Earth Sciences

A hydraulic clam dredging experiment was conducted on a deep (70-80 m) offshore sandy bank on the Scotian Shelf in order to examine the immediate impacts of hydraulic dredging on physical habitat and to follow processes of recovery over a 3-year period. Seabed structural complexity in this low-relief habitat consists of small-scale sedimentary features including pits and bivalve burrow openings as well as polychaete tubes and empty mollusc shells. The most obvious effect of dredging was a dramatic change in seabed topography due to the numerous deep (20 cm), wide (4 m) curvilinear furrows that were cut by the dredges. The loss of burrows, tubes, and shells through destruction or burial, and local sedimentation created a smooth surface. Both spatial scale and sampling resolution were critical in identifying longer-term impacts. Dredge furrows were no longer visible in video 1 year after dredging due to their low relief; however, they persisted, while undergoing changes, as evidenced in sidescan sonograms. The margins of furrows were gradually degraded, likely through the combined actions of slumping, sediment transport and bioturbation. Over time, dredge furrows act as traps for empty shells. Differences in patterns of acoustic reflectance between dredge furrows and the surrounding seabed indicate long-lasting effects on sediment structure. Densities of large burrows were reduced by up to 90% after dredging with no signs of recovery after 3 years due to the high mortalities of their architect, the propellerclam, Cyrtodaria siliqua. Dredging effects were detectable against a background of natural temporal (annual) and large-scale spatial variability in physical habitat. r

A model subglacial drainage system, coupled to an ice-dammed reservoir that receives a time-varying meltwater input, is described and analysed. In numerical experiments an ice-marginal lake drains through a subglacial channel, producing periodic floods, and fills with meltwater at a rate
dependent on air temperature, which varies seasonally with a peak value of Tm. The analysis reveals regions of Tm parameter space corresponding to ‘mode locking’, where flood repeat time is independent of Tm; resonance, where decreasing Tm counter-intuitively increases flood size; and chaotic dynamics,
where flood cycles are sensitive to initial conditions, never repeat and exhibit phase-space mixing. Bifurcations associated with abrupt changes in flood size and timing within the year separate these regions. This is the first time these complex dynamics have been displayed by a glaciohydraulic model
and these findings have implications for our understanding of ice-marginal lakes, moulins and subglacial lakes.

Telemetry has allowed researchers to document the upstream migrations of anadromous fish in freshwater. In many anadromous alosine telemetry studies, researchers use downstream movements (''fallback'') as a behavioral field bioassay for adverse tag effects. However, these downstream movements have not been uniformly reported or interpreted. We quantified movement trajectories of radio-tagged anadromous alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the Ipswich River, Massachusetts (USA) and tested blood chemistry of tagged and untagged fish held 24 h. A diverse repertoire of movements was observed, which could be quantified using (a) direction of initial movements, (b) timing, and (c) characteristics of bouts of coupled upstream and downstream movements (e.g., direction, distance, duration, and speed). Because downstream movements of individual fish were almost always made in combination with upstream movements, these should be examined together. Several of the movement patterns described here could fall under the traditional definition of ''fallback'' but were not necessarily aberrant. Because superficially similar movements could have quite different interpretations, post-tagging trajectories need more precise definitions. The set of metrics we propose here will help quantify tag effects in the field, and provide the basis for a conceptual framework that helps define the complicated behaviors seen in telemetry studies on alewives and other fish in the field.

Gold on Storø (in the Nuuk region of southern West Greenland) occurs in a slice of strongly deformed, amphibolite facies, Neoarchaean quartzo-feldspathic metasedimentary rocks and amphibolites in tectonic contact with the Eoarchaean Faeringehavn terrane and the Meso-to Neoarchaean Akia terrane. The gold is associated with either löllingite (FeAs) + arsenopyrite or pyrrhotite, which belong with the amphibolite facies silicate mineral assemblages. Zircons were U/Pb dated by SHRIMP to constrain the timing of mineralisation. The 2700-2830 Ma oscillatory-zoned, high Th/U volcano-sedimentary zircon as whole grains and cores are interpreted to give the maximum depositional age of the rocks hosting the gold. A granite sheet barren of gold that cuts gold mineralised rocks gives an age of ca. 2550 Ma, which is the absolute minimum age of mineralisation. Metamorphic zircons associated with auriferous arsenopyrite (particularly close to secondary löllingite), pyrrhotite and in the coexisting amphibolite facies silicate minerals were dated in situ, in polished thin sections. These have lower average Th/U and yielded dates of ca. 2635 Ma, which is interpreted as the age of the gold-bearing mineral assemblages and hence probably the mineralisation. Supracrustal packages containing abundant quartzo-feldspathic sedimentary rocks with depositional ages of ca. 2800 Ma and metamorphosed at 2650-2600 Ma also occur as folded tectonic intercalations along the western edge of the Faeringehavn terrane south of Storø. Moreover, in the 3080-2960 Ma Kapisilik terrane to the north and east of Storø, high-grade metamorphic events also occurred between 2650 and 2600 Ma. However, the Eoarchaean Faeringehavn terrane to the south and east of Storø shows widespread zircon growth and recrystallisation during 2720-2700 Ma regional metamorphism, but not at 2650-2600 Ma. The Storø gold prospect is thus located near an important tectonic terrane boundary (cryptic suture?) between domains with different Neoarchaean metamorphic history. Storø mineralisation at ca. 2635 Ma probably occurred during deformation of this boundary shortly after it was created, and at Storø maybe was focussed in an area of low strain in a major antiform. The general tectonic frameworks for ca. 2635 Ma gold mineralisation on Storø and in the Yilgarn Craton are similar. These gold provinces are compared and contrasted, and the likely reason why so much less gold occurs in the Nuuk region is discussed.

