SENSITIVITY OF MALARIA, SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND DENGUE TO GLOBAL WARMING

Global assessment of the potential impacts of anthropogenically-induced climate change on vector-borne diseases suggests an increase in extent of the geographical areas susceptible to transmission of malarial Plasmodium parasites, dengue Flavivirus and Schistosoma worms. The transmission potential of the three associated vector-borne diseases studied is highly sensitive to climate changes on the periphery of the currently endemic areas and at higher altitudes within such areas. Our findings vis-à-vis the present endemic areas indicate that the increase in the epidemic potential of malaria and dengue transmission may be estimated at 12–27% and 31–47%, respectively, while in contrast, schistosomiasis transmission potential may be expected to exhibit a 11–17% decrease.     

New palaeogeographic and lake-level reconstructions of Lake Tanganyika: implications for tectonic, climatic and biological evolution in a rift lake

Palaeogeographic and lake-level reconstructions provide powerful tools for evaluating competing scenarios of biotic, climatic and geological evolution within a lake basin. Here we present new reconstructions for the northern Lake Tanganyika subbasins, based on reflection seismic, core and outcrop data. Reflection seismic radiocarbon method (RSRM) age estimates provide a chronological model for these reconstructions, against which yet to be obtained age dates based on core samples can be compared. A complex history of hydrological connections and changes in shoreline configuration in northern Lake Tanganyika has resulted from a combination of volcanic doming, border fault evolution and climatically induced lake-level fluctuations. The stratigraphic expression of lake-level highstands and lowstands in Lake Tanganyika is predictable and cyclic (referred to here as Capart Cycles), but in a pattern that differs profoundly from the classic Van Houten cycles of some Newark Supergroup rift basins. This difference results from the extraordinary topographic relief of the Western Rift lakes, coupled with the rapidity of large-scale lake-level fluctuations. Major unconformity surfaces associated with Lake Tanganyika lowstands may have corresponded with high-latitude glacial maxima throughout much of the mid- to late Pleistocene.
Rocky shorelines along the eastern side of the present-day Ubwari Peninsula (Zaire) appear to have had a much more continuous existence as littoral rock habitats than similar areas along the north-western coastline of the lake (adjacent to the Uvira Border Fault System), which in turn are older than the rocky shorelines of the north-east coast of Burundi. This model of palaeogeographic history will be of great help to biologists trying to clarify the evolution of endemic invertebrates and fish in the northern basin of Lake Tanganyika.
     

Monitoring of rapid salt weathering in the central Namib Desert using limestone blocks

Pre-weighed blocks of a Jurassic Limestone were exposed on the ground surface in the coastal Namib Desert for a period of 2 years. The environment is both salty and foggy. Some of the blocks suffered extensive disintegration, and laboratory analyses (including geochemistry, XRD and SEM) indicate that the weathered samples have a high halite (sodium chloride) content. Cycles of wetting and drying associated with the frequent fog events of the area cause cycles of halite crystallization. Rocks exposed at the surface absorb salts from the surrounding desert surface and then disintegrate, contributing to planation of the landscape.     

Multifractal analysis of the spatial distribution of earthquakes in southern Italy

We evaluate the complete spectrum of the generalized fractal dimension of the spatial pattern of microearthquakes in Southern Italy, revealing a multifractal distribution structure. Our analysis is focused on the dependence of the multifractal distribution on the size of the selected area and the kind of seismicity in the area. As the size of the window varies, we observe that the capacity, information and correlation dimensions vary significantly, while both d _∞ and d _−infin; remain unchanged within their errors limits. We interpret this result in terms of the observation that our data are mainly clustered around a linear fault (the Sisifo fault). When we restrict the selected windows around the fault, clustering around a line (the fault) is highlighted. The capacity dimension changes from about 1.8 to about 1.4 and the correlation dimension decreases because we observe in detail the clustering of the seismicity along the fault, which approximates the maximum intense clustering of the whole data set. Although our results are strongly influenced by the fact that the data are dominated by the epicentres located on the fault, we can conclude that multifractal analysis can be a very useful tool to discriminate the seismicity linked to a particular fault in a given area.     

