Contamination of organotin compounds and imposex in molluscs from Vancouver,Canada

Gastropods and bivalves were collected at 15 sites at Vancouver and Victoria, Canada between 24 May and 7 June, 1999, to establish tissue concentrations of butyltin and phenyltin compounds, to record imposex symptoms in gastropods, and to assess the present status of organotin contamination around Vancouver. No neogastropods (such as Nucella lima) were found around Vancouver. Neogastropod populations could have been extirpated by severe TBT contamination in Vancouver, as relatively high concentrations of TBT were detected in tissues of Mytilus trossulus from Vancouver, and the neogastropods distributed in Vancouver might be sensitive to TBT. Recovery from imposex, however, was observed in neogastropod populations from three sites at Victoria and Mission Point. TBT contamination has continued around Vancouver, arising from continuous use of TBT in antifouling paints for vessels larger than 25 m in length; however, TBT has decreased around Victoria and Mission Point. Different patterns of TBT accumulation in tissue were observed among the bivalve species from Vancouver. The highest TBT concentration detected in Tresus capax suggested some possible adverse effects. TBT was the most predominant butyltin component in almost all bivalve specimens surveyed, suggesting a low rate of TBT metabolism. Phenyltin compounds were not detected in any molluscan specimens in this study.     

Submarine slope mudstone facies,cozy dell formation (Middle Eocene), California

A 120 m thick section of the Cozy Dell Formation (middle Eocene), southem California, consists of a graylaminated mudstone and a tanungraded mudstone; sandstone beds are associated with the laminated mudstone. Sedimentary structures, stratification sequences, foraminiferal distributions, and composition indicate that the ungraded mudstone is an upper slope hemipelagic deposit, while the laminated mudstone is an overbank deposit associated with shallow channels or gullies in which the sandstone beds were deposited. This depositional setting may be analogous to that of the modern Mississippi River delta front.     

Facies recognition of some Tertiary coals applied to prediction of oil source rock occurrence

Coals are oil source rocks in many of the Tertiary basins of Southeast Asia. The precursors of these hydrogen rich and oxygen poor coals are coastal plain peats which have mainly developed in an everwet and tropical climate. In these environments water flow and reworking can concentrate liptinitic kerogen in preference to vitrinitic kerogen. The distribution, petrography and chemistry of the coaly Miocene source rocks present in the Kutai Basin are described. The recognition of environmental controls on the accumulation of potentially oil-prone coals and coaly shales in deltaic environments is an aid to predictive source bed recognition in petroleum exploration. Comments on the environment of deposition of coaly sediments in the basins of the Norwegian Sea are discussed with reference to their possible oil and/or gas sourcing potential. The Triassic - Jurassic coals of the Haltenbanken area may become more oil-prone towards the delta margins, and facies mapping could aid oil exploration in this area.     

Estimation for partially observed Markov processes

Many stochastic process models for environmental data sets assume a process of relatively simple structure which is in some sense partially observed. That is, there is an underlying process (X_n, n 0) or (X_t, t 0) for which the parameters are of interest and physically meaningful, and an observable process (Y_n, n 0) or (Y_t, t 0) which depends on the X process but not otherwise on those parameters. Examples are wide ranging: the Y process may be the X process with missing observations; the Y process may be the X process observed with a noise component; the X process might constitute a random environment for the Y process, as with hidden Markov models; the Y process might be a lower dimensional function or reduction of the X process. In principle, maximum likelihood estimation for the X process parameters can be carried out by some form of the EM algorithm applied to the Y process data. In the paper we review some current methods for exact and approximate maximum likelihood estimation. We illustrate some of the issues by considering how to estimate the parameters of a stochastic Nash cascade model for runoff. In the case of k reservoirs, the outputs of these reservoirs form a k dimensional vector Markov process, of which only the kth coordinate process is observed, usually at a discrete sample of time points.     

G-Probe-1 - An International Proficiency Test for Microprobe Laboratories - Report on Round 1 : February 2002 (TB-1 Basaltic Glass)

Results are presented for round one of a new international proficiency testing programme designed for microprobe laboratories involved in the routine analysis of silicate minerals. The sample used for this round was TB-1, a basaltic glass fused and prepared by the USGS. Thirty nine laboratories contributed data to this round, the majority of major element results being undertaken by EPMA and the majority of trace elements by LA-ICP-MS. Assigned values were derived from the median of results produced by nine selected laboratories that analysed powdered material by conventional ICP-MS, INAA and XRF techniques using bulk powders of the sample. Submitted microprobe results were evaluated using a target precision calculated using the Horwitz function, adopting the same criteria as those used for "applied" geochemistry laboratories in the companion GeoPT proficiency testing programme for laboratories involved in the routine bulk analysis of silicate rocks. An evaluation of results from participating microprobe laboratories indicated that overall, data were compatible with this precision function. A comparison between the performance of bulk and microprobe techniques used in the analysis of the basaltic glass showed remarkably good agreement, with significant bias only observed for the major oxide MgO.     

Geo–ecology and management of sensitive montane landscapes

Montane (alpine) areas are generally of high value for nature conservation. Such environments and the habitats they support are dynamic and often fragile. They are vulnerable to disturbance from a range of human activities and are responsive to climate changes over short and long timescales. Biodiversity and conservation values are closely linked to geological history, geomorphological processes and soils, and it is crucial that management systems are based on understanding these links.
There are many similarities between the Cairngorm Mountains (Scotland), the Giant Mountains (Czech Republic) and Abisko Mountains (Sweden) in terms of geology, geomorphology, ecology, links with biodiversity and high conservation importance. Comparable pressures and management issues involve, to varying degrees, a history of human use and impacts from deforestation, pasturing, grazing, recreation and atmospheric pollution. Landscape change therefore involves a complex interplay between natural and anthropogenic factors. Managing such change requires better understanding of the geo–ecological processes involved and the factors that determine landscape sensitivity. This is illustrated through a simple framework and examples from the three areas. Comparison of landscape sensitivity between similar montane areas, but in different geographic locations and climatic environments, should allow more informed management planning and a precautionary approach in advance of further changes in human activity and from predicted global warming scenarios.