Micro- to nano-scale characterization of martite from a banded iron formation in India and a lateritic soil in Brazil

The pseudomorphic transformation of magnetite into hematite (martitization) is widespread in geological environments, but the process and mechanism of this transformation is still not fully understood. Micro- and nano-scale techniques—scanning electron microscopy, focused ion bean transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy—were used in combination with X-ray diffraction, Curie balance and magnetic hysteresis analyses, as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy on martite samples from a banded iron formation (2.9 Ga, Dharwar Craton, India), and from lateritic soils, which have developed on siliciclastic and volcanic rocks previously affected by metamorphic fluids (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Octahedral crystals from both samples are composed of hematite with minor patches of magnetite, but show different structures. The Indian crystals show trellis of subhedral magnetite hosting maghemite in sharp contact with interstitial hematite crystals, which suggests exsolution along parting planes. Grain boundary migrations within the hematite point to dynamic crystallization during deformation. Dislocations and fluid inclusions in hematite reflect its precipitation related to a hydrothermal event. In the Brazilian martite, dislocations are observed and maghemite occurs as Insel structures and nano-twin sets. The latter, typical for the hematite, are a transformation product from maghemite into hematite. For both samples, a deformation-induced hydrothermally driven transformation from magnetite via maghemite to hematite is proposed. The transformation from magnetite into maghemite comprises intermediate non-stoichiometric magnetite steps related to a redox process. This study shows that martite found in supergene environment may result from earlier hypogene processes.     

Allochthonous individuals in managed populations of the fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina: Genetic detection and conservation implications

The ongoing global amphibian decline calls for an increase of habitat and population management efforts. Pond restoration and construction is more and more accompanied by breeding and translocation programs. However, the appropriateness of translocations as a tool for conservation has been widely debated, as it can cause biodiversity loss through genetic homogenization and can disrupt local adaptation, eventually leading to outbreeding depression. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure of two translocated populations of the critically endangered fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina at its north western distribution edge using supposedly neutral genetic markers (variation in the mitochondrial control region and microsatellites) as well as a marker under selection (major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes). While one of the newly established populations showed the typical genetic composition of surrounding populations, the other was extremely diverged without clear affinity to its putative source. In this population we detected a profound impact of allochthonous individuals: 100% of the analyzed individuals exhibited a highly divergent mitochondrial haplotype which was otherwise found in Austria. 83% of them were also assigned to Austria by the analysis of microsatellites. Interestingly, for the adaptive marker (MHC) local alleles were predominant in this population, while only very few alleles were shared with the Austrian population. Probably Mendelian inheritance has reshuffled genotypes such that adaptive local alleles are maintained (here, MHC), while presumably neutral allochthonous alleles dominate at other loci. The release of allochthonous individuals generally increased the genetic variability of the affected population without wiping out locally adaptive genotypes. Thus, outbreeding depression might be less apparent than sometimes thought and natural selection appears strong enough to maintain locally adaptive alleles, at least in functionally important immune system genes.     

Atmospheric Electrification in Dusty,Reactive Gases in the Solar System and Beyond

Detailed observations of the solar system planets reveal a wide variety of local atmospheric conditions. Astronomical observations have revealed a variety of extrasolar planets none of which resembles any of the solar system planets in full. Instead, the most massive amongst the extrasolar planets, the gas giants, appear very similar to the class of (young) brown dwarfs which are amongst the oldest objects in the Universe. Despite this diversity, solar system planets, extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs have broadly similar global temperatures between 300 and 2500 K. In consequence, clouds of different chemical species form in their atmospheres. While the details of these clouds differ, the fundamental physical processes are the same. Further to this, all these objects were observed to produce radio and X-ray emissions. While both kinds of radiation are well studied on Earth and to a lesser extent on the solar system planets, the occurrence of emissions that potentially originate from accelerated electrons on brown dwarfs, extrasolar planets and protoplanetary disks is not well understood yet. This paper offers an interdisciplinary view on electrification processes and their feedback on their hosting environment in meteorology, volcanology, planetology and research on extrasolar planets and planet formation.     

Trace Elements in Sediments and Mussels – Spatial Distribution,Chemical Partitioning,and Risk Assessment

Sediment samples were collected from 30 different locations in Abu Qir Bay (Mediterranean Sea), East Alexandria, Egypt and analyzed for trace elements. The highest concentrations of most of the elements were observed in the nearshore stations in the vicinity of the major anthropogenic activities as industrial settlements, wastewater discharges, and agricultural drainage. In addition, mussel samples of Mactra corallina and Tapes decussata were collected corresponding to the sediment samples. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Mn, and Zn in the mussel tissues were higher than concentrations in sediments, thus indicating their relatively high bioavailability. Sequential extraction procedure was performed on selected sediment samples. Significant correlations were observed between the concentrations of Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn in the exchangeable fraction of the sediments and the corresponding tissues of M. corallina. The output of the risk assessment applied on the sediments revealed that adverse ecological effects to benthic species could occur and that a higher level of risk is expected from the exposure to Cd, Cr, Hg, and Zn. No adverse carcinogenic or non‐carcinogenic human health effects are expected from the consumption of the two mussel species from Abu Qir Bay.     

