Impact of rainfall variability and grazing pressure on plant diversity in Mongolian grasslands

Climate and grazing are the main drivers of plant community composition and species richness in arid environments. This study aimed to examine the vegetation response to a spatial precipitation gradient, interannual rainfall variability, and grazing pressure in Mongolia. To examine the effect of a spatial precipitation gradient, we compared species richness among six sites. To investigate the effects of interannual rainfall variability and grazing pressure, we compared species richness for 2 years at two sites, in desert-steppe and steppe areas. The regional gradient in annual precipitation showed positive and negative relationships with grass richness and shrub richness, respectively, although total species richness did not vary significantly. The proportions of the different functional groups were affected by grazing pressure and rainfall variability in both zones. In the desert-steppe zone, species richness was lower in the drier year but did not vary with grazing pressure. In the steppe zone, species richness varied significantly with grazing pressure but did not vary between years. Precipitation would be more important than grazing pressure on vegetation changes in drier areas with high rainfall variability.     

Sequence stratigraphic evolution of the syn-rift Early Cretaceous sediments,West Beni Suef Basin,the Western Desert of Egypt with remarks on its hydrocarbon accumulations

The Beni Suef Basin is a petroliferous rift basin straddling the River Nile containing a thick Mesozoic–Paleogene succession. The Kharita Formation is formed in the syn-rift phase of the basin formation and is subdivided into the Lower and Upper Kharita members. These two members are regarded as two third-order depositional sequences (DSQ-1 and DSQ-2). The lowstand systems tract (LST-1) of the DSQ-1 is represented by thick amalgamated sandstone bodies deposited by active braided channels. Mid-Albian tectonic subsidence led to a short-lived marine invasion which produced coastal marine and inner-shelf facies belts during an ensuing transgressive systems tract (TST-1). At the end of the mid-Albian, a phase of tectonic uplift gradually rose the continent creating a fall in relative sea level, resulting in deposition of shallow marine and estuarine facies belts during a highstand systems tract (HST-1). During the Late Albian, a new phase of land-rejuvenation commenced, with a prolonged phase of fluvial depositional. Fluvial deposits consisted of belts of amalgamated, vertically aggraded sandstones interpreted as braided and moderately sinuous channels, in the lower part of the Upper Kharita Member lowstand stage (LST-2). The continuous basin filling, coupled with significant lowering in the surrounding highlands changed the drainage regime into a wide belt of meandering river depositing the transgressive stage (TST-2). The history of the Kharita Formation finalized with a Cenomanian marine transgressive phase. Economically, the TST-1 and HST-1 play a significant role as source rocks for hydrocarbon accumulations, whereas LST-2 act as good reservoir rocks in the Early Cretaceous in the Basin.     

Phase relations in the carbon-saturated C–Mg–Fe–Si–O system and C and Si solubility in liquid Fe at high pressure and temperature: implications for planetary interiors

The phase and melting relations of the C-saturated C–Mg–Fe–Si–O system were investigated at high pressure and temperature to understand the role of carbon in the structure of the Earth, terrestrial planets, and carbon-enriched extraterrestrial planets. The phase relations were studied using two types of experiments at 4 GPa: analyses of recovered samples and in situ X-ray diffractions. Our experiments revealed that the composition of metallic iron melts changes from a C-rich composition with up to about 5 wt.% C under oxidizing conditions (ΔIW = ?1.7 to ?1.2, where ΔIW is the deviation of the oxygen fugacity (fO₂) from an iron-wüstite (IW) buffer) to a C-depleted composition with 21 wt.% Si under reducing conditions (ΔIW < ?3.3) at 4 GPa and 1,873 K. SiC grains also coexisted with the Fe–Si melt under the most reducing conditions. The solubility of C in liquid Fe increased with increasing fO₂, whereas the solubility of Si decreased with increasing fO₂. The carbon-bearing phases were graphite, Fe₃C, SiC, and Fe alloy melt (Fe–C or Fe–Si–C melts) under the redox conditions applied at 4 GPa, but carbonate was not observed under our experimental conditions. The phase relations observed in this study can be applicable to the Earth and other planets. In hypothetical reducing carbon planets (ΔIW < ?6.2), graphite/diamond and/or SiC exist in the mantle, whereas the core would be an Fe–Si alloy containing very small amount of C even in the carbon-enriched planets. The mutually exclusive nature of C and Si may be important also for considering the light elements of the Earth’s core.     

Quasi-periodic dust events in the summertime south polar region of Mars

A Hovmöller diagram analysis of the dust optical depth measured by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer shows the occurrence of quasi-periodic westwardly-propagating disturbances with timescales of 10-20 sols during summer in the south polar region of Mars. Dust clouds emerge repeatedly around the region with a latitude of around 70-80°S and a longitude of 240-300°E, move westward at speeds of 3-6 m s⁻¹, reach the region with a longitude of 60-120°E, and finally disappear. This longitude range coincides with elevated terrains in the south polar region, and in this region an increase of dust optical depth encircling the south pole is also observed. This implies that the quasi-periodic dust events will contribute to the enhancement of the atmospheric dust loading in this region. These dust events might be related to baroclinic instability caused by the thermal contrast across the CO₂ cap edge, or the horizontal advection or vertical convection with radiative-dynamical feedback. The westward movement of the dust clouds suggests steady westward winds blowing in the near-surface layer, where the quasi-periodic dust lifting is expected to occur. Such a westward cap-edge flow will be created by the Coriolis force acting on the flow from the ice side to the regolith side.     

Application of chemical tracers to an estimate of benthic denitrification in the Okhotsk Sea

To estimate benthic denitrification in a marginal sea, we assessed the usefulness of \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) , a new tracer to measure the excess nitrogen gas (N₂) using dissolved N₂ and argon (Ar) with N* in the intermediate layer (26.6–27.4σ _θ ) of the Okhotsk Sea. The examined parameters capable of affecting \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) are denitrification, air injection and rapid cooling. We investigated the relative proportions of these effects on \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) using multiple linear regression analysis. The best model included two examined parameters of denitrification and air injection based on the Akaike information criterion as a measure of the model fit to data. More than 80 % of \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) was derived from the denitrification, followed by air injection. Denitrification over the Okhotsk Sea shelf region was estimated to be 5.6 ± 2.4 μmol kg^?1. The distribution of \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) was correlated with potential temperature (θ) between 26.6 and 27.4σ _θ (r = ?0.55). Therefore, we concluded that \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) and N* can act complementarily as a quasi-conservative tracer of benthic denitrification in the Okhotsk Sea. Our findings suggest that \({\text{N}}_{2}^{*}\) in combination with N* is a useful chemical tracer to estimate benthic denitrification in a marginal sea.     

Photoelectric photometry of the RS CVn binary EI Eridani = HD 26337

DifferentialUBV(RI) _KC andUBVRI photometry of the RS CVn binary EI Eridani obtained during December 1987 and January 1988 at fourteen different observatories is presented. A combined visual bandpass light curve, corrected for systematic errors of different observatories, utilizes the photometric period of 1.945 days to produce useful results. Analysis shows the visual light curve to have twin maxima, separated by about 0.4 phase, and a full amplitude of approximately 0.06 mag for the period of observation, a smaller amplitude than reported in the past. The decrease in amplitude may be due to a decrease or homogenization of spot coverage. To fit the asymmetrical light curve, a starspot model would have to employ at least two spotted regions separated in longitude.