As expressed in the Ramsar Convention, the wise use of wetlands, including coastal lagoons, is one of the greatest environmental concerns across the globe. Seagrass beds are the key element for sustaining coastal lagoon ecosystems. Eutrophication, especially by nitrogen and phosphorus, has degraded many coastal waters and has been invoked as a major cause of seagrass disappearance worldwide. Seagrass had been used as fertilizer in Japan, and the removal of seagrass contributed to the decline of nutrients in the water. The shifts of primary producers from rooted macrophytes to phytoplankton occurred simultaneously between the mid-1950s and 1965 in Japanpresumably because of the wide use of herbicides for rice paddies. Increased phytoplankton induced the increase of fishery yield of clam on one hand and non-edible biofouling species on the other. Because a phytoplankton-dominated ecosystem is easily oxygen depleted at the bottom with the accumulation of organic matter of phytoplankton origin, preventing hypoxia is the key factor to maintain high secondary production for bivalve fisheries and sustainable use of the ecosystem of coastal lagoons.

Carbonate ramp systems are widespread throughout the geological record, but very few areas have seismic-scale, continuous and structurally undeformed outcrops that allow reliable interpretation of facies distributions and stacking patterns. The Amellago outcrop shows the detailed depositional and stratigraphic relationships of an ooid-dominated ramp system that is almost completely exposed along a dip profile (37 km long and 1000 m thick) in the Lower to Middle Jurassic of the southern High Atlas, Morocco. Ammonite and brachiopod fauna provide excellent biostratigraphic control on small scale stacking patterns.

New pedological, geological, archaeological, and geochronological data from the Miles Point site in eastern Maryland are compared with similar data from other nearby sites to develop a framework for interpreting the upland stratigraphy in the western Delmarva Peninsula. Our results indicate the presence of two different intervals of loess deposition. The earlier loess (Miles Point Loess) was deposited between 41 and 25 ka. A paleosol (Tilghman Soil) formed in this loess was initially developed in grasslands and boreal environments during a subsequent period of landscape stability between 25 and 18 ka. Between 18 and 12.8 ka, the Miles Point Loess and the Tilghman Soil were eroded in many areas as evidenced by diagnostic ca. 12.8 ka Clovis-age artifacts lying unconformably on the Tilghman Soil. Cores adjacent to the deep channel area of the Chesapeake Bay confirm this erosional unconformity prior to 12.7 ka. A relatively uniform terminal-Pleistocene loess (Paw Paw), deposited prior to the Early Archaic period, buried Clovis-age lag artifacts and other archaeological remains older than 13.2 ka. Stratigraphic evidence from the Late Pleistocene lower Susquehanna River Valley suggests that the Paw Paw Loess is the result of eolian redeposition and reworking of non-glacial eroded upland sediments that filled the valley between 12.7 and 11.5 ka.

The great ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland were, traditionally, believed to take thousands of years to respond to external forcing. Recent observations suggest, however, that major changes in the dynamics of parts of the ice sheets are taking place over timescales of years. These changes were not predicted by numerical models, and the underlying cause(s) remains uncertain. It has been suggested that regional oceanic and/or atmospheric warming are responsible but separating the influence and importance of these two forcings has not been possible. In most cases, the role of atmospheric versus oceanic control remains uncertain. Here, we review the observations of rapid change and discuss the possible mechanisms, in the light of advances in numerical modelling and our understanding of the processes that may be responsible.

The St. Lawrence Lowlands platform, Quebec, Canada, is a densely-populated area, heavily dependent on groundwater resources. In 1999, the Geological Survey of Canada initiated a large-scale hydrogeological assessment study over a 1,500 km2 region northwest of Montreal. The objectives were to define the regional groundwater flow, and to give quantitative estimates of the groundwater dynamic parameters and of the available groundwater resources. The applied approach consisted of defining the hydrogeologic framework, hydraulic properties of the aquifer units, and groundwater dynamic components. Lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks represent regional aquifer units. Coarse Quaternary fluvio-glacial sediments locally overlay the rock sequence and constitute an interface aquifer unit. Fine marine sediments confine most of the regional aquifers. Collected GIS based information was synthesized in a finite element numerical model. The regional saturated steady-state flow was calibrated under current stress conditions assuming an equivalent porous medium approach. Water budget calculations show that the total groundwater flow in regional aquifers amounts to 97.7 Mm3/y. Infiltration from precipitation provides 86.6% of the groundwater supply, while 9.6% comes from subsurface inflow and the remaining 3.8% is induced recharge from surface waters. Discharge from regional aquifers occurs through flow to streams (76.9%), groundwater withdrawal (18.4%), and underground outflow (4.7%). La plateforme Lowllands du Saint-Laurent, Québec, Canada, est une aire densément peuplée, dépendant grandement des ressources en eau souterraine. En 1999, le Service Géologique du Canada a initié une étude hydrogéologique à grande-échelle sur 1500 km2 au Nord-Ouest de Montréal. Le sobjectifs ont été de définir la dynamique de l’écoulement régional, et de donner des estimations quantitatives des paramètres dynamiques des ressources disponibles en eau souterraine. L’approche utilisée consista à définir le cadre hydrogéologique de travail, les propriétés hydrauliques des unités aquifères, et les composantes dynamiques des eaux souterraines. Les roches sédimentaires du Paléozoïque Inférieur représentent les unités aquifères régionales. Les sédiments marins fins confinent la plus grande partie des aquifères régionaux. Les informations de base, collectées dans un SIG, ont été synthétisées dans un modèle numérique aux éléments finis. L’écoulement permanent régional, en zone saturée, a été calibré en conditions de stress en assumant une approche de milieu poreu équivalent. Les calculs du bilan hydrologique montrent que l’écoulement total des eaux souterraines dans les aquifères régionaux atteind 97,7 Mm3/an. L’infiltration à partir des précipitations apporte 86.6% de l’eau souterraine exploitée; sachant que 9,6% proviennent d’écoulement de subsurfaces, et que les 3,8% restants proviennent de la recharge via les eaux de surface. Le débit pompé des aquifères régionaux apparaît à travers l’écoulement des cours d’eau, le rabattement des eaux souterraines (18.4%), et l’écoulement ascendant (4.7%). La plataforma de Tierras Bajas San Lorenzo, Quebec, Canadá, es un área densamente poblada que depende fuertemente de recursos de agua subterránea. En 1999 el Servicio Geológico de Canadá inició un estudio de evaluación hidrogeológica a gran escala sobre un área de 1,500 km2 en la región noroeste de Montreal. Los objetivos fueron definir el flujo regional de agua subterránea y aportar estimados cuantitativos de los parámetros dinámicos de agua subterráne y de los recursos disponibles de agua subterránea. El enfoque aplicado consistió en definir el marco hidrogeológico, propiedades hidráulicas de las unidades acuíferas, y los componentes dinámicos de agua subterránea. Rocas sedimentarias del Paleozoico Inferior representan unidades regionales de acuíferos. Sedimentos fluvio-glaciares Cuaternarios gruesos sobreyacen localmente la secuencia rocosa y constituyen una unidad acuífera interfacial. Sedimentos marinos finos confinan la mayoría de acuíferos regionales. Información colectada basada en SIG se sintetizó en un modelo numérico de elemento finito. El flujo regional saturado en régimen permanente se calibró bajo condiciones de stress asumiendo un enfoque de medio poroso equivalente. Los cálculos de balance hídrico muestran que el flujo total de agua subterránea en acuíferos regional alcanza 97.7 Mm3/año. Infiltración a partir de lluvia aporta el 86.6% del abastecimiento al agua subterránea, mientras que el 9.6% proviene de entradas subsuperficiales y el restante 3.8% consiste de recarga inducida a partir de aguas superficiales. La descarga proveniente de acuíferos regionales ocurre a través de flujo a ríos (76.9%), utilización de agua subterránea (18.4%), y salida subterránea (4.7%).

