Differential modulation of eastern oyster (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea virginica</Emphasis>) disease parasites by the El-Niño-Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is affected by two protozoan parasites, Perkinsus marinus which causes Dermo disease and Haplosporidium nelsoni which causes MSX (Multinucleated Sphere Unknown) disease. Both diseases are largely controlled by water temperature and salinity and thus are potentially sensitive to climate variations resulting from the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which influences climate along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which influences climate along the Atlantic coast of the United States. In this study, a 10-year time series of temperature and salinity and P. marinus infection intensity for a site in Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico coast and a 52-year time series of air temperature and freshwater inflow and oyster mortality from Delaware Bay on the Atlantic coast of the United States were analyzed to determine patterns in disease and disease-induced mortality in C. virginica populations that resulted from ENSO and NAO climate variations. Wavelet analysis was used to decompose the environmental, disease infection intensity and oyster mortality time series into a time–frequency space to determine the dominant modes of variability and the time variability of the modes. For the Louisiana site, salinity and Dermo disease infection intensity are correlated at a periodicity of 4 years, which corresponds to ENSO. The influence of ENSO on Dermo disease along the Gulf of Mexico is through its effect on salinity, with high salinity, which occurs during the La Niña phase of ENSO at this location, favoring parasite proliferation. For the Delaware Bay site, the primary correlation was between temperature and oyster mortality, with a periodicity of 8 years, which corresponds to the NAO. Warmer temperatures, which occur during the positive phase of the NAO, favor the parasites causing increased oyster mortality. Thus, disease prevalence and intensity in C. virginica populations along the Gulf of Mexico coast is primarily regulated by salinity, whereas temperature regulates the disease process along the United States east coast. These results show that the response of an organism to climate variability in a region is not indicative of the response that will occur over the entire range of a particular species. This has important implications for management of marine resources, especially those that are commercially harvested.     

Gschliefgraben mudslide (Austria): hazard evaluation and risk mitigation

A rock slide on top of the clayey–silty–sandy–pebbly masses in the Gschliefgraben (Upper Austria province, Lake Traunsee) having occurred in 2006, together with the humid autumn of 2007, triggered a mudslide comprising a volume up to 4 million m3 and moving with a maximum displacement velocity of 5 m/day during the winter of 2007–2008. The possible damage was estimated up to 60 million € due to the possible destruction of houses and of a road to a settlement with intense tourism. The movement front ran ahead in the creek bed. Therefore, it was assumed that water played an important role. Inclinometer measurements showed that a less permeable layer was sliding on a thin, more permeable layer. During the last centuries, mudslides had already pushed farms into the lake, as reported by chronicles. Thus, the inhabitants of 46 houses had to be evacuated for safety reasons. They could return to their homes after displacement velocities had decreased. It was decided (a) to prevent soaking of water into the uppermost, less permeable layer by transversal drainages, (b) to lower the pore water pressures by longitudinal trenches filled with blocky material, (c) to pump water out of the more permeable layer by well drillings upslope of the houses in order to create a stable block below the houses and (d) to remove material thrust over the stable blocks in order to avoid damage to the houses. These mitigation measures costing 11.5 million € led to a deceleration of the process to displacement velocities of some cm/year up to now. The houses and the road were not damaged.     

Mo isotope composition in Mo-rich high- and low-T hydrothermal systems from the Swiss Alps

We analyzed the molybdenum (Mo) isotope compositions (IC) of 59 samples from two molybdenite mineralizations (Alpjahorn and Grimsel) and from a Mo-rich hydrothermal breccia (Grimsel) from the Aar Massif, Switzerland. The formation temperature of the Late Paleozoic Mo mineralizations (300-600 °C) is much higher than that of the Pliocene breccia (100-160 °C). The Mo IC of the molybdenites varies over 1.35‰. Even in a single hand specimen it spans 0.45‰, indicating that fractionation processes during molybdenite precipitation can vary on a cm scale. The Mo IC of most molybdenites analyzed here are significantly heavier than that of the host rock (δ^98/95Mo = (0.05 ± 0.1)‰) and show a bimodal distribution centered around δ^98/95Mo ≈ 1.1‰ and 0.2‰. This result rules out single stage Rayleigh fractionation as the relevant formation mechanism and instead, redox variations are suggested to be a main factor controlling the Mo IC of the studied high-temperature Mo deposits. The range of the Mo IC in one single deposit, the Alpjahorn, overlaps with the variation range of almost all other published values for Mo IC in Mo deposits. Compared to the molybdenites, the breccia shows an even wider variation of 3.0‰ (δ^98/95Mo between −1.6‰ and +1.4‰). In contrast to the high-T molybdenite deposits, here the Mo was transported via oxidized surface waters into the breccia system, where it was reduced and precipitated. This indicates that oxidation and reduction of Mo complexes may lead to highly variable Mo IC in hydrothermal systems.     

