Models of natural and human dynamics in forest landscapes: Cross-site and cross-cultural synthesis

We synthesize the study of coupled natural and human systems across sites and cultures through a process of simplification and abstraction based on multiple dimensions of human-nature connectedness: satisfaction of basic needs, psycho-cultural connectedness and regulation of use of natural resources. We thus provide both a place-based and general understanding of value-driven anthropogenic environmental change and response. Two questions guide this research: what are the crucial stakeholder values that drive land use decisions and thus land cover change? And how can knowledge of these values be used to make decisions and policies that sustain both the human and natural systems in a place? To explore these questions we build simulation models of four study sites, two in the State of Texas, United States, and two in Venezuela. All include protected areas, though they differ in the specifics of vegetation and land use. In the Texas sites, relatively affluent individuals are legally converting forests to residential, commercial, and industrial uses, while in Venezuela landless settlers are extra-legally converting forests for purposes of subsistence agriculture. Contemporary modeling techniques now facilitate simulations of stakeholder and ecosystem dynamics revealing emergent patterns. Such coupled human and natural systems are currently recognized as a form of biocomplexity. Our modeling framework is flexible enough to allow adaptation to each of the study sites, capturing the essential features of the respective natural and anthropogenic land use changes and stakeholder reactions. The interactions between human stakeholders are simulated using multi-agent models that act on forest landscape models, and receive feedback of the effects of these actions on ecological habitats and hydrological response. The multi-agent models employ a formal logic-based method for the Venezuelan sites and a decision analysis approach using multi-attribute utility functions for the Texas sites, differing more in style and emphasis than in substance. Our natural-systems models are generic and can be tailored according to site-specific conditions. Similar models of tree growth and patch transitions are used for all the study sites and the differing responses to environmental variables are specified for each local species and terrain conditions.     

Church-based social capital, networks and geographical scale: Katrina evacuation, relocation, and recovery in a New Orleans Vietnamese American community

This research examines the role of social capital and networks to explain the evacuation, relocation, and recovery experiences of a Vietnamese American community in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the single largest community institution, the parish church’s complex bonding and bridging social capital and networks proved particularly critical in part because of its historically based ontological security. The process of evacuation, but especially relocation and recovery, was dependent on deploying co-ethnic social capital and networks at a variety of geographical scales. Beyond the local or community scale, extra-local, regional, and national scales of social capital and networks reproduced a spatially redefined Vietnamese American community. Part of the recovery process included constructing discursive place-based collective-action frames to successfully contest a nearby landfill that in turn engendered social capital and networks crossing ethnic boundaries to include the extra-local African American community. Engaging social capital and networks beyond the local geographical scale cultivated a Vietnamese American community with an emergent post-Katrina cultural and political identity.     

Magma Ascent and Crustal Accretion at Ultraslow-Spreading Ridges: Constraints from Plagioclase Ultraphyric Basalts from the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Plagioclase ultraphyric basalts (PUBs) with up to 54% plagioclasephenocrysts were dredged in the rift valley and adjacent flanksof the ultraslow-spreading Mohns and Knipovich ridges. The PUBsshow large variations in crystal morphologies and zoning. Thelarge variations suggest that single basalt samples containa mixture of plagioclase crystals that aggregated at differentlevels in the magma conduits. Resorbed crystals and repeatedreverse zones suggest that the magma reservoirs were replenishedand heated several times. Thin concentric zones with melt inclusions,and sharp reductions in the anorthite content of 3–7%,are common between the reverse zones. These zones, and skeletalcrystals with distinctly lower anorthite contents than massivecrystals, are interpreted to be the result of rapid crystalliztionduring strong undercooling. The changes between short periodsof cooling and longer periods with reheating are explained bymultiple advances of crystal-rich magma into cool regions followedby longer periods of gradual magma inflow and temperature increase.The porphyritic basalts are characterizd by more depleted andmore fractionated compositions than the aphyric basalts, withlower (La/Sm)_N, K₂O and Mg-numbers. This relationship, and theobservation that PUBs are sampled only close to segment centresalong these ridges, suggests that the PUBs formed by higherdegrees of melting and evolved in more long-lived magma reservoirs.We propose that the zoning patterns of plagioclase crystalsand crystal morphologies of these PUBs reflect the developmentand flow of magma through a stacked sill complex-like conduitsystem, whereas the aphyric equivalents represent later flowof magma through the conduit. The formation of voluminous higher-degreemelts may trigger the development of the magma conduits andexplain the generally depleted compositions of PUB magmas. KEY WORDS: basalt; mineral chemistry; MORB; magma mixing; magma chamber; major element     

