Magnitude and variability of Holocene sediment accumulation in Santa Monica Bay,California

The spatial variability of Holocene (past 10,000 years) sediment accumulation in Santa Monica Bay (California) was examined to identify controls sediment trapping in a bathymetrically complex coastal embayment and to provide geologic context for the post-industrial sedimentary record and associated pollution gradients. Sediment chronologies based on downcore AMS 14C dates were used to quantify long-term (millennia) accumulation rates in an effort to elucidate particle-transport pathways and sinks. Sediment accumulation rates for the full range of bayfloor environments (50-630 m water depths) range from 22 to 102 mg/cm(2)/year (15-88 mm/100 year), have an overall mean of 51+/-21 mg/cm(2)/year (1 sigma, n=11), and are comparable to rates reported for adjacent borderland basins. Maximal accumulation rates on the Malibu shelf and within a reentrant to Redondo canyon are interpreted to reflect (1) proximity to sediment sources and (2) localized oceanographic and topographic conditions conducive to sediment trapping and deposition. The 14C-derived accumulation rates are 2-10 times lower than rates determined through (210)Pb geochronology for the same sites in a related study, revealing that Holocene sediment accumulation has been non-steady-state. Santa Monica Bay is an important sink for suspended matter; averaged over the past several millennia a mass of sediment equivalent to 10-80% of the modern annual river supply is sequestered yearly. Net influx of suspended matter derived from the adjacent Palos Verdes shelf is evinced by a concentration gradient of p,p'-DDE in bayfloor sediments, whereas the distribution of anthropogenic silver suggests transport from Santa Monica shelf to the southeastern boundary of the bay. The results of this study provide new insight to the long-term fates of particulate matter in Los Angeles coastal waters.     

Can sodium hypochlorite reduce the risk of species introductions from diapausing invertebrate eggs in non-ballasted ships?

Many transoceanic vessels enter the Great Lakes carrying residual ballast water and sediment that harbours live animals and diapausing eggs. In this study, we examine the potential for sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) to reduce the risk of species introductions from diapausing invertebrate eggs in residual ballast sediment. We collected sediment from three transoceanic vessels and from Lake Erie and exposed them to NaOCl concentrations between 0 and 10,000 mg/L for 24 h. Hatching success was reduced by >89% in all four experiments at 1,000 mg/L relative to unexposed controls. Fewer species hatched at high than at low NaOCl concentrations. Based on an average residual ballast of 46.8 tonnes, the volume of NaOCl required to treat inbound vessels is 374 L. Impacts of NaOCl use could be minimized by neutralization of treated residuals with sodium bisulfite. Further research is needed, however, to evaluate the effect of NaOCl on ballast tank corrosion.     

Trophic structure and functioning in a eutrophic and poorly flushed lagoon in southwestern Taiwan

Tapong Bay, a eutrophic and poorly flushed tropical lagoon, supports intensive oyster culture. Using the Ecopath approach and network analysis, a mass-balanced trophic model was constructed to analyze the structure and matter flows within the food web. The lagoon model is comprised of 18 compartments with the highest trophic level of 3.2 for piscivorous fish. The high pedigree index (0.82) reveals the model to be of high quality. The most-prominent living compartment in terms of matter flow and biomass in the lagoon is cultured oysters and bivalves, respectively. The mixed trophic impacts indicate that phytoplankton and periphyton are the most-influential living compartments in the lagoon. Comparative analyses with the eutrophic and well-flushed Chiku Lagoon and non-eutrophic tropical lagoons show that high nutrient loadings might stimulate the growth and accumulation of phytoplankton and periphyton and therefore support high fishery yields. However, net primary production, total biomass, fishery yields per unit area, and mean transfer efficiency of Tapong Bay were remarkably lower than those of Chiku Lagoon. The lower transfer efficiency likely results from the low mortality of cultured oysters and invasive bivalves from predation or the lower density of benthic feeders constrained by the hypoxic bottom water as a result of poor flushing. This might therefore result in a great proportion of flows to detritus. However, the hypoxic bottom water might further reduce the recycling of the entering detritus back into the food web. In contrast to many estuaries and tropical lagoons, poor flushing of this eutrophic tropical lagoon might induce a shift from detritivory to herbivory in the food web.     

