Abundance and diversity of fungi in relation to chemical changes in arctic moss profiles

Mosses are a dominant component of high-arctic terrestrial ecosystems, yet little is known regarding the abundance and diversity of fungi associated with these abundant plants. We investigated vertical patterns of abundance and diversity of fungi and their relationship with chemical properties within profiles of Hylocomium splendens and Racomitrium lanuginosum collected in the Oobloyah Bay area on Ellesmere Island, Canada. The moss profiles were divided into 6 (H. splendens) and 5 (R. lanuginosum) layers according to the color and texture, and hyphal length, fungal assemblages, and contents of organic chemical components (acid-unhydrolyzable residues, total carbohydrates, extractives) and nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) were measured. Total hyphal length was greatest at the middle layers of H. splendens and at the deepest layers of R. lanuginosum and was significantly affected by moss species and nutrient contents. A total of 18 and 19 fungal taxa was isolated from the profiles of H. splendens and R. lanuginosum, respectively, with 11 taxa being common to both moss species. Moss species significantly affected the species distribution of fungi. Individual fungal taxa showed patterns of vertical distribution within the moss profiles. The contents of acid-unhydrolyzable residues and nutrients increased and the content of total carbohydrates decreased down the profile, which was attributable to the ability of fungi to decompose carbohydrates selectively and to immobilize nutrients in decomposed moss residues.     

Kolmogorov dissipation scales in weakly ionized plasmas

In a weakly ionized plasma, the evolution of the magnetic field is described by a 'generalized Ohm's law' that includes the Hall effect and the ambipolar diffusion terms. These terms introduce additional spatial and time-scales which play a decisive role in the cascading and the dissipation mechanisms in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We determine the Kolmogorov dissipation scales for the viscous, the resistive and the ambipolar dissipation mechanisms. The plasma, depending on its properties and the energy injection rate, may preferentially select one of these dissipation scales, thus determining the shortest spatial scale of the supposedly self-similar spectral distribution of the magnetic field. The results are illustrated taking the partially ionized part of the solar atmosphere as an example. Thus, the shortest spatial scale of the supposedly self-similar spectral distribution of the solar magnetic field is determined by any of the four dissipation scales given by the viscosity, the Spitzer resistivity (electron–ion collisions), the resistivity due to electron–neutral collisions and the ambipolar diffusivity. It is found that the ambipolar diffusion dominates for reasonably large energy injection rate. The robustness of the magnetic helicity in the partially ionized solar atmosphere would facilitate the formation of self-organized vortical structures.     

Tree-ring based hydroclimate reconstruction over northern Vietnam from Fokienia hodginsii: eighteenth century mega-drought and tropical Pacific influence

We present here the first statistically calibrated and verified tree-ring reconstruction of climate from continental Southeast Asia. The reconstructed variable is March–May (MAM) Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) based on ring widths from 22 trees (42 radial cores) of rare and long-lived conifer, Fokienia hodginsii (Po Mu as locally called) from northern Vietnam. This is the first published tree ring chronology from Vietnam as well as the first for this species. Spanning 535 years, this is the longest cross-dated tree-ring series yet produced from continental Southeast Asia. Response analysis revealed that the annual growth of Fokienia at this site was mostly governed by soil moisture in the pre-monsoon season. The reconstruction passed the calibration-verification tests commonly used in dendroclimatology, and revealed two prominent periods of drought in the mid-eighteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. The former lasted nearly 30 years and was concurrent with a similar drought over northwestern Thailand inferred from teak rings, suggesting a “mega-drought” extending across Indochina in the eighteenth century. Both of our reconstructed droughts are consistent with the periods of warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Pacific. Spatial correlation analyses with global SST indicated that ENSO-like anomalies might play a role in modulating droughts over the region, with El Niño (warm) phases resulting in reduced rainfall. However, significant correlation was also seen with SST over the Indian Ocean and the north Pacific, suggesting that ENSO is not the only factor affecting the climate of the area. Spectral analyses revealed significant peaks in the range of 53.9–78.8 years as well as in the ENSO-variability range of 2.0 to 3.2 years.     