We measured nitrous oxide (N 2 O), dinitrogen (N 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes in horizontal and vertical flow constructed wetlands (CW) and in a riparian alder stand in southern Estonia using the closed chamber method in the period from October 2001 to November 2003. The replicates' average values of N 2 O, N 2 , CH 4 and CO 2 fluxes from the riparian gray alder stand varied from −0.4 to 58 g N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 , 0.02-17.4 mg N 2 -N m −2 h −1 , 0.1-265 g CH 4 -C m −2 h −1 and 55-61 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 , respectively. In horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) beds of CWs, the average N 2 emission varied from 0.17 to 130 and from 0.33 to 119 mg N 2 -N m −2 h −1 in the vertical subsurface flow (VSSF) beds. The average N 2 O-N emission from the microsites above the inflow pipes of the HSSF CWs was 6.4-31 g N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 , whereas the outflow microsites emitted 2.4-8 g N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 . In VSSF beds, the same value was 35.6-44.7 g N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 . The average CH 4 emission from the inflow and outflow microsites in the HSSF CWs differed significantly, ranging from 640 to 9715 and from 30 to 770 g CH 4 -C m −2 h −1 , respectively. The average CO 2 emission was somewhat higher in VSSF beds (140-291 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 ) and at the inflow microsites of HSSF beds (61-140 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 ). The global warming potential (GWP) from N 2 O and CH 4 was comparatively high in both types of CWs (4.8 ± 9.8 and 6.8 ± 16.2 t CO 2 eq ha −1 a −1 in the HSSF CW 6.5 ± 13.0 and 5.3 ± 24.7 t CO 2 eq ha −1 a −1 in the hybrid CW, respectively). The GWP of the riparian alder forest from both N 2 O and CH 4 was relatively low (0.4 ± 1.0 and 0.1 ± 0.30 t CO 2 eq ha −1 a −1 , respectively), whereas the CO 2 -C flux was remarkable (3.5 ± 3.7 t ha −1 a −1 ). The global influence of CWs is not significant. Even if all global domestic wastewater were treated by wetlands, their share of the trace gas emission budget would be less than 1%.

Rainbow is a dome-shaped massif at the 36 14 0 N nontransform offset along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It hosts three ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal sites: Rainbow is active and high temperature; Clamstone and Ghost City are fossil and low temperature. The MoMARDREAM cruises (2007, 2008) presented here provided extensive rock sampling throughout the massif that constrains the geological setting of hydrothermal activity. The lithology is heterogeneous with abundant serpentinites surrounding gabbros, troctolites, chromitites, plagiogranites, and basalts. We propose that a W dipping detachment fault, now inactive, uplifted the massif and exhumed these deep-seated rocks. Present-day deformation is accommodated by SSW-NNE faults and fissures, consistent with oblique teleseismic focal mechanisms and stress rotation across the discontinuity. Faults localize fluid flow and control the location of fossil and active hydrothermal fields that appear to be ephemeral and lacking in spatiotemporal progression. Markers of high-temperature hydrothermal activity (350 C) are restricted to some samples from the active field while a more diffuse, lower temperature hydrothermal activity (<220 C) is inferred at various locations through anomalously high As, Sb, and Pb contents, attributed to element incorporation in serpentines or microscalesulfide precipitation. Petrographic and geochemical analyses show that the dominant basement alteration is pervasive peridotite serpentinization at 160-260 C, attributed to fluids chemically similar to those venting at Rainbow, and controlled by concomitant alteration of mafic-ultramafic units at depth. Rainbow provides a model for fluid circulation, possibly applicable to hydrothermalism at oceanic detachments elsewhere, where both low-temperature serpentinization and magmatic-driven high-temperature outflow develop contemporaneously, channeled by faults in the footwall and not along the detachment fault.

