Vertical Distribution of Meiobenthos in Bathyal Sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Relationship with Labile Organic Matter and Bacterial Biomasses

Abstract. Quantitative information on the vertical distribution of meiofaunal abundances and biomass were obtained from samples collected at 3 bathyal stations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea located at the same depth but characterized by different food supply. Vertical distribution patterns of nieiofauna were investigated in relation to the biochemical composition of the sediment organic matter (proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) and compared to benthic bacterial standing stocks. No significant relationship between bacteria and meiofauna was found, whereas a significant relationship between protein and lipid concentrations and total meiofauna density was observed. These data suggest that labile organic matter. considered as material readily aVdihbk to benthic consumers, may be an important factor regulating meiofaunal abundance and vertical distribution in deep-sea sediments.     

Relationships between Nutrient Enrichment and Benthic Function: Local Effects and Spatial Patterns

Eutrophication-induced changes to benthic faunal activities are problems of significant ecological impact, affecting global nutrient budgets as well as local trophic connections. We address the question of how nitrogen loads to estuarine embayments alter the bioturbation activities of benthic fauna. Specifically, we related local benthic activities to calculated local nitrogen concentrations for 22 northeastern US estuaries. These local nitrogen concentrations were derived from the calculated nitrogen loading for the embayment together with the spatial distribution of the local flushing time. Our results showed a maximum bioturbation rate at intermediate nitrogen concentrations or a “hump-shaped” pattern of response. This behavior was evident in all embayments that had a range of concentrations including low, intermediate, and high values. Embayments where sampling did not include this full range did not show this behavior. This work provides methods and guidance to help managers make decisions concerning the effects of nitrogen loading on the activities and well-being of benthic fauna in coastal embayments. The novelty of this approach lies in identifying the response of bioturbation to nitrogen loading in many systems, without costly and time-consuming speciation of benthic fauna, and also in rapidly identifying embayments and aquatic areas with vulnerable fauna. These results are ecologically significant in supporting the hypothesis that benthic organism abundance and activity will peak at mid-levels of nitrogen due to the interplay of food availability and oxygen levels, noting that the critical levels of these factors differ among water bodies.     

Evidence for enhanced hydration on the northern flank of Olympus Mons, Mars

In this paper we report about a small region on the northern scarp of Olympus Mons showing an increase of the 3 μm hydration band in the OMEGA spectra, together with low superficial temperatures. Although water ice clouds can occurs on the flank of big martian volcanoes, radiative transfer modeling indicates that atmospheric water ice alone cannot justify the shape of the observed band. A fit of the 1.9–3 μm absorption features is obtained by hypothesizing that the study region consists of a mixture of dust and water ice covered by an optically thin (τ=0.08 at 3 μm) layer of dust. Thermal modeling also suggests that water ice in this region may be stable during most of the martian year due to the saturation of the atmosphere. If water ice is responsible for the observed spectral behavior, it might consist of a number of ice or snow patches possibly deposited in small depressions.     

An instrument for commissioning the active and adaptive optics of modern telescopes: the Infrared Test Camera for the Large Binocular Telescope

We describe the design, integration, and operation of the infrared test cameras for the commissioning of the Large Binocular Telescope. The design and construction phase lasted slightly more than one year from February 2007 to April 2008 and was the result of a joint collaboration among INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Università di Bologna Dipartimento di Astronomia (Italy) and the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg, Germany). Thereafter, the camera was delivered to the LBT Observatory (USA) for commissioning of the telescope active optics and, more recently, for commissioning of the first light adaptive optics.     

The thermal stability of sideronatrite and its decomposition products in the system Na2O–Fe2O3–SO2–H2O

The thermal stability of sideronatrite, ideally Na₂Fe³⁺(SO₄)₂(OH)·3(H₂O), and its decomposition products were investigated by combining thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, in situ high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction (HT-XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (HT-FTIR). The data show that for increasing temperature there are four main dehydration/transformation steps in sideronatrite: (a) between 30 and 40 °C sideronatrite transforms into metasideronatrite after the loss of two water molecules; both XRD and FTIR suggest that this transformation occurs via minor adjustments in the building block. (b) between 120 and 300 °C metasideronatrite transforms into metasideronatrite II, a still poorly characterized phase with possible orthorhombic symmetry, consequently to the loss of an additional water molecule; X-ray diffraction data suggest that metasideronatrite disappears from the assemblage above 175 °C. (c) between 315 and 415 °C metasideronatrite II transforms into the anhydrous Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃ compound. This step occurs via the loss of hydroxyl groups that involves the breakdown of the [Fe³⁺(SO₄)₂(OH)] _∞ ^2? chains and the formation of an intermediate transient amorphous phase precursor of Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃. (d) for T > 500 °C, the Na₃Fe(SO₄)₃ compound is replaced by the Na-sulfate thenardite, Na₂SO₄, plus Fe-oxides, according to the Na₃Fe³⁺(SO₄)₃ → 3/2 Na₂(SO₄) + 1/2 Fe₂O₃ + SO_x reaction products. The Na–Fe sulfate disappears around 540 °C. For higher temperatures, the Na-sulfates decomposes and only hematite survives in the final product. The understanding of the thermal behavior of minerals such as sideronatrite and related sulfates is important both from an environmental point of view, due to the presence of these phases in evaporitic deposits, soils and sediments including extraterrestrial occurrences, and from the technological point of view, due to the use of these materials in many industrial applications.     

