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Quaternary sedimentation and diagenesis in a high-latitude reef, Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia
The Houtman Abrolhos reefs are located 80 km off the west coast of Australia between latitudes 28 and 29{degree} south. The islands are situated on three Pleistocene carbonate reef platforms which rise above the surrounding shelf. The modern coral reefs are close to the geographic limit for coral growth in the southern hemisphere and survive due to the presence of the Leeuwin current (a poleward-flowing warm stream). Two major shallow-water benthic communities coexist in the Abrolhos: a macroalgal-dominated community on the windward platform margins and a coral-dominated community on the leeward margins. These communities overlap-particularly in the platform lagoons, where competition between macroalgae and corals is intense. This interaction has been suggested as a major factor controlling the growth of cord reefs at high latitudes. The Holocene carbonate sediments lack nonskeletal components and are dominated by coral and coralline algal fragments with subordinate molluskan and echinoderm debris. The accumulations can be grouped into the following major facies: (1) coral framestone and coralline algal/serpulid boundstone, (2) submarine sand sheets, (3) subaerial coral storm ridges, (4-) peritidal to subtidal shingle and rubble veneers composed of dominantly coral debris, and (5) eolian dunes and beach sand. The Holocene sediment is a thin (< 2 m) veneer on the Pleistocene reef platform, which is emergent as small islands. The Pleistocene platform is composed of reef facies that can be directly related to the Holocene sediments. The platform is composed of framestone and boundstone facies (corals and coralline algal/serpulid facies), rudstones (submarine coral rubble facies), planar-bedded skeletal grainstones dipping 12-13{degree} (submarine sand sheet and peritidal shingle facies), and large 15-m-high eolianite dunes (eolian dune facies).
Rosen, M.R.; Collins, L.B. (Curtin Univ. of Technology, Perth, Western Australia (Australia)); Wyrwoll, K.H.; Hatcher, B.G. (Univ. of Western Australia, Perth (Australia))
Origin of Blue Hole Structures in Coral Reefs: Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia
WYRWOLL, K.-H.; ZHU, R.Z.; COLLINS, L.B., and HATCHER, B.G., 2006. Origin of blue hole structures in coral reefs: Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(1), 202-208. West Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The distinctive blue hole terrains of the Houtman Abrolhos reef complex have been previously interpreted as the result of karst processes controlling Holocene reef growth and
Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll; Zhong Rong Zhu; Lindsay B. Collins; Bruce G. Hatcher
Turning up the Heat: Increasing Temperature and Coral Bleaching at the High Latitude Coral Reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands
Background Coral reefs face increasing pressures particularly when on the edge of their distributions. The Houtman Abrolhos Islands (Abrolhos) are the southernmost coral reef system in the Indian Ocean, and one of the highest latitude reefs in the world. These reefs have a unique mix of tropical and temperate marine fauna and flora and support 184 species of coral, dominated by Acropora species. A significant La Ni�a event during 2011 produced anomalous conditions of increased temperature along the whole Western Australian coastline, producing the first-recorded widespread bleaching of corals at the Abrolhos. Methodology/ Principal Findings We examined long term trends in the marine climate at the Abrolhos using historical sea surface temperature data (HadISST data set) from 1900�2011. In addition in situ water temperature data for the Abrolhos (from data loggers installed in 2008, across four island groups) were used to determine temperature exposure profiles. Coupled with the results of coral cover surveys conducted annually since 2007; we calculated bleaching thresholds for monitoring sites across the four Abrolhos groups. Conclusions/ Significance In situ temperature data revealed maximum daily water temperatures reached 29.54�C in March 2011 which is 4.2�C above mean maximum daily temperatures (2008�2010). The level of bleaching varied across sites with an average of ?12% of corals bleached. Mortality was high, with a mean ?50% following the 2011 bleaching event. Prior to 2011, summer temperatures reached a mean (across all monitoring sites) of 25.1�C for 2.5 days. However, in 2011 temperatures reached a mean of 28.1�C for 3.3 days. Longer term trends (1900�2011) showed mean annual sea surface temperatures increase by 0.01�C per annum. Long-term temperature data along with short-term peaks in 2011, outline the potential for corals to be exposed to more frequent bleaching risk with consequences for this high latitude coral reef system at the edge of its distribution.
Abdo, David A.; Bellchambers, Lynda M.; Evans, Scott N.
Facies, Stratigraphic and Depositional Model of the Sediments in the Abrolhos Archipelago (Bahia, BRAZIL)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Located in the Mucuri Basin on the continental shelf of southern Bahia state, northeast Brazil, about 70 km from the city of Caravelas,the Abrolhos archipelago is made up of five islands; Santa Barbara, Redonda, Siriba, Guarita and Sueste. The exhumed sediments in the Abrolhos archipelago are a rare record of the turbidite systems which fill the Brazilian Atlantic Basin, and are probably an unprecedented example of a plataform turbidite system (Dr. Mutti, personal communication). Despite the limited area, the outcrops display a wide facies variation produced by different depositional processes, and also allow for the observation of the layer geometries. Associated with such sedimentary rocks, the Abrolhos Volcanic Complex belongs stratigraphically to the Abrolhos Formation. These igneous rocks were dated by the Ar / Ar method, with ages ranging from 60 to 40 My, placing such Volcanic Complex between the Paleocene and Eocene. The sedimentary section is best exposed in the Santa Barbara and Redonda islands and altogether it is 70 m thick. The measured vertical sections show a good stratigraphic correlation between the rocks of the western portion of the first island and those of Redonda Island. However, there is no correlation between the eastern and western portions of Santa Barbara Island, since they are very likely interrupted by the igneous intrusion and possibly by faulting. The sedimentary stack consists of deposits with alternated regressive and transgressive episodes interpreted as high frequency sequences. The coarse facies, sandstones and conglomerates, with abrupt or erosive bases record regressive phases. On the other hand, finer sandstones and siltstones facies, which are partly bioturbated, correspond to phases of a little sediment supply. In the central and eastern portions of Santa Barbara Island, there is a trend of progradational stacking, while both in the western portion of Santa Barbara and in Redonda islands an agradational trend is observed. The predominance of layers with tabular geometry, characteristic of turbidite lobes, the presence of hummocky stratification, trace fossils typical of shallow water (Ophiomorphs and Thalassinoides), all associated with the occurrence of the carbonaceous material as well as plant fragments suggest a deltaic/ plataform depositional context. Textural features and sedimentary structures observed in the conglomerates and sandstones show the action of gravitational flows of high and low density. The fine interlaminated sandstones and siltstones later deformed as slumps or slides, and conglomerates with oriented clasts indicate, respectively, mass movements and action of debris flow. Conglomeratic lags levels record a bypass phenomenon. There are no biostratigraphic data in these studied outcrops. However, petrographic analyses revealed the presence of fragments of igneous rocks (basalts and diabases) in both sandstones and conglomerates, suggesting a relative contemporaneity between igneous activity and sediment deposition. Futhermore, petrographic analyses also found poor permo-porous conditions in the reservoirs due to the presence of fragments of volcanic rocks and the abundance of intraclasts / pseudomatrix.
Matte, R. R.; Zambonato, E. E.
Greek Islands, Western Asia Minor as seen from STS-58
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This north-looking view shows the western margin of Turkey (right) and the Dodecanese Islands of Greece between the Aegean Sea (left) and the Sea of Crete (foreground). The largest island is Crete (foreground) with the semicircular island of Thira beyond. Thira is dominated by the volcanoe Santorini. Two airplane contrails appear between the Turkish mainland and the large island of Rhodes immediately offshore. The narrow straits of the Dardanelles, joining the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, can be detected top left.
Macrophytobenthic flora of the Abrolhos Archipelago and the Sebasti�o Gomes Reef, Brazil
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Abrolhos Bank, located on the coast of Bahia, Brazil, harbors the largest coral reef system in the South Atlantic. This area has attracted the attention of biologists because of its peculiar mushroom-shaped structures, locally known as "chapeir�es", and endemic species of corals and other organisms. The macrophytobenthos compartment plays an important ecological role in the functioning of the bank, and some reports on the presence of seaweeds and seagrasses have been published; however, the data are fragmentary, and a more detailed survey of the macrophytobenthos compartment is lacking. Here we consolidate the information available and add new data obtained from two expeditions focused on seaweed and seagrass diversity from two sectors of the bank: the islands of the Abrolhos archipelago (AA) and the Sebasti�o Gomes Reef (SG). These sites were selected for their contrasting characteristics. Specifically, SG (15 km off the mouth of the Caravelas River) is subjected to a broader range of anthropogenic impacts and to input of terrigenous sediments, while the AA (54 km offshore) is surrounded by calcareous biogenic sediments, has clearer water and is less affected by human activities. Macrophytobenthic species richness on both reference areas is larger than previously thought. Considering previous records, there are 164 species of macrophytes in AA and 111 species in SG, of which 59 and 74 species are first records for each respective location. The higher species richness at the AA may result from a higher habitat complexity and lower turbidity, but a potential negative effect of enhanced human impacts at SG cannot be ruled out. Considering that macroalgae are relevant components of the benthic community, as producers and structurer organisms, the data presented herein provide a reliable baseline for future environmental studies, and thus may contribute to improve management policies within the unique ecosystem of Abrolhos.
Torrano-Silva, Beatriz N.; Oliveira, Eurico C.
[Dengue fever in the Reunion Island and in South Western islands of the Indian Ocean].
South Western islands of the Indian Ocean are permanently threatened by dengue fever outbreaks. On the Reunion Island, two dengue outbreaks were biologically documented (1977-1978 and 2004). And since July 2004 there has been an inter-epidemic period for the island with sporadic cases and clusters. Between January 1, 2007 and October 5, 2009, the epidemiologic surveillance system detected five confirmed autochthonous cases, five confirmed imported cases (South-East Asia), and 71 probable cases. All the five autochthonous confirmed cases occurred in Saint-Louis during two consecutive clusters. In other South Western islands of the Indian Ocean, several dengue fever outbreaks have been reported. Importation of dengue virus from South-East Asia is a major risk for a new outbreak on the island. The introduction of a new serotype could lead to the emergence of new and severe clinical forms, including dengue hemorrhagic fever. PMID:21295427
D'Ortenzio, E; Balleydier, E; Baville, M; Filleul, L; Renault, P
Two Chiefs' Houses from the Western Aleutian Islands
The earliest Russian explorers of the Aleutians described Near Island chiefs' houses that were larger than those of ordinary people. The Russians noted that these houses were also functionally different than ordinary dwellings. Chiefs entertained guests, sheltered widows and orphans, and hosted religious ceremonies in their houses. Between 1997 and 2003, Western Aleutians Archaeological and Paleobiological Project (WAAPP) archaeologists excavated
Debra G. Corbett
Magmatic Evolution of the Western Azores Islands (Corvo and Flores)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Corvo and Flores islands belong to the western group of the Azores archipelago, to the west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Several studies have proposed a common magmatic evolution for both islands. However, most of these studies focus on other Azorean islands. In order to investigate the processes that control the evolution of Corvo and Flores we have studied representative samples of the whole volcanostratigraphical sequence in both islands, including lava flows and dikes. Similarly to other oceanic islands, Corvo and Flores are made up of an alternation of porphyritic rocks and microlitic rocks. The former are picrobasalts and basalts with 5 to 60 volume fraction of large (2-15 mm), primitive antecrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The latter are Mg-poor hawaites to trachytes. The Mg-rich composition of the porphyritic rocks is due to the accumulation of primitive antecrysts within a more evolved groundmass. In contrast, the composition of the microlitic rocks provides information on the differentiation processes that controlled the evolution of both islands. The microlitic rocks present holocrystalline to hypocrystalline textures with a mineral assemblage mainly composed of microcrysts of plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene opaque minerals and accessory amphibole and apatite. Their major element whole rock composition can be best modeled by a polybaric fractional crystallization process (MELTS software) starting at 500 MPa with cooling steps of 5 degrees Celsius and a water content of 1 %, starting from the most primitive analyzed microlitic rock (MgO: 9.04%; Cr: 630 ppm; Ni: 200 ppm). Hence, we confirm that both islands derived from a common primary magma. The crystallization of the antecrysts included in the porphyritic rocks was probably related to the initial stages of the differentiation process. On the other hand, the microlitic rocks and the groundmass of the porphyritic rocks are related to the residual melts of the polybaric fractional crystallization process, probably at shallower magmatic chambers (< 15 km). In conclusion, the processes of fractional crystallization and accumulation of antecrysts control the composition of the products of Corvo and Flores volcanic islands.
Larrea, P.; Gal�, C.; Ubide, T.; Widom, E.; Lago, M.; Fran�a, Z.; Tierz, P.
75 FR 1597 - Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; 2010 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Lobster Harvest Guideline
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648-XT33 Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; 2010 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Lobster Harvest...lobster fishery is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. The...
Paleoseismological investigations in northern Ramree Island, western Myanmar (Burma)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Myanmar is located at the convergent boundary between the Indian-Australian and the Eurasian plates. Along the northernmost part of the Sunda megathrust, the Indian-Australian plate subducts northeastward underneath the Burma micro-plate, and produces a series of deformation belts with a lot of seismic activities. The active deformation is evident by wide-spread marine terraces along the coast of western Myanmar. According to several previous studies, the lowest marine terrace formed during the 1762 Arakan earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of about 7.5. From the ages of the marine terraces, these studies also proposed that the interval between large earthquakes in this area is about 900 years. Near the town of Kyauk-Pyu in northern Ramree Island, a major coastal island in western Myanmar, we found several levels of sea-notches on a sandstone ridge next to the coast. The lowest notch is about 1 m above the present sea-notch, and it has been shown that this lowest notch represents the co-seismic uplift during the 1762 earthquake. Since there are up to four levels of uplifted sea-notches above the 1762 notch and each has a ~1 m elevation difference, we suggest that there have been several paleo-earthquake events prior to the 1762 earthquake, and those events had similar magnitude to the 1762 Arakan earthquake. Unfortunately, we were unable to find age constraints for those paleo-earthquake events at this site. Near the small village of Leik-Ka-Maw at the northwestern corner of the Ramree Island, we found many coral colonies on the wave-cut platform. Except for the present-day living corals, there are three groups of uplifted coral colonies with different elevations. U-Th ages of the uplifted corals indicate that the second group of corals was killed by co-seismic uplift during the 1762 earthquake. The other two groups of corals suggest that there were at least one event before and after the 1762 earthquake, respectively. The possible event after 1762 has not been reported anywhere else in western Myanmar, thus it may represent a minor, local event. Furthermore, since all of these three uplifted coral groups are lower than the lowest marine terrace, a step of marine terrace may require more than one earthquake event to form in this area. Therefore, the previous studies, which only used the ages of marine terraces, may have overestimated the earthquake recurrence intervals in western Myanmar.
Wang, C.-C.; Shyu, J. B. H.; Wang, Y.; Shen, C.-C.; Chiang, H.-W.; Min, S.; Than, O.; Tun, S. T.
Molecular phylogeography reveals island colonization history and diversification of western Indian Ocean sunbirds ( Nectarinia: Nectariniidae)
We constructed a phylogenetic hypothesis for western Indian Ocean sunbirds (Nectarinia) and used this to investigate the geographic pattern of their diversification among the islands of the Indian Ocean. A total of 1309bp of mitochondrial sequence data was collected from the island sunbird taxa of the western Indian Ocean region, combined with sequence data from a selection of continental (African
Ben H. Warren; Eldredge Bermingham; Rauri C. K Bowie; Robert P. Prys-Jones; Christophe Th�baud
Cetacean records along a coastal-offshore gradient in the Vit�ria-Trindade Chain, western South Atlantic Ocean.
Oceanic waters are difficult to assess, and there are many gaps in knowledge regarding cetacean occurrence. To fill some of these gaps, this article provides important cetacean records obtained in the winter of 2010 during a dedicated expedition to collect visual and acoustic information in the Vit�ria-Trindade seamounts. We observed 19 groups of cetaceans along a 1300-km search trajectory, with six species being identified: the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae, N = 9 groups), the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus, N = 1), the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis, N = 1), the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis, N = 1), the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, N = 2), and the killer whale (Orcinus orca, N = 1). Most humpback whale groups (N = 7; 78%) were observed in the Vit�ria-Trindade seamounts, especially the mounts close to the Abrolhos Bank. Only one lone humpback whale was observed near Trindade Island after a search effort encompassing more than 520 km. From a total of 28 acoustic stations, humpback whale songs were only detected near the seamounts close to the Abrolhos Bank, where most groups of this species were visually detected (including a competitive group and groups with calves). The presence of humpback whales at the Trindade Island and surroundings is most likely occasional, with few sightings and low density. Finally, we observed a significant number of humpback whales along the seamounts close to the Abrolhos Bank, which may function as a breeding habitat for this species. We also added important records regarding the occurrence of cetaceans in these mounts and in the Western South Atlantic, including the endangered fin whale. PMID:25055095
Wedekin, Ll; Rossi-Santos, Mr; Baracho, C; Cypriano-Souza, Al; Sim�es-Lopes, Pc
The phosphatic crusts from basalts of the Abrolhos Archipelago (Bahia, Brazil): rocks formed from guanos during the Late QuaternaryLes cro�tes phosphat�es des basaltes de l'archipel d'Abrolhos (Bahia, Br�sil) : des roches form�es au Quaternaire r�cent � partir de guanos
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Basalts from the Abrolhos Archipelago are capped (1) by argilloferruginous saprolite formed under intense weathering conditions at the expense of the basalts and (2) by phosphatic leucophosphite and variscite-rich crusts developed at the expense of both saprolite and basalts. Phosphorus, as indicated by the associated organic compounds, is provided by the leaching of nitrogenous guanos. In the Siriba Island, the crusts affecting the basalts are overlain by a conglomerate related to the Quaternary transgressive-regressive phase at 5?100 years BP. Therefore, the leaching of the guanos certainly began before the transgression.
Flicoteaux, Ren�; Melfi, Adolpho
Radionuclides in soils of Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Western Antarctica
As a part of a broader study of the surface formations in maritime Antarctica, a preliminary survey on the content of radionuclides has been carried out in soils of Byers Peninsula, located in the western end of Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands. Data on natural and artificial radionuclides are very scarce in Antarctica and the studied soil samples can be
A. Navas; J. Soto; J. L�pez-Mart�nez
Provenance-related characteristics of beach sediments around the island of Menorca, Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The island of Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands (Spain) located in the western Mediterranean, is characterised by a contrasting geology and landscape with two major geographic domains: (1) a southern region called Migjorn, comprised of Late Miocene calcarenites and limestones, and (2) a northern region known as Tramuntana, which is composed of folded and faulted Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Tertiary (Oligocene) siliceous and calcareous rocks. Both domains are lined by numerous pocket beaches exhibiting a high variety of surficial sediment assemblages. Grain-size and compositional analyses revealed that cliff erosion and nearshore Posidonia oceanica meadows are the main sources of sediments consisting mostly of medium- to coarse-grained carbonate sands of marine biogenic origin, with variable amounts of terrigenous rock fragments and quartz. Based on distinctly different contributions of bioclastic material, biogenic carbonates and quartz, 320 sediment samples from 64 beaches were grouped into different facies associations dominated by either (1) biogenic sands, (2) biogenic sands with terrigenous contributions or (3) terrigenous sands with quartz. Nevertheless, there is a marked regional variability in sediment texture and composition. Thus, variable mixtures of carbonate and siliciclastic sediments characterise the beaches of the northern region, whereas the beaches of the southern region are composed mostly of carbonate sands of marine biogenic origin. An exception is the central sector of the south coast, which is enriched in quartz sand (~10 %); this can be related to outcrops of quartz-rich basement rock and also to rocks exposed in some northern drainage basins captured by southern streams since the Plio-Quaternary.
G�mez-Pujol, Llu�s; Roig-Munar, Francesc X.; Forn�s, Joan J.; Balaguer, Pau; Mateu, Jaume
Influence of seismic surveys on western gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia in 2001
Western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) aggregate off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia during summer-autumn to feed on benthic and near-benthic prey. During summer 2001, 3D seismic surveys were conducted during a six-week period in known gray whale foraging areas off Sakhalin Island. To test the hypothesis that the distribution of gray whales on the feeding ground would shift
Rock glaciers in the South Shetland Islands, Western Antarctica
Rock glaciers are found in the peripheral regions of Antarctica particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Study of these features is relevant for the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of maritime Antarctica because they are indicators of permafrost and periglacial conditions. This paper reports and analyzes the results of an inventory of rock glaciers and protalus lobes in the South Shetland Islands. Nine
Enrique Serrano; Jer�nimo L�pez-Mart??nez
Oil seeps of the Ionian Islands, western Greece
Many Greeks believe the tarry deposits commonly observed on the beaches of Levkas, Meganissi, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Zakinthos originate from Turkish tankers. Geologists would propose an origin from source rocks which feed the large oil pools exposed at Limni Keriou on the southwestern tip of the island of Zakinthos. Samples of this oil seep have been studied in detail, together
S. P. Lowe; T. Doran
Oil seeps of the Ionian Islands, western Greece
Many Greeks believe the tarry deposits commonly observed on the beaches of Levkas, Meganissi, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Zakinthos originate from Turkish tankers. Geologists would propose an origin from source rocks which feed the large oil pools exposed at Limni Keriou on the southwestern tip of the island of Zakinthos. Samples of this oil seep have been studied in detail, together with oil samples collected around the islands of Zakinthos, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Meganissi, from which it can be seen a geologic origin is plausible. Examination of possible source rock intervals (for both maturity and source potential) occurring within the pre-flysch succession (Triassic-Eocene) of rocks exposed in the same area has also been completed. From these findings, conjecture as to the possible source of the oil seeps has been made.
Lowe, S.P.; Doran, T.
Status of western gray whales off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, in 2007
A collaborative Russia-U.S. research program on western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) summering off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, has been ongoing since 1995 and has produced important new information on the present day conservation status of this critically endangered population. This paper reviews findings from 2007 research activities and combines such with data from previous years, in some cases ranging back
Seagrass loss associated with boat moorings at Rottnest Island, Western Australia
Loss of seagrasses caused by mooring damage at Rottnest Island, Western Australia, was studied using aerial photographs taken between 1941 and 1992. The temporal decline of seagrass beds damaged by moorings was studied by comparing areal coverages of seagrasses and sand patches, and increases in the length of the exposed seagrass edge within seagrass beds. The study concentrated on Rocky
Kathleen Hastings; Patrick Hesp; Gary A. Kendrick
Sedimentation in the coastal reefs of Abrolhos over the last decades
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Coral reefs of the coastal area of Abrolhos are located in an environment with a high influx of terrigenous sediments that are carried out to the sea, either as a result of natural processes (river output, coastal erosion, and torrents) or due to anthropogenic influences (deforestation, coastal development, and dredging). Excessive terrigenous sediment in coastal areas has been identified as one of the major threats to coral reefs, leading to their worldwide decline. The present study assessed the evolution of sedimentation in the Abrolhos coastal reefs during the past decades by analyzing samples from sediment cores collected near the reefs of Coroa Vermelha (located 15 km from the coast), Pedra de Leste (located 12 km from the coast) and Popa Verde (located 35 km from the coast). The purpose of this assessment was to observe whether the previously described pattern of surficial bottom sediment distribution in Abrolhos, which consisted of terrigenous mud in the nearshore reefs, to carbonate-dominant sediments towards the offshore reefs, is still a prevalent feature. Sediment color, texture, CaCO3 percentage, biogenic compounds and clay minerals, as well as the sedimentation rate and the geochronology of the sediment cores were analyzed. The results showed indications of an increase in the deposition of terrigenous mud, over the last decade, in the vicinity of the reefs nearest to the coast, though this does not yet constitute a definitive evidence of such a change. However, this observation therefore suggests that local processes resulting from anthropogenic actions are most likely causing an increase of the sedimentation rate of continent-derived sediment runoff in the Abrolhos coastal areas. To minimize this situation, there is an urgent need for the development of new management strategies to protect the already disturbed Abrolhos coastal reefs, especially during times of global changes.
Silva, A. S.; Le�o, Z. M. A. N.; Kikuchi, R. K. P.; Costa, A. B.; Souza, J. R. B.
Leptospirosis in the western Indian Ocean islands: what is known so far?
In the past decade, leptospirosis has emerged as a major zoonosis with a worldwide distribution. The disease is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The western Indian Ocean includes more than one hundred tropical or subequatorial islands where leptospirosis constitutes a major public health problem. The clinical signs of the human disease are generally similar to an influenza-like syndrome, but acute forms of the disease are reported and mortality remains significant in this region. In animals, clinical forms are mainly asymptomatic but leptospirosis reduces the fertility of livestock, resulting in economic losses. The data available about human and animal leptospirosis in the western Indian Ocean islands are diverse: human leptospirosis has been extensively studied in Reunion Island, Mayotte, and the Seychelles, whereas the human clinical disease has never been described in Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, or Rodrigues, mainly because of the deficiency in appropriate medical and diagnostic structures. The rat is recognized as the major reservoir host for the bacteria on all islands, but recent data from Reunion Island indicates that almost all mammals can be a source of contamination. The incidence of leptospirosis in humans is highly seasonal, and linked to the rainy season, which is favorable for the environmental maintenance and transmission of the bacteria. The epidemiology of leptospirosis is fully island-dependent, related to the number of mammalian species, the origins of the introduced mammalian species, the relationships between humans and fauna, and environmental as well as cultural and socio-economic factors.
High-impact conservation: invasive mammal eradications from the islands of western M�xico.
Islands harbor a disproportionate amount of the earth's biodiversity, but a significant portion has been lost due in large part to the impacts of invasive mammals. Fortunately, invasive mammals can be routinely removed from islands, providing a powerful tool to prevent extinctions and restore ecosystems. Given that invasive mammals are still present on more than 80% of the world's major islands groups and remain a premier threat to the earth's biodiversity, it is important to disseminate replicable, scaleable models to eradicate invasive mammals from islands. We report on a successful model from western M�xico during the past decade. A collaborative effort between nongovernmental organizations, academic biologists, Mexican government agencies, and local individuals has resulted in major restoration efforts in three island archipelagos. Forty-two populations of invasive mammals have been eradicated from 26 islands. For a cost of USD 21,615 per colony and USD 49,370 per taxon, 201 seabird colonies and 88 endemic terrestrial taxa have been protected, respectively. These conservation successes are a result of an operational model with three main components: i) a tri-national collaboration that integrates research, prioritization, financing, public education, policy work, capacity building, conservation action, monitoring, and evaluation; ii) proactive and dedicated natural resource management agencies; and iii) effective partnerships with academic researchers in Mexico and the United States. What is now needed is a detailed plan to eradicate invasive mammals from the remaining islands in the region that integrates the needed additional financing, capacity, technical advances, and policy issues. Island conservation in western Mexico provides an effective approach that can be readily applied to other archipelagos where conservation efforts have been limited. PMID:18488552
Aguirre-Mu�oz, Alfonso; Croll, Donald A; Donlan, C Josh; Henry, R William; Hermosillo, Miguel Angel; Howald, Gregg R; Keitt, Bradford S; Luna-Mendoza, Luciana; Rodr�guez-Malag�n, Marlenne; Salas-Flores, Luz Mar�a; Samaniego-Herrera, Araceli; Sanchez-Pacheco, Jose Angel; Sheppard, Jacob; Tershy, Bernie R; Toro-Benito, Jorge; Wolf, Shaye; Wood, Bill
Shallow seismic imaging of flank collapse structures in oceanic island volcanoes: Application to the Western Canary Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Volcanic flank collapse counts among the many hazards associated with volcanic activity. This type of event involves the mobilization of large volumes, producing debris avalanches. It affects mostly oceanic island volcanoes, involving the potential for tsunami occurrence. Geophysical imaging can illuminate subvolcanic features such as volcano-tectonic structures, magmatic plumbing systems or differences in rock type. The most commonly used geophysical methods are gravity, electromagnetics and seismics. In particular, seismic measurements quantify anomalies in seismic waves propagation velocities and can be used to obtain information on the subsurface arrangement of different materials. In the Western Canary Islands, the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma (Canary Islands) has been proposed to be near the collapse stage. Previous geophysical studies that have been carried out on the flank of the volcano comprise gravity and electromagnetic methods. These types of surveys gather information on the deep structures of the volcano (1-2 km). In this project, we complement previous studies by using seismic methods to investigate the near-surface seismic structure of the Cumbre Vieja fault system (La Palma Island) and the structure of the well-developed San Andres fault system (El Hierro Island). We aim to compare the Cumbre Vieja and San Andres fault systems to infer the degree of maturity of collapse structures. We carried out reflection and refraction seismic surveys in order to image approximately the first 10 meters of the subsurface. We used 24 low frequency (4,5 Hz) geophones as receivers and a sledge hammer as the seismic source. The survey lines were located across visible parts of the fault systems at the Cumbre Vieja volcano and the San Andres fault in El Hierro. Here, we present the survey setup and results from the preliminary analysis of the data.
