Reproductive success of Calanus pacificus during diatom blooms in Dabob Bay, Washington

While numerous laboratory studies in the last decade have shown that diatoms can induce reproductive failure in copepods, field evidence for a negative diatom effect is equivocal. To unambiguously elucidate the effects diatoms have on copepod reproduction in situ, we undertook a study of the abundance, distribution, grazing rates, and reproductive success of Calanus pacificus in Dabob Bay, Washington, USA, during two spring bloom periods. We simultaneously measured the phytoplankton composition, abundance, and distribution. Here we present results for the reproductive success of C. pacificus using four measurements: egg production rate, clutch size, egg hatching success, and naupliar survival (to the first feeding stage). Egg production rate was positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentration, and egg hatching success and naupliar survival were usually greater than 80%. However, in February 2002 and 2003 – during blooms of diatoms of the genus Thalassiosira – either egg hatching success, naupliar survival, or both were significantly depressed compared to other times in spring and summer. These effects, combined with evidence that C. pacificus was grazing aldehyde-producing Thalassiosira at the time of their blooms, indicate that diatoms can negatively affect copepod reproduction in the field, albeit only under specific circumstances and for brief periods.     

Predicting the optical properties of the West Florida Shelf: resolving the potential impacts of a terrestrial boundary condition on the distribution of colored dissolved and particulate matter

Predicting the distribution of Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) in the water column requires predicting the physical, chemical, biological, and optical interactions in a common framework that facilitates feedback responses. This work focuses on the development of ecological and optical interaction equations embedded in a 2D hindcast model of the shallow water optical properties on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) during late summer/fall of 1998. This 2D simulation of the WFS includes one case with a Loop Current intrusion above the 40-m isobath and one with the Loop Current intrusion in addition to a periodic terrestrial nutrient supply below the 10-m isobath. The ecological and optical interaction equations are an expansion of a previously developed model for open ocean conditions (Bissett, W.P., Carder, K.L., Walsh, J.J., Dieterle, D.A., 1999a. Carbon cycling in the upper waters of the Sargasso Sea: II. Numerical simulation of apparent and inherent optical properties. Deep-Sea Research, Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 46 (2), 271–317; Bissett, W.P., Walsh, J.J., Dieterle, D.A., Carder, K.L., 1999b. Carbon cycling in the upperwaters of the Sargasso Sea: I. Numerical simulation of differential carbon and nitrogen fluxes. Deep-Sea Research, Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 46 (2), 205–269). The expansion includes an increase in the number of elemental pools to include silica, phosphorus, and iron, an increase in the number of phytoplankton functional groups, and a redevelopment of the Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) and Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) interaction equations. It was determined from this simulation that while the Loop Current alone was able to predict the water column conditions present during the summer, the Loop Current alone was not enough to simulate the magnitude of optical constituents present in the fall of 1998 when compared to satellite imagery. Simulating terrestrial inorganic and organic nutrients and CDOM pulses coinciding with significant meteorological events and high freshwater pulses released from the major rivers feeding the WFS were required to accurately predict the distribution and scale of the inherent optical properties at the surface during the fall months. Modeling the in situ light field for phytoplankton growth and community competition requires addressing the CDOM optical constituent explicitly. The majority of the annually modeled CDOM on WFS was created via in situ production; however, it was also rapidly removed via advection and photochemical destruction. A pulse of terrestrial nutrient and organic color was required to simulate the dramatic changes in surface color seen in satellite imagery on the WFS. The dynamics of the biogeochemical portion of the simulation demonstrate the importance of nonstoichiometric supplies of terrestrial nutrients on the WFS to the prediction of nutrient and CDOM fluxes.     

Radiocarbon dating of dissolved inorganic carbon in groundwater from confined parts of the Upper Floridan aquifer, Florida, USA

