Respiratory Rate and Assessment of Secondary Production in the Holothuroid Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata) from Mediterranean Seagrass Beds

Abstract. Respiration in Holothuria tubulosa was investigated in individuals from the Posidonia oceanica meadow off Lacco Ameno (Ischia Island, Italy). Respiratory rates increase with increasing body weight and increasing sea water temperature. Oxygen consumption of an average individual (7g dw body wall) ranges from 0.409 (14 °C) to 1.300 (26 °C) mg O₂· h^-1. Data on population density, mean size of individuals, and annual sea water temperature variations allow an assessment of holothuroid production. Values of 45.65 and 13.75 kJ · m^-2· y^-1 were calculated for shallow (3 to 10 m) and deep (25 to 33 m) areas of the Posidonia meadow, respectively. Holothuroid production shows a bathymetric pattern similar to primary production of the Posidonia -epiphytes complex and the production of Posidonia litter.     

Rejection of Intracoelomic Invading Material by Leptosynapta inhaerens (Echinodermata: Holothuroida): A Process of Ecological Significance?

Abstract. The synaptid holothuroid Leptosynapta inhaerens has the ability to expel unwanted particles that enter its body cavity. Intracoelomic particles ( viz. experimentally injected carmine particles) are trapped either by a coelom-produced mucoid net or by specialized organs (the vibratile urnae) that occur in bands in some interradial areas. Whatever the trapping method, particles are incorporated into dense mucoid masses that move towards the posterior part of the body cavity, in the vicinity of the rectum. These aggregates then cross the rectal wall through rectal pores, mix with the faeces, and are eventually incorporated into the wall of the synaptid burrow. Clearance of foreign particles requires 2 to 3 days. The coelom-cleaning system of synaptids appears to be the most effective within the class Holothuroidea , being well designed for endofaunal organisms whose walls are delicate and easily rupture.     

Evidence for slope instability and current-induced sediment transport,the RMSTitanic wreck search area,Newfoundland rise

The first map of the sea bed morphology and sedimentary features within the RMSTitanic search area is proposed from the interpretation of SAR side-scan sonar images. Downslope sedimentary features such as erosional furrows and crown scarps constitute a 7 km wide instability corridor. A large field (15 km²) of asymmetrical sediment waves indicating a downslope transport is identified. Current-induced features corresponding to associated sand ribbons and barchan dunes resulting from the Western Boundary Undercurrent action are mapped. The morphology of theTitanic Canyon is also precised from the SAR images. Finally, the origin of the sea bed features is discussed in an attempt to link each bed form to a sedimentary process.     

A seismic refraction study of cretaceous oceanic lithosphere in the Northwest Pacific Basin

A seismic refraction study on old (110 Myr) lithosphere in the northwest Pacific Basin has placed constraints on crustal and uppermantle seismic structure of old oceanic lithosphere, and lithospheric aging processes. No significant lateral variation in structure other than azimuthally anisotropic mantle velocities was found, allowing the application of powerful amplitude modeling techniques. The anisotropy observed is in an opposite sense to that expected, suggesting the tectonic setting of the area may be more complex than originally thought. Upper crustal velocities are generally larger than for younger crust, supporting current theories of decreased porosity with crustal aging. However, there is no evidence for significant thickening of the oceanic crust with age, nor is there any evidence of a lower crustal layer of high or low velocity relative to the velocity of the rest of Layer 3. The compressional and shear wave velocities rule out a large component of serpentinization of mantle materials. The only evidence for a basal crustal layer of olivine gabbro cumulates is a 1.5 km thick Moho transition zone. In the slow direction of anisotropy, upper mantle velocities increase from 8.0 km s^-1 to 8.35 km s^-1 in the upper 15 km below the Moho. This increase is inconsistent with an homogeneous upper mantle and suggests that compositinal or phase changes occur near the Moho.     

The European coastal zone: characterization and first assessment of ecosystem metabolism

The geomorphic, oceanographic, terrestrial and anthropogenic attributes of the European coastal zone are described and published data on ecosystem function (primary production and respiration) are reviewed. Four regions are considered: the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the European Atlantic coast including the North Sea. The metabolic database (194 papers) suffers from a non-homogeneous geographical coverage with no usable data for the Black Sea which was therefore excluded from this part of our study. Pelagic gross primary production in European open shelves is, by far, the most documented parameter with an estimated mean of 41 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, the lowest value is reported in the Mediterranean Sea (21 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹) and the highest one in the Atlantic/North Sea area (51 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Microphytobenthic primary production, mostly measured in shallow areas, is extrapolated to the entire 0–200 m depth range. Its contribution to total primary production is low in all regions (mean: 1.5 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Although macrophyte beds are very productive, a regional production estimate is not provided in this study because their geographical distribution along the European coastline remains unknown. Measurements of pelagic community respiration are clearly too sparse, especially below the euphotic zone, to yield an accurate picture of the fate of organic matter produced in the water column. With a mean value of 17 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, benthic community respiration consumes approximately 40% of the pelagic organic matter production. Estuaries generally exhibit high metabolic rates and a large range of variation in all parameters, except microphytobenthic primary production. Finally, the problem of eutrophication in Europe is discussed and the metabolic data obtained in the framework of the Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project are compared with available direct measurements of net ecosystem production.     

