Oyster (Crassostrea virginica,Gmelin) spat settlement and copper in aufwuchs

Oysters from paired sites of high and low spatfall at three mid-Chesapeake Bay locations were analyzed for tissue copper and tissue zinc as well as copper in aufwuchs scraped from the upper (right valve) shell surface. Paired sites had no significant differences in oyster tissue copper, aufwuchs copper or oyster tissue copper-zinc ratio. In the laboratory, natural aufwuchs material on oyster shell rapidly concentrated copper up to 10× from copper-enriched estuarine water, with a partition coefficient (Ka) of 0.640 I kg^?1. Aufwuchs-sorbed copper resisted depuration, suggesting a strong metal-binding substance in aufwuchs material. Eyed veliger oyster larvae (setting stage) exposed to oyster shell fragments having copper-enriched aufwuchs showed normal setting preference for bottoms and edges of shell surfaces but a slight decrease in total set with increasing aufwuchs copper concentration. Settled oyster spat died or failed metamorphosis with LD50=534 μg Cu g^?1 aufwuchs. Since mid-Bay aufwuchs copper concentrations averaged 35.5 μg^?1, ranging up to 103 μg g^?1, oyster spatfall probably is not affected solely by present natural aufwuchs copper concentrations, but the potential for problems exists.     

El Nino/Southern oscillation signals in the global tropical ocean

The monthly mean sea surface temperature data of 6 areas are used to study the El Nino/Southern Oscillation signals in the global tropical ocean. These areas are in the 5oN-5oS latitude zone at 1) eastern Pacific (110o-l40oW), 2) western Atlantic (30o-50oW), 3) eastern Atlantic (10oW-10oE), 4) western Indian Ocean (30o-50oE), 5) central Indian Ocean (70o-90oE) and 6) far western Pacific (120o-140oE), and the data cover the 120-month period of December 1968 to November 1978.A power spectrum analysts shows that the characteristic time of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (about 3-4 years) appears not only in the eastern Pacific but also in other areas of the tropics except for the western Pa-cific, where the spectrum is of white noise. The amplitude of oscillation in the eastern Pacific is about 4 times larger than the others, making the El Nino/Southern Oscillation signal the strongest in this area. According to a cross-spectrum analysis, there is no time lag between the variation in the central Indian Ocean and that in the eastern Pacific. These two areas oscillate simultaneously and comprise the main feature of the El Nino/ Southern Oscillation. Other tropical areas are related with time lags, as shown by correlation and coherence calculations.It should be noted that the sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific oscillates in phase with that in the Indian Ocean, while the pressure oscillations in these two areas are out of phase with each other, according to the Southern Oscillation definition. It is suggested that the Southern Oscillation cannot be explained simply by the sea surface temperature anomalies.Variations in the far western equatorial Pacific do not have the time scale of the El Nino/Southern Oscilla-tion, perhaps because it is a buffer zone between the monsoon system and the trade wind system.     

Understanding the mechanisms of formation of nanophase compounds from Stardust: Combined experimental and observational approach

Abstract– We have experimentally produced nanophase sulfide compounds and magnetite embedded in Si‐rich amorphous materials by flash‐cooling of a gas stream. Similar assemblages are ubiquitous, and often dominant components of samples of impact‐processed silica aerogel tiles and submicron grains from comet 81P/Wild 2 were retrieved by NASA’s Stardust mission. Although the texture and compositions of nanosulfide compounds have been reproduced experimentally, the mechanisms of formation of these minerals and their relationship with the surrounding amorphous materials have not been established. In this study, we present evidence that both of these materials may not only be produced through cooling of a superheated liquid but they may have also been formed simultaneously by flash‐cooling and subsequent deposition of a gas dominated by Fe‐S‐SiO‐O₂. In a dust generator at the Goddard Space Flight Center, samples are produced by direct gas‐phase condensation from gaseous precursors followed by deposition, which effectively isolates the effects of gas‐phase reactions from the effects of melting and condensation. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy images and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy analysis show that these experiments replicate key features of materials from type B and type C Stardust tracks, including textures, distribution of inclusions, nanophase size, and compositional diversity. We argue that gas‐phase reactions may have played a significant role in the capture environment for nanophase materials. Our results are consistent with a potential progenitor assemblage of micron and submicron‐sized sulfides and submicron silica‐bearing phases, which are commonly observed in chondritic interplanetary dust particles and in the matrices of the most pristine chondritic meteorites.     

