Are metal-induced hypersensitivities in harbor seals associated with liver function?

Environmental exposure to metals is believed to affect marine mammal health adversely including immunosuppression or acute as well as chronic inflammatory processes leading to hypersensitivities or autoimmune diseases. Metal-specific hypersensitivities were found in several pinnipeds of the North Sea. However, hypersensitivity is a complex phenomenon whose characteristics are still not completely understood; in particular, effects on health are not well established. In the present study, we compared basic hematological and biochemical parameters of seals with and without metal-specific hypersensitivities. We found altered hematological parameters and liver enzyme patterns in seals with a metal-induced hypersensitivity, including a reduction in macrophages, an increase in lymphocytes, and elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase. These findings support the suggestion of a chronic influence of metal pollutants on the health of marine mammals of the North Sea.     

Variations of sea surface temperature and primary productivity during Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger events in the northeastern Arabian Sea

Sea surface temperatures (SST) and primary productivities have been reconstructed for the northeastern Arabian Sea during the past 65,000 years, using C₃₇-alkenones. Comparison of this SST record with '¹⁸O from Greenland ice core GISP2 shows striking similarities, indicating an apparent linkage between the climate of the Arabian Sea with that of the northern North Atlantic, most probably via atmospheric and/or oceanic circulation. These rapid SST changes are in the long term overlain by insolation changes at 30°N.     

Isotopic fractionation and reaction kinetics between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in aqueous media

The redox-sensitive stable isotope geochemistry of chromium bears the potential to monitor the attenuation of chromate pollution and to investigate changes in environmental conditions in the present and the past. The use of stable Cr isotope data as a geo-environmental tracer, however, necessitates an understanding of the reaction kinetics and Cr fractionation behaviour during redox transition and isotope exchange. Here, we report stable chromium isotope fractionation data for Cr(VI) reduction, Cr(III) oxidation and isotopic exchange between soluble Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in aqueous media. The reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) with H₂O₂ under strongly acidic conditions shows a near-equilibrium isotope fractionation of Δ^53/52Cr_{(Cr(III)-Cr(VI))} of −3.54 ± 0.35‰. At pH neutrality, however, the reduction experiments show a kinetic isotope fractionation Δ^53/52Cr_{(Cr(III)-Cr(VI))} of −5‰ for the extent of reduction of up to 85% of the chromium. The oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) in alkaline media, using H₂O₂ as the oxidant, cannot be explained by a single, unidirectional reaction. Our experiments indicate that the involvement of the unstable intermediates Cr(IV) and Cr(V) and their disproportionation during redox reactions between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) influence the overall fractionation factor, depending on the prevailing pH conditions and the reaction rates. No detectable isotope exchange between soluble Cr(VI) and Cr(III) species at pH values of 5.5 and 7 was revealed over a timescale of days to weeks. This means that, at least within such a time frame, the isotopic composition of Cr(VI) in a natural system will not be influenced by equilibration with any Cr(III) and thus reveal the true extent of reduction, given that the Cr isotope composition of the source Cr(VI) and the fractionation factor for the prevailing conditions are known.     

Granulite sulphides as tracers of lower crustal origin and evolution: An example from the Slave craton, Canada

We carried out a detailed study of sulphide minerals, a ubiquitous mineral group in lower crustal mafic to peraluminous granulite xenoliths from the Diavik kimberlites, to assess their use in constraining the origin and tectonothermal evolution of the deep crust, and to obtain additional data on the composition of lower crust beneath ancient continents. Sulphides are overwhelmingly pyrrhotite with minor Ni (0.7-3.9 at.%), Co (0.1-0.7 at.%), and Cu contents (0.4-3.9 at.%). Sulphide modes in mafic granulites range from 0.14 to 0.55 vol%, translating into bulk rock S contents from ∼600 to 2000 ppm, similar to S contents in other mafic igneous rocks and indicating preservation of primary igneous S contents. In mafic granulites, Re and Os abundances in sulphides range from 42.5 to 726 ppb and 3.2 to 180 ppb, respectively, whereas those in peraluminous granulites are distinctly lower (36.1-282 ppb and 1.8-7.2 ppb, respectively), suggestive of Re and Os loss to fractionating sulphides in the more evolved precursors of these rocks.The significant within-sample variability of ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and correlation with ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os indicates the preservation of primary Re-Os isotope systematics and time-integrated decay of the measured ¹⁸⁷Re. Within the large uncertainties inherent in the nature of the samples and technique, sulphides in some granulites may record major tectonothermal events in the central Slave craton spanning several billion years of evolution. Multiple generations of sulphide can occur in a single sample. These data attest to the heterogeneous composition and complex history of the Slave craton lower crust.     

Continuous 60-year stable isotopic and earth-alkali element records in a modern laminated tufa (Jaruga,river Krka,Croatia): Implications for climate reconstruction

A continuous 60-year record (1938–1998) of stable isotope compositions of carbon and oxygen, as well as trace metal (Mg, Sr, Ba) concentrations in a laminated calcite crust precipitated in a short artificial tunnel on a non-equilibrium groundwater-fed karstic river is presented. Chemical and isotopic records have been compared to hydrometeorological data, available for the last 48 years. An attempt is made to relate isotopic and geochemical variations in the crust to environmental parameters, such as temperature, precipitation and changes in vegetation cover, as well as to postdepositional recrystallisation of the older crust material. Isotopic composition of the crust is largely influenced by non-equilibrium precipitation, which favours the incorporation of isotopically depleted C and O into the carbonate. Furthermore, because of the complicated hydrological situation, there is no observable correlation between the stable oxygen isotope composition of water and temperature. The result is that the ¹⁸O isotopic thermometers overestimate the measured precipitation temperatures. Temperatures calculated from Mg/Ca ratios of water and the carbonate match the δ¹⁸O palaeotemperatures within ± 2.4 °C in the older part of the crust, precipitated before the onset of industrial pollution of the river. It was demonstrated that the application of Mg palaeothermometry in natural systems, where the Mg/Ca ratio of water is influenced not only by temperature, but also by other environmental parameters such as precipitation, surface runoff, groundwater retention time and anthropogenic influences, is subject to a large uncertainty, up to 10 °C.     

