Sources of nitrogen to estuaries in the United States

The purpose of this study was to quantify the nitrogen (N) inputs to 34 estuaries on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Total nitrogen (TN) inputs ranged from 1 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for Upper Laguna Madre, Texas, to 49 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts. TN inputs to 11 of the 34 estuaries were dominated by urban N sources (point sources and septic systems) and nonpoint source N runoff (5% of total); point sources accounted for 36–86% of the TN inputs to these 11 urban-dominated estuaries. TN inputs to 20 of the 34 estuaries were dominated by agricultural N sources; N fertilization was the dominant source (46% of the total), followed by manure (32% of the total) and N fixation by crops (16% of the total). Atmospheric deposition (runoff from watershed plus direct deposition to the surface of the estuary) was the dominant N source for three estuaries (Barnegat Bay, New Jersey: 64%; St. Catherines-Sapelo, Georgia: 72%; and Barataria Bay, Louisiana: 53%). Six estuaries had atmospheric contributions ≥30% of the TN inputs (Casco Bay, Maine: 43%; Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts: 30%; Great Bay, New Jersey: 40%; Chesapeake Bay: 30%; Terrebonne-Timbalier Bay, Louisiana: 59%; and Upper Laguna Madre: 41%). Results from our study suggest that reductions in N loadings to estuaries should be accomplished by implementing watershed specific programs that target the dominant N sources.     

Sumberged aquatic vegetation in the mesohaline region of the Patuxent estuary: Past,present, and future status

The loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) from the Patuxent estuary during the latter part of the 20th century was explored using diverse data sets that included historic SAV coverage and distribution data, SAV ground truth observations, water clarity and nutrient loading data, and epiphyte light attenuation measurements. Analysis of aerial photography from 1952 showed that SAV was abundant and widely distributed along the entire mesohaline region of the estuary; by the late 1960s rapid declines in SAV took place following large increases in nutrient loading to the estuary. An examination of water clarity and epiphyte data suggest that the processes that led to the loss of SAV varied in strength along the axis of the estuary. In the upper mesohaline region, Secchi depths were consistently less than established mesohaline SAV habitat requirements at 1-m water depth, suggesting that water clarity was responsible for SAV decline. In the lower mesohaline region, where water clarity was consistently above SAV requirements, high epiphyte fouling rates significantly reduced light available to SAV. Experimental results show that epiphyte fouling had the capacity to reduce available light to SAV blades from 30% to 7% of surface light within a week, and likely contributed to the local decline and near total loss of SAV during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The prognosis for near-term SAV recovery within the mesohaline portion of the estuary seems unlikely given existing water quality conditions.     

A new model of thermal diffusion in a translucent medium

The thermal diffusion equation is solved analytically for an ideally translucent and homogeneous medium with an internal, distributed heat source given by the penetration and absorption of solar radiation. The mean annual temperature profile has the coldest values at the surface; the mean annual flux of sensible heat out of the medium balances the internally absorbed solar radiation for the case of constant mean annual temperatures. A new formula is developed for the evaluation of the true thermal diffusivity of a non-homogeneous conductor from the Fourier components of the waves of insolation and temperature; a constant extinction coefficient is assumed. The new model is applied with moderate success to data from the coastal plateau ice at Mawson, Antarctica.National Research Council Postdoctoral Resident Research Associate. Present Affiliation: Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California 94025.     

Submillimeter observations of the asteroid 10 hygiea

We report the first successful ground-based observations of any asteroid at submillimeter wave-lengths. Observations of the asteroid 10 Hygiea at 370 and 770 μm are combined with observations in the near and thermal infrared (2.2, 10.6, and 21 μm) to study the thermal properties of Hygiea's regolith. The “standard” (nonrotating) thermal model is consistent with the entire data set, although a rotating thermophysical model with a “lunarlike” thermal inertia cannot be ruled out.     