Bulk-rock geochemistry and plagioclase zoning in lavas exposed along the northern flank of the Western Blanco Depression (Northeast Pacific): Insight into open-system magma chamber processes

The present study is based on a set of lavas and crosscutting dikes collected by dives along detailed vertical transects on the northern flank of the western part of the Blanco Transform Fault, Northeast Pacific. The studied area consists of a small basin, the Western Blanco Depression (WBD), extending from the southern end of the Juan de Fuca ridge to a pseudofault trace 60 km eastward. The Northern Scarp of the WBD comprises a volcanic unit overlying a sheeted-dike complex. Major and trace element data, coupled with Sr–Nd isotope ratios, reveal a two-component mantle source, composed by an isotopically depleted matrix variably veined by more enriched material. One chemical group (NS2), indistinguishable from the other Northern Scarp samples on the basis of trace element data, has an unusually depleted isotopic composition typical of a nearly pure mantle end-member. Some cogenetic samples of the Northern Scarp have been used to constrain the differentiation modalities. Anorthite and MgO content profiles in plagioclase xenocrysts and phenocrysts reveal (i) the existence of H₂O-bearing evolved melts in the mushy zones and (ii) the occurrence of mixing process between these melts and anhydrous mafic liquids. The hydration is supported by other petrographic features such as high magmatic fO₂ values, calculated from Fe–Ti oxide pairs, and the presence of pyroxene inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts. Mixing, consistent with the existence of Ni-rich ferrobasalts, is interpreted to be the consequence of the reservoir refilling by mafic liquids (Mg# = 70). These petrological and geochemical evidences are combined with the evolution of Mg# with depth to suggest a periodic open-system magma chamber evolution beneath the southern end of the Juan de Fuca ridge.     

A mathematical model of permeability alteration around wells

This paper presents an analytical solution of the permeability alteration problem around the wellbore. This alteration may be a permeability reduction due to drilling fluid invasion or mudcake formation around the wellbore. On the other hand, the alteration may be a permeability increase resulting from stimulation by acidizing the formation matrix around the well. This permeability discontinuity in a reservoir forms a composite reservoir system. With the composite model, both the degree and the radial extent of permeability alteration can be adequately predicted. The conventional skin concept is inadequate and physically unrealistic in most of these cases. This paper describes the application of an automatic weighted constrained least-squares parameter estimation technique and the analytical model for pressure transient analysis. The parameters of the composite reservoir system are determined from a match of the pressure transient data. The behaviour of the pressure transient in such composite systems is presented using the analytical solution.     

Thermal contraction crack polygons on Mars: A synthesis from HiRISE, Phoenix, and terrestrial analog studies

Thermal contraction crack polygons are complex landforms that have begun to be deciphered on Earth and Mars by the combined investigative efforts of geomorphology, environmental monitoring, physical models, paleoclimate reconstruction, and geochemistry. Thermal contraction crack polygons are excellent indicators of the current or past presence of ground ice, ranging in ice content from weakly cemented soils to debris-covered massive ice. Relative to larger topographic features, polygons may form rapidly, and reflect climate conditions at the time of formation—preserving climate information as relict landforms in the geological record. Polygon morphology and internal textural characteristics can be used to distinguish surfaces modified by the seasonal presence of a wet active layer or dry active layer, and to delimit subsurface ice conditions. Analysis of martian polygon morphology and distribution indicates that geologically-recent thermal contraction crack polygons on Mars form predominantly in an ice-rich latitude-dependent mantle, more likely composed of massive ice deposited by precipitation than by cyclical vapor diffusion into regolith. Regional and local heterogeneities in polygon morphology can be used to distinguish variations in ice content, deposition and modification history, and to assess microclimate variation on timescales of ka to Ma. Analyses of martian polygon morphology, guided by investigations of terrestrial analog thermal contraction crack polygons, strongly suggest the importance of excess ice in the formation and development of many martian thermal contraction crack polygons—implying the presence of an ice-rich substrate that was fractured during and subsequent to obliquity-driven depositional periods and continually modified by ongoing vapor equilibration processes.     

