Size distribution of colloidal trace metals and organic carbon during a coastal bloom in the Baltic Sea

The physico-chemical speciation of organic carbon and selected metals was measured during a coastal bloom in Ekhagen Bay, Baltic Sea, using ultrafiltration.One important objective with the study was to see if any depletion of trace metals could be measured in the directly bioavailable fraction (<1000 Da, the soluble low molecular weight fraction, LMW) during a plankton bloom. Filters with five different cut-offs were used (1 kD (1000 Da), 5 kD, 10 kD, 100 kD and 0.22 μm) in order to delineate the size distribution of colloidal organic carbon (COC) and trace metals.During the bloom in May, LMW Al, Co, Cu, Mn and Ni concentrations decreased although the colloidal and particulate concentrations were relatively high. Data show that desorption of colloidal and particulate bound trace metals to the LMW fraction was slower than the process depleting the LMW fraction.Estimates of the maximum active uptake of Cu, Ni and Mn by the phytoplankton, and the loss of non-bioactive Al from the LMW fraction, indicate that processes other than active uptake by phytoplankton must contribute to the observed depletion of trace metals in the LMW fraction. Hence, in order to estimate the bioavailable pool of trace metals for plankton during bloom conditions, these other processes must be understood and quantified.Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP, reflecting sugar-rich phytoplankton exudates) increased around eight times during the plankton bloom. We hypothesize that the formation of TEP is a process that might be important for the transfer of trace metals from the LMW to the particulate fraction during the phytoplankton bloom, but the significance of TEP for this depletion in Baltic Sea surface water remains to be shown.     

Enrichments of the mantle sources beneath the Southern Volcanic Zone (Andes) by fluids and melts derived from abraded upper continental crust

Mafic basaltic-andesitic volcanic rocks from the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) exhibit a northward increase in crustal components in primitive arc magmas from the Central through the Transitional and Northern SVZ segments. New elemental and Sr–Nd-high-precision Pb isotope data from the Quaternary arc volcanic centres of Maipo (NSVZ) and Infernillo and Laguna del Maule (TSVZ) are argued to reflect mainly their mantle source and its melting. For the C-T-NSVZ, we identify two types of source enrichment: one, represented by Antuco in CSVZ, but also present northward along the arc, was dominated by fluids which enriched a pre-metasomatic South Atlantic depleted MORB mantle type asthenosphere. The second enrichment was by melts having the characteristics of upper continental crust (UCC), distinctly different from Chile trench sediments. We suggest that granitic rocks entered the source mantle by means of subduction erosion in response to the northward increasingly strong coupling of the converging plates. Both types of enrichment had the same Pb isotope composition in the TSVZ with no significant component derived from the subducting oceanic crust. Pb–Sr–Nd isotopes indicate a major crustal compositional change at the southern end of the NSVZ. Modelling suggests addition of around 2 % UCC for Infernillo and 5 % for Maipo.     

A cathodoluminescence and petrographical study of marbles from the Pohorje area in Slovenia

Marbles from the Pohorje area in Slovenia are investigated by mineralogical-petrographical analyses of thin sections as well as by cathodoluminescence in order to detect their local variability in texture and mineral assemblages. The CL colours observed in a cold cathode device are related to the manganese contents. An attempt is made to relate the textures seen under CL to mineral reactions during the process of metamorphism. The predominantly calcite marbles from Pohorje exhibit orange luminescence with some dolomite lenses with red luminescence. The typical mineral assemblages are calcite+tremolite+phlogopite or calcite+dolomite+tremolite+phlogopite. Therefore, the estimated temperature from the stability of mineral assemblage is assumed at approximately 500 °C.     

Fe and O isotope composition of meteorite fusion crusts: Possible natural analogues to chondrule formation?

