Infaunal community development of artificially established salt marshes in North Carolina

In recent years, artificial establishment of Spartina alterniflora marshes has become a common method for mitigating impacts to salt marsh systems. The vegetative component of artificially established salt marshes has been examined in several studies, but relatively little is known about the other aspects of these systems. This study was undertaken to investigate the infaunal community of artificially established salt marshes. Infauna were sampled from pairs of artificially established (AE) salt marshes and nearby natural marshes at six sites along the North Carolina coast. The AE marshes ranged in age from 1 yr to 17 yr. Total infaunal density, density of dominant taxa, and community trophic structure (proportions of subsurface-deposit feeders, surface-deposit and suspension feeders, and carnivores) were compared between the two types of marsh to assess infaunal community development in AE marshes. Overall, the two marsh types had similar component organisms and proportions of trophic groups, but total density and densities within trophic groupings were lower in the AE marshes. Soil organic matter content of the natural marshes was nearly twice that of the AE marshes, and is a possible cause for the higher infaunal densities observed in the natural marshes, Using the same three criteria, comparisons of the natural and AE marshes at each of the six locations revealed varying degrees of similarity. Similarity of each AE marsh to its natural marsh control appeared to be influenced by differences in environmental factors between locations more than by AE marsh age. Functional infaunal habitat convergence of an AE marsh with a natural marsh somewhere within its biogeographical region is probable, but success in duplicating the infaunal community of a particular natural marsh is contingent upon the developmental age of the natural marsh and the presence and interaction, of site-specific factors.     

Improved numerical dissipation for time integration algorithms in structural dynamics

A new family of unconditionally stable one-step methods for the direct integration of the equations of structural dynamics is introduced and is shown to possess improved algorithmic damping properties which can be continuously controlled. The new methods are compared with members of the Newmark family, and the Houbolt and Wilson methods.     

Catabolic and anabolic energy for chemolithoautotrophs in deep-sea hydrothermal systems hosted in different rock types

Active deep-sea hydrothermal vents are hosted by a range of different rock types, including basalt, peridotite, and felsic rocks. The associated hydrothermal fluids exhibit substantial chemical variability, which is largely attributable to compositional differences among the underlying host rocks. Numerical models were used to evaluate the energetics of seven inorganic redox reactions (potential catabolisms of chemolithoautotrophs) and numerous biomolecule synthesis reactions (anabolism) in a representative sampling of these systems, where chemical gradients are established by mixing hydrothermal fluid with seawater. The wide ranging fluid compositions dictate demonstrable differences in Gibbs energies (ΔG_r) of these catabolic and anabolic reactions in three peridotite-hosted, six basalt-hosted, one troctolite-basalt hybrid, and two felsic rock-hosted systems. In peridotite-hosted systems at low to moderate temperatures (<∼45 °C) and high seawater:hydrothermal fluid (SW:HF) mixing ratios (>10), hydrogen oxidation yields the most catabolic energy, but the oxidation of methane, ferrous iron, and sulfide can also be moderately exergonic. At higher temperatures, and consequent SW:HF mixing ratios <10, anaerobic processes dominate the energy landscape; sulfate reduction and methanogenesis are more exergonic than any of the aerobic respiration reactions. By comparison, in the basalt-hosted and felsic rock-hosted systems, sulfide oxidation was the predominant catabolic energy source at all temperatures (and SW:HF ratios) considered. The energetics of catabolism at the troctolite-basalt hybrid system were intermediate to these extremes. Reaction energetics for anabolism in chemolithoautotrophs—represented here by the synthesis of amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids, saccharides, and amines—were generally most favorable at moderate temperatures (22-32 °C) and corresponding SW:HF mixing ratios (∼15). In peridotite-hosted and the troctolite-basalt hybrid systems, ΔG_r for primary biomass synthesis yielded up to ∼900 J per g dry cell mass. The energetics of anabolism in basalt- and felsic rock-hosted systems were far less favorable. The results suggest that in peridotite-hosted (and troctolite-basalt hybrid) systems, compared with their basalt (and felsic rock) counterparts, microbial catabolic strategies—and consequently variations in microbial phylotypes—may be far more diverse and some biomass synthesis may yield energy rather than imposing a high energetic cost.     

