A comparison of sediment microbial communities associated with<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmites australis</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina alterniflora</Emphasis> in two brackish wetlands of New Jersey

The extensive spread ofPhragmites australis throughout brackish marshes on the East Coast of the United States is a major factor governing management and restoration decisions because it is assumed that biogeochemical functions are altered by the invasion. Microbial activity is important in providing wetland biogeochemical functions such as carbon and nitrogen cycling, but there is little known about sediment microbial communities inPhragmites marshes. Microbial populations associated with invasivePhragmites vegetation and with native salt marsh cordgrass,Spartina alterniflora, may differ in the relative abundance of microbial taxa (community structure) and in the ability of this biota to decompose organic substrates (community biogeochemical function). This study compares sediment microbial communities associated withPhragmites andSpartina vegetation in an undisturbed brackish marsh near Tuckerton, New Jersey (MUL), and in a brackish marsh in the anthropogenically affected Hackensack meadowlands (SMC). We use phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and enzymataic activity to profile sediment microbial communities associated with both plants in each site. Sediment analyses include bulk density, total organic matter, and root biomass. PLFA profiles indicate that the microbial communities differ between sites with the undisturbed site exhibiting greater fatty acid richness (62 PLFA recovered from MUL versus 38 from SMC). Activity of the 5 enzymes analyzed (β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, chitobiase, and 2 oxidases) was higher in the undisturbed site. Differences between vegetation species as measured by Principal Components Analysis were significantly greater at the undisturbed MUL site than at SMC, and patterns of enzyme activity and PLFAs did not correspond to patterns of root biomass. We suggest that in natural wetland sediments, macrophyte rhizosphere effects influence the community composition of sediment microbial populations. Physical and chemical site disturbances may impose limits on these rhizosphere effects, decreasing sediment microbial diversity and potentially, microbial biogeochemical functions.     

A seismic refraction study of cretaceous oceanic lithosphere in the Northwest Pacific Basin

A seismic refraction study on old (110 Myr) lithosphere in the northwest Pacific Basin has placed constraints on crustal and uppermantle seismic structure of old oceanic lithosphere, and lithospheric aging processes. No significant lateral variation in structure other than azimuthally anisotropic mantle velocities was found, allowing the application of powerful amplitude modeling techniques. The anisotropy observed is in an opposite sense to that expected, suggesting the tectonic setting of the area may be more complex than originally thought. Upper crustal velocities are generally larger than for younger crust, supporting current theories of decreased porosity with crustal aging. However, there is no evidence for significant thickening of the oceanic crust with age, nor is there any evidence of a lower crustal layer of high or low velocity relative to the velocity of the rest of Layer 3. The compressional and shear wave velocities rule out a large component of serpentinization of mantle materials. The only evidence for a basal crustal layer of olivine gabbro cumulates is a 1.5 km thick Moho transition zone. In the slow direction of anisotropy, upper mantle velocities increase from 8.0 km s^-1 to 8.35 km s^-1 in the upper 15 km below the Moho. This increase is inconsistent with an homogeneous upper mantle and suggests that compositinal or phase changes occur near the Moho.     

Spectral simulation of vector random fields with stationary Gaussian increments in <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-dimensional Euclidean spaces

This paper addresses the problem of simulating multivariate random fields with stationary Gaussian increments in a d-dimensional Euclidean space. To this end, one considers a spectral turning-bands algorithm, in which the simulated field is a mixture of basic random fields made of weighted cosine waves associated with random frequencies and random phases. The weights depend on the spectral density of the direct and cross variogram matrices of the desired random field for the specified frequencies. The algorithm is applied to synthetic examples corresponding to different spatial correlation models. The properties of these models and of the algorithm are discussed, highlighting its computational efficiency, accuracy and versatility.     

Diversification of skeletal microstructures of organisms through the interval from the latest Precambrian to the Early Cambrian

From the latest Precambrian to the Early Cambrian was the most important phase throughout the evolutionary history of life on the earth. The diversification of latest Precambrian multicellular organisms was obvious and some of them began to form primary s…     

Adjoint method for the optimum planning of industrial pollutant sources

The deterioration of air quality is threatening the life and health of people. Scientists in China and other countries have done a great deal of research work on the details of air pollution and the methods of preven-tion and control during the past decades. Up to now, most of the achievements are concentrated on the techniques of controlling pollutant sources and the programs of reduction, which focus on the improve-ment of air quality and the restoration of environment. The techniques of con…     

Geophysical response of filled sinkholes,soil pipes and associated bedrock fractures in thinly mantled karst,east-central Illinois

