Trophic relationships along a bathymetric gradient at the deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN

Deep-seafloor communities, especially those from the ice-covered Arctic, are subject to severe food limitation as the amount of particulate organic matter (POM) from the surface is attenuated with increasing depth. Here, we use naturally occurring stable isotope tracers (δ¹⁵N) to broaden our rudimentary knowledge of food web structure and the response of benthic organisms to decreasing food supplies along the bathymetric transect (～1300–5600 m water depth) of the deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN. Encompassing five trophic levels, the HAUSGARTEN food web is among the longest indicating continuous recycling of organic material typical of food-limited deep-sea ecosystems. The δ¹⁵N signatures ranged from 3.0‰ for Foraminifera to 21.4‰ (±0.4) for starfish (Poraniomorpha tumida). The majority of organisms occupied the second and third trophic level. Demersal fish fed at the third trophic level, consistent with results from stomach contents analysis. There were significant differences in the δ¹⁵N signatures of different functional groups with highest δ¹⁵N values in predators/scavengers (13.2±0.2‰) followed by suspension feeders (11.2±0.2‰) and deposit feeders (10.2±0.3‰). Depth (=increasing food limitation) affected functional groups in different ways. While the isotopic signatures of predators/scavengers did not change, those of suspension feeders increased with depth, and the reverse was found for deposit feeders. In contrast to the results of other studies, the δ¹⁵N signatures in POM samples obtained below 800 m did not vary significantly with depth indicating that changes in δ¹⁵N values are unlikely to be responsible for the depth-related δ¹⁵N signature changes observed for benthic consumers. However, the δ¹⁵N signatures of sediments decreased with increasing depth, which also explains the decrease found for deposit feeders. Suspension feeders may rely increasingly on particles trickling down the HAUSGARTEN slope and carrying higher δ¹⁵N signatures than the decreasing POM supplies, which elevates the δ¹⁵N value of their tissues. Our results imply that a depth-stratified approach should be taken to avoid a misinterpretation of data obtained at different depths.     

Influence of estuarine hypoxia on feeding and sound production by two sympatric pipefish species (Syngnathidae)

This research utilizes the acoustic behavior of two sympatric pipefish species to assess the impact of hypoxia on feeding. We collected northern, Syngnathus fuscus, and dusky pipefishes, Syngnathus floridae, from the relatively pristine Chincoteague Bay, Virginia, USA and audiovisually recorded behavior in the laboratory of fish held in normoxic (>5 mg/L O(2)) and hypoxic (2 and 1 mg/L O(2)) conditions. Both species produced high frequency ( approximately 0.9-1.4 kHz), short duration (3-22 msec) clicks. Feeding strikes were significantly correlated with both wet weight of ingested food and click production. Thus, sound production serves as an accurate measure of feeding activity. In hypoxic conditions, reduced food intake corresponded with decreased sound production. Significant declines in both behaviors were evident after 1 day and continued as long as hypoxic conditions were maintained. Interspecific differences in sensitivity were detected. Specifically, S. floridae showed a tendency to perform head snaps at the surface. S. fuscus exhibited a breakdown in the coupling of sound production with food intake in 2 mg/L O(2) with clicks produced in other contexts, particularly choking and food expulsion. Reductions in feeding will ultimately impact growth, health, and eventually reproduction as resources are devoted to survival instead of gamete production and courtship. This work suggests acoustic monitoring of field sites with adverse environmental conditions may reflect changes in feeding behavior in addition to population dispersal.     

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO’s Primary Science Phase (PSP)

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5-6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty stereo pairs were acquired and more than 50 digital terrain models (DTMs) completed; these data have led to some of the most significant science results. New methods to measure and correct distortions due to pointing jitter facilitate topographic and change-detection studies at sub-meter scales. Recent results address Noachian bedrock stratigraphy, fluvially deposited fans in craters and in or near Valles Marineris, groundwater flow in fractures and porous media, quasi-periodic layering in polar and non-polar deposits, tectonic history of west Candor Chasma, geometry of clay-rich deposits near and within Mawrth Vallis, dynamics of flood lavas in the Cerberus Palus region, evidence for pyroclastic deposits, columnar jointing in lava flows, recent collapse pits, evidence for water in well-preserved impact craters, newly discovered large rayed craters, and glacial and periglacial processes. Of particular interest are ongoing processes such as those driven by the wind, impact cratering, avalanches of dust and/or frost, relatively bright deposits on steep gullied slopes, and the dynamic seasonal processes over polar regions. HiRISE has acquired hundreds of large images of past, present and potential future landing sites and has contributed to scientific and engineering studies of those sites. Warming the focal-plane electronics prior to imaging has mitigated an instrument anomaly that produces bad data under cold operating conditions.     

Coupled thermal-orbital evolution of the early Moon

Coupled thermal-orbital histories of early lunar evolution are considered in a simple model. We consider a plagioclase lid, overlying a magma ocean, overlying a solid mantle. Tidal dissipation occurs in the plagioclase lid and heat transport is by conduction and melt migration. We find that large orbital eccentricities can be obtained in this model. We discuss possible consequences of this phase of large eccentricities for the shape of the Moon and geochronology of lunar samples. We find that the orbit can pass through the shape solution of Garrick-Bethell et al. (Garrick-Bethell, I., Wisdom, J., Zuber, M. [2006]. Science 313, 652), but we argue that the shape cannot be maintained against elastic deformation as the orbit continues to evolve.     