Geochemical reaction models were evaluated to improve radiocarbon dating of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater from confined parts of the Upper Floridan aquifer in central and northeastern Florida, USA. The predominant geochemical reactions affecting the ¹⁴C activity of DIC include (1) dissolution of dolomite and anhydrite with calcite precipitation (dedolomitization), (2) sulfate reduction accompanying microbial degradation of organic carbon, (3) recrystallization of calcite (isotopic exchange), and (4) mixing of fresh water with as much as 7% saline water in some coastal areas. The calculated cumulative net mineral transfers are negligibly small in upgradient parts of the aquifer and increase significantly in downgradient parts of the aquifer, reflecting, at least in part, upward leakage from the Lower Floridan aquifer and circulation that contacted middle confining units in the Floridan aquifer system. The adjusted radiocarbon ages are independent of flow path and represent travel times of water from the recharge area to the sample point in the aquifer. Downgradient from Polk City (adjusted age 1.7 ka) and Keystone Heights (adjusted age 0.4 ka), 14 of the 22 waters have adjusted ¹⁴C ages of 20–30 ka, indicating that most of the fresh-water resource in the Upper Floridan aquifer today was recharged during the last glacial period. All of the paleowaters are enriched in ¹⁸O and ²H relative to modern infiltration, with maximum enrichment in δ¹⁸O of approximately 2.0‰. Electronic Publication     

Coincidence of cadmium and antibiotic resistance in New York Bight apex benthic microorganisms

Microorganisms resistant to 1–500 ppm cadmium were isolated over an 11 month period from sediments at the sewage sludge, dredge spoils and industrial acid waste disposal sites, as well as at an estuarine outflow to the New York Bight apex. Tests for antibiotic resistance in these isolates revealed that 94% of the isolates were resistant to one or more antibiotics and that 91% of the original isolates could be characterized by multiple drug resistance. Different selective pressures may account for the various genera and antimicrobial resistance patterns observed. The possibility of extrachromosomal linkage of cadmium and streptomycin resistance is discussed.     

Groundwater mining of bedrock aquifers in the Denver Basin – past,present, and future

The Denver Basin bedrock aquifer system is an important source of water for municipal and agricultural uses in the Denver and Colorado Springs metropolitan areas. The Denver area is one of the fastest growing areas in the United States with a population of 1.2 million in 1960 that has increased to over 2.4 million by 2000. This rapid population growth has produced a corresponding increase in demand for potable water. Historically, the Denver area has relied on surface water, however, in the past 10 years new housing and recreation developments have begun to rely on groundwater from the bedrock aquifers as the surface water is fully appropriated and in short supply.The Denver Basin bedrock aquifer system consists of Tertiary and Cretaceous age sedimentary rocks known as the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills Aquifers. The number of bedrock wells has increased from 12,000 in 1985 to 33,700 in 2001 and the withdrawal of groundwater has caused water level declines of 76 m. Water level declines for the past 10 years have ranged from 3 to 12 m per year. The groundwater supplies were once thought to last 100 years but there is concern that the groundwater supplies may be essentially depleted in 10 to 15 years in areas on the west side of the basin.Extensive development of the aquifer system has occurred in the last 25 years especially near the center of the basin in Douglas and El Paso Counties where rapid urban growth continues and surface water is lacking. Groundwater is being mined from the aquifer system because the discharge by wells exceeds the rate of recharge. Concern is mounting that increased groundwater withdrawal will cause water level declines, increased costs to withdraw groundwater, reduced well yield, and reduced groundwater storage. As the long-term sustainability of the groundwater resource is in doubt, water managers believe that the life of the Denver Basin aquifers can be extended with artificial recharge, water reuse, restrictions on lawn watering, well permit restrictions and conservation measures.     

Stable lead isotopes reveal a natural source of high lead concentrations to gasoline-contaminated groundwater

Concentrations of total lead as high as 1,600 g/L were detected in gasoline-contaminated and uncontaminated groundwater at three gasoline-release sites in South Carolina. Total lead concentrations were highest in turbid groundwater samples from gasoline-contaminated and uncontaminated wells, whereas lower turbidity groundwater samples (collected using low-flow methods) had lower total lead concentrations. Dissolved lead concentrations in all wells sampled, however, were less than 15 g total lead/L, the current United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL). Because many total lead concentrations exceeded the MCL, the source of lead to the groundwater system at two of the three sites was investigated using a stable lead isotope ratio approach. Plots of the stable isotope ratios of lead (Pb) in groundwater as ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb versus ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb versus ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb were similar to ratios characteristic of lead-based minerals in local rocks of the southeastern US, and were not similar to the stable lead isotopes ratios characteristic of distant lead ore deposits such as Broken Hill, Australia, used to produce tetraethyl lead in gasoline products prior to its phase-out and ban in the United States. Moreover, the isotopic composition of dissolved lead was equivalent to the isotopic composition of total lead in turbid samples collected from the same well, suggesting that the majority of the lead detected in the groundwater samples was associated with sediment particulates of indigenous aquifer material, rather than lead associated with spilled leaded gasoline. The results of this investigation indicate that (1) lead detected at some gasoline-release sites may be derived from the local aquifer material, rather than the gasoline release, and consequently may affect site-specific remediation goals; (2) non-low flow groundwater sampling methods, such as a disposable bailer, may result in turbid groundwater samples and high total lead concentrations, and; (3) stable lead isotopes can be used to clarify the source of lead detected above permissible levels in gasoline-contaminated groundwater systems.     

