Detection of ground deformation over Sharm El-Sheikh–Ras Nasrani coastal zone,South Sinai (Egypt), by using time series SAR interferometry

The investigation area is located in the most southern part of Sinai Peninsula boarded from the west by the Gulf of Suez and from the east by the Gulf of Aqaba. The present study concerns the application of stacking and persistent scattering of SAR interferometry in order to monitor ground deformation in the southern part of Sharm El-Shiekh area. The specific techniques were applied in order to reduce the influence of atmospheric effects on the ground deformation estimates. For this purpose a total number of 26 ENVISAT ASAR scenes covering the period between 2003 and 2009 were processed and analyzed. Interferometric processing results show both patterns of uplift and downlift in the study area. Specifically an area along the coastline with a N–S direction, corresponding to the build up zone of Sharm El-Sheikh, shows annual average subsidence rates between 5 and 7 mm/yr along the line of sight (LOS). On the contrary, Sharm El-Maya, an inner zone, parallel to the above subsided area; shows maximum slant range uplift of 5 mm/yr. The obtained results of both stacking and persistent scattering indicate that the ground deformation in Sharm El-Sheikh–Ras Nasrani coastal zone is attributed to several effecting factors compromising water pumping, lithology, seismicity, and possible active fracture. The contribution of all these factors is discussed in the context.     

Abundance of marine resources in relation to dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound

This study was designed to examine effects of low dissolved oxygen on finfish, lobster, and squid under field conditions in western Long Island Sound. The relationship between bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) and catch was examined for effects on abundance, numbers of species, and mean length, for trawl sites throughout the sound. Examination of mean catch per tow, and species number per tow, showed that both abundance and diversity decreased markedly with bottom DO, with dramatic declines at sites with DO<2 mg l^?1. Of 18 species examined, 15 were found to occur with greater frequency at sites with DO>3 mg l^?1 compared to sites with <2 mg l^?1, and three of these species occurred significantly less frequency at a DO of 2–3 mg l^?1. Trawl samples taken in the Narrows west of Greenwich, an area which chronically experiences summer hypoxia (DO<3 mg l^?1) consistently yielded below average species number during hypoxic events. However, when DO was>3 mg l^?1, 13 of 14 tows had above average species number. Abundance of five common species at sites>3 mg l^?1 DO were significantly higher than at sites <3 mg l^?1 DO in this area. Lobster was the only species not showing this DO threshold. Patterns in abundance vs DO for squid, bluefish, and butterfish suggest that these species are among the most sensitive to hypoxia. Only one of the four examined species, winter flounder, showed a decrease in mean length with DO. Scup, bluefish, and lobster lengths did not vary significantly with respect to dissolved oxygen.     

Analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy of laboratory impacts on Stardust aluminum foils: Interpreting impact crater morphology and the composition of impact residues

Abstract— The known encounter velocity (6.1 kms^?1) and particle incidence angle (perpendicular) between the Stardust spacecraft and the dust emanating from the nucleus of comet Wild‐2 fall within a range that allows simulation in laboratory light‐gas gun (LGG) experiments designed to validate analytical methods for the interpretation of dust impacts on the aluminum foil components of the Stardust collector. Buckshot of a wide size, shape, and density range of mineral, glass, polymer, and metal grains, have been fired to impact perpendicularly on samples of Stardust Al 1100 foil, tightly wrapped onto aluminum alloy plate as an analogue of foil on the spacecraft collector. We have not yet been able to produce laboratory impacts by projectiles with weak and porous aggregate structure, as may occur in some cometary dust grains. In this report we present information on crater gross morphology and its dependence on particle size and density, the pre‐existing major‐ and trace‐element composition of the foil, geometrical issues for energy dispersive X‐ray analysis of the impact residues in scanning electron microscopes, and the modification of dust chemical composition during creation of impact craters as revealed by analytical transmission electron microscopy. Together, these observations help to underpin the interpretation of size, density, and composition for particles impacted on the Stardust aluminum foils.     