Geology and geochemistry of lavas at Nekoma volcano: Implications for origin of Quaternary low-K andesite in the north-eastern Honshu arc, Japan

Abstract Nekoma volcano forms part of the arc axis volcanic array of the North-eastern Honshu arc, Japan, which is commonly characterized by medium-K lava suites. However, Nekoma is exceptional because many of its lavas are low-K. This anomaly has been a matter of debate. Nekoma was active from 1.1 to 0.35 Ma. The volcano consists of thick andesite flows and domes associated with block and ash flow deposits produced during lava dome formation. A horseshoe-shaped collapse caldera was formed at the summit and small lava domes extruded into the caldera. Stratigraphy, published K–Ar ages, and tephrochronology define three stages of volcanic activity, about 1.1 Ma (Stage 1), 0.8–0.6 Ma (Stage 2) and 0.45–0.35 Ma (Stage 3; post caldera stage). Low-K andesites occur in all stages. Extremely low-K andesite was also associated in Stage 2 and medium-K andesite was dominant in Stage 3. In general, lavas changed from low-K to medium-K after caldera formation. Geochemical study of the Nekoma lavas shows that both low-K and medium-K lavas are isotopically similar and were derived from a common source. Adatara and Azuma volcanoes, which lie close to Nekoma, also have both low-K and medium-K andesites. However, Sr isotope ratios or temporal-spatial variations in K-level lava classification vary between the three centers. Comparisons of K suites and Sr isotope ratios with frontal arc volcanoes in North-east–Honshu suggest source heterogeneity existed in both medium- and low-K suites. The K contents of lavas and their Sr isotopes are not simply related. This requires re-examination of models for chemical variation of andesites in arcs.     

Calorimetric study of high pressure polymorphism in FeTiO3: Stability of the perovskite phase

A calorimetric study of the ilmenite and lithium niobate polymorphs of FeTiO₃ was undertaken to assess the high-pressure stabilities of these phases. Ilmenite is known to be the stable phase at ambient pressure, but the lithium niobate form may be a quench phase from a perovskite form which has been previously observed in situ at high pressure.In this study, the lithium niobate phase of FeTiO₃ was synthesized from an ilmenite starting material at 15– 16 GPa and 1473 K, using a uniaxial split-sphere high-pressure apparatus (USSA 2000). The energetics of the ilmenite to lithium niobate transformation were investigated through transposed-temperature drop calorimetry. The heat of back-transformation of lithium niobate to ilmenite was measured by dropping the sample in argon from ambient conditions to a temperature where the transformation occurs spontaneously. In drops made at 977 K, an intermediate x-ray amorphous phase was encountered. At 1273 K, the transformation went to completion. A value of -13.5±1.2 kJ/mol was obtained for the heat of transformation.     

Paragenesis of sodic pyroxene-bearing quartz schists: implications for the P-T history of the Sanbagawa belt

Sodic pyroxene (jadeite content X _jd=0.1–0.3) occurs locally as small inclusions within, albite porphyroblasts and in the matrix of hematite-bearing quartz schists in the Sanbagawa (Sambagawa) metamorphic belt, central Shikoku, Japan. The sodic, pyroxene-bearing samples are characteristically free from chlorite and their typical mineral assemblage is sodic pyroxene+subcalcic (or sodic) amphibole+phengitic mica+albite+quartz+hematite+titanite±epidote. Spessartine-rich garnet occurs in Mn-rich samples. Sodic pyroxene in epidote-bearing samples tends to be poorer in acmite content (average X _Acm=0.26–0.50) than that in the epidote-free samples (X _Acm=0.45–0.47). X _Jd shows no systematic relationship to metamorphic grade, and is different among the three sampling regions [Saruta-gawa, Asemi-gawa and Bessi (Besshi)]. The average X _Jd of the Saruta-gawa samples (0.21–0.29) is higher than that of the Asemi-gawa (0.13–0.17) and Bessi (0.14–0.23). The P-T conditions of the Asemi-gawa and Bessi regions are estimated at 5.5–6.5 kbar, >360°C in the chlorite zone, 7–8.5 kbar, 440±15°C in the garnet zone and 8–9.5 kbar, 520±25°C in the albite-biotite zone. Metamorphic pressure of the Saruta-gawa region is systematically 1–1.5 kbar higher than that of the Asemi-gawa and Bessi regions, and materials of the Saruta-gawa region have been subducted to a level 3–5 km deeper than materials that underwent metamorphism at equivalent temperatures and are now exposed in the Asemi-gawa and Bessi regions. Pressure slightly increases toward the north (structurally high levels) through the Sanbagawa belt of central shikoku. Two types of zonal structure were observed in relatively coarse-grained sodic pyroxenes in the matrix. One type is characterized by increasing X _Jd from core to rim, the other type by decreasing X _Jd from core to rim. Both types of zoned pyroxenes show an increase in X _{Fe 2+}[=Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺+Mg)] from core to rim. The first type of zoning was observed in a sample from the chlorite zone of lowest grade, whereas the latter occurs in the garnet and albite-biotite zones of higher grade. The contrast in zonal structure implies that dP/dT during prograde metamorphism decreased with increasing metamorphic grade and may have been negative in some samples from the higher-grade zones. The estimated dP/dT of the prograde stage of the chlorite zone is 3.2 kbar/100°C, and that of the garnet and albite-biotite zones is -1.8 to 0.9 kbar/100°C. The variation of dP/dT at shallow and deep levels of a subduction system probably reflects the difference of heating duration and/or change in thermal gradient of the subduction zone by continuous cooling of the surrounding mantle.     

