A new approach to detecting vegetation and land-use change using high-resolution lipid biomarker records in stalagmites

A hundred-year stalagmite lipid biomarker record from Mechara, southeastern Ethiopia, is presented. The record has been recovered at a 10-yr temporal resolution, marking the first time this has been achieved in stalagmite biomarker work and providing the first opportunity to investigate the relationship between stalagmite lipid records and hydrological transport lags, a vital issue in interpreting palaeoenvironmental signals. Preserved plant-derived n-alkanes and n-alkanols show clear changes in composition over time, relating to known land-use changes in the area, particularly the expansion of agriculture in the early twentieth century. The level of environmental detail provided by this technique, combined with the long-term chronological framework offered by stalagmites, holds significant promise for the investigation of early human environments and their associated climatic and anthropogenic controls.     

Simulation of a Ground Water Recirculation Well with a Dual-Column Laboratory Setup

This paper describes a dual-column laboratory setup consisting of a glass column and a stainless-steel column filled with aquifer material. The setup was used to replicate a ground water recirculation well that serves as an in situ reactor and a combined injection/withdrawal well. The treatment solution consisted of a buffered titanium (III) citrate/vitamin B₁₂ mixture. The first column, representing the well, was made of glass, allowing for visual inspection of the mixing. The stainless-steel column was instrumented with redox (Eh) probes to monitor the changes in redox conditions. The redox measurement showed that, although the sand contained large quantities of iron oxides, the oxidation rate was relatively slow and the titanium solution would remain reduced for some time in the aquifer, continuing to react with the contaminants. This laboratory setup was used to optimize the reagent concentrations and rate of delivery for field implementation. It was found that 4 mM titanium citrate and 3 mg/L vitamin B₁₂ were sufficient to degrade 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane and carbon tetrachloride within one day, but not trichloroethylene, which required five days with 10 mM titanium citrate and 5 mg/L vitamin B₁₂.     

Australia's Box–Ironbark Forests and Woodlands: saving the fragments of a threatened ecosystem

Australia's box–ironbark forests and woodlands once covered about 14 per cent of the State of Victoria on the riverine plains and foothills of the Great Dividing Range. But approximately 83 per cent of the total original habitat has been destroyed and what remains of this significant ecosystem is now highly fragmented and vulnerable to further degradation. Moreover, only 14 per cent of the area remaining is on public land. A 10 year campaign on the part of the environmental movement eventually succeeded in forcing the State government to conduct an independent inquiry into this ecosystem and make recommendations on future management. This paper outlines the innovative public participation process adopted by the Victorian State government and the outcomes of the inquiry. A subsequent compensation package for commercial operations disadvantaged by the proclamation of a series of new national parks is also discussed, as are the shortcomings of a process that can have little or no impact on what happens on private land.     

Iron reduction and alteration of nontronite NAu-2 by a sulfate-reducing bacterium

Iron-rich clay minerals are abundant in the natural environment and are an important source of iron for microbial metabolism. The objective of this study was to understand the mechanism(s) of enhanced reduction of Fe(III) in iron-rich 2:1 clay minerals under sulfate-reducing conditions. In particular, biogenic reduction of structural Fe(III) in nontronite NAu-2, an Fe-rich smectite-group mineral, was studied using a Desulfovibrio spp. strain G-11 with or without amended sulfate. The microbial production of Fe(II) from NAu-2 is about 10% of total structural Fe(III) (30 mM) when Fe(III) is available as the sole electron acceptor. The measured production of Fe(II), however, can reach 29% of the total structural Fe(III) during sulfate reduction by G-11 when sulfate (50 mM) is concurrently added with NAu-2. In contrast, abiotic production of Fe(II) from the reaction of NAu-2 with Na₂S (50 mM) is only ca. 7.5% of the total structural Fe(III). The enhanced reduction of structural Fe(III) by G-11, particularly in the presence of sulfate, is closely related to the growth rate and metabolic activities of the bacteria. Analyses by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy reveal significant changes in the structure and composition of NAu-2 during its alteration by bacterial sulfate reduction. G-11 can also derive nutrients from NAu-2 to support its growth in the absence of amended minerals and vitamins. Results of this study suggest that sulfate-reducing bacteria may play a more significant role than previously recognized in the cycling of Fe, S, and other elements during alteration of Fe-rich 2:1 clay minerals and other silicate minerals.     

