Effect of Ecological Factors on the Distribution of Microorganisms in Regosols (Steppe of Priol’khonie, Siberia)

正1 Introduction Regosol in Eastern Siberia is intrazonal soil.In Priolkhonie region it occurs among chestnut soils,salt marshes and solonetzes.There are small information about Tagotskij hydrolaccolith in the research articles of geologists,archaeologists,and paleolimnologists when     

CAMAM: A Miniature Laser Ablation Ionisation Mass Spectrometer and Microscope‐Camera System for In Situ Investigation of the Composition and Morphology of Extraterrestrial Materials

Performance studies of a microscope‐camera system (MCS) and a laser ablation/ionisation mass spectrometer (LIMS) instrument (referred to here as a laser mass spectrometer or LMS) are presented. These two instruments were designed independently for in situ analysis of solids on planetary surfaces and will be combined to a single miniature instrument suite for in situ chemical and morphological analysis of surface materials on planetary bodies. LMS can perform sensitive chemical (elemental, isotope and molecular) analyses with spatial resolution close to micrometre‐sized grains. It allows for studies with mass resolution (M/ΔM) up to 800 in ablation mode (elemental composition) and up to 1500 in desorption mode (molecular analysis). With an effective dynamic range of at least eight orders of magnitude, sensitive and quantitative measurements can be conducted of almost all elements and isotopes with a concentration larger than a few ppb atoms. Hence, in addition to the major element composition, which is important for the determination of mineralogical constituents of surface materials, trace elements can also be measured to provide information on mineral formation processes. Highly accurate isotope ratio measurements can be used to determine in situ geochronology of sample material and for investigations of various isotope fractionation processes. MCS can conduct optical imagery of mm‐sized objects at several wavelengths with micrometre spatial resolution for the characterisation of morphological surface details and to provide insight into surface mineralogy. Furthermore, MCS can help in the selection of sample surface areas for further mass spectrometric analysis of the chemical composition. Surface auto‐fluorescence measurements and images in polarised light are additional capabilities of the MCS, to identify either fluorescing minerals or organic materials, if present on the analysed surface, for further investigation by LMS. The results obtained by investigations of NIST reference materials, amino acid films and a natural graphite sample embedded in silicate rock are presented to illustrate the performance of the instruments and their potential to deliver chemical information for mineral and organic phases in their geological context.     

Interactive visual analytics of hydrodynamic flux for the coastal zone

Researchers wish to study the potential impact of sea level rise from climate change, and visual analytic tools can allow scientists to visually examine and explore different possible scenarios from simulation runs. In particular, hydrodynamic flux is calculated to understand the net movement of water; but typically this calculation is tedious and is not easily achieved with traditional visualization and analytic tools. We present a visual analytic method that incorporates a transect profiler and flux calculator. The analytic software is incorporated into our visual analytics tool Vinca, and generates multiple transects, which can be visualized and analysed in several alternative visualizations; users can choose specific transects to compare against real-world data; users can explore how flux changes within a domain. In addition, we report how ocean scientists have used our tool to display multiple-view views of their data and analyse hydrodynamic flux for the coastal zone.     

Occurrence of phlogopite in the Finero Mafic layered complex

Phlogopite-bearing lithologies are the main constituent of the Phlogopite-Peridotite unit of the Finero sequence and the result of pervasive migration of metasomatizing melts/fluids. Conversely, the presence of phlogopite within the associated Finero Mafic Complex, a mafic-ultramafic pluton intruded into the metamorphic basement of the Adria plate, is mentioned in literature as rare. Recent detailed fieldwork has evidenced the presence of two distinct phlogopite-rich ultramafic lithologies within the Amphibole-Peridotite unit of the Finero Mafic Complex, where phlogopite is always associated with amphibole. Field and petrographic features of these occurrences, as well as major- and trace-element mineral chemistry, are here presented to i) place constraints on the nature of the parent melt from which they have been generated and ii) to address their relationship with the other lithologies of the Finero Complex. We find that these rocks were formed by late melt migrations along shear zones under high-T conditions. The geochemical affinity of these lithologies is different to the tholeiitic-transitional affinity reported in literature for the Finero Mafic Complex. The enrichment in LREE, Th, U and Sr of the associated amphibole possibly suggests that these phlogopite-bearing lithologies are genetically related to the metasomatic events that have affected the Finero mantle massif.     

The Middle-aged and Knowledge Workers:Demographic and Econom-ic Changes in the Pearl River Delta,China

Demographic and economic development can be seen as two sides of one coin in the process of regional development.This article deals with how economic and demogr...     

Evidence for ligand hydrolysis and Fe(III) reduction in the dissolution of goethite by desferrioxamine-B

