The impact of vertebrate herbivores on wetland vegetation in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana

Delta islands in the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake deltas in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana, are in an extremely dynamic successional phase. These islands initially supported large marshes dominated by the pioneering plant species Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria platyphylla. A general decrease in vegetated areas has occurred in the delta island marshes in the Atchafalaya Delta since about 1980, while in the Wax Lake Delta portion of the complex the vegetation still flourished. The Atchafalaya Delta provides an interesting setting for the study of herbivory because of the complex interaction of biotic and physical factors operating in this delta. We hypothesized that grazing by herbivores has a marked effect on vegetation in these developing marshes. To test this hypothesis, exclosures were erected on islands in both deltas in September 1985 and January 1986. Each set of exclosure treatments included an openly-grazed control area, an ungrazed area, an area allowing nutria grazing, and one allowing waterfowl grazing in each site. Results of the experiment, based on field sampling of vegetation, indicated decreases in plant biomass and changes in plant species composition in grazed treatments. Waterfowl and nutria reduced biomass aboul equally, but there was a more marked effect in the openly grazed areas. These findings may be extrapolated to sediment diversion areas along the Mississippi River.     

Temperature,composition, and f O2 effects on intersite distribution of Mg and Fe2+ in olivines

Single-crystal X-ray structure refinement of natural olivines equilibrated at high temperature under controlled oxygen fugacity (f _O2) conditions, coupled with a structure-energy model were used to establish the influence of T, f _O2 and bulk chemistry on intracrystalline disorder.The results are: 1) The k _D (k _D = [(Fe M1·Mg M2)/(Fe M2·Mg M1)]) factor describing site population on M1, M2 polyhedra increases from values lower than 1 at T below 400–600° C (depending on composition) to values higher than 1 at higher temperature. 2) The increase of k _D with T is quite regular. 3) At constant temperature and pressure, k _D increases with increasing fayalite content in the mixture; 4) Contrary to previous observations (Will and Nover 1979; Nover and Will 1981) varying f _O2, within the stability range of the substance, has a negligible influence on intracrystalline disorder. 5) As ancillary results, the model confirms the defect scheme of Nakamura and Schmalzried (1983) for the investigated solids. Moreover, it shows that cationic vacancies are always created on M 1 site at the expense of Mg ions, while trivalent iron is always stabilized on M2 site. This explains the marked anisotropies observed in Fe-Mg interdiffusion (Buening and Busek 1973; Misener 1974; Schock et al. 1989).     

Ground water flow analysis of a mid-Atlantic outer coastal plain watershed, Virginia, U.S.A

Models for ground water flow (MODFLOW) and particle tracking (MODPATH) were used to determine ground water flow patterns, principal ground water discharge and recharge zones, and estimates of ground water travel times in an unconfined ground water system of an outer coastal plain watershed on the Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia. By coupling recharge and discharge zones within the watershed, flowpath analysis can provide a method to locate and implement specific management strategies within a watershed to reduce ground water nitrogen loading to surface water. A monitoring well network was installed in Eyreville Creek watershed, a first-order creek, to determine hydraulic conductivities and spatial and temporal variations in hydraulic heads for use in model calibration. Ground water flow patterns indicated the convergence of flow along the four surface water features of the watershed; primary discharge areas were in the nontidal portions of the watershed. Ground water recharge zones corresponded to the surface water features with minimal development of a regional ground water system. Predicted ground water velocities varied between < 0.01 to 0.24 m/day, with elevated values associated with discharge areas and areas of convergence along surface water features. Some ground water residence times exceeded 100 years, although average residence times ranged between 16 and 21 years; approximately 95% of the ground water resource would reflect land use activities within the last 50 years.     

Octahedral cation ordering in olivine at high temperature. I: in situ neutron single-crystal diffraction studies on natural mantle olivines (Fa12 and Fa10)

Crystallographic determinations on natural olivine single crystals of mantle composition and origin, carried out by in situ neutron diffraction at high temperature, show that the octahedrally co-ordinated Fe²⁺ and Mg cations undergo two successive trends of cation ordering with increasing temperature. An initial slight preference of Fe²⁺ for site M1, up to a temperature of about 850?°C, is followed by a reverse-ordering reaction with a site preference exchange between the two cations. The cross-over between the two regimes of ordering, corresponding to a situation of complete disorder, occurs at about 900?°C. Above this temperature Fe²⁺ progressively and strongly segregates into site M2 up to 1300?°C, the practical limit of the experimental setup utilized in the experiments. Care was taken to ensure that no chemical changes occurred in the crystals (i.e. oxidation), as testified by Mössbauer spectroscopy determinations carried out before and after the heat treatment. The cation-ordering behaviour is reflected in temperature-dependent changes of geometrical and atomic displacement parameters occurring in the octahedral sites M1 and M2. A thermodynamical explanation of this behaviour is proposed in terms of a prevailing vibrational contribution to entropy.     