The Discovery of a Second Field Methane Brown Dwarf from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data

We report the discovery of a second field methane brown dwarf from the commissioning data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The object, SDSS J134646.45-003150.4 (hereafter SDSS 1346-00), was selected because of its very red color and stellar appearance. Its spectrum between 0.8 and 2.5 μm is dominated by strong absorption bands of H2O and CH4 and closely mimics those of Gliese 229B and SDSS 162414.37+002915.6 (hereafter SDSS 1624+00), two other known methane brown dwarfs. SDSS 1346-00 is approximately 1.5 mag fainter than Gliese 229B, suggesting that it lies about 11 pc from the Sun. The ratio of flux at 2.1 μm to that at 1.27 μm is larger for SDSS 1346-00 than for Gliese 229B and SDSS 1624+00, which suggests that SDSS 1346-00 has a slightly higher effective temperature than the others. Based on a search area of 130 deg2 and a detection limit of z*=19.8, we estimate a space density of 0.05 pc-3 for methane brown dwarfs with Teff approximately 1000 K in the 40 pc3 volume of our search. This estimate is based on small-sample statistics and should be treated with appropriate caution.     

Macrobenthos habitat mapping in a tidal flat using remotely sensed data and a GIS-based probabilistic model

This paper proposes and tests a method of producing macrofauna habitat potential maps based on a weights-of-evidence model (a probabilistic approach) for the Hwangdo tidal flat, Korea. Samples of macrobenthos were collected during field work, and we considered five mollusca species for habitat mapping. A weights-of-evidence model was used to calculate the relative weights of 10 control factors that affect the macrobenthos habitat. The control factors were compiled as a spatial database from remotely sensed data combined with GIS analysis. The relative weight of each factor was integrated as a species potential index (SPI), which produced habitat potential maps. The maps were compared with the surveyed habitat locations, revealing a strong correlation between the potential maps and species locations. The combination of a GIS-based weights-of-evidence model and remote sensing techniques is an effective method in determining areas of macrobenthos habitat potential in a tidal flat setting.     

Sonophotocatalysis of endocrine-disrupting chemicals

Sonolysis and photolysis often exhibit synergistic effects in the degradation of organic molecules. An assay of fish oocyte maturation provides an appropriate experimental system to investigate the hormonal activities of chemical agents. Oocyte maturation in fish is triggered by maturation-inducing hormone (MIH), which acts on receptors on the oocyte surface. A synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol (DES), possesses inducing activity of fish oocyte maturation, and a widely used biocide, pentachlorophenol (PCP), exhibits a potent inhibitory effect on fish oocyte maturation. In this study, the effects of the combined treatment by sonolysis with photolysis (sonophotocatalysis) to diminish the hormonal activity of DES and the maturation preventing activity of PCP was examined. By sonophotocatalysis, hormonal activity of DES was completely lost within 30min and the inhibiting activity of PCP was lost within 120min. These results demonstrated that sonophotocatalysis is effective for diminishing the endocrine-disrupting activity of chemical agents.     

大别山太湖—马庙断裂带两侧变质地体的增温变质作用

大别山榴辉岩地体以太湖 马庙断裂带为南界。该断裂带近东西走向, 向南倾斜。通过对石榴石中 Ｍｇ 含量由核部向边缘增高的生长环带构造的分析和详细的 Ｐ Ｔ 轨迹的计算表明, 断裂带北侧的榴辉岩和南侧的角闪岩及角闪片麻岩均经历了降压增温变质过程。热榴辉岩由地幔深处的折返和地温梯度的升高为可能的热源。