The globular cluster system of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy: the age of Terzan 8

We present deep V - and I -band CCD photometry of the globular cluster Terzan 8, recently found to be a member of the globular cluster system of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We accurately estimate the metallicity of Terzan 8, and provide the first direct determination of the colour excess toward this cluster. Our robust age estimate confirms that this cluster is indeed coeval with typical Galactic globulars of comparable metal content, and thus it is probably significantly older than at least two other Sagittarius clusters, Terzan 7 and Arp 2. The implications of this result on the star formation history of the Sagittarius galaxy are briefly discussed.     

The figure of the earth — Changes in concepts

The search for the Figure of the Earth is rooted in the age-old wonder about the world we live in. The ancient mythical notions have developed, under the tutelage of Greek systematic thought, into specific questions of the shape and size of the Earth. The history of these questions, now spanning more than two millenia, shows a continuous refinement in formulation, as each bona fide answer prompted refined measurements which, in turn, started a new round of problems. The change in concept of what one was looking for was, and still is, closely connected with the technical capability and its potential for further development. This change in concept is traced here from ancient times to the present throungh some of its milestones: Anaximander's partly invisible celestial sphere and Pythagoras' spherical Earth; Eratosthenes' exemplary combination of astronomy and land surveying for the dual purpose of determining the size of the spherical Earth and making a map of the habitable world; the identical dual purpose followed by the Académie Royale des Sciences in the 17th century, but on a more sophisticated technical level; the challenge to the spherical concept by Newton's gravitational theory and the absorption of that theory into a wider concept of the Figure of the Earth; the acknowledgment of the irregular geoid by Gauss, Bessel, and Helmert, and the changed significance of the ellipsoid; Heiskanen's and Vening Meinesz' ‘Basic Hypothesis of Geodesy’ concerning the hydrostatic equilibrium of the Earth, and O'Keefe's contradiction on the basis of satelite data; the dream of global surveys come true through satellite geodesy and the accompanying inclusion of the outer gravity field of the Earth into the concept of its Figure; and lastly, the present and projected capability of high precision measurement and the widening of the concept of the Figure of the Earth from 3-dimensional rigidity to 4-dimensional time-dependence.     

Upper Limit of Iodine Oxide in the Lower Stratosphere

It has been suggested that iodine oxides, IOx, could play a significant role in the ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere. To investigate this suggestion, spectra from nine SAOZ uv-visible spectrometer balloon flights were examined for the IO absorption signature between 405 and 450 nm. IO was not detected, either at mid- or high latitude, in the morning or the evening, in summer or winter. An upper limit of 0.2 parts per trillion by volume (pptv) at 20 km and 0.1 pptv at 15 km at the 95% confidence level (2), was derived from the best measurements at 90° SZA at sunset and sunrise. Since a photochemical model shows that 70% of inorganic iodine should be in the form IO at that time, it is concluded that unless iodine chemistry is different from that assumed at the moment, the role of iodine in stratospheric ozone depletion is small.     

Local disappearance of bivalves in the Azores during the last glaciation

The Pleistocene (Eemian) outcrops of Lagoinhas and Prainha, located at Santa Maria Island (Azores), were investigated and their fossil mollusc content reported. These studies revealed that the last glaciation affected two groups of molluscs: the ‘warm‐guest’ gastropods with West African or Caribbean affinities (e.g. Conus spp., Cantharus variegatus, Bulla amygdala, Trachypollia nodulosa) and shallow bivalve species mainly associated with sandy habitats (Ensis minor, Lucinella divaricata, and probably Laevicardium crassum). In this paper we focus on this group of bivalves, which has since locally disappeared from the Azores. We relate the local disappearance of these bivalves in the Azores with the lack of sand in the shelf. The specific characteristics of the Santa Maria shelf combined with the sea‐level drop during the Weichselian prevented deposition of the lowstand deposits and permitted erosion of the previous ones, leaving the shelf without a sediment cover. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contribution of SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology to unravelling the evolution of Brazilian Neoproterozoic fold belts

The South-American continent is constituted of three major geologic–geotectonic entities: the homonym platform (consolidated at the end of the Cambrian), the Andean chain (essentially Meso-Cenozoic) and the Patagonian terrains, affected by tectonism and magmatism through almost all of the Phanerozoic. The platform is constituted by a series of cratonic nuclei (pre-Tonian, fragments of the Rodinia fission) surrounded by a complex fabric of Neoproterozoic structural provinces.     