Meteorite fusion crust formation is a brief event in a high‐temperature (2000–12,000 K) and high‐pressure (2–5 MPa) regime. We studied fusion crusts and bulk samples of 10 ordinary chondrite falls and 10 ordinary chondrite finds. The fusion crusts show a typical layering and most contain vesicles. All fusion crusts are enriched in heavy Fe isotopes, with δ⁵⁶Fe values up to +0.35‰ relative to the solar system mean. On average, the δ⁵⁶Fe of fusion crusts from finds is +0.23‰, which is 0.08‰ higher than the average from falls (+0.15‰). Higher δ⁵⁶Fe in fusion crusts of finds correlate with bulk chondrite enrichments in mobile elements such as Ba and Sr. The δ⁵⁶Fe signature of meteorite fusion crusts was produced by two processes (1) evaporation during atmospheric entry and (2) terrestrial weathering. Fusion crusts have either the same or higher δ¹⁸O (0.9–1.5‰) than their host chondrites, and the same is true for Δ¹⁷O. The differences in bulk chondrite and fusion crust oxygen isotope composition are explained by exchange of oxygen between the molten surface of the meteorites with the atmosphere and weathering. Meteorite fusion crust formation is qualitatively similar to conditions of chondrule formation. Therefore, fusion crusts may, at least to some extent, serve as a natural analogue to chondrule formation processes. Meteorite fusion crust and chondrules exhibit a similar extent of Fe isotope fractionation, supporting the idea that the Fe isotope signature of chondrules was established in a high‐pressure environment that prevented large isotope fractionations. The exchange of O between a chondrule melt and an ¹⁶O‐poor nebula as the cause for the observed nonmass dependent O isotope compositions in chondrules is supported by the same process, although to a much lower extent, in meteorite fusion crusts.     

Radionuclides and mercury in the salt lakes of the Crimea

90 Sr concentrations,resulting from the Chernobyl NPP accident,were determined in the salt lakes of the Crimea(Lakes Kiyatskoe,Kirleutskoe,Kizil-Yar,Bakalskoe and Donuzlav),together with the redistribution between the components of the ecosystems.The content of mercury in the waters of the studied reservoirs was also established.Vertical distributions of natural radionuclide activities( 238 U,232 Th,226 Ra,210 Pb,40 K) and anthropogenic 137 Cs concentrations(as radiotracers) were determined in the bottom sediments of the Koyashskoe salt lake(located in the south-eastern Crimea) to evaluate the longterm dynamics and biogeochemical processes.Radiochemical and chemical analysis was undertaken and radiotracer and statistical methods were applied to the analytical data.The highest concentrations of 90 Sr in the water of Lake Kiyatskoe(350.5 and 98.0 Bq/m 3) and Lake Kirleutskoe(121.3 Bq/m 3) were due to the discharge of the Dnieper water from the North-Crimean Canal.The high content of mercury in Lake Kiyatskoe(363.2 ng/L) and in seawater near Lake Kizil-Yar(364 ng/L) exceeded the maximum permissible concentration(3.5 times the maximum).Natural radionuclides provide the main contribution to the total radioactivity(artificial and natural combined) in the bottom sediments of Lake Koyashskoe.The significant concentration of 210 Pb in the upper layer of bottom sediments of the lake indicates an active inflow of its parent radionuclide—gaseous 222 Rn from the lower layers of the bottom sediment.The average sedimentation rates in Lake Koyashskoe,determined using 210 Pb and 137 Cs data,were 0.117 and 0.109 cm per year,respectively.     

Evaluating Tidal Wetland Restoration Performance Using National Estuarine Research Reserve System Reference Sites and the Restoration Performance Index (RPI)

Evaluations of tidal wetland restoration efforts suffer from a lack of appropriate reference sites and standardized methods among projects. To help address these issues, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the NOAA Restoration Center engaged in a partnership to monitor ecological responses and evaluate 17 tidal wetland restoration projects associated with five reserves. The goals of this study were to (1) determine the level of restoration achieved at each project using the restoration performance index (RPI), which compares change in parameters over time between reference and restoration sites, (2) compare hydrologic and excavation restoration projects using the RPI, (3) identify key indicator parameters for assessing restoration effectiveness, and (4) evaluate the value of the NERRS as reference sites for local restoration projects. We found that the RPI, modified for this study, was an effective tool for evaluating relative differences in restoration performance; most projects achieved an intermediate level of restoration from 2008 to 2010, and two sites became very similar to their paired reference sites, indicating that the restoration efforts were highly effective. There were no differences in RPI scores between hydrologic and excavation restoration project types. Two abiotic parameters (marsh platform elevation and groundwater level) were significantly correlated with vegetation community structure and thus can potentially influence restoration performance. Our results highlight the value of the NERRS as reference sites for assessing tidal wetland restoration projects and provide improved guidance for scientists and restoration practitioners by highlighting the RPI as a trajectory analysis tool and identifying key monitoring parameters.     