Ostracode-based reconstruction from 23,300 to about 20,250 cal yr BP of climate, and paleohydrology of a groundwater-fed pond near St. Louis, Missouri

The water chemistry of a groundwater-fed sinkhole-pond near St. Louis, Missouri, and its associated climate during the last glaciation are reconstructed by comparison with autecological data of modern ostracodes from about 5,500 sites in Canada. A 4.8-m succession of fossiliferous sediment yielded ostracode assemblages that collectively are generally found today in ponds in North America including the species Cyclocypris ampla, C. laevis, Cypridopsis vidua, Candona crogmaniana, C. distincta, and C. ohioensis. Fossils of Picea needles and the ostracode Cyclocypris sharpei imply that best analog sites for the succession are in central to south-central Canada. The pond formed 23,300 ± 400 cal yr BP when a sinkhole became plugged by a clay bed about 1 m thick. By about 20,250 cal yr BP, the pond had desiccated and was buried by loess. The sediment accumulation rate was about 0.18 cm/yr, and each sample interval (6 cm) represents a time slice of 33 years. Data from this record provides the first fairly high resolution proxy record of the glacial paleoclimate of the mid-latitude of North America. The analog data indicate the water in the hydrologically-open spring-fed pond was less than 1 m deep. The paleoclimatic reconstructions imply gradually drier conditions and uniform, cool temperatures. The shallow water depth indicates that the temperature reconstruction is robust with mean annual temperatures (MATs) that ranged between 0.8 and 3.9°C, and mean July temperatures that ranged from 16.8 and 18.1°C. Other estimated climatic parameters include mean annual precipitation (MAP; 430 to 840 mm/yr), and moisture balance (P-E; –111 to 298 mm/yr). Compared to values measured today at St. Louis, the MAP was about 400 mm less, MAT about 10°C cooler, and P-E, about the same. These values are consistent with other published reconstructions based on modern analog analysis of fossil beetles and pollen, and paleothermometry based on amino acid racemization. The total dissolved solids (TDS) progressively increased from about 87 to 431 mg/L. Changes in TDS reflect either the balance between the relative inputs of karst groundwater and overland flow, or changes in the duration of water-rock interaction associated with the groundwater. The postulated long-term 900 ± 200 year cyclicity of growing-season moisture and temperature, attributed to El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycles, is not expressed in the reconstructed hydrologic or climatic data. This is attributed, in part, to the mediating effect on temperature by monothermic groundwater input to this flow-through system.     

Abrupt changes in an 8000-year precipitation reconstruction for Nevada, the Western USA

A scanning t-test algorithm for detecting multiple time-scale abrupt changes in the level of a time-series was used to analyze an 8000 year time series of annual precipitation which was reconstructed from tree rings for the Nevada Climate Division 3 in the western USA. The tree ring samples were gathered from eight states in the southwestern USA. Twenty-two change-points were identified by the algorithm and these were used to partition the tree-ring series into twenty-three relatively Wet/Normal/Dry episodes. These twenty-three episodes were collaborated by a coherency analysis of abrupt changes between the precipitation reconstruction series and the TIC/δ18O records from cored sediments of Pyramid Lake in Nevada, and by comparison with published results from related studies. These episodes were also compared with studies of the global climate change and with records of climate change in China during the same periods. The results suggest that the precipitation reconstruction series is quite valuable for climate-change research on multi-centurial time-scales in the western USA, and that the scanning t-test and coherency detection algorithms may have a wide use for detecting multiple time-scale abrupt changes in a long time series.As the TIC and δ18O record series are high resolution with unequal sampling intervals ranging between 3 and 14 years, a new algorithm was developed to deal with the unequal time intervals in the series.