Sanchez, L.; Gonz�lez, P.; Tiampo, K. F.
High-resolution geophysical data from the sea floor surrounding the Western Elizabeth Islands, Massachusetts
Geophysical and geospatial data were collected in the nearshore area surrounding the western Elizabeth Islands, Massachusetts on the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael during September 2010 in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts, Office of Coastal Zone Management. This report describes the results of the short-term goals of this collaborative effort, which were to map the geology of the inner shelf zone of the western Elizabeth Islands and study the geologic processes that have contributed to its evolution. Data collected during the survey include: Bathymetric and sidescan-sonar data, chirp seismic-reflection data , sound velocity profiles, and navigation data. The long-term goals of this project are to provide high-resolution geophysical data that will support research on the influence of sea-level change and sediment supply on coastal evolution and inventory subtidal marine habitat type and distribution within the coastal zone of Massachusetts.
Pendleton, Elizabeth A.; Twichell, David C.; Foster, David S.; Worley, Charles R.; Irwin, Barry J.; Danforth, William W.
Distribution and abundance of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia
Exxon Neftegas Limited, operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf\\u000a off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG), on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, conducted a 3-D\\u000a seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August-September 2001. A portion of the primary known feeding area of\\u000a the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius
S. B. Yazvenko; T. L. McDonald; S. A. Blokhin; S. R. Johnson; S. K. Meier; H. R. Melton; M. W. Newcomer; R. M. Nielson; V. L. Vladimirov; P. W. Wainwright
Feeding of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia
Exxon Neftegas Limited, as operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf\\u000a off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG) on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium conducted a 3-D\\u000a seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August� September 2001. A portion of the primary feeding area of the endangered\\u000a western gray whale
S. B. Yazvenko; T. L. McDonald; S. A. Blokhin; S. R. Johnson; H. R. Melton; M. W. Newcomer; R. Nielson; P. W. Wainwright
Late Quaternary Depositional History and Anthropogenic Impacts of Western Long Island Sound, New York
In June 2006, we surveyed the seafloor of western Long Island Sound with the R\\/V HUGH SHARP and collected multibeam bathymetry, chirp subbottom profiling, side-scan sonar imagery, and sediment samples (25 gravity cores, 11 multicores, and 10 grabs). In addition, 36 CTD hydrocast stations measured O, pH, alkalinity, trace metals, nutrients, Polonium-210, Lead-210, Thorium-234, organic carbon, and pigments. Continuous weather
C. M. McHugh; M. Cormier; P. Marchese; Y. Zheng; G. Stewart; V. Acosta; A. Bowman; A. Cortes; L. Leon; M. Rosa; D. Semple; N. Thaker; W. Vargas; L. Williams
Are seismic surveys responsible for cetacean strandings? An unusual mortality of adult Humpback Whales in Abrolhos Bank, Northeastern coast of Brazil
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) aggregate at Abrolhos Bank, Bahia and Esp�rito Santo States, during spring-winter season for breeding and calving. The Instituto Baleia Jubarte\\/Humpback Whale Institute - Brazil maintains a permanent marine mammal rescue program along the coast adjacent to the Abrolhos Bank, aiming to register the strandings of humpback whales and to identify their probable cause of death. Since
Field observations of recent transgression on northern and eastern Melville Island, western Canadian Arctic Archipelago
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
After ~ 11,000 years of glacio-isostatically induced forced regression, geomorphological evidence indicates that the coastline of eastern Melville Island, western Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is now being transgressed. Recently developed coastal features associated with this transgression include: drowned gullies and small estuaries, barriers and lagoons, barrier islands, erosional notches, backstepping beaches, and drowned tundra vegetation and vehicle tracks dating from the 1970s. We mainly attribute this relative sea-level rise to the eastward migration of a peripheral crustal forebulge. Furthermore, the reported transgression also includes a component from recent eustatic sea-level rise during the 20th century. Recent earthquakes recorded in the Gustav-Lougheed Arch Seismic Zone located in Byam Martin Channel, 70 km east of Melville Island, suggest that neotectonics could also be involved in local relative sea-level adjustments. Other factors associated with global warming, especially the formation of an earlier shore-ice lead coupled with increased storm activity might also be responsible for some of the coastal changes. Our study indicates that the current zero isobase, separating areas of net transgression from those of net regression, is now located off the east coast of the island. Our field observations support recent glacio-isostatic modelling that shows the island is presently undergoing a transgression.
Lajeunesse, Patrick; Hanson, Michelle A.
Seismicity related to heterogeneous structure along the western Nankai trough off Shikoku Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Along the western Nankai trough, southwest Japan, heterogeneous crustal structures, such as scattered deep strong reflectors and a subducted topographic high, showed a spatial relationship to along-trough variation in the coseismic slip during the 1946 Nankai earthquake, which is the most recent of repeated interplate earthquakes of magnitude 8 range in this area. We observed micro earthquakes using a temporary ocean bottom seismograph network off Shikoku Island, western Nankai trough. Near the trough axis off Cape Muroto, earthquakes in the subducting oceanic plate were associated with structures in the oceanic crust and the uppermost mantle of the subducting plate. Beneath the trough landward slope, the observed earthquakes suggest heterogeneous interplate coupling related to the crustal structure variations. The crustal structure variations could affect the interplate coupling during the interseismic period as well as coseismic rupture propagation during large interplate earthquakes along the western Nankai trough.
Obana, Koichiro; Kodaira, Shuichi; Kaneda, Yoshiyuki
Geology and Late Quaternary Eruptive History of Kanaga Volcano, a Calc-Alkaline Stratovolcano in the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Recent studies of the geology and eruptive history of Kanaga Volcano in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska have yielded new information about the timing of Holocene eruptions and an improved understanding of the evolution of the volcano. Previous studies indicated that Kanaton Ridge, a major topographic feature on the northern part of Kanaga Island, was the rim of a
Christopher F. Waythomas; Thomas P. Miller; Christopher J. Nye
Modern reef development and cenozoic evolution of an oceanic island\\/reef complex: Isla de Providencia (Western Caribbean sea, Colombia)
Summary��Providencia Island in the SW Carbbean is 4.5 to 8.5 km across (including Sta. Catalina Island). In contrast to nearby San\\u000a Andr�s, which is an elevated Tertiary atoll, Providencia is formed by an extinct Miocene volcano. This lies far off the Middle\\u000a American mainland, and therefore its geological history is somewhat unique among other western Caribbean islands. The submarine\\u000a basement
J�rn Geister
Feeding of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia.
Exxon Neftegas Limited, as operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG) on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium conducted a 3-D seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August-9 September 2001. A portion of the primary feeding area of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is located in the vicinity of the seismic survey. This paper presents data to assess whether western gray whale bottom feeding activity, as indicated by visible mud plumes, was affected by seismic operations. The mitigation and monitoring program associated with the seismic survey included aerial surveys during 19 July-19 November 2001. These aerial surveys documented the local and regional distribution, abundance, and bottom feeding activity of western gray whales. Data on gray whale feeding activity before, during and after the seismic survey were collected, with the whales assumed to be feeding on the benthos if mud plumes were observed on the surface. The data were used to assess the influence of seismic survey and other factors (including environmental) on feeding activity of western gray whales. A stepwise multiple regression analysis failed to find a statistically significant effect (alpha = 0.05) of the seismic survey on frequency of occurrence of mud plumes of western gray whales used as a proxy to evaluate bottom feeding activity in Piltun feeding area. The regression indicated that transect number (a proxy for water depth, related to distance from shore) and swell height (a proxy for sea state) were the only variables that had a significant effect on frequency of whale mud plumes. It is concluded that the 2001 seismic survey had no measurable effect (alpha = 0.05) on bottom feeding activity of western gray whales off Sakhalin Island. PMID:17680334
Yazvenko, S B; McDonald, T L; Blokhin, S A; Johnson, S R; Melton, H R; Newcomer, M W; Nielson, R; Wainwright, P W
Digital seismic-reflection data from western Rhode Island Sound, 1980
During 1980, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a seismic-reflection survey in western Rhode Island Sound aboard the Research Vessel Neecho. Data from this survey were recorded in analog form and archived at the USGS Woods Hole Science Center's Data Library. Due to recent interest in the geology of Rhode Island Sound and in an effort to make the data more readily accessible while preserving the original paper records, the seismic data from this cruise were scanned and converted to Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) images and SEG-Y data files. Navigation data were converted from U.S. Coast Guard Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN-C) time delays to latitudes and longitudes, which are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) shapefile format and as eastings and northings in space-delimited text format.
McMullen, K. Y.; Poppe, L. J.; Soderberg, N. K.
Influence of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies on zooplankton distribution south of the western Aleutian Islands during summer
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mesoscale anticyclonic eddies have been observed south of the Aleutian Islands located between the Bering Sea and the subarctic Pacific. Eddies farther east, in the Gulf of Alaska, are known to transport coastal water and coastal zooplankton to offshore open ocean. The impacts of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies formed south of the western Aleutian Islands (Aleutian eddies) on the zooplankton community are not fully understood. In the present study, we describe zooplankton population structures within an Aleutian eddy and outside the eddy during July 2010. Our field study was conducted at seven stations along 51�15?N from 171�21?E to 174�38?E (western line) and at four stations along 50�40?N from 176�24?E to 178�44?E (eastern line) on 7-8 July 2010. At each station, environmental data (temperature, salinity and fluorescence were measured by CTD/XCTD. Zooplankton samples were collected by vertical tow of 150 m depth to the surface using 100 ?m mesh size plankton net. Based on the sea level anomaly (SLA), the western line crossed an anticyclonic eddy but the eastern line did not cross the eddy (Fig. 1). This Aleutian eddy was formed south of Attu Island (52�54?N, 172�54?E) in mid-February 2010, and it moved southeastward in the next five months. The SLA near the eddy center, representing the strength of the eddy, continuously increased, and the area oscillated at one to two month periods overlain on a general increase from ~7,000 to ~18,000 km2. Large oceanic copepods, Neocalanus cristatus, Eucalanus bungii and Metridia pacifica were more abundant inside the eddy than the outside. Inside the eddy, the life stage distribution of N. cristatus was advanced than that outside, and Neocalanus spp. had accumulated more lipids. These conditions probably reflect the greater primary production in the eddy, production enhanced by nutrients advected into the eddy. Since the Aleutian eddy was formed in offshore waters and/or eddy-eddy interaction occurred after its formation, it contained mostly oceanic copepods. The sufficient food condition in the eddy presumably induced higher growth and survival rates of these oceanic copepods, resulting in the greater abundance, advanced development stages and greater lipid accumulation. Fig. 1. Sea level anomaly along the sampling lines on 7 July 2010 south of the western Aleutian Islands.
Saito, R.; Yamaguchi, A.; Yasuda, I.; Ueno, H.; Ishiyama, H.; Imai, I.
The lofting of Western Pacific regional aerosol by island thermodynamics as observed around Borneo
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Vertical profiles of aerosol chemical composition, number concentration and size were measured throughout the lower troposphere of Borneo, a large tropical island in the western Pacific Ocean. Aerosol composition, size and number concentration measurements (using an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer, Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe and Condensation Particle Counter, respectively) were made both upwind and downwind of Borneo, as well as over the island itself, on board the UK BAe-146 research aircraft as part of the OP3 project. Two meteorological regimes were identified - one dominated by isolated terrestrial convection (ITC) which peaked in the afternoon, and the other characterised by more regionally active mesoscale convective systems (MCS). Upwind profiles show aerosol to be confined to a shallow marine boundary layer below 930 � 10 hPa (~760 m above sea level, a.s.l.). As this air mass advects over the island with the mean free troposphere synoptic flow during the ITC-dominated regime, it is convectively lofted above the terrestrial surface mixed layer to heights of between 945 � 22 (~630 m a.s.l.) and 740 � 44 hPa (~2740 m a.s.l.), consistent with a coupling between the synoptic steering level flow and island sea breeze circulations. Terrestrial aerosol was observed to be lofted into this higher layer through both moist convective uplift and transport through turbulent diurnal sea-breeze cells. At the peak of convective activity in the mid-afternoons, organic aerosol loadings in the lofted layer were observed to be substantially higher than in the morning (by a mean factor of three). This organic matter is dominated by secondary aerosol from processing of biogenic gas phase precursors. Aerosol number concentration profiles suggest formation of new particles aloft in the atmosphere. By the time the air mass reaches the west coast of the island, terrestrial aerosol is enhanced in the lofted layer. Such uplift of aerosol in Borneo is expected to increase aerosol lifetimes in the lower free troposphere downwind, as they are above the boundary layer and therefore less likely to be lost by wet or dry deposition. It is also likely to change the role they play in the semi-direct and direct aerosol effects. The long chain of islands extending from Malaysia to Australia may all similarly be expected to present an orographic barrier to low level mean flow. This would lead to significant transport of aerosol into the tropical free troposphere across the Western Pacific region.
Robinson, N. H.; Allan, J. D.; Trembath, J. A.; Rosenberg, P. D.; Allen, G.; Coe, H.
Large-scale impact of the island mass effect through nitrogen fixation in the western South Pacific Ocean
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
describe a new mechanism for the island mass effect fueled by nitrogen fixation. The nitrogen fixation activities and ?15N of suspended particles in the surface water in the South Pacific were examined. Active nitrogen fixation and abundant Trichodesmium spp. were observed near islands in the western subtropical region, which was attributable to the material supplied by land runoff. High primary production was extensively centered around the islands and was characterized by low ?15N of suspended particles and a reduction in phosphate concentrations at the surface compared with the subtropical gyre and eastern equatorial upwelling. This suggested that Trichodesmium spp. were advected to areas remote from these islands, and consequently, the elevated primary production fueled by nitrogen fixation extended over a large area around them. Because the proposed island mass effect is triggered by a terrigenous nutrient supply, this ecosystem is potentially vulnerable to human activity on small islands.
Shiozaki, Takuhei; Kodama, Taketoshi; Furuya, Ken
Evaluaci�n experimental de rodolitos como sustratos vivos para la infauna en el Banco de Abrolhos, Brasil Experimental evaluation of rhodoliths as living substrata for infauna at the Abrolhos Bank, Brazil
Over large areas of the Brazilian continental shelf, coralline algal rhodoliths provide habitats with high community diversity. In order to understand the role of rhodoliths in structuring the poorly studied infauna of these habitats, we determined seasonal patterns of their size and shape related to the associated biota, and experimentally tested the influence of living substrata in the Abrolhos Archipelago
K Santos de Menezes; EM Costa-Paiva; PC Paiva; CRR Ventura
Expanded Late Wisconsinan ice cap and ice sheet margins in the western Queen Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Recent mapping of surficial geology and geomorphology in the western Canadian High Arctic (Melville and Eglinton islands), together with new radiocarbon dates acquired from ice-contact raised marine sediments, document expanded late Wisconsinan ice limits for the northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet and the western Innuitian Ice Sheet. An extension of the northwestern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet onto Eglinton Island is proposed based on evidence from till containing erratics derived from the Canadian Shield and a pattern of meltwater channels indicating ice retreat offshore into M'Clure Strait. Expansion of the western Melville Island Ice Cap (part of the western, lowland sector of the Innuitian Ice Sheet) to its offshore late Wisconsinan limit was facilitated by coalescence with the Laurentide Ice Sheet, whose buttressing allowed thickening to occur. Estimates of ice extent and thickness (>500�m) of the western Melville Island Ice Cap are in agreement with high marine limits (?70�m�asl). Lateral and proglacial meltwater channels, moraines and glaciomarine, glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial deposits indicate radial retreat of the western Melville Island Ice Cap onto central highlands after ?13.0�cal�ka�BP. Older marine limit shorelines on southern Eglinton Island (?13.6�cal�ka�BP) are broadly synchronous with the early and rapid deglaciation of other areas formerly glaciated by the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet to the southeast and southwest (?14.2-13.6�cal�ka�BP). The collapse of the northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet in M'Clure Strait beginning at ?14.2�cal�ka�BP, in addition to prior inferred thinning, opens the possibility that it made a significant contribution to meltwater pulse 1A.
Nixon, F. Chantel; England, John H.
New data regarding distribution of cattle ticks in the south-western Indian Ocean islands
Recent studies have produced new insight into the origin and distribution of some cattle ticks in the south-western Indian Ocean islands. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, introduced from Tanzania in 2002, is now well established on Grande Comore but has not yet reached the other islands of the archipelago (Moh�li, Anjouan and Mayotte). Only one of the two clades identified in Africa has settled so far. Amblyomma variegatum, which was not supposed to be able to persist in the Antananarivo region (1300 m) nor in other Malagasy regions of high altitude without regular introductions of ticks by infested cattle, is now endemic as a general rule up to 1600 m although other regions of lower altitude (1400 m) are still free of the tick. This species remains confined in a small area of the west coast on La Reunion Island. On the contrary, Hyalomma dromedarii could not settle on Madagascar where it was introduced in 2008 and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi is not yet present in Grande Comore despite regular introductions by infested cattle from Tanzania. A phylogeographic approach has been carried out at an intra-specific level for A. variegatum. This study has led to the identification of two main lineages, one covering all species distribution and one restricted to East Africa and the Indian Ocean area. These two lineages are in sympatry in Madagascar where a high genetic diversity has been described, whereas a lower genetic diversity is observed on other islands. These results seem to agree with the historical data concerning the introduction of the tick in the Indian Ocean area.
Topographical and hydrographical impacts on the structure of microphytoplankton assemblages on the Abrolhos Bank region, Brazil
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
This study was conducted at the Abrolhos Bank (15�60?-21�30?S; 37�00?-40�30?W), Brazil, in July and August 2007, to evaluate the topographic and hydrographic influences on microphytoplankton composition and relative abundance. Net phytoplankton was collected from the top 200 m of the water column to assess diversity proxies (species richness, Shannon index, dominance and equitability) and compared with thermohaline, nutrient and chlorophyll profiles. A total of 326 taxa occurred in the area. Patterns in spatial distribution of microphytoplankton assemblages were two-fold: a north-south gradient linked to variations in temperature and nitrite, and a coast-offshore gradient associated with the depth of the mixed layer and the Brunt-V�is�l� maximum frequency. Microphytoplankton assemblages were typical of tropical oligotrophic environments. However, the inshore community found on the Abrolhos Bank was enriched by bottom dwelling, large-sized cells ressuspended from local sediments as a result of the highly dynamic coastal circulation. Species diversity was high in oceanic sites where water column stability as measured by the Brunt-V�is�l� frequency achieved its maxima, but high values of ecological indexes were also found in the southern part of the study area influenced by bottom intrusions of nutrient-rich oceanic waters, giving support to the notion that phytoplankton diversity increases at intermediate levels of environmental disturbance.
Susini-Ribeiro, Sylvia M. M.; Pompeu, Mayza; Gaeta, Salvador A.; de Souza, J�lia S. D.; Masuda, Laura S. D.
Distribution and abundance of western gray whales off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, 2001-2003.
In 2001-2003, >60,000 km of aerial surveys and 7,700 km of vessel surveys were conducted during June to November when critically endangered Korean-Okhotsk or western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) were present off the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. Results of surveys in all years indicated gray whales occurred in predominantly two areas, (1) adjacent to Piltun Bay, and (2) offshore from Chayvo Bay, hereafter referred to as the Piltun and offshore feeding areas. In the Piltun feeding area, the majority of whales were observed in waters shallower than 20 m and were distributed from several hundred meters to approximately 5 km from the shoreline. In the offshore feeding area during all years, the distribution of gray whales extended from southwest to northeast in waters 30-65 m in depth. During all years, the distribution and abundance of whales changed in both the Piltun and offshore feeding areas, and both north-south and inshore-offshore movements were documented within and between feeding seasons. The discovery of a significant number of whales feeding in the offshore area each year was a substantial finding of this study and raises questions regarding western gray whale abundance and population levels, feeding behavior and ecology, and individual site-fidelity. Fluctuations in the number of whales observed within the Piltun and offshore feeding areas and few sightings outside of these two areas indicate that gray whales move between the Piltun and offshore feeding areas during their summer-fall feeding season. Seasonal shifts in the distribution and abundance of gray whales between and within both the Piltun and offshore feeding areas are thought, in part, to be a response to seasonal changes in the distribution and abundance of prey. However, the mechanism driving the movements of whales along the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island is likely very complex and influenced by a multitude of factors. PMID:17703367
Meier, S K; Yazvenko, S B; Blokhin, S A; Wainwright, P; Maminov, M K; Yakovlev, Y M; Newcomer, M W
Late Miocene/Early Pliocene vertebrate fauna from Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean): an update.
The vertebrate fossil record from the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) has improved considerably over the past decade, especially in Mallorca and Menorca. In Menorca, the Pliocene terrestrial fauna was updated by the discovery and description of the large-sized leporid Nuralagus, several reptiles and an amphibian. In Mallorca, paleontological exploration yielded 2 deposits with a Late Miocene/Early Pliocene chronology, Cal� den Rafelino (CdR) and Na Burguesa-1 (NB-1). So far, 4 new mammalian taxa and 2 new reptiles have been identified for the CdR deposit, whereas the faunal assemblage from the recently discovered deposit (Apr 2012) of NB-1 is currently composed of, at least, 6 terrestrial mammals, 8 reptiles and an amphibian. Its faunal composition and some primitive characteristics of the obtained taxa suggest that the chronology of this deposit is slightly earlier than the CdR. The terrestrial vertebrates recorded in these 2 Mallorcan deposits are changing the view of the paleofaunal assemblage previously known for the Plio-Pleistocene of the island. Morphological characteristics displayed by some of the taxa suggest that these faunas would be at the beginning of an isolated evolution. In this paper we present a preliminary report on the fossils recovered from the NB-1 deposit, as well as some unpublished data from CdR, and we analyze the whole fauna from both Mallorcan deposits, focusing on taxonomical and paleobiogeographical aspects. PMID:24673762
Bover, Pere; Rofes, Juan; Bailon, Salvador; Agust�, Jordi; Cuenca-Besc�s, Gloria; Torres, Enric; Alcover, Josep Antoni
Regional offshore geology of central and western Solomon Islands and Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
The central and western Solomon Islands and the Bougainville regions are parts of a complex island-arc system that includes an intra-arc basin and remnants of both forearc and back-arc depositional wedges. These features formed in response to episodic Cenozoic tectonism along the convergent boundary between the Pacific and Australia-India plates. Presumed early Tertiary southwest-directed subduction of the Pacific plate and associated arc magmatism were curtailed by impingement of the leading edge of the Ontong Java Plateau. Aprons of back-arc and forearc sediment were derived from highstanding parts of the arc during the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Late Tertiary arc-polarity reversal and northeastward-directed subduction of the Woodlark spreading system caused a renewal of island-arc magmatism that completed the construction of the Central Solomons Trough as an enclosed intra-arc basin. Interpretations of multichannel profiles from 1982 and 1984 CCOP/SOPAC Tripartite Cruises of the research vessel R/V S.P. Lee indicate that the Central Solomons Trough is a composite intra-arc basin containing as much as 5.5 km of late Oligocene(.) and younger sedimentary rocks. As many as five lenticular seismic-stratigraphic units can be identified on the basis of unconformities and abrupt velocity changes. Late Miocene and younger folds and faults deform the northeast and southwest flanks of the basin. Profiles across the Kilinailau Trench show Ontong Java Plateau rocks covered by 2-4 km of trench sediment. The inner trench wall consists of folded, upfaulted, and rotated blocks of trench and forearc strata. The deep-water basin northwest of Bougainville is a southeastward extension of the New Ireland forearc basin, the southern margin of which is formed by a subsided part of the early Cenozoic arc. There, Oligocene(.) and younger basin strata, as much as 7 km thick, are deformed by pre-Pliocene faults and folds.
Vedder, J.G.; Colwell, J.B.; Bruns, T.R.; Cooper, A.K.
Late Wisconsinan glaciation and postglacial relative sea-level change on western Banks Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The study revises the maximum extent of the northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) in the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) during the last glaciation and documents subsequent ice sheet retreat and glacioisostatic adjustments across western Banks Island. New geomorphological mapping and maximum-limiting radiocarbon ages indicate that the northwest LIS inundated western Banks Island after ~ 31 14C ka BP and reached a terminal ice margin west of the present coastline. The onset of deglaciation and the age of the marine limit (22-40 m asl) are unresolved. Ice sheet retreat across western Banks Island was characterized by the withdrawal of a thin, cold-based ice margin that reached the central interior of the island by ~ 14 cal ka BP. The elevation of the marine limit is greater than previously recognized and consistent with greater glacioisostatic crustal unloading by a more expansive LIS. These results complement emerging bathymetric observations from the Arctic Ocean, which indicate glacial erosion during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to depths of up to 450 m.
Lakeman, Thomas R.; England, John H.
Western Lifestyle and Increased Prevalence of Atopic Diseases: An Example from a Small Papua New Guinean Island
Background Allergic diseases represent an increasing problem in public health in most modern societies as their prevalence has risen markedly during recent decades. Nevertheless, the causes of this increase are not yet fully explained. Objective We investigated the correlation of Western lifestyle pattern in varying intensity to the prevalence of atopic diseases in 5 small villages on Karkar Island, in northeast Papua New Guinea. Methods Two hundred forty-eight native people from 5 villages on tropical Karkar Island have been included in this study. The degree of Western lifestyle was assessed (questionnaire and observation) for each village. The prevalence of atopic diseases was evaluated by personal and family history, physical and dermatological examination, skin prick test (10 allergens), and measurement of total and specific immunoglobulin E levels (20 common allergens). Results The more easily accessible and thus more "modern" and westernized coastal villages showed a significantly higher prevalence of habitants suffering from atopic diseases than a traditional mountain village (6.8% vs 0.0%, P = 0.034, Fisher exact test). A total of 4.4% (11/248) of the examined islanders suffered from an atopic disease. Atopic eczema seems to be absent on Karkar Island. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that so-called Western lifestyle may contribute to the development of atopic diseases.
Significant Groundwater Discharge of Nutrients to Western Long Island Sound Inferred From Radioisotope, Nutrient and Organic Geochemical Tracers
Western Long Island Sound suffers from seasonal oxygen depletion due to both nutrient loading in this heavily populated region as well as restricted circulation of the Sound. The role played by groundwater in delivering nutrients to the Sound is not well understood, which served as motivation for the sampling we initiated in May, 2008. Work was carried out in both
J. Crusius; K. D. Kroeger; P. Zhang; S. Zhao; J. F. Bratton; H. Bokuniewicz; R. Coffey; A. Green; S. Baldwin; L. Erban; M. Casso
Effect of Striped Bass Larvae Transported from the Hudson River on Juvenile Abundance in Western Long Island Sound
Freshwater flow can have a profound influence on the transport of larvae within large tidal estuaries, and tidal flow can transport larvae away from those estuaries. Our objectives were to (1) confirm that a combination of freshwater and tidal flows transported post-yolk-sac larvae (PYSL) striped bass Morone saxatilis from the Hudson River, New York, to western Long Island Sound (WLIS),
Dennis J. Dunning; Quentin E. Ross; Kim A. McKown; Julia B. Socrates
Seismic Observations of Westdahl volcano and Western Unimak Island Alaska: 1999-2005
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Westdahl volcano is a large basaltic shield volcano on the western end of Unimak Island Alaska in the Aleutian Island Arc. The volcano is topped by three separate vents, Pogromni Volcano, Faris Peak, and Westdahl Peak. The volcano is frequently active with known eruptions from Westdahl Peak in 1964, 1978, and 1991-92 that produced large basaltic lava flows. InSAR measurements indicate that Westdahl Volcano has been inflating at a slowly declining rate since 1992 (Lu et al., 2003). The Alaska Volcano Observatory has operated a network of six short-period seismometers on Westdahl Peak since 1998. Complementing this network are similar networks centered on Shishaldin and Akutan Volcanoes. Since 1999 more than 300 earthquakes have been located within 20 km of Westdahl Volcano. A volcano specific velocity model was determined for the western half of Uminak Island by simultaneously inverting for the velocity model and hypocentral earthquake locations using the program VELEST. Earthquakes located with the new model reveal five clusters of hypocenters: (a) a shallow cluster beneath Westdahl Peak, that largely occurred during a 24-hour period on January 7, 2004, (b) a concentration of 68 earthquakes with hypocenters ranging in depth from zero to eight km beneath Faris Peak occurring continually since 1999, (c) a diffuse cluster of long-period events northwest of Westdahl and Faris Peaks, (d) a cluster of 12 earthquakes near Pinnacle Rock, 12 km southwest of Westdahl Peak in October 2003, and (e) a cluster of 43 hypocenters near Unimak Bight, 20 km east of Westdahl Peak, that occurred between January and April 2004. Focal mechanisms were derived for four earthquakes in the Faris Peak cluster and four additional earthquakes that locate off the volcanic edifice (the four mechanisms are in the Pinnacle Rock cluster, the Unimak Bight cluster, and 20 km southeast and 30 km northeast of the volcano). Focal mechanisms in the Faris Peak cluster showed normal faulting with nodal planes trending north-south to northwest-southeast. Mechanisms of the off-volcano earthquakes are generally characterized by normal faulting with nodal planes trending southwest-northeast. These events are consistent with a stress field dominated by the Aleutian subduction zone. The Faris Peak mechanisms are not consistent with the presumed regional stress field and may reflect volcanic process. Lu et al., (2003) proposed the observed inflation of Westdahl Volcano resulted from a slowly pressurizing magma source at 6 km depth beneath Westdahl Peak. The observed seismicity is consistent with this model. Lu, Z., T. Masterlark, D. Dzurisin, and R. Rykhus, 2003, Magma supply dynamics at Westdahl volcano, Alaska, modeled from satellite radar interferometry, Alaska, J. Geophys. Res. 108, 2354, doi:10.1029/2002JB002311, 2003.