Carbon and Oxygen Stable Isotope Values and Microfossils at 41.4–4.5 ka BP in Tai Co, Tibet, China, and Their Paleoclimatic Significance

Two sedimentary sections were measured at Tai Co (Co means lake in Tibetan) in western Tibet, China. The two sections are almost all composed of clay carbonate beds except in their lower parts where there are carbonized plants at >10 cm depths and dark-colored carbonate clay and clay at 50–70 cm depths, yielding abundant gastropods, ostracods, and charophytes. The carbon and oxygen stable isotope values of carbonate, ostracods, and charophytes and ecological features of microfossil communities indicate the following climatic change in the area from 41.4 to 4.5 ka BP: at 41.4–26.2 ka BP, the climate was relatively wet; at 26.2–25.5 ka BP, it was slightly warm-dry; at 25.5–22.5 ka BP, it was warm-wet; at 22.5–21.0 ka BP, it was slightly cold-wet; at 20.5–17.5 ka BP, it became cold abruptly and slightly wet, implying the climate of the last glacial maximum; at 17.5–16.0 ka BP, it was slightly cold-dry; at 16.0–11.8 ka BP, it was slightly warm-wet; at 11.8–10.4 ka BP, it was relatively cold-dry, roughly equivalent to the climate of the Younger Dryas, and at 10.4 ka BP, the temperatures began to rise again; at 10.4–9.4 ka BP, it was slightly warm-wet; at 9.4–8.5 ka BP, there occurred short warm-wet oscillations; at 8.5–7.9 ka BP, it was slightly dry-cold, representing a strong temperature-lowering and drying event in the postglacial stage; at 7.8–6.3 ka BP, it was slightly warm-wet; at 6.3–4.5 ka BP, the climate tended to be cold-dry. 4.5 ka BP recorded the maximum aridity since the late part of the late Pleistocene.     

Formation of intracratonic basins by lithospheric shortening and phase changes: a case study from the ultra‐deep East Barents Sea basin

The origin of large subsidence in intracratonic basins is still under debate. We propose a new and self‐consistent model for the formation of those basins, where lithospheric shortening/buckling triggers metamorphism and densification of crustal mafic heterogeneities. We use a forward thermo‐mechanical finite element technique to evaluate this mechanism for the typical example of the East Barents Sea basin (EBB) where a very large and compensated subsidence, accommodating an up to 20‐km‐thick sediment succession, is observed. The lower crust in the dynamic model is modelled with petrologic‐consistent densities for a wet mafic gabbroic composition that depend on pressure and temperature taking into account dehydration at high PT conditions. The model successfully explains the main characteristics of the EBB, notably the large anomalous and fast subsidence during the Late Permian–Early Triassic, its present‐day geometry and the absence of a significant gravity anomaly.     

Holocene Paleoenvironmental Change in the Kenyan Central Rift as Indicated by Micromammals from Enkapune Ya Muto Rockshelter

An assemblage of micromammals, recovered from the Holocene levels of a rockshelter at 2400 m in the montane forest of the Mau Escarpment, were examined with the goal of testing and contributing to prior reconstructions of paleoenvironments in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya. Species representation in the assemblage is consistent with a drying of the Rift Valley lakes in the middle Holocene and suggests a decrease in forest accompanied by expanding grasslands near the site. Changes in the abundance of grassland species suggests an increase in the frequency of fires, probably the result of pastoral burning. The body size of the root rat (Tachyoryctes splendens) decreases from the early Holocene to the middle Holocene, and this may indicate increasing aridity or increasing temperature. We compare measures of species diversity (number of taxa, species richness, and the Shannon diversity index) for both micromammals and macromammals since species diversity may change with paleoenvironmental change. The macromammals show no changes in species diversity that are assignable to paleoenvironmental change, while the micromammals show a trend toward decreasing diversity from the early to middle Holocene, and then show an increase in diversity during the peak of the middle Holocene dry phase, though sample size effects may be confounding the patterning.