MOA-cam2

We have constructed a large, mosaic CCD camera called MOA-cam2 which has 4096 × 6144-pixelsto search for gravitational microlensing events. MOA-cam2 has three4096 × 2048-pixel SITe CCD chips, which have a very high quantum efficiency (nearly 80% in the wave region 500 to 800 nm),and three buttable sides. We have placed the threechips side by side with 100 m dead space. MOA-cam2 has been installed on the 61 cm Boller and Chivens telescope of the MOA collaboration at the Mt. John University Observatory (MJUO) in NewZealand since July 1998. The field coverage is 0.92° × 1.38° per exposure. The technical details of MOA-cam2 and the first images obtained with the Boller and Chivens telescope are presented. MOA-cam2 introduces a second phase of research on gravitational microlensing by the MOA collaboration.     

纤粒矿物粉尘体外细胞毒性研究

采用体外细胞培养技术,观察兔肺泡巨噬细胞死亡率,用丙二醛（ＭＤＡ）的含量变化、乳酸脱氢酶（ＬＤＨ）及超氧化物歧化酶（ＳＯＤ）的活性变化来评价来自１２个矿６床的６种矿物的１２种结晶习性的矿物粉尘的细胞毒性,探讨其使巨噬细胞受损的机制。结果显示：沸石、硅灰石无细胞毒性,而其他的纤维状及片粒状矿物粉尘则表现出不同程度的细胞毒性,说明矿物粉尘的细胞毒性与矿物粉尘的形态有一定关系,但主要由矿物粉尘的特性所决