Zircon ages of late Palaeoproterozoic (ca. 1.72–1.70 Ga) extension-related granitoids in NE Rajasthan,India: Regional and tectonic significance

The Khetri region forms a late Palaeoproterozoic igneous–metamorphic complex in NE Rajasthan, India. Seven granitoid plutons of the Khetri complex have been studied for zircon U–Pb and Pb–Pb dating along with whole-rock and Nd–Sr isotope geochemistry to provide new constraints on the Palaeoproterozoic magmatic activity in the Aravalli orogen of northwestern India. Most intrusives show evidence of moderate to extreme albitisation forming microcline–albite granite and albite granite, respectively. The rocks are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, largely ferroan and intraplate A-type granites. The U–Pb zircon ages for four plutons cover a time span of 1732–1682 Ma, whereas Pb–Pb zircon evaporation data for three intrusives indicate minimum emplacement ages between 1671 and 1537 Ma. The Nd–Sr isotopic systematics suggest the involvement of Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic crustal components in the petrogenesis of these granitoids. A regional survey of late Palaeoproterozoic ages in the Aravalli orogen provides evidence for a geographically widespread extension-related event in the northwestern Indian shield about 1720–1700 Ma ago. The record of comparable ages and the magmatic history reported in parts of North America and the North China Craton may indicate the significance of this event for the rift tectonics of the hypothetical supercontinent Columbia.     

Light noble gases in 12 meteorites from the Omani desert,Australia, Mauritania,Canada, and Sweden

We measured the concentrations and isotopic compositions of He, Ne, and Ar in 14 fragments from 12 different meteorites: three carbonaceous chondrites, six L chondrites (three most likely paired), one H chondrite, one R chondrite, and one ungrouped chondrite. The data obtained for the CV3 chondrites Ramlat as Sahmah (RaS) 221 and RaS 251 support the hypothesis of exposure age peaks for CV chondrites at approximately 9 Ma and 27 Ma. The exposure age for Shi?r 033 (CR chondrite) of 7.3 Ma is also indicative of a possible CR chondrite exposure age peak. The three L chondrites Jiddat al Harasis (JaH) 091, JaH 230, and JaH 296, which are most likely paired, fall together with Hallingeberg into the L chondrite exposure age peak of approximately 15 Ma. The two L chondrites Shelburne and Lake Torrens fall into the peaks at approximately 40 Ma and 5 Ma, respectively. The ages for Bassikounou (H chondrite) and RaS 201 (R chondrite) are approximately 3.5 Ma and 5.8 Ma, respectively. Six of the studied meteorites show clear evidence for ³He diffusive losses, the deficits range from approximately 17% for one Lake Torrens aliquot to approximately 45% for RaS 211. The three carbonaceous chondrites RaS 221, RaS 251, and Shi?r 033 all have excess ⁴He, either of planetary or solar origin. However, very high ⁴He/²⁰Ne ratios occur at relatively low ²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratios, which is unexpected and needs further study. The measured ⁴⁰Ar ages fit well into established systematics. They are between 2.5 and 4.5 Ga for the carbonaceous chondrites, older than 3.6 Ga for the L and H chondrites, and about 2.4 Ga for the R chondrite as well as for the ungrouped chondrite. Interestingly, none of our studied L chondrites has been degassed in the 470 Ma break‐up event. Using the amount of trapped ³⁶Ar as a proxy for noble gas contamination due to terrestrial weathering we are able to demonstrate that the samples studied here are not or only very slightly affected by terrestrial weathering (at least in terms of their noble gas budget).     