Lateral structural variability in zone of eocene island-arc-continent collision,Kamchatka

The lateral variability of structural elements in the collision zone of the Cretaceous-Paleocene Achaivayam-Valagin island arc with the northeastern Asian margin is considered. The similarity and difference of Eocene collision structural elements in the north and the south of Kamchatka are shown. In northern Kamchatka, the continent-arc boundary is traced along the Lesnaya-Vatyn Thrust Fault, which completed its evolution about 45 Ma ago. The thin, near-horizontal allochthon of this thrust, composed of island-arc rocks, overlies the deformed but unmetamorphosed terrigeneous sequences of the Asian margin. The general structure of this suture in the Kamchatka Isthmus and southern Koryakia is comparable with the uppermost subduction zone, where a thin lithospheric wedge overlaps intensely deformed sediments detached from the plunging plate. In southern Kamchatka (Malka Uplift of the Sredinny Range), the arc-continent collision started 55–53 Ma ago with thrusting of island-arc complexes over terrigenous rocks of continental margin. However, the thickness of the allochthon was much greater than in the north. Immediately after this event, both the autochthon and lower part of allochthon were deformed and subsided to a significant depth. This subsidence gave rise to metamorphism of both the autochthon (Kolpakov and Kamchatka groups, Kheivan Formation) and lower allochthon (Andrianovka and Khimka formations). The anomalously fast heating of the crust was most likely related to the ascent of asthenospheric masses due to slab breakoff, when the Eurasian Plate was plunging beneath the Achaivayam-Valagin arc.     

Global Correlations of Ocean Ridge Basalt Chemistry with Axial Depth: a New Perspective

The petrological parameters Na₈ and Fe₈, which are Na₂O andFeO contents in mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) melts correctedfor fractionation effects to MgO = 8 wt%, have been widely usedas indicators of the extent and pressure of mantle melting beneathocean ridges. We find that these parameters are unreliable.Fe₈ is used to compute the mantle solidus depth (P_o) and temperature(T_o), and it is the values and range of Fe₈ that have led tothe notion that mantle potential temperature variation of T_P= 250 K is required to explain the global ocean ridge systematics.This interpreted T_P = 250 K range applies to ocean ridges awayfrom ‘hotspots’. We find no convincing evidencethat calculated values for P_o, T_o, and T_P using Fe₈ have anysignificance. We correct for fractionation effect to Mg^# = 0·72,which reveals mostly signals of mantle processes because meltswith Mg^# = 0·72 are in equilibrium with mantle olivineof Fo_89·6 (vs evolved olivine of Fo_{88·1–79·6}in equilibrium with melts of Fe₈). To reveal first-order MORBchemical systematics as a function of ridge axial depth, weaverage out possible effects of spreading rate variation, local-scalemantle source heterogeneity, melting region geometry variation,and dynamic topography on regional and segment scales by usingactual sample depths, regardless of geographical location, withineach of 22 ridge depth intervals of 250 m on a global scale.These depth-interval averages give Fe₇₂ = 7·5–8·5,which would give T_P = 41 K (vs 250 K based on Fe₈) beneathglobal ocean ridges. The lack of Fe₇₂–Si₇₂ and Si₇₂–ridgedepth correlations provides no evidence that MORB melts preservepressure signatures as a function of ridge axial depth. We thusfind no convincing evidence for T_P > 50 K beneath globalocean ridges. The averages have also revealed significantcorrelations of MORB chemistry (e.g. Ti₇₂, Al₇₂, Fe₇₂,Mg₇₂, Ca₇₂, Na₇₂ and Ca₇₂/Al₇₂) with ridge axial depth. Thechemistry–depth correlation points to an intrinsic linkbetween the two. That is, the 5 km global ridge axial reliefand MORB chemistry both result from a common cause: subsolidusmantle compositional variation (vs T_P), which determines themineralogy, lithology and density variations that (1) isostaticallycompensate the 5 km ocean ridge relief and (2) determine thefirst-order MORB compositional variation on a global scale.A progressively more enriched (or less depleted) fertileperidotite source (i.e. high Al₂O₃ and Na₂O, and low CaO/Al₂O₃)beneath deep ridges ensures a greater amount of modal garnet(high Al₂O₃) and higher jadeite/diopside ratios in clinopyroxene(high Na₂O and Al₂O₃, and lower CaO), making a denser mantle,and thus deeper ridges. The dense fertile mantle beneath deepridges retards the rate and restricts the amplitude of the upwelling,reduces the rate and extent of decompression melting, givesway to conductive cooling to a deep level, forces melting tostop at such a deep level, leads to a short melting column,and thus produces less melt and probably a thin magmatic crustrelative to the less dense (more refractory) fertile mantlebeneath shallow ridges. Compositions of primitive MORB meltsresult from the combination of two different, but geneticallyrelated processes: (1) mantle source inheritance and (2) meltingprocess enhancement. The subsolidus mantle compositional variationneeded to explain MORB chemistry and ridge axial depth variationrequires a deep isostatic compensation depth, probably in thetransition zone. Therefore, although ocean ridges are of shalloworigin, their working is largely controlled by deep processesas well as the effect of plate spreading rate variation at shallowlevels. KEY WORDS: mid-ocean ridges; mantle melting; magma differentiation; petrogenesis; MORB chemistry variation; ridge depth variation; global correlations; mantle compositional variation; mantle source density variation; mantle potential temperature variation; isostatic compensation     

