Petrologic and geochemical links between the post-collisional Proterozoic Harney Peak leucogranite, South Dakota, USA, and its source rocks

The Proterozoic terrane of the Black Hills, South Dakota, includes the composite Harney Peak leucogranite and associated pegmatites that were emplaced into metamorphosed pelites and graywackes. Available dates indicate that granite generation post-dated regional metamorphism and deformation that have been attributed to collision of the Wyoming and Superior cratons at 1760 Ma. Previous radiogenic and stable isotope work indicates that the exposed metasedimentary rocks are equivalent to sources of the leucogranites. In this study, whole rock and mineral compositions of the metasedimentary rocks were used to calculate the likely average residue mineralogies and melt fractions that would be generated by muscovite dehydration melting of the rocks. These were then used to model observed trace element compositions of the granites using published mineral/melt distribution coefficients. Model trace element melt compositions using pelitic and graywacke protoliths yield similar results.

The models reproduce well the observed depletion of transition metals and Ba in the granites relative to metasedimentary protoliths. The depletion is due mainly to high proportion of biotite with variable amounts of K-feldspar in the model residue. Sr is also depleted in the granites compared to source rocks, but to a lesser relative extent than Ba. This is because of the low biotite/melt distribution coefficient for Sr and because high proportion of plagioclase in the residue is compensated by high Sr concentrations in protoliths. Rubidium, Cs and Ta behaved as slightly compatible to incompatible elements, and therefore, were not strongly fractionated during melting. Of the considered elements, only B appears to have been highly incompatible relative to residue during melting. The protoliths had sufficient B to allow tourmaline crystallization in those parts of the Harney Peak Granite in which Ti concentration was sufficiently low not to enhance crystallization of biotite.

The reproducibility of observed trace element concentrations in the Harney Peak Granite by the models supports the often made proposition that metapelites and metagraywackes are common sources for leucogranites. This argues against mass input from the mantle into metagraywacke and metapelitic crustal sources or melting of amphibolites to generate the post-collisional Harney Peak and other similar peraluminous granite suites.     

Further investigations on why POC concentrations differ in samples collected by Niskin bottle and in situ pump

Particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations measured in bottles are often higher than those measured by in situ pumps when samples are taken concurrently. In previous work, we suggested that differential collection of zooplankton might explain this systematic discrepancy in POC between these small volume (bottle) and large volume (in situ pump) techniques. We have now further quantified the carbon contributed by zooplankton collected in the >70-μm particulate fractions from both bottles and pumps at sites in the Mediterranean Sea and Long Island Sound. Our results show that zooplankton abundance and lipid concentrations from zooplankton are one order of magnitude higher in the bottles than in the pumps, supporting the idea that part of the pump–bottle difference is due to collection of more zooplankton by the bottles. Particle washout off the 70-μm mesh used in the in situ pump may cause loss of some particles as well. However, zooplankton in the >70-μm fraction from the bottles contributed only about 1–2 μM POC, which cannot explain the up to 20 μM POC differences observed in this study. Thus, the mechanisms leading to such a large POC difference are still unclear and need to be further investigated. POC concentrations measured using microquartz filters were similar to those using glass fiber filters, suggesting that filter types cannot explain the higher POC observed in bottles, where glass fiber filters are normally used. Furthermore, we investigated several different pump inlet designs to determine how these might affect the ability of pumps to collect and retain large (>70 μm) particles, including zooplankton. The comparison among different pump inlets suggests that inlet design affects the efficiency and retention of large particles and that a sealed filter holder with a narrow right-angle tubular opening is the most efficient at catching/retaining zooplankton.     

人口高密度较发达农业区的经济发展与人口迁移--以广东省高州市为例

农村剩余劳动力外了是我国人多地少、以农业为主要经济部门地区的普遍现象。在经济发展水平较高地区,又有欠发达区农村劳动力的补偿性流入及妇女的婚姻迁入。文中以对劳动力外出和妇女的婚姻迁入都极为活跃的高州市的实际调查为例,分析自然资源条件和经济结构对人口迁移的影响。     

The Role of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in Structuring the Nearshore Fish Community Within an Estuary of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Artificial fertilizers are contributing to the replacement of eelgrass (Zostera marina) by sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) in estuaries of Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. In this study, we found that the nearshore fish community differed between areas dominated by these two vegetations within an estuary in every month sampled (April–August). Adult northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus), threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), blackspotted stickleback (Gasterosteus wheatlandi), and Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) were most strongly associated with eelgrass, while mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), and American eel (Anguilla rostrata) were often more numerous in sea lettuce. Sea lettuce stations tended to have more young-of-the-year mummichog, fourspine stickleback (Apeltes quadracus), and Gasterosteus sp. than eelgrass stations but fewer young-of-the-year northern pipefish and Atlantic silverside. Fish richness and abundance were significantly lower in the sea lettuce than eelgrass habitat during August when benthic hypoxia occurred. We conclude that the loss of eelgrass from PEI estuaries will result in significant declines in fish biodiversity.     