Dixon, J. P.; Power, J. A.; Stihler, S. D.
Edge-driven Rayleigh Taylor Instabilities at Transtensional Continental Margins: Western North Island, New Zealand
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
At a continental transform system with an element of extension, regular and thinned lithosphere are juxtaposed. Such a system will be gravitationally unstable as negative buoyancy is created by the regular mantle lithosphere terminating at an abrubt edge with less dense asthenospheric mantle. Finite element experiments with dimensionless ratios of viscosity and density show that such a gravitational instability can grow, migrate and eventually drip off into the lower density asthenosphere providing two criteria are met: lithospheric thinning across the edge is at least 30% or more; and that viscosity at the top of the mantle lithosphere is no more than 2.4 or 4.5 x1021 Pa s, for lithospheric thicknesses of 100 and 200 km respectively. These are low values for regular mantle lithosphere, but are in keeping with mantle lithosphere found adjacent to plate boundaries, or paleo subduction zones. As the mantle lithosphere deforms and migrates away from an edge it both thins and thickens different portions of the overlying crust. At the surface regions of subsidence and uplift migrated in concert with the subjacent gravitational instability. A dimensionless variable analysis of instability development shows that 3 critical dimensionless ratios control the shape, migration speed and form of the instability: ?' = ratio of viscosity between crust and mantle; m' = ratio of crust to lithosphere thickness; and d' = portion of mantle lithosphere thinning to initiate the instability. Western North Island, New Zealand, displays characteristics of uplift and subsidence in the past 10-12 Ma, which can be explained by a migrating instability that initiated from the Auckland-Hauraki area around 10 Ma. Transtensional faults developed in mid-North Island from 5 Ma as back-arc spreading from the oceanic Lau Havre trough penetrated into the continental lithosphere of New Zealand. It is this transtensional phase that we argue started the edge-driven instability. The present position of the proposed migrating instability is now beneath the east-west line joining the active volcanoes of Mts Taranaki and Ruapehu. Here seismic, gravity, MT and seismicity evidence show a major, near vertical step in both the Moho and mantle lithosphere. A stacked receiver function profile shows a 7-10 km step in the Moho, and to the north of the step low upper-mantle P and S wave velocities suggests the mantle lithosphere is either very thin or missing. A migrating edge-instability provides a credible explanation for much of the phenomena observed in western North Island providing the mantle lithosphere is of the order of 5 x 1020 Pa s. We propose additional geophysical tests to check on the present position of the instability and to also extend the numerical experiments into three dimensions.
Stern, T. A.; Houseman, G. A.; Evans, L.
Haemoproteus iwa in Great Frigatebirds (Fregata minor) in the Islands of the Western Indian Ocean
Blood parasites of the sub-genus Haemoproteus have been reported in seabirds, in particular in species in the Suliformes order. These parasites are transmitted by hippoboscid flies of the genus Olfersia; strong specificity has been suggested between the vector and its vertebrate host. We investigated the prevalence of Haemoproteus infection in Suliformes and hippoboscid flies in two oceanic islands of the Western Indian Ocean: Europa and Tromelin. In total, 209 blood samples were collected from great frigatebirds (Fregata minor), masked boobies (Sula dactylatra) and red-footed boobies (Sula sula). Forty-one hippoboscid flies were also collected from birds. Seventeen frigatebirds and one fly collected on Europa tested positive for the presence of Haemoproteus parasites by polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenetic analyses based on partial sequences of the Cytochrome b gene showed that parasites were closely related to Haemoproteus iwa reported from frigatebirds in the Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean. Plasmodium was also detected in a frigatebird on Europa; however, its placement on the phylogenetic tree could not be resolved. We provide strong support for transmission of blood parasites in seabirds in the Western Indian Ocean and suggest that migrations between the Pacific and the Indian oceans could favor the large-scale distribution of Haemoproteus iwa in frigatebird populations.
Bastien, Matthieu; Jaeger, Audrey; Le Corre, Matthieu; Tortosa, Pablo; Lebarbenchon, Camille
Mercury concentrations in breast feathers of three upper trophic level marine predators from the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element distributed globally through atmospheric transport. Agattu Island, located in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, has no history of point-sources of Hg contamination. We provide baseline levels of total mercury (THg) concentrations in breast feathers of three birds that breed on the island. Geometric mean THg concentrations in feathers of fork-tailed storm-petrels (Oceanodroma furcata; 6703 � 1635, ng/g fresh weight [fw]) were higher than all other species, including snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus; 2105 � 1631, ng/g fw), a raptor with a diet composed largely of storm-petrels at Agattu Island. There were no significant differences in mean THg concentrations of breast feathers among adult Kittlitz�s murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris; 1658 � 1276, ng/g fw) and chicks (1475 � 671, ng/g fw) and snowy owls. The observed THg concentrations in fork-tailed storm-petrel feathers emphasizes the need for further study of Hg pollution in the western Aleutian Islands.
Kaler, Robb S. A.; Kenney, Leah A.; Bond, Alexander L.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.
Mercury concentrations in breast feathers of three upper trophic level marine predators from the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element distributed globally through atmospheric transport. Agattu Island, located in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, has no history of point-sources of Hg contamination. We provide baseline levels of total mercury (THg) concentrations in breast feathers of three birds that breed on the island. Geometric mean THg concentrations in feathers of fork-tailed storm-petrels (Oceanodroma furcata; 6703 � 1635, ng/g fresh weight [fw]) were higher than all other species, including snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus; 2105 � 1631, ng/g fw), a raptor with a diet composed largely of storm-petrels at Agattu Island. There were no significant differences in mean THg concentrations of breast feathers among adult Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris; 1658 � 1276, ng/g fw) and chicks (1475 � 671, ng/g fw) and snowy owls. The observed THg concentrations in fork-tailed storm-petrel feathers emphasizes the need for further study of Hg pollution in the western Aleutian Islands. PMID:24656750
Kaler, Robb S A; Kenney, Leah A; Bond, Alexander L; Eagles-Smith, Collin A
Abrolhos Bank Reef Health Evaluated by Means of Water Quality, Microbial Diversity, Benthic Cover, and Fish Biomass Data
The health of the coral reefs of the Abrolhos Bank (southwestern Atlantic) was characterized with a holistic approach using measurements of four ecosystem components: (i) inorganic and organic nutrient concentrations, [1] fish biomass, [1] macroalgal and coral cover and (iv) microbial community composition and abundance. The possible benefits of protection from fishing were particularly evaluated by comparing sites with varying levels of protection. Two reefs within the well-enforced no-take area of the National Marine Park of Abrolhos (Parcel dos Abrolhos and California) were compared with two unprotected coastal reefs (Sebasti�o Gomes and Pedra de Leste) and one legally protected but poorly enforced coastal reef (the �paper park� of Timbebas Reef). The fish biomass was lower and the fleshy macroalgal cover was higher in the unprotected reefs compared with the protected areas. The unprotected and protected reefs had similar seawater chemistry. Lower vibrio CFU counts were observed in the fully protected area of California Reef. Metagenome analysis showed that the unprotected reefs had a higher abundance of archaeal and viral sequences and more bacterial pathogens, while the protected reefs had a higher abundance of genes related to photosynthesis. Similar to other reef systems in the world, there was evidence that reductions in the biomass of herbivorous fishes and the consequent increase in macroalgal cover in the Abrolhos Bank may be affecting microbial diversity and abundance. Through the integration of different types of ecological data, the present study showed that protection from fishing may lead to greater reef health. The data presented herein suggest that protected coral reefs have higher microbial diversity, with the most degraded reef (Sebasti�o Gomes) showing a marked reduction in microbial species richness. It is concluded that ecological conditions in unprotected reefs may promote the growth and rapid evolution of opportunistic microbial pathogens.
Bruce, Thiago; Meirelles, Pedro M.; Garcia, Gizele; Paranhos, Rodolfo; Rezende, Carlos E.; de Moura, Rodrigo L.; Filho, Ronaldo-Francini; Coni, Ericka O. C.; Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza; Amado Filho, Gilberto; Hatay, Mark; Schmieder, Robert; Edwards, Robert; Dinsdale, Elizabeth; Thompson, Fabiano L.
Plankton and seston size spectra estimated by the LOPC and ZooScan in the Abrolhos Bank ecosystem (SE Atlantic)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The biomass size spectrum provides valuable information about the functioning of plankton systems. We evaluated hydrographic and bathymetric influences on biomass size spectra and on vertical distributions of plankton and seston above the Abrolhos Bank and in adjacent oceanic areas off Eastern Brazil. We used both in situ Laser Optical Particle Counter (LOPC) and preserved plankton samples analyzed with a ZooScan system to determine seston and plankton abundances, size distributions, and biomasses. Shelf stations, including those on the Abrolhos Bank, had higher particle concentrations and mesozooplankton biomasses than the vertically stratified oceanic stations. The latter were influenced by cold, nutrient-rich South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) below the mixed layer, particularly toward the south of the study area. Small particles (<1 mm) were more abundant above and within the pycnocline, whereas large particles (>1 mm) had a more heterogeneous vertical distribution, but were more abundant above the pycnocline, especially at the oceanic stations. Calanoid copepods usually dominated the mesozooplankton biomass spectra, but were accompanied by cyclopoids, appendicularians, and ostracods, the latter being particularly abundant during nighttime stations on the Abrolhos Bank. Both LOPC and ZooScan data showed significant differences in NBSS slopes and intercepts between shelf and oceanic stations. The higher intercepts and steeper slopes over the shelf are characteristic of higher productivity. The shallower slopes and presence of more biomass in larger particles indicate a more important contribution of large organisms and higher energy transfer efficiencies at the open ocean stations. Our results highlight the importance of the Abrolhos Bank for pelagic production in an otherwise oligotrophic ocean.
Marcolin, Catarina da Rocha; Schultes, Sabine; Jackson, George A.; Lopes, Rubens M.
Distribution and abundance of western gray whales during a seismic survey near Sakhalin Island, Russia.
Exxon Neftegas Limited, operator of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, is developing oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf off northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia. DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG), on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 consortium, conducted a 3-D seismic survey of the Odoptu license area during 17 August-9 September 2001. A portion of the primary known feeding area of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is located adjacent to the seismic block. The data presented here were collected as part of daily monitoring to determine if there was any measurable effect of the seismic survey on the distribution and abundance of western gray whales. Mitigation and monitoring program included aerial surveys conducted between 19 July and 19 November using the methodology outlined by the Southern California High Energy Seismic Survey team (HESS). These surveys provided documentation of the distribution, abundance and bottom feeding activity of western gray whales in relation to seismic survey sounds. From an operations perspective, the aerial surveys provided near real-time data on the location of whales in and outside the feeding area, and documented whether whales were displaced out of an area normally used as feeding habitat. The objectives of this study were to assess (a) temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of gray whales in relation to seismic survey, and (b) the influence of seismic survey, environmental factors, and other variables on the distribution and abundance of gray whales within their preferred feeding area adjacent to Piltun Bay. Multiple regression analysis revealed a limited redistribution of gray whales southward within the Piltun feeding area when the seismic survey was fully operational. A total of five environmental and other variables unrelated to seismic survey (date and proxies of depth, sea state and visibility) and one seismic survey-related variable (seg3d, i.e., received sound energy accumulated over 3 days) had statistically significant effects on the distribution and abundance of gray whales. The distribution of two to four gray whales observed on the surface (i.e., about five to ten whales in total) has likely been affected by the seismic survey. However, the total number of gray whales observed within the Piltun feeding area remained stable during the seismic survey. PMID:17899420
Yazvenko, S B; McDonald, T L; Blokhin, S A; Johnson, S R; Meier, S K; Melton, H R; Newcomer, M W; Nielson, R M; Vladimirov, V L; Wainwright, P W
Late Quaternary vegetation and climate history of the central Bering land bridge from St. Michael Island, western Alaska
Pollen analysis of a sediment core from Zagoskin Lake on St. Michael Island, northeast Bering Sea, provides a history of vegetation and climate for the central Bering land bridge and adjacent western Alaska for the past ?30,000 14C yr B.P. During the late middle Wisconsin interstadial (?30,000�26,000 14C yr B.P.) vegetation was dominated by graminoid-herb tundra with willows (Salix) and
Thomas A. Ager
Rapid decline of endemic snails in the Ogasawara Islands, Western Pacific Ocean
\\u000a The distribution of Mandarina spp., endemic land snails (ground-dowelling ecotype species) of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands (Japan), was examined from\\u000a the 1980's to the present in Chichijima and Hahajima islands. In Chichijima Island, M.mandarina has been rapidly declining since the 1990's in the northeastern area of the island. On the other hand, M. chichijimana has only slightly declined since the
Takashi Ohbayashi; Isamu Okochi; Hiroki Sato; Tsuyoshi Ono; Satoshi Chiba
Origin of igneous rocks associated with M�langes of the Pacific Rim Complex, western Vancouver Island, Canada
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Pacific Rim Complex (PRC) has previously been interpreted as a late Mesozoic subduction complex that formed along the western margin of Vancouver Island. This paper examines a specific aspect of this interpretation: that igneous rocks within the PRC are fault slices derived from the footwall or hanging wall of a subduction thrust. The footwall would have been an oceanic plate, and the hanging wall, Wrangellia, a large coherent terrane that underlies most of Vancouver Island. New mapping has shown that the PRC comprises a lower Mesozoic volcanic unit, herein named the Ucluth Formation, and a superjacent sequence, more than 2 km thick, of Lower Cretaceous sediment-rich m�langes. Within the m�langes are large blocks of volcanic and plutonic rocks, most of which were derived from the underlying Ucluth Formation. A minor fraction of these blocks cannot be assigned to Ucluth; they consist of Upper Jurassic pillow basalt and rare ultramafite. Fossil ages and chemical data indicate that the bulk of the igneous rocks in the PRC, as represented by the Ucluth Formation and blocks derived from the Ucluth, could not have come from Wrangellia nor from a subducting oceanic plate. The blocks of Upper Jurassic pillow basalt do represent fragments of oceanic crust, but field relations indicate that they are not fault slices. The mudstone matrix surrounding the blocks contains interbeds of "green tuff" which are shown to be scree deposits derived from the Ucluth and the Upper Jurassic pillow basalts. My interpretation is that the PRC m�langes formed by surficial mass wasting, and not by faulting along a subduction thrust. Furthermore, regional geologic relations indicate that the present location of the PRC, outboard of Wrangellia, is a result of strike slip faulting during the latest Cretaceous or early Tertiary. This event postdates the formational age of the m�langes by at least 45 m.y. An appendix of chemical analyses, locality descriptions, sample petrography, analytical methods, and estimated accuracy is available with the entire article on microfiche. Order from American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20009. Document T89-004; $2.50. Payment must accompany order.
Brandon, Mark T.
The feeding and diet of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus off the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean): Influence of environmental factors and relationship with the biological cycle
Spatio-temporal variation of feeding intensity and diet in the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus was studied at two locations around the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterraean) in August, September, and November 2003, and in February, April and June 2004 at depths between 550 and 750m. The two areas, with different oceanographic conditions, were respectively located in the northwest (S�ller)
Joan E. Cartes; Vanesa Papiol; Beatriz Guijarro
A taxonomic revision of the genus Gouania Jacq. (Rhamnaceae) is presented for Madagascar and the other western Indian Ocean islands. Seventeen species are recognized, of which nine are described and published as new (all endemic to Madagascar): G. ambrensis Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., G. callmanderi Buerki, G. cupreifolia Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., G. cupuliflora Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., G. gautieri Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., G. perrieri Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., G. phillipsonii Buerki, G. taolagnarensis Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., and G. zebrifolia Buerki, Phillipson & Callm. Sixteen species occur in Madagascar, of which 13 are endemic and three are common to Madagascar and one or more of the smaller Indian Ocean islands. The latter include G. laxiflora Tul., a species which is also present on mainland Africa. One species, G. mauritiana Lam., is endemic to R�union Island. We recognize two subspecies within G. scandens (Gaertn.) R. B. Drumm.: G. scandens subsp. scandens and G. scandens subsp. glandulosa (Boivin ex Tul.) Buerki, Phillipson & Callm., the latter transferred from G. glandulosa Boivin ex Tul. Past confusion about the identity of this species is discussed. Five names are lectotypified: G. aphrodes Tul., G. glandulosa [= G. scandens subsp. glandulosa], G. laxiflora, G. lineata Tul., and G. tiliifolia Lam. Both lectotype and epitype are designated for G. mauritiana. Conservation assessments are provided for all species within their primary areas of occurrence.
Buerki, Sven; Phillipson, Peter B.; Callmander, Martin W.
Seasonal and annual variation in body condition of western gray whales off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia
The western gray whale population (Eschrichtius robustus) is critically endangered and its potential for recovery is uncertain. Along with other natural and anthropogenic threats, western gray whales are susceptible to nutritional stress, known from regular observations of individual whales in compromised body condition. Thus, the ability to visually quantify the relative body condition of free-ranging western gray whales and evaluate
Amanda L. Bradford; David W. Weller; Yulia V. Ivashchenko; Alexander M. Burdin; Robert L. Brownell
Biophysical responses near equatorial islands in the Western Pacific Ocean during El Ni�o/La Ni�a transitions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
biological response in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean during El Ni�o/La Ni�a transitions and the underlying physical mechanisms were investigated. A chlorophyll a bloom was observed near the Gilbert Islands during the 2010 El Ni�o/La Ni�a transition, whereas no bloom was observed during the 2007 El Ni�o/La Ni�a transition. Compared to the previously observed bloom during the 1998 El Ni�o/La Ni�a transition, the 2010 bloom was weaker, lagged by 1-2 months, and was displaced eastward by ~200 km. Analysis suggested that the occurrence, magnitude, timing, and spatial pattern of the blooms were controlled by two factors: easterly winds in the western equatorial Pacific during the transition to La Ni�a and the associated island mass effect that enhanced vertical processes (upwelling and vertical mixing), and the preconditioning of the thermocline depth and barrier layer thickness by the preceding El Ni�o that regulated the efficiency of the vertical processes. Despite the similar strength of easterly winds in the western equatorial Pacific during the 1998 and 2010 transitions to La Ni�a, the 2009-2010 El Ni�o prompted a deeper thermocline and thicker barrier layer than the 1997-1998 El Ni�o that hampered the efficiency of the vertical processes in supplying nutrients from the thermocline to the euphotic zone, resulting in a weaker bloom.
Gierach, Michelle M.; Messi�, Monique; Lee, Tong; Karnauskas, Kristopher B.; Radenac, Marie-H�l�ne
Transport of terrestrially-derived nutrients across the continental shelf of the Western Antarctic Peninsula, Anvers Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Primary productivity in the waters offshore of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) accounts for a large portion of the global oceans' CO2 drawdown, but is limited by the amount of bio-available iron (Fe) in surface waters and the duration of exposure to sunlight. The mechanisms that supply Fe to surface waters off the coast of the WAP play a key role in the global climate system by fueling primary production in this vast and ecologically important environment. To date, the Antarctic continent remains an important, yet unquantified source of nutrients to the waters offshore of the WAP. During the 2012-2013 austral summer, seawater samples were collected along the WAP offshore of Anvers Island to investigate the source and mixing of water masses across the continental shelf. We evaluated the transport of Fe- and macro-nutrient rich waters derived from the Antarctic continent along and across the continental shelf of the WAP using radon (222Rn) and radium isotopes (223,224Ra). Offshore surface waters were elevated in radon and short-lived radium isotopes relative to shelf waters closer to shore, suggesting longshore rather than shore-normal processes dominate water mass transport on the continental shelf near Anvers Island. These water column features suggest that the Antarctic Peninsula Coastal Current possibly influences circulation patterns offshore of Anvers Island. These findings about water mass characteristics near Anvers Island provide insight to understanding transport of terrestrially-derived nutrients to offshore waters that may stimulate productivity.
Crenshaw, J.; Corbett, D. R.; Walsh, J. P.; Null, K.; Peterson, L.; Hawkins, D.; Peterson, R. N.; Viso, R. F.; Lyons, W. B.; Sybert, D.
Isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen of suprabenthic fauna in the NW Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stable isotope (? 13C and ? 15N) analyses were performed on suprabenthic fauna collected in the western Mediterranean (NW Balearic Islands), at depths ranging between 350 and 780 m. Samples were collected seasonally at bi-monthly intervals during six cruises performed between August 2003 and June 2004, using a Macer-GIROQ suprabenthic sledge (0.5 mm mesh size). Twenty-four separate species (5 mysids, 12 amphipods, 2 cumaceans, 2 isopods, 1 euphausiid, 1 decapod and 1 fish) and bulk copepods were analyzed on a seasonal basis for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (? 15N) ranged from 2.3� (the amphipod Lepechinella manco in September 2003) to 13.0� (the amphipod Rhachotropis caeca in August 2003). ? 13C values ranged from - 24.2 (the cumacean Campylaspis sulcata in June 2004) to - 16.1 (the amphipod Bruzelia typica in November 2006). Both ? 13C and ? 15N values suggest that there are three trophic levels within the suprabenthic community. However, considering the bathymetric range of the species, the results suggest that the deepest assemblage supported only two trophic levels. The stable isotope ratios of suprabenthic fauna displayed a continuum of values and confirmed a wide spectrum of feeding types (from filter-feeders to predators). In general, and in spite of the poor knowledge about diets available for most suprabenthic species, higher ? 15N were found for carnivorous amphipods (e.g. Rhachotropis spp., Nicippe tumida) consuming copepods. Low overlap for ? 13C and ? 15N values was observed, though ? 15N values where less variable than ? 13C, which suggests high resource partitioning in this assemblage. Seasonal variations in isotopic composition for both ? 13C and ? 15N were low (less than 1� and 3�, respectively) and variable depending on species. Low correlations between ? 13C and ? 15N of suprabenthic fauna were found for all periods studied, though increasing from February 2004 to June 2004 (after the main peak of primary production in surface). C:N ratio (indicator of lipid content) showed higher values in summer than in winter. This suggests that lipid content may explain the seasonal patterns of ? 13C variability and, due to the increase of storage products in phytoplankton and zooplankton, it possibly indicates the peak of primary production at the surface.
Madurell, T.; Fanelli, E.; Cartes, J. E.
Compositional variations and differential diagenesis in Miocene turbidites from the western coast of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Compositional variations and differential diagenesis in Miocene turbidites from the western coast of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) Sonja Felder (1), Hildegard Westphal (1), Axel Munnecke (2), Guillem Mateu Vicens (1,3) (1) MARUM and Department of Geosciences, Universit�t Bremen, Leobener Stra�e, 28359 Bremen, Germany (2) GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universit�t Erlangen-N�rnberg, Loewenichstr. 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany (3) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit� di Roma "La Sapienza", Ple Aldo 7 Moro, 5. I-00185 Roma, Italy Cyclic alternations of limestone and marl beds crop out along the western coast of the Island of Mallorca. This Miocene succession is traditionally interpreted to represent more weathering-resistant turbidites interlayered by softer hemipelagic background sediment. However, the cementation patterns that dominate the appearance of the outcrop do not always consistently follow sedimentary layering; locally the cemented beds are systematically oblique to the sedimentary layers. Compositional studies demonstrate that differences in non-carbonate fraction, carbonate concentration and fossil content (e.g. foraminiferal assemblages) trace sedimentary bedding, regardless the diagenetic style. Limestone versus marl lithology, in contrast, is defined by the diagenetic style, tight cementation by calcite cements in the limestones versus low porosity and compaction in the marls. The reason for this striking pattern of diagenetic bedding cross-cutting sedimentary layers is assumed to be related to tectonic fracturing, opening pathways for diagenetic fluids. This example cautions the straight-forward interpretation of limestone-marl alternations as direct witnesses of environmental or climatic variations.
Felder, Sonja; Westphal, Hildegard; Munnecke, Axel; Mateu Vicens, Guillem
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This easterly looking view shows the seven major volcanic islands of the Canary Island chain (28.0N, 16.5W) and offers a unique view of the islands that have become a frequent vacation spot for Europeans. The northwest coastline of Africa, (Morocco and Western Sahara), is visible in the background. Frequently, these islands create an impact on local weather (cloud formations) and ocean currents (island wakes) as seen in this photo.
Marine Mollusca from Expedition Fiord, Western Axel Heiberg Island, Northwest Territories, Canada
Marine molluscs, including bivalves, gastropods and scaphopods, were recovered by dredging at depths of 3 - 82 m in Expedition Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada. Cluster analysis, based on presence\\/absence data at 27 stations, defined two mollusc associations within the fiord. A Portlandia-Thyasira association, characterized by the abundance of Portlandia arctica and Thyasira gouldi, inhabits silty clay substrates at depths
Rickettsia spp. in Seabird Ticks from Western Indian Ocean Islands, 2011-2012
We found a diversity of Rickettsia spp. in seabird ticks from 6 tropical islands. The bacteria showed strong host specificity and sequence similarity with strains in other regions. Seabird ticks may be key reservoirs for pathogenic Rickettsia spp., and bird hosts may have a role in dispersing ticks and tick-associated infectious agents over large distances.
Lebarbenchon, Camille; Jaeger, Audrey; Le Rouzic, Celine; Bastien, Matthieu; Lagadec, Erwan; McCoy, Karen D.; Pascalis, Herve; Le Corre, Matthieu; Dellagi, Koussay; Tortosa, Pablo
Incidental catch of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)
A survey, which included questionnaires for fishermen and the placement of observers onboard fishing vessels, was conducted to assess turtle catch off the Balearic Islands. The survey focused on those fishing vessels whose base port was in the archipelago and, hence, the catch of South-eastern Spain longliners moving in summer to the archipelago was not considered. The fishermen's perception was
Carlos Carreras; Luis Cardona; Alex Aguilar
Reef fish structure and distribution in a south-western Atlantic Ocean tropical island.
The community structure of the reef fish fauna of Trindade Island, a volcanic oceanic island located 1160 km off the coast of Brazil, is described based on intensive visual censuses. Seventy-six species were encountered in 252 censuses, with mean � S.E. of 99 � 3 individuals and 15.7 � 0.3 species 40 m(-2) transect. The average fish biomass, calculated from length-class estimation, was 22.1 kg 40 m(-2) transect. The species contributing most to biomass were, in decreasing order, Melichthys niger, Cephalopholis fulva, Kyphosus spp., Holocentrus adscensionis, Sparisoma amplum, Sparisoma axillare, Acanthurus bahianus and Epinephelus adscensionis. Carnivorous fishes were the largest trophic group in terms of biomass, followed by omnivores and roving herbivores. The two predominant types of reef habitat, fringing reefs built by coralline algae and rocky reefs made of volcanic boulders, showed significant differences in the biomass and the abundance of the trophic guilds. Within each habitat type, significant differences in species richness, density and biomass were detected among crest, slope and interface zones. Although similar in overall species composition to coastal reefs in Brazil, the fish fauna of Trindade Island shares certain characteristics, such as a high abundance of planktivores, with other Brazilian oceanic islands. Despite comparatively high fish biomass, including the macro-carnivorous species habitually targeted by fisheries, signs of overfishing were evident. These findings highlight the urgency for a conservation initiative for this isolated, unique and vulnerable reef system. PMID:22141900
Pinheiro, H T; Ferreira, C E L; Joyeux, J-C; Santos, R G; Horta, P A
76 FR 77175 - New York Fun Factory Fireworks Display, Western Long Island Sound; Mamaroneck, NY
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...USCG-2011-0999] RIN 1625-AA00 New York Fun Factory Fireworks Display, Western...NY in support of the New York Fun Factory Fireworks display. This...to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waters and to...zones. On May 10, 2012 New York Fun Factory Events is...