Abrupt climate change in the past is thought to have disrupted societies by accelerating environmental degradation, potentially leading to cultural collapse. Linking climate change directly to societal disruption is challenging because socioeconomic factors also play a large role, with climate being secondary or sometimes inconsequential. Combining paleolimnologic, historical, and archaeological methods provides for a more secure basis for interpreting the past impacts of climate on society. We present pollen, nonpollen palynomorph, geochemical, paleomagnetic and sedimentary data from a high-resolution 2700 yr lake sediment core from central Italy and compare these data with local historical documents and archeological surveys to reconstruct a record of environmental change in relation to socioeconomic history and climatic fluctuations. Here we document cases in which environmental change is strongly linked to changes in local land management practices in the absence of clear climatic change, as well as examples when climate change appears to have been a strong catalyst that resulted in significant environmental change that impacted local communities. During the Imperial Roman period, despite a long period of stable, mild climate, and a large urban population in nearby Rome, our site shows only limited evidence for environmental degradation. Warm and mild climate during the Medieval Warm period, on the other hand, led to widespread deforestation and erosion. The ability of the Romans to utilize imported resources through an extensive trade network may have allowed for preservation of the environment near the Roman capital, whereas during medieval time, the need to rely on local resources led to environmental degradation. Cool wet climate during the Little Ice Age led to a breakdown in local land use practices, widespread land abandonment and rapid reforestation. Our results present a highresolution regional case study that explores the effect of climate change on society for an underdocumented region of Europe.

1] Roughly a third of the global mid-ocean ridge system spreads at <20 mm/yr (full rate) with predicted low crustal thicknesses, great axial depths, end-member basalt compositions, and prominent axial faults. These predictions are here further investigated along the ultraslow (15-17 mm/yr) Mid-Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC) through a compilation of both previously published and unpublished data. The MCSC sits along the Caribbean-North American plate boundary and is one of the world's deepest (>6 km) spreading centers, and thought to accrete some of the thinnest (∼3 km) crust. The MCSC generates end-member midocean ridge basalt compositions and hosts recently discovered hydrothermal vents. Multibeam bathymetric data reveal that axial depth varies along the MCSC with intraridge rift walls defined by kilometer-scale escarpments and massifs. Dredging and near-bottom work has imaged and sampled predominantly basaltic lavas from the greatest axial depths and ∼15% peridotite surrounded by gabbroic rocks from the prominent massifs. The gabbroic rocks exhibit wide compositional variation (troctolites to ferrogabbros) and in many places contain high-temperature (amphibolite to granulite facies) shear zones. Gabbroic compositions primarily reflect the accumulation of near-liquidus phases that crystallized from a range of basaltic melts, as well as from interactions with interstitial melts in a subaxial mush zone. Magnetization variations inverted from aeromagnetic data are consistent with a discontinuous distribution of basaltic lavas and structurally asymmetric spreading. These observations support an oceanic core complex model for MCSC seafloor spreading, potentially making it a type example of ultraslow seafloor spreading through mush zone and detachment fault crustal processes.

This paper is aimed to elucidate the ecological scenario in Italy in the Early to Middle Pleistocene, when species of the genus Homo are known to spread across Europe in two distinct waves: earlier than 1.2 Ma and at about 600 ka, respectively. This topic represents both (1) a fundamental aspect for a better understanding of the factors that allowed humans to colonize the middle latitudes of Eurasia, and (2) a reasonable frontier for current Quaternary palaeobiology, thanks to increasing knowledge of regional and local patterns. As for Italy, a combination of palaeobotanical and palaeontological data sets shows on the one hand a general complexity in both space and time, and on the other hand changes of considerable importance within and among the biological communities. These changes had a major importance during the worldwide change in the Earth climatic system known as “Middle Pleistocene Revolution”, which according to our data culminates with crucial effects of the extreme conditions of MIS 16. Subsequently, during great part of the Middle Pleistocene, the peculiar features of the Italian territory may have favoured isolation and a local persistence of plant populations and possibly mammal taxa, humans included, as for instance suggested by the corrected chronology of the Ceprano calvarium.

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a minor and direct metabolite of ethanol. EtG is incorporated into the growing hair allowing retrospective investigation of chronic alcohol abuse. In this study, we report the development and the validation of a method using gas chromatography–negative chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (GC–NCI-MS/MS) for the quantification of EtG in hair. EtG was extracted from about 30mg

Carcharhinus sorrah (Mülle and Henle, 1839) is a coastal pelagic shark of the tropical and subtropical Indo–West Pacific, reaching 1.6 m total length. The species is widely harvested in line, net, and trawl fisheries over tropical continental shelves. We investigated mtDNA genetic differentiation in C. sorrah across the majority of the species&#39; range, and examined the importance of six major historical and contemporary biogeographic features in shaping population genetic structure in this species. The present study includes dense sampling for a shark species across the Indo–West Pacific, with 349 specimens sampled from 21 collection locations from the northwestern Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, New Caledonia, and to southerly distribution limits in Australia. Based on 469 base pairs of the control region, we found extensive genetic population structure, with allopatric lineages confined to Australia, New Caledonia, and the remaining surveyed area. Significant genetic subdivisions...

messenger Muhammad peace be upon him. First and the foremost, I would like to extend my most profound gratitude and deepest thanks to my principle supervisor Professor Ir. Dr. Mahyuddin Ramli, Universiti Sains Malaysia, for his guidance, commitment and encouragement throughout the entire period of the research project . His dedication and continuous guidance enabled me to remain focused on the research investigation from the beginning of the project to the very end for all the time spent on coordinating and supervising the whole thesis. Without his constant support and timely interventions, without Allah and then him, none of this would have been possible. I would also like to convey my sincere thanks to Dr. Mohd Rodzi Bin Ismail as the co-supervisor for the project.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates living in anastomosing lowland rivers use different habitats and respond differently to the hydrological regime. In this paper, the structure and composition of benthic, drifting and marginal macroinvertebrate assemblages are analyzed in the lowland river Ctalamochita (Córdoba, Argentina). The assemblages were studied in an annual cycle; a comparison among the composition of benthos, drift and marginal fauna was carried out; and size structure of the assemblages was characterized. Samples were obtained from two sites: a rural and an urban site. In total 73 taxa of aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected. Benthos was characterized by Chironomidae and Oligochaeta; marginal fauna was mainly constituted by Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Decapoda, the Trichoptera Nectopsyche sp., Ephemeroptera and Odonata. Drifting assemblage was composed by macroinvertebrates from local and remote upstream benthos, and from the marginal zone. Marginal fauna diversity was higher than benthos and drift. Total biomass of the assemblages pooled together was relatively equitably among size classes. Larger size classes consisted of organisms from the marginal zone whereas the smallest ones were composed by benthic and drifting organisms. In the study area there is habitat partitioning in the lateral dimension of the river. Marginal fauna was more diverse due to the asymmetry of transport and deposit processes, which generate a heterogeneous habitat in the bankside. The relation between fine substrate and high current velocity determines an unstable habitat in the central channel, which makes colonization by benthic macroinvertebrates difficult.