Comparison of arsenic concentrations in simultaneously-collected groundwater and aquifer particles from Bangladesh,India, Vietnam,and Nepal

One of the reasons the processes resulting in As release to groundwater in southern Asia remain poorly understood is the high degree of spatial variability of physical and chemical properties in shallow aquifers. In an attempt to overcome this difficulty, a simple device that collects groundwater and sediment as a slurry from precisely the same interval was developed in Bangladesh. Recently published results from Bangladesh and India relying on the needle-sampler are augmented here with new data from 37 intervals of grey aquifer material of likely Holocene age in Vietnam and Nepal. A total of 145 samples of filtered groundwater ranging in depth from 3 to 36 m that were analyzed for As (1–1000 μg/L), Fe (0.01–40 mg/L), Mn (0.2–4 mg/L) and S (0.04–14 mg/L) are compared. The P-extractable (0.01–36 mg/kg) and HCl-extractable As (0.04–36 mg/kg) content of the particulate phase was determined in the same suite of samples, in addition to Fe(II)/Fe ratios (0.2–1.0) in the acid-leachable fraction of the particulate phase. Needle-sampler data from Bangladesh indicated a relationship between dissolved As in groundwater and P-extractable As in the particulate phase that was interpreted as an indication of adsorptive equilibrium, under sufficiently reducing conditions, across 3 orders of magnitude in concentrations according to a distribution coefficient of 4 mL/g. The more recent observations from India, Vietnam and Nepal show groundwater As concentrations that are often an order of magnitude lower at a given level of P-extractable As compared to Bangladesh, even if only the subset of particularly reducing intervals characterized by leachable Fe(II)/Fe >0.5 and dissolved Fe >0.2 mg/L are considered. Without attempting to explain why As appears to be particularly mobile in reducing aquifers of Bangladesh compared to the other regions, the consequences of increasing the distribution coefficient for As between the particulate and dissolved phase to 40 mL/g for the flushing of shallow aquifers of their initial As content are explored.     

