Spatial and Temporal Variability of Benthic Respiration in a Scottish Sea Loch Impacted by Fish Farming: A Combination of In Situ Techniques

The effects of fish farm activities on sediment biogeochemistry were investigated in Loch Creran (Western Scotland) from March to October 2006. Sediment oxygen uptake rates (SOU) were estimated along an organic matter gradient generated from an Atlantic salmon farm using a combination of in situ techniques: microelectrodes, planar optode and benthic chamber incubations. Sulphide (H₂S) and pH distributions in sediment porewater were also measured using in situ microelectrodes, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fluxes were measured in situ using benthic chambers. Relationships between benthic fluxes, vertical distribution of oxidants and reduced compounds in the sediment were examined as well as bacterial abundance and biomass. Seasonal variations in SOU were relatively low and mainly driven by seasonal temperature variations. The effect of the fish farm on sediment oxygen uptake rate was clearly identified by higher total and diffusive oxygen uptake rates (TOU and DOU, respectively) on impacted stations (TOU: 70 ± 25 mmol O₂ m^?2 day^?1; DOU: 70 ± 32 mmol O₂ m^?2 day^?1 recalculated at the summer temperature), compared with the reference station (TOU: 28.3 ± 5.5 mmol O₂ m^?2 day^?1; DOU: 21.5 ± 4.5 mmol O₂ m^?2 day^?1). At the impacted stations, planar optode images displayed high centimetre scale heterogeneity in oxygen distribution underlining the control of oxygen dynamics by small-scale processes. The organic carbon enrichment led to enhanced sulphate reduction as demonstrated by large vertical H₂S concentration gradients in the porewater (from 0 to 1,000 μM in the top 3 cm) at the most impacted site. The impact on ecosystem functions such as bioirrigation was evidenced by a decreasing TOU/DOU ratio, from 1.7 in the non-impacted sediments to 1 in the impacted zone. This trend was related to a shift in the macrofaunal assemblage and an increase in sediment bacterial population. The turnover time of the organic load of the sediment was estimated to be over 6 years.     

Watershed Controls on the Geomorphology of Small Coastal Lagoons in an Active Tectonic Environment

This study investigates the relations between watershed precipitation, upstream channel slope, and the geomorphology of 19 small (40 to 18,658 m²), fluvial-incised lagoons in the actively uplifting piedmont near Santa Barbara, CA. Lagoons in the study are funnel-shaped, shallow (<2 m), river-dominated, and enclosed by a sandy to cobble-sized beach barrier for much of the year. Results indicate a strong link between watershed processes and lagoon geomorphology, such that a significant portion of the variability in lagoon area, length, volume, average width, circularity, and lagoon width expansion can be explained by the variability of watershed precipitation and channel slope upstream of the lagoons. Performing multiple regression analysis with watershed precipitation and channel slope as independent variables, coefficients of determination for the power function regressions are 0.88 (lagoon area), 0.88 (lagoon volume), 0.83 (lagoon volume), and 0.74 (average width). Upstream slope is the best single predictor of lagoon geomorphology.     

Climatic Influences on Autochthonous and Allochthonous Phytoplankton Blooms in a Subtropical Estuary, St. Lucie Estuary, Florida, USA

The St. Lucie Estuary, located on the southeast coast of Florida, provides an example of a subtropical ecosystem where seasonal changes in temperature are modest, but summer storms alter rainfall regimes and external inputs to the estuary from the watershed and Atlantic Ocean. The focus of this study was the response of the phytoplankton community to spatial and temporal shifts in salinity, nutrient concentration, watershed discharges, and water residence times, within the context of temporal patterns in rainfall. From a temporal perspective, both drought and flood conditions negatively impacted phytoplankton biomass potential. Prolonged drought periods were associated with reduced nutrient loads and phytoplankton inputs from the watershed and increased influence of water exchange with the Atlantic Ocean, all of which restrict biomass potential. Conversely, under flood conditions, nutrient loads were elevated, but high freshwater flushing rates in the estuary diminished water residence times and increase salinity variation, thereby restricting the buildup of phytoplankton biomass. An exception to the latter pattern was a large incursion of a cyanobacteria bloom from Lake Okeechobee via the St. Lucie Canal observed in the summer of 2005. From a spatial perspective, regional differences in water residence times, sources of watershed inputs, and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean influenced the composition and biomass of the phytoplankton community. Long water residence times in the North Fork region of the St. Lucie Estuary provided an environment conducive to the development of blooms of autochthonous origin. Conversely, shorter residence times in the mid-estuary limit autochthonous increases in biomass, but allochthonous sources of biomass can result in bloom concentrations of phytoplankton.     