a b s t r a c t H.M. the King of Thailand proposed Bueng Makkasan, the repair factory belonging to the Royal Railway of Thailand (RTT), as a wastewater-collection pond of Bangkok City. It covers about 40 acres, with 5-m depth. The RRT wastewater pond functions at a repair factory and is the collection site of the directpolluted waste of homeless people living around the pond rim and also for temporary reservoir of two influent canals. The water hyacinth aquatic plants were grown well and covered almost the entire surface area of the pond.

Climate change and the urgency of decarbonizing the built environment are driving technological innovation in the way we deliver thermal comfort to occupants. These changes, in turn, seem to be setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research. This article presents a literature review of major changes, developments, and trends in the field of thermal comfort research over the last 20 years. One of the main paradigm shift was the fundamental conceptual reorientation that has taken place in thermal comfort thinking over the last 20 years; a shift away from the physically based determinism of Fanger's comfort model toward the mainstream and acceptance of the adaptive comfort model. Another noticeable shift has been from the undesirable toward the desirable qualities of air movement. Additionally, sophisticated models covering the physics and physiology of the human body were developed, driven by the continuous challenge to model thermal comfort at the same anatomical resolution and to combine these localized signals into a coherent, global thermal perception. Finally, the demand for ever increasing building energy efficiency is pushing technological innovation in the way we deliver comfortable indoor environments. These trends, in turn, continue setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research for the next decades.

Structural information on soil organic matter (SOM) at the molecular level can be obtained on diverse structural units that are amenable to degradation techniques. Chemolytic techniques in combination with colorimetric analyses or GC MS are used to determine amino acids (proteins), sugars (polysaccharides), lipids, or aromatic oxidation products from lignin or charred organic matter. Microbial markers (amino sugars, muramic acid) are analyzed after hydrolysis and gas chromatographic separation. Macromolecular structures can also be subjected to thermochemolytic degradation or pyrolysis and subsequent analysis of the fragments by GC MS. Alternative techniques for the examination of organic matter in heterogeneous macromolecular mixtures are non-destructive spectroscopic methods, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Although this technique can give good results concerning the gross chemical composition, speci®c compounds are hardly identi®ed. The combination of spectroscopic techniques with thermolytic and chemolytic methods will add substantially to the understanding of the nature of refractory soil organic matter. Physical fractionation prior to analysis provides a means to dierentiate between distinct SOM pools that can be further characterized by the methods described above. Studies on SOM structural characteristics have focused mainly on the A horizons of soils under agriculture and litter biodegradation in forest soils and need to be extended to a wider variety of soil types and the subsoil. #

Debris flows, responsible for economic losses and occasionally casualties in the alpine region, are mainly triggered by heavy rains characterized by hourly peaks of varying intensity, depending on the features of the basin under consideration. By integrating a recent classification of alpine basins with the radar storm tracking method, an innovative early warning system called DEFENSE (DEbris Flows triggEred by storms -Nowcasting SystEm) was developed using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Alpine catchments were classified into three main classes based on the weathering capacity of the bedrock into clay or claylike minerals, the amount of which, in unconsolidated material, directly influences the debris flow rheology, and thus the sedimentary processes, the alluvial fan architecture, as well as the triggering frequency and seasonal occurrence probability of debris flows. Storms were identified and tracked by processing weather radar observations; subsequently, rainfall intensities and storm severity were estimated over each classified basin. Due to rainfall threshold values determined for each basin class, based on statistical analysis of historical records, an automatic corresponding warning could be issued to municipalities.

Supplement: 445 words; 8 references; 1 table; 2 figures; 15 Grampian plutonic and volcanic activity 16 17 Abstract: Calc-alkaline magmatism in the Grampian Terrane started at ~430 Ma, 18 after subduction of the edge of continental Avalonia beneath Laurentia, and it then 19 persisted for ≥22 million years. ID-TIMS U-Pb zircon dating yields 425.0 ± 0.7 Ma 20 for the Lorn Lava Pile, 422.5 ± 0.5 Ma for Rannoch Moor Pluton, 419.6 ± 5.4 Ma for 21 a Fault-intrusion at Glencoe volcano, 417.9 ± 0.9 Ma for Clach Leathad Pluton in 22 Glencoe, and in the Etive Pluton 414.9 ± 0.7 Ma for the Cruachan Intrusion and 408.0 23 ± 0.5 Ma for the Inner Starav Intrusion. The Etive Dyke Swarm was mostly emplaced 24 during 418-414 Ma, forming part of the plumbing of a large volcano (≥2000 km 3 ) that 25 became intruded by the Etive Pluton and was subsequently removed by erosion. 26 During the magmatism large volumes (thousands of km 3 ) of high Ba-Sr andesite and 27 dacite were erupted repeatedly, but were mostly removed by contemporaneous uplift 28 and erosion. This volcanic counterpart to the 'Newer Granite' plutons has not 29 previously been fully recognised. The intermediate magmas forming both plutons and 30 volcanoes originated mainly by partial melting of heterogeneous mafic-to-intermediate 31 lowermost crust that had high Ba-Sr derived from previous melting of LILE-enriched 32 mantle, possibly at ~1.8 Ga. This crustal recycling was induced by heat and volatiles 33 from underplated small-degree melts of LILE-and LREE-enriched lithospheric mantle 34 (appinite-lamprophyre magmas). The post-collision magmatism and uplift resulted 35 from breakoff of subducted oceanic lithosphere and consequent rise of asthenosphere. 36

