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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Tracking The Fate Of A High Concentration Groundwater Nitrate Plume Through A Fringing Marsh: A Combined Groundwater Tracer And In Situ Isotope Enrichment Study, Cr Tobias, Sa Macko, Iris C. Anderson, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Jw Harvey Dec 2001

Tracking The Fate Of A High Concentration Groundwater Nitrate Plume Through A Fringing Marsh: A Combined Groundwater Tracer And In Situ Isotope Enrichment Study, Cr Tobias, Sa Macko, Iris C. Anderson, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Jw Harvey

VIMS Articles

A groundwater plume enriched in (15)NO(3)(-) was created upgradient of a mesohaline salt marsh. By measuring the changes in concentration and isotopic enrichment of NO(3)(-), N(2)O, N(2), NH(4)(+), and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) during plume transport through the marsh, in situ rates of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and denitrification (DNF) were estimated, as well as N storage in the reduced N pools. For groundwater discharge within the top 10 cm of marsh, NO(3)(-) removal was 90% complete within the 50 cm of marsh nearest the upland border. The peak NO(3)(-) loss rate from the plume ranged from 208 …


Dark Production: A Significant Source Of Oceanic Cos, M. Von Hobe, Gregory A. Cutter, A. J. Kettle, M. O. Andreae Dec 2001

Dark Production: A Significant Source Of Oceanic Cos, M. Von Hobe, Gregory A. Cutter, A. J. Kettle, M. O. Andreae

OES Faculty Publications

Carbonyl sulfide (COS) in air and dissolved in seawater was determined during a cruise in August 1999 in the Sargasso Sea in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Dissolved concentrations at the sea surface displayed only a weak diel cycle with a mean of 8.6 ± 2.8 pmol dm−3 owing to low abundance of photochemical precursors and high temperatures causing rapid hydrolysis. Depth profiles measured over the oceanic mixed layer revealed significant vertical gradients of COS concentration with higher values at the surface, suggesting that the rate of photochemical production at the surface exceeds the rate of vertical mixing. The mean …


Sources And Cycling Of Dissolved And Particulate Organic Radiocarbon In The Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin, Je Bauer, Erm Druffel, Dm Wolgast, S Griffin Aug 2001

Sources And Cycling Of Dissolved And Particulate Organic Radiocarbon In The Northwest Atlantic Continental Margin, Je Bauer, Erm Druffel, Dm Wolgast, S Griffin

VIMS Articles

Continental shelves and slopes are productive and dynamic ocean margin systems that also regulate the fluxes of terrestrial, riverine, and estuarine materials between the continents and oceans. In order to evaluate the ages, potential sources, and transformations of organic matter in an ocean margin system, we measured the radiocarbon (Delta (14)C and delta (13)C distributions of total dissolved organic carbon (DOC), suspended particulate organic carbon (POC), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in waters of the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) continental shelf and slope in April-May 1994. The Delta (14)C of DOC was greatest (as high as -39 parts per thousand) …


Visualizing Rhizosphere Chemistry Of Legumes With Mid-Infrared Synchrotron Radiation, Ted K. Raab, Michael C. Martin May 2001

Visualizing Rhizosphere Chemistry Of Legumes With Mid-Infrared Synchrotron Radiation, Ted K. Raab, Michael C. Martin

Ted K. Raab

A bright synchrotron light source operated by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory served as an external source for infrared (IR) microscopy of plant root microcosms. Mid-IR light from synchrotrons is 2-3 orders of magnitude brighter than conventional sources, providing contrast based on the chemical information in the reflected signal at a spatial resolution near the diffraction-limit of 3-10 microns. In an experiment using plant root microcosms fitted with zinc selenide IR-transmissive windows (50 mm x 20 mm x 1 mm), we describe chemical differences and similarities within the root zone of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.), grown with or without …


Quantifying Groundwater Discharge Through Fringing Wetlands To Estuaries: Seasonal Variability, Methods Comparison, And Implications For Wetland-Estuary Exchange, Cr Tobias, Jw Harvey, Iris C. Anderson May 2001

