The Lamprey River Hydrological Observatory: Suburbanization and changing seasonality

The Lamprey River Hydrological Observatory (LRHO) is a lowland coastal watershed in southeastern New Hampshire (USA). The LRHO offers a platform to investigate the effects of suburbanization and changing seasonality on watershed hydrology, biogeochemistry, and nutrient export to an estuarine ecosystem. The LRHO utilizes a nested-watershed design to examine headwater stream and main-stem river dynamics distributed across a mixed land-use environment. Data sets from the LRHO now comprise over 20 years of weekly grab sample data as well as 7 years of high-frequency sensor data. Collectively these data sets include measures of discharge, dissolved organic matter, nutrients, cations and anions, greenhouse gases, and other physio-chemical properties. Here we share information on the setting and motivating questions of the LRHO and data availability.     

Rural change and tourism in remote regions: Developments and Indigenous endeavour in Westland,Te Tai o Poutini,Aotearoa New Zealand

Remote rural areas have encountered significant change and the need for renegotiation of economic and social priorities in the late 20th and early 21st century. In our broader research, we ask how have such communities been responding to this change? What role have different organisations and agencies played? And, how have they acted on the aspirations of marginalised communities? In this paper we examine these issues through a case study of Westland District on the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand's South Island. We probe the general shift towards prioritising tourism in the District, and highlight particular experiences in regard to Indigenous endeavour in tourism. We find that those engaged in leading local development and tourism have not collaborated strategically across the sector and have not established meaningful partnerships with the community that recognise both economic and socio‐cultural aspirations.     

Dating very young planetary surfaces from crater statistics: A review of issues and challenges

Determining the ages of young planetary surfaces relies on using populations of small, often sub-km diameter impact craters due to the higher frequency at which they form. Smaller craters however can be less reliable for estimating ages as their size-frequency distribution is more susceptible to alteration with debate as to whether they should be used at all. With the current plethora of meter-scale resolution images acquired of the lunar and Martian surfaces, small craters have been widely used to derive model ages to establish the temporal relation of recent geologic events. In this review paper, we discuss the many factors that make smaller craters particularly challenging to use and should be taken into consideration when crater counts are confined to small crater diameters. Establishing confidence in a model age ultimately requires an understanding of the geologic context of the surface being dated as reliability can vary considerably and limitations of the dating technique should be considered in applying ages to any geologic interpretation.     

New quantitative approaches for classifying and predicting local-scale habitats in estuaries

This study has developed quantitative approaches for firstly classifying local-scale nearshore habitats in an estuary and then predicting the habitat of any nearshore site in that system. Both approaches employ measurements for a suite of enduring environmental criteria that are biologically relevant and can be easily derived from readily available maps. While the approaches were developed for south-western Australian estuaries, with a focus here on the Swan and Peel-Harvey, they can easily be tailored to any system.     

In situ experimental formation and growth of Fe nanoparticles and vesicles in lunar soil

We report the results of the first dynamic, in situ heating of lunar soils to simulate micrometeorite impacts on the lunar surface. We performed slow‐ and rapid‐heating experiments inside the transmission electron microscope to understand the chemical and microstructural changes in surface soils resulting from space‐weathering processes. Our slow‐heating experiments show that the formation of Fe nanoparticles begins at ~575 °C. These nanoparticles also form as a result of rapid‐heating experiments, and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy measurements indicate the Fe nanoparticles are composed entirely of Fe⁰, suggesting this simulation accurately mimics micrometeorite space‐weathering processes occurring on airless body surfaces. In addition to Fe nanoparticles, rapid‐heating experiments also formed vesiculated textures in the samples. Several grains were subjected to repeated thermal shocks, and the measured size distribution and number of Fe nanoparticles evolved with each subsequent heating event. These results provide insight into the formation and growth mechanisms for Fe nanoparticles in space‐weathered soils and could provide a new methodology for relative age dating of individual soil grains from within a sample population.     