Provenance analysis of the Paleozoic sequences of the northern Gondwana margin in NW Iberia: Passive margin to Variscan collision and orocline development

The Cantabrian Zone of NW Iberia preserves a voluminous, almost continuous, sedimentary sequence that ranges from Neoproterozoic to Early Permian in age. Its tectonic setting is controversial and recent hypotheses include (i) passive margin deposition along the northern margin of Gondwana or (ii) an active continental margin or (iii) a drifting ribbon continent. In this paper we present detrital zircon U–Pb laser ablation age data from 13 samples taken in detrital rocks from the Cantabrian Zone sequence ranging from Early Silurian to Early Permian in depositional age. The obtained results, together with previously published detrital zircon ages from Ediacaran–Ordovician strata, allow a comprehensive analysis of changing provenance through time. Collectively, these data indicate that this portion of Iberia was part of the passive margin of Gondwana at least from Ordovician to Late Devonian times. Zircon populations in all samples show strong similarities with the Sahara Craton and with zircons found in Libya, suggesting that NW Iberia occupied a paleoposition close to those regions of present-day northern Africa during this time interval. Changes in provenance in the Late Devonian are attributed to the onset of the collision between Gondwana and Laurussia.Additionally, the Middle Carboniferous to Permian samples record populations consistent with the recycling of older sedimentary sequences and exhumation of the igneous rocks formed before and during the Variscan orogeny. Late-Devonian to Permian samples yield zircon populations that reflect topographic changes produced during the Variscan orogeny and development of the lithospheric scale oroclinal buckling.     

The Ordovician chondrite from Brunflo, central Sweden: III. Geochemistry of terrestrial alteration

The fossil H chondrite Brunflo, found in a slab of Ordovician limestone from central Sweden, is pervasively altered to an assemblage dominated by calcite and barite. The meteorite is surrounded by a 15–20 cm wide zone of lighter colors than the unaffected limestone due to dissolution of hematite. Here we present detailed geochemical analyses of two meteorite samples, 14 limestone samples at distances from 0 to 29 cm along two profiles from the meteorite, and a reference sample of Brunflo limestone. Element concentrations in Brunflo and surrounding bleached limestone have been strongly disturbed during two stages of alteration (early oxygenated and deep burial). In the meteorite, the Ni/Co ratio has changed from an initial value of 20 to 0.8 and redox sensitive elements like V, As, Mo, Re and U are strongly enriched. The sulfur isotope composition of barite from Brunflo (δ³⁴S=+35‰) indicates initial loss of meteoritic sulfide, followed by later accumulation of sea water sulfate as barite. During deep burial under more reducing conditions, reduction processes supported by an externally derived reductant possibly derived from alum shale underlying the limestone, were largely responsible for the observed redox phenomena. In spite of massive redistribution of many elements, concentrations of Pt, Ir and Au remain at chondritic levels. The geochemistry and mineralogy of alteration determined for Brunflo are similar to those in “reduction spots” in red beds, where accumulation of a similar suite of elements (except Mo, Re) occurred as a result of isolated reduction activity.     

Quantifying the effects of environmental change on an oyster population: A modeling study

Three models are combined to investigate the effects of changes in environmental conditions on the population structure of the Eastern oyster,Crassostrea virginica. The first model, a time-dependent model of the oyster population as described in Powell et al. (1992, 1994, 1995a,b, 1996, 1997) and Hofmann et al. (1992, 1994, 1995), tracks the distribution, development, spawning, and mortality of sessile oyster populations. The second model, a time-dependent larval growth model as described in Dekshenieks et al. (1993), simulates larval growth and mortality. The final model, a finite element hydrodynamic model, simulates the circulation in Galveston Bay, Texas. The coupled post-settlement-larval model (the oyster model) runs within the finite element grid at locations that include known oyster reef habitats. The oyster model was first forced with 5 yr of mean environmental conditions to provide a reference simulation for Galveston Bay. Additional simulations considered the effects of long-term increases and decreases in freshwater inflow and temperature, as well as decreases in food concentration and total seston on Galveston Bay oyster populations. In general, the simulations show that salinity is the primary environmental factor controling the spatial extent of oyster distribution within the estuary. Results also indicate a need to consider all environmental factors when attempting to predict the response of oyster populations; it is the superposition of a combination of these factors that determines the state of the population. The results from this study allow predictions to be made concerning the effects of environmental change on the status of oyster populations, both within Galveston Bay and within other estuarine systems supporting oyster populations.     

Improved energy resolution for VHE gamma ray astronomy with systems of Cherenkov telescopes

We present analysis techniques to improve the energy resolution of stereoscopic systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, using the HEGRA telescope system as an example. The techniques include (i) the determination of the height of the shower maximum, which is then taken into account in the energy determination, and (ii) the determination of the location of the shower core with the additional constraint that the direction of the gamma rays is known a priori. This constraint can be applied for gamma ray point sources, and results in a significant improvement in the localization of the shower core, which translates into better energy resolution. Combining both techniques, the HEGRA telescopes reach an energy resolution between 9% and 12%, over the entire energy range from 1 TeV to almost 100 TeV. Options for further improvements of the energy resolution are discussed.