The Central African Cratons comprise various Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic blocks, flanked or truncated by orogenic belts ranging in age from Palaeoproterozoic (Rusizian, Ubendian and Usagaran Belts) to Mesoproterozoic (Kibaran and Irumide Belts). These various orogenic systems map out the progressive nucleation of the Central African Cratons to form the Congo Craton, which during late Neoproterozoic times participated in various collisional processes to form part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Subsequently, the opening of the South Atlantic separated a small portion from the Congo Craton, which now forms part of the South American cratonic assemblage and is referred to as the São Francisco Craton. The original continuity of the São Francisco and Congo Craton is supported by similarities in basement ages and craton stabilisation during Eburnean-aged tectonothermal events and the recognition of the original unity of the Araçuai and West Congo Belts and the Sergipane and Oubanguide Belts across the Atlantic. The nucleation of the Congo Craton from its composing cratonic blocks, which include the Angola-Kasai Block, the NE-Congo-Uganda Block and the Cameroon-Gabon-Congo-São Francisco Block to the west and northwest of the Mesoproterozoic Kibaran Belt, and the Bangweulu Block and Tanzania Craton, to the east and southeast, was at the latest completed after peak compressional tectonism in the Kibaran Belt at 1.38 Ga. Late Mesoproterozoic tectonism along the southern margin of this proto-Congo Craton, in a region called the Irumide Belt, marks compressional tectonism at ca. 1.05-1.02 Ga, which produced extensive reworking along this margin, possibly linked to the participation of the Congo Craton in the Rodinia Supercontinent. At present, insufficient evidence is available to support or deny the participation of the Congo Craton in Rodinia.

This map folio should be referenced as:
Scotese, C.R., 2013. Map Folio 70 Early Devonian (Emsian, 402.3 Ma), PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS, volume 4, Late Paleozoic Paleogeographic, Paleoclimatic and Plate Tectonic Reconstructions, PALEOMAP Project, Evanston, IL.

Introduction
These maps (rectilinear projection) are from the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS (Scotese, 2013a-f).  This is a digital atlas of plate tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic reconstructions designed for use with the GIS software, ArcMap (ESRI).  Table 1 lists the various types of maps that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The maps included in this folio are highlighted in bold text (Table 1).
The last map in each folio is a rectilinear graticule that can be overlain on the maps to provide a geographic reference frame.  A rectilinear projection was used because it can be easily georeferenced in ArcMap and transformed into a variety of other map projections.  The rectilinear map projection can also be directly “wrapped” onto a spherical projection, like the oneused by Google Earth. A set of Google Earth paleoglobes has made from the maps in this folio. These Google Earth paleoglobes can be downloaded at: www.globalgeology.com. 
If the map you need is missing, or if there doesn’t seem to be a map folio for the exact time interval of interest, please contact me ([email protected]). Table 2 lists all the time intervals that comprise the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS. The PaleoAtlas contains one map for every stage in the Phanerozoic, as well as 6 maps for the late Precambrian.  Eventually, Map Folios, like this one, will be published for every time interval in the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas.  The following section is a brief description of the maps that makeup the Map Folio.

The East African rift in Ethiopia is unique worldwide because it captures the final stages of transition from continental rifting to seafloor spreading. A recent study there has shown that magma intrusion plays an important role during the final stages of continental breakup, but the mechanism by which it is incorporated into the extending plate remains ambiguous: wide-angle seismic data and complementary geophysical tools such as gravity analysis are not strongly sensitive to the geometry of subsurface melt intrusions. Studies of shear wave splitting in near-vertical SKS phases beneath the transitional Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) provide strong and consistent evidence for a rift-parallel fast anisotropic direction. However, it is difficult to discriminate between oriented melt pocket (OMP) and lattice preferred orientation (LPO) causes of anisotropy based on SKS study alone. The speeds of horizontally propagating Love (S H) and Rayleigh (S V) waves vary in similar fashions with azimuth for LPO-and OMP-induced anisotropy, but their relative change is distinctive for each mechanism. This diagnostic is exploited by studying the propagation of surface waves from a suite of azimuths across the MER. Anisotropy is roughly perpendicular to the absolute plate motion direction, thus ruling out anisotropy due to the slowly moving African Plate. Instead, three mechanisms for anisotropy act beneath the MER: periodic thin layering of seismically fast and slow material in the uppermost ∼10 km, OMP between ∼20-75 km depth, and olivine LPO in the upper mantle beneath. The results are explained best by a model in which low aspect ratio melt inclusions (dykes and veins) are being intruded into an extending plate during late stage breakup. The observations from Ethiopia join a growing body of evidence from rifts and passive margins worldwide that shows magma intrusion plays an important role in accommodating extension without marked crustal thinning.

1] Lower crustal earthquakes are commonly observed in continental rifts at depths where temperatures should be too high for brittle failure to occur. Here we present accurately located earthquakes in central Ethiopia, covering an incipient oceanic plate boundary in the Main Ethiopian Rift. Seismicity is evaluated using the combination of exceptionally well resolved seismic structure of the crust and upper mantle, electromagnetic properties of the crust, rock geochemistry, and geological data. The combined data sets provide evidence that lower crustal earthquakes are focused in mafic lower crust containing pockets of the largest fraction of partial melt. The pattern of seismicity and distribution of crustal melt also correlates closely with presence of partial melt in the upper mantle, suggesting lower crustal earthquakes are induced by ongoing crustal modification through magma emplacement that is driven by partial melting of the mantle. Our results show that magmatic processes control not only the distribution of shallow seismicity and volcanic activity along the axis of the rift valley but also anomalous earthquakes in the lower crust away from these zones of localized strain.

