Carbonate equilibria in hydrothermal systems: First ionization of carbonic acid in NaCl media to 300°C

The ionization quotients of aqueous carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) have been precisely determined in NaCl media to 5 m and from 50° to 300°C using potentiometric apparatus previously developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The pressure coefficient was also determined to 250°C in the same media. These results have been combined with selected information in the literature and modeled in two ways to arrive at the best fits and to derive the thermodynamic parameters for the ionization reaction, including the equilibrium constant, activity coefficient quotients, and pressure coefficients. The variation with temperature of the two fundamental quantities $\text{Δ}\text{V}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{o}}$ and $\text{Δ}\text{C}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{o}}{}_{\mathrm{p}}$ were examined along the saturation vapor pressure curve and at constant density. The results demonstrated again that for reactions with minimal electrostriction changes the magnitudes and variations of $\text{Δ}\text{C}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{o}}{}_{\mathrm{p}}$ and $\text{Δ}\text{V}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{o}}$ with temperature are small and, in addition, $\text{Δ}\text{C}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{p}}$ and $\text{Δ}\text{V}\text{?}$ are approximately independent of salt concentration.The results have also been applied to an examination of the solubility of calcite as a function of pH (in a given NaCl medium) for the neutral to acidic region both for systems with fixed CO₂ pressure and systems where the calcium ion concentration equals the concentration of carbon. The pH of saturated solutions of calcite with P_CO2 of 12 bars increases from 5.1 to 5.5 between 100° and 300°C.     

On the use of horizontal acoustic Doppler profilers for continuous bed shear stress monitoring

Continuous monitoring of bed shear stress in large river systems may serve to better estimate alluvial sediment transport to the coastal ocean.Here we explore the possibility of using a horizontally deployed acoustic Doppler current profiler(ADCP) to monitor bed shear stress,applying a prescribed boundary layer model,previously used for discharge estimation.The model parameters include the local roughness length and a dip correction factor to account for sidewall effects.Both these parameters depend on river stage and on the position in the cross-section, and were estimated from shipborne ADCP data.We applied the calibrated boundary layer model to obtain bed shear stress estimates over the measuring range of the HADCP.To validate the results,co-located coupled ADCPs were used to infer bed shear stress,both from Reynolds stress profiles and from mean velocity profiles. From HADCP data collected over a period of 1.5 years,a time series of width profiles of bed shear stress was obtained for a tidal reach of the Mahakam River,East Kalimantan,Indonesia.A smaller dataset covering 25 hours was used for comparison with results from the coupled ADCPs.The bed shear stress estimates derived from Reynolds stress profiles appeared to be strongly affected by local effects causing upflow and downflow,which are not included in the boundary layer model used to derive bed shear stress with the horizontal ADCP.Bed shear stresses from the coupled ADCP are representative of a much more localized flow,while those derived with the horizontal ADCP resemble the net effect of the flow over larger scales.Bed shear stresses obtained from mean velocity profiles from the coupled ADCPs show a good agreement between the two methods,and highlight the robustness of the method to uncertainty in the estimates of the roughness length.     

华北北部古生代大陆地壳增生过程中的岩浆作用与成矿效应

包括前寒武纪克拉通与显生宙造山带两大构造单元的华北北部,古生代时期板块构造体制下古亚洲洋的裂解-扩展-消亡与汇聚大陆边缘的俯冲-碰撞-伸展循环构成了其大陆地壳增生与再造演化的基本图景,并形成了一系列记录这些因果演变连续过程的岩浆侵入与喷发事件。这些物质记录无疑是研究汇聚大陆边缘壳-幔作用和物质交换、大陆地壳演化与大规模成矿作用耦合关系的绝佳窗口。本文在系统总结最近几年积累的年代学和岩石地球化学资料的基础上,以一些带有特定过程印记的标志性岩浆事件为纲领,表征这些古生代岩浆作用形成过程中的地球动力学演变,揭示其所记录的华北北部大陆地壳的多阶段增生与再造演化机制,并初步探讨了有利地球动力学过程制约下的岩浆行为引起的成矿物质聚集效应。     

Effects of sediment slurry enrichment on salt marsh rehabilitation: Plant and soil responses over seven years

In deltaic marshes, mineral sediment promotes positive elevation change and counters subsidence and sea level rise. In many such marshes sediment deficits result in wetland loss. One new way to address sediment deficiency is to supply marshes with sediments in a slurry that deposits the sediment in a thin layer over a large area. The long-term effects of this strategy are poorly understood. In a rapidly submerging,Spartina alterniflora salt marsh, we tested how different amounts of sediment ameliorated the effects of sea level rise and subsidence over 7 yr (1992–1998). Sediment slurry enrichment likely affected plants and soils by two mechanisms. It increased elevation and soil bulk density, leading to increased plant vigor and soil condition. These effects were long lasting, such that by 1998 areas receiving moderate amounts of sediment (5–12 cm relative elevation) had better plant vigor and soil condition compared to areas not receiving sediment (55% cover versus 20%; bulk densities of 0.4–1.0 g cm⁻³ versus 0.2 g cm⁻³; 0 mM hydrogen sulfide versus > 1.0 mM). The sediment slurry also had high nutrient content, which resulted in a pulse of growth, especially in areas receiving the most sediment (areas > 12 cm relative elevation initially had >90% cover and canopy heights >1.6 m). This nutrient-induced growth spurt was short lived and faded after 3 yr, at which point the long lasting effects of increased elevation probably became the dominant factor promoting plant vigor and soil condition. Moderate levels of sediment generated the most beneficial and long lasting effects to the vegetation and soils. This degree of sediment slurry addition countered the effects of subsidence and sea level rise, but not so much as to surpass the intertidal position to whichS. alterniflora is best adapted.     