Planning in the age of Facebook: the role of social networking in planning processes

There has been rapid growth in the use of online social networking sites, such as Facebook. The public is increasingly using these sites for organizing around place-based issues. This research examines the extent to which the public and planners are using social networking sites to organize the public around place-based planning issues. Using content analysis of social networking sites, place-based planning groups are identified and analyzed. The administrators for the groups were contacted to determine their goals and satisfaction with their groups’ work. Planning departments in the same communities were then contacted to determine the degree to which the social networking groups influenced the planning process. The results of this study found that the public primarily organizes to oppose development projects. While on average these groups attract hundreds of people, planners and group administrators report that there is minimal influence on the planning process.     

The Role of Zooplankton Grazing and Nutrient Loading in the Occurrence of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms in Florida Bay,USA

Florida Bay is Florida’s (USA) largest estuary and has experienced harmful picocyanobacteria blooms for nearly two decades. While nutrient loading is the most commonly cited cause of algal blooms in Florida Bay, the role of zooplankton grazing pressure in bloom occurrence has not been considered. For this study, the spatial and temporal dynamics of cyanobacteria blooms, the microbial food web, microzooplankton and mesozooplankton grazing rates of picoplankton, and the effects of nutrients on plankton groups in Florida Bay were quantified. During the study, cyanobacteria blooms (>3 × 10⁵ cells mL⁻¹) persisted in the eastern and central regions of Florida Bay for more than a year. Locations with elevated abundance of cyanobacteria hosted microzooplankton grazing rates on cyanobacteria that were significantly lower (p < 0.001) and less frequently detectable compared to sites without blooms. Consistent with this observation, cyanobacteria abundances were significantly correlated with ciliates and heterotrophic nanoflagellates at low cyanobacteria densities (p < 0.001) but were not correlated during bloom events. The experimental enrichment of mesozooplankton abundance during blooms yielded a significant decrease in the net growth rate of picoplankton but had the opposite effect when blooms were absent, suggesting that the cascading effect of mesozooplankton grazing on the microbial food web was also altered during blooms. While inorganic nutrient enrichment significantly increased the net growth rates of eukaryotic phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria, such nutrient loading had no effect on the net growth rates of cyanobacteria. Hence, this study demonstrates that low rates of zooplankton grazing and low rates of inorganic nutrient loading contribute to the persistence of cyanobacteria blooms in Florida Bay.     

Time-window-based filtering method for near-surface detection of leakage from geologic carbon sequestration sites

We use process-based modeling techniques to characterize the temporal features of natural biologically controlled surface CO₂ fluxes and the relationships between the assimilation and respiration fluxes. Based on these analyses, we develop a signal-enhancing technique that combines a novel time-window splitting scheme, a simple median filtering, and an appropriate scaling method to detect potential signals of leakage of CO₂ from geologic carbon sequestration sites from within datasets of net near-surface CO₂ flux measurements. The technique can be directly applied to measured data and does not require subjective gap filling or data-smoothing preprocessing. Preliminary application of the new method to flux measurements from a CO₂ shallow-release experiment appears promising for detecting a leakage signal relative to background variability. The leakage index of ±2 was found to span the range of biological variability for various ecosystems as determined by observing CO₂ flux data at various control sites for a number of years.     

Multi-spectral imaging of vegetation for detecting CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> leaking from underground

Practical geologic CO₂ sequestration will require long-term monitoring for detection of possible leakage back into the atmosphere. One potential monitoring method is multi-spectral imaging of vegetation reflectance to detect leakage through CO₂-induced plant stress. A multi-spectral imaging system was used to simultaneously record green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) images with a real-time reflectance calibration from a 3-m tall platform, viewing vegetation near shallow subsurface CO₂ releases during summers 2007 and 2008 at the Zero Emissions Research and Technology field site in Bozeman, Montana. Regression analysis of the band reflectances and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index with time shows significant correlation with distance from the CO₂ well, indicating the viability of this method to monitor for CO₂ leakage. The 2007 data show rapid plant vigor degradation at high CO₂ levels next to the well and slight nourishment at lower, but above-background CO₂ concentrations. Results from the second year also show that the stress response of vegetation is strongly linked to the CO₂ sink–source relationship and vegetation density. The data also show short-term effects of rain and hail. The real-time calibrated imaging system successfully obtained data in an autonomous mode during all sky and daytime illumination conditions.     

Dynamics of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> fluxes and concentrations during a shallow subsurface CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> release

A field facility located in Bozeman, Montana provides the opportunity to test methods to detect, locate, and quantify potential CO₂ leakage from geologic storage sites. From 9 July to 7 August 2008, 0.3 t CO₂ day⁻¹ were injected from a 100-m long, ~2.5-m deep horizontal well. Repeated measurements of soil CO₂ fluxes on a grid characterized the spatio-temporal evolution of the surface leakage signal and quantified the surface leakage rate. Infrared CO₂ concentration sensors installed in the soil at 30 cm depth at 0–10 m from the well and at 4 cm above the ground at 0 and 5 m from the well recorded surface breakthrough of CO₂ leakage and migration of CO₂ leakage through the soil. Temporal variations in CO₂ concentrations were correlated with atmospheric and soil temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, and CO₂ injection rate.     

Characteristics of Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in North Carolina

Trends in the Atlantic tropical cyclones and the cyclones that had tracks through North Carolina were analyzed for more than 100 years. From about 1970, there appears to be an increase in the mean number of storms developing. The number of storms affecting North Carolina each decade has been increasing since the 1960s. In the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s, there was an increase in the number of landfalling storms in North Carolina. Although August and September are the most active months of the Atlantic hurricane season, the hurricane season for North Carolina peaks in September. Wind distribution and frictional convergence associated with landfalling hurricanes in North Carolina are discussed. Convection and precipitation patterns of landfalling hurricanes are presented. Two examples of the effect of spatial surface moisture distribution on intensification of tropical cyclones over land after landfall are discussed.