Role of superoxide in the photochemical reduction of iron in seawater

We have conducted a series of laboratory studies to investigate the generation of ferrous iron and reactive oxygen species when solutions of seawater containing natural organic matter (NOM) and ferric iron are exposed to simulated sunlight. Total ferrous iron and hydrogen peroxide were measured at nanomolar concentrations with high temporal resolution using chemiluminescence-based methods. In all cases, ferrous iron concentrations rapidly peaked at several nanomoles per litre after a few minutes, and then declined over time, while hydrogen peroxide concentrations increased in a non-linear manner. Although concentrations of both species depended on the concentration of NOM, hydrogen peroxide concentrations were only minimally affected by the presence of iron. Increasing the NOM concentration while the total iron concentration was maintained constant led to an increase in the maximum ferrous iron concentration, suggesting that superoxide-mediated reduction of iron may be a major pathway for ferrous iron formation. This was supported by measurements of superoxide production from irradiation of NOM in the absence of iron and kinetic calculations, as well as an experiment in which superoxide dismutase was added. Further analysis of the data suggested that dissolved oxygen and photo-produced hydrogen peroxide were the primary oxidants of the Fe(II) formed. Thus we propose that superoxide and ferrous iron may be intricately coupled in the system, and that their generation is determined by the supply of NOM available to harvest light and donate electrons.     

Polar Wander and Surface Convergence of Europa's Ice Shell: Evidence from a Survey of Strike-Slip Displacement

Two global issues regarding Europa are addressed by a survey of strike-slip faults. First, a common type of terrain that appears to represent convergent sites of surface removal, which may help compensate for substantial widespread dilation along tectonic bands elsewhere, thus helping resolve the problem of conserving global surface area, is identified. Second, evidence for polar wander may provide the first confirmation of that theoretically predicted phenomenon. These results, among others, come from an extensive survey of strike-slip faults over the portion of the surface where Galileo images at 200-m/pixel resolution were obtained for regional mapping purposes. The images cover two broad swaths that run from the far north to the far south, one in the leading hemisphere and the other in the trailing hemisphere. Among the faults that have been mapped are a fault 170 km long with a strike-slip offset of 83 km, the greatest yet identified on Europa, and a quasi-circular strike-slip fault that surrounds a 500-km-wide plate, which has undergone rotation as a rigid unit. Reconstruction of specific examples of strike slip reveals sites of lateral convergence. Because Europa is unique in many ways, these sites are not similar to compression features on other bodies, which may explain why they had previously been difficult to identify. The distribution of strike slip in both hemispheres, when compared with predictions of the theory of tidal walking, provides evidence for polar wander: The crust of Europa appears to have slid as a single unit relative to the spin axis, such that the site on the crust that was previously at the north rotational pole has wandered, probably during the last few million years, to a location currently in the leading hemisphere, about 30° away from the spin axis. Such polar wander probably also explains symmetry patterns in the distribution of chaotic terrain, pits, and uplift features.     

DNA adducts in hematopoietic tissues and blood of the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) from a creosote-contaminated site in the Elizabeth River, Virginia.

Hydrophobic DNA adducts were examined in liver, anterior kidney, spleen, and blood of tumor-prone mummichog (Fundulus heterclitus) from the creosote-contaminated Atlantic Wood (AW) site (Elizabeth River, Virginia). DNA adducts eluted in a diagonal radioactive zone, characteristic of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure, in all examined tissues of AW fish. Mummichog demonstrated significantly higher levels of DNA adducts in spleen (394 +/- 109 nmol adducts/mol nucleotides) than in liver (201 +/- 77 nmol adducts/mol nucleotides) or anterior kidney (211 +/- 68 nmol adducts/mol nucleotides; P = 0.036). The levels of DNA adducts in the pooled blood (pool of four) were 142 nmol adducts/mol nucleotides. DNA adducts were not detected in the liver, anterior kidney, spleen and blood of fish collected from the reference site (< 2 nmol adducts/mol nucleotides). The high levels of DNA adducts detected in tissues of AW mummichog may be linked to the increased cancer incidence and immunosuppression in this population.     