Mobility of metals in nickel mine spoil materials

An understanding of the biogeochemical behaviour of metals in mine spoil materials is a prerequisite to rehabilitate Ni mining sites. The objective of this study was to characterize the fate of metals in different Ni ore spoil materials as influenced by hydrological conditions and fertilisation practices. In tropical ultramafic complexes, the different stages of lateritic weathering lead to two types of ores, and therefore, to two spoil types. They are mainly either a clay-rich saprolite, so-called “garnierite”, enriched in phyllosilicates, or a limonitic material, enriched in Fe oxides. Lysimeter columns were designed to monitor leaching waters through both spoil materials. The garnieritic spoil released higher concentrations of Mg (mean = 2.25 mg L⁻¹), Ni (0.39 mg L⁻¹) and Cr (1.19 mg L⁻¹) than the limonitic spoil (Mg = 0.5 mg L⁻¹; Ni = 0.03 mg L⁻¹ and Cr = 0.25 mg L⁻¹). Chromium was mainly in an anionic form in leaching solutions. As exchangeable pools of Cr(VI) in limonite (980 mg kg⁻¹ of KH₂PO₄-extractable Cr) are considerable its release in water may still occur in the case of a pH increase. In mixed spoil, metal concentrations were almost as low as in the limonitic one. The effect of mineral-N fertilisation was a strong release of cations (Ni, Mg) into the leachate. Phosphate amendment did not affect the soil solution composition under experimental conditions.     

Proximity to ice fields and lake depth as modulators of paleoclimate records: a regional study from southwest Yukon,Canada

Pronounced climate warming during the past century has been well documented in high-latitude regions. Nonetheless, considerable heterogeneity exists in northern climate trends. We examined the roles of cryospheric landscape and lake depth in modulating the rate and magnitude of local climate responses through a paleolimnological study of lakes from southwest Yukon, Canada. By sampling lakes at varying distances from the Wrangell-St. Elias ice fields, we hypothesized that, for lakes of similar maximum depth, sites closest to the ice fields would be relatively complacent in terms of their chironomid and diatom assemblage changes over the past ~200 years. This hypothesis is based on the moderating effect of the glaciers on local climate, which would be most pronounced in the lakes nearest to the ice fields. However, given the known ecological differences between deep and shallow lakes, we further predicted that, for a given distance from the ice fields, a sediment record from a shallower lake would show the greatest change in stratigraphic subfossil assemblages. Because of the complicated shape of the ice fields, we applied the longitude for each site (which decreases from west to east) to approximate the proximity of our study lakes to the ice fields. Consistent with our predictions, we observed a space-transgressive pattern in the chironomid assemblage turnover that was associated with their proximity to the ice fields (r = ?0.75, P = 0.034, n = 8) across lakes of similar depth (mean maximum depth ± 1, SE = 18.1 ± 2.6 m). Considering a broader network of lakes that represented a greater range in maximum depth (4.9–29 m), we found that differences in subfossil chironomid assemblages between the modern and ca. AD 1800 sediment layers were strongly related to lake depth (r = ?0.77, P < 0.001, n = 15), but failed to detect a significant relationship with latitude or longitude (i.e. our proxy for proximity to the ice fields). Similarly, our comparative high-resolution analyses of two lakes with distinct lake morphometries, but similar proximities to the ice fields, demonstrated the predicted contrasting pattern: we observed pronounced post-1880 changes in the biotic assemblages in the shallow lake and a muted and delayed response (i.e. ~1970s) in the deeper lake. Our findings confirm that cryospheric landscape features can strongly modulate regional climate. Furthermore, our work shows that investigators need to be conscious of how climate change affects the structure and functioning of lakes of different typologies, which influences the way in which paleoclimate signals are recorded and interpreted.     

Land use dynamics in Brazilian La Plata Basin and anthropogenic climate change

The La Plata Basin (LPB) is one of the most important regions for agriculture and livestock production in South America, playing a central role in the world food production and food security. Within its borders is also located the whole Brazilian Pantanal region. Identifying the most important land use sectors in LPB as well as the changes observed in the past years is fundamental to recognize which areas of the basin might be more vulnerable to climate change in order to design adaptation strategies. A general characterization of land use and livestock production of Brazilian LPB was done by using the System of Automatic Retrieving (SIDRA) of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) platform as the major source of data. It was observed expressive increases in land areas used for temporary crops, such as soybean, sugarcane, and maize, as well as increases in poultry and swine production. These important changes in agricultural land use and livestock production are currently associated to non-climatic drivers, but this dynamic might be strongly affected by the consequences of climate change and variability, with negative socio-economic impacts for the whole region.