Ionization above theF2-peak,as affected by the interplanetary gas

Summary The atmospheres of the earth, the sun and other bodies are surrounded by gas that is nearly uniform in number densityn and kinetic temperatureT, over spaces much greater than those occupied by the atmospheres. This gas may be called theambium of the atmosphere. In total it is much more massive than the atmosphere it encloses. The conditions in the ambium must powerfully affect the state of the outer atmosphere. In particular, there must be a continuous transition of the values ofn andT between the ambium and the atmosphere. In the case of the earth, the sun and other hot stars, both the ambium and the outermost part of the atmosphere will consist of atomic hydrogen. The temperature of the ambium will determine whether this hydrogen and that of the outermost atmosphere are mainly ionized or neutral.The nature of the terrestrial ambium depends on the extension of the sun's atmosphere. This atmosphere is hot and highly ionized in its inner parts. At some radius not yet known, the solar atmospheric gas must become cool and neutral. The state of the earth's outermost atmosphere depends greatly on whether the earth lies in the ionized or the neutral part of the sun's atmosphere, or in the solar ambium.Evidence will be presented favoring the view that the earth's ambium consists of ionized solar atmospheric hydrogen. If this be so, the outermost part of the earth's atmosphere is likewise hot and ionized. It must enclose an extensive layer of mainly neutral atomic hydrogen.The part of this work done at High Altitude Observatory was supported by the National Bureau of Standards and the Air Force Cambridge Research Center.     

Functional responses for zooplankton feeding on multiple resources: a review of assumptions and biological dynamics

Modelers often need to quantify the rates at which zooplankton consume a variety of species, size classes and trophic types. Implicit in the equations used to describe the multiple resource functional response (i.e. how nutritional intake varies with resource densities) are assumptions that are not often stated, let alone tested. This is problematic because models are sensitive to the details of these formulations. Here, we enable modelers to make more informed decisions by providing them with a new framework for considering zooplankton feeding on multiple resources. We define a new classification of multiple resource responses that is based on preference, selection and switching, and we develop a set of mathematical diagnostics that elucidate model assumptions. We use these tools to evaluate the assumptions and biological dynamics inherent in published multiple resource responses. These models are shown to simulate different resource preferences, implied single resource responses, changes in intake with changing resource densities, nutritional benefits of generalism, and nutritional costs of selection. Certain formulations are further shown to exhibit anomalous dynamics such as negative switching and sub-optimal feeding. Such varied responses can have vastly different ecological consequences for both zooplankton and their resources; inappropriate choices may incorrectly quantify biologically-mediated fluxes and predict spurious dynamics. We discuss how our classes and diagnostics can help constrain parameters, interpret behaviors, and identify limitations to a formulation's applicability for both regional (e.g. High-Nitrate-Low-Chlorophyll regions comprising large areas of the Pacific) and large-scale applications (e.g. global biogeochemical or climate change models). Strategies for assessing uncertainty and for using the mathematics to guide future experimental investigations are also discussed.     

An ecosystem model with iron limitation of primary production in the equatorial Pacific at 140°W

We construct a one-dimensional ecosystem model (nitrate, ammonium, phytoplankton, zooplnakton and detritus) with simple physics and biology in order to focus on the structural relations and intrinsic properties of the food web that characterizes the biological regime in the central equatorial Pacific at 140°W. When possible, data collected during the EgPac and other cruises were used to calibrate model parameters for two simulations that differ in the limiting nutrient, i.e. nitrogen or iron. Both simulations show annual results in good agreement with the data, but phytoplankton biomass and primary production show a more pronounced annual variability when iron is used as the limiting nutrient. This more realistically reproduces the variability of biological production and illustrates the greater coupling between vertical physical processes and biological production when the limiting nutrient is iron rather than nitrogen. The iron simulation also illustrates how iron supply controls primary production variability, how grazingbalances primary production and controls phytoplankton biomass, and how both iron supply and grazingcontrol primary production. These results suggest that it is not possible to capture primary production variability in the central equatorial Pacific with biological models using nitrogen as the limiting nutrient. Other indirect results of this modeling study were: (1) partitioning of export production between dissolved and particulate matter is almost equal, suggesting that the importance of DOC export may have been previously overestimated; (2) lateral export of live biomass has to be taken into account in order to balance the nitrogen budget on the equator at 140°W; and (3) preferential uptake of ammonium (i.e. nitrate uptake inhibition by ammonium) associated with high regeneration of nitrogen (low f ratio as a consequence of the food web structure imposed by iron limitation) largely accounts for the surface build-up of upwelled nitrate.     

Sublethal effects of hydrogen sulfide in sediments on the Urchin Lytechinus pictus

Laboratory exposures of the urchin Lytechinus pictus to sediment dosed with varying concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), but without elevated organic material, were conducted. Changes in mortality, behavior, growth and gonad production were measured during 49 days' flow through exposures. Hydrogen sulfide concentrations of 165·8 μ liter⁻¹ in pore water caused significant changes in all parameters measured. Concentrations as low as 32·9 μ liter⁻¹ caused significant decreases in wet weight and male gonad production. A concentration of 91·8 μ liter⁻¹ caused the mortality rate to increase 100-fold over control exposures (0·63 μ liter⁻¹). Sublethal effects on growth and gonad production could have been caused by either direct biochemical inhibition by H₂S or secondarily through behavioral modifications. Hydrogen sulfide concentrations above 165·8 μ liter⁻¹ are common near sewage outfalls and could contribute to changes in species composition and sediment toxicity that occur there.     

Recruitment patterns of Serpula vermicularis L. (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) in Loch Creran, Scotland

This study aimed to contribute to conservation management of reefs of Serpula vermicularis by increasing understanding of the factors influencing larval settlement. The study was carried out in Loch Creran, which supports the most extensive known development of S. vermicularis reefs in the world. Settlement plates were deployed to examine the influence of season, depth, reef density, substrate type and orientation. Monthly deployment of plates revealed settlement of S. vermicularis to occur predominantly from mid-June to mid-October, peaking in late August to early September. Settlement of Pomatoceros spp. peaked much earlier, in late May to early June. Deployment of plates at different depths revealed a marked reduction in S. vermicularis settlement intensity between 6 and 12 m. As this corresponds with the deeper limit of the peripheral fringe of serpulid reefs in the loch, it is suggested that this limit is imposed by a depth-correlated settlement response, rather than reduction in available substrata. Comparisons of various substrata showed a preference by S. vermicularis larvae for a slate over a scallop substrate and no evidence of enhanced recruitment to occupied or unoccupied tubes of S. vermicularis, suggesting that gregarious attraction is unlikely to be a factor causing reef formation. Settlement onto the upper side of a horizontal scallop substrate was found to be insignificant in comparison with the underside or a vertically orientated scallop. Evidence for the role of light in controlling the depth and substrate-orientation preferences of S. vermicularis larvae is discussed. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are made regarding remediation of areas suffering reef damage.     

The First Law of Thermodynamics in a salty ocean

The First Law of Thermodynamics is developed from fundamentals for open, non-equilibrium systems of seawater in motion, exchanging salt and freshwater internally and with their surroundings, and varying continuously in temperature, pressure, and salinity. The aim is clarity and consistency of concepts – and precision in the accompanying vocabulary. Particular attention is given to the way in which salinity variation plays out in the logical structures. The arbitrary constants in the thermodynamic potentials and the various First Law equations are highlighted, in order to remove them, and to recover the physically meaningful content. When this is done, it is seen that salinity variations have little consequence in application of the First Law to the ocean, apart from affecting values of coefficients.