Ecosystem service values of sediment generation and entrapment by marginal coral reefs at Sodwana Bay,South Africa

Coral reefs provide a multitude of goods and services, some of which are difficult to value due to their intangible nature and the absence of markets to ascribe their relative worth. The coral reefs of Sodwana Bay on the northeast coast of South Africa provide several ecological goods and services, of which only two are considered here: namely, sediment generation and sediment entrapment. Both are deemed essential to the functioning of the Sodwana Bay economy. The replacement-cost method was used to estimate the annual financial cost of sediment provided to the study area if it were replaced by dredging. Sediment generation by the coral reefs was valued at R2.6–R4.8 million, and sediment entrapment valued at R71.8–R84.6 million, totalling between R74.4 million and R89.4 million (≈$5.6–$6.7 million, at R13.38/US$1) per year.     

Tectonic implications of new Appalachian Ultradeep Core Hole (ADCOH) seismic reflection data from the crystalline southern Appalachians

Summary. Some 180 km of new VIBROSEIS profiles have been acquired in the southern Appalachian Inner Piedmont, Brevard fault zone and eastern Blue Ridge as part of the ADCOH Project site investigation. These data are of the highest quality yet obtained in a crystalline terrane in the US, perhaps in the world, and reveal several conclusions that should have a direct bearing upon the world-wide nature of composite crystalline thrust sheets and their modes of interaction with the platform rocks beneath. Strong reflections previously interpreted as the base of the crystalline sheet are clearly part of the platform sedimentary (clastic rocks) sequence resting upon the autochthonous basement and early Palaeozoic rift basins. This reflection package and related transparent zones are clearly repeated beneath the crystalline sheet indicating a complex of thrusts repeating units within the platform succession. Reflectors (granitoid-amplibolite contacts) in the crystalline sheet in the Inner Piedmont represent recumbent folds of similar wavelengths and amplitudes to folds mappable on the surface. Duplexing of platform rocks beneath the crystalline sheet appears to have resulted in doming of the crystalline sheet. Similarly, duplex formation in the platform was probably controlled by both the thickness of the crystalline sheet and the rheological properties of the platform succession.     

Contrasts in Tectonic style of the Central and Southern Appalachians, United States: Insights from seismic reflection data

Two reflection seismic transects, one across the central Appalachians in Virginia and the other across the southern Appalachians in Georgia, reveal a significant contrast in mid- and lower crustal reflectivity from east to west. Data from east of the Blue Ridge geologic province in Virginia and to the east of the Inner Piedmont in Georgia show a highly reflective crust extending from the near-surface to the Moho, including zones of east-dipping reflections, a sub-horizontal reflection signature at 7 seconds, and a west-dipping Moho. Reflection seismic data from west of the Blue Ridge in Virginia and Inner Piedmont farther south are characterized by reflector geometries related to deformation above a master decollement, leading to classic ‘thin-skinned’ tectonic structures in the overlying allochthon, and few if any apparent structures in the underlying basement. The location of the Iapetan rifted margin, the preexistence of favorably oriented structures to the east of this point, and sub-horizontal weak zones within the lower Paleozoic shelf strata have played critical roles in the distribution of seismic reflector geometry. Seismic reflection signatures seen in the southeastern United States are a result of multiple episodes of deformation from the early Paleozoic through the middle Mesozoic. Oblique stresses during late Paleozoic time produced transpression that manifested itself as predominantly strike-slip faulting to the east of the Blue Ridge/Inner Piedmont. Onlapping lower Paleozoic shelf strata responded to tectonic stresses through thin-skinned deformation above a master decollement during the late Paleozoic Alleghanian orogeny, aided in part by sub-horizontal zones of weakness in the strata. This partitioning of strain was supported via tectonic buttressing provided by Precambrian continental crust that was little deformed in the Taconic orogeny. During the Alleghanian orogeny, the variations in Valley and Ridge deformational style between the central and southern Appalachians were controlled by the original shape of the continental edge. Further deformation during Mesozoic extension occurred to the east of the Precambrian rift margin in the region where favorably oriented faults were reactivated, leading to the rotation of the fault zones from more steeply dipping initial orientations, the merging of the mid-crustal reflection zone with the Moho, and the formation of Mesozoic basins and antiformal reflections in the seismic sections.     