Orbital-scale record of the late Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2) in the Tarfaya Basin (Morocco)

High sedimentation rates (up to 12 cm/kyear) of laminated organic carbon-rich biogenic limestones in the Tarfaya Basin provide an unusually high (millennial) resolution record of the late Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2). The global positive carbon-isotope excursion across the Cenomanian–Turonian corresponds to 11 light/dark sedimentary cycles. We interpret these cycles as a response to orbital obliquity variation and estimate the duration of the complete excursion as 440 kyear or one long eccentricity cycle. On this timescale, the main increase in ¹³C values occurred over a short time interval of less than 20 kyear in the late Cenomanian and reached a first maximum approximately 15 kyear prior to the bulk (mainly coccoliths) ¹⁸O-derived sea surface maximum temperature that occurs coeval to the extinction of Rotalipora cushmani. Organic carbon-accumulation rates follow obliquity cycles, reaching a maximum approximately 10 kyear after the last occurrence of R. cushmani, then slowly decreasing during the early Turonian. Thus, the maximum temperature and the maximum organic carbon accumulation in the Tarfaya Basin lagged by at least 15 kyear behind the global carbon-isotope shift and a proposed reduction of atmospheric CO₂ content. The climate change across the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary probably occurred independent of CO₂ levels and may have been controlled by different greenhouse gases (water vapour and methane) and changes in ocean circulation (i.e., opening of the Equatorial Atlantic gateway)     

Structural, chemical, and isotopic microanalytical investigations of graphite from supernovae

We report the results of coordinated ion microprobe and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies of presolar graphites from the KE3 separate (1.65-1.72 g/cm³) of the Murchison CM2 meteorite. Isotopic analysis of individual graphites (1-12 μm) with the ion microprobe shows many to have large ¹⁸O excesses combined with large silicon isotopic anomalies, indicative of a supernova (SN) origin. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of ultramicrotome slices of these SN graphites revealed a high abundance (25-2400 ppm) of internal titanium carbides (TiCs), with a single graphite in some cases containing hundreds of TiCs. Isotopic compositions of individual TiCs by nanoscale resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) confirmed their presolar origin. In addition to TiCs, composite TiC/Fe grains (TiCs with attached iron-nickel subgrains) and solitary kamacite internal grains were found. In the composite grains, the attached iron phase (kamacite [0-24 at. % Ni] or taenite [up to 60 at. % Ni]) was epitaxially grown onto one or more TiC faces. In contrast to the denser Murchison KFC1 graphites, no Zr-Ti-Mo carbides were observed. The average TiC diameters were quite variable among the SN graphites, from 30 to 232 nm, and were generally independent of the host graphite size. TiC grain morphologies ranged from euhedral to anhedral, with the grain surfaces exhibiting variable degrees of corrosion, and sometimes partially amorphous rims (3 to 15 nm thick). Partially amorphous rims of similar thickness were also observed on some solitary kamacite grains. We speculate that the rims on the internal grains are most plausibly the result of atom bombardment caused by drift of grains with respect to the ambient gas, requiring relative outflow speeds ∼100 km/s (i.e., a few percent of the SN mass outflow speed).Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) of TiCs revealed significant V in solid solution, with an average V/Ti ratio over all TiCs of ∼83% of the solar value of 0.122. Significant variations about the mean V/Ti ratio were also seen among TiCs in the same graphite, likely indicating chemical equilibration with the surrounding gas over a range of temperatures. In general, the diversity in internal TiC properties suggests that TiCs formed first and had substantially diverse histories before incorporation into the graphite, implying some degree of turbulent mixing in the SN outflows.In most graphites, there is a decrease in the number density of TiCs as a function of increasing radial dis- tance, caused by either preferential depletion of TiCs from the gas or an acceleration of graphite growth with decreasing ambient temperature. In several graphites, TiCs showed a trend of larger V/Ti ratios with increasing distance from the graphite center, an indication of progressive equilibration with the surrounding gas before they were sequestered in the graphites. In all but one graphite, no trend was seen in the TiC size vs. distance from the graphite center, implying that appreciable TiC growth had effectively stopped before the graphites formed, or else that graphite growth was rapid compared to TiC growth. Taken together, the chemical variations among internal grains as well as the presence of partially amorphous rims and epitaxial Fe phases on some TiCs clearly indicate that the phase condensation sequence was TiC, followed by the iron phases (only found in some graphites) and finally graphite. Since graphite typically condenses at a higher temperature than iron at low pressures (<10⁻³ bars) in a gas with C > O and otherwise solar composition, the observed condensation sequence implies a relative iron enrichment in the gas or greater supersaturation of graphite relative to iron.The TEM observations allow inferences to be made about the physical conditions in the gas from which the grains condensed. Given the TiC sizes and abundances, the gas was evidently quite dusty. From the observed TiC size range of ∼20 nm to ∼500 nm (assuming ∼1 yr growth time and T ∼ 1800°K), we infer minimum Ti number densities in the gas to be ∼7 × 10⁴ to ∼2 × 10⁶ atoms/cc, respectively. Although the gas composition is clearly not solar, for scale, these number densities would correspond to a pressure range of ∼0.2 μbar to ∼5.0 μbar in a gas of solar composition. They also correspond to minimum TiC grain number densities of ∼3 × 10⁻⁴ to ∼0.2 grains/cc, assuming complete condensation of Ti in TiC. We estimate the maximum ratio of mean TiC grain separation distance in the gas to grain diameter from the Ti number densities as ∼3 × 10⁵ to ∼1 × 10⁶.     

