Evolution of the oceanic plankton

In its evolution through geologic time, the oceanic plankton has reflected many changes in the physical environment while both causing and being affected by evolutionary change in the associated biota. Temporal variations in the vertical and latitudinal habitat partitioning also affected geochemical balances in the oceans and accumulation rates of biogenic sediments, and perhaps the atmospheric oxygen pressure. Advantages of the oceanic plankton habitat that led to its occupation by a varied sequence of organisms include its extensive geographic area, the possibility for rapid dispersal by currents, the availability of resources (ranging from light, carbon dioxide, and dissolved nutrients for the autotrophic organisms to the various lower trophic levels required by the heterotrophs), and the better oxygenation of the upper water layers.Convergent morphology of the plankton represents adaptations for suspension in the water column, for movement within this water mass to increase nutrient uptake, and for protection against grazing or predation. Necessary attributes for cosmopolitan species include eurythermy and euryhalinity. The patchiness of plankton diversity results from small-scale variations in water masses, the low level of interorganism contact or competition, and the possibility of rapid exploitation of favorable conditions by species present in the local area.Parallel evolution, radiation, and extinction of the various components of the oceanic plankton are similar in pattern to an ecologic succession — early evolution and conditions following major periods of extinction being homologous with the physically controlled or immature modern ecosystem associated with high stress levels and characterized by high net but low gross productivity, low diversity but great intraspecific variability, and small biomass. Evolutionary radiation is associated with more stable physical conditions and, like the seral progression, of an ecosystem, results in high diversity but less intraspecific variability. Increased biological interaction leads to higher gross but lower net productivity, hence more efficient energy and resource utilization. The drop in gross oceanic productivity at times of major extinction is associated with low diversity and decreased rate of accumulation of biogenic ooze, hence the apparent worldwide disconformities, as at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, even in the deep sea.     

Applications of an orbiting gravity gradiometer

Considering present attempts to develop a gradiometer with an accuracy between 10⁻³ E and 10⁻⁴ E, two applications for such a device have been studied: (a) mapping the gravitational field of the Earth, and (b) estimating the geocentric distance of a satellite carrying the instrument. Given a certain power spectrum for the signal and 10⁻⁴ E (rms) of white measurement noise, the results of an error analysis indicate that a six-month mission in polar orbit at a height of 200 km, with samples taken every three seconds, should provide data for estimating the spherical harmonic potential coefficients up to degree and order 300 with less than 50% error, and improve the coefficients through degree 30 by up to four orders of magnitude compared to existing models. A simulation study based on numerical orbit integrations suggests that a simple adjustment of the initial conditions based on gradiometer data could produce orbits where the geocentric distance is accurate to 10 cm or better, provided the orbits are 2000 km high and some improvement in the gravity field up to degree 30 is first achieved. In this sense, the gravity-mapping capability of the gradiometer complements its use in orbit refinement. This idea can be of use in determining orbits for satellite altimetry. Furthermore, by tracking the gradiometer-carrying spacecraft when it passes nearly above a terrestrial station, the geocentric distance of this station can also be estimated to about one decimeter accuracy. This principle could be used in combination with VLBI and other modern methods to set up a world-wide 3-D network of high accuracy.     

Management of transboundary water resources: lessons from international cooperation for conflict prevention

Tensions over freshwater resources may become more frequent as pressures on water resources grow due to increased demand and variability of rainfall. Conflicts may take place between or within countries or between competing sectoral users. This paper focuses on institutional approaches for enhancing cooperation between countries for sustainable development of transboundary freshwater bodies and contributing basins. It is assumed that instead of being zones of conflict, shared water resources can provide a basis for cooperation and benefit–sharing provided that threats to the international waters are recognized and collaborative structures are created. The paper draws upon experiences gained within the international waters focal area of the Global Environment Facility, the main funding mechanism for countries to support the environmental management of transboundary water resources. Lessons for promoting peaceful cooperation for environmental management, benefit–sharing and sustainable use of transboundary freshwater resources are highlighted through examples from Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Experience shows the importance of processes that bring together all sectors and actors whose actions affect the transboundary waterbody at regional, national and local levels. The development of a science–based diagnostic analysis is essential to identify the threats to the transboundary ecosystem and to break down the issues into manageable parts with the aim of developing a strategic action programme. Ensuring political commitment that can result in institutional, policy and legal reforms in the countries concerned is the key to sustainable development of the transboundary resource.     

The Hoover Index of Population Concentration: A Correction and Update

Geographers have made extensive use of the Hoover index to measure the evenness with which population is distributed across territorial units. This paper corrects an error in the original county-based series for the United States, presented by Duncan et al. In Statistical Geography (1961) and often reproduced. We extend the series backward and forward in time to show population deconcentration at the county level from at least 1890 until 1910 (as low-density areas grew rapidly), a second round of deconcentration corresponding to the nonmetropolitan turnaround of the 1970s, and a third, much weaker round beginning around 1990 along with a modest resurgence of nonmetropolitan population growth. When states are used as the basis for computing the index, deconcentration has been a consistent pattern, except for 1940 to 1970, and for this exception we offer an explanation. We attempt to put these findings in the context of long- and short-term patterns of metropolitanization.     

Magmatic Differentiation of Io

If Io has been volcanically active through much of its history, it must be highly differentiated. We present an initial attempt to quantify the differentiation of the silicate portion of Io. We suggest that, on average, each part of Io has undergone about 400 episodes of partial melting. We employ a widely used thermodynamic model of silicate melts to examine the effect of such repeated differentiation. Despite many caveats, including a grossly oversimplistic model of the differentiation process, uncertainties in the initial composition of the mantle, and the failure to model more than four episodes of partial melting, we are able to make some robust conclusions. Io should have a roughly 50 km thick, low density (2600–2900 kg m⁻³), alkali-rich, siliceous crust composed primarily of feldspars and nepheline. The crustal magmas should have relatively low melting temperatures (<1100 °C). The bulk of the mantle should be essentially pure forsterite (magnesian olivine). It is possible that the denser iron- and calcium-rich materials are segregated into a lower mantle and thus no longer involved in surface processes. These model predictions are generally consistent with the observations of Io. The enrichment of the crust in alkalis may help to explain the composition of the neutral clouds around Io. The failure to detect silicates at the surface of Io to date might be due in part to the difficulty in detecting Fe-poor minerals such as nepheline, feldspars, and forsterite via near-IR spectroscopy. Many hot spot temperatures are too high for sulfur alone but are in line with silica-rich melts. The mountains on Io could be manifestations of large buoyant plutons. The highest temperature lavas may be the result of melts from the depleted mantle making their way to the surface from great depths.     

A harmonic analysis of lunar topography

A global lunar topographic map has been derived from existing Earth-based and orbital observations supplemented in areas without data by a linear autocovariance predictor. Of 2592 bins, each 5° square, 1380 (64.7% by area) contain at least one measurement. A spherical harmonic analysis to degree 12 yields a mean radius of 1737.53 ± 0.03 km (formal standard error) and an offset of the center of figure of 1.98±0.06 km toward (19±2)°S, (194±1)°E. A Bouguer gravity map, derived from a 12-degree free-air gravity model and the present topography data, is presented for an elevation of 100 km above the mean surface. It is confirmed that the low-degree gravity harmonics are determined primarily by surface height variations and only secondarily by lateral density variations.     

Zur Thermodynamik der Orogenese

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

I. Erdöl Ergebnisse der erdölgeologischen Erforschung Nordwestdeutschlands 1932–1947, ein Überblick

Ohne Zusammenfassung