Seasonal changes of antioxidant and oxidative parameters in the coral Pocillopora capitata on the Pacific coast of Mexico

The physiological responses of the coral Pocillopora capitata to environmental conditions common in winter and summer were studied in 2007 during February–March (winter) and June–July (summer) at La Boquita reef (Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico). Shallow and deep sampling stations were established at different distances from a small jetty built next to the Juluapan Lagoon. We analyzed superoxide radicals () and lipid peroxidants (TBARS); the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST); chlorophyll a (Chl a), zooxanthellae density (ZD); and mycosporine‐like amino acids (MAAs). Our results showed that the , TBARS, CAT, GST, MAAs, and Chl a, levels were significantly higher in summer (P < 0.05); no seasonal difference was found for GPx, GR or ZD. We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in winter only for Chl a and ZD at shallow sites and, in contrast, for at deeper sites. The results of this study indicate that increasing temperature and radiation associated with seasonal changes (from winter to summer), the efficiency of the enzymes GST, CR and GPX, and the production of MAAs together form a powerful mechanism for P. capitata to offset the detrimental effects of environmental change.     

Observations of near-inertial oscillations along the Brazilian continental shelf break

Ocean Dynamics - Near-inertial oscillations (NIO) are intermittent motions with a frequency close to the inertial frequency and represent an important fraction of the energy to the currents in the...     

Simple Resistivity Probe System for Real-Time Monitoring of Injected Reagents

In situ treatment usually requires contact between an injected reagent and target contaminant to realize mass removal from source zones and plumes. Despite significant site characterization efforts, unknown heterogeneities that exist at all spatial scales often hinder prediction of the distribution of injected reagents. To provide remediation practitioners with additional information on the distribution of injected reagents, a prototype real-time monitoring probe was designed and tested. This new probe comprises a two-wire resistivity circuit, hence the designation dipole resistivity probe (DRP). The low-cost DRPs were built to be attached as arrays to a central stalk, and installed by direct-push techniques. An installed network of multilevel DRPs can be used to detect the arrival, persistence, and relative concentration of a high-conductivity reagent solution in real-time across a zone of interest. Static cell and sandbox experiments were conducted to test and refine the DRP design before field testing. Static cell experimental results indicated that the DRP was sensitive to solution electrical conductivity (EC), and that the probe response and EC relationship is nonlinear and dependent on the fixed resistor used. The choice of fixed resistor can be adjusted to optimize the DRP response over a critical EC range of interest. Under dynamic conditions in the sandbox, the DRP was able to reproduce breakthrough profiles collected by a commercial EC sensor. The results from two field studies demonstrated the utility of the DRPs to generate information regarding the arrival and persistence of reagents in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The first field study used a network of DRPs to monitor the land application of a sodium sulfate solution, and the second field study employed DRPs to monitor the distribution and longevity of a persulfate solution. While additional field testing is warranted, the results presented are encouraging and suggest that this low-cost system can be used to improve our understanding of the detailed migration of injected reagents in treatment zones.     

Numerical modeling of Maranhão Gulf tidal circulation and power density distribution

Ocean Dynamics - Marine resources are outstanding among renewable energy for their wide occurrence and diverse possibilities of exploitation. The tidal resource can be harnessed by the use of both...     

Using Mahalanobis Distance to Detect and Remove Outliers in Experimental Covariograms

Experimental variograms are crucial for most geostatistical studies. In kriging, for example, the variography has a direct influence on the interpolation weights. Despite the great importance of variogram estimators in predicting geostatistical features, they are commonly influenced by outliers in the dataset. The effect of some randomly spatially distributed outliers can mask the pattern of the experimental variogram and produce a destructuration effect, implying that the true data spatial continuity cannot be reproduced. In this paper, an algorithm to detect and remove the effect of outliers in experimental variograms using the Mahalanobis distance is proposed. An example of the algorithm’s application is presented, showing that the developed technique is able to satisfactorily detect and remove outliers from a variogram.

     

Geological risk assessment by a fracture measurement procedure in an urban area of Zacatecas,Mexico

Natural Hazards - Geological hazards represent medium- and long-term risks, when they affect urban infrastructure and residential areas as they become a source of danger for the population. In...     

Computational models of community resilience

Natural Hazards - Protecting civil infrastructure from natural and man-made hazards is vital. Understanding the impact of these hazards helps allocate resources efficiently. Researchers have...     

An approach to the radiometric aerotriangulation of photogrammetric images

Harnessing the radiometric information provided by photogrammetric flights could be useful in increasing the thematic applications of aerial images. The aim of this paper is to improve relative and absolute homogenization in aerial images by applying atmospheric correction and treatment of bidirectional effects. We propose combining remote sensing methodologies based on radiative transfer models and photogrammetry models, taking into account the three-dimensional geometry of the images (external orientation and Digital Elevation Model). The photogrammetric flight was done with a Z/I Digital Mapping Camera (DMC) with a Ground Sample Distance (GSD) of 45 cm. Spectral field data were acquired by defining radiometric control points in order to apply atmospheric correction models, obtaining calibration parameters from the camera and surface reflectance images. Kernel-driven models were applied to correct the anisotropy caused by the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of surfaces viewed under large observation angles with constant illumination, using the overlapping area between images and the establishment of radiometric tie points. Two case studies were used: 8-bit images with applied Lookup Tables (LUTs) resulting from the conventional photogrammetric workflow for BRDF studies and original 12-bit images (Low Resolution Color, LRC) for the correction of atmospheric and bidirectional effects. The proposed methodology shows promising results in the different phases of the process. The geometric kernel that shows the best performance is the Lidense kernel. The homogenization factor in 8-bit images ranged from 6% to 25% relative to the range of digital numbers (0–255), and from 18% to 35% relative to levels of reflectance (0–100) in the 12-bit images, representing a relative improvement of approximately 1–30%, depending on the band analyzed.     

Contribution of resuspension to particulate matter inmission levels in SE Spain

Ambient air particulate matter concentrations were measured at three locations in semi-arid SE Spain during 2005-2007. Sites representative of urban and rural background levels, as well as one representative of a rural area influenced by local mineral industry, were selected.The contribution of coarse particle resuspension (mainly crustal) in the area was assessed by studying the influence of wind speed, human activity and African dust outbreaks on the daily mass concentration and the aerosol number size distribution. Wind and soil characteristics in the area, typical of many semi-arid environments, are not conducive to major dust entrainment events.Twenty-four hour PM₁₀ mass concentrations, subjected to air quality regulation, present a net decrease as wind speeds increase at the three study sites. Size-resolved measurements in the diameter range 0.25-32 μm with higher temporal resolution, however, show a net increase in the coarse particle concentrations with increasing wind speed, while the smallest particles are diluted. Although suspension is found to occur at all wind speeds, threshold values for an increase in particulate concentration can be identified and show some dependence on the particle size.African dust outbreaks, human activity and wind speed are (in this order) the main contributors for increasing particle sizes.