Thermal modeling of Carboniferous to Triassic sediments of the Karawanken Range (Southern Alps) as a tool for paleogeographic reconstructions in the Alpine–Dinaridic–Pannonian realm

Vitrinite reflectance was measured in Late Carboniferous to Triassic shales, siltstones and marls of the Karawanken Range. Thermal models of the central South-Karawanken Range were calibrated on the basis of these data. They suggest an eroded overburden of more than 3,200 m of Jurassic to Cretaceous sediments and a heat flow in the range of 42 to 60 mW m^?2 during the time of maximum subsidence. Because the reconstructed thermal history of the South-Karawanken Range is very similar to the thermal history of the Generoso basin (western Southern Alps), these data provide strong evidence for a deep basinal position of the Southern Karawanken Range during Jurassic to Cretaceous times. A vitrinite reflectance anomaly at the northern margin of the South-Karawanken Range is explained by advective heat transport during the Oligocene. The heat source for the anomalies at the western margin of the Seeberg Rise and in the area between the Periadriatic Lineament and the Donat Fault Zone is unknown. Vitrinite reflectance in Late Triassic sediments indicates the South-Karawanken Range and the South-Zala Unit of the Pannonian basement as exotic blocks in the Sava Composite Unit. This is explained by Miocene displacement of structural units, which were derived from different paleogeographical segments of the Permo-Mesozoic western Tethyan margin.     

The origin and mechanisms of salinization of the lower Jordan river

The chemical and isotopic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹¹B, δ³⁴S_sulfate, δ¹⁸O_water, δ¹⁵N_nitrate) compositions of water from the Lower Jordan River and its major tributaries between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea were determined in order to reveal the origin of the salinity of the Jordan River. We identified three separate hydrological zones along the flow of the river:

(1)

A northern section (20 km downstream of its source) where the base flow composed of diverted saline and wastewaters is modified due to discharge of shallow sulfate-rich groundwater, characterized by low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7072), δ³⁴S_sulfate (−2‰), high δ¹¹B (∼36‰), δ¹⁵N_nitrate (∼15‰) and high δ¹⁸O_water (−2 to-3‰) values. The shallow groundwater is derived from agricultural drainage water mixed with natural saline groundwater and discharges to both the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers. The contribution of the groundwater component in the Jordan River flow, deduced from mixing relationships of solutes and strontium isotopes, varies from 20 to 50% of the total flow.

(2)

A central zone (20-50 km downstream from its source) where salt variations are minimal and the rise of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and SO₄/Cl ratios reflects predominance of eastern surface water flows.