Comparison between Different Models of Galactic Tidal Effects on Cometary Orbits

Different models of the action of the galactic tide are compared. Each model is a substitute for direct numerical integrations allowing a drastic decrease of the computation time. The models are built using two different techniques, (i) averaging of the fast variable (the mean anomaly) over one cometary period and (ii) fixing the comet in its aphelion direction. Moreover, we consider two different formalisms (Lagrangian and Hamiltonian) and also two different sets of variables. As expected, we find that the model results are independent of the formalism and the set of variables considered, and are highly accurate, whereas mathematical technique leads to poor results. In order to further reduce the computation time, mappings are built from the development of the solution of the models. We show that for these mappings, the set of variables giving the most accurate results is strongly dependent on the cometary eccentricity, e, and semimajor axis, a.     

Atmospheres of brown dwarfs

Brown dwarfs are the coolest class of stellar objects known to date. Our present perception is that brown dwarfs follow the principles of star formation, and that brown dwarfs share many characteristics with planets. Being the darkest and lowest mass stars known makes brown dwarfs also the coolest stars known. This has profound implication for their spectral fingerprints. Brown dwarfs cover a range of effective temperatures which cause brown dwarfs atmospheres to be a sequence that gradually changes from a M-dwarf-like spectrum into a planet-like spectrum. This further implies that below an effective temperature of \(\lesssim \)2,800 K, clouds form already in atmospheres of objects marking the boundary between M-Dwarfs and brown dwarfs. Recent developments have sparked the interest in plasma processes in such very cool atmospheres: sporadic and quiescent radio emission has been observed in combination with decaying X-ray activity indicators across the fully convective boundary.     

UNFCCC before and after Paris – what's necessary for an effective climate regime?

What can reasonably be expected from the UNFCCC process and the climate conference in Paris 2015? To achieve transformative change, prevailing unsustainable routines embedded in socio-economic systems have to be translated into new and sustainable ones. This article conceptualizes the UNFCCC and the associated policy processes as a catalyst for this translation by applying a structurational regime model. This model provides an analytical distinction of rules (norms and shared meaning) and resources (economic resources as well as authoritative and allocative power) and allows us to conceptualize agency on various levels, including beyond nation states. The analysis concludes that the UNFCCC's narrow focus on emission targets, which essentially is a focus on resources, has proven ineffective. In addition, the static division of industrialized and developing countries in the Convention's annexes and the consensus-based decision-making rules have impeded ambitious climate protection. The article concludes that the UNFCCC is much better equipped to provide rules for climate protection activities and should consciously expand this feature to improve its impact.

Policy relevance

The international community is negotiating a new global climate agreement, to be adopted at the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in December 2015 in Paris and to be applicable from 2020. This article analyses the successes and limitations the UNFCCC has had so far in combating climate change and it develops recommendations on how to enhance efforts within and beyond the framework of the Convention. From our analysis we derive two main recommendations for an effective and structurationally balanced treaty: First, multidimensional mitigation contributions going beyond emission targets could strongly improve countries’ abilities to tailor their contributions around national political discourses. Second, the UNFCCC regime should be complemented with another treaty outside of the UNFCCC framework. This ‘Alliance of the Ambitious’ would allow the pioneers of climate protection to move ahead and enjoy the benefits of cooperation. The dynamics generated through such a club approach could be fed back into the UNFCCC, leading to increased ambition by others in future commitment cycles.     

Carbon flows in the benthic food web at the deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN (Fram Strait)

The HAUSGARTEN observatory is located in the eastern Fram Strait (Arctic Ocean) and used as long-term monitoring site to follow changes in the Arctic benthic ecosystem. Linear inverse modelling was applied to decipher carbon flows among the compartments of the benthic food web at the central HAUSGARTEN station (2500 m) based on an empirical data set consisting of data on biomass, prokaryote production, total carbon deposition and community respiration. The model resolved 99 carbon flows among 4 abiotic and 10 biotic compartments, ranging from prokaryotes up to megafauna. Total carbon input was 3.78±0.31 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, which is a comparatively small fraction of total primary production in the area. The community respiration of 3.26±0.20 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ is dominated by prokaryotes (93%) and has lower contributions from surface-deposit feeding macro- (1.7%) and suspension feeding megafauna (1.9%), whereas contributions from nematode and other macro- and megabenthic compartments were limited to <1%. The high prokaryotic contribution to carbon processing suggests that functioning of the benthic food web at the central HAUSGARTEN station is comparable to abyssal plain sediments that are characterised by strong energy limitation. Faunal diet compositions suggest that labile detritus is important for deposit-feeding nematodes (24% of their diet) and surface-deposit feeding macrofauna (∼44%), but that semi-labile detritus is more important in the diets of deposit-feeding macro- and megafauna. Dependency indices on these food sources were also calculated as these integrate direct (i.e. direct grazing and predator–prey interactions) and indirect (i.e. longer loops in the food web) pathways in the food web. Projected sea-ice retreats for the Arctic Ocean typically anticipate a decrease in the labile detritus flux to the already food-limited benthic food web. The dependency indices indicate that faunal compartments depend similarly on labile and semi-labile detritus, which suggests that the benthic biota may be more sensitive to changes in labile detritus inputs than when assessed from diet composition alone. Species-specific responses to different types of labile detritus inputs, e.g. pelagic algae versus sympagic algae, however, are presently unknown and are needed to assess the vulnerability of individual components of the benthic food web.