Liver lesions in winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) from Jamaica Bay,New York: Indications of environmental degradation

Liver sections of winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) collected from Jamaica Bay and Shinnecock Bay, New York, in 1989, were examined microscopically to determine the pervasiveness of liver lesions observed previously in Jamaica Bay winter flounder. Neoplastic lesions were not detected in fish from Jamaica Bay or the Shinnecock Bay reference site. Twenty-two percent of Jamaica Bay winter flounder examined (n=103) had unusual vacuolization of hepatocytes and biliary pre-ductal and ductal cells (referred to hereafter as the vacuolated cell lesion). The lesion, identical to that found in 25% of Jamaica Bay winter flounder examined in 1988, has previously been identified in fishes taken from highly polluted regions of the Atlantic coast (e.g., Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, and Black Rock Harbor, Connecticut). Prevalence of the vacuolated cell lesion in winter flounder from Jamaica Bay was significantly greater (p<0.0001) than in 102 specimens collected from Shinnecock Bay. Current scientific literature indicates vacuolated hepatocytes and cholangiocytes are chronically injured and that the extent of their deformity is consistent with the action of a hepatotoxicant. The high prevalence of vacuolated hepatocytes in Jamaica Bay winter flounder and absence of the lesion in flounder from reference sites strongly supports the hypothesis that this impairment is a manifestation of a toxic condition in at least some portions of Jamaica Bay.     

Effects of salinity on the condition and survival of zebra mussels (Dereissena polymorpha)

The objectives of this study were to determine the tolerance of various life stages of zebra mussels to salinity; determine the extent to which acclimation events in estuarine systems, affect tolerance of zebra mussels; and determine the effects of salinity on health or condition of adult zebra mussels. At high temperatures (18–20°C), the condition of zebra mussels is reduced at salinities above 1%.. However, at lower temperatures (3–12°C), the optimum salinity for zebra mussels is 2–4%.. The incipient lethal salinity of post-veligers is near 2%., of larger adults (5–15 mm) between 2%. and 4%., and of veliger larvae near 4.5%.. Zebra mussels are able to acclimate to slowly changing salinities (i.e., 1%. d^?1) such that the time to 50% mortality of a population should be greater than 1 yr at temperatures near 20°C and salinites up to 8%.     

Coal resources of the Sonda coal field, Sindh Province, Pakistan

Approximately 4.7 billion t of original coal resources, ranging from lignite A to subbituminous C in rank, are estimated to be present in the Sonda coal field. These resources occur in 10 coal zones in the Bara Formation of Paleocene age. The Bara Formation does not out crop in the area covered by this report. Thin discontinuous coal beds also occur in the Sonhari Member of the Laki Formation, of Paleocene and Eocene age, but they are unimportant as a resource of the Sonda coal field.The coal resource assessment was based on 56 exploratory drill holes that were completed in the Sonda field between April 1986 and February 1988. The Sonda coal field is split into two, roughly equal, areas by the southwestward flowing Indus River, a major barrier to the logistics of communications between the two halves. As a result the two halves, called the Sonda East and Sonda West areas, were evaluated at different times by slightlydifferent techniques; but, because the geology is consistent between the two areas, the results of both evaluations have been summarized in this report. The resource estimates for the Sonda East area, approximately 1,700 million t, were based on the thickest coal bed in each zone at each drill hole. This method gives a conservative estimate of the total amount of coal in the Sonda East area. The resource estimates for the Sonda West area, approximately 3,000 million t, were based on cumulative coal bed thicknesses within each coal zone, resulting in a more liberal estimate. In both cases, minimum parameters for qualifying coal were a thickness of 30 cm or greater and no more than 50% ash; partings thicker than 1 cm were excluded. The three most important coal zones in the Sonda field are the Inayatabad, the Middle Sonda and the Lower Sonda. Together, these three coal zones contain 50% of the total resources. Isopachs were constructed for the thickest coal beds in these three coal zones and indicate large variations in thickness over relatively small distances. Coal beds in the Sonda coal field were difficult to correlate because of poor core recovery in some intervals and abrupt lateral thinning and thickening. Most coal zones are separated by 5–10 m of interburden, although in some places the interburden between zones is over 100 m thick. More closely spaced drill holes should clarify and significantly improve coal zone correlations in the Bara Formation.Coal resources in the Sonda coal field were calculated for three reliability categories; measured, indicated, and inferred. The most reliable estimates are those for the measured category. Measured coal resources are approximately 91 million t, or about 2% of the total resource; indicated resources are 681 million t, or about 14% of the total; and inferred resources, the least reliable resource category, are 3,931 million t, or 84% of the total resources. The distribution of resources by reliability category is due to the relatively wide spacing (approximately 5 km) between core holes.Analyses of 90 coal samples, on an as-received basis, indicate average ash and sulfur contents of 13.7% and 3.6%, respectively, and a range in rank from lignite A to subbituminous C. Calorific values for these samples range from 6,000 to 8,000 Btu/lb (1 Btu = 1055J; 1 lb = 4536 kg).     

