Water Quality Improvements in Liverpool Docks: The Role of Filter Feeders in Algal and Nutrient Dynamics

Abstract. The redevelopment of disused docks around Liverpool into areas suitable for shops, offices, housing and recreational watersports has necessitated the maintenance of good water quality in these areas. The main source of water to the docks is the River Mersey, which contains high concentrations of nutrients, encouraging algal blooms - including potentially nuisance species - in the enclosed dock basins. Since 1988 an extensive monitoring programme has been run sampling the hydrography, plankton and benthos of the docks. During this period there has been an improvement in water quality, including a reduction in summer phytoplankton biomass and anoxic bottom water. There are strong indications that phytoplankton biomass has been severely reduced by the filter feeding of Mytifus edulis . Changes in the composition of the benthic community since 1988 suggest that the large population of M. edulis is now suffering from limited recruitment. The long-term development and stability of the system is discussed with reference to community succession and its link to ecosystem functioning.     

Lithological controls on biological activity and groundwater chemistry in Quaternary sediments

Depth profiles of solute chemistry and sulfate isotopic compositions are presented for groundwater and pore water in a sequence of Quaternary glacial outwash sediments. Sand units show evidence for hydraulic connection to the surface and thus modern sources of solutes. Finer‐grained sediments show a general pattern of increasing solute concentrations with depth, with sulfate derived from ancient rainwater and pyrite oxidation in the soil/drift. In these sediments sulfate has undergone bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) to produce biogenic sulfide. In clay sediments, with d₁₀ ≤ 1·6 µm, high concentrations of sulfate and acetate now co‐exist, implying that BSR is inhibited. The correlation with smaller sediment grain size indicates that this is due to pore size exclusion of the sulfate reducing bacteria. Mechanical restriction of microbial function thus provides a fundamental limitation on microbial respiration in buried clay‐rich sediments, which acts as a control on the chemical evolution of their pore waters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphology of craters generated by hypervelocity impacts of micron‐sized polypyrrole‐coated olivine particles

To understand the process of cosmic dust particle impacts and translate crater morphology on smoothed metallic surfaces to dust properties, correct calibration of the experimental impact data is needed. This article presents the results of studies of crater morphology generated by impacts using micron‐sized polypyrrole (PPy)‐coated olivine particles. The particles were accelerated by an electrostatic dust accelerator to high speeds before they impacted onto polished aluminum targets. The projectile diameter and velocity ranges were 0.3–1.2 μm and 3–7 km s^?1. After impact, stereopair images of the craters were taken using scanning electron microscope and 3‐D reconstructions made to provide diameter and depth measurements. In this study, not just the dimensions of crater diameters and depths, but also the shape and dimensions of crater lips were analyzed. The craters created by the coated olivine projectiles are shown to have complicated shapes believed to be due to the nonspherical shape of the projectiles.     

Lower delta plain interdistributary deposits — An example from the Westphalian of the Lancashire Coalfield,northwest England

A large quarry at Billinge Beacon in Lancashire, northwest England, has provided an excellent exposure of part of the Lower Westphalian A (Upper Carboniferous) Coal Measures sequence which was deposited in a lower delta plain setting. The main horizon exposed, known as the Dyneley Knoll Flags, is interpreted as the proximal reaches of two crevasse-initiated minor delta complexes, into the lower of which has been incised a sinuous minor distributary channel. The channel, which was approximately 120 m wide, built a 160 m wide channel belt by limited lateral accretion with time; vertical accretion appears to have been the dominant infilling mechanism. This produced a stacked series of epsilon cross-strata, made up of rhythmically interbedded sandstone and silty claystone. The peculiar style of infilling of the channel is ascribed to deep incision of the channel into minor delta deposits, and possibly the influence of a seasonal climate.