Significant Groundwater Discharge of Nutrients to Western Long Island Sound Inferred From Radioisotope, Nutrient and Organic Geochemical Tracers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Western Long Island Sound suffers from seasonal oxygen depletion due to both nutrient loading in this heavily populated region as well as restricted circulation of the Sound. The role played by groundwater in delivering nutrients to the Sound is not well understood, which served as motivation for the sampling we initiated in May, 2008. Work was carried out in both Manhasset Bay, a portion of which is sewered, and Northport Harbor, which is largely unsewered. There is clear evidence of discharge of groundwater to each embayment, as reflected in surface-water Rn-222 time series, seepage meter and high-resolution piezometer transects installed perpendicular to shore). Seepage rates were as high as 32 cm/day and modulated by the tide. Initial data reveal variable groundwater total DIN concentrations, spanning similar concentration ranges (as high as 500 uM), in the sewered and unsewered locations. Concentrations of organic geochemical tracers of sewage (including caffeine and imidacloprid) are high in samples with high nutrient concentrations and also span comparable ranges in sewered and unsewered locations. A preliminary interpretation of these results would suggest that most of the nutrient flux from groundwater is from wastewater in both the sewered and unsewered settings (rather than from fertilizer application, atmospheric deposition, etc.), implying that the sewering is not very effective. If this result is verified with additional sampling this fall, it would suggest that wastewater-influenced groundwater discharge is indeed a prominent source of nutrients to western Long Island Sound which in turn contributes to eutrophication and oxygen depletion.
Crusius, J.; Kroeger, K. D.; Zhang, P.; Zhao, S.; Bratton, J. F.; Bokuniewicz, H.; Coffey, R.; Green, A.; Baldwin, S.; Erban, L.; Casso, M.
Late Quaternary vegetation and climate history of the central Bering land bridge from St. Michael Island, western Alaska
Pollen analysis of a sediment core from Zagoskin Lake on St. Michael Island, northeast Bering Sea, provides a history of vegetation and climate for the central Bering land bridge and adjacent western Alaska for the past ???30,000 14C yr B.P. During the late middle Wisconsin interstadial (???30,000-26,000 14C yr B.P.) vegetation was dominated by graminoid-herb tundra with willows (Salix) and minor dwarf birch (Betula nana) and Ericales. During the late Wisconsin glacial interval (26,000-15,000 14C yr B.P.) vegetation was graminoid-herb tundra with willows, but with fewer dwarf birch and Ericales, and more herb types associated with dry habitats and disturbed soils. Grasses (Poaceae) dominated during the peak of this glacial interval. Graminoid-herb tundra suggests that central Beringia had a cold, arid climate from ???30,000 to 15,000 14C yr B.P. Between 15,000 and 13,000 14C yr B.P., birch shrub-Ericales-sedge-moss tundra began to spread rapidly across the land bridge and Alaska. This major vegetation change suggests moister, warmer summer climates and deeper winter snows. A brief invasion of Populus (poplar, aspen) occurred ca. 11,000-9500 14C yr B.P., overlapping with the Younger Dryas interval of dry, cooler(?) climate. During the latest Wisconsin to middle Holocene the Bering land bridge was flooded by rising seas. Alder shrubs (Alnus crispa) colonized the St. Michael Island area ca. 8000 14C yr B.P. Boreal forests dominated by spruce (Picea) spread from interior Alaska into the eastern Norton Sound area in middle Holocene time, but have not spread as far west as St. Michael Island. ?? 2003 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Ager, T. A.
78 FR 12015 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Fishing in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments...in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments...Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani...
Upper-plate splay fault earthquakes recorded by uplifted coral microatolls on Ramree Island, the western coast of Myanmar (Burma)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Myanmar is located at the convergent boundary between the Indian-Australian and the Eurasian plates. Offshore western Myanmar, the Indian-Australian plate subducts northeastward underneath the Burma micro-plate along the northernmost part of the Sunda megathrust. Wide-spread marine terraces with numerous uplifted corals are evident for the active deformation along the coast of western Myanmar. The 1762 Arakan earthquake, the last major seismic event along this plate boundary belt, has been proposed to result from slip on upper-plate splay faults, in addition to rupture of the megathrust. Some previous studies also proposed that the interval between large earthquakes in this area is about 900 years from the ages of the marine terraces, but the seismic activity of upper-plate splay faults remains unclear. From the ages of multiple steps of uplifted coral microatolls, we have identified several previous earthquake events that are likely produced by the upper-plate splay faults. Near the small village of Leik-Ka-Maw at the northwestern corner of the Ramree Island, western Myanmar, we found three groups of uplifted coral colonies with different elevations on the wave-cut platform. U-Th ages of the corals indicate that the second group of corals was killed by co-seismic uplift during the 1762 earthquake. A lower group of corals suggests that there was at least one event after the 1762 earthquake, probably in 1848 according to Myanmar's recorded history. This event has not been reported previously elsewhere, thus it may represent a minor, local event that occurred entirely on a splay fault. Geomorphic evidence for such a local structure is also present near the central western Ramree coast. Detailed topographic survey revealed that the uplifted marine terrace gets higher oceanward. This deformation pattern is likely produced by an east-dipping reverse fault not too far offshore the coastline there. Since most previous studies focused on megathrust earthquakes, the presence of upper-plate splay fault events suggests that the proposed earthquake recurrence intervals in western Myanmar may be overestimated.
Shyu, J. Bruce H.; Wang, Chung-Che; Wang, Yu; Chiang, Hong-Wei; Shen, Chuang-Chou; Thura Tun, Soe
Petrochemistry, age and isotopic composition of alkali basalts from Ponape Island, Western Pacific
Eleven analyzed lava samples from Ponape Island are alkali olivine basalt, basanite and basanitoid. Most lavas are aphyric or sparsely phyric (< 10% phenocrysts) and have phenocrysts of olivine (Fo77-80), clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite, and microphenocrysts of plagioclase (An53-68) in a fine-grained groundmass of olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, opaques, potassic oligoclase, ?? nepheline and accessary phases. Oxygen isotope and Fe2O3 FeO data suggest that most samples are fresh, although H2O contents are high. Xenoliths of chromite-bearing harzburgites and dunites, both with cumulate textures occur in one locality. Major- and trace-element concentrations are similar to other oceanic volcanic islands. Most major elements and compatible trace elements vary systematically with respect to the Mg number [ 100Mg (Mg + Fe2+)]. In contrast, the incompatible trace elements do not correlate with the Mg number, but do covary with other incompatible elements. Simple closed-system shallow fractionation cannot be invoked to explain the observed chemical variation in the lavas. Derivation of the fractionated lavas (Mg number = 66-48) probably involved polybaric crystal fractionation from a high-Mg-number parental liquid. In addition, variable-source concentration of a trace-element-rich minor phase is postulated. However, the mantle was homogeneous with respect to the ratio of 87Sr 86Sr. New KAr age data are not consistent with the hypothesis that Ponape and the Caroline Ridge represent a simple "hot spot". ?? 1984.
Dixon, T. H.; Batiza, R.; Futa, K.; Martin, D.
Calibrating and monitoring the western gray whale mitigation zone and estimating acoustic transmission during a 3D seismic survey, Sakhalin Island, Russia.
A 3D marine seismic survey of the Odoptu license area off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, was conducted by DalMorNefteGeofizika (DMNG) on behalf of Exxon Neftegas Limited and the Sakhalin-1 consortium during mid-August through early September 2001. The key environmental issue identified in an environmental impact assessment was protection of the critically endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which spends the summer-fall open water period feeding off northeast Sakhalin Island in close proximity to the seismic survey area. Seismic mitigation and monitoring guidelines and recommendations were developed and implemented to reduce impacts on the feeding activity of western gray whales. Results of the acoustic monitoring program indicated that the noise monitoring and mitigation program was successful in reducing exposure of feeding western gray whales to seismic noise. PMID:17762974
Rutenko, A N; Borisov, S V; Gritsenko, A V; Jenkerson, M R
Environmental risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection in an island from Western Venezuela.
Few investigations have been conducted on risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection in communities from developing countries. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors for cryptosporidiosis in San Carlos island, Venezuela. A sample of 515 subjects (mean age +/- SD: 21.4 +/- 17.8 years) was surveyed. Single fecal specimens were collected and modified Ziehl-Neelsen carbolfuchsin staining of formalin-ether concentrate stools were examined for identification of the parasite. Infections with Cryptosporidium (67 of 515, 13%) were common. Prevalence of the parasite varied among sectors of the community; 34 of 67(50.7%) cases of cryptosporidiosis clustered in two sectors with extreme poverty. Variables strongly associated with a higher risk for the infection (p < 0.01) were residing in these sectors versus the remainder, living in a hut or small residence versus a brick or larger house, using an area of backyard rather than a toilet or latrine for defecation, and having contact with soil contaminated with human feces. Crowding was also a risk (p < 0.05). Contact with human feces contaminated-soil may be an important mode of transmission and poverty a predisposing factor for the infection. PMID:18345459
Chac�n-Bonilla, Leonor; Barrios, Fernando; Sanchez, Yulaicy
A late quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska
Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the mid-Wisconsin interstadial period through the Holocene, based on radiocarbon dating. Based on the locations of likely loess sources, eolian silt in western Alaska was probably deflated by northeasterly winds from glaciofluvial sediments. If last-glacial winds that deposited loess were indeed from the northeast, this reconstruction is in conflict with a model-derived reconstruction of paleowinds in Alaska. Mass accumulation rates in Zagoskin Lake were higher during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene. In addition, more eolian sediment is recorded in the lake sediments than as loess on the adjacent landscape. The thinner loess record on land may be due to the sparse, herb tundra vegetation that dominated the landscape in full-glacial time. Herb tundra would have been an inefficient loess trap compared to forest or even shrub tundra due to its low roughness height. The lack of abundant, full-glacial, eolian silt deposition in the loess stratigraphic record of central Alaska may be due, therefore, to a mimimal ability of the landscape to trap loess, rather than a lack of available eolian sediment. ?? 2003 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Muhs, D. R.; Ager, T. A.; Been, J.; Bradbury, J. P.; Dean, W. E.
Imaging rapidly deforming ocean island volcanoes in the western Gal�pagos archipelago, Ecuador
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
local body wave arrival-time tomography methods to determine 3-D seismic velocity structure, we imaged the plumbing system of Sierra Negra Volcano, Gal�pagos. This hot spot volcanic chain includes some of the fastest deforming volcanoes in the world, making this an ideal location to study shield volcano plumbing systems. We inverted P and S wave arrivals recorded on a 15-station temporary array between July 2009 and June 2011 using an a priori 1-D velocity model constrained by offshore refraction studies. With local seismicity from nearby volcanoes as well as the ring fault system, the model resolution is good between depths of 3 and 15.5 km. The propagation of S waves throughout this volume argues against any large high-melt accumulations, although a shallow melt sill may exist above 5 km. We image a broad low-velocity region (>25 km laterally) below Sierra Negra at depths ~8-15 km. No large, regional velocity increase is found within the limits of good resolution, suggesting that crust is thicker than 15 km beneath the western Gal�pagos archipelago. Our results are consistent with crustal accretion of mafic cumulates from a large-volume magma chamber that may span the boundary between preplume and accreted crust. The similarity between our results and those of Hawaii leave open the possibility that the crust has also been thickened by under-plating.
Tepp, Gabrielle; Ebinger, Cynthia J.; Ruiz, Mario; Belachew, Manahloh
An exploratory study of community factors relevant for participatory malaria control on Rusinga Island, western Kenya
Background Capacity strengthening of rural communities, and the various actors that support them, is needed to enable them to lead their own malaria control programmes. Here the existing capacity of a rural community in western Kenya was evaluated in preparation for a larger intervention. Methods Focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews were carried out in 1,451 households to determine (1) demographics of respondent and household; (2) socio-economic status of the household; (3) knowledge and beliefs about malaria (symptoms, prevention methods, mosquito life cycle); (4) typical practices used for malaria prevention; (5) the treatment-seeking behaviour and household expenditure for malaria treatment; and (6) the willingness to prepare and implement community-based vector control. Results Malaria was considered a major threat to life but relevant knowledge was a chimera of scientific knowledge and traditional beliefs, which combined with socio-economic circumstances, leads to ineffective malaria prevention. The actual malaria prevention behaviour practiced by community members differed significantly from methods known to the respondents. Beside bednet use, the major interventions implemented were bush clearing and various hygienic measures, even though these are ineffective for malaria prevention. Encouragingly, most respondents believed malaria could be controlled and were willing to contribute to a community-based malaria control program but felt they needed outside assistance. Conclusion Culturally sensitive but evidence-based education interventions, utilizing participatory tools, are urgently required which consider traditional beliefs and enable understanding of causal connections between mosquito ecology, parasite transmission and the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Community-based organizations and schools need to be equipped with knowledge through partnerships with national and international research and tertiary education institutions so that evidence-based research can be applied at the grassroots level.
Opiyo, Pamela; Mukabana, W Richard; Kiche, Ibrahim; Mathenge, Evan; Killeen, Gerry F; Fillinger, Ulrike
Increased population sampling confirms low genetic divergence among Pteropus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) fruit bats of Madagascar and other western Indian Ocean islands
Fruit bats of the genus Pteropus occur throughout the Austral-Asian region west to islands off the eastern coast of Africa. Recent phylogenetic analyses of Pteropus from the western Indian Ocean found low sequence divergence and poor phylogenetic resolution among several morphologically defined species. We reexamine the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa by using multiple individuals per species. In addition, we estimate population genetic structure in two well-sampled taxa occurring on Madagascar and the Comoro Islands (P. rufus and P. seychellensis comorensis). Despite finding a similar pattern of low sequence divergence among species, increased sampling provides insight into the phylogeographic history of western Indian Ocean Pteropus, uncovering high levels of gene flow within species.
Chan, Lauren M.; Goodman, Steven M.; Nowak, Michael D.; Weisrock, David W.; Yoder, Anne D.
Calibrating and monitoring the western gray whale mitigation zone and estimating acoustic transmission during a 3D seismic survey, Sakhalin Island, Russia
A 3D marine seismic survey of the Odoptu license area off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, was conducted by DalMorNefteGeofizika\\u000a (DMNG) on behalf of Exxon Neftegas Limited and the Sakhalin-1 consortium during mid-August through early September 2001. The\\u000a key environmental issue identified in an environmental impact assessment was protection of the critically endangered western\\u000a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which spends the
A. N. Rutenko; S. V. Borisov; A. V. Gritsenko; M. R. Jenkerson
Bacterial contamination of drinking water and nutritional quality of diet in the areas of the western Solomon Islands devastated by the April 2, 2007 earthquake?tsunami
On 2nd April 2007, at 7:40 local time (20:40 GMT 1 April), a massive earthquake, the epicenter of which was 10 km deep and 45 km south-southeast of Gizo, the provincial capital of the Western Province, struck the Solomon Islands, killing 52 people and displacing approximately 5,000. This study, based on field research in May 2007, reports on the result
Takuro Furusawa; Norio Maki; Shingo Suzuki
Abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of western gray whales in relation to a 3-D seismic survey, Northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia
A geophysical seismic survey was conducted in the summer of 2001 off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. The\\u000a area of seismic exploration was immediately adjacent to the Piltun feeding grounds of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). This study investigates relative abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of gray whales in relation to occurrence and\\u000a proximity to the
Glenn Gailey; Bernd W�rsig; Trent L. McDonald
78 FR 39583 - Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Fishing in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Fishing in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries...to fish in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments. These are [[Page...
78 FR 32996 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Fishing in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments...in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments...Ecosystem Plan for the Pacific Remote Island Areas, Amendment 3 to the Fishery...
A western gray whale mitigation and monitoring program for a 3-D seismic survey, Sakhalin Island, Russia.
The introduction of anthropogenic sounds into the marine environment can impact some marine mammals. Impacts can be greatly reduced if appropriate mitigation measures and monitoring are implemented. This paper concerns such measures undertaken by Exxon Neftegas Limited, as operator of the Sakhalin-1 Consortium, during the Odoptu 3-D seismic survey conducted during 17 August-9 September 2001. The key environmental issue was protection of the critically endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which feeds in summer and fall primarily in the Piltun feeding area off northeast Sakhalin Island. Existing mitigation and monitoring practices for seismic surveys in other jurisdictions were evaluated to identify best practices for reducing impacts on feeding activity by western gray whales. Two buffer zones were established to protect whales from physical injury or undue disturbance during feeding. A 1 km buffer protected all whales from exposure to levels of sound energy potentially capable of producing physical injury. A 4-5 km buffer was established to avoid displacing western gray whales from feeding areas. Trained Marine Mammal Observers (MMOs) on the seismic ship Nordic Explorer had the authority to shut down the air guns if whales were sighted within these buffers. Additional mitigation measures were also incorporated: Temporal mitigation was provided by rescheduling the program from June-August to August-September to avoid interference with spring arrival of migrating gray whales. The survey area was reduced by 19% to avoid certain waters <20 m deep where feeding whales concentrated and where seismic acquisition was a lower priority. The number of air guns and total volume of the air guns were reduced by about half (from 28 to 14 air guns and from 3,390 in(3) to 1,640 in(3)) relative to initial plans. "Ramp-up" (="soft-start") procedures were implemented. Monitoring activities were conducted as needed to implement some mitigation measures, and to assess residual impacts. Aerial and vessel-based surveys determined the distribution of whales before, during and after the seismic survey. Daily aerial reconnaissance helped verify whale-free areas and select the sequence of seismic lines to be surveyed. A scout vessel with MMOs aboard was positioned 4 km shoreward of the active seismic vessel to provide better visual coverage of the 4-5 km buffer and to help define the inshore edge of the 4-5 km buffer. A second scout vessel remained near the seismic vessel. Shore-based observers determined whale numbers, distribution, and behavior during and after the seismic survey. Acoustic monitoring documented received sound levels near and in the main whale feeding area. Statistical analyses of aerial survey data indicated that about 5-10 gray whales moved away from waters near (inshore of) the seismic survey during seismic operations. They shifted into the core gray whale feeding area farther south, and the proportion of gray whales observed feeding did not change over the study period. Five shutdowns of the air guns were invoked for gray whales seen within or near the buffer. A previously unknown gray whale feeding area (the Offshore feeding area) was discovered south and offshore from the nearshore Piltun feeding area. The Offshore area has subsequently been shown to be used by feeding gray whales during several years when no anthropogenic activity occurred near the Piltun feeding area.Shore-based counts indicated that whales continued to feed inshore of the Odoptu block throughout the seismic survey, with no significant correlation between gray whale abundance and seismic activity. Average values of most behavioral parameters were similar to those without seismic surveys. Univariate analysis showed no correlation between seismic sound levels and any behavioral parameter. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after allowance for environmental covariates, 5 of 11 behavioral parameters were statistically correlated with estimated seismic survey-related variables; 6 of 11 behavioral parameters wer
Johnson, S R; Richardson, W J; Yazvenko, S B; Blokhin, S A; Gailey, G; Jenkerson, M R; Meier, S K; Melton, H R; Newcomer, M W; Perlov, A S; Rutenko, S A; W�rsig, B; Martin, C R; Egging, D E
78 FR 7385 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Fishing in the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Administration 50 CFR Part 665 RIN 0648-BA98 Western Pacific Fisheries; Fishing in the Marianas...SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council proposes...or Adobe PDF file formats only. The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council...
Earth-science studies of a nuclear test area in the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska: an interim summary of results
Recent multi-disciplinary studies by the U. S. Geological Survey ; conducted on and near Amchitka Island in the Aleutians have contributed much to a ; better understanding of the geologic, hydrologic, and tectonic environment of the ; island as an underground nuclear test site. The work included geologic mapping, ; isotopic dating, deep drilling, geophysical surveys, hydrologic investigations, ; and
W. J. Carr; L. M. Gard; G. D. Bath; D. L. Healey
Reconstruction of Holocene coastal depositional environments based on sedimentological and palaeontological analyses, Zakynthos Island, Western Greece Mediterranean Sea
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zakynthos Island is one of the most seismically active regions in Europe and the Holocene coastal depositional environments were influenced both by tectonic activity and sea level rise. In the present study detailed sedimentological, palaeontological and 14C dating analyses were used in order to reconstruct the Holocene coastal depositional environments as well as the different rates of sedimentation, based on data from three cores up to 30 m deep. The results of the analyses indicate changes in depositional environments from marine to brackish lagoonal and lagoon / barrier systems with temporary intrusions of marine water via storms or tsunamigenic events. High sedimentation rates in coastal areas of Zakynthos Island correspond well to the most widespread Holocene warm and humid phases. The interpretation of the sedimentological environments reveals that Zakynthos Island before 8300 BP was constituted by two islands, where the present southern part of the island was separated from the northern one by a shallow and narrow sea channel.
Avramidis, Pavlos; Iliopoulos, George; Papadopoulou, Penelope; Nikolaou, Konstantinos; Kontopoulos, Nikolaos; Wijngaarden, Gert
Deformation kinematics along oblique convergent plate boundary zones in the western United States, Japanese Islands, and Pakistan
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Horizontal velocity gradient tensor field in the western U.S is estimated using moment tensors of earthquakes between 1850 to 1995. The velocity vectors obtained from the integration of the seismic strain rates across the entire plate boundary lie within 5� of the NUVEL-1A Pacific-North American plate motion direction. The magnitude of the earthquake-related velocity is 62% of the NUVEL-1A total Pacific-North American plate motion. The total velocity obtained from the Quaternary fault slip rate data across the entire plate boundary is within 2 mm/yr of the NUVEL-1A predicted Pacific (PA)-North American (NA) plate motion velocity, but directions are 6� anticlockwise of directions given by NUVEL-1A. The total velocity obtained from inversion of recent geodetic data is 2�--3� anticlockwise from the NUVEL-1A NA-PA velocity, but the difference between the two is not significant at the 95% confidence level. Relative motions within the deforming Japanese Islands with respect to the Sea of Japan are determined using earthquake records over the last 414 years, slip rates on Quaternary faults, and angular change rates obtained from triangulation in the last century. The directions of the principal strain axes obtained from seismic, geological, and geodetic data are in general agreement with each other, with the maximum shortening axis oriented in a WNW direction. Intraplate deformation in southwestern Japan determined from the seismic data accommodates a velocity of 5.5 +/- 2 (1sigma) mm/yr in a direction parallel to the Nankai trough, which is about 25% of the plate motion velocity component parallel to the Nankai trough between the Philippine Sea and Eurasian plates. A comparison of shear strain rates, principal strain rates, and velocity fields determined from geodetic data with those calculated from the elastic dislocation models involving interplate motion at the Japan trench indicates that the geodetic strain field in northern Honshu is primarily elastic strain transmitted from the Japan trench. Horizontal strain rate and velocity field that accommodate India-Eurasia plate motion in Pakistan are determined based on constraints from geological and geodetic information in the region. The optimal model that yields a strain rate field consistent with observed geologic, seismologic, and geodetic data gives 17--28 mm/yr of left-lateral strike-slip motion along the Chaman fault zone, 3--6 mm/yr of east-west convergence and 5--14 mm/yr of north-south left-lateral shear across the roughly NS trending Sulaiman Range. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Shen-Tu, Bingming
Cytoplasmic Incompatibility as a Means of Controlling Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Mosquito in the Islands of the South-Western Indian Ocean
The use of the bacterium Wolbachia is an attractive alternative method to control vector populations. In mosquitoes, as in members of the Culex pipiens complex, Wolbachia induces a form of embryonic lethality called cytoplasmic incompatibility, a sperm-egg incompatibility occurring when infected males mate either with uninfected females or with females infected with incompatible Wolbachia strain(s). Here we explore the feasibility of the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT), a species-specific control approach in which field females are sterilized by inundative releases of incompatible males. We show that the Wolbachia wPip(Is) strain, naturally infecting Cx. p. pipiens mosquitoes from Turkey, is a good candidate to control Cx. p. quinquefasciatus populations on four islands of the south-western Indian Ocean (La R�union, Mauritius, Grande Glorieuse and Mayotte). The wPip(Is) strain was introduced into the nuclear background of Cx. p. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from La R�union, leading to the LR[wPip(Is)] line. Total embryonic lethality was observed in crosses between LR[wPip(Is)] males and all tested field females from the four islands. Interestingly, most crosses involving LR[wPip(Is)] females and field males were also incompatible, which is expected to reduce the impact of any accidental release of LR[wPip(Is)] females. Cage experiments demonstrate that LR[wPip(Is)] males are equally competitive with La R�union males resulting in demographic crash when LR[wPip(Is)] males were introduced into La R�union laboratory cages. These results, together with the geographic isolation of the four south-western Indian Ocean islands and their limited land area, support the feasibility of an IIT program using LR[wPip(Is)] males and stimulate the implementation of field tests for a Cx. p. quinquefasciatus control strategy on these islands.
Atyame, Celestine M.; Pasteur, Nicole; Dumas, Emilie; Tortosa, Pablo; Tantely, Michael Luciano; Pocquet, Nicolas; Licciardi, Severine; Bheecarry, Ambicadutt; Zumbo, Betty; Weill, Mylene; Duron, Olivier
Dynamics of coral reef benthic assemblages of the Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil: inferences on natural and anthropogenic drivers.
The Abrolhos Bank (eastern Brazil) encompasses the largest and richest coral reefs of the South Atlantic. Coral reef benthic assemblages of the region were monitored from 2003 to 2008. Two habitats (pinnacles' tops and walls) were sampled per site with 3-10 sites sampled within different reef areas. Different methodologies were applied in two distinct sampling periods: 2003-2005 and 2006-2008. Spatial coverage and taxonomic resolution were lower in the former than in the latter period. Benthic assemblages differed markedly in the smallest spatial scale, with greater differences recorded between habitats. Management regimes and biomass of fish functional groups (roving and territorial herbivores) had minor influences on benthic assemblages. These results suggest that local environmental factors such as light, depth and substrate inclination exert a stronger influence on the structure of benthic assemblages than protection from fishing. Reef walls of unprotected coastal reefs showed highest coral cover values, with a major contribution of Montastraea cavernosa (a sediment resistant species that may benefit from low light levels). An overall negative relationship between fleshy macroalgae and slow-growing reef-building organisms (i.e. scleractinians and crustose calcareous algae) was recorded, suggesting competition between these organisms. The opposite trend (i.e. positive relationships) was recorded for turf algae and the two reef-building organisms, suggesting beneficial interactions and/or co-occurrence mediated by unexplored factors. Turf algae cover increased across the region between 2006 and 2008, while scleractinian cover showed no change. The need of a continued and standardized monitoring program, aimed at understanding drivers of change in community patterns, as well as to subsidize sound adaptive conservation and management measures, is highlighted. PMID:23365655
Francini-Filho, Ronaldo B; Coni, Ericka O C; Meirelles, Pedro M; Amado-Filho, Gilberto M; Thompson, Fabiano L; Pereira-Filho, Guilherme H; Bastos, Alex C; Abrantes, Douglas P; Ferreira, Camilo M; Gibran, Fernando Z; G�th, Arthur Z; Sumida, Paulo Y G; Oliveira, Nara L; Kaufman, Les; Minte-Vera, Carolina V; Moura, Rodrigo L
Late tectonic uplift of an inverted oceanic basin in South East Asia: the case of Palawan Island (western Philippines)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The elongated island of Palawan, bounded by two marginal basins, the South China Sea to the North and the Sulu Sea to the South is composed of remnants of an inverted basin (Proto-South China Sea) thrusted onto the margin of a continental terrane which rifted away from the Chinese-Vietnamese margin. Based on field observations coupled with seismic and drill-holes data, our study focuses on the structural architecture of the island in order to decipher the geodynamic evolution of the southern margin of the South China Sea. Structurally, the Palawan Island consists of: (i) the Palawan wedge, which extends towards the South China Sea is composed of deformed slope to deep ocean deposits of Cretaceous (north Palawan) to Tertiary (central and south Palawan) ages. This accretionnary wedge is characterized by small wavelength folds of mainly NE-SW trend. Offshore, the unconformable Middle-Late Miocene Tabon limestones unit postdates the last stages of the Palawan wedge growth/setting; (ii) On top of this wedge lie thrust slices of ophiolite bodies comprising ribbon cherts of Albian age as indicated by radiolarians.; these bodies are likely to be relicts of the now-subducted Proto South China Sea; (iii) The central and southern parts of the Palawan island are characterized by a large wavelength antiform of NE-SW trend. This structure is sealed by the slightly tilted Early Pliocene marls unit; (iv) The island also presents necking zones bordered by N-S trending transform faults. This area witnessed the geodynamic evolution of the South East Asia which consists of a succession of opening/closure of oceanic basins and block accretions. The Palawan Island therefore results of the closing of the Proto-South China Sea which once formed both the Palawan accretionary wedge and the overlying ophiolite tectonic slices. During a later compressive event, the rifted continental margin which composes the basement of the Island was inverted, inducing the uplift and the large scale folding of the Palawan Island. In a final stage, the strain relaxing results in the formation of the necking zones, probably reactivating the inherited transform faults of the Proto-South China Sea. Keywords: Palawan Island; South China Sea; oceanic basin; inverted margin; Ophiolite.