Feasibility of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorption by solid adsorbents: a review on low-temperature systems

In the last few decades of industrialization, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere had increased rapidly. Different organizations have invested considerable funds in research activities worldwide for CO₂ capture and storage. To date, significant work has been done and various technologies have been proposed for CO₂ capture and storage. Both adsorption and absorption are promising techniques for CO₂ capture, but low-temperature adsorption processes using solid adsorbents are the prevailing technique nowadays. In this review paper, a variety of adsorbents such as carbonaceous materials, dry alkali metal-based sorbents, zeolites, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and microporous organic polymers (MOPs) have been studied. Various methods of chemical or physical modification and the effects of supporting materials have been discussed to enhance CO₂ capture capacity of these adsorbents. Low-temperature (<100 °C) adsorption processes for CO₂ capture are critically analyzed and concluded on the basis of information available so far in the literature. All the information in CO₂ adsorption using different routes has been discussed, summarized and thoroughly presented in this review article. The most important comparative study of relatively new material MOFs and MOPs is carried out between the groups and with other sorbent as well.     

Results from regional vibroseis profiling: Appalachian ultra-deep core hole site study

Summary. In 1985, 180 km of regional vibroseis profiles were acquired in the Carolinas and Georgia, southeastern United States, as part of the Appalachian Ultra-Deep Core Hole (ADCOH) Site Study. The data quality is excellent, with large-amplitude reflections from faults and crystalline rocks, lower Palaeozoic shelf strata and from within autochthonous Grenville basement. The profiles image the subsurface more clearly than other available data and allow the possibility of alternative interpretations of important elements of the tectonic framework of the southern Appalachians.
The major points in the interpretation are: 1) The Blue Ridge master decollement is at a depth of 2-3 km beneath the Blue Ridge. This thrust increases in dip just NW of the Brevard fault zone. 2) The Brevard fault zone appears to splay from the master decollement at 6 km (2.2 s) near Westminster, S.C., and defines the base of the crystalline Inner Piedmont allochthon. 3) Below the Blue Ridge thrust sheet are images of duplex and imbricate structures ("duplex tuning wedges") connected by other thrust faults that duplicate shelf strata to a thickness of 4–5 km. 4) Subhorizontal reflections from depths of 6 to 9 km may be from relatively undisturbed lower Palaeozoic strata as suggested by others. 5) Eocambrian-Cambrian(?) rift basins in the Grenville basement are also imaged.
The ADCOH data were originally recorded with 14–56 Hz bandwidth and 8 s length, but an extended Vibroseis correlation was used to produce 17 s data length revealing reflections from within the upper crust. Below 8 s, reflections from within the Grenville basement become weak, but are observable as late as 13 s; however, these Moho (?) reflections are generally short segments.     

Chondrichthyans as an umbrella species-complex for conserving South African biodiversity

Conservation surrogates, such as umbrella and flagship species, could help focus South Africa’s limited resources for research and management and enhance the conservation gains from marine protected areas (MPAs). Sharks, rays and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes), which are charismatic and ecologically diverse, are potential umbrella candidates, but tests of the ecological suitability of putative marine umbrella species are lacking. Using baited remote underwater video in and around two MPAs in the Western Cape Province, we assessed the potential of chondrichthyans as an umbrella species-complex by quantifying the relationships and co-occurrence patterns between chondrichthyan abundance and diversity and those of other taxa (primarily teleosts and crustaceans). Sites with abundant chondrichthyans, with catsharks or large sharks (>1 m total length), all had significantly greater abundance and diversity of these other taxa, and associations with species of commercial and conservation interest (e.g. roman Chrysoblephus laticeps). Endemic scyliorhinids (notably dark catshark Haploblepharus pictus) and the broadnose sevengill shark Notorynchus cepedianus also had many strong positive co-occurrences (28% and 21% of interactions, respectively). The puffadder catshark H. edwardsii had the highest centrality of any species, denoting its high connectedness to other taxa. Overall, chondrichthyans, especially the dark and puffadder catsharks and the broadnose sevengill shark, show strong potential as an umbrella species-complex in South Africa.