Relatively stable,large-amplitude Alfvénic waves seen at 2.5 and 5.0 AU

Pioneer 11 and 10 observations of the wave structure seen in a corotating interaction region at 2.5 AU on day 284 of 1973 and 8 days later at 5 AU reveal large-amplitude Alfvénic structures with many detailed correlations seen between their features at the two radial distances. Hodogram analysis suggests the dominance of near plane polarized, transverse Alfvénic mode fluctuations with periods between 2 min and one hour or more. Some wave evolution close to the Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) shock is noticed, but waves towards the centre of the compression seem to propagate with little damping between the spacecraft observation positions.     

Long-term (105) or short-term (103) δ13C excursion near the Palaeocene-Eocene transition: evidence from the Tethys

Expanded sedimentary records from the Tethys reveal unique faunal and isotopic changes across the Palaeocene-Eocene (P-E) transition. Unlike in the open oceans, the Tethys exhibits a gradual decrease of 1.5% in δ¹³C values prior to the rapid δ¹³C excursion. Associated with the 6¹³C excursion is a decrease in calcite burial, increase in detrital content and appearance of a unique opportunistic planktic foraminifera1 assemblage (e.g. compressed acarininids). The existence of a prelude decrease in δ¹³C values in the Tethys suggests that the P-E δ¹³C excursion may have occurred in two steps and over a few hundred thousand years, rather than as one step over a few thousand years as previously suggested. This slower excursion rate is readily explained by changing organic carbon weathering or burial rates and avoids the need of invoking ad hoc scenarios.     

A fresh look at discordant redshift galaxies in compact groups

We reexamine the statistics of discordant redshift galaxies in compact groups. We find that 43 out of 100 groups in the Hickson catalog contain at least one discordant redshift galaxy. We show that, despite the prevailing impression, all previous attempts have failed to explain this large number of discordant redshift galaxies. The order of magnitude excess survives all of our attempts to refine the sample.     

The 18-cm light curves of the luminous radio supernova candidates in Arp 220

We present multi-epoch observations of Arp 220 with the VLBA and focus on the continuum emission from the luminous radio supernovae (RSNe) whose 1.6-GHz light curves are shown. The supernovae seem to be generally stable or only slowly decaying in flux with time, a result which deviates from the model of Type IIn RSNe. Hints of new eruptions confirm that they are indeed new sources and not supernova remnants, which could be several hundred years old. The slow decay of the sources for which monitoring data were available forces us to reconsider the starburst model for Arp 220 and adopt a more modest value of 0.7 yr⁻¹ for the supernova rate based on these new eruptions. The starburst efficiency should also be modified accordingly which gives rise to the issue of an active nucleus once more. The question is raised whether it is the starburst which creates this active nucleus, something which could affect the evolution of starburst galaxies as a group.     

Geochemistry of Ordovician Keli Group basalts associated with Besshi-type Cu-Zn deposits from the southern Trondheim and Sulitjelma mining districts of Norway

Besshi-type volcanogenic Cu-Zn deposits in the Scandinavian Caledonides are hosted by Ordovician metabasalts and clastic sediments of the Storen, Fundsjo and Sulitjelma groups. The basalts are transitional between T-MORB and marginal basin tholeiites in composition and are characterised by Nd and Pb isotopic compositions which overlap the more radiogenic values of Lower Palaeozoic MORB. These features, along with the intercalation of the basalts with tuffs and continentally derived sediments, indicate an epicontinental rift or marginal basin origin, possibly analogous to the present Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts. This implies the development of a restricted ocean basin in the north of Iapetus between the Laurentian and Baltoscandian microcontinents during the Cambrian and Early Ordovician.     

Acid-base properties of cyanobacterial surfaces. II: Silica as a chemical stressor influencing cell surface reactivity

Bacteria grow in complex solutions where the adsorption of aqueous species and nucleation of mineral phases on the cell surface may interfere with membrane-dependent homeostatic functions. While previous investigations have provided evidence that bacteria may alter their surface chemical properties in response to environmental stimuli, to our knowledge no effort has been made to evaluate surface compositional changes resulting from non-nutritional chemical stresses within a quantitative framework applicable to surface complexation modeling. We consider here the influence of exposure to silica on cyanobacterial surface chemistry, particularly in light of the propensity for cyanobacteria to become silicified in geothermal environments. Using data modeled from over 50 potentiometric titrations of the unsheathed cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, we find that both abiotic geochemical and biotic biochemical-assimilatory factors have important and different effects on cell surface chemistry. Changes in functional group distribution that resulted from growth by different nitrogen assimilation pathways were greatest in the absence of dissolved silica and less important in its presence. Furthermore, out of the three nitrogen assimilation pathways investigated, in terms of surface functional group distribution, nitrate-reducing cultures were least sensitive, and ammonium-assimilating cultures were most sensitive, to changes in media silica concentration. When functional group distributions were plotted as a function of silica concentration, it appears that, with higher silica concentrations, basic groups (pK_a > 7) increase in concentration relative to acidic groups (pK_a < 7), and the total ligand densities (on a per-weight basis) decreased. The results imply a decrease in both the magnitude and density of surface charge as the net result of growth at high silica concentrations. Thus, Anabaena sp. appears to actively respond to growth in silicifying solutions by altering its surface properties in a manner that is likely to be manifested in nature by facilitated surface attachment. We conclude that potentiometric titrations reveal a Gram-negative bacterial surface whose properties are dynamic with respect to both nutrient and geochemical stressors.     

Diurnal variations in,and influences on,concentrations of particulate and dissolved arsenic and metals in the mildly alkaline Wallkill River,New Jersey,USA

Diurnal variations in particulate and dissolved As and metal concentrations were observed in mildly alkaline water from a wetlands site on the Wallkill River in northwestern New Jersey. The site, underlain by glacial sediments over dolomite bedrock, is 10 km downstream from a mined area of the Franklin Marble, host to Zn ores, also As and Mn minerals. In mid-September 2005, maxima and minima in dissolved-oxygen-concentration and pH, typically caused by photosynthesis and respiration, occurred at 2000 and 0800 hours. Concentrations of dissolved As (1.52–1.95 μg/L) peaked at dusk (2000 hours), whereas dissolved Mn and Zn concentrations (76.5–96.9 and 8.55–12.8 μg/L, respectively) were lowest at dusk and peaked at 1000 hours. These opposing cycles probably reflect sorption and desorption of As (an anion), and Mn and Zn (cations) as pH varied throughout the 24-h period. Doubly-peaked cycles of B, Cl, SO₄, and nutrients also were observed; these may result from upstream discharges of septic-system effluent. Both recoverable amd particulate Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations peaked between 0200 and 0600 hours. The particulate metals cycle, with perturbations at 0400 hours, may be influenced by biological activity.