Quantifying Groundwater Discharge Through Fringing Wetlands To Estuaries: Seasonal Variability, Methods Comparison, And Implications For Wetland-Estuary Exchange, Cr Tobias, Jw Harvey, Iris C. Anderson

VIMS Articles

Because groundwater discharge along coastal shorelines is often concentrated in zones inhabited by fringing wetlands, accurately estimating discharge is essential for understanding its effect on the function and maintenance of these ecosystems. Most previous estimates of groundwater discharge to coastal wetlands have been temporally limited and have used only a single approach to estimate discharge. Furthermore, groundwater input has not been considered as a major mechanism controlling pore-water flushing. We estimated seasonally varying groundwater discharge into a fringing estuarine wetland using three independent methods (Darcy's Law, salt balance, and Br- tracer). Seasonal patterns of discharge predicted by both Darcy's Law …


Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron Supply And Irradiance In The Subantarctic Southern Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, G. R. Ditullio, F. B. Griffiths, D. A. Hutchins, B. Queguiner, Peter N. Sedwick, T. W. Trull Jan 2001

Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron Supply And Irradiance In The Subantarctic Southern Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, G. R. Ditullio, F. B. Griffiths, D. A. Hutchins, B. Queguiner, Peter N. Sedwick, T. W. Trull

OES Faculty Publications

The influence of irradiance and Fe supply on phytoplankton processes was studied, north (47°S, 142°E) and south (54°S, 142°E) of the Subantarctic Front in austral autumn (March 1998). At both sites, resident cells exhibited nutrient stress (Fv/Fm 0 at 47°S and 9% I0 at 54°S because of MLDs of 40 (47°S) and 90 m (54°S), when these stations were occupied. The greater MLD at 54°S is reflected by tenfold higher cellular chlorophyll a levels in the resident phytoplankton. In the 47°S experiment, chlorophyll a levels increased to >1 μg/L-1 only in the high-Fe treatments, regardless …


Bacterial Residues In Coprolite Of Herbivorous Dinosaurs: Role Of Bacteria In Mineralization Of Feces, Thomas C. Hollocher, Karen Chin, Kurt T. Hollocher, Michael A. Kruge Jan 2001

Bacterial Residues In Coprolite Of Herbivorous Dinosaurs: Role Of Bacteria In Mineralization Of Feces, Thomas C. Hollocher, Karen Chin, Kurt T. Hollocher, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of northwestern Montana has yielded blocky, calcareous coprolites that contain abundant fragments of conifer wood and were produced by large herbivorous dinosaurs. The coprolites are generally dark gray to black in color due to a dark substance confined chiefly within what originally were the capillaries of tracheid and ray cells of xylem. This substance is a kerogen which consists in part of thin-walled vesicles 0.1-1.3 µm in diameter. Pyrolysis products of this kerogen are diagnostic of a bacterial origin with a possible contribution from terrestrial plants. The vesicular component is interpreted as the residue of …


Data Report: Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Dissolved Co2, Co2 Gas, And Methane, Blake-Bahama Ridge And Northeast Bermuda Rise, Odp Leg 172, Walter S. Borowski, Namik Cagatay, Y Tournois, Charles K. Paull Jan 2001

Data Report: Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Dissolved Co2, Co2 Gas, And Methane, Blake-Bahama Ridge And Northeast Bermuda Rise, Odp Leg 172, Walter S. Borowski, Namik Cagatay, Y Tournois, Charles K. Paull

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Carbon isotopic data of interstitial dissolved CO2 (ΣCO2), CO2 gas, and methane show that a variety of microbial diagenetic processes produce the observed isotopic trends. Anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) is an important process near the sulfate-methane interface (SMI) that strongly influences the isotopic composition of ΣCO2 in the sulfate reduction and upper methanogenic zones, which in turn impacts methane isotopic composition. Dissolved CO2 and methane are maximally depleted in 3C near the SMI, where C values are as light as –31.8‰ and –101‰ PDB for ΣCO2 and methane, respectively. CO2 reduction links the CO2 and methane pools in the methanogenic …


Introduction To Special Section: Saz Project, T. W. Trull, Peter N. Sedwick, F. B. Griffiths, S. R. Rintoul Jan 2001

Introduction To Special Section: Saz Project, T. W. Trull, Peter N. Sedwick, F. B. Griffiths, S. R. Rintoul

OES Faculty Publications

Oceanographic processes in the subantarctic region contribute crucially to the phys. and biogeochemical aspects of the global climate system. To explore and quantify these contributions, the Antarctic Cooperative Research Center organized the SAZ Project, a multidisciplinary, multiship study carried out south of Australia in the austral summer of 1997-1998. We present an overview of the SAZ Project and some of its major results.


