Spatial and seasonal dynamics of soil loss ratio in mountain rangelands of south-western Kyrgyzstan

Vegetation cover is the main factor of soil loss prevention. The C-factor of the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) was predicted with NDVI, ground data and exponential regression equation for mountain rangelands of Kyrgyzstan. Time series of C-factor, precipitation and temperature were decomposed into seasonal and trend components with STL (seasonal decomposition by loess) to assess their interrelations. C-factor, precipitation and temperature trend components indicated significant lagged correlation, whereas seasonal components indicated more complex relations with climate factors which can be promoting as well as limiting factors for vegetation development, depending on the season. Rainy springs and hot summers may increase soil loss dramatically, whereas warm and dry springs with rainy summers can decrease it. Steep slopes indicated higher soil loss ratio, whereas flat areas were better protected by vegetation.     

The trace of the Pacific‐Cocos‐Nazca triple junction in the Central Pacific and the formation of an overlapping spreading centre

The `plate tectonic mirror image' to the region of the Cocos and Nazca plates, which are currently being subducted beneath Central America, is preserved in the Central Pacific around 120°W just south of the equator. Cruise SO‐180 investigated this remote area during project CENTRAL and acquired new magnetic and bathymetric data. A plate tectonic model for the ‘mirror image’ is presented based on the newly acquired as well as reprocessed existing data. Discordant magnetic anomaly patterns and bathymetric structures indicate at least two major reorganization events (19.5 and 14.7 Myr), which can be detected both in the Cocos‐Nazca spreading system and in the East Pacific Rise. Irregularities in the anomaly pattern and curvilinear structures on the sea floor of the survey area are interpreted in terms of a fossil overlapping spreading centre at the location where the Farallon break‐up originated.     

Fission track age of Stibiotantalite from Alto Ligonha,Mozambique

Fossil fission tracks in a stibiotantalite were revealed by etching and used for fission track dating. The fission track age of this specimen (2.3·10⁸ yr.) is much lower than Pb/Pb and Rb/Sr ages of other minerals from the same area. The explanation for this discrepancy could be the only moderate track retentivity of stibiotantalite which is similiar to muscovite.     

The relationship of the Cocos and Carnegie ridges: age constraints from paleogeographic reconstructions

Paleogeographic restorations for the oceanic crust formed by the Cocos-Nacza spreading center and its precursors were performed to reconstruct the history and ages of the submarine aseismic ridges in the Eastern Pacific Basin, the Carnegie, Coiba, Cocos, and Malpelo ridges. The bipartition of the Carnegie ridge reflects the shift from a precursor to the presently active Cocos-Nazca spreading center. The Cocos ridge is partly composed of products from the Galápagos hotspot but may also contain material from a second center of volcanic activity which is located approximately 600 km NE of Galápagos. The Malpelo ridge is a product of this second hotspot center, whereas the Coiba ridge probably formed at the Galápagos hotspot. The geometric relationship of the Cocos and Carnegie ridges indicates symmetric spreading and a constant northward shift of the presently active Cocos-Nazca spreading center.     

Structural investigations of the two polymorphs of synthetic Fe-cordierite and Raman spectroscopy of hexagonal Fe-cordierite

The crystal structures of synthetic hexagonal and orthorhombic Fe-cordierite polymorphs with the space groups P6/mcc and Cccm were refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data to R _{1, hex}?=?3.14 % and R _{1, ortho}?=?4.48 %. The substitution of the larger Fe²⁺ for Mg leads to multiple structural changes and an increase of the unit cell volumes, with a, c (hex)?=?9.8801(16) Å, 9.2852(5) Å and a, b, c (ortho)?=?17.2306(2) Å, 9.8239(1) Å, 9.2892(1) Å in the end-members. Furthermore Fe incorporation results in an increase of the volumes of the octahedra, although the diameters of the octahedra in direction of the c-axis decrease in both polymorphs. X-ray powder diffraction analysis indicates a high degree of Al/Si ordering in the orthorhombic polymorph, the Miyashiro distortion index is ~0.24. Estimations of site occupancies based on the determined tetrahedral volumes result in the following values for hexagonal Fe-cordierite: ~73 % Al for T₁ and ~28 % Al for T₂. For the first time Raman spectroscopy was performed on the hexagonal Fe-cordierite polymorph. In the hexagonal Fe-cordierite polymorph most Raman peaks are shifted towards lower wavenumbers when compared with the Mg-end-member.     