Experimental Study of Brittle Behavior of Clay Shale in Rapid Triaxial Compression

The brittle failure behavior of an over-consolidated clay shale (Opalinus Clay) in undrained rapid triaxial compression was studied. The confining stress levels were chosen to simulate the range of confining stresses relevant for underground excavations at the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory, and to investigate the transition from axial splitting failure to macroscopic shear failure. Micro-crack initiation was observed throughout the confining stress range utilized in this study at a differential stress of 2.1 MPa on average, which indicates that friction was not mobilized at this stage of brittle failure. The rupture stress was dependent on confinement indicating friction mobilization during the brittle failure process. With increasing confinement net volumetric strain decreased suggesting that dilation was suppressed, which is possibly related to a change in the failure mode. At confining stress levels ≤0.5 MPa specimen rupture was associated with axial splitting. With increasing confinement, transition to a macroscopic shearing mode was observed. Multi-stage triaxial tests consistently showed lower strengths than single-stage tests, demonstrating cumulative damage in the specimens. Both the Mohr–Coulomb and Hoek–Brown failure criteria could not satisfactorily fit the data over the entire confining stress range. A bi-linear or S-shaped failure criterion was found to satisfactorily fit the test data over the entire confinement range studied.     

Low-Ca contents and kink-banded textures are not unique to mantle olivine: evidence from the Duke Island Complex, Alaska

Low-Ca contents and kink-banded textures in olivine with high Fo contents (>90?mol%) are widely used as indicators of mantle origin. Here we report the occurrence of this type of olivine in the peridotites of the Annette and Duke Island Complexes in southeastern Alaska which are interpreted to have formed at crustal depths. Our findings confirm that neither low-Ca contents nor kink-banded textures are unique to mantle olivine. Caution is warranted in using this type of olivine or peridotite xenoliths containing this type of olivine in volcanic rocks to decipher the nature of the mantle.     

The National Ignition Facility: an experimental platform for?studying behavior of matter under extreme conditions

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), a 192-beam Nd-glass laser facility capable of producing 1.8 MJ and 500 TW of ultraviolet light, is now operational at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As the world??s largest and most energetic laser system, NIF serves as the national center for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration to achieve thermonuclear burn in the laboratory and to explore the behavior of matter at extreme temperatures and energy densities. By concentrating the energy from all of its 192 extremely energetic laser beams into a mm³-sized target, NIF can reach the conditions required to initiate fusion reactions. NIF can also provide access to extreme scientific environments: temperatures about 100 million K, densities of 1,000 g/cm³, and pressures 100 billion times atmospheric pressure. These conditions have never been created before in a laboratory and exist naturally only in interiors of the planetary and stellar environments as well as in nuclear weapons. Since August 2009, the NIF team has been conducting experiments in support of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC)??a partnership among LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, General Atomics, the University of Rochester, Sandia National Laboratories, as well as a number of universities and international collaborators. The results from these initial experiments show promise for the relatively near-term achievement of ignition. Capsule implosion experiments at energies up to 1.2 MJ have demonstrated laser energetics, radiation temperatures, and symmetry control that scale to ignition conditions. Of particular importance is the demonstration of peak hohlraum temperatures near 300 eV with overall backscatter less than 10%. Cryogenic target capability and additional diagnostics are being installed in preparation for layered target deuterium-tritium implosions to be conducted later in 2010. Important national security and basic science experiments have also been conducted on NIF. This paper describes the unprecedented experimental capabilities of NIF and the results achieved so far on the path toward ignition, for stockpile stewardship, and the beginning of frontier science experiments. The paper will also address our plans to transition NIF to a national user facility, providing access to NIF for researchers from the DOE laboratories, as well as the national and international academic and fusion energy communities.     

Chandra X-ray observations of two unusual BAL quasars

We report sensitive Chandra X-ray non-detections of two unusual, luminous Iron Low-Ionization Broad Absorption Line Quasars (FeLoBALs). The observations do detect a non-BAL, wide-binary companion quasar to one of the FeLoBAL quasars. We combine X-ray-derived column density lower limits (assuming solar metallicity) with column densities measured from ultraviolet spectra and CLOUDY photoionization simulations to explore whether constant-density slabs at broad-line region densities can match the physical parameters of these two BAL outflows, and find that they cannot. In the “overlapping-trough” object SDSS J0300+0048, we measure the column density of the X-ray absorbing gas to be N_H ? 1.8 × 10²⁴ cm^?2. From the presence of Fe ii UV78 absorption but lack of Fe ii UV195/UV196 absorption, we infer the density in that part of the absorbing region to be n_e ? 10⁶ cm^?3. We do find that a slab of gas at that density might be able to explain this object’s absorption. In the Fe iii-dominant object SDSS J2215–0045, the X-ray absorbing column density of N_H ? 3.4 × 10²⁴ cm^?2 is consistent with the Fe iii-derived N_H ? 2 × 10²² cm^?2 provided the ionization parameter is log U > 1.0 for both the n_e = 10¹¹ cm^?3 and n_e = 10¹² cm^?3 scenarios considered (such densities are required to produce Fe iii absorption without Fe iiabsorption). However, the velocity width of the absorption rules out its being concentrated in a single slab at these densities. Instead, this object’s spectrum can be explained by a low density, high ionization and high temperature disk wind that encounters and ablates higher density, lower ionization Fe iii-emitting clumps.     