A canonical theory for short GPS baselines. Part IV: precision versus reliability

This contribution is the last of four parts and deals with the link between baseline precision and ambiguity reliability. It is shown analytically how and to what extent the baseline-ambiguity correlation is related to the gain in baseline precision, to the volume of the ambiguity search space, and to the impact of potential integer ambiguity biases. Also, an ambiguity DOP measure is introduced together with its closed-form formulae for the three different single-baseline models. Received: 16 July 1996 / Accepted: 14 November 1996     

Diurnal variability of upper ocean temperature and heat budget in the southern Bay of Bengal during October–November, 1998 (BOBMEX-Pilot)

Time-series data on upper-ocean temperature, Vessel-Mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (VM-ADCP) measured currents and surface meteorological parameters have been obtained for the first time in the southern Bay of Bengal at 7‡N, 10‡N, and 13‡N locations along 87‡E during October–November, 1998 under BOBMEX-Pilot programme. These data have been analysed to examine the diurnal variability of upper oceanic heat budget and to estimate the eddy diffusivity coefficient of heat in the upper layer. Diurnal variation of near-surface temperature is typical at northern location (13‡N) with a range of 0.5‡C while the diurnal range of temperature is enhanced to 0.8‡C at the central location (10‡N) due to intense solar radiation (1050 W/m²), clear skies and low wind speeds. At the southern location (7‡N), the diurnal variation of temperature is atypical with the minimum temperature occurring at 2000 hrs instead of at early morning hours. In general, the diurnal curve of temperature penetrated up to 15 to 20 m with decreasing diurnal range with depth. The VM-ADCP measured horizontal currents in the upper ocean were predominantly easterly/northeasterly at southern location, north/northerly at central location and northwesterly at northern location, thus describing a large-scale cyclonic gyre with the northward meridional flow along 87‡E. The magnitudes of heat loss at the surface due to air-sea heat exchanges and in the upper 50 m layer due to vertical diffusion of heat are highest at the southern location where intense convective activity followed by overcast skies and synoptic disturbance prevailed in the lower atmosphere. This and the estimated higher value (0.0235 m²/s) of eddy diffusivity coefficient of heat in the upper ocean (0–50 m depth) suggest that 1-D processes controlled the upper layer heat budget at the southern location. On the other hand, during the fair weather conditions, at the central and northern locations, the upper layer gained heat energy, while the sea surface lost (gained) heat energy at northern (central) location. This and lower values of eddy diffusivity coefficient of heat (0.0045 and 0.0150 m²/s) and the northward intensification of horizontal currents at these locations suggest the greater role of horizontal heat advection over the 1-D processes in the upper ocean heat budget at these two locations.     

Late Quaternary sea‐level change and evolution of Belfast Lough,Northern Ireland: new offshore evidence and implications for sea‐level reconstruction

The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited to shallow depths and uncertainty exists as to the veracity of modelled sea‐level curves. We use seismic stratigraphy, 39 vibrocores and 26 radiocarbon dates to investigate the deglacial history of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, and reconstruct past RSL. A typical sequence of till, glacimarine and Holocene sediments is preserved. Two sea‐level lowstands (both max. ?40 m) are recorded at c. 13.5 and 11.5k cal a bp . Each is followed by a rapid transgression and subsequent periods of RSL stability. The first transgression coincides temporally with a late stage of Meltwater Pulse 1a and the RSL stability occurred between c. 13.0 and c. 12.2k cal a bp (Younger Dryas). The second still/slowstand occurred between c. 10.3 and c. 11.5k cal a bp . Our data provide constraints on the direction and timing of RSL change during deglaciation. Application of the Depth of Closure concept adds an error term to sea‐level reconstructions based on seismic stratigraphic reconstructions.