Desferrioxamine-B (DFOB) is a bacterial trihydroxamate siderophore and probably the most studied to date. However, the manner in which DFOB adsorbs at mineral surfaces and promotes dissolution is still under discussion. Here we investigated the adsorption and dissolution reactions in the goethite-DFOB system using both in situ infrared spectroscopic and quantitative analytical methods. Experiments were carried out at a total DFOB concentration of 1 μmol/m², at pH 6, and in the absence of visible light. Our infrared spectroscopic results indicated that the adsorption of DFOB was nearly complete after a 4-h reaction time. In an attempt to determine the coordination mode at the goethite surface, we compared the spectrum of adsorbed DFOB after a 4-h reaction time to the spectra of model aqueous species. However, this approach proved too simplistic in the case of such a complex ligand as DFOB, and we suggest that a more detailed investigation (IR in D₂O, EXAFS of adsorbed model complexes) is needed to elucidate the structure of the adsorbed siderophore. Between a 4-h and 4-day reaction time, we observed the growth of carboxylate stretching bands at 1548 and 1404 cm⁻¹, which are indicators of DFOB hydrolysis. Acetate, a product of DFOB hydrolysis at its terminal hydroxamate group, was quantified by ion chromatography. Its rate of formation was linear and nearly the same as the rate of Fe(III) dissolution. The larger hydrolysis product, a hydroxylamine fragment, was not detected by LC-MS. However, a signal due to the oxidized form of this fragment, a nitroso compound, was found to increase linearly with time, which is an indirect indication for Fe(III) reduction. Based on these findings, we propose that DFOB undergoes metal-enhanced hydrolysis at the mineral surface followed by the reduction of surface Fe(III). While Fe(II) was not detected in solution, this is likely because it remains adsorbed at the goethite surface or becomes buried in the goethite crystal by electron conduction. Taking into account the extent and similarity between the rates of hydrolysis and dissolution, we suggest that a reductive mechanism could play an important part in the dissolution of goethite by DFOB. This possibility has not been considered previously in the absence of light and at circumneutral pH.     

Oil ‘futures’: Shell’s Scenarios and the social constitution of the global oil market

This article explores the relationship between the oil industry’s representation of operating conditions in key sites of extraction and the constitution of oil futures markets. An analysis of Shell Oil’s recent Scenarios publications, the ‘Trilemma Scenarios to 2025’ and subsequent ‘Scramble and Blueprints Scenarios to 2050’, provides insight into both the (global) social construction of oil prices and the oil industry’s reaction to social resistance in its operating environment - whether in the form of movements for resource sovereignty or climate change activism. Examining the implications of these two Scenario publications for key sites of Shell investment, the Nigerian Niger Delta and the Canadian Tar Sands, the article demonstrates that understanding the discursive implications of ‘peak oil’ for the petroleum industry requires contextualizing discussions of ‘scarcity’ within business agents role in shaping oil futures markets, and private industry’s interest in the ongoing development of unconventional fossil fuel sources. While the role of deregulated futures trading receives little attention in the Shell Scenarios, speculative trading - and thus perception concerning supply among business agents - is central to shaping global oil prices and thus the social conditions of the oil market.     

New estimates for Io eruption temperatures: Implications for the interior

The initial interpretation of Galileo data from Jupiter's moon, Io, suggested eruption temperatures . Tidal heating models have difficulties explaining Io's prodigious heat flow if the mantle is , although we suggest that temperatures up to may be possible. In general, Io eruption temperatures have been overestimated because the incorrect thermal model has been applied. Much of the thermal emission from high-temperature hot spots comes from lava fountains but lava flow models were utilized. We apply a new lava fountain model to the highest reported eruption temperature, the SSI observation of the 1997 eruption at Pillan. This resets the lower temperature limit for the eruption from 1600 to . Additionally, viscous heating of the magma may have increased eruption temperature by as a result of the strong compressive stresses in the ionian lithosphere. While further work is needed, it appears that the discrepancy between observations and interior models is largely resolved.     

Long-term biological effects of petroleum residues on fiddler crabs in salt marshes

In September 1969, the Florida barge spilled 700,000L of No. 2 fuel oil into the salt marsh sediments of Wild Harbor (Buzzards Bay, MA). Today the aboveground environment appears unaffected, but a substantial amount of moderately degraded petroleum still remains 8-20cm below the surface. The salt marsh fiddler crabs, Uca pugnax, burrow into the sediments at depths of 5-25cm, and are chronically exposed to the spilled oil. Behavioral studies conducted with U. pugnax from Wild Harbor and a control site, Great Sippewissett marsh, found that crabs exposed to the oil avoided burrowing into oiled layers, suffered delayed escape responses, lowered feeding rates, and achieved lower densities. The oil residues are therefore biologically active and affect U. pugnax populations. Our results add new knowledge about long-term consequences of spilled oil, a dimension that should be included when assessing oil-impacted areas and developing management plans designed to restore, rehabilitate, or replace impacted areas.     

New model simulations of the global atmospheric electric circuit driven by thunderstorms and electrified shower clouds: The roles of lightning and sprites

Several processes acting below, in and above thunderstorms and in electrified shower clouds drive upward currents which close through the global atmospheric electric circuit. These are all simulated in a novel way using the software package PSpice. A moderate negative cloud-to-ground lightning discharge from the base of a thunderstorm increases the ionospheric potential above the thundercloud by 0.0013%. Assuming the ionosphere to be an equipotential surface, this discharge increases the current flowing in the global circuit and the fair-weather electric field also by 0.0013%. A moderate positive cloud-to-ground lightning discharge from the bottom of a thunderstorm decreases the ionospheric potential by 0.014%. Such a discharge may trigger a sprite, causing the ionospheric potential to decrease by . The time scales for the recovery of the ionospheric potential are shown to be , which is of the same order as the CR time constant for the global circuit. Knowing the global average rate of lightning discharges, it is found that negative cloud-to-ground discharges increase the ionospheric potential by only 4%, and that positive cloud-to-ground discharges reduce it by 3%. Thus, overall, lightning contributes only 1%—an almost insignificant proportion—to maintaining the high potential of the ionosphere. It is concluded that the net upward current to the ionosphere due to lightning is only . Further, it is concluded that conduction and convection currents associated with “batteries” within thunderclouds and electrified shower clouds contribute essentially equally ( each) to maintaining the ionospheric potential.