Life-stage differences in the diet of Parabroteas sarsi (Daday) (Copepoda, Calanoida): A field study

The diet of P. sarsi in different life-stages from copepodid I to adult was investigated. Gut contents of copepodid I to II consisted mainly of algae such as diatoms and dinoflagellates. From copepodid III to adult stages the composition of the diet changed towards the inclusion of nauplii, cladocerans and copepods. The importance of the algae on the diet decreased with the inclusion of the prey items. Copepods were the most important components of the diet from C V to adult. Differences in the capture and ingestion of cladocerans and copepods were found. Diet of P. sarsi can be characterized as diverse consisting of diatoms, phagotrophic algae, protozoans, rotifers and nauplii from C I to C III and consisting mainly of carnivorous items from C IV to adult. The ability to eat a variety of food allows the copepods to modify their diet with varying conditions in the food environment. The effect of these diversity in the diet seems to be advantageous, specially in stressed environments imposed by episodes of drying.     

Beach Litter Sampling Strategies: is there a ‘Best’ Method?

Ten methods for sampling beach litter were tested on 16 beaches located around the Firth of Forth, Scotland in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the various methods. Both fresh and/or accumulated litter were sampled. Some methods were more effective for recording gross amounts of litter. Maximum litter counts could be obtained by surveying the top boundary of the beach (e.g. vegetation line, retaining wall, rocks). Lowest amounts were obtained by surveying one five metre wide belt transect from the vegetation line to the shore. Some bias towards highlighting particular litter types was shown by specific methods. It was concluded that there were advantages and disadvantages for each method and that the aims of the study would in the end determine the method.     

Factors and mechanisms of chemical composition formation of saline lakes in West Mongolia

正All the lakes are accumulative systems for the various chemical elements.However,the ratios of the elements in different lake types are very different.It is generally accepted that the composition of lake water determined by     

Anatomy and facies distribution of terminal lobes in ephemeral fluvial successions: Jurassic Tordillo Formation,Neuquén Basin,Argentina

In terminal fluvial-fan systems, characteristic proximal to distal variations in sedimentary architectures are recognized to arise from progressive downstream loss of water discharge related to both infiltration and evaporation. This work aims to elucidate downstream trends in facies and architecture across the medial and distal zones of terminal-fan systems, which record transitions from deposits of channel elements to lobe-like and sheet-like elements. This is achieved via a detailed characterization of ancient ephemeral fluvial deposits of the well-exposed Kimmeridgian Tordillo Formation (Neuquén Basin, Argentina). The fine sand-prone and silt-prone succession associated with the medial to distal sectors of the system has been studied to understand relationships between depositional processes and resulting architectures. Facies and architectural-element analyses, and quantification of resulting sedimentological data at multiple scales, have been undertaken to characterize sedimentary facies, facies transitions, bed types, architectural elements and larger-scale architectural styles. Eight bed types with distinct internal facies transitions are defined and interpreted in terms of different types of flood events. Channelized and non-channelized architectural elements are defined based on their constituent bed types and their external geometry. The most common elements are terminal lobes, which are composite bodies within which largely unconfined sandy deposits are stacked in a compensational manner; a hierarchical arrangement of internal components is recognized. Proximal feeder-channel avulsion events likely controlled the evolution of terminal-lobe elements and their spatiotemporal shifts. Stratigraphic relations between architectural elements record system-wide trends, whereby a proximal sector dominated by channel elements passes downstream via a gradational transition to a medial sector dominated by sandy terminal-lobe elements, which in turn passes further downstream to a distal sector dominated by silty terminal lobe-margin and fringing deposits. This work enhances current understanding of the stratigraphic record of terminal fluvial systems at multiple scales, and provides insight that can be applied to predict the facies and architectural complexity of terminal fluvial successions.     

Polarization of the CMB Photons Crossing the Galaxy Clusters

In this paper, I investigate a local effect of polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in clusters of galaxies, induced by the Thomson scattering of an anisotropic radiation. A local anisotropy of the CMB is produced by some scattering and gravitational effects, as, for instance, the Sunyaev Zel‘dovich effect, the Doppler shift due to the cluster motion and the gravitational lensing. The resulting anisotropy ΔI/I depends on the physical properties of the clusters, in particular on their emissivity in the X band on their size, on their gravitational potential and on the peculiar conditions characterizing the gas they contain. By solving the Boltzmann radiative transfer equation in presence of such anisotropies I calculate the average polarization at the centre of some clusters, namelyA2218, A576 and A2163, whose properties are quite well known. I prove that the gravitational effects due to the contraction or to the expansion have some importance, particularly for high density structures; moreover, the peculiar motion of the cluster, considered as a gravitational lens, influences the propagation of the CMB photons by introducing a particular angular dependence in the gravitational anisotropy and in the scattering integrals. Thus, the gravitational and the scattering effects overally produce an appreciable local average polarization of the CMB, may be observable through a careful polarization measurements towards the centres of the galaxy clusters. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The first known natural occurrence of calcium monoaluminate,in a calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusion from the CH chondrite Northwest Africa 470