Ti-rich hydroandradites from the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks of the Shibukawa area,central Japan

Ti-rich hydroandradite often occurs, though usually as a minor constituent, in serpentinized ultramafic rocks and associated gabbroic rocks of the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt. The chemistry of the host rocks is commonly characterized by undersaturation with SiO₂. Two Ti-rich hydroandradites from metasomatized gabbroic rocks of the Shibukawa area have been chemically analysed by the wet method. Mössbauer experiments indicate the presence of Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ in the octahedral sites of these Ti-rich hydroandradites. Wet chemical analyses for total reducing capacity of the present garnets by two different methods together with Mössbauer data imply the presence of octahedral Ti³⁺ in their structure. Ti-rich hydroandratites, apart from their hydrous property, have a similar crystal chemistry to natural Ti-rich andradites. Ti-rich hydroandradites were probably formed in rocks with unusual chemical compositions within a P-T region of 300–400° C and 4–7 kb under limited conditions of relatively low oxygen fugacity and low μCO₂.     

Upscaling Permeability Measurements Within Complex Heterolithic Tidal Sandstones

We investigate numerically the effect of sample volume on the effective single-phase permeability of heterolithic tidal sandstones, using three-dimensional models reconstructed directly from large rock specimens measuring 45 × 30 × 15 cm. We find that both individual and averaged effective permeability values vary as a function of sample volume, which indicates that permeability data obtained from core-plugs will not be representative at the scale of a reservoir model grid-block regardless of the number of measurements taken. However, the error introduced by averaged data may be minimized using the appropriate averaging scheme for a given facies type and flow direction.     

Study of the effect of water-soluble fractions of heavy-oil on coastal marine organisms using enclosed ecosystems,mesocosms

Mesocosm facilities composed of 4 experimental and 2 reservoir tanks (1.5 m in diameter, 3.0 m in depth and 5 tons in capacity) made of FRP plastics, were constructed in the concrete fish rearing pond in the Fisheries Laboratory, The University of Tokyo. The water-soluble fraction of Rank A heavy residual oil was formed by mixing 500 g of the oil with 10 l of seawater, which was introduced to the 5000 l-capacity tanks. Experimental Run 4 was conducted from May 31 to June 7, 2000. Oil concentrations in the tanks were 4.5 microg/l called LOW, and 13.5 microg/l, called HIGH tank. Bacterial growth rates very quickly accelerated in the HIGH tank just after the loading of oil which corresponded with a high increase of bacterial cells in the same tank after 2 days. Later, bacterial numbers in HIGH tank rapidly decreased, corresponding with the rapid increase of heterotrophic nano-flagellates and virus numbers on the same day. Sediment traps were deployed at the bottom of the experimental tanks, and were periodically retrieved. These samples were observed both under light microscope and epi-fluorescent microscope with UV-excitation. It was observed that the main components of the vertical flux were amorphous suspended matter, mostly originating from dead phytoplankton and living diatoms. It was further observed from the pictures that vertical transport of oil emulsions were probably conducted after adsorption to amorphous suspended matter and living diatoms, and were settling in the sediment traps at the bottom of the tanks. This means that the main force which drives the soluble fraction of oil into bottom sediment would be vertical flux of such amorphous suspended particles and phytoplankton. Further incubation of the samples revealed that the oil emulsions were degraded by the activity of autochtonous bacteria in the sediment in aerobic condition.