Meresse, F.; Savva, D.; Pubellier, M.; Steuer, S.; Franke, D.; Cordey, F.; Muller, C.; Sapin, F.; Mouly, B.; Auxi�tre, J.-L.
The influence of oceanographic scenarios on the population dynamics of demersal resources in the western Mediterranean: Hypothesis for hake and red shrimp off Balearic Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The aim of the present paper is to study the relationships between some climatic indices and parental stock, recruitment and accessibility to trawl fishery of hake ( Merluccius merluccius) and red shrimp ( Aristeus antennatus) off Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean). Available annual catch per unit effort, recruitment and spawning stock biomass have been used as biological data. As environmental data, the meso-scale IDEA index and the large-scale North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) indices have been used. To analyze possible links between these indices with the population dynamics of demersal resources, two non-linear approaches have been applied: (i) stock-recruitment relationships from Ricker and Beverton-Holt models, by sequentially incorporating environment factors; (ii) generalized additive modelling, both classical general and threshold non-additive models were considered. The latter simulate an abrupt change in explicative variables across different phases (time periods or climatic index values). The results have shown that two oceanographic scenarios around the Balearic Islands, associated with macro and meso-scale climate regimes, can influence the population dynamics of hake and red shrimp. This is especially true for recruitment, which seems to be enhanced during low NAO and IDEA indices periods. During these periods, colder-than-normal winters generate high amounts of cold Western Mediterranean Intermediate Waters (WIW) in the Gulf of Lions, which flow southwards and reach the Balearic Islands channels in spring, increasing the productivity in the area. This oceanographic scenario could also be favourable to the distribution of hake on the fishing grounds where the trawl fleet targets this species, increasing its accessibility to the fishery. Both spawning stock and abundance of red shrimp seems to be also enhanced by high MO index periods, which could reflect the increased presence of the saline and warm Levantine Intermediate Waters (LIW) in the study area, extending over the fishing grounds of this species. The proposed interactions can be useful to assess and manage these important demersal resources.
Massut�, Enric; Monserrat, Sebasti�; Oliver, Pere; Moranta, Joan; L�pez-Jurado, Jos� Luis; Marcos, Marta; Hidalgo, Manuel; Guijarro, Beatriz; Carbonell, Aina; Pereda, Pilar
Three-dimensional geometry and evolution of a composite, multilevel salt system, western Eugene Island, offshore Louisiana
Seismic data from southwestern Eugene Island (EI) in the northern Gulf of Mexico have been interpreted to determine the three-dimensional geometry of allochthonous salt. The main feature is a multilevel salt weld consisting of numerous lows separated from each other by ramps and saddles. Shallow portions of the weld surface often overhang deeper portions of the same weld system, producing
M. G. Rowan; P. Weimer; P. B. Flemings
The effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on distribution patterns of sea urchins at Ustica Island MPA (Western Mediterranean, Italy)
This study evaluated the effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on average density and size of this edible sea urchin, and its indirect effects on Arbacia lixula on barren substrates of Ustica Island MPA (SW Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Size, single and pooled species densities, density of large individuals (>40mm long) and small individuals (<20mm long) of the two species were
Paola Gianguzza; Mariachiara Chiantore; Chiara Bonaviri; Riccardo Cattaneo-Vietti; Ilaria Vielmini; Silvano Riggio
'Heaven' for serpents? A mark-recapture study of tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) on Carnac Island, Western Australia
Animals resident on small islands provide excellent opportunities to carry out detailed mark- recapture studies. Populations are closed and ecosystems are often simpler than those of mainland sites. These factors enable the study of cryptic species that have otherwise been neglected. Snakes are notable for their secretive nature and, as a result, few natural populations have been accurately described through
Xavier Bonnet; David Pearson; Mitchell Ladyman; Olivier Lourdais; Don Bradshaw
Radionuclide tracer profiles at the CESAR Ice Station and Canadian Ice Island in the western Arctic Ocean
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Water column profiles of naturally-occurring ( 210Pb, 210Po, 226Ra) and fallout ( 137Cs, 239,240Pu radionuclides measured at the Canadian Ice Island in 1985, 1986 and 1989 over the Arctic Ocean continental shelf were compared to profiles measured at the CESAR ice station in the central Arctic Ocean in 1983. Cesium-137 concentrations at CESAR decreased from a mean value of 4.2 Bq/m 3 in the surface mixed layer to less than 1.0 Bq/m 3 in the Atlantic layer and deep waters. Cesium-137 concentrations were similar to CESAR values in the surface mixed layer at the Ice Island, but in halocline water they were lower than values measured at comparable water depths at CESAR, indicating that the arrival of fallout 137Cs in the Ice Island halocline had been delayed compared to its arrival in the CESAR halocline. These data are consistent with a combination of mixing box and lateral advection models with mixing occurring over the Russian continental shelves followed by lateral advection through the interior halocline waters of the Canada Basin. Dissolved 210Pb and 210Po concentrations were higher in nutrient maximum water at the Ice Island compared to CESAR. Low values at CESAR are caused by scavenging of particle-reactive radionuclides during modification of Bering Sea water in continental shelf environments. The elevated 210Pb and 210Po concentrations measured in nutrient maximum water at the Ice Island are assumed to result from ingrowth of 210Pb from 226Ra during lateral advection of upper halocline water between the CESAR and Ice Island locations, a process that is estimated to take approximately 11 years. Plutonium-239,240 is also depleted, relative to 137Cs in the surface mixed layer and upper halocline at the Ice Island owing to its scavenging during modification of Pacific water in shelf environments. The 239,240Pu /137Cs ratio increases to values approaching fallout levels in lower halocline and Atlantic water owing to both reduced 239,240Pu removal in source waters and vertical transport of 239,240Pu with sinking particles.
Smith, J. N.; Ellis, K. M.
Seasonal and short spatial patterns in European hake ( Merluccius merluccius L.) recruitment process at the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean): The role of environment on distribution and condition
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
This study evaluates the link between the recruitment process of European hake ( Merluccius merluccius L.) of the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) and the environmental and physiological conditions. Spatio-temporal variation of abundance and condition of fish were evaluated at two locations each with different oceanographic conditions, one in the north (S�ller, SO) and another in the south (Cabrera, CA) of Mallorca Island. Environmental variables explored were hydrography, sediment characteristics, phytoplankton pigment concentration (ppc) and the trophic resources of hake. Individuals were divided in three life stages: recruits, post-recruits and young adults. Hepatosomatic index (HSI), relative condition index (K n), gonadosomatic index (GSI) and fullness index (FI) were analysed for the three life stages. Recruitment starts in February with the incorporation of smaller hakes, and it can be followed through spring and early summer with a peak in April. However, some spatial heterogeneity in the recruitment process has been found between north and south of the Island. The main pulse of recruitment occurred at a different time in the two areas. Spatial heterogeneity was also consistent with the condition of hake recruits, with higher values of K n and HSI at SO than at CA. Maximum values of K n were found in February at SO and in April at CA, coinciding with the start of the different recruitment pulses to the fishing grounds. Post-recruits and young adults also showed higher condition at SO than at CA. The arrival in spring of the Western Winter Intermediate Waters (WIW) drives the spatial-temporal variation in abundance and condition of hake. Ppc was highly correlated with recruit abundance with a time lag of two months, while for post-recruits the time lag was three months. The observed differences in the condition of hake between areas could be a consequence of the fact that the waters to the north of Mallorca are comparatively more under the seasonal influence of WIW which is formed in more productive areas. Thus, this study characterises the short temporal and spatial variability in the hake recruitment process off the Balearic Islands, both in terms of abundance and fish condition. This pattern is explained on the basis of the mesoscale environmental variability observed between north and south of Mallorca and the ecological adaptive strategy of recruiting in the optimal environmental season.
Hidalgo, Manuel; Massut�, Enric; Moranta, Joan; Cartes, Joan; Lloret, Josep; Oliver, Pere; Morales-Nin, Beatriz
Multistage collapse of eight western Canary Island landslides in the last 1.5 Ma: Sedimentological and geochemical evidence from subunits in submarine flow deposits
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Volcaniclastic turbidites in the Madeira Abyssal Plain provide a record of major landslides from the Western Canary Islands in the last 1.5 Ma. These volcaniclastic turbidites are composed of multiple fining-upward turbidite sands, known as subunits. The subunits indicate that the landslides responsible for the sediment gravity flows occurred in multiple stages. The subunits cannot result from flow reflection or splitting because the compositions of volcanic glasses from each individual subunit in an event bed are subtly different. This indicates that each subunit represents a discrete failure as part of a multistage landslide. This has significant implications for geohazard assessments, as multistage failures reduce the magnitude of the associated tsunami. The multistage failure mechanism reduces individual landslide volumes from up to 350 km3 to less than 100 km3. Thus although multistage failure ultimately reduce the potential landslide and tsunami threat, the landslide events may still generate significant tsunamis close to source.
Hunt, J. E.; Wynn, R. B.; Talling, P. J.; Masson, D. G.
Re-interpretation of the age and environment of deposition of Paleogene turbidites in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Western Sunda Arc
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Turbidites composed of sandstone-shale alternations on the Kalipur-Shibpur coast, North Andaman Island, classified under the Palaeocene-Eocene Mithakhari Group in several recent papers are identified as and compared with the type section of the Oligocene Andaman Flysch exposed at Corbyn's Cove, South Andaman Island. The Kalipur turbidites were interpreted as the inner fan and the latter as the distal mid fan facies of a forearc submarine fan. The turbidites of these two locations are separated by �250 km. Detailed studies concerning the identification and comparison, have however, revealed significant differences, and the turbidite outcrops are not continuous between these two localities. Turbidites at Kalipur-Shibpur and adjacent areas are part of a melange terrane, normally gritty and coarse grained, massive to locally graded bedded, calcareous, intercalated/interstratified with conglomerates and reefoidal limestones and show a framework composition varying from volcanolithic to lithic-poor arkosic sandstones, deposited in several isolated basins, fed by transverse supply of detritus from an accreted and uplifted ophiolite and arc massif. The Kalipur-Shibpur coast exposes marginally deformed, sandstone-dominated turbidites (coherent units) containing abundant ichnotraces, late Palaeocene foraminifera, and rip-up shale clasts, indicating deposition in shallow water accretionary slope basins. South of Kalipur, the Ramnagar coast exposes mud-rich turbidites showing accretion-related deformation. These deformed turbidites are interpreted as offscraped trench deposits. Further south, on the Rampur coast, turbidites intercalated with reefoidal limestones containing late Palaeocene foraminifera indicate deposition on the upper slope or on top of the accretionary slope basin. In contrast classical Bouma sequence-bearing sandstone-shale turbidites at Corbyn's Cove, are part of a continuous outcrop belt of siliciclastic turbidites, lack fossils, carbonate facies and conglomerates, and consist of compositionally uniform greywackes, deposited in an open deep sea fan, fed by axially transported detritus derived from the continental blocks of western Burma. These key differences together with previous mapping and stratigraphic studies confirm the incorrect identification of Andaman Flysch in North Andaman Island in recent papers. The turbidites of these two locations were neither produced by the same sediment gravity flows nor deposited in the same forearc fan during the Oligocene, instead, they were derived from different palaeographic domains, deposited in different tectonic and sedimentary environments and also at different times. This provides new insights into the Paleogene turbidite deposition in this part of Western Sunda Arc.
Bandopadhyay, P. C.
Stable carbon isotope ratios of low molecular weight dicarboxylic acids, ketoacids and glyoxal in marine aerosols from the western North Pacific: Long-term trends in Chichijima Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dicarboxylic acids such as oxalic, malonic and succinic acids are the most abundant water-soluble organic compound class in aerosols. To better understand the source and photochemical processes of water-soluble organic aerosols in the remote marine aerosols, we measured stable carbon isotopic composition (?13C) of dicarboxylic acids and related compounds using a GC/IR/MS technique. The aerosol samples were collected in 2001-2011 at a remote island, Chichijima (27�04'E; 142�13'N) in the western North Pacific. Here we present decadal variations of the isotopic composition of dicarboxylic acids (C2-C9), ketoacids (C2-C8) and glyoxal in summertime aerosols (June, July and August). The molecular distributions of diacids were characterized by the predominance of oxalic (C2) acid followed by malonic (C3) and succinic (C4) acids. Oxalic acid showed higher ?13C values than other species ranging from -18� to -2� with no clear decadal trend. In contrast, C3 and C4 diacids showed ?13C values of -24 to -5� and -40 to -12� with a decadal decline. Glyoxal (-60 to -10�) and ?C7 acid (-34 to -12�) also showed lower values toward 2011. However, azelaic acid (C9) (-32 to -24�) stayed relatively constant throughout the observation period. We will discuss the detailed isotopic compositions of these organic species in terms of the photochemical aging and processing in the western North Pacific and the changes in the sources and source regions.
Kawamura, K.; Tachibana, E.
Responses of stable bay-margin and barrier-island systems to Holocene sea-level highstands, western Gulf of Mexico
The microtidal, wave-dominated coast of the western Gulf of Mexico displays a variety of Holocene geomorphic features indicating higher-than-present water levels that were previously attributed to storm processes while geoidal sea level was at its present position. Field and aerial-photograph examinations of bay margins, barrier islands, and beach-ridge plains following major hurricanes show that the elevated features are inundated periodically by high storm surge. Despite their inundation, these highstand features are not modified by modern storm processes. Instead, storm-related erosion and deposition are always seaward of and lower than the highstand features and are always limited to the extant shorezone, where elevations typically are less than 1.5 m above present sea level. Bay-margin and lagoonal highstand indicators include raised marshes and subtidal flats, wave-cut benches, abandoned wave-cut scarps with fringing marshes and/or beach ridges, and accretionary islands and recurved spits. Other emergent marine features include abandoned compound flood-tidal delta and washover fan complexes attached to barrier islands and anomalously high beach ridges within both the barrier-island complexes and beach-ridge plains. The highest beach ridges, raised marshes and flats, and erosional scarps and benches are manifestations of one or more rising phases and highstands in sea level, whereas the lower marshes and accretionary topography are mainly products of the falling phases and shoreface adjustment to present sea level. Different elevations of beach-ridge sets, discordant truncation of beach ridges, and elevated marine- and brackish-water faunal assemblages preserved in beach ridges, raised marshes and flats, and natural levees are compelling evidence of sea-level fluctuations of �1 to 1.5 m from about 5500 to 1200 cal yr BP. Independent evidence from studies of geodynamic, climatic, and glacio-eustatic processes can explain the mid-Holocene highstands and late Holocene lowering of sea level that is observed in tectonically stable coastal regions far from former centers of glaciation.
Morton, Robert A.; Paine, Jeffrey G.; Blum, Michael D.
Patterns of Re-vegetation on Western Santa Cruz Island, CA in the Post-grazing era
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Recent reports suggest that land degradation continues to be a problem of increasing severity and extent around the world, with an estimated 1.5 billion people depending directly on degrading land for their livelihood (2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). Causes for degradation range from the direct pressures applied by a growing population to unsuitable land tenure practices. In a degraded landscape, some of the areas most susceptible to erosion are the completely denuded zones, lacking any protective cover from the wind and rain. Mitigation efforts include active measures such as terracing or reforestation programs as well as passive measures such as leaving land fallow. But given a chance to recover, how long will denuded areas remain bare? And can we predict which areas will re-vegetate more quickly or completely than others? Santa Cruz Island, CA, formerly an overgrazed sheep and cattle ranch, presents an opportunity to address these questions over a variety of geologic substrates in a Mediterranean climate. In this study, a spatial analysis of denuded land was conducted using a time series of orthorectified aerial imagery dating back to 1929. High resolution (1.5m) LiDAR data from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory was also used to investigate topographic factors in predicting the presence/absence and degree of re-vegetation since the 1989 eradication of sheep. Our findings show that the most important factor for the re-vegetation of denuded areas is the degree of pre-existing channelization. Some denuded but non-gullied areas were observed to contract in size >50% within a decade of the removal of grazing animals while established gully networks generally persisted or expanded. In areas that did experience significant re-vegetation, the most common pattern of recovery was an encroachment of surrounding vegetation inward into denuded areas. Although most degraded rangelands around the world cannot be completely taken out of production as has been done on Santa Cruz Island, our results support previous research suggesting that mitigation efforts focused on non-channeled areas will have a greater lasting impact than those directed at active gullies.
Perroy, R. L.; Asner, G.; Bookhagen, B.; Chadwick, O.
Toward a three-century reconstruction of climate variability from a slow-growing coral in the Western Province, Solomon Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Climate variability in the west Pacific warm pool (WPWP), a major heat and moisture source to the atmosphere, is strongly influenced by the El Ni�o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Modeling work has suggested that multi-century scale reconstructions of ENSO variability from the tropical west Pacific may be necessary to fully characterize the nature of the ENSO system. Much of the previous coral-based climate studies have used the fast-growing coral genus Porites, although a few studies have used the long-lived, slow-growing coral genus Diploastrea. Here we present an oxygen isotope time series from a three century long D. heliopora coral from near Olasana Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands (WPSI, 8�07.92' S, 156�54.50' E), a location in the WPWP that experiences significant temperature and salinity anomalies during ENSO events. We first used a forward model to generate a pseudoproxy time series for the Olasana region, utilizing available gridded sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) data spanning 1970-2007. There are strong correlations between predicted and measured coral ?18O, between both monthly (r = 0.84) and monthly anomaly (r = 0.69) records. These results demonstrate that the Olasana D. heliopora coral ?18O record is a robust proxy of local surface ocean conditions. There is also a robust relationship between the Olasana ?18O record and NINO3.4 index of ENSO activity during 1938-2007, which provides confidence that the Olasana ?18O record can be used to characterize the ENSO state in this region back in time. Finally, we present results from near the core bottom (~1700 CE), which provide a first window into a gap of coral-based ENSO reconstructions in the immediate preindustrial (~1700-1850 CE).
Maupin, C. R.; Quinn, T. M.; Taylor, F. W.; lin, K.; Shen, C.
Evidence for the subducting lithosphere under Southern Vancouver Island and Western Oregon from teleseismic P wave conversions
Long-period teleseismic P waves recorded at VIC (Victoria, British Columbia) and COR (Corvallis, Orgeon) show anomalously large Ps conversions and later arriving P-to-S reverberations not observed from typical continental crustal sections or from previously proposed structures for these stations determined from refraction surveys. The timing and large amplitude of the Ps phase, relative to direct P, suggests a high velocity-contrast interface at 45 to 50 km depth under VIC and COR forming the base of a distinct low velocity zone. This interface is proposed to be the oceanic Moho which is being subducted under North America. Off azimuth Ps recorded at COR is consistent with a 20/sup 0/ eastward dip for the interface. Horizontal particle motion at both sites show evidence for lateral heterogeneity in local crustal structure. The distinct low velocity zone and its negative gradient with depth has important consequences for refraction interpretation in the region since the usual assumption of increasing velocity with depth is violated. Crustal thicknesses derived from such misinterpretation may be overestimated. In principle, this type of structure suggests a solution for the Vancouver Island crustal thickness problem in which the observed positive Bouguer gravity anomaly is inconsistent with the 50 km thick crustal thickness derived from previous refraction work.
Langston, C.A.
This discussion of Western Samoa, which lies 2575 km northeast of Auckland, New Zealand, focuses on the following: geography; the people; history; government; political conditions; the economy; foreign relations; and relations the US. The population of Western Samoa, as of 1985, totals 163,000 with an annual growth rate of 0.9%. The infant mortality rate is 13/1000; life expectancy is 65 years. The main islands are formed ranges of extinct volcanoes. Volcanic activity last occurred in 1911. More than 2000 years age, waves of Polynesians migrated from Southeast Asia to the Samoan Islands. Samoans are the 2nd largest Polynesian group, after the Maoris of New Zealand, and speak a Polynesian dialect. Samoans have tended to retain their traditional ways despite exposure to European influence for more than 150 years. Most Samoans live within the traditional social system based on an extended family group, headed by a chief. Western Samoans are Christian. Education is free but not compulsory. In 1967, 95% of the children of primary school age attended school. From 1947 to 1961, a series of constitutional advances, assisted by visits from UN missions, brought Western Samoa from dependent status to self-government and finally to independence. The 1960 constitution is based on the British pattern of parliamentary democracy, modified to take Samoan customs into account. The present head of state holds his position for life. Future heads of state will be elected by the Legislative Assembly for 5-year terms. The Parliament consists of the Legislative Assembly and the head of state. The Supreme Court is the superior court of record and has full jurisdiction in civil, criminal, and constitutional matters. The "matai" of chief system still dominates the politics of Western Samoa, although several political parties have been formed and seem to be taking root. The "matai" system is a predominantly conservative force but does provide for change. Western Samoa is predominantly agricultural, and the village communities maintain an economy based on farming and fishing. Stagnating or declining agricultural production has resulted in an increasing dependence on imports. The islands have few resources and no deposits of commercially valuable minerals. Western Samoa suffers from a persistent current accounts deficit. The government's primary goal is to improve agricultural production. Western Samoa has particularly close relations with its Pacific island neighbors and New Zealand. The US has taken a special interest in Western Samoa's economic development. PMID:12178131
Three-dimensional geometry and evolution of a composite, multilevel salt system, western Eugene Island, offshore Louisiana
Seismic data from southwestern Eugene Island (EI) in the northern Gulf of Mexico have been interpreted to determine the three-dimensional geometry of allochthonous salt. The main feature is a multilevel salt weld consisting of numerous lows separated from each other by ramps and saddles. Shallow portions of the weld surface often overhang deeper portions of the same weld system, producing a complex, almost spiraling geometry. Isolated salt diapirs are connected by the weld system and are usually found either over the saddles or near the edges of the shallow overhangs. Major normal faults, including those bounding the EI-330 mini-basin, are preferentially located over the ramps in the weld surface. The observed geometry was combined with the results of sequential restoration of several N-S profiles to determine a model for the three-dimensional evolution of the salt system. A fundamental component of the model is that the lows in the weld surface mark the location of original, isolated salt bodies. These formed salt glaciers at the sea floor during periods of slow sedimentation and/or fast salt flow. Once the deep salt source was exhausted, the topographically elevated salt fountains collapsed gravitationally, initiating basin formation and salt withdrawal; thus, the original salt bodies became the locations of major depocenters flanked by growth faults rising from the ramps in the weld surface. Displaced salt moved up and laterally to higher levels, forming amalgamated sheets at the sea floor, which in turn became segmented into diapirs through a combination of extension and differential loading.
Rowan, M.G.; Weimer, P. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Flemings, P.B. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Discovery of a recent, natural whale fall on the continental slope off Anvers Island, western Antarctic Peninsula
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Whale falls provide a substantial, nutrient-rich resource for species in areas of the ocean that may otherwise be largely devoid of food. We report the discovery of a natural whale fall at 1430 m depth in the cold waters of the continental slope off the western Antarctic Peninsula. This is the highest-latitude whale fall reported to date. The section of the carcass we observed-the tail fluke-was more complete than any previously reported natural whale fall from the deep sea and in the early stages of decomposition. We estimate the entire cetacean to measure 5-8 m in length. The flesh remained almost intact on the carcass but the skin was missing from the entire section except for the end of the fluke, clearly exposing blubber and soft tissue. The absence of skin indicates rapid and Homogeneous loss. The dominant macrofauna present were crustaceans, including most prominently the lithodid crab Paralomis birsteini, and zoarcid fish typical of the �mobile-scavenger' successional stage. The density of mobile macrofauna was greatest on the carcass and declined to background levels within 100 m, indicating that they were attracted to the whale fall. This whale fall offers an important opportunity to examine the decomposition of a carcass under deep-sea conditions at polar latitudes.
Smith, Kathryn E.; Thatje, Sven; Singh, Hanumant; Amsler, Margaret O.; Vos, Stephanie C.; McClintock, James B.; Brothers, Cecilia J.; Brown, Alastair; Ellis, Daniel; Anderson, Jeffrey S.; Aronson, Richard B.
Influence of the hydrodynamic conditions on the accessibility of the demersal species to the deep water trawl fishery off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ocean mean surface vorticity from gridded multi-mission satellite altimetry data was explored in the Western Mediterranean basin for the period 2000-2010, with the aim of comparing its variability with several species of the deep water fishery in the area. Monthly catches per unit of effort (CPUE) of adult red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus), reported in the deep water bottom trawl fishery developed off northern Mallorca Island displayed a good correlation with surface vorticity. This correlation could be explained by assuming that most of the surface vorticity episodes could reach the bottom, increasing the seabed velocities and producing sediment resuspensions, which could affect the near bottom water turbidity. A. antennatus would respond to this increased turbidity by moving downwards to the deeper waters. This massive displacement of red shrimp specimens away from the fishing grounds would consequently decrease their accesibility to fishing exploitation. This relationship between vorticity and catches also holds for other species , considered as by-catch of the deep water fishery in the area. Results appear to support the suggestion that the water turbidity generated by the vorticy episodes is significant enough to affect the dynamics of the demersal species. The way the surface vorticity observed can affect the bottom sediments is also investigated using a year-long moored near-bottom currentmeter and a sediment trap sited in the fishing grounds.
Amores, A.; Rueda, L.; Monserrat, S.; Guijarro, B.; Pasqual, C.; Massut�, E.
Molecular compositions and decadal trends of dicarboxylic acids, ketoacids, ?-dicarbonyls in the marine aerosols from Chichi-Jima Island in the western North Pacific
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
A rapid industrial development in China and East Asian countries for last two decades may have seriously changed the air quality of the North Pacific. To better understand a long-term atmospheric changes of organic aerosols in the western North Pacific, we collected marine aerosol samples on weekly basis at a remote island, Chichijima (27�04'E; 142�13'N) in 2001-2010. The island is located in the boundary of westerly and easterly wind regimes. The aerosol samples were analyzed for dicarboxylic acids, ketoacids and ?-dicarbonyls employing butyl ester derivatization followed by GC determination, together with total carbon (TC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC). Homologous series of saturated diacids (C2-C11) were detected with a predominance of oxalic (C2) acid followed by malonic (C3) and succinic (C4) acids. Unsaturated diacids, including maleic (M), fumaric (F), phthalic, and iso-/tere-phthalic acids, were also detected together with ketoacids and ?-dicarbonyls. Concentrations of total diacids fluctuated significantly in a range of 10-600 ngm-3 with winter/spring maximum and summer minimum. The maximum was explained by a combination of enhanced emissions of polluted aerosols and their precursors in Asia and enhanced atmospheric transport to the North Pacific due to the intensified westerly winds in winter/spring. Concentration ratios of C3 to C4 diacid (range 0.2-28, av. 2.8) showed a maximum during summer, indicating more oxidation of longer-chain diacids to shorter ones. Azelaic acid (C9) that is a specific photo-oxidation product of unsaturated fatty acid such as oleic acid showed a sharp increase relative to other diacids in summer, suggesting enhanced sea-to-air emission of unsaturated fatty acids followed by photochemical oxidation during summer. On the other hand, M/F ratios (range 0-8.7, av. 1.1) significantly decreased from winter to summer due to photochemical cis-to-trans isomerization. We also discuss decadal trends in the concentrations of diacids and related compounds as well as TC and WSOC, and their compositions and relative abundances.
Kawamura, K.; Tachibana, E.
Abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of western gray whales in relation to a 3-D seismic survey, Northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia.
