Process length variation of the cyst of the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum in the North Pacific and Baltic‐Skagerrak region: calibration as an annual density proxy and first evidence of pseudo‐cryptic speciation

Process length variation of cysts of the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum (Claparède et Lachmann) Bütschli in surface sediments from the North Pacific was investigated. The average process length showed a significant inverse relation to annual seawater density: σ_{t annual} = ?0.8674 × average process length + 1029.3 (R² = 0.84), with a standard error of 0.78 kg m^?3. A sediment trap study from Effingham Inlet in British Columbia revealed the same relationship between average process length and local seawater density variations. In the Baltic–Skagerrak region, the average process length variation was related significantly to annual seawater density: σ_{t annual} = 3.5457 × average process length ? 993.28 (R² = 0.86), with a standard error of 3.09 kg m^?3. These calibrations cannot be reconciled, which accentuates the regional character of the calibrations. This can be related to variations in molecular data (small subunit, long subunit and internal transcribed spacer sequences), which show the presence of several genotypes and the occurrence of pseudo‐cryptic speciation within this species. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating impacts of warming temperatures on California's electricity system

Despite a clear need, little research has been carried out at the regional-level to quantify potential climate-related impacts to electricity production and delivery systems. This paper introduces a bottom-up study of climate change impacts on California's energy infrastructure, including high temperature effects on power plant capacity, transmission lines, substation capacity, and peak electricity demand. End-of-century impacts were projected using the A2 and B1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenarios. The study quantifies the effect of high ambient temperatures on electricity generation, the capacity of substations and transmission lines, and the demand for peak power for a set of climate scenarios. Based on these scenarios, atmospheric warming and associated peak demand increases would necessitate up to 38% of additional peak generation capacity and up to 31% additional transmission capacity, assuming current infrastructure. These findings, although based on a limited number of scenarios, suggest that additional funding could be put to good use by supporting R&D into next generation cooling equipment technologies, diversifying the power generation mix without compromising the system's operational flexibility, and designing effective demand side management programs.     

Chronology of the pressure-temperature history recorded by a granulite terrain

Coronite-bearing anorthositic granulites consisting of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, garnet and plagioclase assemblages are particularly well preserved at Gaupås and Holsnöy in the Bergen Arc of West Norway. The coronites are considered to have formed near T= 900° C and P=10 Kb by two stages of subsolidus reaction from an anorthositic gabbro parent. The first reaction involved ol+plagcpxI+opxI+sp and the second cpxI+opxI+sp+plcpxII+opxII+gn. The incomplete reaction products are preserved to varying extents in different corona structures. Sm-Nd isotopic data for each of four coronas yield precise isochrons, and demonstrate isochronism both between the constituent phases of the corona assemblages and dispersed ground mass phases. Three individual coronas not associated with shear zones yield ages of 907±9 my, 912±18 my and 905±37 my. Eclogite facies mineralogy is developed locally in shear zones, which are shown by Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr analyses to be Caledonian in age. Where relict corona structures survive unsheared within these zones, Nd exchange between the constituent phases cannot be resolved. This observation together with sympathetic Ca/Mg and Sm/Nd zoning preserved at T900° C in the garnet mantles of coronites places a limit on the diffusivity of Nd in pyropic garnets which is no higher than published experimental values for Mg in pyrope-almandine garnets. Consequently even in slowly-cooled granulite terrains, garnet grains are expected to yield Sm-Nd chronologies very close to the time of mineral growth.     

Initialization and data assimilation experiments with a primitive equation model

The process of combining models of the ocean circulation with large data sets is known in meteorology as model initialization and data assimilation. This process is new to oceanographers, who only now are on the verge of having available world-wide synoptic maps of dynamic variables. In this paper we carry out a series of idealized initialization/assimilation experiments with a primitive equation (PE) model, which constitute a first step in developing a realistic process model and data assimilation techniques for the Gulf Stream system. The PE model is used in a spin-down mode and initialized with an analytic jet profile with geostrophically balanced fields.Two major questions are addressed in the present study. The first concerns the initialization process of a PE model during which internal/inertial gravity wave noise is produced. We ask: are the initialization shocks equally crucial for ocean models as they have been for their atmospheric counterparts? The results of an extensive series of balanced versus unbalanced initializations indicate that, for a PE model with a rigid lid, a brutally unbalanced initialization is required to produce strong internal gravity wave shocks. A geostrophically balanced initialization is sufficient to ensure smooth jet evolutions, with no apparent gravity waves, over long time durations in the spin-down mode. No sophisticated initialization procedures seem, therefore, to be required.The second question addressed is: which component of the flow is the most important in data assimilation to drive the model response towards a baseline reference ocean? We specifically compare the knowledge of the depth-integrated flow only, corresponding to measurements of the total transport, with the knowledge of the density field only, or equivalently the velocity shear. The knowledge of the interior density field is much more effective in decreasing the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) errors relative to the reference ocean. If the baroclinic structure is known, coarse horizontal resolutions of data insertion can be reached before significantly worsening the model estimates. If only the depth-averaged flow is known, a decrease in the horizontal resolution of data assimilation has an immediate effect: the r.m.s. errors sharply increase and the assimilation run diverges from the reference ocean. In the assimilation of the barotropic flow alone, even with dense resolution, the errors in the deep layers always show an increasing trend. The relative effectiveness of baroclinic versus barotropic data insertion can be rationalized in the context of geostrophic adjustment theory.     