Distribution and morphology of sinkholes triggered by flooding following Tropical Storm Alberto at Albany, Georgia, USA

Flooding of the Flint River in July 1994 triggered the collapse of at least 312 sinkholes in the karstic Dougherty Plain at Albany, Georgia. We examined the distribution and morphology of these new sinkholes to evaluate the mode of formation, to characterize early stages of the evolution of sinkhole form, and to estimate the lowering of the surface associated with the development of new sinkholes.Eighty-eight percent of sinkholes occur inside the limits of flooding, especially in areas of sandy overburden, and they often follow joint-controlled linear trends. Sinkhole dimensions are log-normally distributed with median values of circumference = 5.7 m, length = 1.8 m, width = 1.6 m, and depth = 0.7 m; asymmetry (L:W) = 1.2. Cross-sectional forms range from narrow cylinders to large bowls, with many sinkholes having undercut sides.Flooding triggered the formation of sinkholes by saturating and liquefying overburden, which caused soil arches to collapse and flow into cavities in bedrock. The prevalence of sinkholes near the periphery of flooding suggests that drainage and loss of buoyant support as flood waters subsided may also have contributed to failure. A volume ratio index is used to quantify the three dimensional geometric form of sinkholes. Initially, small cylindrical shafts open over a bedrock joint, followed by progressive slumping that leads to widening and increases in volume to a final bowl form. Estimates of the aggregate volume of overburden transported underground in flooded areas range from 7,990 to 11,130 m3. Averaged over flooded areas, this accounts for 0.26 to 0.37 mm/km² lowering of the surface. Based on a 500 year recurrence interval for the flood event, values for lowering of the surface range from 0.52 to 0.74 mm per 1,000 years. These values are an order of magnitude less than estimates of carbonate dissolution and suggest that transport of overburden underground is limited by triggering events.     

The first occurrence of platinum group minerals (PGM) in a chromite deposit in the Eastern Desert, Egypt

 The platinum-group mineralogy (PGM) of the chromitite from Gebel Lawi, in the southeastern desert has been investigated. The most abundant base metal sulfides (BMS) associated with the Lawi chromite are pentlandite, millerite and heazlewoodite. The major platinum-group minerals identified were as follows: laurite (IrOsRu)S2, osmian iridium (OsIr), hollingworthite (RhAsS), tellurian arsenopalladinite (PdTeSbAs), potarite (PdHg) besides cuprian palladian gold (CuPdAu), a Pd-Sb-Hg and HgTe phases. Laurite and osmian iridium occur preferentially in chromite. Os-Ir commonly forms composite PGM with laurite. Hollingworthite and tellurian arsenopalladinite are included within serpentine and, close to the base-metal sulfides, the cuprian palladian gold shares boundaries with chromite. Potarite together with the Pd-Sb-Hg and HgTe phases are embedded in serpentine. Palladium is the most abundant PGE in the Gebel Lawi chromite. A paragenetic sequence of PGM formation is described. Textural evidence indicates that Os-, Ir- and Ru-bearing PGM formed early and were followed by Rh- and Pd-bearing PGM. The concentration of all five PGE could be magmatic, but much of the PGE mineralogy except for laurite and osmian iridium in the center of chromite grains, has been modified by subsequent processes. At later stages, the environment became Te-, Sb-, As- and Hg-rich, which finally led to the formation of low-temperature alteration minerals. Received: 24 April 1995 / Accepted: 28 March 1996     

Biochemical and histological alterations in the prawn Macrobrachium lamerrei following exposure to automobile discharge

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), important constituents of petroleum products, are known to enter freshwater systems via industrial effluents. In the present study the possible toxicity of automobile effluent presumably containing PAH was demonstrated in the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium lamarrei. The prawns were exposed for 1, 8, 15 and 28 days to two sublethal concentrations (0.75% and 3.75%) of automobile effluent. A decrease was noted in the total protein content in haemolymph and hepatopancreas of prawns exposed for 28 days to both these sublethal concentrations. SDS-PAGE revealed that the effluent caused reduction in high molecular weight proteins (106-90 kD) of the haemolymph. The exposure to automobile effluent resulted in changes in the lamellar structure of the gills and shrinkage of hepatopancreatic cell types. Thus it is imperative to discard such wastes carefully ensuring that there is no entry into aquatic ecosystems.author for correspondence