Karst aquifers are often protected by a thin mantle of unconsolidated sediment. Soil pipes and sinkholes may breach this natural protective barrier and open pathways for contaminants to quickly reach bedrock aquifers. Geophysical surveys offer a quick and noninvasive way to identify these features; such surveys may also be sequenced to reveal increasing detail in critical areas. At a study site in east-central Illinois, electromagnetic (EM) surveys mapped high conductivity anomalies over filled sinkholes and soil pipes that penetrated the unconsolidated cover. Two-dimensional inverted resistivity sections, made over these anomalies, depict filled sinkholes and soil pipes as conductive zones above deeply weathered bedrock fractures. Borings verified the geophysical models and suggest high conductivities associated with the filled sinkholes are the result of enhanced moisture near active soil pipes. EM surveys also identified conductive zones in the overburden above a probable bedrock fracture linking sinkhole areas 0.5 km apart. Resistivity and EM methods, used in a phased and sequential manner, thus proved useful in mapping filled sinkholes and in delineating the vertical and lateral connections between soil pipes and hydraulically active bedrock fractures.     

Inversion of multimode surface wave data: evidence for sub-lithospheric anisotropy

Summary. Multiparameter inversions of multimode dispersion data are performed for two large regions: the Pacific Ocean and North America. Anisotropy is taken into account by considering transversely isotropic structures with a vertical axis of symmetry. Two fundamental questions are studied in detail: (1) how to make the inverted models consistent when using different sets of parameters, (2) what is the significance of transversely isotropic inversion for the actual Earth's structure? It is proved that full consistency of the inverted models can be achieved by properly taking into account some a priori informations on the model and it is shown that the use of transversely isotropic models with vertical axis of symmetry does not cause severe limitations when interpreting the data. The models we have obtained are discussed in the light of these investigations. Considering an olivine-rich upper mantle, we make a tentative interpretation of these models in terms of preferred orientation of the a -axis of the crystals in one fixed horizontal direction.     

Determination of surface layer parameters at the edge of a suburban area

Vertical wind and air temperature profile related parameters in the surface layer at the edge of suburban area of Zagreb (Croatia) have been considered. For that purpose, adopted Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and a set of observations of wind and air temperature at 2 and 10?m above ground, recorded in 2005, have been used. The root mean square differences (errors) principle has been used as a tool to estimate the effective roughness length as well as standard deviations of wind speed and wind gusts. The results of estimation are effective roughness lengths dependent on eight wind direction sectors unknown before. Gratefully to that achievement, representativeness of wind data at standard 10-m height can be clarified more deeply for an area of at least about 1?km in upwind direction from the observation site. Extrapolation of wind data for lower or higher levels from standard 10-m height are thus properly representative for a wider inhomogeneous suburban area and can be used as such in numerical models, flux and wind energy estimation, civil engineering, air pollution and climatological applications.     

Petrography of alluvial sands as a past and present environmental indicator: Case of the Loire River (France)

Four sample sets of the Upper and Middle Loire river sands were analyzed in order to study the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on their petrographic composition in space (on an 800 km stretch) and time. Composition was determined by modal analysis of three sand-size fractions using a polarizing optical microscope and calculated for each sample (“standard sand” = Sst). The watershed is composed mainly of endogenic (Massif Central) and sedimentary (southern Parisian Basin) rocks. B-set sands collected in channels for different water flows in 1996 show that Sst compositions vary by only 5 %. Present-day sands in the Upper Loire and Middle Loire have very high petrographic immaturity comparing to others worldwide fluvial sands, although bio-climatic conditions favor sand maturation by source-rock weathering in the watershed. This shows the strong impact of the Massif Central on sediment yield due to relief rejuvenation as a consequence of the formation of the Alps during the Quaternary. Fluvial sands stored during the Weichselian and the Holocene in the Middle Loire floodplain, although partly weathered since their deposition, show higher inputs from the endogenic rocks of the Massif Central than present-day deposits. This can be explained by Weichselian periglacial conditions and the development of crop farming since the Neolithic, which favored mechanical erosion, particularly in the Massif Central which is characterized by a cold, humid climate and steep slopes. The upstream-downstream change in the composition of presently deposited sand is low in the diked area. It shows however that basalt and some heavy mineral grains are vulnerable to abrasion during transport and indicates a marked sediment yield from ancient sediment stored in the floodplain. This is in line with the high incision of the river bed over the last 150 years partly due to dam construction and aggregate mining.     

Stability analysis of an ancient landslide considering shear strength reduction behavior of slip zone soil

In this paper, the stability of an ancient landslide during the first impounding of a nearby reservoir is investigated through the analyses of the shear strength reduction behavior of slip zone soil. In view of the experimental observations, an empirical strain-dependent soil model is established and is then incorporated in finite element analyses. The numerical analysis results show that the failing sections progressively develop due to the soil strength declines from peak toward residual, and the shear zone propagates within the front slope. It is demonstrated in the numerical results that the toe weighting measure has a significant effect on restraining the shear displacements of the soils and preventing the progressive failure of the landslide. The field observations further confirmed the stability condition of the reinforced landslide.