Conceptual study — An improved method to assess acidification in German streams by using benthic macroinvertebrates

The present study is based mainly upon the authors' hydrochemical and hydrobiological studies of small silicate streams in South-West Germany, principally in the Black Forest and the Odenwald.

The aim of the paper is the adaptation of a practically proven four-level biological classification system of different degrees of acidity using benthic maroinvertebrates to a five-level system of acidification of mainly upland streams with low buffer capacity. The main reason for such a five-class system is the Water Framework Directive of the European Union (EU WFD), which lays down a five-level classification system for the assessment of the ecological quality of waters.

The biological method of assessing the state of acidity for evaluation of the degree of anthropogenic acidification under the directive, and principles of the EU WFD, are also described. A list of 278 taxa of the macrozoobenthos has been reclassified from a four-level system to a five-level biological indication system, based upon the authors' scientific expertise and the latest references from literature of different acid sensitive areas in Germany.     

Phosphorus input by upwelling in the eastern Gotland Basin (Baltic Sea) in summer and its effects on filamentous cyanobacteria

In July 2007, phosphorus input by an upwelling event along the east coast of Gotland Island and the response of filamentous cyanobacteria were studied to determine whether introduced phosphorus can intensify cyanobacterial bloom formation in the eastern Gotland Basin. Surface temperature, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass and its stoichiometry, as well as phosphate uptake rates were determined in two transects between the coasts of Gotland and Latvia and in a short grid offshore of Gotland. In the upwelling area, surface temperatures of 11–12 °C and average dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentrations of 0.26 μM were measured. Outside the upwelling, surface temperatures were higher (15.5–16.6 °C) and DIP supplies in the upper 10 m layer were exhausted. Nitrite and nitrate concentrations (0.01–0.22 μM) were very low within and outside the upwelling region. Abundances of filamentous cyanobacteria were highly reduced in the upwelling area, accounting for only 1.4–6.0% of the total phytoplankton biomass, in contrast to 18–20% outside the upwelling. The C:P ratio of filamentous cyanobacteria varied between 32.8 and 310 in the upwelling region, most likely due to the introduction of phosphorus-depleted organisms into the upwelling water. These organisms accumulate DIP in upwelling water and have lower C:P ratios as long as they remain in DIP-rich water. Thus, diazotrophic cyanobacteria benefit from phosphorus input directly in the upwelling region. Outside the upwelling region, the C:P ratios of filamentous cyanobacteria varied widely, between 240 and 463, whereas those of particulate material in the water ranged only between 96 and 224. To reduce their C:P ratio from 300 to 35, cyanobacteria in the upwelling region had to take up 0.05 mmol m⁻³ DIP, which is about 20% of the available DIP. Thus, a larger biomass of filamentous cyanobacteria may be able to benefit from a given DIP input. As determined from the DIP uptake rates measured in upwelling cells, the time needed to reduce the C:P ratio from 300 to 35 was too long to explain the huge bloom formations that typically occur in summer. However, phosphorus uptake rates increased significantly with increasing C:P ratios, allowing phosphorus accumulation within 4–5 days, a span of time suitable for bloom formation in July and August.     

Petrography,mineralogy, and geochemistry of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300

Abstract— We report here the petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300 (SaU 300). SaU 300 is dominated by a fine‐grained crystalline matrix surrounding mineral fragments (plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine, and ilmenite) and lithic clasts (mainly feldspathic to noritic). Mare basalt and KREEPy rocks are absent. Glass melt veins and impact melts are present, indicating that the rock has been subjected to a second impact event. FeNi metal and troilite grains were observed in the matrix. Major element concentrations of SaU 300 (Al₂O₃ 21.6 wt% and FeO 8.16 wt%) are very similar to those of two basalt‐bearing feldspathic regolith breccias: Calcalong Creek and Yamato (Y‐) 983885. However, the rare earth element (REE) abundances and pattern of SaU 300 resemble the patterns of feldspathic highlands meteorites (e.g., Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 93069 and Dar al Gani (DaG) 400), and the average lunar highlands crust. It has a relatively LREE‐enriched (7 to 10 x CI) pattern with a positive Eu anomaly (?11 x CI). Values of Fe/Mn ratios of olivine, pyroxene, and the bulk sample are essentially consistent with a lunar origin. SaU 300 also contains high siderophile abundances with a chondritic Ni/Ir ratio. SaU 300 has experienced moderate terrestrial weathering as its bulk Sr concentration is elevated compared to other lunar meteorites and Apollo and Luna samples. Mineral chemistry and trace element abundances of SaU 300 fall within the ranges of lunar feldspathic meteorites and FAN rocks. SaU 300 is a feldspathic impact‐melt breccia predominantly composed of feldspathic highlands rocks with a small amount of mafic component. With a bulk Mg# of 0.67, it is the most mafic of the feldspathic meteorites and represents a lunar surface composition distinct from any other known lunar meteorites. On the basis of its low Th concentration (0.46 ppm) and its lack of KREEPy and mare basaltic components, the source region of SaU 300 could have been within a highland terrain, a great distance from the Imbrium impact basin, probably on the far side of the Moon.     