Gem corundum, a minor but persistent megacryst in east Australian basalt fields, is mined from some placer concentrations. Laser ablation, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses and O isotope determinations on a colour range of corundum from different fields, show that chromophore (Fe, Cr, Ti, V) and genetic indicator (Ga, Mg, d 18 O) values can distinguish corundum sources (magmatic, metamorphic and metasomatic) before basalt incorporation. They also characterise corundum groups from different fields. This identified two metamorphic groups, one carrying ruby at Barrington Tops, and a magmatic group distinct from those from other gem fields (lower Fe, northeast Tasmania; higher Fe, Yarrowitch). Ruby-bearing groups show clear provincial characteristics and include lower temperature spinel-facies groups (Barrington, Yarrowitch) and higher temperature garnet-facies groups (Cudgegong-Macquarie River). High Mg/Fe and Ni values in the latter approach those for corundum in diamond, and are a possible diamond indicator. The corundum derived from diverse fold-belt and felsic sources in underlying lithosphere forms a dataset for comparing corundum from other basalt fields.

Keywords: effective elastic thickness lithospheric structure of Africa tectonism and mantle processes Detailed information on lateral variations in lithospheric properties can aid in understanding how surface deformation relates to deep Earth processes. The effective elastic thickness, T e , of the lithosphere is a proxy for lithospheric strength. Here, we present a new T e map of the African lithosphere estimated from coherence analysis of topography and Bouguer anomaly data. The latter data set derives from the EGM 2008 model, the highest resolution gravity database over Africa, enabling a significant improvement in lateral resolution of T e . The methodology used for T e estimation improves upon earlier approaches by optimally combining estimates from several different window sizes and correcting for an estimation bias term. Our analysis finds that T e is high,~100 km, in the West African, Congo, Kalahari and Tanzania cratons. Of these, the Kalahari exhibits the lowest T e . Based in part on published seismic and mineral physics constraints, we suggest this may reflect modification of Kalahari lithosphere by anomalously hot asthenospheric mantle. Similarly, the Tanzania craton exhibits relatively lower T e east of Lake Victoria, where a centre of seismic radial anisotropy beneath the craton has been located and identified with a plume head, thus suggesting that here too, low T e reflects modification of cratonic lithosphere by an underlying hot mantle. The lowest T e in Africa occurs in the Afar and Main Ethiopian rifts, where lithospheric extension is maximum. In the western Ethiopian plateau a local T e minimum coincides with published images of a low P and S seismic velocity anomaly extending to~400 km depth. Finally, the Darfur, Tibesti, Hoggar and Cameroon line volcanic provinces are characterised by low T e and no deep-seated seismic anomalies in the mantle. Corridors of relatively low T e connect these volcanic provinces to the local T e minima within the western Ethiopian plateau. We interpret the low T e to indicate thinner lithosphere within the corridors than in the surrounding cratons. We speculate that these corridors may provide potential conduits for hot asthenospheric material to flow from the western Ethiopian plateau to the volcanic provinces of central and western Africa.

This article analyzes the processes of risk visualization characterizing disaster risk reduction policies and, in particular, the digital artifacts the international world of disaster management uses in an effort to view threats to the planet and render them open to human experience. The purpose of these artifacts is to foster experiences that grant both quantitative shape and social form to the nature of global risks. Tangible Earth, the first interactive digital globe, is the most sophisticated of these artifacts in that it strives to gather a wide, varied audience of humans and enroll them in co-producing the risks affecting the Earth. This process of delving into experiences of the globe as mediated by digital equipment mobilizes diverse ontologies: there is a “naturalist ontology” that represents nature as independent of the social sphere, as a force that remains insurgent and unpredictable despite efforts to quantitatively capture it through earth-monitoring instruments and probabilistic calculations, and there is also an “analogist ontology” in which nature is cast as indistinguishable from the social sphere on the grounds that both human and non-human collectives share the same propensity for resilience.

It is a precious knowledge of ancient india. this script was originally composed by mahrshi BHARADWAJA, the great indian sage around 5000 BC  ,it content english transtation of some of its sanskrit stotras and shlokas.before wright brothers first aircraft was made by dr Talpade was an Indian scholar who is said to have constructed and flown an unmanned airplane in 1895 with reference of this ancient hindu sanskrit manuscript .

This experimental essay takes off from a methodology as well as a spiritual vision I have developed or resuscitated01 that I call Sky-Earth systems science.02 Sky-Earth systems science is a method for thinking from the Center of the Universe, and only the Center of the Universe, alongside and internal to non-modern myth as much as contemporary science. It provides minimal comparative parameters, the horizontal and vertical axes, within a kind of complex plane or phase space, for superposing the multiplicity of cosmologies within a generic one. These are the animal and the God which cross in the Human at the Center between Sky and Earth. The Sky-Earth system accommodates a variation of cosmologies, while also offering concrete content to start off from. It is a disalienating thought that thinks from the heart of the Universe, as it puts us right in the middle of it, rather than merely considering it from the outside. The goal of Sky-Earth systems is to recompose a Universe 01 I say resuscitated because its premises are probably ancient and widespread.

RATIONALE: Agarwood is the resinous material harvested from threatened Aquilaria species. We investigated how many protonated 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone ions were sufficient to make an accurate identification of agarwood. Analysis of 125 reference samples was carried out by direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART-TOFMS). The identification criteria developed were applied to commercial samples. METHODS: We developed a technique that uses DART-TOFMS to detect 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones. Additionally, we developed a set of criteria to infer the presence of Aquilaria in commercial samples of wood chips, sawdust, incense and liquids. Additionally, we examined other fragrant woods to determine if they contained a chemical profile that could be falsely identified as agarwood. RESULTS: Analysis of reference and commercial samples (n = 151) established that DART-TOFMS provides reproducible mass spectra that are useful for inferring the genus of suspected agarwood samples. We identified 17 ions which were useful for authenticating agarwood. Comparison of the number of chromone ions detected by direct analyses of dry wood chips versus eluent analysis of methanol-extracted wood showed that results were similar. Lastly, analysis of 25 scented woods of other species did not give false positive results. CONCLUSIONS: Reliable criteria for inferring agarwood include the presence of diagnostic ions, m/z 319.118 or 349.129, in addition to ten or more ions characteristic of 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones. Wood anatomists challenged with difficult morphological identifications can use this tool to assist in their analyses. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

