The ability of a field population of diatoms to discriminate between phosphate and arsenate

Dissolved inorganic arsenic and phosphate levels present in an enclosed experimental ecosystem have been studied during the course of a natural spring diatom bloom. Whilst phosphate levels dropped rapidly to almost zero as the bloom developed, arsenic levels remained constant even when arsenate levels exceeded the dissolved phosphate. Certain diatom species (Thalassiosira spp., Chaetoceras spp. and Skeletonema costatum) therefore appear to be capable of discriminating, either by uptake or excretion, between phosphate and arsenate. The implications of such findings are discussed.     

The ECOMAN project: A novel approach to defining sustainable ecosystem function

The ECOMAN was initiated in 2001 by the University of Plymouth, UK, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to address the need for more pragmatic assessment techniques linking environmental degradation with its causes. The primary aim of the project was to develop an evidence-based approach in which suites of easy-to-use, cost-effective and environmentally valid biological responses (biomarkers) could be used together to assess the health of coastal systems through the general condition of individuals. A range of sub-lethal endpoints, chosen to reflect successive levels of biological organisation (molecular, cellular, physiological), was evaluated in common coastal organisms showing different feeding types (filter feeding, grazing, predation) and habitat requirements (estuary, rocky shore). Initially, the suite of biomarkers was used in laboratory studies to determine the relative sensitivities of key species within different functional groups to common contaminants. These results were then validated in field studies performed in a range of ecosystems exhibiting different degrees/signatures of contamination. Here, an example is provided of a field study in the Humber Estuary, UK, which illustrates how multivariate statistical analysis can be used to identify patterns of response to discriminate between contaminated and clean sites. The use of a holistic, integrated approach of this kind is advocated as a practical means of assessing the impact of chemical contamination on organismal health and of ranking the status of marine ecosystems.     

Spatial modeling of annual minimum and maximum temperatures in Iceland

Bayesian hierarchical modeling is applied to the analysis of annual minimum and maximum temperatures. In both cases the generalized extreme value distribution is selected as the marginal distribution at each site due to its flexibility and theoretical basis. This distribution has three unknown parameters, a location parameter, a scale parameter and a shape parameter. The location and scale parameters are assumed to vary across sites while the shape parameter is assumed to be the same for all sites. The location and the scale parameters are modeled as two independent Gaussian spatial processes which are governed by the Matérn correlation function. These spatial processes play a central role in spatial predictions at unobserved sites. The location parameter is also modeled with a common time effect which includes a linear trend and a linear site effect with altitude, distance to open sea, latitude and longitude as covariates. This model allows for spatial predictions for any set of unobserved sites, the scale of the grid can be as fine as possible as long as the covariates are observed at each of the unobserved sites. Data on the annual minimum and maximum temperatures in Iceland from 1961 to 2009?at 72 sites are analyzed and used to predict the 2nd percentile of the minimum temperature for the 12-month period from July 2011 to June 2012 and the 98th percentile of maximum temperature for the year 2011 for a large set of unobserved sites across Iceland at which the covariates are available. The spatial predictions reveal that the 2nd percentile of minimum temperature for 2011 to 2012 reaches ?35°C in the central part of Iceland and ranges from ?12 to ?22°C around the coast of Iceland with the lowest coastal temperatures in the Northern part and the Northeastern part. The 98th percentile of maximum temperature in 2011 ranges from 10 to 30°C where the warmest areas are found in the Eastern part, the North-Eastern part and the Southern part of the country. The estimated increase in minimum and maximum temperatures over the years 1961 to 2009 is 0.71 and 0.47°C per decade, respectively, while the average annual temperature increased 0.24°C per decade over the same period.     

Generation and performance of automated jarosite mineral detectors for visible/near-infrared spectrometers at Mars

We have developed two automated detectors that can recognize the sulfate mineral jarosite in unknown visible to near-infrared spectra (350-2500 nm). The two detectors are optimized for use within the terrestrial and martian atmospheres. The detectors are built from Support Vector Machines trained using a generative model to create linear mixtures of library mineral spectra. Both detectors performed with an average ∼90% accuracy on laboratory spectra of single minerals and the laboratory and field spectra of rocks collected in a hydrothermal environment. This type of algorithm will contribute to the efficiency of onboard data analysis of landed and orbital visible/near-infrared spectrometers at Mars.     