The persistence of memory: the fate of ancient sedimentary organic carbon in a modern sedimentary system

The cycle of organic carbon burial and exhumation moderates atmospheric chemistry and global climate over geologic timescales. The burial of organic carbon occurs predominantly at sea in association with clay-sized particles derived from the erosion of uplifted continental rocks. It follows that the history of the fine-grained particles on land may bear on the nature of the organic carbon buried. In this study, the evolution of clay-associated organic matter was followed from bedrock source to the seabed in the Eel River sedimentary system of northern California using natural abundance ¹³C and ¹⁴C tracers. Approximately half of the fine-grained organic carbon delivered to the shelf is derived from ancient sedimentary organic carbon found in the uplifted Mesozoic-Tertiary Franciscan Complex of the watershed. The short residence time of friable soils on steep hill slopes, coupled with rapid sediment accumulation rates on the shelf-slope, act to preserve the ancient organic carbon. A comparable quantity of modern organic carbon is added to particles in the watershed and on the shelf and slope. The bimodal mixture of ancient and modern C in soils and sediments may be characteristic of many short, mountainous rivers. If the Eel River chemistry is typical of such rivers, more than 40 Tg of ancient organic C may be delivered to the world’s oceans each year. A flux of that magnitude would have a significant influence on marine and global C-cycles.     

The neutral carbon distribution in a bipolar outflow/molecular disc source configuration: G35.2−0.74N

Maps are presented of ³ P ₁→³ P ₀[C  i ] and J =2→1 C¹⁸O line emission from the interstellar molecular cloud G35.2−0.74N. The maps are interpreted with reference to a previous model for the structure of the cloud in which opposing jets from a central object, embedded in a rotating interstellar disc, precess and drive a bipolar molecular outflow. The C¹⁸O emission traces the rotating interstellar disc, but the [C  i ] emission shows several features. An unresolved component is observed which probably results from dissociation of CO in the centre of the disc by UV radiation from the central source. Background [C  i ] emission is also observed which shares the rotation of the disc on larger scales. The C  i /CO ratio in these components is typically a few per cent. High-velocity [C  i ] emission, where C  i /CO is high (>0.1–0.4), is observed between the CO molecular outflow and the cavity exacavated by the jet. This material has probably been accelerated by the jet but dissociated by far-UV radiation propagating through the cavity. The C  i /CO ratio falls as the shocked outflow later sweeps up CO.     

Rugate filters for OH-suppressed imaging at near-infrared wavelengths

Ground-based observations at near-infrared wavelengths are severely affected by atmospheric OH bands. Many authors have recognized the potential gains in sensitivity from suppressing these features. Dispersive instruments show some promise but are both expensive and complicated to build. OH suppression filters using single or periodic notches have the advantage of simplicity but significant gains have not yet been realized.   Rugate filters (with graded index inhomogeneous coatings) offer key advantages for astronomical imaging. It is possible to produce a transmission profile comprising a series of irregular and sharply defined bandpasses. We demonstrate through numerical simulation of rugate filters that it should be possible to achieve 95 per cent suppression of the OH features in the J photometric band, while retaining roughly half of the spectral coverage. This would lead to extraordinary gains in sensitivity even for observations of continuum sources. In addition, these filters allow longer exposures before the detector saturates on the sky background. I - and z -band filters can also be envisaged.   In 1-arcsec seeing, a J -band rugate filter used in conjunction with a 4-m telescope would detect a J  = 23 continuum source at 5.0σ in a single 10-min exposure. In comparison, a conventional J filter requires multiple exposures for a 10-min integration time and achieves only a 2.5σ detection. For emission-line sources, the rugate filter has an even bigger advantage over conventional filters, with a fourfold increase in signal-to-noise ratio possible in certain instances.   Astrophysical studies that could benefit from rugate filters are searches for very low-mass stars and galaxy evolution out to z  = 3.     

The Value of Improved ENSO Prediction to U.S. Agriculture

The economic value of long-range weather prediction is measured by the increase in social welfare arising from the use of the prediction in economic decisionmaking. This paper describes a study of the economic value of ENSO prediction to U.S. agriculture. The interdisciplinary study involved the analysis of data and models from meteorology, plant science, and economics under a framework based on Bayesian decision analysis. The estimated annual value of perfect ENSO prediction to U.S. agriculture is $323 million.