We report analyses of the '76Hf/ '77Hf ratio for 25 chondrites from different classes of meteorites (C, 0 and E) and the '7hL~/ '77Hf ratio for 23 of these as measured by plasma source mass spectrometry. We have obtained a new set of present-day mean values in chondrites of '76Hf/ "'Hf = 0.282772 & 29 and '76Lu/ 17'Hf = 0.0332 + 2. The '76Hf/ '77Hf ratio of the Solar System material 4.56 Ga ago was 0.279742 f 29. Because the mantle array lies above the Bulk Silicate Earth in a "jNd/ '&Nd versus '76Hf/ '77Hf plot, no terrestrial basalt seems to have formed from a primitive undifferentiated mantle, thereby casting doubt on the significance of high 'He/ "He ratios. Comparison of observed Hf/Nd ratios with those inferred from isotopic plots indicates that, in addition to the two most prominent components at the surface of the Earth. the depleted mantle and the continental crust, at least one more reservoir, which is not a significant component in the source of oceanic basal&, is needed to account for the Bulk Silicate Earth Hf-Nd geochemistry. This unaccounted for component probably consists of subducted basalts, representing ancient oceanic crust and plateaus. The lower continental crust and subducted pelagic sediments are found to be unsuitable candidates. Although it would explain the Lu-Hf systematics of oceanic basalts, perovskite fractionation from an early magma ocean does not account for the associated Nd isotopic signature. Most basalts forming the mantle array tap a mantle source which corresponds to residues left by ancient melting events with garnet at the liquidus.

The southern Levant has a long history of human habitation and it has been previously suggested that climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene stimulated changes in human behaviour and society. In order to evaluate such linkages, it is necessary to have a detailed understanding of the climate record. We have conducted an extensive and up-to-date review of terrestrial and marine climatic conditions in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean during the last 25,000 years. We firstly present data from general circulation models (GCMs) simulating the climate for the last glacial maximum (LGM), and evaluate the output of the model by reference to geological climate proxy data. We consider the types of climate data available from different environments and proxies and then present the spatial climatic ''picture'' for key climatic events. This exercise suggests that the major Northern Hemisphere climatic fluctuations of the last 25,000 years are recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean and Levantine region. However, this review also highlights problems and inadequacies with the existing data. r

Computer simulation is the only realistic method of evaluating alternative methods of breeding hybrid forest trees. Empirical tests would be very long term and expensive. This paper describes the development of a simulation program, called XSIM, which generates two different but closely related outcrossing tree species. The genetic correlation between performance in each parental species and performance in the resulting hybrid can be set, in addition to the amounts and types of variances in each parental species. The breeding strategies available for testing include conventional reciprocal recurrent selection, reciprocal recurrent selection with forward selection, recurrent selection within each pure species, and the creation of a synthetic species. XSIM allows the strategies to be compared using the same base populations, equivalent selection intensities, and comparable mating patterns. Innovative best linear unbiased prediction procedures allow all ancestral and current progeny generation data, from both parental species and the hybrid, to be analysed together. The theoretical basis for the simulation is given, and genetic and statistical models are described. In summary, XSIM allows rigorous comparisons of the strategies in terms of genetic gain per time and provides useful insight into hybrid forest tree breeding.

In the 19th century, a unique combination of scientific, social, political and cultural factors attracted crowds of visitors from all over the world to the Dolomite Mountains. This phenomenon had its epicenter in Fiemme Valley and in the town of Predazzo, where Michele Giacomelli and his family hosted a great number of these travelers in their hotel: the Nave d’Oro.
This book features a critical edition of the first manuscript volume of the guestbook of the hotel, the Memoriale (1820–1875): a document where countless characters intertwined their lives, jobs, works, and passions. A stratification of social and cultural contexts, languages and events which make this manuscript a precious source for understanding a crucial chapter in Italian and European history.

The Earth isn't flat, but much bigger than we are told. The earth is a part of something much bigger. Therefore, it seems flat, but that's because of the scale. There are many continents, and 33 of them were camouflaged through our classic earth model, by bending them inward through Antarctica. This is where the term 'hollow earth' comes from.

RATIONALE: It is important for the enforcement of the CITES treaty to determine whether agarwood (a resinous wood produced in Aquilaria and Gyrinops species) seen in trade is from a plantation that was cultivated for sustainable production or was harvested from natural forests which is usually done illegally. METHODS: We analyzed wood directly using Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART ™) ionization coupled with Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOFMS). Agarwood was obtained from five countries, and the collection contained over 150 samples. The spectra contained ions from agarwood-specific 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones as well as many other ions. The data was analyzed using either kernel discriminant analysis or kernel principal component analysis. Probability estimates of origin (wild vs cultivated) were assigned to unknown agarwood samples. RESULTS: Analysis of the DART-TOFMS data shows that many of the chromones found in cultivated and wild agarwood samples are similar; however, there is a significant difference in particular chromones that can be used for differentiation. In certain instances, the analysis of these chromones also allows inferences to be made as to the country of origin. Mass Mountaineer ™ software provides an estimate of the accuracy of the discriminate model, and an unknown sample can be classified as cultivated or wild. Eleven of the thirteen validation samples (85%) were correctly assigned to either cultivated or wild harvested for their respective geographic provenance. The accuracy of each classification can be estimated by probabilities based on Z scores. CONCLUSIONS: The direct analysis of wood for the diagnostic chromones using DART-TOFMS followed by discriminant analysis is sufficiently robust to differentiate wild from cultivated agarwood and provides strong inference for the origin of the agarwood.

Over the course of years, and as of more recently, many followers-friends of the author have been asking questions with reference to the Melchizedeks and their role in humanity-Earth Ascension. Below, you will find a sample of such questions posted to the author as of more recently, and the response to some of these questions, which were also later posted as slides for the benefit of the all. Herein, via the publication of this paper, you will find a more detailed response to such questions and concerns pertaining to the coerced role of fallen Melchizedeks with reference to cooperating with the negative aliens.