Comparative geochemistry of volcanics from rift valleys,transform faults and aseismic ridges

New chemical analyses and a review of published data show that there is a compositional diversity between volcanics of basaltic composition found in the M.A.R. rift valley, M.A.R. transform faults and aseismic ridges. The basaltic rocks from the M.A.R. transform faults are less mafic (depleted in olivine content) than those from the M.A.R. rift valley. The transform fault basalts have a higher range of TiO₂ content (1–4%), of Fe₂O₃+FeO content (8–14%) and a lower range of Cr content (50–500 ppm) and Ni content (50–300 ppm). The volcanics from aseismic ridges around the world are considered to be the more felsic types of the two provinces. They have a higher range of variation for their TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃+FeO (1.6–5%; 9–15%; respectively) and a lower range of variability for their Cr and Ni (<250 and 100 ppm respectively) than both the M.A.R. rift valley and transform fault volcanics.It is suggested that transform faults have, by faulting, exposed more fractionated types of basaltic rocks (may be as intrusives) than the rift valley volcanics. While aseismic ridges have undergone a greater degree of differentiation than both transform faults and rift valley volcanics.Contribution n 475 du Département Scientifique, Centre Océanologique de Bretagne Contribution No. 3803 of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA)     

Kinetics of high-pressure phase transformations: Implications to the evolution of the olivine → spinel transition in the downgoing lithosphere and its consequences on the dynamics of the mantle

The rate of a high-pressure phase transition increases exponentially with temperature (T) and overpressure or pressure beyond equilibrium (ΔP). It is also greatly promoted by introducing shear stress, diminishing grain size, and adding water or other catalysts to the reactants. For an isothermal and isobaric transition with no compositional change, if steady state of nucleation on grain surfaces is attained, the rate equation can be expressed: (1) before site saturation by: X = 1 − exp(−Kt⁴), where

Full-size image (2K)

and (2) after site saturation by: X = 1 − exp(−K′T), where

Full-size image (1K)

, where X is volume fraction of completion of transformation, t is time, and the C's are characteristic constants. C₁ and C₉ are functions of grain size, C₃ and C₆ are functions of shear stress. All the C's are almost independent of temperature and pressure. Thus, if X as a function of T, ΔP, and t over a narrow P-T range can be experimentally determined, the C's can be calculated and the effect of grain size and shear stress on the rate of transformation can be evaluated. The isothermal and isobaric rate equations for a given composition, shear stress, and grain size are then experimentally determinable. The non-isothermal and non-isobaric rate equation can be calculated from the isothermal and isobaric ones if the rate of penetration into the metastability field is known. The important feature of the kinetics of high-pressure phase transitions predicted by these rate equations is that for a given rate of penetration into the metastability field, there can be defined a characteristic temperature, T_ch, below which the rate of the transition is virtually zero no matter how metastable the material is. For the olivine → spinel transition in the mantle, this characteristic temperature may be as high as 700° C. Thus, in a fast moving downgoing slab, the temperature at its cold center may remain below T_ch even down to depths in excess of 600 km, thereby greatly depressing the olivine—spinel phase boundary.At an early stage in the development of a downgoing slab, the plunging speed is slow. This allows the interior of the slab to heat up and the olivine → spinel transition to proceed rapidly and near equilibrium. As a result, the olivine—spinel phase boundary in the slab will be distorted upwards. The rising of the denser spinel phase then provides an additional driving force which accelerates the plate. Since the upper portion of the slab is pulled from below and the lower portion pushed from above, earthquakes of down-dip extension will occur in the upper mantle while those of down-dip compression will originate in the transition zone. Because the transformation occurs close to equilibrium, there will be an aseismic region separating the two seismic zones. When the plate velocity exceeds a certain limit, the temperature in the cold interior becomes low enough to depress the olivine → spinel transition. The phase boundary is then distorted downwards. The buoyant force thereby created will reduce the driving force, and the plunging speed of the plate will approach a steady state. In addition, the buoyant force will compress the slab from below and result in earthquakes of down-dip compression throughout the length of the slab. Now the olivine → spinel transition is so far from equilibrium that the reaction becomes implosive. A rise in frequency of deep earthquakes towards the implosion region in the lower transition zone is thus predicted. Therefore, as well as stabilizing the plate velocity, the olivine → spinel transition may also control earthquake distributions throughout the downgoing slab.     