A Preliminary Sediment Budget for the Corsica River (MD): Improved Estimates of Nitrogen Burial and Implications for Restoration

The Corsica River, located on Maryland’s eastern shore, has been the site of restoration efforts targeting sediment and nutrient load reductions. Previous work has indicated that agricultural activities supply most of these materials; however, their dynamics and fate are largely unknown. To address these needs, bottom sediments have been collected and analyzed for their chemical and textural properties. Long-term (decadal) accumulation rates are determined with ²¹⁰Pb (half-life 22.3 years), verified with ¹³⁷Cs, and range from 0.18 to 0.84 g/cm²/year in the subtidal region and 0.3–1.89 g/cm²/year in the marshes. These estimates are compared with likely sediment sources to determine the direction of exchange with the adjacent estuary (Chester River), which is a subtributary of Chesapeake Bay, with the Chester River likely supplying 0.94 × 10³ t/year of sediment to the Corsica, ∼16% of the total sediment input. The radiochemical data are used to interpret profiles of grain size and nitrogen and to provide improved estimates of nitrogen burial. Comparison of the Corsica River to similar systems highlights the importance of marshes in trapping sediment and nutrient inputs from the watershed.     

Marine Dissolved Organic Phosphorus Composition: Insights from Samples Recovered Using Combined Electrodialysis/Reverse Osmosis

The dominant phosphorus compound classes were characterized in marine samples using a new, high recovery method for isolating and concentrating bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) called combined electrodialysis + reverse osmosis (ED/RO). In contrast to earlier studies that use ultrafiltration (UF) to recover only the high molecular weight DOM, ED/RO is capable of isolating both low molecular weight (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) DOM. Samples were collected from a broad range of marine environments: along a transect incorporating coastal and offshore waters off the Southeastern United States, in Effingham Inlet, a Pacific fjord located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. Results from phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (³¹P NMR) analysis reveal a similar abundance of P compound classes among samples, phosphate esters (80–85%), phosphonates (5–10%) and polyphosphates (8–13%). These samples contain significantly higher proportions of polyphosphate P and P esters and lower proportions of phosphonates than measured in previous studies using the UF method. The much higher levels of polyphosphate detected in our samples suggests that polyphosphate is present mainly in the LMW dissolved matter fraction. Polyphosphates in dissolved matter may be present as (or derived from) dissolved nucleotides or organismal polyphosphate bodies, or both. Low molecular weight P esters are possibly composed of phosphoamino acids and small carbohydrates, like simple sugar phosphates and/or dissolved nucleotides. Phosphonates in DOM are more prevalent as HMW phosphonate compounds, which suggests that LMW phosphonates are more readily utilized in marine ecosystems. Overall, the investigation of DOM across a size spectrum that includes both the HMW and the LMW fractions reveals a new picture of phosphorus distribution, cycling and bioavailability.     

Using principal components analysis (PCA) with cluster analysis to study the organic geochemistry of sinking particles in the ocean

Principal components analysis (PCA) is a multivariate data analysis tool that can be used to recombine the variables of a large multivariate dataset in such a way that the first few variables of the reconstructed dataset account for the majority of the variance in the data. Application of PCA in marine geochemistry has become quite common in recent years. In this study, we illustrate the use of PCA through examples that arose while investigating the geochemistry of sinking particles during the MedFlux project. The examples presented do not simply repeat the analyses of the original study, but instead extend them in the context of simultaneous application of PCA and cluster analysis. Our results show that constructing a one dimensional (1D) “degradation index” using only the first principal component (PC) is in most cases oversimplified, and that constructing 2D or 3D “degradation trajectories” with the first 2 or 3 PCs is more informative. Use of the first three PCs is indicated when the variance explained by the third PC is comparable in magnitude to that explained by the second PC in the reconstructed dataset. We also discuss the use of scree plots and cluster analysis in helping decide whether the third PC is needed to capture the essential information in the dataset.     

DNAPL to LNAPL Transitions During Horizontal Cosolvent Flooding

Cosolvent flooding is a technology with the potential to remove nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) sources from the subsurface. It can be used to initiate separate phase mobilization, which allows removal of NAPL within very few pore volumes. Mobilization may result in a sinking DNAPL bank during horizontal flooding of NAPLs denser than water. Reversal of phase density difference between aqueous and DNAPL phases could potentially avoid this downward migration of mobilized DNAPLs. We achieved phase density difference reversal and made DNAPLs float using two components in the cosolvent flooding solution. A low-density cosolvent partitions preferentially into the DNAPL and swells it, which causes a reduction in density of the DNAPL and reversal of the density difference between the NAPL and aqueous phases. A highdensity additive that remains in the aqueous phase allows the cosolvent flooding solution overall to have a density greater than that of water and permits control of the flooding instability. This study focused on tert-butanol as the swelling cosolvent and tetrachloroethylene as the contaminant. In batch tests with sucrose and glycerol as dense additives, phase density difference reversal occurred. To investigate the applicability of phase density difference reversal as a remediation technology, horizontal column and sandbox experiments were performed. These experiments demonstrated the occurrence of phase density difference reversal and effective remediation in horizontal cosolvent floods.     

The challenge of environmental law as a tool for balancing environmental and economic interests, in the search for sustainable development

Sustainable development necessitates balancing the interests and concerns of both the environment and the economy. The importance of environmental law as a tool to balance these potentially conflicting interests is increasing. Germany, in particular since reunification, provides a good case study of the challenges inherent in a highly industrialized nation towards achieving sustainable development. Since reunification, the concept of sustainable development, in terms of the protection of the essential basis for the existence of future generations, has been incorporated into the constitution in 1994. Explicit means for how to harmonize the needs of both the economy and the environment, however, remain unclear. This is particularly evident in the implementation of so-called “acceleration” laws, designed to shorten the processing time in the re-development of former east Germany, particularly in the areas of transportation infrastructure, wastewater disposal facilities, and housing construction. The implementation of these acceleration laws is generally at the expense of environmental concerns and public involvement in the decision making process. The effectiveness of environmental law as a tool to balance the needs of the environment and the economy, as is required for sustainable development, remains an unmet challenge.