Hydrogeology of northern Sierra de Chiapas,Mexico: a conceptual model based on a geochemical characterization of sulfide-rich karst brackish springs

Conspicuous sulfide-rich karst springs flow from Cretaceous carbonates in northern Sierra de Chiapas, Mexico. This is a geologically complex, tropical karst area. The physical, geologic, hydrologic and chemical attributes of these springs were determined and integrated into a conceptual hydrogeologic model. A meteoric source and a recharge elevation below 1,500 m are estimated from the spring-water isotopic signature regardless of their chemical composition. Brackish spring water flows at a maximum depth of 2,000 m, as inferred from similar chemical attributes to the produced water from a nearby oil well. Oil reservoirs may be found at depths below 2,000 m. Three subsurface environments or aquifers are identified based on the B, Li⁺, K⁺ and SiO₂ concentrations, spring water temperatures, and CO₂ pressures. There is mixing between these aquifers. The aquifer designated Local is shallow and contains potable water vulnerable to pollution. The aquifer named Northern receives some brackish produced water. The composition of the Southern aquifer is influenced by halite dissolution enhanced at fault detachment surfaces. Epigenic speleogenesis is associated with the Local springs. In contrast, hypogenic speleogenesis is associated with the brackish sulfidic springs from the Northern and the Southern environments.     

The origin of crystalline residues in Stardust Al foils: Surviving cometary dust or crystallized impact melts?

Abstract– Samples returned by the Stardust mission from comet 81P/Wild 2 provide an unequaled opportunity to investigate cometary formation and evolution. Crystalline silicates have been identified in impact craters in Stardust Al foil, yet their origin is ambiguous. They may be original cometary components, or they may have grown from melt generated by impact. We have now studied experimental impacts of the calcium silicate mineral wollastonite, using scanning and transmission electron microscopy to document the relationship between impact feature shape and crystal lattice orientation in impact residue. Wollastonite can have a characteristic acicular habit, forming crater shapes that indicate crystal orientation upon impact. From extracted impact residue, we determined the lattice orientation of crystalline material for comparison with the whole particle orientation. We assume that crystallization from melt, without surviving seed nuclei, should result in randomly oriented crystallite growth, with no preferred direction for individual crystals. However, we find that the majority of crystalline material in the residue retains b‐axis orientation parallel to the long axis of the crater form. This, together with impact parameter calculations and lack of Al incorporation by the residue (suggesting melting did not occur), indicates that these crystals and, by analogy, the majority of Al‐free crystalline silicates in Stardust foil, are surviving remnants of the impactor. Furthermore, amorphous wollastonite residue probably did not form via melting and subsequent quenching, but instead by high‐pressure amorphization or degradation of unquenchable phases. Finally, one crystal studied appears to be a new high‐pressure/temperature polymorph of CaSiO₃, indicating that such polymorphs may be observed in Stardust residues in craters.     

Integrating Scales of Seagrass Monitoring to Meet Conservation Needs

We evaluated a hierarchical framework for seagrass monitoring in two estuaries in the northeastern USA: Little Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, and Great South Bay/Moriches Bay, New York. This approach includes three tiers of monitoring that are integrated across spatial scales and sampling intensities. We identified monitoring attributes for determining attainment of conservation objectives to protect seagrass ecosystems from estuarine nutrient enrichment. Existing mapping programs provided large-scale information on seagrass distribution and bed sizes (tier 1 monitoring). We supplemented this with bay-wide, quadrat-based assessments of seagrass percent cover and canopy height at permanent sampling stations following a spatially distributed random design (tier 2 monitoring). Resampling simulations showed that four observations per station were sufficient to minimize bias in estimating mean percent cover on a bay-wide scale, and sample sizes of 55 stations in a 624-ha system and 198 stations in a 9,220-ha system were sufficient to detect absolute temporal increases in seagrass abundance from 25% to 49% cover and from 4% to 12% cover, respectively. We made high-resolution measurements of seagrass condition (percent cover, canopy height, total and reproductive shoot density, biomass, and seagrass depth limit) at a representative index site in each system (tier 3 monitoring). Tier 3 data helped explain system-wide changes. Our results suggest tiered monitoring as an efficient and feasible way to detect and predict changes in seagrass systems relative to multi-scale conservation objectives.     

Fractionation vs. magma mixing in the Wangrah Suite A-type granites, Lachlan Fold Belt, Australia: Experimental constraints

The Wangrah Suite granites (Lachlan Fold Belt, Australia) reflect different stages of differentiation in the magmatic history of an A-type plutonic suite. In this study we use experimentally determined phase equilibria of four natural A-type granitic compositions of the Wangrah Suite to constrain phases and phase compositions involved in fractionation processes. Each composition represents a distinct granite intrusion in the Wangrah Suite. The intrusions are the Danswell Creek (DCG), Wangrah (WG), Eastwood (EG) and Dunskeig Granite (DG), ordered from “most mafic” to “most felsic” by increasing SiO₂ and decreasing FeO_total.