Persistent Organic Pollutant Transport And Fate: Assessment By Molecular Tracers, Padma T. Venkatraman Jan 2001

Persistent Organic Pollutant Transport And Fate: Assessment By Molecular Tracers, Padma T. Venkatraman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as the organochlorine pesticide hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) may undergo atmospheric transport and accumulate in regions remote from the source. It is important to develop techniques to help apportion source and identify transport or transformation processes to which HCHs and other mobile POPs may be subjected. Molecular tracers such as compound specific stable isotope and enantiomer ratios (ERs) may prove valuable in studying POP fate and transport. The objective of this study was to further develop the use of these two novel geochemical tools to evaluate the sources, transport and environmental fate of POPs, in the context …


Uptake Of Dissolved Organic Selenides By Marine Phytoplankton, Stephen B. Baines, Nicholas S. Fisher, Martina A. Doblin, Gregory A. Cutter Jan 2001

Uptake Of Dissolved Organic Selenides By Marine Phytoplankton, Stephen B. Baines, Nicholas S. Fisher, Martina A. Doblin, Gregory A. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

Se is present in multiple oxidation states in nature, each of which has unique chemical and biological reactivities. As a consequence, the rate of Se incorporation into food webs or its role as either a limiting nutrient or a toxic substance is a function of complex biogeochemistry. In particular, little is understood about the accumulation of dissolved organic selenides by phyto- or bacterioplankton. We assessed the bioavailability of dissolved organic selenides to marine and estuarine phytoplankton by presenting various algal species with filtered lysates of the diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, grown on media amended with radiolabeled selenite (75Se[IV]). …


Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron And Silicic Acid Availability In The Subantarctic Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, D. A. Hutchins, Peter N. Sedwick, G. R. Ditullio, P. W. Boyd, B. Queguiner, F. B. Griffiths, C. Crossley Jan 2001

Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron And Silicic Acid Availability In The Subantarctic Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, D. A. Hutchins, Peter N. Sedwick, G. R. Ditullio, P. W. Boyd, B. Queguiner, F. B. Griffiths, C. Crossley

OES Faculty Publications

Subantarctic Southern Ocean surface waters in the austral summer and autumn are characterized by high concentrations of nitrate and phosphate but low concentrations of dissolved iron (Fe, similar to0.05 nM) and silicic acid (Si, <1 muM). During the Subantarctic Zone AU9706 cruise in March 1998 we investigated the relative importance of Fe and Si in controlling phytoplankton growth and species composition at a station within the subantarctic water mass (46.8degreesS, 142degreesE) using shipboard bottle incubation experiments. Treatments included unamended controls; 1.9 nM added iron (+Fe); 9 muM added silicic acid (+Si); and 1.9 nM addediron plus 9 muM added silicic acid (+Fe+Si). We followed a detailed set of biological and biogeochemical parameters over 8 days. Fe added alone clearly increased community growth rates and nitrate drawdown and altered algal community composition relative to control treatments. Surprisingly, small, lightly silicified pennate diatoms grew when Fe was added either with or without Si, despite the extremely low ambient silicic acid concentrations. Pigment analyses suggest that lightly silicified chrysophytes (type 4 haptophytes) may have preferentially responded to Si added either with or without Fe. However, for many of the parameters measured the +Fe+Si treatments showed large increases relative to both the +Fe and +Si treatments. Our results suggest that iron is the proximate limiting nutrient for chlorophyll production, photosynthetic efficiency, nitrate drawdown, and diatom growth, but that Si also exerts considerable control over algal growth and species composition. Both nutrients together are needed to elicit a maximum growth response, suggesting that both Fe and Si play important roles in structuring the subantarctic phytoplankton community.