Characterization and cycling of atmospheric mercury along the central US Gulf Coast

Concentrations of atmospheric Hg species, elemental Hg (Hg^°), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), and fine particulate Hg (Hg-PM_2.5) were measured at a coastal site near Weeks Bay, Alabama from April to August, 2005 and January to May, 2006. Mean concentrations of the species were 1.6 ± 0.3 ng m⁻³, 4.0 ± 7.5 pg m⁻³ and 2.7 ± 3.4 pg m⁻³, respectively. A strong diel pattern was observed for RGM (midday maximum concentrations were up to 92.7 pg m⁻³), but not for Hg^° or Hg-PM_2.5. Elevated RGM concentrations (>25 pg m⁻³) in April and May of 2005 correlated with elevated average daytime O₃ concentrations (>55 ppbv) and high light intensity (>500 W m⁻²). These conditions generally corresponded with mixed continental-Gulf and exclusively continental air mass trajectories. Generally lower, but still elevated, RGM peaks observed in August, 2005 and January–March, 2006 correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with peaks in SO₂ concentration and corresponded to periods of high light intensity and lower average daytime O₃ concentrations. During these times air masses were dominated by trajectories that originated over the continent. Elevated RGM concentrations likely resulted from photochemical oxidation of Hg^° by atmospheric oxidants. This process may have been enhanced in and by the near-shore environment relative to inland sites. The marine boundary layer itself was not found to be a significant source of RGM.     

Atmospheric mercury near Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir in southern Idaho

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) were measured over 2-week seasonal field campaigns near Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir in south-central Idaho from the summer of 2005 through the fall of 2006 and over the entire summer of 2006 using automated Tekran Hg analyzers. GEM, RGM, and particulate Hg (HgP) were also measured at a secondary site 90 km to the west in southwestern Idaho during the summer of 2006. The study was performed to characterize Hg air concentrations in the southern Idaho area for the first time, estimate Hg dry deposition rates, and investigate the source of observed elevated concentrations. High seasonal variability was observed with the highest GEM (1.91 ± 0.9 ng m⁻³) and RGM (8.1 ± 5.6 pg m⁻³) concentrations occurring in the summer and lower values in the winter (1.32 ± 0.3 ng m⁻³, 3.2 ± 2.9 pg m⁻³ for GEM, RGM, respectively). The summer-average HgP concentrations were generally below detection limit (0.6 ± 1 pg m⁻³). Seasonally averaged deposition velocities calculated using a resistance model were 0.034 ± 0.032, 0.043 ± 0.040, 0.00084 ± 0.0017 and 0.00036 ± 0.0011 cm s⁻¹ for GEM (spring, summer, fall and winter, respectively) and 0.50 ± 0.39, 0.40 ± 0.31, 0.51 ± 0.43 and 0.76 ± 0.57 cm s⁻¹ for RGM. The total annual RGM + GEM dry deposition estimate was calculated to be 11.9 ± 3.3 μg m⁻², or about 2/3 of the total (wet + dry) deposition estimate for the area. Periodic elevated short-term GEM (2.2–12 ng m⁻³) and RGM (50–150 pg m⁻³) events were observed primarily during the warm seasons. Back-trajectory modeling and PSCF analysis indicate predominant source directions to the SE (western Utah, northeastern Nevada) and SW (north-central Nevada) with fewer inputs from the NW (southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho).     

Campanian-Maastrichtian radiolarians from the Malokuril’skaya Formation,the Shikotan Island

The results of radiolarian analysis confirm the Campanian-Maastrichtian age of the Malokuril’skaya Formation in the Shikotan Island. The Campanian-Maastrichtian age of the formation is implied simultaneously by radiolarians and inoceramids. The studied Campanian and Campanian-Maastrichtian radiolarian assemblages include abundant specimens representing genus Prunobrachium, characteristic of which was bipolar distribution in cold-water to temperate basins. The new occurrence site of prunobrachids is established at the latitude of 43°N, the Far East of Russia.     

Geochronology of Pliocene volcanism in the Dzhavakheti Highland (the Lesser Caucasus). Part 1: Western part of the Dzhavakheti Highland

Isotopic-geochronological study of the Pliocene magmatic activity in western part of the Dzhavakheti Highland (northwestern region of the Lesser Caucasus) is carried out. The results obtained imply that the Pliocene magmatic activity lasted in this part of the highland approximately 2 million years from 3.75 to 1.75–1.55 Ma. As is established, the studied volcanic rocks correspond in composition mostly to K-Na subalkaline and more abundant normal basalts. Time constraints of main phases in development of basic volcanism within the study region are figured out. We assume that individual pulses of silicic to moderately silicic volcanism presumably took place in the Dzhavakheti Highland about 3.2 and 2.5 Ma ago.