Numerical investigation of the effects of upwelling on harmful algal blooms off the west Florida coast

The initiation of the toxic harmful algal bloom (HAB), Karenia brevis, along the west Florida coast has been associated with upwelling events. Upwelling processes may be responsible for the transport of nutrients or algae from deep offshore locations across the Florida shelf to the coast. The influence of coastal wind-driven upwelling on the onset and occurrences of K. brevis in this region was numerically investigated using Rutgers University's Regional Ocean Modeling System. Computations were carried out in an idealized model domain, a two-dimensional slice in the cross-shore and vertical directions. The surface forcing data used was from several offshore meteorological buoys. The motion of the algae was simulated using Lagrangian particles and a passive tracer. The numerical simulations of three K. brevis events in 2000–2002 showed that the particles respond (with upwelling/downwelling) to the along-shore wind stresses as expected and some upwelling was present during the events. Comparison of the passive tracer fields with measured fluorescence data exposed the model's sensitivity to the particular surface forcing data employed and the relatively more significant role played by surface forcing over initial conditions. The present model set-up constitutes a useful predictive tool for conditions conducive to the onset of HABs. It is planned to be used in a real-time mode to aid the NOAA HAB monitoring and forecasting system.     

Recruitment,habitat selection and larval photoresponse of Paraleucilla magna (Porifera,Calcarea) in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Little is known about the recruitment and behaviour of sponge larvae, especially of the class Calcarea. The calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna is very common in Southeast Brazil, where it is considered a cryptogenic species. This study quantified recruitment rates in shaded and illuminated habitats for 2 years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and analyzed larval photoresponses of this species. Four structures, each containing a shaded and an illuminated surface, were exchanged every 3 months for 2 years. The number of recruits was quantified on each plate. In the laboratory, larvae of P. magna were placed in half‐shaded Petri dishes and the number of settlers in each side was counted after 24 h. Paraleucilla magna recruited continuously throughout the experiment. Recruits occurred in greater abundance on shaded surfaces than on illuminated surfaces, and the larvae were negatively phototactic in vitro. Despite the possible influence of other factors in the recruitment of sponges (such as sedimentation, competition and predation), the prevalence of P. magna in shaded habitats may also be related to larval choice.     

Density,Shell Use and Species Composition of Juvenile Fiddler Crabs (Uca spp.) at Low and High Anthropogenic Impact Salt Marsh Sites

Coastal wetlands worldwide have been negatively impacted by humans, causing decreases in the vegetation used as a refuge from predation by juveniles of many species. This study examined juvenile fiddler crab densities and species composition (Uca pugnax, Uca pugilator, and Uca minax), and their use of gastropod shells (Littorina littoraria), at three low and three high impact sites on barrier islands in southeast Georgia. On six dates in June–August 2010, samples were taken from 10 quadrats (1 m²) at each site to determine juvenile fiddler crab densities and species composition, as well as gastropod shell densities and percent shell use. Multiplex PCR was used to identify juvenile fiddler crabs to species. Juvenile fiddler crab densities were lower at high impact sites, while gastropod shell densities and shell use were similar at both low and high impact sites. Species compositions differed between low and high impact sites on the substrate and in shells, with more U. pugilator and U. minax at high impact sites. A change in fiddler crab densities and species composition could cause a substantial change in southeastern salt marshes.     

Crater modification and geologic activity in Enceladus' heavily cratered plains: Evidence from the impact crater distribution

Although we can observe current activity on Saturn's satellite Enceladus with Cassini, insight into past activity is best achieved (for now) through studying the impact crater distributions. Furthermore, approximation of terrain ages can only be attained through calculations using crater densities and estimations of impact rates in the saturnian system. Here we focus on what the impact crater distribution in Enceladus' heavily cratered plains can tell us about Enceladus' geologic history. We use Cassini ISS images to count craters in the heavily cratered plains on Enceladus, along with Rhea, Dione, Tethys and Mimas as references, to develop and compare their size-frequency distributions. Comparisons of our counts show that Enceladus' cratered plains distribution is unique in that it appears to have a relative deficiency of craters for diameters ?2 km and ?6 km compared to the other satellites' heavily cratered plains. Our data also indicates that the impact crater density within the cratered plains changes with latitude. Specifically, both the north and south mid-latitude regions have approximately three times higher density than the equatorial region. We hypothesize that the “missing” small and large craters in Enceladus' cratered plains is due to a combination of viscous relaxation of the larger craters, and burial of the relaxed large craters and small craters by south polar plume and possibly E-ring material. We also conclude that the spatial density distribution is not consistent with recent polar wander.