Sulfide mineralization associated with arc magmatism in the Qilian Block,western China: zircon U-Pb age and Sr-Nd-Os-S isotope constraints from the Yulonggou and Yaqu gabbroic intrusions

The sulfide-bearing Yulonggou and Yaqu mafic intrusions are located in the southern margin of the Qilian Block, Qinghai Province, western China. They are small dike-like bodies mainly composed of gabbros and diorites. Disseminated sulfides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite) are present as concordant lenses within the intrusions. Precise CA-ID-TIMS zircon U-Pb dating yields the crystallization ages of 443.39?±?0.42 and 440.74?±?0.33 Ma for the Yulonggou and Yaqu intrusions, respectively. Whole rock samples from both intrusions show light rare earth element (REE) enrichments relative to heavy REE and pronounced negative Nb-Ta anomalies relative to Th and La, which are consistent with the products of arc basaltic magmatism. The Yulonggou intrusion has negative ε _Nd values from ?5.7 to ?7.7 and elevated (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) _i ratios from 0.711 to 0.714. In contrast, the Yaqu intrusion has higher ε _Nd values from ?4.1 to +8.4 and lower (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) _i ratios from 0.705 to 0.710. The δ³⁴S values of sulfide separates from the Yulonggou and Yaqu deposits vary from 0.8 to 2.4?‰ and from 2 to 4.3?‰, respectively. The γ _Os values of sulfide separates from the Yulonggou and Yaqu deposits vary between 80 and 123 and between 963 and 1,191, respectively. Higher γ _Os values coupled with higher δ³⁴S values for the Yaqu deposit relative to the Yulonggou deposit indicate that external sulfur played a bigger role in sulfide mineralization in the Yaqu intrusion than in the Yulonggou intrusion. Mixing calculations using Sr-Nd isotope data show that contamination with siliceous crustal materials is more pronounced in the Yulonggou intrusion (up to 20 wt%) than in the Yaqu intrusion (<15 wt%). The distribution of sulfides in both intrusions is consistent with multiple emplacements of sulfide-saturated magmas from depth. The Yulonggou and Yaqu sulfide deposits are not economically valuable under current market condition due to small sizes and low Ni grades, which can be explained by late-stage sulfide saturation after extensive olivine fractional crystallization from the magmas. Based on these observations, we suggest a shift of focus for Ni exploration in the region from mafic/gabbroic intrusions to olivine-rich ultramafic intrusions.     

Eolian Deposition and Soil Fertility in a Prehistoric Agricultural Complex in Central Arizona,USA

Prehistoric farmers in arid and semiarid ecosystems commonly used rock alignments to concentrate water and sediments on their fields. Previous research has emphasized the importance of runoff from organic matter‐rich uplands as a mechanism for soil nutrient replenishment. However, eolian inputs to these dryland ecosystems might also contribute substantially to mineral‐derived nutrient pools. We explored the relative importance of eolian deposition, prehistoric agriculture, and the presence of rock alignments on soil properties in a semiarid grassland in Arizona. Subsurface soils behind natural rock alignments are finer in texture than soils unbound by rock alignments, while subsurface soils behind agricultural rock alignments coarsen relative to unbound soils. Neither rock alignments nor estimated crop yields had detectable effects on mineral‐derived nutrient pools. In contrast, eolian deposition is an important source of soil mass and nutrients to modern soils. While dust deposition likely reduced soil heterogeneity across this landscape, it could have also contributed to the sustainability of prehistoric agriculture.     

Silicate melt removal and sulfide liquid retention in ultramafic rocks of the Duke Island Complex,Southeastern Alaska

Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide mineralization occurs within olivine clinopyroxenite, hornblende-bearing clinopyroxenite, and magnetite-hornblende-rich rocks in the Ural-Alaskan-Type Duke Island Complex in Southeast Alaska. The addition of large amounts of sulfur from country rocks occurred during fractional crystallization of the parental magma when clinopyroxene was becoming a liquidus mineral. Textural interfaces between sulfide and silicate minerals are strongly interlobate, and differ significantly from net-textures that are developed in many Ni-Cu-PGE deposits. Sulfide-free olivine clinopyroxenite is an adcumulate; residual liquid was efficiently expelled from the accumulating crystal pile. A significant interstitial liquid component is observable only in the form of interstitial sulfide in the S-rich rocks. Rounded sulfide inclusions and blebby to vermicular sulfide-silicate intergrowths indicate that silicate crystallization occurred under conditions of sulfide saturation. The presence of dense sulfide liquid inhibited the growth of silicate minerals and led to the development of interlobate grain boundaries. Strong, localized wetting of sulfide liquids on crystallizing silicates, and downward percolation of sulfide liquid through a crystallizing mush may have contributed to the evolution of these textures. Residual silicate liquid was removed from the system due to a combination of buoyant advection and compaction, but dense sulfide liquid remained.