The Relation Among Seismic Activity, Volcanic Rock Emplacement and Bouguer Anomalies in Italy

A digitization has been performed of all volcanic rock fragments, main thrust fronts and fold axes from the 'Synthetic Structural Kinematic Map' as well as of all intrasedimentary magnetic bodies from the map of Cassano et al. These two maps complement each other, and the buried magnetized bodies fill the gaps of volcanic rocks in various regions e.g. in Tuscany. Some other major gaps can be found along the Northern Apennines, the Central and Southern Apennines and the Calabrian arc. A comparison of a map representing the 'Log C – seismic macrozonation index' to the pattern of all volcanic rocks, reveals that more seismic energy is released in those areas where volcanic rocks are absent or where their continuity in space is interrupted. Furthermore seismic activity is inhibited in those areas where minimum values of Bouguer anomalies are recorded.     

Size matters more than method: Visual quadrats vs photography in measuring human impact on Mediterranean rocky reef communities

The performances of two commonly used non-destructive sampling procedures for rocky benthic assemblages (i.e. photography and visually assessed quadrats) were compared. A damaging human activity, date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) harvesting (DMH), was chosen. Directly impacted sites were compared with reference conditions (controls). Both visual quadrats and photography were equally able to detect differences between impacted situations and controls. However, visual quadrats showed high variability among replicates and estimated higher species richness for controls, while photography did so for impacts. Pooling photos in a ‘sum photo quadrat’ showed that differences between the two methods are due to sampling unit size rather than sampling procedure itself. As a small sampling unit is unavoidable with photography, visual quadrats should be preferred in investigating shallow rocky reefs for their larger size; however, longer working time underwater with quadrats does not allow for numerous replicates. Pooling many photos to reach sampling sizes comparable with those of quadrats may be a valid alternative to reconcile image resolution and areal coverage.     

Synthetic ANaB(Na x Li1 − x Mg1)CMg5Si8O22(OH)2 (with x = 0.6, 0.2 and 0) P21/m amphiboles at high pressure: a synchrotron infrared study

The high-pressure behavior of three synthetic amphiboles crystallized with space group P2₁/m at room conditions in the system Li₂O–Na₂O–MgO–SiO₂–H₂O has been studied by in situ synchrotron infrared absorption spectroscopy. The amphiboles have compositions ^ANa ^B(Na _x Li_1 − x Mg₁) ^CMg₅ Si₈ O₂₂(OH)₂ with x = 0.6, 0.2 and 0.0, respectively. The high-P experiments up to 32 GPa were carried out on the U2A beamline at Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY, USA) using a diamond anvil cell under non-hydrostatic or quasi-hydrostatic conditions. The two most intense absorption bands in the OH-stretching infrared spectra can be assigned to two non-equivalent O–H dipoles in the P2₁/m structure, bonded to the same local environment ^M1M3Mg₃–OH–^ANa, and pointing toward two differently kinked tetrahedral rings. In all samples these bands progressively merge to give a unique symmetrical absorption with increasing pressure, suggesting a change in symmetry from P2₁/m to C2/m. The pressure at which the transition occurs appears to be linearly correlated to the aggregate B-site dimension. The infrared spectra collected for amphibole ^B(Na_0.2Li_0.8Mg₁) in the frequency range 50 to 1,400 cm⁻¹ also show a series of changes with increasing pressure. The data reported here support the inference of Iezzi et al. (Am Miner 91:479–482, 2006a) regarding a new high-pressure amphibole polymorph.     

Hillslope-to-valley transition morphology: New opportunities from high resolution DTMs

The search for the optimal spatial scale for observing landforms to understand physical processes is a fundamental issue in geomorphology. Topographic attributes derived from Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) such as slope, curvature and drainage area provide a basis for topographic analyses. The slope–area relationship has been used to distinguish diffusive (hillslope) from linear (valley) processes, and to infer dominant sediment transport processes. In addition, curvature is also useful in distinguishing the dominant landform process. Recent topographic survey techniques such as LiDAR have permitted detailed topographic analysis by providing high-quality DTMs. This study uses LiDAR-derived DTMs with a spatial scale between 1 and 30 m in order to find the optimal scale for observation of dominant landform processes in a headwater basin in the eastern Italian Alps where shallow landsliding and debris flows are dominant. The analysis considered the scaling regimes of local slope versus drainage area, the spatial distribution of curvature, and field observations of channel head locations. The results indicate that: i) hillslope-to-valley transitions in slope–area diagrams become clearer as the DTM grid size decreases due to the better representation of hillslope morphology, and the topographic signature of valley incision by debris flows and landslides is also best displayed with finer DTMs; ii) regarding the channel head distribution in the slope–area diagrams, the scaling regimes of local slope versus drainage area obtained with grid sizes of 1, 3, and 5 m are more consistent with field data; and iii) the use of thresholds of standard deviation of curvature, particularly at the finest grid size, were proven as a useful and objective methodology for recognizing hollows and related channel heads.