Hibernation of the northern diamondback terrapin,Malaclemys terrapin terrapin

Studies of adult northern diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) in the salt marshes on the Atlantic Ocean side of Cape May Peninsula reveal that from mid-November through December, terrapins gradually migrate from the open waters of the sounds into the marsh creeks. Within the creeks, hibernating diamondbacks hibernate as isolated individuals or in small groups. Three hibernating methods are used: 1) resting on the bottom under water, 2) burial atop creek banks, and 3) taking refuge beneath undercut banks. Hibernating diamondbacks apparently remain dormant all winter.     

Fluxes of metals to a manganese nodule radiochemical,chemical, structural,and mineralogical studies

Fluxes of metals to the top and bottom surfaces of a manganese nodule were determined by combining radiochemical (²³⁰Th,²³¹Pa,²³²Th,²³⁸U,²³⁴U) and detailed chemical data. The top of the nodule had been growing in its collected orientation at 4.7 mm Myr^?1 for at least 0.5 Myr and accreting Mn at 200 μg cm^?2 kyr^?1. The bottom of the nodule had been growing in its collected orientation at about 12 mm Myr^?1 for at least 0.3 Myr and accreting Mn at about 700 μg cm^?2 yr^?1. Although the top of the nodule was enriched in iron relative to the bottom, the nodule had been accreting Fe 50% faster on the bottom.²³²Th was also accumulating more rapidly in the bottom despite a 20-fold enrichment of²³⁰Th on the top.The distribution of alpha-emitting nuclides calculated from detailed radiochemical measurements matched closely the pattern revealed by 109-day exposures of alpha-sensitive film to the nodule. However, the shape and slope of the total alpha profile with depth into the nodule was affected strongly by²²⁶Ra and²²²Rn migrations making the alpha-track technique alone an inadequate method of measuring nodule growth rates.Diffusion of radium in the nodule may have been affected by diagenetic reactions which produce barite, phillipsite and todorokite within 1 mm of the nodule surface; however, our sampling interval was too broad to document the effect. We have not been able to resolve the importance of nodule diagenesis on the gross chemistry of the nodule.     

Eutrophication of an impounded estuarine lagoon

A small lagoon to the east of Hobart is cut off from a larger body of tidal salt water by a causeway, allowing only a limited tidal interchange. Primary treated effluent from a small township is discharged into the lagoon. Causes for noxious odours emanating from the lagoon were investigated. It was found that the effluent, combined with agricultural runoff, has accelerated eutrophication. Wide variations in temperature and salinity occur. Decomposing algal mats account for most of the odours, while rooted aquatics and molluscs appear to play only a small part. Proposed remedies will be costly and still might not achieve their objective.     

A nepheline-alkali feldspar geothermometer

A nepheline-alkali feldspar geothermometer has been developed which is based on the thermodynamics of an Na—K exchange reaction between nepheline and alkali feldspar. The activities are formulated in terms of site occupancies, and the regular solution model is used to represent non-ideal mixing of the cations on each site. The distribution of Na and K on the alkali sites in nepheline is calculated from published nepheline-brine ion-exchange data. The standard Gibbs energy of the geothermometer reaction is calculated from experimental data on coexisting nephelines and alkali feldspars (Hamilton and MacKenzie, 1960, 1965). The geothermometer is applied to nepheline syenites from the Precambrian Igdlerfigssalik intrusion, S.W. Greenland, and gives temperatures which suggest that nepheline and alkali feldspar continue to equilibrate with cooling after they crystallise from the magma.