Observer presence may alter the behaviour of reef fishes associated with coral colonies

Although underwater visual census (UVC) is the most frequently used technique for quantifying reef fish assemblages, remote video analysis has been gaining attention as a potential alternative. In the South Atlantic Ocean, Millepora spp. (class Hydrozoa) are the only branching coral species; however, little is known about the ecological role that they play for reef fish communities. We compared these two observation methods (remote video and UVC) to estimate reef fish abundance and species richness associated with colonies of the fire‐coral Millepora alcicornis at Tamandaré Reefs, Northeast Brazil. Additionally, the two different techniques were used to compare species behaviour in association with fire‐corals in order to examine the biases associated with each technique and provide useful information for behavioural ecologists studying fish–coral associations. There were no differences in reef fish abundance or species richness sampled by remote video or UVC. However, a significant difference in the behaviour of associated fish was recorded between the two methods. In the presence of a diver carrying out a UVC, fish were observed spending more time sheltered amongst the coral branches compared with passively swimming on coral colonies with the remote video technique. Specifically, on the remote video recordings agonistic interactions between fish and passive swimming accounted for 33.3% and 22.2% of the census time, respectively. By comparison, when observed by a diver fish spent 34.8% of their time sheltering amongst the coral branches. We demonstrate that both techniques are similarly effective for recording fish abundance and species richness associated with fire‐corals. However, differences were observed in the ability of each method to detect the behaviour of coral‐associated fishes. Our findings show that behavioural ecologists studying complex fish–coral associations need to ensure that their aims are clearly defined and that they choose the most appropriate technique for their study in order to minimize methodological biases.     

A multi-tracer approach to delineate groundwater dynamics in the Rio Actopan Basin,Veracruz State,Mexico

Geochemistry and environmental tracers were used to understand groundwater resources, recharge processes, and potential sources of contamination in the Rio Actopan Basin, Veracruz State, Mexico. Total dissolved solids are lower in wells and springs located in the basin uplands compared with those closer to the coast, likely associated with rock/water interaction. Geochemical results also indicate some saltwater intrusion near the coast and increased nitrate near urban centers. Stable isotopes show that precipitation is the source of recharge to the groundwater system. Interestingly, some high-elevation springs are more isotopically enriched than average annual precipitation at higher elevations, indicating preferential recharge during the drier but cooler winter months when evapotranspiration is reduced. In contrast, groundwater below 1,200 m elevation is more isotopically depleted than average precipitation, indicating recharge occurring at much higher elevation than the sampling site. Relatively cool recharge temperatures, derived from noble gas measurements at four sites (11–20 °C), also suggest higher elevation recharge. Environmental tracers indicate that groundwater residence time in the basin ranges from 12,000 years to modern. While this large range shows varying groundwater flowpaths and travel times, ages using different tracer methods (¹⁴C, ³H/³He, CFCs) were generally consistent. Comparing multiple tracers such as CFC-12 with CFC-113 indicates piston-flow to some discharge points, yet binary mixing of young and older groundwater at other points. In summary, groundwater within the Rio Actopan Basin watershed is relatively young (Holocene) and the majority of recharge occurs in the basin uplands and moves towards the coast.     

Sequence hierarchy in a Mesoproterozoic interior sag basin: from basin fill to reservoir scale,the Tombador Formation,Chapada Diamantina Basin,Brazil

The Tombador Formation exhibits depositional sequence boundaries placed at the base of extensive amalgamated fluvial sand sheets or at the base of alluvial fan conglomeratic successions that indicate basinward shifts of facies. The hierarchy system that applies to the Tombador Formation includes sequences of different orders, which are defined as follows: sequences associated with a particular tectonic setting are designated as ‘first order’ and are separated by first‐order sequence boundaries where changes in the tectonic setting are recorded; second‐order sequences represent the major subdivisions of a first‐order sequence and reflect cycles of change in stratal stacking pattern observed at 10² m scales (i.e., 200–300 m); changes in stratal stacking pattern at 10¹ m scales indicate third‐order sequences (i.e., 40–70 m); and changes in stratal stacking pattern at 10⁰ m scales are assigned to the fourth order (i.e., 8–12 m). Changes in palaeogeography due to relative sea level changes are recorded at all hierarchical levels, with a magnitude that increases with the hierarchical rank. Thus, the Tombador Formation corresponds to one‐first‐order sequence, representing a distinct intracratonic sag basin fill in the polycyclic history of the Espinhaço Supergroup in Chapada Diamantina Basin. An angular unconformity separates fluvial‐estuarine to alluvial fan deposits and marks the second‐order boundary. Below the angular unconformity the third‐order sequences record fluvial to estuarine deposition. In contrast, above the angular unconformity these sequences exhibit continental alluvial successions composed conglomerates overlain by fluvial and eolian strata. Fourth‐order sequences are recognized within third‐order transgressive systems tract, and they exhibit distinct facies associations depending on their occurrence at estuarine or fluvial domains. At the estuarine domain, they are composed of tidal channel, tidal bar and overlying shoreface heterolithic strata. At the fluvial domain the sequences are formed of fluvial deposits bounded by fine‐grained or tidal influenced intervals. Fine grained intervals are the most reliable to map in fourth‐order sequences because of their broad laterally extensive sheet‐like external geometry. Therefore, they constitute fourth‐order sequence boundaries that, at the reservoir approach, constitute the most important horizontal heterogeneity and, hence, the preferable boundaries of production zones. The criteria applied to assign sequence hierarchies in the Tombador Formation are based on rock attributes, are easy to apply, and can be used as a baseline for the study of sequence stratigraphy in Precambrian and Phanerozoic basins placed in similar tectonic settings.     

Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find eco-friendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (+34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.     

The P-y Response of Laterally Loaded Flexible Piles in Residual Soil

This paper describes the main features related to lateral displacements with depth after successive lateral loading–unloading cycles applied to the top of reinforced-concrete flexible bored piles embedded in naturally bonded residual soil. The bored piles under study have a cylindrical shape, with 0.40-m in diameter and 8.0-m in length. Both bored piles types (P1 and P2) include an embedded steel pipe section in their center as longitudinal steel reinforcements: pile type P1 has another 16 steel rods as steel reinforcement to concrete while pile type P2 has no further steel reinforcement. Pile type P1 has three times as much stiffness (EI) and four and a half times the plastic moment (M_y) than pile type P2. A similar load–displacement performance was observed at initial loads as for small displacements of both piles. At this initial loading stage, the response of the reinforced concrete piles is a function of the soil characteristics and of a linear elastic pile deformation. During this stage, piles can even be understood as probes for evaluating soil reactions. For larger horizontal displacements, after the concrete section starts undergoing large deformations, approaching the ultimate bending moment, pile behavior and consequently the load–displacement relation starts to diverge for both piles. For pile P1 the values of relevant lateral displacements are extended to about 2.5-m in depth, while for pile P2 lateral displacements are mostly constrained to about 2.0-m in depth. Measurements of horizontal displacements of pile P1 against depth recorded with a slope indicator show that, after unloading, lateral loads at distinct stages (small and near failure loads), exhibits a much higher elastic phase of the system response. An analytical fitting model of soil reaction is proposed based on the measured displacements from slope indicator. The integration of a continuous model proposed for the soil reaction agrees fairly well with the measured displacements up to moments close to plastic limit. Results of load–displacement show that the stiffer pile (P1) was able to mobilize twice as much lateral load compared to pile P2 for a service limit displacement of about 20 mm. The paper shows results that enable the isolation of the structural variable through real scale pile load tests, thus granting understanding of its importance and enabling its quantitative visualization in examples of piles embedded in residual soil sites.

     

Long-term monitoring of the behavior of a talus-colluvium deposit

Landslides - This article describes the behavior of a talus-colluvium deposit up to 70-m thick located in the Serra dos Orgaos, Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil. The monitoring dataset of 13 years...     

Metal-enriched nanoparticles and black carbon: A perspective from the Brazil railway system air pollution

Having a better understanding of air pollutants in railway systems is crucial to ensure a clean public transport. This study measured, for the first time in Brazil, nanoparticles (NPs) and black carbon (BC) on two ground-level platforms and inside trains of the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre (MAPA). An intense sampling campaign during thirteen consecutive months was carried out and the chemical composition of NPs was examined by advanced microscopy techniques. The results showed that highest concentrations of the pollutants occur in colder seasons and influenced by variables such as frequency of the trains and passenger densities. Also, internal and external sources of pollution at the stations were identified. The predominance of NPs enriched with metals that increase oxidative stress like Cd, Fe, Pb, Cr, Zn, Ni, V, Hg, Sn, and Ba both on the platforms and inside trains, including Fe-minerals as hematite and magnetite, represents a critical risk to the health of passengers and employees of the system. This interdisciplinary and multi-analytical study aims to provide an improved understanding of reported adverse health effects induced by railway system aerosols.     

Modelling size effect on rock aggregates strength using a DEM bonded-cell model

Empirical evidence has shown that particle breakage affects the mechanical behaviour of granular materials. The source of this mechanism takes place at the particle scale, and the main consequence on the macromechanical behaviour is increasing compressibility. Due to the inverse correlation between particle size and particle crushing strength, coarse rockfill materials are particularly vulnerable to mechanical degradation due to particle breakage. However, such coarse materials do not fit in standard laboratory devices, and the alternative of large sample testing is usually unavailable or too expensive. Alternatively, recent works have proposed multi-scale approaches using the discrete element method (DEM) to carry out numerical testing of coarse crushable materials, although few studies have focused on size effects. This article presents the application of a DEM bonded-cell model to study particle size-strength correlation on angular rock aggregates. Each particle is modelled by a cluster of perfectly rigid polyhedral cells with Mohr–Coulomb contact law. Constant cell density within particles implies that the presence of potential fragmentation planes increases with size. Therefore, particle strength decreases with size. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis was carried out through 1477 particle crushing simulations in a given particle size. Based on published experimental data on calcareous rock aggregates, part of the simulations were used for calibration, and 97 additional simulations of a coarser size fraction were performed for validation. The results show a good agreement with the empirical data in terms of size effect and data scatter through Weibull statistics.

     

An Automatic Well Planner for Complex Well Trajectories

Mathematical Geosciences - A data-driven automatic well planner procedure is implemented to develop complex well trajectories by efficiently adapting to near-well reservoir properties and geometry....