Gold and other metals in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) as an exploration tool, Gold Run District, Humboldt County, Nevada

Big sagebrush — a cold-desert species that dominates the terrain over large parts of western United States — was sampled along several traverses that crossed thermally metamorphosed limestone, phyllitic shale, and schist of the Middle and Upper Cambrian Preble Formation that host skarn-, disseminated gold and silver-, and hot springs gold-type mineral occurrences. Patterns of detectable levels of gold (8 to 28 ppb or ng g⁻¹) in ash of new growth were consistent with areas affected by known or suspected gold mineralization. Soils collected along one of the traverses where a selenium-indicator plant was common contained no gold above background levels of 2ppb, but were consistently high in As, Sb, and Zn, and several samples were unusually high in Se (maximum 11 ppm or μg g⁻¹). Sagebrush along this traverse contained Li at levels above norms for this species. We also found a puzzling geochemical anomaly at a site basinward from active hot springs along a range-front fault scarp. Sagebrush at this site contained a trace of gold and an unusually high concentration of Cd (13 ppm) and the soil had anomalous concentrations of Cd and Bi (3.2 and 6 ppm, respectively). The source of this anomaly could be either metal-rich waters from an irrigation ditch or leakage along a buried fault. Despite the limited nature of the study, we conclude that gold in sagebrush could be a cost-effective guide to drilling locations in areas where the geology seems favorable for disseminated and vein precious metals.     

Structure and function of contemporary food webs on Arctic shelves: A panarctic comparison: The pelagic system of the Kara Sea – Communities and components of carbon flow

After a short introduction to the physical setting and the history of biological research the pelagic ecosystem of the Kara Sea is described. Main emphasis is on regional aspects of the plankton communities and their seasonal dynamics using mostly data collected between 1996 and 2001. In the zooplankton, for which most data were available, four regional aggregations were separated: (1) the rivers and estuaries of the Southern Kara Sea, (2) the south-western and (3) the central Kara Sea, and (4) the northern troughs and slope. The phytoplankton communities had a similar distribution. To provide components for detailed carbon budgets the regional dynamics of bacterial, phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and production are described and carbon requirements of bacteria and zooplankton are estimated. For completeness a short literature review on higher trophic levels is included. Finally, recent observations of the pelago-benthic coupling are considered. Estimates of the carbon requirements from the plankton and benthos reveal a large underestimation of primary production, which to date, together with seasonal aspects, shows the largest gap in our knowledge.     

Exploring sustainability of aquifers based on predictive modeling of sorption characteristics of arsenic enriched Holocene sediments in Bangladesh

The importance of accessing safe aquifers in areas with high As is being increasingly recognized. The present study aims to investigate the sorption and mobility of As at the sediment-groundwater interface to identify a likely safe aquifer in the Holocene deposit in southwestern Bangladesh. The upper, shallow aquifer at around 18 m depth, which is composed mainly of very fine, grey, reduced sand and contains 24.3 μg/g As, was found to produce highly enriched groundwater (190 μg/L As). In contrast, deeper sediments are composed of partly oxidized, brownish, medium sand with natural adsorbents like Fe- and Al-oxides; they contain 0.76 μg/g As and impart low As concentrations to the water (4 μg/L). These observations were supported by spectroscopic studies with SEM, TEM, XRD and XRF, and by adsorption, leaching, column tests and sequential extraction. A relatively high in-situ dissolution rate (R_r) of 1.42 × 10⁻¹⁶ mol/m²/s was derived for the shallower aquifer from the inverse mass-balance model. The high R_r may enhance As release processes in the upper sediment. The field-based reaction rate (K_r) was extrapolated to be roughly 1.23 × 10⁻¹³ s⁻¹ and 6.24 × 10⁻¹⁴ s⁻¹ for the shallower and deeper aquifer, respectively, from the laboratory-obtained adsorption/desorption data. This implies that As is more reactive in the shallower aquifer. The partition coefficient for the distribution of As at the sediment-water interface (K_d-As) was found to range from 5 to 235 L/kg based on in-situ, batch adsorption, and flow-through column techniques. Additionally, a parametric equation for K_d-As (R² = 0.67) was obtained from the groundwater pH and the logarithm of the leachable Fe and Al concentrations in sediment. A one-dimensional finite-difference numerical model incorporating K_d and K_r showed that the shallow, leached As can be immobilized and prevented from reaching the deeper aquifer (∼150 m) after 100 year by a natural filter of oxidizing sand and adsorbent minerals like Fe and Al oxides; in this scenario, 99% of the As in groundwater is reduced. The deeper aquifer appears to be an adequate source of sustainable, safe water.     

Resolving the pulsations of the subdwarf B star KPD 2109 + 4401

We present the results of extensive time-series photometry of the pulsating subdwarf B star KPD 2109 + 4401. Our data set consists of 29 data runs with a total length of 182.6 h over 31 d, collected at five observatories in 2004. These data comprised high signal-to-noise ratio observations acquired with larger telescopes and wider time-coverage observations obtained with smaller telescopes. They are sufficient to resolve the pulsation structure to 0.4 μHz and are the most extensive data set for this star to date. With these data, we identify eight pulsation frequencies extending from 4701 to 5481 μHz, corresponding to periods of 182–213 s. The pulsation frequencies and their amplitudes are examined over several time-scales with some frequencies showing amplitude variability.