A geophysical seismic survey was conducted in the summer of 2001 off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. The area of seismic exploration was immediately adjacent to the Piltun feeding grounds of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). This study investigates relative abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of gray whales in relation to occurrence and proximity to the seismic survey by employing scan sampling, focal follow, and theodolite tracking methodologies. These data were analyzed in relation to temporal, environmental, and seismic related variables to evaluate potential disturbance reactions of gray whales to the seismic survey. The relative numbers of whales and pods recorded from five shore-based stations were not significantly different during periods when seismic surveys were occurring compared to periods when no seismic surveys were occurring and to the post-seismic period. Univariate analyses indicated no significant statistical correlation between seismic survey variables and any of the eleven movement and behavior variables. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after accounting for temporal and environmental variables, 6 of 11 movement and behavior variables (linearity, acceleration, mean direction, blows per surfacing, and surface-dive blow rate) were not significantly associated with seismic survey variables, and 5 of 11 variables (leg speed, reorientation rate, distance-from-shore, blow interval, and dive time) were significantly associated with seismic survey variables. In summary, after accounting for environmental variables, no correlation was found between seismic survey variables and the linearity of whale movements, changes in whale swimming speed between theodolite fixes, mean direction of whale movement, mean number of whale exhalations per minute at the surface, mean time at the surface, and mean number of exhalations per minute during a whales surface-to-dive cycle. In contrast, at higher received sound energy exposure levels, whales traveled faster, changed directions of movement less, were recorded further from shore, and stayed under water longer between respirations. PMID:17616825
Gailey, Glenn; W�rsig, Bernd; McDonald, Trent L
The feeding and diet of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus off the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean): Influence of environmental factors and relationship with the biological cycle
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Spatio-temporal variation of feeding intensity and diet in the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus was studied at two locations around the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterraean) in August, September, and November 2003, and in February, April and June 2004 at depths between 550 and 750 m. The two areas, with different oceanographic conditions, were respectively located in the northwest (S�ller) and the south (Cabrera) of Mallorca. Off S�ller, feeding intensity of A. antennatus showed a significant increase from February to April and June 2004 in all the three size-classes studied (small shrimps: CL < 30 mm; medium: CL between 30 and 40 mm; large: CL ? 40 mm). Off Cabrera, the highest fullness was recorded in November 2003 among small and medium shrimp, while only large specimens showed patterns similar to that found off S�ller. Off S�ller, the diet of both small (CL < 34 mm) and large (CL ? 34 mm) A. antennatus was mainly influenced by season, with three dietary groups corresponding to August-September 2003, to November 2003/February 2004, and to hauls from April to June 2004. Off Cabrera, hauls (representing diets) were grouped by depth, never by season. The most remarkable seasonal shift in the diet of A. antennatus off S�ller was the increase of mesopelagic prey in April-June relative to other months. In all size categories there was an increase off S�ller in the energy intake of prey ingested from February to June 2004, an increase not found off Cabrera. Degree of digestion of mesopelagic prey indicated nocturnal feeding on mesopelagic fauna. These prey probably have a shallower depth distribution at night than found in our daylight sampling, and possible migratory movements among prey and A. antennatus at night would explain the lack of correlation between prey abundance in guts and in the environment found during daylight periods for most micronekton mesopelagic prey (euphausiids, myctophids and sergestids). Off S�ller, fullness and diet were significantly linked to temporal changes in water column productivity (e.g., Chl a readings, fluorescence) and to changes in the shrimp biology (lipid content of hepatopancreas, Gonado-somatic Index, GSI). Off Cabrera, we found a higher dependence of fullness and diet with T and S, both variables in turn related to depth. The increase of stomach fullness and dietary energy intake in pre-reproductive females from February to April-June 2004 found off S�ller, coupled with the consumption of mesopelagic prey, was parallel to a significant increase of the gonad weight (GSI, fecundity) in June. Most individuals attain gonad development in the period May-June, after two months of the peak of primary production at the surface. The strong link found between pelagic resources and reproductive processes in a deep-sea species such as the shrimp Aristeus antennatus, situated near the top of the trophic web, suggests a rapid energy flow via mesopelagic fauna between surface primary production and bathyal megabenthic communities at oligotrophic insular areas. In contrast to mainland areas off the Catalan coasts submitted to the influence of submarine canyons, around the island of Mallorca the empoverishment of benthos biomass may enhance consumption of micronektonic prey and a possible accumulation of pre-reproductive females of A. antennatus in areas (e.g., steep slopes and persistent frontal systems found off S�ller) with high zooplankton aggregations.
Cartes, Joan E.; Papiol, Vanesa; Guijarro, Beatriz
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Near the western end of Lake Superior lies a forested archipelago of twenty-two islands called the Apostles. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (est. 1970) is composed of 20 of the 22 islands as well as a 12 mile strip of shoreline on the mainland. This National Park Service site contains an Explore the Islands section to get to know the natural wonders and human history of the islands. It offers information about: the islands, including a list of flora; lighthouses and shipwrecks; eagles and bears; sea caves; old growth forests; Lake Superior, including a fish species list; and the formation of sandscapes. The history of farming, stone quarries, and fisheries on the islands are also covered.
Diomede Islands, Bering Straight
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)The Diomede Islands consisting of the western island Big Diomede (also known as Imaqliq, Nunarbuk or Ratmanov Island), and the eastern island Little Diomede (also known as Krusenstern Island or Inaliq), are two rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. The islands are separated by an international border and the International Date Line which is approximately 1.5 km from each island; you can look from Alaska into tomorrow in Russia. At the closest land approach between the United States, which controls Little Diomede, and Russia, which controls Big Diomede, they are 3 km apart. Little Diomede Island constitutes the Alaskan City of Diomede, while Big Diomede Island is Russia's easternmost point. The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. The text of the 1867 treaty finalizing the sale of Alaska uses the islands to designate the border between the two nations. The image was acquired July 8, 2000, covers an area of 13.5 x 10.8 km, and is located at 65.8 degrees north latitude, 169 degrees west longitude. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Anthropogenic and natural radionuclides in caribou and muskoxen in the western Alaskan Arctic and marine fish in the Aleutian Islands in the first half of 2000s.
A number of caribou and muskoxen samples from the western Alaskan Arctic and fish samples from the Aleutian Islands were collected between 1998 and 2006 and analyzed for anthropogenic ((90)Sr and (137)Cs) and natural radionculides ((40)K, (210)Pb and (226)Ra), as part of the radiological assessment for the regional subsistence hunting communities in the first half of 2000s. We examined the relationship between the activities of these nuclides with the size of the fish. In caribou samples, concentration of (90)Sr in muscle was below the detection limit of 0.14 Bq kg(-1) and (137)Cs concentration in bones was below the detection limit of 0.15 Bq kg(-1). (137)Cs activity varied over an order of magnitude in caribou muscle samples with an average value of 2.5 Bq/kg wet wt. Average (137)Cs activity in muskoxen muscle was found to be 9.7 Bq/kg wet wt. However, there were a little variation (less than 60%) in (210)Pb, (40)K, and (226)Ra in both muscle and bone of both caribou and muskoxen. The activities of total (210)Pb in caribou and muskox bones were found to be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that of parent-supported (210)Pb indicating the potential for dating of bones of terrestrial mammals (time elapsed since the death of the animal) based on the excess (210)Pb method exists. In fish muscle samples, (137)Cs activity varied from below detection limit to 154 mBq/kg wet wt. and its content increased with the size of the fish due to its transfer through the food chain. Among the seven fish species investigated, (210)Pb activities varied almost an order of magnitude; however, (40)K and (226)Ra activities varied less than a factor of two. Total annual effective dose due to (90)Sr and (137)Cs from the ingestion of those terrestrial and marine meats was estimated to be negligible (ca. 9 ?SV/a) compared to the natural radionuclides present thus posing negligible radiological threat to humans. PMID:21774963
Hong, Gi Hoon; Baskaran, Mark; Molaroni, Shannon Marie; Lee, Hyun-Mi; Burger, Joanna
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The Island Information web site provides numerous facts and figures about the earth's islands. Island data is organized into the following categories: island superlatives, principal world islands and groups, 100 largest islands of the world, largest islands by continent, largest islands of selected countries, 35 largest islands of the United States, largest islands of selected U.S. states, 38 largest islands of Canada, largest islands of Canadian provinces, largest lake islands of the world, most populous islands of the world, most populous island countries, islands divided by international borders, tallest islands of the world, former and alternative names of islands, and island misinformation. All of the information within the web site is displayed in easy-to-read charts.
Geochemistry and petrology of lavas from the submarine flanks of R�union Island (western Indian Ocean): implications for magma genesis and the mantle source
Summary��\\u000a Major and trace element data as well as Sr and Nd isotope compositions for submarine lavas from the flanks of R�union island\\u000a are reported. The submarine basalts of the island have major and trace element compositions similar to those of the subaerial\\u000a basaltic rocks. This implies that no compositional change occurs in the shield-building magmas of the two R�union
S. Fretzdorff; K. M. Haase
Neighbourhood size and the importance of barriers to gene flow in an intertidal snail
The littorine gastropod Bembicium vittatum has direct development from benthic egg masses, and shows high levels of genetic subdivision in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Parallel studies of dispersal and the scale of variation of allozyme frequencies were used to estimate the extent of the neighbourhood, the area of complete genetic mixing. Estimates based on the variance of dispersal
Michael S Johnson; Robert Black
Dynamics of suprabenthos-zooplankton communities around the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean): Influence of environmental variables and effects on the biological cycle of Aristeus antennatus
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dynamics of suprabenthos and zooplankton were analyzed in two areas located in the NW (off S�ller harbour) and S (off Cabrera Archipelago) of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean) at depths ranging between 135-780 m. Four stations situated respectively at 150 m (shelf-slope break), and at bathyal depths of 350, 650 and 750 m were sampled at bi-monthly intervals during six cruises performed between August 2003 and June 2004. Suprabenthos showed maximum biomass in both areas from late spring to summer (April to August), while minimum biomass was found in autumn (September-November). Though variable, temporal dynamics of zooplankton showed peaks of biomass in late winter and summer (February and June), while minimals occurred in autumn (August-September) and, at bathyal depths, in April. Suprabenthos (abundance; MDS analyses) showed a sample aggregation as a function of depth (3 groups corresponding to the shelf-slope break, upper slope � over 350 m; and the middle, deeper part of the slope � over 650-750 m), without any separation of hauls by season. By contrast, zooplankton samples were separated by season and not by depth. There was evidence of three seasonal groups corresponding to summer (June 2004-August 2003), autumn-winter (September and November 2003, February 2004), and spring (April 2004), being especially well established off S�ller. In general, suprabenthos was significantly correlated with the sediment variables (e.g. total organic matter content (% OM), potential REDOX), whereas zooplankton was almost exclusively dependent on Chl a at the surface, which suggests two different food sources for suprabenthos and zooplankton. The increase of suprabenthos abundance in April-June was paralleled by a sharp increase ( ca. 2.8 times) in the %OM on sediment during the same period, coupled ca. 1-2 months of delay with the peak of surface Chl a recorded in February-March (from satellite imagery data). Suprabenthos biomass was also correlated with salinity close to the bottom, suggesting a link between suprabenthos abundance and changes in the oceanographic condition of water masses close to the bottom. It is suggested that a higher suprabenthos biomass recorded off S�ller in comparison to that off Cabrera in June could, in turn, be related to a seasonal inflow of Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) in April-June in this area at mid bathyal depths (350-650 m). This trend would be based on: 1) it was evident only at mid-slope depths between 350-750 m, coinciding with the LIW distribution, and 2) it was not recorded among zooplankton (collected throughout the water column). The possible effect of the fluctuations of suprabenthos and zooplankton on higher trophic levels has been explored studying the diet and food consumption rates of the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus, as indicator species by its dominance in bathyal communities. A. antennatus increased its food consumption from February to April-June 2004 off S�ller, which in the case of large (CL > 40 mm) specimens was found in both areas. In addition, there was a shift of diet from winter to spring-early summer. In this last period, A. antennatus preyed upon euphausiids and mesopelagic decapods and fish, while benthos (e.g. polychaetes and bivalves) decreased in the diet. This indicates an increase in the food consumption and probably in the caloric content of the diet in pre-spawning females in April-June 2004, which is synchronized with the period when gonad development begins in A. antennatus females (May-June). Anyway, macrozooplankton, and not suprabenthos, is crucial as a high energetic food source in the coupling between food intake and reproduction in the red shrimp.
Cartes, J. E.; Madurell, T.; Fanelli, E.; L�pez-Jurado, J. L.
The Cleaverville Group in the West Pilbara Coastal Granitoid-Greenstone Terrain of Western Australia: an example of a Mid-Archaean immature oceanic island-arc succession
The 4400 m-thick volcanosedimentary succession that forms the 3200-3000 yr-old Cleaverville Group is well-preserved along the western coastline of the Pilbara in northwestern Western Australia. Two lithological assemblages. namely the Volcanic Rock Assemblage and the Chemical-Volcanosedimentary Rock Assemblage, are identified in the Cleaverville Group. The Volcanic Rock Assemblage is approximately 3300 m-thick, and consists mainly of pillow basalt and rhyolitic
Shoichi Kiyokawa; Asahiko Taira
Easter Island Seismograph Observations Indicative of Sea-Floor Spreading; Plate-Edge Seismicity Relationships; and, the Prediction of Earthquakes Along the West Coast of the Western Hemisphere.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
A preliminary analysis of the seismograms obtained by the Easter Island Seismic Station (EISS) resulted in two observations: (1) that swarms of small earthquakes (body-wave magnitudes less than 4.0) may contribute significantly toward the total seismic en...
D. A. Walker G. H. Sutton G. P. Woollard N. J. LeTourneau E. Kausel
Facies and sequential organisation of a mudstone-dominated slope and basin floor succession: the Gull Island Formation, Shannon Basin, Western Ireland
The lower part of the Carboniferous Shannon Basin of Western Ireland contains a deep-water succession which exceeds 1200 m in thickness that comprises five lithologically different units deposited within a confined, relatively narrow basin: (i) a calciclastic debris-flow and turbidite unit formed by resedimentation from nearby carbonate platforms, (ii) a siliciclastic black shale succession with former source potential which onlaps
Ole J Martinsen; Trond Lien; Roger G Walker; John D Collinson
Efficacy of Three Vaccines in Protecting Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) from Experimental Infection with West Nile Virus: Implications for Vaccination of Island Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma insularis)
Abstract The devastating effect of West Nile virus (WNV) on the avifauna of North America has led zoo managers and conservationists to attempt to protect vulnerable species through vaccination. The Island Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma insularis) is one such species, being a corvid with a highly restricted insular range. Herein, we used congeneric Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) to test the efficacy of three WNV vaccines in protecting jays from an experimental challenge with WNV: (1) the Fort Dodge West Nile-Innovator� DNA equine vaccine, (2) an experimental DNA plasmid vaccine, pCBWN, and (3) the Merial Recombitek� equine vaccine. Vaccine efficacy after challenge was compared with na�ve and nonvaccinated positive controls and a group of naturally immune jays. Overall, vaccination lowered peak viremia compared with nonvaccinated positive controls, but some WNV-related pathology persisted and the viremia was sufficient to possibly infect susceptible vector mosquitoes. The Fort Dodge West Nile-Innovator DNA equine vaccine and the pCBWN vaccine provided humoral immune priming and limited side effects. Five of the six birds vaccinated with the Merial Recombitek vaccine, including a vaccinated, non-WNV challenged control, developed extensive necrotic lesions in the pectoral muscle at the vaccine inoculation sites, which were attributed to the Merial vaccine. In light of the well-documented devastating effects of high morbidity and mortality associated with WNV infection in corvids, vaccination of Island Scrub-Jays with either the Fort Dodge West Nile-Innovator DNA vaccine or the pCBWN vaccine may increase the numbers of birds that would survive an epizootic should WNV become established on Santa Cruz Island.
Wheeler, Sarah S.; Langevin, Stanley; Woods, Leslie; Carroll, Brian D.; Vickers, Winston; Morrison, Scott A.; Chang, Gwong-Jen J.; Reisen, William K.
Calcareous nannofossils and planktic foraminifers from Enewetak Atoll, Western Pacific Ocean: Geologic and geophysical investigations of Enewetak Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Professional paper
Boring of the carbonate sequence at the northern end of Enewetak Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, was conducted in 1985, as part of the Pacific Enewetak Atoll Crater Exploration (PEACE) Program. The overall goal of the program was to characterize physical effects of large-scale nuclear blasts, which were conducted in the early 1950's, on the sediments of the atoll. In the report the authors document the occurrences of stratigraphically diagnostic planktic microfossils in samples from Enewetak (generally referred to as core) and outline the rationale for incorporating all available diagnostic planktic assemblages into a composite sequence that was used to date the Enewetak benthic zonation.
Bybell, L.M.; Poore, R.Z.
Changes in Planktonic Diatoms and Water Transparency in Hatchery Bay, Bass Island Area, Western Lake Erie Since the Establishment of the Zebra Mussel
Total planktonic diatoms were analyzed from water samples collected in 1984-1986 (pre- zebra mussel period) and 1990-1992 (post-zebra mussel period) in Hatchery Bay of western Lake Erie. Planktonic diatom abundances for one post-zebra mussel year, 3 April 1990-26 March 1991, and weekly April\\/May frustules for 1990, 1991, and 1992 were compared to counts from the 1980s and to counts in
Ruth E. Holland
Application of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat ETM+ Data for the Study of Periglacial Features and Permafrost within the South Shetland Islands, Western Antarctica
Western Antarctica's periglacial environments are very dynamic ecosystems that enclose the presence of active-layers, permafrost, ground ice as well as a variety of geomorphological features. These periglacial features are largely dependent on regional climate and surface albedo. Although about 99.7 % of Antarctica is covered by ice, the relatively small ice-free surface provides good conditions for the observation of permafrost
Magaly Koch; Jer�nimo L�pez-Mart�nez; Thomas Schmid; Enrique Serrano; Jos� Gumuzzio
Microgranular enclaves in island-arc andesites: A possible link between known epithermal Au and potential porphyry Cu-Au deposits in the Tulasu ore cluster, western Tianshan, Xinjiang, China
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The successful exploration for porphyry copper deposit in western Tianshan, Xinjiang, faces great challenge. Tulasu basin is an important epithermal gold ore cluster in western Tianshan, which was formed in a southwest-Pacific-type island-arc setting during the late Paleozoic by the southward subduction of the North Tianshan ocean beneath the Yili plate. Porphyry Cu-Au deposits are possibly to be found at depth or adjacent to these epithermal gold deposits. Some sulfide-mineralized microgranular enclaves of monzonite porphyry and microdiorite were found in andesites of the Tawuerbieke gold district, Tulasu basin. The enclaves are randomly distributed, with generally round or subangular shape and commonly clearly defined within their host andesite, and have a chilled surrounding margin of andesite. The monzonite porphyry enclaves (MPE) exhibit porphyritic texture with the phenocrysts of plagioclase and K-feldspar. The microdiorite enclaves (MDE) are mainly composed of plagioclase and hornblende with an aplitic texture and massive structure. The host andesites show porphyritic texture, with the phenocrysts major of plagioclase, minor of hornblende and clinopyroxene. The groundmass consists of short-column plagioclase and minor clinopyroxene with a hyalopilitic texture. Zircon grains from a MPE sample yield a weighted 206Pb/238U age of 356.2 � 4.3 Ma (n = 13, MSWD = 1.11), which is effectively coincident with the 360.5 � 3.4 Ma (n = 20, MSWD = 0.61) of an andesite sample within analytical error, indicating that they were coeval. In addition, the MPE, MDE and the andesite samples share similar normalized incompatible element and rare earth element patterns that are characterized by a pronounced enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and a deficit of high field strength elements. Moreover, the samples show similar Nd isotope compositions to the contemporary andesites and basaltic andesites. Detailed petrology, geochronology and geochemistry studies suggest that these enclaves were captured from an underlying body during the eruption of island-arc magma. Thus, unmapped cognate porphyry intrusions associated with Cu-Au mineralization may exist under the andesite strata. This evidence in combination with the low- and high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposits, acidic hydrothermal alterations, and copper mineralization evidence, suggests that a porphyry-epithermal Cu-Au metallogenic system might occur in the Tulasu basin of western Tianshan, and that the Tawuerbieke district should be an important target for porphyry Cu-Au exploration.
Zhao, Xiaobo; Xue, Chunji; Symons, David T. A.; Zhang, Zhaochong; Wang, Honggang
In 1980, a third successive all-time drilling record was set in western Canada, with 8865 wells being drilled, up 20% since 1979. Exploratory drilling increased 30%, to 3744 wells, and development drilling increased 14%, to 5121 wells. The exploratory success rate increased to 66% in 1980, based on 1017 oil discoveries and 1463 gas discoveries. The development success rate increased marginally to 89%, with 1774 oil discoveries and 2778 gas discoveries. Average well depth increased in all four western provinces, and total land sales reached the record $1 billion mark in Alberta and a record $78 million in Saskatchewan. British Columbia land sales declined slightly to $181 million. Alberta drilling activity continued in the deeper portions of the Alberta basin and foothills, with major gas discoveries at Hanlan, Big Mountain, Blackstone, and Elmworth. Significant oil discoveries were made in the West Pembina Nisku pinnacle reefs, in the Upper Devonian at Del Bonita and Eaglesham, and in the Lower Cretaceous glauconite river channels in southern Alberta between Countess and Grand Forks. British Columbia successes occurred as the Elmworth Deep Basin play spilled over into British Columbia with gas discoveries at Tupper and Steeprock. Gas finds were also made at West Sierra and Murray. The Arctic Islands continued to yield the largest discoveries. Two major successes occurred in the Beaufort Sea, in an oil and gas discovery by Esso at Issungnak and a reentry oil discovery by Dome at Tarsuit. However, 1980 will especially be remembered for the introduction of the federal government's National Energy Program during October, with new taxes on revenue, lower than expected wellhead price increases, and major emphasis on increasing Canadian ownership and self-sufficiency. Industry and provincial government reaction was highly critical, and a major downturn in exploration is expected in western Canada in 1981. 3 figures, 8 tables.
Hay, P.W. (Canadian Stratigraphic Service Ltd., Calgary, Alberta); Robertson, D.C.
A new marine interstitial Psammogammarus (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae) from Gura Ici Island, off western Halmahera (North Moluccas, Indonesia), and an overview of the genus
Abstract Psammogammarus wallacei sp. n. is described from the shallow marine interstitial of a sand and coral rubble beach on the Gura Ici islands (North Moluccas; Indonesia). This is the first record of this circum-tropical genus from SE Asia, with the geographically closest relative inhabiting the Ryukyu archipelago in Japan. The new species is highly distinctive by the display of sexual dimorphism on pleopod II, with the medial margin of the male proximal article of exopod provided with a comb of short, blunt curved spinules; no other representative of the genus is known to display sexually-dimorphic appendages aside of the gnathopods. The new species is also noteworthy by the outline of the palm margin of male gnathopod II, hardly excavated, and by showing a carpus broader than long. An overview of the genus Psammogammarus with 14 species to date is provided.
Vonk, Ronald; Hoeksema, Bert W.; Jaume, Damia
Igneous history of the Koyukuk terrane, western Alaska: constraints on the origin, evolution, and ultimate collision of an accreted island arc terrane
The Koyukuk terrane consists of volcanic, volcaniclastic, and plutonic rocks which range from Late Paleozoic to Early Cretaceous in age. The terrane crops out in a U-shaped belt which is roughly paralleled by outer belts of ultramafic rocks, oceanic plate basalts and cherts, and retrograded blueschist facies rocks of continental protolith. These rocks have been interpreted as components of a volcanic arc terrane that collided with the North American continental margin in Early Cretaceous time. The Koyukuk terrane consists of four time-stratigraphic units: (1) pre-Middle Jurassic basalts, (2) Middle and Late Jurassic granitic rocks, (3) lower Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks, and (4) upper Lower Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Limited chemical data from the basalts of unit 1 indicate that they were erupted in a nonarc tectonic environment, possibly in an oceanic island or back arc setting. Units, 2, 3, and 4 have the characteristics of subduction-related volcanic rocks. -from Authors
Box, S. E.; Patton, Jr, W. W.
Seawater and shellfish (Geukensia demissa) quality along the Western Coast of Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland: an area impacted by feral horses and agricultural runoff.
We evaluated the quality of seawater and ribbed mussels (Gukensia demissa) at six sites along the West Coast of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), a barrier island popular with tourists and fishermen. Parameters evaluated were summertime temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total ammonia nitrogen, and nitrite levels for seawater and total heterotrophic plate counts and total Vibrionaceae levels for the ribbed mussels. Approximately 150 feral horses (Equus caballus) are located on ASIS and, combined with agricultural runoff from animals and croplands, local wildlife, and anthropogenic inputs, contribute to nutrient loads affecting water and shellfish quality. The average monthly dissolved oxygen for June was 2.65 mg L(-1), below the minimum acceptable threshold of 3.0 mg L(-1). Along Chincoteague Bay, total phosphorus generally exceeded the maximum level of 0.037 mg L(-1), as set by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program management objective for seagrasses, with a high of 1.92 mg L(-1) in June, some 50-fold higher than the recommended threshold. Total ammonia nitrogen approached levels harmful to fish, with a maximum recorded value of 0.093 mg L(-1). Levels of total heterotrophic bacteria spiked to 9.5 x 10(6) cells g(-1) of mussel tissue in August in Sinepuxent Bay, leading to mussels which exceeded acceptable standards for edible bivalves by 19-fold. An average of 76% of the bacterial isolates were in the Vibrionaceae family. Together, these data suggest poor stewardship of our coastal environment and the need for new intervention strategies to reduce chemical and biological contamination of our marine resources. PMID:19132436
Lambert, Mary S; Ozbay, Gulnihal; Richards, Gary P
Impact of a medical waste incinerator on mercury levels in lagoon fish from a small tropical island in the Western Pacific.
In 2004-2005, several species of marine fish were collected for mercury (Hg) analysis from Saipan Lagoon, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Relatively high concentrations were found in representatives from the Hafa Adai Beach area located some distance from known sources of Hg contamination. A follow-up investigation aimed at identifying additional land-based sources of Hg in the area was launched in early 2007. The study identified a medical waste incinerator as the primary source of Hg enrichment. The incinerator was operational for about 20 years before it was closed down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2006, for multiple violations of the Clean Air Act. Stormwater runoff from this facility entered a drainage network that discharged into the ocean at the southern end of Hafa Adai Beach, about 1 km away. At the time of this investigation storm drain sediments at the coast were only marginally enriched with mercury although values some 50x above background were detected in drainage deposits a few meters down-gradient of the incinerator site. Mercury concentrations in fish from the Hafa Adai Beach area were also significantly lower than those determined in similar species 3 yr earlier. The implications of the data are briefly discussed. PMID:21598167
Denton, Gary R W; Trianni, Michael S; Bearden, Brian G; Houk, Peter C; Starmer, John A
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This excel workbook demonstrates the principles of the MacArthur-Wilson theory of Island Biogeography. It allows the user to define the mainland species pool, area of the island, and distance of the island from the mainland. Graphical output included species richness equilibrium at varying island size and distance. The workbook also allows the user to calculate a species-area function for data entered into the data input page. Several datasets on island area and species richness are included for various types of islands and species. Variables and formulas are defined in the accompanying tutorial.
John Jungck (BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium;Biology); Jennifer Spangenberg (Beloit College;)
Identifying Environmental Contaminations in Estuaries: Spatial Distribution of Nutrients and Heavy Metals in Jamaica Bay Area, Western Long Island, New York
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nutrient and metal contaminations of estuarine environment is an increasing problem as urbanization continues to extend in many estuary area in the world. Jamaica Bay, an embayment of the Atlantic Ocean on southwestern Long Island receives a large inputs from waste water treatment plants, sewage outflows, and surface runoff enriched with nutrients and heavy metals, poses a serious environmental problem. As an initiative of broader study to understand the spatial and temporal variability of heavy metal and nutrient concentrations in this area, water and sediment samples are being collected periodically from three different sites capturing the wide range of flushing zones. Water samples were analyzed for dissolved nutrients (phosphate, silicate, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite) by Lachet QuickChem 8500 and dissolved trace metals (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mo, Mn, Ni, Se, Zn) were measured by ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry). Temperatures, conductivity, pH, ORP, dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured on site by YSI multiparameter probe (600 QS) and ranged from 25.7 to 27.1oC, 17.3 to 36.9 mS/cm, 8.1 to 8.4, 74.7 to 160.8 mV, and 5.1 to 9.2 mg/l respectively. The 15 cm sections of 76 cm depth auger samples were analyzed for a suite of 26 elements including major and trace elements by using XRF (x-ray fluorescence spectrometry). Average Fe concentration was found to be 6.5 � 2.9 g/kg and distributed consistently in increased concentration with depth which also agree with the observed sediment colors on site; more darker towards surface. The preliminary data from site A showed a consistency in trace metal concentrations in surface water and sediments. Higher aqueous concentrations of Cu (17.5 � 4.1 ?g/l), Pb (39.1 � 23.9 ?g/l), Zn (91.1 � 36.8 ?g/l) correspond to their elevated level in the sediments [Cu (50 � 10 mg/kg), Pb (30 � 30 mg/kg), Zn (30 � 20 mg/kg)]. Trace amount of As (3.3 � 1.5 ?g/l) and Cd (3.9 � 1.5 ?g/l) were found in dissolved phase where as no As and Cd was detected by XRF in sediments (LOD: 7 mg/kg). In both solid and liquid phases, significant variation in concentration of heavy metals was observed in meter scales. Limited variation (~ 5%) was observed in concentrations of dissolved Ortho-phosphorus, nitrite with an average concentration of 6.8 � 0.3 ?M, 7.2 � 0.4 ?M respectively. On other hand, concentration of nitrate-N (11.3 � 3.1 ?M), ammonia-N (37.1 � 10.1 ?M), silica (2.9 � 0.5 ?M) varies 15-27%. This erratic distributions of heavy metals and nutrients observed in this preliminary set of data suggest that contaminations may be caused by both natural processes and local environmental influences.
