Diurnal and tidal patterns of carbon uptake and calcification in geniculate inter‐tidal coralline algae

Research on coralline algal responses to ocean acidification and other environmental stressors has increased in recent years as coralline algae is thought to stand a higher chance of being affected by acidification stress than other macroalgae. To provide context and enhance the existing eco‐physiological framework for climate change studies, it is important to understand the effects of non‐extreme stressors experienced regularly by inter‐tidal coralline algae. In this study, we tested the potentially interacting effects of diurnal and tidal treatments on calcification in the geniculate coralline algae Corallina frondescens and Corallina vancouveriensis using ¹³C‐labeled bicarbonate. Both species deposited more calcium carbonate during the day than at night, and also when submerged (high tide) compared with when emerged (low tide) in their apical and mature segments (intergenicula). These results indicate that inter‐tidal coralline algae do in fact pay a cost for living inter‐tidally at the edge of an adaptive zone.     

Numerical models of ionic diffusion in one and three dimensions: application to dehydration of mantle olivine

The hydrogen content of nominally anhydrous minerals is of great interest, because it can influence many physical and mechanical properties of mantle rocks. Moreover, the hydrogen diffusion profiles can be used to constrain timescales related to magma eruptions. Here, we report models of ionic diffusion for trace elements in anisotropic crystals and apply them to hydrogen diffusing out of mantle-derived olivine. We first compare and discuss the characteristics of 1D and 3D models and show that only 3D anisotropic diffusion models can lead to diffusion profiles exhibiting non-equilibrium plateau at the center of the solid along the slowest axis, as measured in natural samples. In a second part, we discuss the differences between hydration and dehydration of olivine for diffusion that is linked to two different atomic sites involved in hydrogen mobility. Finally, we apply our 3D anisotropic model to previous results on mantle-derived olivine from Pali-aike to better characterize diffusion coefficients and their anisotropy that could be relevant for dehydration of olivine. Our results show that dehydration has to be strongly anisotropic, with a fast [100] axis and a significantly slower [001] axis.     

Nitrogenase activity and estimates of nitrogen fixation by freshwater benthic blue‐green algae

The sandy substrate of Lake Taharoa (west coast, North Island, New Zealand ‐ 35°50'S, 173°41'E) is covered by communities of filamentous algae that extend from the exposed beach down to 21 m depth. The algae bind the sand to form crusts and mats which may break off as discrete plates. The dominant species are the blue‐greens Microcoleus, Nostoc, Phormidium, Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Scytonema, Stigonema, Shizothrix, Calothrix, Dichothrix, Tolypothrix, and Anabaena, with occasional high concentrations of the desmid Cylindrocystis. Nitrogenase activity, measured by acetylene reduction, showed a wide range of rates (4–150 μmol C₂H₄ m^‐2h^‐1). Estimates of annual rates of nitrogen fixation by the Taharoa communities are comparable with those for periphytic blue‐green algae‐dominated systems reported elsewhere.     

Subtidal Galeolaria hystrix (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) reefs in Paterson Inlet,Stewart Island,New Zealand

Serpulid patch reefs of Galeolaria hystrix Mörch, 1863 were found in water depths of 9–16 m in Big Glory Bay, Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island, and here we report preliminary studies of these important habitat‐formers. This is the first observation of this species in subtidal patch reefs; 114 reefs were noted in a survey of 28 000 m². Most reefs were 1–5 m in diameter, and up to 1.5 m high. Up to 65% of the serpulid tubes were occupied by living G. hystrix during a mid‐winter diving survey; 64% of reefs observed were whole, whereas 36% were broken or dead. Radiometric dating of a basal specimen of reef carbonate showed it to be less than 50 years old. Production of high‐Mg calcite, ranging from 9 to 11 wt% MgCO3, by G. hystrix may be as much as 11 kg CaCO3 m^‐2y^‐1, but was not reflected in surrounding sediments, which were dominantly terrigenous muds. A rich reef fauna, both sessile and motile, was associated with the reefs. Further study of these unusual temperate reefs is strongly recommended.     

Selective separation of very fine particles at a planar air–water interface

Selective fine particle separation is a key unit operation in the mineral and related industries. In flotation, the capture of fine particles by bubbles is inefficient due to their low mass and momentum, which result in low particle–bubble collision efficiency. We demonstrate that it is possible to selectively separate a mixture of very fine hydrophobic graphite and hydrophilic quartz particles by direct contact with an air–water interface without a particle–bubble collision step involved. We demonstrate that it is possible to scale-up the process from a simple batch to a continuous process. Good selective separation of graphite from quartz gangue could be obtained under continuous conditions.     

Springtime changes in snow chemistry lead to new insights into mercury methylation in the Arctic

Seasonal snow is an active media and an important climate factor that governs nutrient transfer in Arctic ecosystems. Since the snow stores and transforms nutrients and contaminants, it is of crucial importance to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of contaminant cycling within the snowpack and its subsequent release to catchments via meltwater. Over the course of a two-month field study in the spring of 2008, we collected snow and meltwater samples from a seasonal snowpack in Ny-Ålesund, Norway (78°56′N, 11°52′E), which were analyzed for major inorganic ions and some organic acids, as well as total, dissolved, bioavailable mercury (THg, DHg, BioHg, respectively) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) species. We observe a seasonal gradient for ion concentrations, with surface samples becoming less concentrated as the season progressed. A significant negative correlation between BioHg and MMHg was observed in the snowpack. MMHg was positively and significantly correlated to methanesulfonate concentrations. Based on these results, we propose a new model for aerobic methylation of mercury involving species in the dimethylsulfoniopropionate cycle.     

Tectonic implications of new single zircon Pb-Pb evaporation data in the Lossogonoi and Longido ruby-districts,Mozambican metamorphic Belt of north-eastern Tanzania

Three single zircon Pb-Pb evaporation dating studies were performed on felsic orthogneisses and migmatites from the Longido and Lossogonoi ruby districts, Mozambique Belt of north-eastern Tanzania, in order to better constrain the geological setting of gemstone mineralizations. Igneous emplacement ages of protoliths ranging between 2636 and 2448 Ma document for the first time the presence of a Neoarchean to Lower Paleoproterozoic (Siderian) basement reworked in the Late Neoproterozoic Mozambique Belt of north-eastern Tanzania. This ancient crust of unknown dimension is well documented farther south, but also in south-eastern Kenya. A shearing event under high-grade amphibolite facies conditions, postdating the Pan-African metamorphic peak at 640 Ma and following nappes emplacement is demonstrated at ca. 610 Ma from metamorphic zircons of Lossogonoi district. In Lossogonoi district, ruby crystallizes during this last stage of deformation.