Abstract— Natural calcium monoaluminate, CaAl₂O₄, has been found in a grossite‐rich calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusion (CAI) from the CH chondrite Northwest Africa 470. The calcium monoaluminate occurs as colorless ～10 μm subhedral grains intergrown with grossite, perovskite, and melilite. Nebular condensation is the most likely origin for the precursor materials of this CAI, but calculations suggest that dust/gas ratios substantially enhanced over solar are required to stabilize CaAl₂O₄.     

Experimental simulation of oxygen isotopic exchange in olivine and implication for the formation of metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites

We have conducted hydration–dehydration experiments on terrestrial olivine to investigate the behavior of oxygen isotopic fractionation to test the hypothesis that multiple cycles of aqueous and thermal processing on a parent asteroid comprise a genetic relationship between CM2s and metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites (MCCs). Two experiments were undertaken. In the first experiment, serpentine was obtained by hydrating terrestrial olivine (Fo_90.9) in the laboratory. During this experiment, olivine was reacted with isotopically heavy water (δ¹⁸O 21.5‰) at T = 300 °C,  = 300 bar, for 100 days. The oxygen isotopic composition of the experimental serpentine was enriched in ¹⁸O (by 10 ‰ in δ¹⁸O) due to exchange of oxygen isotopes between olivine and the ¹⁸O‐rich water. Dehydrated serpentine was then produced during laboratory heating experiment in vacuum, at T = 930 °C, for 1 h. The oxygen isotopic composition of the dehydrated serpentine was enriched in ¹⁸O by a further 7 ‰. The net result of the hydration–dehydration process was an enrichment of ¹⁸O in the final material by approximately 17‰. The new experimental results suggest that the oxygen isotopic compositions of MCCs of the Belgica‐like group, including Dhofar 225 and Dhofar 725, could be derived from those of typical CM2 chondrites via several cycles of hydration–dehydration caused by aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism within their parent asteroids.     

Determination of cosmology and evolution from K-band magnitude–redshift and number count observations

We determine cosmological and evolutionary parameters from the 3CR K -band Hubble diagram and K -band number counts, assuming that the galaxies in question undergo pure luminosity evolution. Separately the two data sets are highly degenerate with respect to choice of cosmological and evolutionary parameters, but in combination the degeneracy is resolved. Of models that either are flat or have  Ω_Λ=0  , the preferred ones are close to the canonical case  Ω_{cold  matter}=1  ,  Ω_Λ=0  , with luminosity evolution amounting to 1 mag brighter at   z =1  .     

The Chelyabinsk meteorite: Thermal history and variable shock effects recorded by the 40Ar-39Ar system

We studied three lithologies (light and dark chondritic and impact melt rock) differing in shock stage from the LL5 chondrite Chelyabinsk. Using the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating technique, we identified low- and high-temperature reservoirs within all samples, ascribed to K-bearing oligoclase feldspar and shock-induced jadeite–feldspar glass assemblages in melt veins, respectively. Trapped argon components had variable ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios even within low- and high-temperature reservoirs of individual samples. Correcting for trapped argon revealed a lithology-specific response of the K-Ar system to shock metamorphism, thereby defining two distinct impact events affecting the Chelyabinsk parent asteroid (1) an intense impact event ~1.7 ± 0.1 Ga ago formed the light–dark-structured and impact-veined Chelyabinsk breccia. Such a one-stage breccia formation is consistent with petrological observations and was recorded by the strongly shocked lithologies (dark and impact melt) where a significant fraction of oligoclase feldspar was transformed into jadeite and feldspathic glass; and (2) a young reset event ~30 Ma ago particularly affected the light lithology due to its low argon retentivity, while the more retentive shock-induced phases were more resistant against thermal reset. Trapped argon with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios up to 1900 was likely incorporated during impact-induced events on the parent body, and mixed with terrestrial atmospheric argon contamination. Had it not been identified via isochrons based on high-resolution argon extraction, several geochronologically meaningless ages would have been deduced.