Effects Of Iron, Silicate, And Light On Dimethylsulfoniopropionate Production In The Australian Subantarctic Zone, G. R. Ditullio, P. N. Sedwick, D. R. Jones, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, D. A. Hutchins Jan 2001

Effects Of Iron, Silicate, And Light On Dimethylsulfoniopropionate Production In The Australian Subantarctic Zone, G. R. Ditullio, P. N. Sedwick, D. R. Jones, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, D. A. Hutchins

OES Faculty Publications

Shipboard bottle incubation experiments were performed to investigate the effects of iron, light, and silicate on algal production of particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPp) in the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) south of Tasmania during March 1998. Iron enrichment resulted in threefold to ninefold increases in DMSPp concentrations relative to control treatments, following 7 and 8-day incubation experiments. Additions of Fe and Si preferentially stimulated the growth of lightly-silicified pennate diatoms and siliceous haptophytes, respectively, to which we attribute the increased DMSPp production in the incubation bottles. Both of these algal groups were previously believed to be low DMSPp …


Iron In East Antarctic Snow: Implications For Atmospheric Iron Deposition And Algal Production In Antarctic Waters, Ross Edwards, Peter N. Sedwick Jan 2001

Iron In East Antarctic Snow: Implications For Atmospheric Iron Deposition And Algal Production In Antarctic Waters, Ross Edwards, Peter N. Sedwick

OES Faculty Publications

To evaluate the deposition and solubility of aerosol iron in the Antarctic seasonal sea ice zone (SSIZ), iron was measured in snow samples collected from three areas in the SSIZ (Prydz Bay, Dumont d'Urville Sea and Ross Sea) and one continental area (Princess Elizabeth Land) of East Antarctica. Concentrations of total-dissolvable iron (that soluble at pH ~2) ranged from 20-2950 pg g-1, with the lowest concentrations measured in snow from the Dumont d'Urville Sea. Using estimates of snow accumulation rates, we calculate atmospheric iron deposition fluxes of 0.017-0.11 mg m-2 yr-1(0.30-2.0 μmol m-2 yr …


Holocene Sediment Records From The Continental Shelf Of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica, Peter N. Sedwick, Peter T. Harris, Lisette G. Robertson, Gary M. Mcmurtry, Maximilian D. Cremer, Philip Robinson Jan 2001

Holocene Sediment Records From The Continental Shelf Of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica, Peter N. Sedwick, Peter T. Harris, Lisette G. Robertson, Gary M. Mcmurtry, Maximilian D. Cremer, Philip Robinson

OES Faculty Publications

Geochemical records are presented for five sediment cores from basins on the continental shelf of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica. The cores contain 2-4 m thick sequences of hemipelagic, siliceous mud and ooze (SMO) deposited under seasonally open marine conditions. The inner and middle shelf SMO sequences are massive dark olive green material, whereas the outer shelf SMO sequences are dark olive material interspersed with light olive green layers similar to1-10 cm thick. The biogenic material is dominated by marine diatoms including Fragilariopsis curta, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, and Chaetoceros spp. in the dark-colored SMO and Corethron criophilum in the …


An Empirical Model Of Amino Acid Transformations In An Alpine Soil, David A. Lipson, Ted K. Raab, Steven K. Schmidt, Russ K. Monson Dec 2000

An Empirical Model Of Amino Acid Transformations In An Alpine Soil, David A. Lipson, Ted K. Raab, Steven K. Schmidt, Russ K. Monson

Ted K. Raab

Amino acids are potentially important nitrogen (N) sources for plants in many ecosystems. However, a quantitative understanding of organic N availability is lacking for most ecosystems. This study estimates seasonal amino acid fluxes in an alpine tundra soil using three independent data sets. In previous work in an alpine dry meadow ecosystem in the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, we measured signifcant rates of amino acid production from soil peptides during the plant growing season. This suggested that proteolysis of native soil peptides could serve as a measure of amino acid availability to plants. Here we use a …