The Ascraeus Mons fan-shaped deposit: Volcano-ice interactions and the climatic implications of cold-based tropical mountain glaciation

Amazonian-aged fan-shaped deposits extending to the northwest of each of the Tharsis Montes in the Tharsis region on Mars have been interpreted to have originated from mass-wasting, volcanic, tectonic and/or glacial processes. We use new data from MRO, MGS, and Odyssey to characterize these deposits. Building on recent evidence for cold-based glacial activity at Pavonis Mons and Arsia Mons, we interpret the smaller Ascraeus fan-shaped deposit to be of glacial origin. Our geomorphological assessment reveals a number of characteristics indicative of glacial growth and retreat, including: (1) a ridged facies, interpreted to be composed of drop moraines emplaced during episodic glacial advance and retreat, (2) a knobby facies, interpreted to represent vertical downwasting of the ice sheet, and (3) complex ridges showing a cusp-like structure. We also see evidence of volcano-ice interactions in the form of: (1) an arcuate inward-facing scarp, interpreted to have formed by the chilling of lava flows against the glacial margin, (2) a plateau feature, interpreted to represent a subglacial eruption, and (3) knobby facies superimposed on flat-topped flows with leveed channels, interpreted to be subglacial inflated lava flows that subsequently drained and are covered by glacial till. We discuss the formation mechanisms of these morphologies during cold-based glacial activity and concurrent volcanism. On the basis of a Mid- to Late-Amazonian age (250-380 Ma) established from crater size-frequency distribution data, we explore the climatic implications of recent glaciation at low latitudes on Mars. GCM results show that increased insolation to the poles at high obliquities (>45°) forces sublimation of polar ice, which is transported to lower latitudes and deposited on the flanks of the Tharsis Montes. We assess how local orographic effects, the mass balance of the glacier, and the position of equilibrium line altitudes, all played a role in producing the observed geomorphologies. In doing so, we outline a glacial history for the evolution of the Ascraeus Mons fan-shaped deposit and compare its initiation, growth and demise with those of Arsia Mons and Pavonis Mons.     

Thermal evolution of an ancient subduction interface revealed by Lue Hf garnet geochronology,Halilba■? Complex(Anatolia)

The thermal structure of subduction zones exerts a major influence on deep-seated mechanical and chemical processes controlling arc magmatism, seismicity, and global element cycles. Accretionary complexes exposed inland may comprise tectonic blocks with contrasting pressureetemperature(Pe T)histories, making it possible to investigate the dynamics and thermal evolution of former subduction interfaces. With this aim, we present new Lue Hf geochronological results for mafic rocks of the Halilbag?Complex(Anatolia) that evolved along different thermal gradients. Samples include a lawsoniteeepidote blueschist, a lawsoniteeepidote eclogite, and an epidote eclogite(all with counter-clockwise Pe T paths),a prograde lawsonite blueschist with a "hairpin"-type Pe T path, and a garnet amphibolite from the overlying sub-ophiolitic metamorphic sole. Equilibrium phase diagrams suggest that the garnet amphibolite formed at w0.6 -0.7 GPa and 800 -850℃, whereas the prograde lawsonite blueschist records burial from 2.1 GPa and 420℃ to 2.6 GPa and 520℃. Well-defined Lue Hf isochrons were obtained for the epidote eclogite(92.38 ± 0.22 Ma) and the lawsoniteeepidote blueschist(90.19 ± 0.54 Ma),suggesting rapid garnet growth. The lawsoniteeepidote eclogite(87.30 ± 0.39 Ma) and the prograde lawsonite blueschist(ca. 86 Ma) are younger, whereas the garnet amphibolite(104.5 ± 3.5 Ma) is older.Our data reveal a consistent trend of progressively decreasing geothermal gradient from granulite-facies conditions at ~104 Ma to the epidote-eclogite facies around 92 Ma, and the lawsonite blueschist-facies between 90 Ma and 86 Ma. Three Lue Hf garnet dates(between 92 Ma and 87 Ma) weighted toward the growth of post-peak rims(as indicated by Lu distribution in garnet) suggest that the HP/LT rocks were exhumed continuously and not episodically. We infer that HP/LT metamorphic rocks within the Halilbag?Complex were subjected to continuous return flow, with "warm" rocks being exhumed during the tectonic burial of "cold" ones. Our results, combined with regional geological constraints, allow us to speculate that subduction started at a transform fault near a mid-oceanic spreading centre. Following its formation, this ancient subduction interface evolved thermally over more than 15 Myr, most likely as a result of heat dissipation rather than crustal underplating.     

Flexure of the Indian plate and intraplate earthquakes

The flexural bulge in central India resulting from India's collision with Tibet has a wavelength of approximately 670 km. It is manifest topographically and in the free-air gravity anomaly and the geoid. Calculations of the stress distribution within a flexed Indian plate reveal spatial variations throughout the depth of the plate and also a function of distance from the Himalaya. The wavelength (and therefore local gradient) of stress variation is a function of the effective elastic thickness of the plate, estimates of which have been proposed to lie in the range 40–120 km. The imposition of this stress field on the northward moving Indian plate appears fundamental to explaining the current distribution of intraplate earthquakes and their mechanisms. The current study highlights an outer trough south of the flexural bulge in central India where surface stresses are double the contiguous compressional stresses to the north and south. The Bhuj, Latur and Koyna earthquakes and numerous other recent reverse faulting events occurred in this compressional setting. The N/S spatial gradient of stress exceeds 2 bars/km near the flexural bulge. The overall flexural stress distribution provides a physical basis for earthquake hazard mapping and suggests that areas of central India where no historic earthquakes are recorded may yet be the locus of future damaging events.