Modeling Total Solar Irradiance Variations Using Automated Classification Software on Mount Wilson Data

We present the results using the AutoClass analysis application available at NASA/Ames Intelligent Systems Div. (2002) which is a Bayesian, finite mixture model classification system developed by Cheeseman and Stutz (1996). We apply this system to Mount Wilson Solar Observatory (MWO) intensity and magnetogram images and classify individual pixels on the solar surface to calculate daily indices that are then correlated with total solar irradiance (TSI) to yield a set of regression coefficients. This approach allows us to model the TSI with a correlation of better than 0.96 for the period 1996 to 2007. These regression coefficients applied to classified pixels on the observed solar surface allow the construction of images of the Sun as it would be seen by TSI measuring instruments like the Solar Bolometric Imager recently flown by Foukal et al. (Astrophys. J. 611, L57, 2004). As a consequence of the very high correlation we achieve in reproducing the TSI record, our approach holds out the possibility of creating an on-going, accurate, independent estimate of TSI variations from ground-based observations which could be used to compare, and identify the sources of disagreement among, TSI observations from the various satellite instruments and to fill in gaps in the satellite record. Further, our spatially-resolved images should assist in characterizing the particular solar surface regions associated with TSI variations. Also, since the particular set of MWO data on which this analysis is based is available on a daily basis back to at least 1985, and on an intermittent basis before then, it will be possible to estimate the TSI emission due to identified solar surface features at several solar minima to constrain the role surface magnetic effects have on long-term trends in solar energy output.     

Presolar nanodiamonds: faster, cleaner, and limits on platinum-HL

We have developed a procedure that allows extraction of clean nanodiamond samples from primitive meteorites for isotopic analyses of trace elements on a timescale of just a week. This procedure includes microwave digestion and optimization of existing isolation techniques for further purification. Abundances of trace elements that are difficult to dissolve using standard procedures (e.g., Ir) are lower in the diamond residues prepared using the new technique. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was explored as a means for isotopic measurements. Results obtained on diamond fractions from Allende and Murchison show the need for suitable matrix-adjusted standards to correct for fractionation effects; nevertheless they allow putting an upper limit on the abundance of ¹⁹⁸Pt-H in nanodiamonds of ∼1 × 10¹⁴ atoms/g. This limit is on the order of what can be expected from predictions of competing nucleosynthesis models and extrapolation of the apparently mass dependent abundance trend of the associated noble gases.Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, presolar silicon carbide is almost quantitatively dissolved during microwave digestion with HCl/HF/HNO₃. Re-evaluation of the standard extraction technique, however, shows that it also may lead to severe loss of fine-grained SiC, a fact not commonly appreciated. A lower limit to SiC abundance in Murchison is 20 ppm, and previous conclusions that Murchison SiC is unusually coarse-grained compared to SiC in other primitive meteorites seem not to be warranted. Graphite and silicon nitride may survive and possibly can be separated after this step as suggested by a simulation experiment using terrestrial analog material, but the detailed behavior of meteoritic graphite requires further study.     

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy of Ca-rich clinopyroxenes and prospects for remote spectral characterization of planetary surfaces

We present results of laboratory near-infrared reflectance studies of a set of calcic pyroxenes with comparable calcium contents (Wo_45-50) but variable iron content and oxidation states. This new dataset complements earlier published data (Cloutis and Gaffey, 1991, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 22809-28826, and references therein). In particular, our new spectra extend the scarce available spectral data on chemically analyzed Fe-rich high-Ca clinopyroxenes. We attempted to interpret the spectral behavior of our samples in terms of chemistry and coordination site occupancies. Tentatively, we conclude that Fe-rich calcic pyroxenes have very low contents of Fe²⁺ in the M2 sites and belong to the spectral type A lacking the 2-μm band. This may be due to high Ca and Mn contents in these pyroxenes. Fe-poor high-Ca pyroxenes are more spectrally variable. In general, they tend to belong to the spectral type B with two major bands near 1 and 2 μm, unless the samples have high Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ratios or are rich in Mn and Ca. Some of them (including unusual meteorite Angra dos Reis) are of type B despite very high Ca contents. We applied the Modified Gaussian Model (MGM) to characterize three major Fe²⁺ absorption bands in the 1-μm region of the spectra of Ca-rich pyroxenes. Only the band due to Fe²⁺ in the M1 coordination site near 1.15 μm may be potentially useful to estimate the Fe content in calcic pyroxenes on remotely-sensed surfaces of Solar System bodies. The spectral variability of basaltic meteorites (angrites) that are rich in calcic pyroxenes is also discussed. The presence of spectral type A calcic pyroxenes in these meteorites complicates unambiguous identification of olivine in asteroid spectra.     

Optical observations of an infrared selected sample of galaxies

Extragalactic IRAS sources with previously unknown optical counterparts were selected from thePoint Source Catalog within two 300 deg² areas. Deep CCD images have been obtained for 99 objects and long-slit spectroscopy has been performed in 55 fields. The morphological, spectroscopic and photometric properties of these objects are summarized.