Dhar, R. K.; Beauzile, W.; Ma, N.; Clauson, K.
75 FR 50716 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program...quota (IPQ) issued for the Western Aleutian Islands golden king crab fishery from...designation. Under the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization...
Island Research Natural Area: Guidebook Supplement 35.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
This guidebook describes The Island Research Natural Area, an 84-ha (208-ac) tract established to represent examples of the western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (Juniperus occidentalis/Artemisia tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata), and the w...
R. Halvorson R. Schuller
Drilling r%sults from several western Pacific atolls indicate the long-term subsidence of these islands is much more than would be expected from the cooling and thick- ening of the underlying lithosphere. This excess subsidence cannot be satisfactorily explained by isostatic adjustments to the weight of the volcano or the coral reef cap. It appears to be related to island formation
Robert S. Detrick; S. Thomas Crough
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This true-color image of the Galapagos Islands was acquired on March 12, 2002, by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador, sit in the Pacific Ocean about 1000 km (620 miles) west of South America. As the three craters on the largest island (Isabela Island) suggest, the archipelago was created by volcanic eruptions, which took place millions of years ago. Unlike most remote islands in the Pacific, the Galapagos have gone relatively untouched by humans over the past few millennia. As a result, many unique species have continued to thrive on the islands. Over 95 percent of the islands' reptile species and nearly three quarters of its land bird species cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Two of the more well known are the Galapagos giant tortoise and marine iguanas. The unhindered evolutionary development of the islands' species inspired Charles Darwin to begin The Origin of Species eight years after his visit there. To preserve the unique wildlife on the islands, the Ecuadorian government made the entire archipelago a national park in 1959. Each year roughly 60,000 tourists visit these islands to experience what Darwin did over a century and a half ago. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Akpatok Island lies in Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Accessible only by air, Akpatok Island rises out of the water as sheer cliffs that soar 500 to 800 feet (150 to 243 m) above the sea surface. The island is an important sanctuary for cliff-nesting seabirds. Numerous ice floes around the island attract walrus and whales, making Akpatok a traditional hunting ground for native Inuit people. This image was acquired by Landsat 7's Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) sensor on January 22, 2001. Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
At some institutions, it may feel as though faculty live on one island and advancement staff on another. The islands form part of an archipelago, and they exchange ambassadors and send emissaries occasionally, but interactions are limited. It may even seem as though the two groups speak different languages, deal in different currencies, and abide�
Bennett, Gayle
Geomorphological and ecological features of blowouts in a western Mediterranean coastal dune complex: a case study of the Es Com� de Muro beach-dune system on the island of Mallorca, Spain
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Many of the coastal dune systems along western Mediterranean shores are in an advanced state of fragmentation and show distinct signs of erosion, largely because of blowout development along the dune front. The Es Com� de Muro beach-dune system on the island of Mallorca (Spain) is a good example of this. In order to better understand and quantify the current situation, 58 blowouts along a ca. 1.5-km-long dune front were investigated. In each case, a number of morphometric and ecological variables were analyzed as a basis for comparison and classification, in particular blowout dimensions and orientation, inner morphometry and topography, morphological types, the role of vegetation in defining the state of the foremost dune line, and the link between vegetation and blowout typology. In comparison with a recent preliminary investigation, the results of the present study provide a more comprehensive picture of the advanced state of fragmentation along the dune front. The blowouts are not evenly distributed, highest densities occurring along the southernmost part of the beach, lowest densities along the northern part. The blowouts were subdivided into two categories on the basis of their shape and general structure, trough blowouts being the most prevalent, followed by mixed trough-saucer shapes. Distinctly saucer-shaped blowouts could not be distinguished. In addition, the blowouts were subdivided into two morphological categories, i.e. simple and branched. It was also possible to link the morphological state of the dune front to certain ecological parameters, in particular vegetation which, in the present case, comprised herbaceous and woody plants. Cluster analyses of species associations (Bray-Curtis similarity indices) were carried out on the basis of the presence/absence of each species. It is shown that, on account of presence counts and the degree of similarity of species associations, some species play a more important role in stabilizing the mobile dune sands than others, a foremost candidate being Ammophila arenaria. It is concluded that active support for such plants should form part of any management strategy aiming to reduce and reverse coastal dune fragmentation processes.
Mir-Gual, Miquel; Pons, Guillem X.; Mart�n-Prieto, Jos� �ngel; Roig-Munar, Francesc X.; Rodr�guez-Perea, Antonio
The P wave velocity structure of Deception Island, Antarctica, from two-dimensional seismic tomography
Deception Island is a small (diameter of ~15km) active volcanic island located at the western end of the Bransfield Strait, a region of back-arc extension associated with the recently extinct South Shetland Island Arc. The island has a horseshoe shape with a flooded caldera (Port Foster) that is open to the sea through a narrow passage. The geometry of the
T. Z. Ben-Zvi; A. H. Barclay; W. S. Wilcock; D. Zandomeneghi; J. M. Ib��ez; J. Almendros
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This video segment adapted from the NOW-RAMP 2002 Expedition documents a research expedition to Nihoa Island. It showcases Nihoa's unique birds and plants, the threat posed by invading grasshoppers, and restoration efforts.
Foundation, Wgbh E.
Geographical Heterogeneity between Far Eastern and Western Countries in Prevalence of the Virulence Plasmid, the Superantigen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-Derived Mitogen, and the High-Pathogenicity Island among Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Strains
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis produces novel superantigenic toxins designated YPMa (Y. pseudotuberculosis- derived mitogen), YPMb, and YPMc and has a pathogenicity island termed HPI (high-pathogenicity island) and R-HPI (the right-hand part of the HPI with truncation in its left-hand part) on the chromosome. Analysis of the distribution of these virulence factors allowed for differentiation of species Y. pseudotuberculosis into six subgroups, thus
76 FR 38370 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for Pacific Insular Areas...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Pacific Insular Areas; Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund AGENCY: National Marine...INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional...be deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund (Fund) for use by...
78 FR 48861 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for Pacific Insular Areas...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Pacific Insular Areas; Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund AGENCY: National Marine...INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional...be deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund (Fund) for use by...
... to learn more. More Information on Urban Heat Islands Heat Island Basics Chapter from EPA�s Reducing Urban ... Island Video Segments What Is an Urban Heat Island? As urban areas develop, changes occur in their ...
Barrier island vulnerability to breaching: a case study on Dauphin Island, Alabama
Breaching of barrier islands can adversely impact society by severing infrastructure, destroying private properties, and altering water quality in back bays and estuaries. This study provides a scheme that assesses the relative vulnerability of a barrier island to breach during storms. Dauphin Island, Alabama was selected for this study because it has a well documented history of island breaches and extensive geological and geomorphic data. To assess the vulnerability of the island, we defined several variables contributing to the risk of breaching: island geology, breaching history, and island topography and geomorphology. These variables were combined to form a breaching index (BI) value for cross island computational bins, each bin every 50 m in the alongshore direction. Results suggest the eastern section of Dauphin Island has the lowest risk of breaching with the remaining portion of the island having a moderate to high risk of breaching. Two reaches in the western section of the island were found to be particularly vulnerable due primarily to their minimal cross-sectional dimensions.
Hansen, M.; Sallenger, A. H.
Discovery of 3.2 Billion-Years-Old Sulfidic Black Shales: A Progress Report of the Dixon Island-Cleaverville (DXCL) Drilling Project in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
During the Dixon Island - Cleaverville Drilling Project (DXCL-DP), we drilled three holes; CL1 and CL2 (organic-rich massive black shales) and DX (very finely laminated black shales with lamination and veins of pyrite), all from the 3.2 Ga Cleaverville Group.
Yamaguchi, K. E.; Kiyokawa, S.; Ito, T.; Ikehara, M.
Eleuthera Island, Bahamas seen from STS-66
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
The striking views provided by the Bahama Islands lend insights into the important problems of limestone (CaCO3) production and transport. This photograph includes the southern part of Eleuthera Island in the northern Bahamas. The hook-shaped island encloses a relatively shallow platform (light blue) which is surrounded by deep water (dark blue). The feathery pattern along the western edge of Eleuthera's platform are sand bars and sand channels created by tidal currents sweeping on and off the platform. The channels serve to funnel large amounts of CaCO3 off the platform and into the deeper water.
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
8. DETAIL OF NOTCHED CONSTRUCTION ELEMENT IN GRILLAGE AT WESTERN EDGE OF SOUTHEASTERN LEG OF SEA WALL. TIDE APPROACHING. - Fort Delaware, Sea Wall, Pea Patch Island, Delaware City, New Castle County, DE
NSDL National Science Digital Library
In this problem-based learning unit, students learn about the causes and impacts of urban heat islands. Numerous studies have shown how concrete pavements and buildings retain heat in cities, making cities several degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. Students investigate the role of cities in our climate, specifically how the urban heat island affects climate. Instructions to access NASA data are provided along with additional resources and activities. This module was developed for use in the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) professional development courses for middle and high school teachers and is also available to teachers to adapt for general classroom use. See Related & Supplemental URLs for a demo course showing how this module is integrated into an ESSEA course for teachers.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-514, 15 October 2003This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a streamlined island in Marte Vallis, a large outflow channel system that crosses the 180oW meridian between the Elysium and Amazonis regions of Mars. The flow patterns on the floor of Marte Vallis might be the remains of lava flows or mud flows. Marte is the Spanish word for Mars. Most of the largest valleys on the red planet are named for 'Mars' in various languages. This island is located near 21.8oN, 175.3oW. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.
Gravity Effect of Downgoing Lithospheric Slabs beneath Island Arcs.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Recent geophysical data from the north-western Pacific suggest that the total gravity effect of a downgoing slab beneath island arcs is small and limited in extent to the region of the island arc and trench. The total effect is small either because the de...
A. B. Watts M. Talwani
Dengue virus type 3, South Pacific Islands, 2013.
After an 18-year absence, dengue virus serotype 3 reemerged in the South Pacific Islands in 2013. Outbreaks in western (Solomon Islands) and eastern (French Polynesia) regions were caused by different genotypes. This finding suggested that immunity against dengue virus serotype, rather than virus genotype, was the principal determinant of reemergence. PMID:24856252
Cao-Lormeau, Van-Mai; Roche, Claudine; Musso, Didier; Mallet, Henri-Pierre; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Dofai, Alfred; Nogareda, Francisco; Nilles, Eric J; Aaskov, John
Surface Curvature in Island Groups and Discontinuous Cratonic Structures
The Canadian Archipelago includes eight major islands and a host of smaller ones. They are separated by water bodies, of varying widths attributable to glacial activity and ocean currents. Land form varies from relatively rugged mountains (~2000 m) in eastern, glacial, islands, to low lying western, similar to the continental topography adjacent. The Arctic region is thought to have been
M. S. McDowell
Dengue Virus Type 3, South Pacific Islands, 2013
After an 18-year absence, dengue virus serotype 3 reemerged in the South Pacific Islands in 2013. Outbreaks in western (Solomon Islands) and eastern (French Polynesia) regions were caused by different genotypes. This finding suggested that immunity against dengue virus serotype, rather than virus genotype, was the principal determinant of reemergence.
Roche, Claudine; Musso, Didier; Mallet, Henri-Pierre; Dalipanda, Tenneth; Dofai, Alfred; Nogareda, Francisco; Nilles, Eric J.; Aaskov, John
Palaeogeographic Evolution of the Cyclades Islands (Greece) During the Holocene
\\u000a The Cycladic islands are located in the central Aegean Sea (Greece) forming a partly submerged plateau separated into two\\u000a parts: the eastern shallower one (Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros) which formed one\\u000a big island (6.978�km2) at the end of the last glacial period; the western islands (Kea, Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos) which remained separated\\u000a during the
K. Gaki-Papanastassiou; N. Evelpidou; H. Maroukian; A. Vassilopoulos
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This lesson plan will give students a basic overview of the geography of islands. They will learn where islands are located throughout the world and will study two very different island groups (the Philippines and the British Isles) to illustrate the diversity of islands of the world. Students will explore island flora and fauna, languages, and climates and cultures.
Genetic Architecture of a Small, Recently Aggregated Aleut Population: Bering Island, Russia
The fishing community of Bering Island, located in the Russian Commander Islands off the Kamchatka Peninsula, was originally founded by a small number of Russian soldiers and merchants, along with Aleuts forcibly relocated from the western region of the Aleutian archipelago. The purpose of this study is to characterize the genetic variation of Bering Island inhabitants for autosomal, mitochondrial, and
Rohina Rubicz; Mark Zlojutro; Guangyun Sun; Victor Spitsyn; Ranjan Deka; Kristin L. Young; Michael H. Crawford
Depositional history of upper Triassic carbonate platforms on Wrangellia terrane, western British Columbia, Canada
Upper Triassic (Karnian-Norian) limestones of the Quatsino Formation, Vancouver Island, and the Kunga Formation, Queen Charlotte Island, were deposited within a complex rifted island arc system, which was accreted to the western margin of North America as Wrangellia during the mid-Cretaceous. Carbonates sedimentation began after a transgressive event submerged the subaerially exposed Karmutsen volcanics. In both Vancouver and Queen Charlotte
Andre Desrochers
NSDL National Science Digital Library
�The Rock�, the oft-used vernacular phrase used to describe Alcatraz, is perhaps one of the Bay Area�s most dramatic landscapes, and certainly it�s best known island. Over the past several hundred years, it has served at times as a place for protest by Native Americans and a place of incarceration for some of America�s most hardened (and colorful) criminals. The National Park Service recently created this rather well-done online exhibit that allows users to view objects from Alcatraz�s past (such as escape materials and historic photographs) and also to allow them to take a virtual tour of the prison and its grounds. Visitors can also listen to a number of compelling sound clips that discuss the infamous �Battle of Alcatraz� and the cellhouse rules. The site also features a number of thematic slide shows, including one that addresses the occupation of the island by members of the American Indian Movement from 1969 to 1971.
75 FR 69601 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area AGENCY: National Marine...fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian...
77 FR 34262 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area AGENCY: National Marine...fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian...
76 FR 43933 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area AGENCY: National Marine...fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian...
Island Formation: Constructing a Coral Island
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
The process of coral island formation is often difficult for middle school students to comprehend. Coral island formation is a dynamic process, and students should have the opportunity to experience this process in a synergistic context. The authors provide instructional guidelines for constructing a coral island. Students play an interactive role�
Austin, Heather; Edd, Amelia
"STARS" at Black Island Comms.
... with Black Island chosen over Arrival Heights, Cape Royds, White Island, Daily Island, Marble Point ... Island. The Black Island site provides an unobstructed horizon of the Pacific Ocean Region (POR ...
Microevolution in island rodents
We perform a meta-analysis on morphological data from four island rodent populations exhibiting microevolution (>�?100 years). Data consisting of incidences of skeletal variants, cranial, and external measurements are from house mice (Mus musculus) on one Welsh and one Scottish island, black rats (Rattus rattus) on two Galapagos islands, and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) on three California Channel islands. We report
Oliver R. W. Pergams; Mary V. Ashley
NSDL National Science Digital Library
In this lesson covers the evolution of a volcanic island from origin to erosion. Students will be able to determine the relative ages of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, given their position in the archipelago and why these islands are so much smaller than the main islands of the Hawaiian chain. They will discover that volcanic islands form over a hot spot on the ocean floor and that islands form and erode in eight stages, so the relative age of an island or atoll can be determined based on its state of growth or erosion.
Museum, Bishop
SeaWinds - South Georgia Island
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)Winds are blocked by an island mountain barrier that produces a long 'shadow' of low winds on the downwind side of the island stretching for hundreds of kilometers (about 500 miles long) in this image produced from data from NASA's SeaWinds instrument on the QuikScat satellite.South Georgia Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean (approximately 1,500 kilometers, or miles, east of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, is only 170 kilometers long (about 106 miles) and 30 kilometers (about 19 miles)wide, but contains 13 peaks exceeding 2,000 meters (more than 6,500 feet) in height. The island thus acts as a significant barrier to the surface winds in this forbidding part of the world oceans.Mountainous islands and steep coastal topography can modify the surface wind field for many hundreds of kilometers seaward. The detailed air-sea-land interaction processes involved are not well understood, largely because of a lack of accurate, high-resolution, extensive wind speed and direction measurements. The broad-swath, all-weather SeaWinds instrument on NASA's QuikScat satellite is providing unique measurements of ocean winds, revealing previously unknown wind patterns caused by island topography and allowing development of improved models for coastal ocean winds.This image shows QuikScat measurements of wind speed and direction during a single pass over South Georgia Island on September 13, 1999. The island itself is shown as black (for heights less than 750 meters(less than half a mile), green (for heights between 750 and 1,500 meters (less than half a mile to about one mile), and red (for regions greater than 1,500 meters, or about one mile in altitude). The white area surrounding the island represents the region where land contamination does not allow wind measurements to be made. The horizontal and vertical coordinates are in kilometers, with origin on the island at latitude 54.5 degrees south, longitude 30 degrees east.This large-scale view shows regions of high wind speed off both the eastern and western ends of islands, corresponding to 'corner accelerations' as the winds stream by the steep island topography. The lowest wind speeds are seen to be in the lee of the highest island topography.NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is a long-term research and technology program designed to examine Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life as a total integrated system. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
Zooarchaeological Analysis at ADK011, Adak Island, Central Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Although William Dall explored the Central Aleutians nearly 140 years ago, surprisingly little archaeological research has occurred in this area since then. During 1999 the Western Aleutians Archaeological and Paleobiological Project excavated archaeological sites on north Adak Island, Alaska. Faunal remains from two excavation pits at ADK-011 are analyzed here. This is the first analysis of faunal remains from this
Christine Lef�vre; Dixie West; Debra G. Corbett
Smoking rates in Pacific islands.
This study collected data on rates of cigarette smoking in the following Pacific Islands: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Tuvalu, and Western Samoa. The data were collected in 1975-81 as part of a diabetes-cardiovascular diseases survey. A large variation in the prevalence of smoking was found in the populations surveyed. 90% of men and 74% of women on Kiribati were daily smokers compared with 38% of men and 19% of women on the Cook Islands and only 4% of the female population of Fiji. There was no association between age and the prevalence of smoking. Smoking tended to be more common in rural areas than urban areas and was higher among men than women in all populations studied. For both men and women, the prevalence of smoking was higher among lower income groups and those who reported moderate or heavy alcohol consumption. There was no clear association between smoking and marital status. Overall, the data on the prevalence of cigarette smoking indicate that this has become a significant public health problem in Pacific island communities. The data further suggest that the prevalence of smoking differs markedly in culturally and ethnically different populations. Somewhat unexpected was the greater proportion of smokers among traditional communities in rural areas compared with urban areas. This finding can be explained in part by the widespread practice of cultivating tobacco in many rural areas of the Pacific. It is recommended that a reliable survey of smoking patterns in the Pacific islands and prospective surveys that correlate the results of such a study with the distribution of cardiovascular diseases and cancer be conducted. PMID:3490322
Tuomilehto, J; Zimmet, P; Taylor, R; Bennet, P; Wolf, E; Kankaanp��, J
New methanol plant for Kharg Island
Iran`s National Petrochemical Co. (NPC; Teheran) plans to set up a world scale export-oriented methanol plant on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. It says discussions are being held with three Western groups - C. Itoh (Tokyo), H & G (London), and Uhde (Dortmund) - to supply the 660,000-m.t./year facility. The estimated $150-million project would be repaid through export of methanol within three to four years. NPC hopes to conclude talks this year. Strategically located, Kharg Island is described as a good location in peacetime. It already serves as an oil terminal. NPC has an LPG and sulfur complex there.
Alperowicz, N.
Demographic history of a recent invasion of house mice on the isolated Island of Gough.
Island populations provide natural laboratories for studying key contributors to evolutionary change, including natural selection, population size and the colonization of new environments. The demographic histories of island populations can be reconstructed from patterns of genetic diversity. House mice (Mus musculus) inhabit islands throughout the globe, making them an attractive system for studying island colonization from a genetic perspective. Gough Island, in the central South Atlantic Ocean, is one of the remotest islands in the world. House mice were introduced to Gough Island by sealers during the 19th century and display unusual phenotypes, including exceptionally large body size and carnivorous feeding behaviour. We describe genetic variation in Gough Island mice using mitochondrial sequences, nuclear sequences and microsatellites. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial sequences suggested that Gough Island mice belong to Mus musculus domesticus, with the maternal lineage possibly originating in England or France. Cluster analyses of microsatellites revealed genetic membership for Gough Island mice in multiple coastal populations in Western Europe, suggesting admixed ancestry. Gough Island mice showed substantial reductions in mitochondrial and nuclear sequence variation and weak reductions in microsatellite diversity compared with Western European populations, consistent with a population bottleneck. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) estimated that mice recently colonized Gough Island (~100 years ago) and experienced a 98% reduction in population size followed by a rapid expansion. Our results indicate that the unusual phenotypes of Gough Island mice evolved rapidly, positioning these mice as useful models for understanding rapid phenotypic evolution. PMID:24617968
Gray, Melissa M; Wegmann, Daniel; Haasl, Ryan J; White, Michael A; Gabriel, Sofia I; Searle, Jeremy B; Cuthbert, Richard J; Ryan, Peter G; Payseur, Bret A
Adha Gara Tidi: Cultural Sensitivity in Western Torres Strait. Work Papers of SIL-AAIB, Series B Volume 14.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This series of articles, focusing on the Western Torres Strait Islander people, presents the following: "A Brief Introduction to Torres Strait Culture" (Rod Kennedy); "Some Guidelines for Relating to Torres Strait Islanders" (Rod Kennedy); "One Mouth Two Hands" (Rod Kennedy); "My Trading Friend in the Village of Mari" (Charlie Gibuma); "Islanders:�
Kennedy, Rod; Kennedy, Judy
Title : Wind energy, Humble Island Type : Antarctic EAM NSF Org: OD / OPP Date : January 24, 1992 ... Memorandum (Facility for Wind Generation of Energy at Humble Island, Near Palmer Station, Antarctica ...
Barrier Island Hazard Mapping.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Describes efforts to evaluate and map the susceptibility of barrier islands to damage from storms, erosion, rising sea levels and other natural phenomena. Presented are criteria for assessing the safety and hazard potential of island developments. (WB)
Pilkey, Orrin H.; Neal, William J.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This animation shows the power of computer graphics to explore data in the sense of virtual reality. In this scene, standard tools are applied to fly around the Galapagos Islands and the ocean floor surrounding the islands.
Pape, Dave; Feldman, Gene
The development of offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic waters of Alaska requires offshore structures which successfully resist the lateral forces due to moving, drifting ice. Ice islands are floating, a tabular icebergs, up to 60 meters thick, of solid ice throughout their thickness. The ice islands are thus regarded as the strongest ice features in the Arctic; fixed offshore structures which can directly withstand the impact of ice islands are possible but in some locations may be so expensive as to make oilfield development uneconomic. The resolution of the ice island problem requires two research steps: (1) calculation of the probability of interaction between an ice island and an offshore structure in a given region; and (2) if the probability if sufficiently large, then the study of possible interactions between ice island and structure, to discover mitigative measures to deal with the moving ice island. The ice island research conducted during the 1983-1988 interval, which is summarized in this report, was concerned with the first step. Monte Carlo simulations of ice island generation and movement suggest that ice island lifetimes range from 0 to 70 years, and that 85% of the lifetimes are less then 35 years. The simulation shows a mean value of 18 ice islands present at any time in the Arctic Ocean, with a 90% probability of less than 30 ice islands. At this time, approximately 34 ice islands are known, from observations, to exist in the Arctic Ocean, not including the 10-meter thick class of ice islands. Return interval plots from the simulation show that coastal zones of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, already leased for oil development, have ice island recurrences of 10 to 100 years. This implies that the ice island hazard must be considered thoroughly, and appropriate safety measures adopted, when offshore oil production plans are formulated for the Alaskan Arctic offshore. 132 refs., 161 figs., 17 tabs.
Sackinger, W.M.; Jeffries, M.O.; Lu, M.C.; Li, F.C.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Channel Island foxes, long the top predator in their ecosystem, show little fear of humans. Wild foxes often accost visitors on San Nicolas, the island with the most abundant fox population in the island chain. Now, archaeologists have new evidence that suggests foxes were carried to the islands by indigenous people thousands of years ago, and that humans shaped the evolution of the entire species. Do species introduced by native people thousands of years ago deserve protection?
Sharon Levy (Freelancer;)
Microevolution in island rodents
\\u000a We perform a meta-analysis on morphological data from four island rodent populations exhibiting microevolution ( 100 years).\\u000a Data consisting of incidences of skeletal variants, cranial, and external measurements are from house mice (Mus musculus) on one Welsh and one Scottish island, black rats (Rattus rattus) on two Galapagos islands, and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) on three California Channel islands. We
Oliver R. W. Pergams; Mary V. Ashley
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This almost totally cloud free, photo of the island of Timor, Indonesia (9.0S, 125.0E) illustrates the volcanic origin of the over 1500 islands of Indonesia. Close examination of the photo reveals several eroded volcanoes on the Island of Timor and several of the adjacent islands. The linear alignment of the volcanoes, as seen from space, indicates the edges of the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust where volcanic activity is most common.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This lesson provides students with information about how islands are formed, including a basic knowledge of plate tectonics. Using the islands of Hawaii as an example, students learn about the earth processes that cause the formation of islands over time, including volcanoes and hot spots.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
This report summarises the issues related to the use of man-made ice islands as exploration drilling structures in the Canadian Arctic Islands and Beaufort Sea. The historical development of ice island technology has been reviewed with respect to design, ...
Republic of the Marshall Islands: Planning and Implementation of a Dental Caries Prevention Program for an Island Nation
The Republic of Marshall Islands (R.M.I.) is an island state in eastern Micronesia with a landmass of 70 square miles scattered across 750,000 square miles of the western Pacific Ocean with a national population of approximately 51,000. In a 2002 children's oral health survey, 85 percent of six year old children in the R.M.I. capital of Majuro were found to
Ohnmar K. Tut; H. K. Greer
76 FR 30303 - Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Bell Island Geothermal Leases Supplemental Environmental Impact...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...National Forest; Alaska; Bell Island Geothermal Leases Supplemental Environmental Impact...environmental impact statement (PEIS) titled Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States...issue three pending leases to a private geothermal developer. These leases encompass...
Operation IceBridge: Fly Through of Pine Island Glacier Crack
This animation provides a fly through of the major rift in the Pine Island Glacier in western Antarctica. This crack, which extends at least 18 miles and is 50 meters deep, could produce an iceberg...
77 FR 12567 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Pacific Islands Region Coral Reef Ecosystems...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Comment Request; Pacific Islands Region Coral Reef Ecosystems Logbook and Reporting AGENCY...U.S. citizen issued with, a Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit (authorized under the Fishery Management Plan for Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Western...
Geology of Santa Fe island: The oldest galapagos volcano
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Santa Fe Island was a volcanic center when it emerged 3.9 � 0.6 m.y. ago. Later upfaulting of a horst along the central axis of the island dominates its present morphology. Santa Fe is made up of evolved transitional lavas that are not related by fractional crystallization alone. Source heterogeneties, differing degrees of melting, or open-system magma chambers may explain the observed trace element variations. Santa Fe, Baltra, and Espa�ola make up a geologic subprovince in the central Galapagos: they are older than the other islands, and their lavas are compositionally similar. At the time of their emergence, the three islands were in a tectonic setting similar to that of the young western and central Galapagos Island.
Geist, Dennis J.; McBirney, Alexander R.; Duncan, Robert A.
Venereal diseases in the islands of the North Pacific.