Analytical investigation of bidirectional ductile diaphragms in multi-span bridges

In the AASHTO Guide Specifications for Seismic Bridge Design Provisions,ductile diaphragms are identified as Permissible Earthquake-Resisting Elements(EREs),designed to help resist seismic loads applied in the transverse direction of bridges.When adding longitudinal ductile diaphragms,a bidirectional ductile diaphragm system is created that can address seismic excitations acting along both the bridge’s longitudinal and transverse axes.This paper investigates bidirectional ductile diaphragms with Buckling Restrained Braces(BRBs)in straight multi-span bridge with simply supported floating spans.The flexibility of the substructures in the transverse and longitudinal direction of the bridge is considered.Design procedures for the bidirectional ductile diaphragms are first proposed.An analytical model of the example bridge with bidirectional ductile diaphragms,designed based on the proposed methodology,is then built in SAP2000.Pushover and nonlinear time history analyses are performed on the bridge model,and corresponding results are presented.The effect of changing the longitudinal stiffness of the bidirectional ductile diaphragms in the end spans connecting to the abutment is also investigated,in order to better understand the impact on the bridge’s dynamic performance.     

Light Curve Modelling and Evolutionary Status of the Short Period Binary 1SWASP J092328.76+435044

Light curve modeling for the newly discovered super contact low-mass WUMa system 1SWASPJ092328.76+435044 was carried out by using a new BVR complete light curves. A spotted model was applied to treat the asymmetry of the light curves. The output model was obtained by means of Wilson–Devinney code, which reveals that the massive component is hotter than the less massive one with about ΔT ～ 40 K. A total of six new times of minima were estimated. The evolutionary state of the system components was investigated based on the estimated physical parameters.     

From Magnitudes to Diameters: The Albedo Distribution of Near Earth Objects and the Earth Collision Hazard

A recently published model of the Near Earth Object (NEO) orbital-magnitude distribution (Bottke et al., 2002, Icarus156, 399-433.) relies on five intermediate sources for the NEO population: the ν₆ resonance, the 3:1 resonance, the outer portion of the main belt (i.e., 2.8-3.5 AU), the Mars-crossing population adjacent to the main belt, and the Jupiter family comet population. The model establishes the relative contribution of these sources to the NEO population. By computing the albedo distribution of the bodies in and/or near each of the five sources, we can deduce the albedo distribution of the NEO population as a function of semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination. A problem with this strategy, however, is that we do not know a priori the albedo distribution of main belt asteroids over the same size range as observed NEOs (diameter D<10 km). To overcome this problem, we determined the albedo distribution of large asteroids in and/or near each NEO source region and used these results to deduce the albedo distribution of smaller asteroids in the same regions. This method requires that we make some assumptions about the absolute magnitude distributions of both asteroid families and background asteroids. Our solution was to extrapolate the observed absolute magnitude distributions of the families up to some threshold value H_thr, beyond which we assumed that the families' absolute magnitude distributions were background-like.We found that H_thr=14.5 provides the best match to the color vs heliocentric distance distribution observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With this value of H_thr our model predicts that the debiased ratio between dark and bright (albedo smaller or larger than 0.089) objects in any absolute-magnitude-limited sample of the NEO population is 0.25±0.02. Once the observational biases are properly taken into account, this agrees very well with the observed C/S ratio (0.165 for H<20). The dark/bright ratio of NEOs increases to 0.87±0.05 if a size-limited sample is considered. We estimate that the total number of NEOs larger than a kilometer is 855±110, which, compared to the total number of NEOs with H<18 (963±120), shows that the usually assumed conversion H=18?D=1 km slightly overestimates the number of kilometer-size objects.Combining our orbital distribution model with the new albedo distribution model, and assuming that the density of bright and dark bodies is 2.7 and 1.3 g/cm³, respectively, we estimate that the Earth should undergo a 1000 megaton collision every 63,000±8000 years. On average, the bodies capable of producing 1000 megaton of impact energy are those with H<20.6. The NEOs discovered so far carry only 18±2% of this collision probability.     

Ground variation of radon 222 for location of hidden structural features. Example of the south of France (Alpes Maritimes)

We report two examples from the south of the French Alps, showing that radon emanation monitored by alpha-sensitive film may be used to locate certain discrete structural features revealed in data collected by remote sensing from a satellite. The variations observed in our data, over a period of several months, are in accordance with atmospheric changes and might correlate with local seismic activity when the detectors are located directly above structural fractures and the magnitude of the seismic event is greater than 2.     

Production of krypton and xenon isotopes in thick stony and iron targets isotropically irradiated with 1600 MeV protons

Abstract— Two spherical targets made of gabbro with a radius of 25 cm and of steel with a radius of 10 cm were irradiated isotropically with 1600 MeV protons at the SATURNE synchrotron at Laboratoire National Saturne (LNS)/CEN Saclay, in order to simulate the production of nuclides in meteorites induced by galactic cosmic‐ray protons in space. These experiments supply depth‐dependent production rate data for a wide range of radioactive and stable isotopes in up to 28 target elements. In this paper, we report results for ⁷⁸Kr, ^80–86Kr isotopes in Rb, Sr, Y and Zr and for ¹²⁴Xe, ¹²⁶Xe, ^128–132Xe, ¹³⁴Xe, ¹³⁶Xe isotopes in Ba and La. Krypton and xenon concentrations have been measured at different depths in the spheres by using conventional mass spectrometry. Based on Monte‐Carlo techniques, theoretical production rates are calculated by folding depth‐dependent spectra of primary and secondary protons and secondary neutrons with the excitation functions of the relevant nuclear reactions. The comparison of the model calculation results with experimental data in the thick target experiments performed at LNS and previously at CERN have allowed adjustments of the poorly known excitation functions of neutron‐induced reactions. Thus, for the two experiments at SATURNE, excellent agreement is obtained between experimental and calculated production rates for most Kr and Xe isotopes in all investigated target elements. Only Xe production in Ba in the gabbro is underestimated by the calculations by ?25%. This work validates the approach of the thin‐target model calculations of cosmogenic nuclide production rates in the attempt of modeling the interaction of galactic cosmic‐ray protons with stony and iron meteorites in space as well as with lunar samples.