内蒙古白云鄂博地区基底岩石锆石年代学及对构造背景的指示

白云鄂博地区的克拉通基底岩石主要由糜棱岩化花岗片麻岩(2588±15Ma),正长岩、花岗闪长岩(2018±15Ma)和黑云母花岗片麻岩、含石榴石蓝晶石花岗片麻岩(～1890Ma)等组成,白云鄂博超大型稀土矿床就位于华北克拉通太古代基底之上。太古代克拉通基底在早元古代中晚期(2.0Ga)又经历了一次强烈的碰撞造山运动,造成了闪长质与花岗质岩浆侵位,以及1.9Ga片麻岩相变质事件。     

Whiteness, space and alternative food practice

The paper demonstrates how whiteness is produced in progressive non-profit efforts to promote sustainable farming and food security in the US. I explore whiteness by addressing the spatial dimensions of this food politics. I draw on feminist and materialist theories of nature, space and difference as well as research conducted between 2003 and the present. Whiteness emerges spatially in efforts to increase food access, support farmers and provide organic food to consumers. It clusters and expands through resource allocation to particular organizations and programs and through participation in non-profit conferences. Community food’s discourse builds on a late-modern and, in practice, ‘white’ combination of science and ideology concerning healthful food and healthy bodies. Whiteness in alternative food efforts rests, as well, on inequalities of wealth that serve both to enable different food economies and to separate people by their ability to consume. It is latent in the support of romanticized notions of community, but also in the more active support for coalition-building across social differences. These well-intentioned food practices reveal both the transformative potential of progressive whiteness and its capacity to become exclusionary in spite of itself. Whiteness coheres precisely, therefore, in the act of ‘doing good’.     

Contrasting patterns in the abundance of fish communities targeted by fishers on two coral reefs in southern Mozambique

Coastal populations of maritime countries in eastern Africa rely on fish as a primary source of protein, but baseline information on the abundance of fish communities on these coastlines is often lacking. We used baited remote underwater video stations to compare the abundance and diversity of reef fishes targeted by fishing at two sites in southern Mozambique, one at Lighthouse Reef within the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park and the other to the south at San Sebastian Reef on the San Sebastian Peninsula. Fish that are known targets of fisheries (mostly small-scale and artisanal) had an abundance that was almost three-times greater at San Sebastian Reef (80.22 ind. h^–1 [SE 18.00]) than at Lighthouse Reef (29.70 ind. h^–1 [SE 8.91]). Similarly, there was greater mean species richness at San Sebastian Reef (38.74 species h^–1 [SE 2.79]) than at Lighthouse Reef (25.37 species h^–1 [SE 3.66]). The main drivers of targeted fish abundance were habitat and depth, with shallow (<15 m) and mixed reef areas having the greatest abundance and richness. More sampling was done over sand habitat at Lighthouse Reef, which likely led to the lower abundance and species richness observed at this site; however, that finding could also be attributable to the fact that protection is provided to only a section of available coral reef habitat in a small area. Nevertheless, fish community structure was comparable between the sites, with similar proportions of carnivores (78–81%), herbivores (12–14%) and omnivores (7–8%). Our findings highlight the variation in species abundance and assemblages of coral-reef fish targeted by fishing in Mozambique and emphasise the importance of localised environmental variables as a driver of these patterns. To ensure maximum protection of Lighthouse Reef fish communities, we recommend an extension of the no-take zone to include the entire reef complex.     

Relationship between soil cellulose decomposition and oil contamination after an oil spill at Swanson Creek, Maryland

In wetlands, oil spills may affect decomposition in soils, which controls organic matter accumulation, the primary contributor to positive elevation change. In this study we examined how oil from a spill affected organic matter decomposition in soils of a brackish intertidal marsh in Maryland. Decomposition was measured using the cellulose (cotton) strip technique. Cellulose decomposition was not affected by concentrations of different oil components (total hydrocarbons, total resolved hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Rather, other abiotic characteristics of the soil had strong effects on decomposition rates, including strong negative effects of soil depth and salinity, and a positive effect of pH. Measures of soil fertility (NH(4)-N and PO(4)-P) were not significantly related to cellulose decomposition. Thus, we conclude that decomposition was controlled more by naturally occurring environmental factors rather than by exposure to oil.     

THE USE OF QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNALS, 1956–1986*

Ninety mainstream quantitative methods used in 14 major geographical journals are analyzed for four selected years: 1956, 1966, 1976, and 1986. Mainstream methods are used in 53% of all articles in 1986, as opposed to 3% in 1956. Both the intensity and variety of methods used also increased, particularly in physical and techniques articles compared to human articles. Major methods that dominate the entire period include bivariate correlation and regression, multiple regression, factor analyses, and chi-square. The use of nonparametric methods is increasing, although their frequency of occurrence is still low. Spatial autocorrelation and advanced multiple regression appear to be strong newcomers to the discipline.     

Total ozone increase over North America during the 1960's

Pure and Applied Geophysics - Analysis of total ozone data from ten North American stations indicates that an ozone increase occurred east of the Rocky Mountains during the 1960's. Calculated...