Changes in stream water quality due to logging of the boreal forest in the Montmorency Forest,Québec

Summer stream water quality was monitored before and following the logging of 50% of the boreal forest within three small watersheds (<50 ha) nested in the ‘Ruisseau des Eaux‐Volées’ Experimental Watershed, Montmorency Forest (Québec, Canada). Logging was conducted in winter, on snow cover according to recommended best management practices (BMPs) to minimize soil disturbance and protect advance growth. A 20‐m forest buffer was maintained along perennial streams. In watershed 7·2, cut‐blocks were located near the stream network and logging was partially allowed within the riparian buffer zone. In watersheds 7·5 and 7·7, logging occurred farther away from the stream network. Observations were also made for watershed 7·3 that collected the runoff from watersheds 7·2 and 7·5, and watershed 7·6, the uproad portion of watershed 7·7. The control watershed 0·2 was contiguous to the impacted watersheds and remained undisturbed. Following clearcutting, changes in summer daily maximum and minimum stream temperatures remained within ± 1 °C while changes in diurnal variation did not decrease by more than 0·5 °C. Concentrations of NO₃^? greatly increased by up to 6000% and concentrations of K⁺ increased by up to 300% during the second summer after logging. Smaller increases were observed for Fe_total (up to 71%), specific conductance (up to 26%), and Mg²⁺ (up to 19%). Post‐logging pH decreased slightly by no more than 7% while PO₄^3? concentration remained relatively constant. Suspended sediment concentrations appeared to increase during post‐logging, but there was not enough pre‐logging data to statistically confirm this result. Logging of moderate intensity and respecting established BMPs may account for the limited changes of water quality parameters and the low exceedances of the criteria for the protection of aquatic life. The proximity of the cutover to the stream network and logging within the riparian zone did not appear to affect water quality. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low calcification rates and calcium carbonate production in Porites panamensis at its northernmost geographic distribution

Porites panamensis is a hermatypic coral present in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Skeletal growth parameters have been reported, but studies of the relationship between annual calcification rates and environmental controls are scarce. In this study, we investigated three aspects of the annual calcification rates of P. panamensis: growth parameters among three P. panamensis populations; the sea surface temperature as a calcification rate control spanning a latitudinal gradient; and calcium carbonate production among three sites. Growth parameters varied among the sites due to the colony growth form. Massive colonies in the north showed a higher calcification rate than encrusting colonies in the south (mean: 1.22–0.49 g CaCO₃ · cm^?2 · yr^?1), where variations in calcification rates were related to growth rate (0.91–0.38 cm · yr^?1) rather than to skeletal density differences (overall mean ± SD, 1.31 ± 0.04 g CaCO₃ · cm^?3). Our results showed a positive linear relationship between annual calcification rates and sea surface temperatures within these P. panamensis populations. Differences were related to distinct oceanographic environments (within and at the entrance of the Gulf of California) with different sea surface temperature regimes and other chemical properties. Different populations calcified under different environmental conditions. Calcium carbonate production was dependent upon the calcification rate and coral cover and so carbonate production was higher in the north (coral cover 12%) than in the south (coral cover 3.5). Thus, the studied sites showed low calcium carbonate production (0.25–0.43 kg CaCO₃ · m^?2 · yr^?1). Our results showed reduced calcification rates, regional temperature regime control over calcification rates, different growth forms, low coral cover and low calcium carbonate production rates in P. panamensis.     

The lunar rock and mineral characterization consortium: Deconstruction and integrated mineralogical,petrologic, and spectroscopic analyses of mare basalts

The lunar rock and mineral characterization consortium (LRMCC) has conducted coordinated mineralogy/petrography/spectroscopy analyses of a suite of pristine lunar basalts. Four basalt slabs (two low‐Ti, two high‐Ti) and paired thin sections were analyzed. Thin sections were analyzed for mineralogy/petrography, while the slabs were used to prepare particulate separates of major mineral phases and bulk samples. Mineral separates and particulate bulk samples were crushed to controlled grain sizes and their reflectance spectra measured in the NASA RELAB at Brown University. The resulting data set provides an essential foundation for spectral mixing models, offers valuable endmember constraints for space weathering analyses, and represents critical new ground truth results for lunar science and exploration efforts.     

Near‐infrared spectra of clinopyroxenes: Effects of calcium content and crystal structure

Abstract– Pyroxenes are among the most common minerals in the solar system and are ideally suited for remote geochemical analysis because of the sensitivity of their distinctive spectra to mineral composition. Fe²⁺ is responsible for the dominant pyroxene absorptions in the visible and near‐infrared, but substitutions of other cations such as Ca²⁺ change the crystal structure and site geometries and thus the crystal field splitting energies of the Fe cations. To define spectral systematics resulting from major pyroxene cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Fe²⁺), we focus on a suite of pyroxenes synthesized with only Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Fe²⁺ in the two octahedral sites, specifically examining the effect of Ca²⁺ on pyroxene absorption bands. The modified Gaussian model is used to deconvolve pyroxene spectra into component bands that can then be linked directly to crystal field absorptions. In orthopyroxenes and low‐Ca clinopyroxenes, Ca²⁺‐content has a strong and predictable effect on the positions of the absorption bands. At a threshold of Wo₃₀, the crystal field environment stagnates and the M2 bands cease to change significantly as more Ca²⁺ is added. At Wo₅₀, when most of the M2 sites are filled by Ca²⁺, band positions do not change drastically, although the presence and strengths of the 1 and 2 μm bands are affected by even trace amounts of Fe²⁺ in the M2 site. It is thus apparent that next‐nearest neighbors and the distortions they impose on the pyroxene lattice affect the electronic states around the Fe²⁺ cations and control absorption band properties.     