Limitations and feasibility of the land disposal of organic solvent-contaminated wastes

The limitations and feasibility of the land disposal of solid wastes containing organic solvents and refrigerants (chlorinated fluorocarbons) were investigated by evaluating the attenuation capacity of a hypothetical waste-disposal site by numerical modeling. The basic theorem of this approach was that the land disposal of wastes would be environmentally acceptable if subsurface attenuation reduced groundwater concentrations of organic compounds to concentrations that were less than health-based, water-quality criteria. Computer simulations indicated that the predicted concentrations of 13 of 33 organic compounds in groundwater would be less than their health-based criteria. Hence, solid wastes containing these compounds could be safely disposed at the site. The attenuation capacity of the site was insufficient to reduce concentrations of four compounds to safe levels without limiting the amount of mass available to leach into groundwater. Threshold masses based on time-dependent migration simulations were estimated for these compounds. The remaining 16 compounds, which consisted mainly of chlorinated hydrocarbons and fluorocarbons could not be safely landfilled without severe restrictions on the amounts disposed. These organic compounds were candidates to ban from land disposal.     

Crystal features of supergene gold at Hannan South,Western Australia

Deep weathering of basalt-hosted sulphidic gold mineralisation has resulted in remobilisation of the gold and the formation of a supergene deposit. The deposit occurs beneath an ephemeral lake system and is at least partially saturated by highly saline groundwater. A general downward movement of an iron redox front associated with the weathering has controlled the distribution of the gold and its morphology. It is unusual in that the high fineness gold crystals formed are coarse and well-preserved. Small octahedra, up to 50 μm, are the most abundant form of gold crystals but large, up to 3 mm, octahedral plates are common. Crystal morphology variations described here suggest that the gold is initially precipitated as euhedral octahedra and plates. Subsequent dissolution and recrystallisation associated with fluctuations in the chemical environment above the redox front has led to the development of the more common irregular dendritic or wire gold forms observed in other supergene deposits.     

Geology-based conditional simulation in the Athabasca oil sands deposit,Alberta, Canada

The Athabasca oil sands deposit, Alberta, Canada, is one of the largest known hydrocarbon accumulations. The efficient exploitation of this deposit, as well as other oil sand accumulations throughout the world, is based onin situ recovery and surface mining methods. Quantitative modeling of deposit heterogeneity provides a valuable engineering tool. In the present study, conditional simulation was used to model oil-saturated zones in part of the Athabasca deposit. This technique generates equiprobable models of thein situ variability of essential deposit attributes that honor the available data and their spatial statistics. The application of the technique is based on the delineation of geologically homogeneous zones within the host McMurray Formation, their statistical validity, and the integration of geological interpretations. The geological framework is developed, and subsequently, high resolution conditionally simulated models of three identified hydrocarbon-bearing zones are generated, in terms of the zone boundaries and the percent weight of oil saturation. These models serve as “what-if” tools for risk assessment and future planning.     

Residence of trace elements in metasomatized spinel lherzolite xenoliths: a proton-microprobe study

Minerals occurring in dry and modally metasomatized spinel lherzolites from western Victoria have been analysed by proton microprobe for Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Ba, Pb, Br, rare-earth elements (REE), Th and U. Mass-balance calculations demonstrate that these trace elements are contained in specific acceptor minerals and do not occur in significant concentrations at clean grain boundaries. The level of particular trace elements in the rock depends on the presence of specific phases: for example high levels of REE, Sr (and U, Th, Br) require apatite, while Ba, Nb and Ta are strongly concentrated in amphibole±mica. Mantle metasomatism in these spinel lherzolites is inferred to result from an open-system process involving infiltration of fluids released by crystallizing silicate melts. This process produces metasomatic zones with different modal mineralogy and hence greatly different trace-element signatures. The data demonstrate that large-ion-lithophile (LIL) and high-field strength (HFS) elements in metasomatized spinel lherzolites are strongly concentrated in non-refractory phases, which will break down easily in heated volumes such as the walls of magma conduits. The heterogeneity observed in trace-element patterns of intraplate alkali basaltic rocks may not reflect source heterogeneity, but may result largely from contamination by metasomatized mantle wall rock. The K_Ds for most trace elements show little temperature dependence except for K_DSr between orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene where K_D decreases with increasing temperature. The generally uniform K_Ds can be used to test for disequilibrium in such assemblages.     

The agricultural utility of lithic-mulch gardens: Past and present

The mulching of agricultural fields and gardens with stones, pebbles, volcanic ash and similar lithic materials is a variant agricultural strategy uniquely suited to the constraints of a dryland environment. While the agricultural literature contains reports on limited experiments with stone or gravel mulch, data regarding the employment of lithic mulch are lacking. This paper works to bridge this gap by comparing empirical data collected from prehistoric pebble-mulch gardens in the Galisteo Basin (New Mexico) to contemporary agricultural experiments with lithic mulch. Such past-present and experimental-real world comparisons allow us to more fully address the effectiveness of lithic mulching as an agricultural strategy. It is affirmed that lithic mulch is applied to garden plots, especially during periods of drought, in order to reduce soil erosion from wind and water, increase soil temperature to extend the growing season, increase water infiltration, and reduce the evaporative loss of water from wind and sun. The cumulative effect of this soil and water conserving technique is an increase in crop biomass and crop yield.