The role of technology for achieving climate policy objectives: overview of the EMF 27 study on global technology and climate policy strategies

This article presents the synthesis of results from the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum Study 27, an inter-comparison of 18 energy-economy and integrated assessment models. The study investigated the importance of individual mitigation options such as energy intensity improvements, carbon capture and storage (CCS), nuclear power, solar and wind power and bioenergy for climate mitigation. Limiting the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration to 450 or 550 ppm CO₂ equivalent by 2100 would require a decarbonization of the global energy system in the 21^st century. Robust characteristics of the energy transformation are increased energy intensity improvements and the electrification of energy end use coupled with a fast decarbonization of the electricity sector. Non-electric energy end use is hardest to decarbonize, particularly in the transport sector. Technology is a key element of climate mitigation. Versatile technologies such as CCS and bioenergy are found to be most important, due in part to their combined ability to produce negative emissions. The importance of individual low-carbon electricity technologies is more limited due to the many alternatives in the sector. The scale of the energy transformation is larger for the 450 ppm than for the 550 ppm CO₂e target. As a result, the achievability and the costs of the 450 ppm target are more sensitive to variations in technology availability.     

Benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of environmental deterioration in a large microtidal estuary

This study tested the hypothesis that, during recent years, the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the large basin of the Swan-Canning Estuary has changed in ways consistent with deteriorating environmental conditions in that estuary. Between 1986/7 and 2003/4, the compositions of that fauna altered markedly at the species and even family levels. Thus, the densities and number of species of molluscs, and especially of crustaceans, which are particularly susceptible to environmental stress, declined, while those of the more tolerant polychaetes increased. However, taxonomic distinctness declined consistently only at one of the four widely-spaced sampling sites and the dispersion of samples did not differ markedly between periods, indicating that the benthic fauna has not undergone such extreme changes as in the nearby Peel-Harvey Estuary. It is thus proposed that benthic macroinvertebrates can act as important indicators of the severity of environmental degradation in microtidal estuaries in regions where such perturbations are increasing.     

Modeling the impacts of bottom trawling and the subsequent recovery rates of sponges and corals in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska

The abundance of some marine fish species are correlated to the abundance of habitat-forming benthic organisms such as sponges and corals. A concern for fisheries management agencies is the recovery of these benthic invertebrates from removal or mortality from bottom trawling and other commercial fisheries activities. Using a logistic model, observations of available substrate and data from bottom trawl surveys of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, we estimated recovery rates of sponges and corals following removal. The model predicted the observed sponge and coral catch in bottom trawl surveys relatively accurately (R²=0.38 and 0.46). For sponges, the results show that intrinsic growth rates were slow (r=0.107 yr⁻¹). Results show that intrinsic growth rates of corals were also slow (r=0.062 yr⁻¹). The best models for corals and sponges were models that did not include the impacts of commercial fishing removals. Subsequent recovery times for both taxa were also predicted to be slow. Mortality of 67% of the initial sponge biomass would recover to 80% of the original biomass after 20 years, while mortality of 67% of the coral biomass would recover to 80% of the original biomass after 34 years. The modeled recovery times were consistent with previous studies in estimating that recovery times were of the order of decades, however improved data from directed studies would no doubt improve parameter estimates and reduce the uncertainty in the model results. Given their role as a major ecosystem component and potential habitat for marine fish, damage and removal of sponges and corals must be considered when estimating the impacts of commercial bottom trawling on the seafloor.     

Downhole well log and core montages from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was an integral part of an ongoing project to determine the future energy resource potential of gas hydrates on the Alaska North Slope. As part of this effort, the Mount Elbert well included an advanced downhole geophysical logging program. Because gas hydrate is unstable at ground surface pressure and temperature conditions, a major emphasis was placed on the downhole-logging program to determine the occurrence of gas hydrates and the in-situ physical properties of the sediments. In support of this effort, well-log and core data montages have been compiled which include downhole log and core-data obtained from the gas-hydrate-bearing sedimentary section in the Mount Elbert well. Also shown are numerous reservoir parameters, including gas-hydrate saturation and sediment porosity log traces calculated from available downhole well log and core data.