Evidence of space weathering in regolith breccias II: Asteroidal regolith breccias

Abstract– Space weathering products, such as agglutinates and nanophase iron‐bearing rims are easily preserved through lithification in lunar regolith breccias, thus such products, if produced, should be preserved in asteroidal regolith breccias as well. A study of representative regolith breccia meteorites, Fayetteville (H4) and Kapoeta (howardite), was undertaken to search for physical evidence of space weathering on asteroids. Amorphous or npFe⁰‐bearing rims cannot be positively identified in Fayetteville, although possible glass rims were found. Extensive friction melt was discovered in the meteorite that is difficult to differentiate from weathered materials. Several melt products, including spherules and agglutinates, as well as one irradiated rim and one possible npFe⁰‐bearing rim were identified in Kapoeta. The existence of these products suggests that lunar‐like space weathering processes are, or have been, active on asteroids.     

Medium-term responses of rocky bottoms to sewage discharges from a deepwater outfall in the NE Atlantic

An investigation on the effects of deepwater outfall discharges on the status of rocky reef communities was carried out. The sanitation system was found to be an environmentally suitable option for the protection of those habitats situated in high energy coastal environments. Sediments occurring between the predominating rocky substrates showed low values of the fine fraction (<63microm) and organic matter content. In addition, high average concentrations of Cd, Hg and Zn were found in these sediments, though these values were similar to those registered in non-affected sites, far away from the outfall. On the other hand, those assemblages typical of hard substrates that settled near the outfall showed an increase in total richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates. Moreover, the average number of species of each taxonomic group, a good indicator of the maintenance of the previous trophic structure, only varied considerably over time at the rip-rap protection. In a global context, those changes were not directly related to the discharge disturbances, but to the natural variability or the successional processes occurring within those communities. Only communities dwelling in the rip-rap protection area were affected by the proximity of the discharges.     

Molecular and isotopic partitioning of low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons during migration and gas hydrate precipitation in deposits of a high-flux seepage site

Detailed knowledge of the extent of post-genetic modifications affecting shallow submarine hydrocarbons fueled from the deep subsurface is fundamental for evaluating source and reservoir properties. We investigated gases from a submarine high-flux seepage site in the anoxic Eastern Black Sea in order to elucidate molecular and isotopic alterations of low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons (LMWHC) associated with upward migration through the sediment and precipitation of shallow gas hydrates. For this, near-surface sediment pressure cores and free gas venting from the seafloor were collected using autoclave technology at the Batumi seep area at 845 m water depth within the gas hydrate stability zone.Vent gas, gas from pressure core degassing, and from hydrate dissociation were strongly dominated by methane (> 99.85 mol.% of ∑[C₁–C₄, CO₂]). Molecular ratios of LMWHC (C₁/[C₂ + C₃] > 1000) and stable isotopic compositions of methane (δ¹³C = ? 53.5‰ V-PDB; D/H around ? 175‰ SMOW) indicated predominant microbial methane formation. C₁/C₂₊ ratios and stable isotopic compositions of LMWHC distinguished three gas types prevailing in the seepage area. Vent gas discharged into bottom waters was depleted in methane by > 0.03 mol.% (∑[C₁–C₄, CO₂]) relative to the other gas types and the virtual lack of ¹⁴C–CH₄ indicated a negligible input of methane from degradation of fresh organic matter. Of all gas types analyzed, vent gas was least affected by molecular fractionation, thus, its origin from the deep subsurface rather than from decomposing hydrates in near-surface sediments is likely.As a result of the anaerobic oxidation of methane, LMWHC in pressure cores in top sediments included smaller methane fractions [0.03 mol.% ∑(C₁–C₄, CO₂)] than gas released from pressure cores of more deeply buried sediments, where the fraction of methane was maximal due to its preferential incorporation in hydrate lattices. No indications for stable carbon isotopic fractionations of methane during hydrate crystallization from vent gas were found. Enrichments of ¹⁴C–CH₄ (1.4 pMC) in short cores relative to lower abundances (max. 0.6 pMC) in gas from long cores and gas hydrates substantiates recent methanogenesis utilizing modern organic matter deposited in top sediments of this high-flux hydrocarbon seep area.     

Modelling shallow landslide susceptibility: a new approach in logistic regression by using favourability assessment

A new method for estimating shallow landslide susceptibility by combining Geographical Information System (GIS), nonparametric kernel density estimation and logistic regression is described. Specifically, a logistic regression is applied to predict the spatial distribution by estimating the probability of occurrence of a landslide in a 16 km² area. For this purpose, a GIS is employed to gather the relevant sample information connected with the landslides. The advantages of pre-processing the explanatory variables by nonparametric density estimation (for continuous variables) and a reclassification (for categorical/discrete ones) are discussed. The pre-processing leads to new explanatory variables, namely, some functions which measure the favourability of occurrence of a landslide. The resulting model correctly classifies 98.55% of the inventaried landslides and 89.80% of the landscape surface without instabilities. New data about recent shallow landslides were collected in order to validate the model, and 92.20% of them are also correctly classified. The results support the methodology and the extrapolation of the model to the whole study area (278 km²) in order to obtain susceptibility maps.