Experimental investigation show that the initial water content in melts from DCG is between 2–3 wt. % H₂O. If the DCG is viewed as the parental magma for the Wangrah Suite, then (1) fractionation of magnetite, orthopyroxene and plagioclase ( 20 wt. %) of the DCG composition, leads to compositions similar to that of the EG; (2) further fractionation of plagioclase, quartz, K-feldspar and biotite ( 40 wt. %) from the EG composition, leads to the DG composition. These fractionation steps can occur nearly isobarically and are confirmed by bulk rock Ba, Sr, Rb and Zr concentrations.

In contrast, the generation of the most abundant WG composition cannot be explained by fractional crystallisation from the DCG at isobaric conditions because of the high K₂O content of this granite. Magma Mixing could be the process to explain the chemical distinctiveness of the Wangrah Granite from all the other granites of the Wangrah Suite.     

Presence of Fish on the Shallow Flooded Margins of a Small Intermittently Open Estuary in South Eastern Australia under Variable Flooding Regimes

Shallow water habitats within estuarine systems are believed to be important areas for small fish. While a wide variety of shallow habitats have been studied, the land that becomes inundated by the damming effect after the closure of intermittently open mouths has previously been overlooked. Fish were sampled monthly from both the main channel and flood zone of an intermittently open estuary between July 2004 and June 2005 using minifyke nets during the day and at night. A total of 7,787 fish were collected during the study representing 13 species and 11 families. Philypnodon grandiceps was the most abundant species and, together with Atherinosoma microstoma, Pseudogobius olorum, and Galaxias maculatus, made up 94% of the total catch. Inundation of the flood zone occurred in two discrete forms associated with mouth condition, which consisted of sporadic flooding while the mouth was open, to long-term flooding for 6 months after its closure. Large numbers of fish were captured on the flood zone, which included nine species; however, A. microstoma dominated the catch. A distinct shift in the flood zone fish assemblage occurred between the two mouth conditions, which is likely associated with changes in hydro-period and food availability of the flood zone and physico-chemical parameters in the main channel. There was no longitudinal variation in the fish assemblage in both the main channel and flood zone; similarly, the diel period was found to have little effect on the fish assemblage. The total catch per unit effort did not vary across seasons and suggests that fish abundance within the estuary is stable throughout the year. Unlike other estuarine systems where shallow water fish assemblages may be structured by variations in tide and elevation within the Surrey, freshwater inflow and, more importantly, mouth condition appear to have the greatest influence in composition of the shallow water flood zone fish assemblage of intermittently open estuaries.     

Investigation of iron sulfide impact crater residues: A combined analysis by scanning and transmission electron microscopy

Abstract– Samples returned from comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust mission provided an unequaled opportunity to compare previously available extraterrestrial samples against those from a known comet. Iron sulfides are a major constituent of cometary grains commonly identified within cometary interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and Wild 2 samples. Chemical analyses indicate Wild 2 sulfides are fundamentally different from those in IDPs. However, as Wild 2 dust was collected via impact into capture media at approximately 6.1 km s^?1, it is unclear whether this is due to variation in preaccretional/parent body processes experienced by these materials or due to heating and alteration during collection. We investigated alteration in pyrrhotite and pentlandite impacted into Stardust flight spare Al foils under encounter conditions by comparing scanning and transmission electron microscope (SEM, TEM) analyses of preimpact and postimpact samples and calculating estimates of various impact parameters. SEM is the primary method of analysis during initial in situ examination of Stardust foils, and therefore, we also sought to evaluate the data obtained by SEM using insights provided by TEM. We find iron sulfides experience heating, melting, separation, and loss of S, and mixing with molten Al. These results are consistent with estimated peak pressures and temperatures experienced (approximately 85 GPa, approximately 2600 K) and relative melting temperatures. Unambiguous identification of preserved iron sulfides may be possible by TEM through the location of Al‐free regions. In most cases, the Ni:Fe ratio is preserved in both SEM and TEM analyses and may therefore also be used to predict original chemistry and estimate mineralogy.     

Responsibility, opportunity, and vision for higher education in urban and regional carbon management

This is a summary of the conversation among scholars attending the special session on "Responsibility, Opportunity, and Vision for Higher Education in Urban and Regional Carbon Management" at the First International Conference on Carbon Management at Urban and Regional Levels: Connecting Development Decisions to Global Issues in Mexico City Sept. 4–8, 2006. It includes The Declaration for Carbon Management Education, agreed upon by the participants. Obstacles to such a vision were discussed along with exemplar models of transdisciplinary curricula and suggestions for scholarship.