Meteoric Be in soil profiles - A global meta-analysis

In order to assess current understanding of meteoric ¹⁰Be dynamics and distribution in terrestrial soils, we assembled a database of all published meteoric ¹⁰Be soil depth profiles, including 104 profiles from 27 studies in globally diverse locations, collectively containing 679 individual measurements. This allows for the systematic comparison of meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration to other soil characteristics and the comparison of profile depth distributions between geologic settings. Percent clay, ⁹Be, and dithionite-citrate extracted Al positively correlate to meteoric ¹⁰Be in more than half of the soils where they were measured, but the lack of significant correlation in other soils suggests that no one soil factor controls meteoric ¹⁰Be distribution with depth. Dithionite-citrate extracted Fe and cation exchange capacity are only weakly correlated to meteoric ¹⁰Be. Percent organic carbon and pH are not significantly related to meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration when all data are complied.The compilation shows that meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration is seldom uniform with depth in a soil profile. In young or rapidly eroding soils, maximum meteoric ¹⁰Be concentrations are typically found in the uppermost 20 cm. In older, more slowly eroding soils, the highest meteoric ¹⁰Be concentrations are found at depth, usually between 50 and 200 cm. We find that the highest measured meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration in a soil profile is an important metric, as both the value and the depth of the maximum meteoric ¹⁰Be concentration correlate with the total measured meteoric ¹⁰Be inventory of the soil profile.In order to refine the use of meteoric ¹⁰Be as an estimator of soil erosion rate, we compare near-surface meteoric ¹⁰Be concentrations to total meteoric ¹⁰Be soil inventories. These trends are used to calibrate models of meteoric ¹⁰Be loss by soil erosion. Erosion rates calculated using this method vary based on the assumed depth and timing of erosional events and on the reference data selected.     

Rapid growth of an Archean continent by arc magmatism

The voluminous Meso- to Neoarchean rocks exposed in the Beartooth Mountains of the northern Wyoming Province of western North America comprise the Long Lake Magmatic Complex (LLMC), a variably metamorphosed and deformed association of igneous and meta-igneous plutonic rocks with SiO₂ ranging from at least 52 to 78 wt%. Within this compositional range, rock types include lineated amphibolites to hornblende-bearing gneisses of intermediate composition and multiple generations of foliated to unfoliated granitoids. Emplacement ages range between approximately 2.79 and 2.83 Ga, based on U–Pb zircon geochronology (SHRIMP). Field relations, elemental compositions, and geochronology indicate that these rocks do not represent a single fractional crystallization sequence, but rather, the LLMC was constructed by injection of numerous, discrete magmas as sill-like bodies over an ∼40 Ma period. Although there is a continuum of compositions in the LLMC, trace element abundances can be used to distinguish distinct sources and petrogenetic processes that can be broadly extrapolated to at least 3 compositional groupings: (1) trondhjemitic to granitic intrusive rocks with SiO₂ >70 wt%, (2) variably metamorphosed granodioritic orthogneisses with SiO₂ between 63 and 70 wt%, and (3) amphibole-bearing mafic to intermediate gneisses with SiO₂ between 52 and 63 wt%. Despite the range of SiO₂ contents, maximum LREE abundances are similar across the compositional range and, consequently, exhibit a wide range of (La/Yb)_n ratios (∼20–130). All LLMC rocks share a relative depletion in HFSE abundances similar to modern convergent margin magmas. Initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions across the compositional range are consistently offset from typical bulk silicate earth (BSE) values and preclude unaltered derivation from primitive or depleted mantle. Common Pb isotopic data define a single array that lies above model crustal growth curves and, along with the Nd and Sr data, suggest relatively uniform interaction with, or derivation from, older lithosphere. The combined isotopic and elemental data suggest the LLMC resulted from simultaneous, rapid, and voluminous production of diverse magmas that represent melting of isotopically similar, but compositionally distinct, crustal and mantle sources. Dynamically, Meso- to Neo-archean crustal growth in the northern Wyoming Province appears to require an environment similar to a modern ocean–continent convergent margin with a comparable rate of crustal production and diversity of magma series. The resultant crust and associated mantle lithosphere (keel) appear to have suffered little-to-no modification prior to Laramide (Cretaceous) uplift and exposure.     

Postaudit evaluation of conceptual model uncertainty for a glacial aquifer groundwater flow and contaminant transport model

Numerical groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling incorporating three alternative conceptual models was conducted in 2005 to assess remedial actions and predict contaminant concentrations in an unconfined glacial aquifer located in Milford, Michigan, USA. Three alternative conceptual models were constructed and independently calibrated to evaluate uncertainty in the geometry of an aquitard underlying the aquifer and the extent to which infiltration from two manmade surface water bodies influenced the groundwater flow field. Contaminant transport for benzene, cis-DCE, and MTBE was modeled for a 5-year period that included a 2-year history match from July 2003 to May 2005 and predictions for a 3-year period ending in July 2008. A postaudit of model performance indicates that predictions for pumping wells, which integrated the transport signal across multiple model layers, were reliable but unable to differentiate between alternative conceptual model responses. In contrast, predictions for individual monitoring wells with limited screened intervals were less consistent, but held promise for evaluating alternative hydrogeologic models. Results of this study suggest that model conceptualization can have important practical implications for the delineation of contaminant transport pathways using monitoring wells, but may exert less influence on integrated predictions for pumping wells screened over multiple numerical model layers.