Variations in the Rate of Anaerobic Succinate Accumulation within the Central and Marginal Regions of an Euryoxic Bivalve Mantle

Abstract. Anaerobic metabolism in the central and marginal portions of the mantle of Mercenaria mercenaria was compared. Anaerobic succinate accumulation was more rapid in the central region. This difference may be due to higher phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity in the central region. Thus, the central region is more specialized for anaerobic metabolism and the marginal region more for net shell growth. The original rate of succinate accumulation in the mantle is similar in isolated mantles and intact clams, suggesting that mantle succinate production does not require translocation of precursors from other tissues. However, in intact clams, the rate of succinate accumulation in the central region of the mantle slows after four hours. The reduced rate is probably caused by reducing the metabolic rate. Succinate accumulation and shell dissolution are slower in freshly collected clams than in clams that had been stored anaerobically. The difference may be due to induction of PEPCK synthesis during storage. Shell derived calcium did not accumulate in the mantle and, therefore did not alter the intracellular calcium concentration in the mantle.     

The Levant Slumps and the Phoenician Structures: collapse features along the continental margin of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea

Two distinct series of slumps deform the upper part of the sedimentary sequence along the continental margin of the Levant. One series is found along the base of the continental slope, where it overlies the disrupted eastern edge of the Messinian evaporites. The second series of slumps transects the continental margin from the shelf break to the Levant Basin. It seemed that the two series were triggered by two unrelated, though contemporaneous, processes. The shore-parallel slumps were initiated by basinwards flow of the Messinian salt, that carried along the overlying Plio-Quaternary sediments. Seawater that percolated along the detachment faults dissolved the underlying salt to form distinctly disrupted structures. The slope-normal slumps are located on top of large canyons that cut into the pre-Messinian sedimentary rocks. A layer of salt is found in the canyons, and the Plio-Quaternary sediments were deposited on that layer. The slumps are bounded by large, NW-trending faults where post-Messinian faulted offset was measured. We presume that the flow of the salt in the canyons also drives the slope-normal slumps. Thus thin-skinned halokynetic processes generated the composite post-Tortonian structural patterns of the Levant margin. The Phoenician Structures are a prime example of the collapse of a distal continental margin due to the dissolution of a massive salt layer.     

An Engineering Application Tool for Visual Assessment of the Equilibrium Beach

An engineering application tool for prediction of the static equilibrium bay(Beach Mod)is established to describe two bay shape formulas by use of the programming software "MATLAB" with a graphic user interface(GUI).The tool is user-friendly for engineering students for the design of beach shapes.This tool was tested through application on three types of beaches in Taiwan and Australia.By implementing the concept of Headland Control,the Beach Mod program allows users to draw a structure and create an artificial headland.The results indicate that Beach Mod can efficiently forecast beach changes as well as MEPBAY,a competing software package,while boasting a better user interface.     

Equilibrium constants of triethanolamine in major seawater salts

Acid–base equilibrium constants of triethanolamine (TEA) have been determined by potentiometric titrations with a glass electrode, at 25 °C. Ionic strength was kept constant with only one electrolyte (using one of these salts: NaCl, KCl, MgCl₂ or CaCl₂), with binary mixtures of MgCl₂ and CaCl₂, and finally, in a solution with a composition approximately similar to that of natural seawater without sulfate. Equilibrium constants have been expressed in function of ionic strength by means of Pitzer equations and interaction parameters proposed in this theory have been obtained. It has been found that acid–base behaviour of TEA depends greatly on the salt used: basicity of TEA is decreased by CaCl₂, while it is increased by the other electrolytes used in this work.     

Defining the concept of stratigraphic grade and applying it to stratal (reservoir) architecture and evolution of the slope-to-basin profile: An outcrop perspective

Stratigraphic grade is the similarity of the morphology of successive slope-to-basin profiles in a genetically related depositional system. In this article we use data collected from regional cross-sections of six depositional systems, stratal architecture derived from outcrops of the Lewis Shale (Wyoming, USA), and the Ross Sandstone (Ireland), and supplementary outcrop and subsurface data from other depositional systems to determine how stratigraphic grade relates to stratal (reservoir) architecture in deepwater systems.Four methods are developed that collectively define stratigraphic grade: (1) regional stacking patterns of fourth-order stratigraphic surfaces, (2) the relationship between the trajectory of the shelf edge (T_se) and the trajectory of the depocenter (T_d) for fourth-order stratigraphic units, (3) morphology of the slope-to-basin profiles of fourth-order stratigraphic surfaces, and (4) the similarity of the morphologies of slope-to-basin profiles of fourth-order surfaces in a system (σ_s, σ_r). Several characteristics of stratigraphic (reservoir) architecture of fourth-order stratigraphic cycles are related to stratigraphic grade: (1) longitudinal distribution of sandstone in fourth-order cycles, (2) location of maximum sandstone relative to the depocenter of fourth-order cycles, (3) lengths of fourth-order submarine fans, and (4) longitudinal and vertical distribution of architectural elements. Stratigraphic grade is thus a predictor of reservoir architecture and can thereby be used to reduce the uncertainty in the interpretation of subsurface data.The concept of stratigraphic grade is useful in understanding the stratigraphic evolution of deepwater systems. Most deepwater systems analyzed in this study initiated as out-of-grade and temporally evolved to graded systems over a time span of millions of years. Systems rarely evolve from graded to out-of-grade. First-order controls on stratigraphic grade are determined to be angle of slope, tectonically forced changes in angle of slope during deposition, and sediment supply.     