(3)

A southern section (50-100 km downstream of its source) where the total dissolved solids of the Jordan River increase, particularly during the spring (70-80 km) and summer (80-100 km) to values as high as 11.1 g/L. Variations in the chemical and isotopic compositions of river water along the southern section suggest that the Zarqa River (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.70865; δ¹¹B∼25‰) has a negligible affect on the Jordan River. Instead, the river quality is influenced primarily by groundwater discharge composed of sulfate-rich saline groundwater (Cl^-=31-180 mM; SO₄/Cl∼0.2-0.5; Br/Cl∼2-3×10^-3; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.70805; δ¹¹B∼30‰; δ¹⁵N_nitrate ∼17‰, δ³⁴S_sulfate=4-10‰), and Ca-chloride Rift valley brines (Cl^-=846-1500 mM; Br/Cl∼6-8×10^-3; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr∼0.7080; δ¹¹B>40‰; δ³⁴S_sulfate=4-10‰). Mixing calculations indicate that the groundwater discharged to the river is composed of varying proportions of brines and sulfate-rich saline groundwater. Solute mass balance calculations point to a ∼10% contribution of saline groundwater (Cl⁻=282 to 564 mM) to the river. A high nitrate level (up to 2.5 mM) in the groundwater suggests that drainage of wastewater derived irrigation water is an important source for the groundwater. This irrigation water appears to leach Pleistocene sediments of the Jordan Valley resulting in elevated sulfate contents and altered strontium and boron isotopic compositions of the groundwater that in turn impacts the water quality of the lower Jordan River.

     

Formation of meteorite hydrocarbons from thermal decomposition of siderite (FeCO3)

Thermal decomposition of siderite has been proposed as a source of magnetite in martian meteorites. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the possibility that this process might also result in abiotic synthesis of organic compounds. Siderite decomposition in the presence of water vapor at 300°C generated a variety of organic products dominated by alkylated and hydroxylated aromatic compounds. The results suggest that formation of magnetite by thermal decomposition of siderite on the precursor rock of the martian meteorite ALH84001 would have been accompanied by formation of organic compounds and may represent a source of extraterrestrial organic matter in the meteorite and on Mars. The results also suggest that thermal decomposition of siderite during metamorphism could account for some of the reduced carbon observed in metasedimentary rocks from the early Earth.     

Late-glacial and postglacial sedimentation in Lake Superior based on seismic-reflection profiles

Seismic reflection profiles (3.5 kHz) were obtained along more than 3500 km of shiptrack in Lake Superior within the last 2 yr. The acoustic character of profiles is categorized as: (I) a single, strong reflector at the lake floor, (II) a thick, acoustically transparent layer overlying a strong reflector, and (III) relatively thick sediment with internal acoustic reflectors. These profiles, in conjunction with sediment cores from the area, reveal that varved glacial-lacustrine sediment settled out preferentially in a trough between Isle Royale and the north shore, and to a lesser extent in other topographic depressions; bottom currents generated by storm waves prevent clay accumulation on till or bedrock in the open lake wherever the bottom is shallower than 100 m; bottom currents prevent deposition or erode bottom sediment in certain deep-water (> 200 m) valleys; and lacustrine sediment is disturbed by creep or slumping off Grand Portage, Minnesota, and by other processes such as dewatering in many other areas. These factors complicate sedimentation in Lake Superior, and must be considered when investigating any aspect of the lake sediment.     

Chemical studies of L chondrites—II. Shock-induced trace element mobilization

Previous studies of chondrites heated in the laboratory for extended periods under conditions approximating those in shock-heated collisional debris indicate that Au, Co, Se, Ga, Rb, Cs, Te, Bi, In, Ag, Zn, Tl and Cd progress in mobility. We report data for these 13 trace elements in 14 L4–6 chondrites of established shock history and discuss these and 13 additional chondrites studied earlier. Trace element contents vary with petrologic type, $\text{S}\text{Fe}$ sub-group and shock history, the last dominating strongly. Absolute abundances and interelement relationships for the 6 or 7 most mobile elements vary with degree of shock-loading (i.e. residual temperatures) established from mineralogic/petrologic study. A tertiary process, shock-heating, previously known to have affected radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar and/or ⁴He in meteorites but not other elements, apparently was at least as effective as other open-system processes (secondary [parent body] and primary [nebular and/or accretionary] episodes) in establishing mobile trace element contents of L chondrites and probably others. If conditions during early genetic episodes are to be deduced from compositional information, shocked meteorites should be avoided or effects of later processes should be compensated for.