Propagation pathways and fluid transport of hydrofractures in jointed and layered rocks in geothermal fields

Palaeofluid-transporting systems, observed as networks of mineral-filled veins in deeply eroded parts of extinct geothermal fields, indicate that hydrofractures commonly supply fluids to geothermal fields. Here we examine well-exposed vein networks that occur at crustal depths of around 1.5 km below the initial surface of the Tertiary lava pile in North Iceland. The veins are located in the damage zone of a major fault zone that dissects basaltic lava flows, the most common host rocks of geothermal fields in Iceland. The lava flows contain numerous weaknesses, particularly columnar (cooling) joints and contacts. For hydrofractures to supply fluids to geothermal fields, the fractures must be able to propagate, and transport fluids, to the surface. We explore hydrofracture pathway formation using boundary-element models of hydrofractures with fluid overpressure varying linearly from 10 MPa at the fracture centre to 0 MPa at the fracture tip (or the fluid front). The hydrofractures propagate through a vertically jointed and horizontally layered pile of lava flows with a general rock-matrix Young’s modulus of 1×10¹⁰ Pa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.25. The joints and contacts between layers are modelled as internal springs, each with a stiffness (‘strength’) of 6 MPa/m. The location and sizes of discontinuities, as well as the location of the hydrofracture tip, vary between the models. The results indicate that tensile stresses generated at the tip of an overpressured hydrofracture can open up horizontal and vertical discontinuities out to a considerable distance from the tip, and that these discontinuities eventually link up to form the hydrofracture pathway. Analytical models indicate that for a hot spring of a given yield associated with a fault, the dimensions of the fluid-transporting part of the fault are likely to be similar for a typical normal fault and a strike-slip fault. Also, a hot spring of yield 180 l/s (the maximum in the low-temperature fields of Iceland) can be supplied through a hydrofracture of aperture 3 mm and trace length 1.2 m. These dimensions are very similar to those of typical veins in the studied networks. Buoyancy, rather than excess pressure in the fluid source, appears to be the primary driving force of hydrofractures in the geothermal fields of Iceland.     

Internal flow structures in columnar jointed basalt from Hrepphólar, Iceland: II. Magnetic anisotropy and rock magnetic properties

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and rock magnetic properties were measured on specimens from a basalt plate that was cut from a vertical section of a basalt column from Hrepphólar, Iceland. Macroscopic structures are clearly distinguishable in the plate, including banding inferred to represent viscous fingering parallel to the vertical axis of the column. Rock magnetic experiments indicate that the dominant ferromagnetic (sensu lato) mineral is titanomagnetite, Fe _3?x Ti _x O₄, with a Ti-composition of x?=?~0.6. Magnetic properties are related to the position within the plate and reveal a dominant volume fraction of single domain titanomagnetite in the center of the basalt column, with multidomain titanomagnetite away from the center. The AMS determined by low-field measurements shows an inconclusive relationship with the visual structures, which arises from variation of the grain size (i.e., single domain versus multidomain) across the column. In contrast, the AMS measured with a high-field torsion magnetometer avoids the complication of magnetic domain state, as is demonstrated in this contribution, and additionally allows for the separation of ferrimagnetic from paramagnetic sub-fabrics. Both sub-fabrics display a clear relationship with the macroscopic structures and support the hypothesis that vertical flow of melt took place during development of the Hrepphólar columnar basalt. Maximum susceptibility axes of the ferrimagnetic sub-fabric are grouped near the vertical axis of the column. The paramagnetic sub-fabric varies systematically across the column in coincidence with internal structure. The shape of the magnetic susceptibility ellipsoid varies across the basalt column, showing an increasingly prolate fabric toward its center.     

Climate action for food security in South Asia? Analyzing the role of agriculture in nationally determined contributions to the Paris agreement

The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement propose a country’s contribution to global mitigation efforts and domestic adaptation initiatives. This paper provides a systematic analysis of NDCs submitted by South Asian nations, in order to assess how far their commitments might deliver meaningful contributions to the global 2°C target and to sustainable broad-based adaptation benefits. Though agriculture-related emissions are prominent in emission profiles of South Asian countries, their emission reduction commitments are less likely to include agriculture, partly because of a concern over food security. We find that income-enhancing mitigation technologies that do not jeopardize food security may significantly augment the region’s mitigation potential. In the case of adaptation, analysis shows that the greatest effort will be directed towards protecting the cornerstones of the ‘green revolution’ for ensuring food security. Development of efficient and climate-resilient agricultural value chains and integrated farming bodies will be important to ensuring adaptation investment. Potentially useful models of landscape level climate resilience actions and ecosystem-based adaptation are also presented, along with estimates of the aggregate costs of agricultural adaptation. Countries in the region propose different mixes of domestic and foreign, and public and private, adaptation finance to meet the substantial gaps.

Key policy insights

• Though substantial potential for mitigation of agricultural emissions exists in South Asia, governments in the region do not commit to agricultural emissions reductions in their NDCs.

• Large-scale adoption of income-enhancing technologies is the key to realizing agricultural mitigation potential in South Asia, whilst maintaining food security.

• Increasing resilience and profitability through structural changes, value chain interventions, and landscape-level actions may provide strong options to build adaptive capacity and enhance food security.

• Both private finance (autonomous adaptation) and international financial transfers will be required to close the substantial adaptation finance gap