Characteristics and implications of some Loch Lomond Stadial moraine ridges and later landforms,eastern Lake District,northern England

Moraine ridges and mounds of inferred Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS) age have been mapped at three sites (Fordingdale, Swindale and Wet Sleddale) in part of the eastern Lake District, northern England, and indicate glaciers were more widespread than envisaged by Sissons (1980, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, Vol. 71, pp. 13–27). The moraines delimit closely the downslope/downvalley limits of the former glaciers but there is no geomorphological evidence with which to define their upslope/upvalley margins. The former glaciers are considered to have been nourished within the confines of their individual valley, cirque and hillside embayment respectively, rather than being outlet glaciers of plateau icefields. Estimated equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) are within the range of values determined previously for LLS glaciers in the Lake District and do not necessitate revision of established palaeoclimatic parameters. Individual ELAs were probably influenced by local factors; all three former glaciers had accumulation-area aspects between north and east, limiting the impact of direct solar radiation during the ablation season, and were adjacent to extensive areas of high ground to the west and/or south that would have facilitated transfer of snow to their surfaces by winds from those directions. In Fordingdale, three essentially contemporaneous depositional landforms occur upslope of the moraines and are considered to represent hillslope adjustments following wastage of glacier ice from the site. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

初始裂隙对岩溶水紊流形成的影响

岩溶地区地下发育着大量的溶洞和地下河管道,地下水流状态既有层流也有紊流,而紊流是溶洞管道形成的重要条件。紊流的形成受到岩石初始裂隙的影响,初始裂隙的张开度、分布、走向、迹长、密度等因素都影响着裂隙发育过程中水流状态的变化。通过对不同统计特征的初始裂隙网络进行水流和溶蚀的数值模拟发现,以张开度标准差反映的裂隙网络非均匀性越强,模拟紊流出现的时间就越早;主要裂隙的存在使裂隙网络的非均性增强,主要裂隙与水力梯度总方向的角度越小,紊流出现的时间就越早;当裂隙平均迹长过小时会导致裂隙连通性较差,影响裂隙水流和溶蚀作用;裂隙密度,尤其是主要裂隙密度,对岩溶发育的影响较大。相对于次要裂隙,如果主要裂隙密度偏小,紊流形成时间会大大增加,甚至很难形成紊流。当初始裂隙张开度小于0.001 cm,增大水力梯度仍没有紊流发生,岩溶几乎不发育。     

孟加拉湾晚第四纪的碳酸盐溶解旋回

孟加拉湾由于陆源物质大量输入产生稀释效应,使碳酸盐含量表现为冰期时减小、间冰期时增大的“大西洋型”旋回。通过对该区四支活塞岩芯的有孔虫溶解指数、浮游有孔虫沉积通量、CaCO₃ 沉积通量和 >16 0 μm粗组分沉积通量的分析发现,研究区碳酸盐溶解作用强烈,表现出冰期减弱而间冰期增强的总趋势,且溶解作用滞后于浮游有孔虫壳的氧同位素旋回,尤以氧同位素 4、5期的高溶解度情况与印度洋和太平洋氧同位素 5期晚期至 4期为CaCO₃溶解高峰一致。因此,孟加拉湾地区的CaCO₃ 旋回是大西洋型稀释作用与太平洋型溶解作用两者叠加的产物.     

Diurnal Variations of Hydrochemistry in a Travertine-depositing Stream at Baishuitai, Yunnan, SW China

Diurnal variations of hydrochemistry were monitored at a spring and two pools in a travertine-depositing stream at Baishuitai, Yunnan, SW China. Water temperature, pH and specific conductivity were measured in intervals of 5 and 30 min for periods of 1 to 2 days. From these data the concentrations of Ca²⁺, HCO₃⁻, calcite saturation index, and CO₂ partial pressure were derived. The measurements in the spring of the stream did not show any diurnal variations in the chemical composition of the water. Diurnal variations, however, were observed in the water of the two travertine pools downstream. In one of them, a rise in temperature (thus more CO₂ degassing) during day time and consumption of CO₂ due to photosynthesis of submerged aquatic plants accelerated deposition of calcite, whereas in the other pool, where aquatic plants flourished and grew out of the water (so photosynthesis was taking place in the atmosphere), the authors suggest that temperature-dependent root respiration underwater took place, which dominated until noon. Consequently, due to the release of CO₂ by the root respiration into water, which dominated CO₂ production by degassing induced by temperature increase, the increased dissolution of calcite was observed. This is the first time anywhere at least in China that the effect of root respiration on diurnal hydrochemical variations has been observed. The finding has implications for sampling strategy within travertine-depositing streams and other similar environments with stagnant water bodies such as estuaries, lakes, reservoirs, pools and wetlands, where aquatic plants may flourish and grow out of water.     

预应力锚索在平庄西露天矿非工作帮边坡加固工程中的应用

预应力锚索在岩土工程边坡已经得到了广泛地应用,但在露天煤矿边坡的应用还不多见。本文介绍了预应力锚索加固在露天煤矿非工作帮的应用实例,就不同条件及不同加固参数的边坡加固效果进行了研究。其结果表明,通过预应力加固的边坡,其稳定性得到迅速提高。实施的加固参数能够满足矿山边坡的稳定要求。加固技术已在该矿得到应用。