A note on turbulent perturbations of salinity in a partially mixed estuary

Measurements of salinity perturbations in a partially mixed estuary have been used to evaluate the usefulness of an inductive salinometer and to determine some of the characteristics of the salinity perturbations. The salinometer performed satisfactorily under most conditions. Although internal wave like effects were present, the turbulence fluctuations were dominant. The salinity fluctuations and the turbulent fluxes $\text{sw}$ and $\text{su}$ were found to behave in a manner similar to the density fluctuations in a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer and a laboratory open channel flow. A quadrant analysis suggested that the contribution of each quadrant to the turbulent flux changed with Ri. The turbulence parameters ν and c_γ were found to decrease and increase respectively as Ri increases.     

Postglacial vegetation and climate dynamics in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex,central coastal British Columbia,Canada: palynological evidence from Tiny Lake

A pollen‐based study from Tiny Lake in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex of central coastal British Columbia, Canada, permits an evaluation of the dynamic response of coastal temperate rainforests to postglacial climate change. Open Pinus parklands grew at the site during the early Lateglacial when the climate was cool and dry, but more humid conditions in the later phases of the Lateglacial permitted mesophytic conifers to colonise the region. Early Holocene conditions were warmer than present and a successional mosaic of Tsuga heterophylla and Alnus occurred at Tiny Lake. Climate cooling and moistening at 8740 ± 70 ¹⁴C a BP initiated the development of closed, late successional T. heterophylla–Cupressaceae forests, which achieved modern character after 6860 ± 50 ¹⁴C a BP, when a temperate and very wet climate became established. The onset of early Holocene climate cooling and moistening at Tiny Lake may have preceded change at more southern locations, including within the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex, on a meso‐ to synoptic scale. This would suggest that an early Holocene intensification of the Aleutian Low pressure system was an important influence on forest dynamics in the Seymour‐Belize Inlet Complex and that the study region was located near the southern extent of immediate influence of this semi‐permanent air mass. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating diverse methods to understand climate-land interactions in East Africa

The questions of how land use change affects climate, and how climate change affects land use, require examination of societal and environmental systems across space at multiple scales, from the global climate to regional vegetative dynamics to local decision making by farmers and herders. It also requires an analysis of causal linkages and feedback loops between systems. These questions and the conceptual approach of the research design of the Climate-Land Interaction Project (CLIP) are rooted in the classical human-environment research tradition in Geography.This paper discusses a methodological framework to quantify the two-way interactions between land use and regional climate systems, using ongoing work by a team of multi-disciplinary scientists examining climate-land dynamics at multiple scales in East Africa. East Africa is a region that is undergoing rapid land use change, where changes in climate would have serious consequences for people’s livelihoods, and requiring new coping and land use strategies. The research involves exploration of linkages between two important foci of global change research, namely, land use/land cover (LULC) and climate change. These linkages are examined through modeling agricultural systems, land use driving forces and patterns, the physical properties of land cover, and the regional climate. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are being used to illustrate a diverse pluralism in scientific discovery.     

Seasonal variations of alkenones and U37 in the Chesapeake Bay water column

Alkenone unsaturation indices (U^K₃₇ and U^K′₃₇) have long been used as proxies for surface water temperature in the open ocean. Recent studies have suggested that in other marine environments, variables other than temperature may affect both the production of alkenones and the values of the indices. Here, we present the results of a reconnaissance field study in which alkenones were extracted from particulate matter filtered from the water column in Chesapeake Bay during 2000 and 2001. A multivariate analysis shows a strong positive correlation between U^K₃₇ (and U^K′₃₇) values and temperature, and a significant negative correlation between U^K₃₇ (and U^K′₃₇) values and nitrate concentrations. However, temperature and nitrate concentrations also co-vary significantly. The temperature vs. U^K₃₇ relationships (U^K₃₇=0.018 (T)−0.162, R²=0.84, U^K′₃₇=0.013 (T)−0.04, R²=0.80) have lower slopes than the open-ocean equations of Prahl et al. [1988. Further evaluation of long-chain alkenones as indicators of paleoceanographic conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52, 2303–2310] and Müller et al. [1998. Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index U^K′₃₇ based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60°N–60°S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 1757–1772], but are similar to the relationships found in controlled studies with elevated nutrient levels and higher nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratios. This implies that high nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay have either lowered the U^K₃₇ vs. temperature slope, or nutrient levels are the main controller of the U^K₃₇ index. In addition, particularly high abundances (>5% of total C₃₇ alkenones) of the tetra-unsaturated ketone, C_37:4, were found when water temperatures reached 25 °C or higher, thus posing further questions about the controls on alkenone production as well as the biochemical roles of alkenones.     

Seasonal variation in lysosomal destabilization in oysters,Crassostrea virginica

Lysosomal destabilization assays have been used as valuable biomarkers of pollutant exposures in a variety of bivalve and fish species. The responses of oysters, Crassostrea virginica, deployed at and native to various reference and degraded sites were evaluated for lysosomal destabilization during both summer and winter seasons. In both native and deployed oysters, lysosomal destabilization rates tended to be higher during the winter at both reference and polluted sites. There are at least two hypothetical explanations. Greater lysosomal destabilization rates may be related to physiological changes associated with mobilization of nutrient reserves during the winter and gametogenesis. However, lysosomal destabilization in deployed oysters was correlated with tissue metal concentrations. These data also support a second hypothesis that seasonal differences in physico-chemical factors (such as reduced levels of acid volatile sulfides) may increase the bioavailability of metals during the winter so that adverse effects are more pronounced.     

Vector magnetic field evolution,energy storage,and associated photospheric velocity shear within a flare-productive active region

The evolution of vector photospheric magnetic fields has been studied in concert with photospheric spot motions for a flare-productive active region. Over a three-day period (5–7 April, 1980), sheared photospheric velocity fields inferred from spot motions are compared both with changes in the orientation of transverse magnetic fields and with the flare history of the region. Rapid spot motions and high inferred velocity shear coincide with increased field alignment along the B _L= 0 line and with increased flare activity; a later decrease in velocity shear precedes a more relaxed magnetic configuration and decrease in flare activity. Crude energy estimates show that magnetic reconfiguration produced by the relative velocities of the spots could cause storage of 10³² erg day^–1, while the flares occurring during this time expended 10³¹ erg day^–1.Maps of vertical current density suggest that parallel (as contrasted with antiparallel) currents flow along the stressed magnetic loops. For the active region, a constant-, force-free magnetic field (J = B) at the photosphere is ruled out by the observations.Presently located at NASA/MSFC, Huntsville, Ala. 35812, U.S.A.     

北衙金矿成矿地质条件浅析

北衙金矿与构造、岩浆活动、沉积建造、围岩蚀变等关系密切。构造具多期次活动特点，近NS向断裂控制主矿体展布。岩浆活动具多个喷发旋回。金矿体赋存于褐铁矿体(层)中，产出空间和时间上与正长斑岩有密切的成生关系。磁异常值较高地段，预示着有褐铁矿体(层)存在。化探异常的浓集区，均指示金矿的存在。