Eastbound sublithosphere mantle flow through the Caribbean gap and its relevance to the continental undertow hypothesis

Recent evidence indicates that beneath the Caribbean a tongue of sublithosphere mantle is flowing from the Pacific to the Atlantic, dragging the overlying lithosphere eastward: (i) Shear-wave splitting results from beneath the Andean subduction zone and Venezuela suggest mantle flow eastward through the Caribbean. (ii) Volcanic chemistry in Central America indicates a slab source beneath Nicaragua, but a different source in Costa Rica, above the proposed Pacific outflow. (iii) An extinct volcanic arc accreted to the margins of the Caribbean swept eastward through the Caribbean gap between North & South America. The 1982 'continental undertow' model requires shallow-mantle flow through the Caribbean gap from the Pacific to the Atlantic, if continents have deep roots and if shallow-mantle flow beneath oceans is decoupled from convection at deeper levels. The new evidence from the Caribbean is thus compatible with the continental undertow model, and perhaps with other models involving decoupled shallow flow.     

Limb darkening in the solar ultraviolet

New photoelectric limb-darkening data are given for 38 of the windows in the UV solar spectrum in which Houtgast has supplied absolute energy measurements. The region, 4000 Å to 3000 Å, is marked by unaccounted opacity. Results are given also for 13 longer wavelengths. The measurements are fully corrected for atmospheric seeing and scattering. The corrected drift curves exhibit a quasi-periodic character suggestive of the supergranulation.     

The reason for magnetospheric substorms and solar flares

It has been proposed that magnetospheric substorms and solar flares are a result of the same mechanism. In our view this mechanism is connected with the escape, or attempted escape, of energized plasma from a region of closed magnetic field lines bounded by a magnetic bottle. In the case of the Earth, it must be plasma that is able to maintain a discrete auroral arc, and we propose that the cross-tail current connected to the arc is filamentary in nature to provide the field-aligned current sheet above the arc. A localized meander of such an intense current filament could be caused by a tearing instability in the neutral sheet. Such a meander will cause an inductive electric field opposing the current change everywhere. In trying to reduce the component of the induction electric field parallel to the magnetic field lines, the plasma must enhance the transverse or cross-tail component; this action leads to eruptive behavior, in agreement with tearing theories. This enhanced induction electric field will cause a discharge along the magnetic neutral line at the apex of the magnetic arches, constituting an impulsive acceleration of all charged particles originally near the neutral line. The products of this phase then undergo betatron acceleration for a second phase. This discharge eventually reduces the electric field along the neutral line, and thereafter the enclosed magnetic flux through the neutral line remains nearly constant. The result is a plasmoid that has definite identity; its buoyancy leads to its escape. The auroral breakup (and solar flare) is the complex plasma response to the changing electromagnetic field.     

Complex refractive index of Martian dust: Mariner 9 ultraviolet observations

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectra of the 1971 Mars dust storm were studied to determine the cloud particle size distribution and complex index of refraction. The method consisted of matching the observed single particle scattering albedo and phase function with Mie scattering calculations for size distributions of spheres of homogeneous and isotropic material. Preliminary results indicate that the effective particle radius is 1 μm with an effective variance (a measure of distribution width) $\text{?0.2}$. The real component of the index of refraction is $\text{?1.8}$ at both 268 and 305 nm. For the imaginary index, a value of 0.02 was found at 268 nm and 0.01 at 305nm. These ultraviolet refractive indices are compatible with measurements at visible wavelengths which indicate that the real part of the refractive index is 1.75 with a negligible imaginary term. The rapid increase of refractive index and absorption coefficient with decreasing wavelength are indicative of an ultraviolet absorption band.An ultraviolet absorption band is not only diagnostic of the composition of the Mars material, but may have important implications for the development and evolution of life on Mars. A 30 μm layer of material that absorbs uv but transmits visible light can shield organisms from harmful irradiation while providing for photosynthesis.Comparison of the Mars ultraviolet refractive indices with laboratory measurements indicates that none of the terrestrial analog samples of limonite, basalt, andesite, or montmorrillonite have the required ultraviolet properties.