Apart from the Japanese islands, and those of Karabati (lately Gilbert Islands), which lie just north of the equator, the islands of the northern Pacific Ocean are either American owned or otherwise administered. Even the Japanese islands were controlled by the USA for varying numbers of years after the second world war. Venereal disease statistics from Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Gilbert Islands have been collated by the South Pacific Commission and will be presented in a second paper. Those from the Hawaiian Islands (the fiftieth state of the USA) are published by the United States Public Health Service and include those from Honolulu, the capital. While the rates per 100 000 for both syphilis and gonorrhoea are lower than those for the USA as a whole, the trends since 1970 have been less satisfactory in the state of Hawaii than for the whole of the United States. While the disturbing increasing incidence of primary and secondary syphilis was checked in 1977, that of gonorrhoea has continued to rise. The number of cases of gonorrhoea also increased in Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands but there has been a recent fall from earlier peak figures. The pattern of venereal disease in the most developed Pacific islands is thus gradually approaching what may be expected elsewhere in modern western society and it would seem logical to expect that this trend will continue.
Willcox, R R
[Leishmaniasis in Greece: the sandflies of the Ionian islands and Aegean Sea].
Three entomological investigations have been carried out during the summers 1979, 1980 and 1982 in Ionian islands: Corfu, Cephalonia and Zante and in four Aegean Sea islands: the western Andros and Tinos (Cyclades) and eastern Samos and Ikaria. Systematic sampling with oiled paper traps produced 24 184 sandflies. Captures are analysed for each species. PMID:6465795
Pesson, B; Leger, N; Madulo-Leblond, G
Excess loading of nitrogen has been identified as a cause of excess primary production in many marine systems, including Long Island Sound. In particular, western Long Island Sound experiences significant seasonal hypoxia and anoxia attributed to excess nitrogen loading. We explo...
Biogeography and diversification of hermit spiders on Indian Ocean islands (Nephilidae: Nephilengys)
The origin of the terrestrial biota of Madagascar and, especially, the smaller island chains of the western Indian Ocean is relatively poorly understood. Madagascar represents a mixture of Gondwanan vicariant lineages and more recent colonizers arriving via Cenozoic dispersal, mostly from Africa. Dispersal must explain the biota of the smaller islands such as the Comoros and the chain of Mascarene
Matja� Kuntner; Ingi Agnarsson
The status of osprey research in western North America
The status of research on the Osprey tn western North America is reviewed. For discussion purposes the geographical populations are conveniently subdivided into Canada and Alaska, the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the western interior of the United States, and Mexico. Suggestions are made for further research on the populations in each region. In addition, possible research and management activities related to the extirpated or nearly extirpated California population on the Channel Islands and along the southern coast are presented.
Henny, C. J.
The island wind buoyancy connection
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
A variety of recent studies have suggested that the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is at least partially controlled by the Southern Ocean (SO) winds. The paradoxical implication is that a link exists between the global surface buoyancy flux to the ocean (which is needed for the density transformation between surface and deep water) and the SO winds. Although the dependency of buoyancy forcing on local wind is obvious, the global forcings are usually viewed independently with regard to their role as drivers of the global ocean circulation. The present idealized study is focused on understanding this wind buoyancy connection. In order to isolate and investigate the effect of SO winds on the overturning we have neglected other important key processes such as SO eddies.We present the wind buoyancy connection in the framework of a single gigantic island that lies between latitude bands free of continents (such as the land mass of the Americas). The unique geometry of a gigantic island on a sphere allows for a clear and insightful examination of the wind buoyancy connection. This is because it enables us to obtain analytical solutions and it circumvents the need to calculate the torque exerted on zonal sills adjacent to the island tips (e.g. the Bering Strait). The torque calculation is notoriously difficult and is avoided here by the clockwise integration, which goes twice through the western boundary of the island (in opposite directions) eliminating any unknown pressure torques.The link between SO winds and global buoyancy forcing is explored qualitatively, using salinity and temperature mixed dynamical-box models and a temperature slab model, and semiquantitatively, employing a reduced gravity model which includes parametrized thermodynamics. Our main finding is that, in all of these cases the island geometry implies that the stratification (and, hence, the air sea heat flux) can always adjust itself to allow the overturning forced by the wind. We find that, in the mixed dynamical-box models, the salinity and temperature differences between the boxes are inversely proportional to the MOC. In spite of the resulting smaller north south temperature difference, the meridional heat transport is enhanced.
de Boer, Agatha M.; Nof, Doron
A review of the pseudoscorpion genus Ideoblothrus (Pseudoscorpiones, Syarinidae) from western and northern Australia
Five new pseudoscorpion species belonging to the genus Ideoblothrus are named and described from Western Australia and the Northern Territory: I. pisolitus from a single pisolitic mesa near Pannawonica, I. nesotymbus from limestone karst on Barrow Island, I. westi from limestone karst near the Fortescue River, I. descartes from a vine thicket on Descartes Island in the Kimberley, and I.
Mark S. Harvey; Karen L. Edward
Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Biota from the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie
Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PCBs in zebra mussels were elevated to concentrations greater than 5,000 ng\\/g lipid and 15,000 ng\\/g lipid, respectively, at the Ambassador Bridge in the Detroit River and concentrations gradually declined at downstream locations, which included three stations in the western basin of Lake Erie (Middle Sister Island, East Sister Island, Pelee Island). PCB concentrations in
Chris D. Metcalfel; Tracy L. Metcalfe; Geoffrey Riddle; G. Douglas Haffner
Marquesas Islands, Pacific Ocean
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
As with most small island groups around the world, the Marquesas Island group 9.0S, 140.0W) is usually concealed by heavy cloud cover throughout the day making them very difficult to photograph in their entirety. Located in the south central Pacific Ocean, just north of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the islands partially seen in this view are: Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka and Ua Pu.
The aquatic Angiosperm flora of the islands at the western end of Lake Erie was in- tensively studied by A. J. Pieters and E. L. Moseley 60-70 years ago and 20 years ago by E. L. Core. Since then, additional species have been discovered, of which twenty-four are recorded here. Of these Phalaris canariensis, Scirpus acutus, Rorippa sylvestris, Hibiscus militaris,
Dartington: A Principal Source of Inspiration behind Aldous Huxley's "Island".
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Describes Dartington Hall School in Devon, England, which between the 1920s and 1970s implemented an educational system combining traditional Hindu religious philosophy and ideals of living and Western scientific knowledge and work experience. Considers ways Dartington educationally and socially resembled Aldous Huxley's utopia in "Island." (AYC)
Parsons, David
Alluvial charcoal in the Sigatoka Valley, Viti Levu Island, Fiji
Charcoal concentrations in alluvial sediments throughout the Sigatoka (and adjacent) catchments, western Viti Levu Island, Fiji were located, sampled and, where possible, dated. The earliest date (5579�5052 cal year BP) almost certainly predates human arrival and represents a natural fire, perhaps associated with drought conditions during an El Ni�o event. The next three dates are clustered around the time just
Patrick D. Nunn; Roselyn Kumar
Postglacial vegetation history of Mitkof Island, Alexander Archipelago, southeastern Alaska
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
An AMS radiocarbon-dated pollen record from a peat deposit on Mitkof Island, southeastern Alaska provides a vegetation history spanning �12,900 cal yr BP to the present. Late Wisconsin glaciers covered the entire island; deglaciation occurred > 15,400 cal yr BP. The earliest known vegetation to develop on the island (�12,900 cal yr BP) was pine woodland ( Pinus contorta) with alder ( Alnus), sedges (Cyperaceae) and ferns (Polypodiaceae type). By �12,240 cal yr BP, Sitka spruce ( Picea sitchensis) began to colonize the island while pine woodland declined. By �11,200 cal yr BP, mountain hemlock ( Tsuga mertensiana) began to spread across the island. Sitka spruce-mountain hemlock forests dominated the lowland landscapes of the island until �10,180 cal yr BP, when western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla) began to colonize, and soon became the dominant tree species. Rising percentages of pine, sedge, and sphagnum after �7100 cal yr BP may reflect an expansion of peat bog habitats as regional climate began to shift to cooler, wetter conditions. A decline in alders at that time suggests that coastal forests had spread into the island's uplands, replacing large areas of alder thickets. Cedars ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Thuja plicata) appeared on Mitkof Island during the late Holocene.
Ager, Thomas A.; Carrara, Paul E.; Smith, Jane L.; Anne, Victoria; Johnson, Joni
Comparison of the 2010 and 2007 Solomon Island Tsunamis
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The 3 January 2010 Mw 7.1 earthquake off Rendova and Tetepare Islands, Western Province, Solomon Islands, generated surprisingly large tsunami waves, completely destroying Retavo village at Rendova Island�s south shore, located approximately 15 km from the trench. A reconnaissance team was deployed within a week, measuring local tsunami heights, maximum tsunami runup/inundation, coastal subsidence, co-seismic offset and afterslip, and interviewed eyewitnesses per established methods. This event occurred three years after the 1 April 2007 Mw 8.1 megathrust earthquake that generated a wide-spread tsunami across the Western Province Islands, causing 52 human casualties (Fritz and Kalligeris 2008). Although much smaller in magnitude than the 2007 event (below the assumed tsunamigenic magnitude threshold of ~Mw 7.5), the 2010 event produced a larger localized flow depth, and only moderately smaller runup, reaching a maximum value of 7 m on the southern shore of Rendova Isl. Observations of widespread subsidence on the south coasts of Rendova and Tetepare Islands ruled out the most probable shallow-dipping megathrust model of earthquake rupture. Instead, a high-angle conjugate intraslab thrust within the down going plate is preferred, agreeing with the seismically defined moment tensor, the observed coseismic subsidence, and enhanced tsunami excitation. The two events showed that SI population is very aware of its vulnerability to tsunamis, which we attribute to ancestral tsunami knowledge. Similar observations were made in Chile this year, where residents in most areas self-evacuated, significantly containing human casualties. We will compare the two Solomon Island events, in terms of our field findings, the source deformation models that best fit the observations, and present preliminary tsunami modeling results. Inundation in Tapurai village, Simbo Island in 2007 (left), and in Retavo village, Rendova Island in 2010 (right).
Kalligeris, N.; Fritz, H.; Newman, A. V.; Feng, L.; Lifton, Z. M.; Wei, Y.; Titov, V. V.; Uslu, B. U.
Hydrologic data for Block Island, Rhode Island
This report was compiled as part of a study to assess the hydrogeology and the quality and quantity of fresh ground water on Block Island, Rhode Island. Hydrologic data were collected on Block Island during 1988-91. The data are pre- sented in illustrations and tables. Data collec- ted include precipitation, surfae-water, ground- water, lithologic, and well-construction and dis- charge information. Precipitation data include total monthly precipitation values from 11 rain gages and water-quality analyses of 14 precipi- tation samples from one station. Surface-water data include water-level measurements at 12 ponds, water-quality data for five ponds, and field specific-conductance measurements at 56 surface- water sites (streams, ponds, and springs). Ground- water data include water-level measurements at 159 wells, water-quality data at 150 wells, and field specific-conductance data at 52 wells. Lithologic logs for 375 wells and test borings, and construc- tion and location data for 570 wells, springs, and test borings are included. In addition, the data set contains data on water quality of water samples, collected by the Rhode Island Department of Health during 1976-91, from Fresh and Sands Ponds and from wells at the Block Island Water Company well field north of Sands Pond.
Burns, Emily
Venereal diseases in the islands of the South Pacific.
The island territories of the South Pacific vary considerably in area and in size of population; Pitcairn has a population of 100 in two square miles whereas Papua New Guinea has a population of 2,990,000 in approximately 175,000 square miles. Today the whole ocean is traversed by air routes. Recently, the prevalence of gonorrhoea has decreased in the northern region but increased in the eastern and western; in all these regions the reported prevalence exceeds 200 cases per 100,00 population. In an area where yaws was once widespread, syphilis is being increasingly recognised. Although the figures for syphilis are clearly higher because of the greater use of serological screening, many of the reported cases are of early infection. Yaws has been eliminated from most of the South Pacific Islands but is still present in the western region--more than 99% of the reported cases occurring in Papua New Guinea, particularly in the offshore islands.
Willcox, R R
Radar Image of Galapagos Island
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)This is an image showing part of Isla Isabella in the western Galapagos Islands. It was taken by the L-band radar in HH polarization from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar on the 40th orbit of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered at about 0.5 degree south latitude and 91 degrees west longitude and covers an area of 75 by 60 kilometers (47 by 37 miles). The radar incidence angle at the center of the image is about 20 degrees.The western Galapagos Islands, which lie about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) west of Ecuador in the eastern Pacific, have six active volcanoes similar to the volcanoes found in Hawaii. Since the time of Charles Darwin's visit to the area in 1835, there have been over 60 recorded eruptions of these volcanoes. This SIR-C/X-SAR image of Alcedo and Sierra Negra volcanoes shows the rougher lava flows as bright features, while ash deposits and smooth pahoehoe lava flows appear dark. A small portion of Isla Fernandina is visible in the extreme upper left corner of the image.The Galapagos Islands are one of the SIR-C/X-SAR supersites and data of this area will be taken several times during the flight to allow scientists to conduct topographic change studies and to search for different lava flow types, ash deposits and fault lines.Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).
Age determination of late Pleistocene marine transgression in western Alaska
Dating molluscs from sediments representing the Kotzebuan marine transgression in Alaska yields an average uranium-series age of 104,000 ?? 22,000 yrs B.P. This and other selected Pleistocene marine deposits of western Alaska are tentatively correlated with radiometrically dated units of eastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada. ?? 1982.
Szabo, B. J.
Initiation of subduction and the generation of slab melts in western and eastern Mindanao, Philippines
Adakite, found in both the eastern and western parts of Mindanao Island, Philippines, is a rare rock type, characterized by low heavy rare earth elements and Y contents together with high Sr\\/Y ratios, and is considered to be the result of the melting of young subducted oceanic crust, which leaves an eclogite residue. Pliocene-Quaternary adakites from western Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula)
Fernando G. Sajona; Ren� C. Maury; Herv� Bellon; Joseph Cotten; Marc J. Defant; Manuel Pubellier
Geodetic Measurements From the Aleutians and Western Alaska: Examining Evidence for a Bering Block
Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements are used to examine the hypothesis of a counter clockwise rotating Bering block. Originally proposed based on seismic data, the Bering block encompasses the Bering Sea, Western Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, with Eastern Russia defining its western boundary. Oblique convergence of 73 mm\\/yr between the subducting Pacific Plate and overriding North American Plate results
R. S. Cross
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lying in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the entire Island of Crete (35.0N, 25.0E) can be seen in great detail in this cloud free view. The volcanic origins of this island can also be observed in the many sharp and angular ridgelines and rugged coastal features.
Turkey abounds in both natural as well as cultural richness. Especially the natural assets located in developing regions have an important role to play in the economic life of such areas. The floating islands are one of these assets and have become an important research subject lately. Turkey is considered as a heaven of floating islands. Almost all geographical regions
Ihsan Bulut
Basaltic island sand provenance
The Hawaiian Islands are an ideal location to study basaltic sand provenance in that they are a series of progressively older basaltic shield volcanoes with arid to humid microclimates. Sixty-two sand samples were collected from beaches on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai and petrographically analyzed. The major sand components are calcareous bioclasts, volcanic lithic fragments, and monomineralic grains of dense minerals and plagioclase. Proportions of these components vary from island to island, with bioclastic end members being more prevalent on older islands exhibiting well-developed fringing reef systems and volcanic end members more prevalent on younger, volcanically active islands. Climatic variations across the island of Hawaii are reflected in the percentage of weathered detritus, which is greater on the wetter, northern side of the island. The groundmass of glassy, basaltic lithics is predominantly black tachylite, with lesser brown sideromelane; microlitic and lathwork textures are more common than holohyaline vitric textures. Other common basaltic volcanic lithic fragments are holocrystalline aggregates of silt-sized pyroxene or olivine, opaque minerals and plagioclase. Sands derived from alkalic lavas are texturally and compositionally indistinguishable from sands derived from tholeiitic lavas. Although Hawaiian basaltic sands overlap in composition with magmatic arc-derived sands in terms of their relative QFL, QmPK and LmLvLs percentages, they are dissimilar in that they lack felsic components and are more enriched in lathwork volcanic lithic fragments, holocrystalline volcanic lithic fragments, and dense minerals.
Marsaglia, K.M. (Univ. of Texas, El Paso, TX (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
In this article, the author presents the Treasure Island problem and some inquiry activities derived from the problem. Trying to find where pirates buried a treasure leads to a surprising answer, multiple solutions, and a discussion of problem solving. The Treasure Island problem is an example of an inquiry activity that can be implemented in�
Shriki, Atara
Marine Corps recruits at a ceremony at the Parris Island Auditorium. The auditorium is part of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina. Over one million men and women have trained at the depot since 1915 and served all over the world.
Chet Smolski
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Describes an ecology course which provides students with an opportunity to observe aquatic and terrestrial life in the Bahamas. States that students learn scientific methodology by measuring physical and chemical aspects of the island habitats. Provides information on the island, course description and objectives, transportation, facilities, and�
Stephens, Lawrence J.; And Others
Island Natural Science School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Prepared for students in grade six attending the Island Natural Science School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this booklet offers information and suggests activities in the areas of ecology, conservation, natural resources, and outdoor recreation. Introductory material describes island lore, its formation and significant features, followed by units of�
Toronto Board of Education (Ontario).
75 FR 51098 - Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, Island, San Juan...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Wildlife Service [FWS-R1-R-2010-N131; 1265-0000-10137-S3] Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, WA AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife...
MISR Views the Big Island of Hawaii
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)MISR images of the Big Island of Hawaii. The images have been rotated so that north is at the left.Upper left: April 2, 2000 (Terra orbit 1551) Upper right: May 4, 2000 (Terra orbit 2017) Lower left: June 5, 2000 (Terra orbit 2483) Lower right: June 21, 2000 (Terra orbit 2716) The first three images are color views acquired by the vertical (nadir) camera. The last image is a stereo anaglyph generated from the aftward cameras viewing at 60.0 and 70.5 degree look angles. It requires red/blue glasses with the red filter over the left eye.The color images show the greater prevalence of vegetation on the eastern side of the island due to moisture brought in by the prevailing Pacific trade winds. The western (lee) side of the island is drier. In the center of the island, and poking through the clouds in the stereo image are the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, each peaking at about 4.2 km above sea level. The southern face of a line of cumulus clouds off the north coast of Hawaii is also visible in the stereo image.MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Insular and migrant species, longevity records, and new species records on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands
We conducted mist netting each October from 1994 to 2004 on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands, and recorded bird sightings to develop a more complete inventory of the island's resident and migrant species. During our study, we recorded four new species for the British Virgin Islands: Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia; 1996), Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera; 1997), Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus; 2000), and Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus; 2004). Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) was the most frequently captured Neotropical migrant landbird, despite only being first detected in the region in 1989. Captures and detections of other Neotropical migrant landbirds suggest that many species may be more common in the region than previously believed, or, as speculated by other researchers, that migrant routes may be shifting eastward due to habitat degradation on western Caribbean islands. We also used recapture data to establish longevity records of resident species, including Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica; ??? 7 years), Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola; 7 years), Black-faced Grassquit (Tiaris bicolor; ???9 years), and Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita; 5 years). Longevities of other resident species were similar to, or slightly less than, those reported elsewhere.
Boal, C. W.; Sibley, F. C.; Estabrook, T. S.; Lazell, J.
Island-arc magmatic processes beneath South Pagan Volcano, Northern Mariana Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The island-arc volcanoes that make up the Northern Mariana Islands are among the most historically active stratovolcanoes along the Pacific plate, yet they have been poorly studied due to their remote location and difficult accessibility. One of the least studied areas in the Northern Mariana Islands is Pagan Island, located near the center of the Mariana ridge. Pagan Island consists of two Holocene stratovolcanoes, Mount Pagan and South Pagan. Remarkably little is known about South Pagan including its eruptive history, potential volcanic hazards, and geochemical evolution due to a small population of inhabitants, a short and intermittent recorded history, and few geological studies. There is abundant evidence that eruption of South Pagan could pose significant hazards to both residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and to aircraft flying in the western Pacific. For example, following Mount Pagan's most recent explosive eruption (VEI = 4) in 1981, destructive rain-triggered volcanic debris flows buried large tracts of land, including the site of a village that contained a school, dispensary, church, and power generating buildings. Preliminary field studies in May 2006 by the USGS showed that a full spectrum of hazardous phenomena originated from South Pagan in the past, including pyroclastic flows and surges, caldera collapses, and volcanic debris flows. Two previously unrecognized active fumaroles near the summit of South Pagan were discovered suggesting that potential volcanic hazards currently exist in this area. A majority of the new lava samples are vesicular, clinopyroxene-plagioclase basalts with minor plagioclase xenocrysts and gabbroic xenoliths. The purpose of this study is to understand the compositional history of South Pagan and how it relates to the crustal and mantle magmatic processes beneath the central Northern Mariana Islands. Pb, Sr and Nd isotope ratios, major and trace element abundances, and mineral chemistry were determined and will be presented.
Marske, J. P.; Trusdell, F. A.; Garcia, M. O.; Pietruszka, A. J.
Erythroblastic islands are specialized microenvironmental compartments within which definitive mammalian erythroblasts proliferate and differentiate. These islands consist of a central macrophage that extends cytoplasmic protrusions to a ring of surrounding erythroblasts. The interaction of cells within the erythroblastic island is essential for both early and late stages of erythroid maturation. It has been proposed that early in erythroid maturation the macrophages provide nutrients, proliferative and survival signals to the erythroblasts, and phagocytose extruded erythroblast nuclei at the conclusion of erythroid maturation. There is also accumulating evidence for the role of macrophages in promoting enucleation itself. The central macrophages are identified by their unique immunophenotypic signature. Their pronounced adhesive properties, ability for avid endocytosis, lack of respiratory bursts, and consequent release of toxic oxidative species, make them perfectly adapted to function as nurse cells. Both macrophages and erythroblasts display adhesive interactions that maintain island integrity, and elucidating these details is an area of intense interest and investigation. Such interactions enable regulatory feedback within islands via cross talk between cells and also trigger intracellular signaling pathways that regulate gene expression. An additional control mechanism for cellular growth within the erythroblastic islands is through the modulation of apoptosis via feedback loops between mature and immature erythroblasts and between macrophages and immature erythroblasts. The focus of this chapter is to outline the mechanisms by which erythroblastic islands aid erythropoiesis, review the historical data surrounding their discovery, and highlight important unanswered questions.
Manwani, Deepa; Bieker, James J.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on island formation through water level changes, coral growth, or volcanism. Through class demonstrations, worksheets, and research, students learn the different ways islands form as well as how different lifeforms develop on the islands. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, discussion questions, evaluation ideas, extensions, suggested readings, and vocabulary. There are videos available to order which complement this lesson, and links to teaching tools for making custom quizzes, worksheets, puzzles and lesson plans.
Cognitive Constraints and Island Effects
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Competence-based theories of island effects play a central role in generative grammar, yet the graded nature of many syntactic islands has never been properly accounted for. Categorical syntactic accounts of island effects have persisted in spite of a wealth of data suggesting that island effects are not categorical in nature and that�
Hofmeister, Philip; Sag, Ivan A.
Phylogenetic Relationships of the Canary Islands Endemic Lizard Genus Gallotia(Sauria: Lacertidae), Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences
Phylogenetic relationships among species and subspecies of the Canary Island endemic lizard genusGallotiaare inferred based on nucleotide sequences of fragments of 12S ribosomal RNA and cytochromebmitochondrial genes. The four morphologically established species have also been recognized at the molecular level. Relative affinities among species follow an eastern�western geographic transect. The nearly extinct speciesGallotia simonyifrom the most western island of El
Pedro Gonz�lez; Francisco Pinto; Manuel Nogales; Jos� Jim�nez-asensio; Mariano Hern�ndez; Vicente M. Cabrera
Agroforestry In-Service Training. A Training Aid for Asia & the Pacific Islands (Honiara, Solomon Islands, South Pacific, October 23-29, 1983). Training for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Training Manual No. T-16.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
The Forestry/Natural Resources Sector in the Office of Training and Program Support of the Peace Corps conducted an agroforestry inservice training workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in 1983. Participants included Peace Corps volunteers and their host country national counterparts from six countries of the Pacific Islands and Asia (Western�
Fillion, Jacob; Weeks, Julius
Charge Islands Through Tunneling.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
It has been recently reported that the electrical charge in a semiconductive carbon nanotube is not evenly distributed, but rather it is divided into charge 'islands'. This paper links the aforementioned phenomenon to tunneling and provides further insigh...
D. C. Robinson
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Describes a 90-minute "Island Watershed" activity to help earth science students understand the concept of the water cycle. Introduces a surface waters unit appropriate for students in grades 7-10. Includes watershed project guidelines. (Author/KHR)
Benson, Rod
NSDL National Science Digital Library
For people living in and around cities, heat islands are of growing concern. This phenomenon describes urban and suburban temperatures that are 2 to 10 degrees F (1 to 6 degrees C) hotter than nearby rural areas. Elevated temperatures can impact communities by increasing peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution levels, and heat-related illness and mortality. The materials available here describe the basic causes of the heat island effect, and what can be done to mitigate some of the impacts. There is also an overview of the Urban Heat Island Pilot Project (UHIPP), an initiative being conducted in five cities in the U.S. to adopt and evaluate heat island reduction strategies and programs.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
In this online interactive game about shark biodiversity, learners investigate some strange things happening on Apo Island, in the Philippines. Learners collect clues to identify the animal species that attacked their boat's propeller.
Aquarium, Shedd; Educational Web Adventures (Eduweb)
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Access to the article is free, however registration and sign-in are required. New information about Easter Island is helping to identify the cause of the massive deforestation that occurred prior to European arrival, but unanswered questions remain.
Jared Diamond (University of California at Los Angeles;Geography Department)
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The dedicated librarians at the Stony Brook University Library have created this most excellent research guide and digital archive that covers all things Long Island. On their homepage, visitors can use the Long Island Documents area to view recently acquired items from key figures in local (and national) history, such as George Clinton, James Jay, and Benjamin Tallmadge. Also on the site is the Books, Pamphlets, and Journals area. Here visitors can make their way through key documents, such as "Early Long Island: A Colonial Study" and "The Evolution of Long Island: A Story of Land and Sea." Also, the site pays tribute to a very exciting new acquisition: several letters from George Washington, donated by Dr. Henry Laufer, a history enthusiast. This site is a tremendously valuable resource and one that will serve as a model to other institutions seeking to do similar work.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Since 1983, the Island Institute has employed a wide range of individuals, including photographers, artists, policy experts, and others, all in the name of maintaining the viability of the fifteen year-round island communities in the Gulf of Maine. They have become well-known for their outreach efforts, and their website will be of great value to anyone interested in this region, or how various island communities remain economically, culturally, and ecologically sustainable. Resources located on the Institute's homepage include information about fellowship opportunities and links to full and annual reports on the Atlantic herring spawning project. Visitors who are hoping to get a sense of the flavor of this unique region should definitely peruse their monthly publication, "The Working Waterfront." Recent articles include opinion pieces on fish hatcheries, the lobster business, and news profiles of local islanders.
The article announces the formation of family planning associations on the Tonga, Tahiti, Gilbert and Ellice Island groups. The administrative structures of the Associations are briefly described and organizational methods and directions to involve all islands of a particular groups are reported. All of the territories are within the area served by the South Pacific Commission which has set up a family planning seminar for the areas involved. PMID:12305000
Black Island telecommunications upgrade
Title : Black Island telecommunications upgrade Type : Antarctic EAM NSF Org: OD / OPP Date : July 22, 1993 File : opp93107 OFFICE OF POLAR PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT SECTION 202/357-7766 MEMORANDUM Date: July 22, 1993 From: Acting Environmental Officer Subject: Environmental Action Memorandum (Black Island Telecommunications Facility Upgrade) To: Director, Office of Polar Programs Manager, Polar Operations Section Safety and Health Officer Electronics Engineer Facilities Engineering Projects ...
NSDL National Science Digital Library
In this activity, students learn about the urban heat island effect by investigating which areas of their schoolyard have higher temperatures - trees, grass, asphalt, and other materials. Based on their results, they hypothesize how concentrations of surfaces that absorb heat might affect the temperature in cities - the urban heat island effect. Then they analyze data about the history of Los Angeles heat waves and look for patterns in the Los Angeles climate data and explore patterns.
Gardiner, Lisa; Universe, Windows T.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The Western Interior Seaway is an ancient intracontinental seaway that occupied much of modern western North America and existed throughout much of the Cretaceous Period. This site discusses the physiography, origin, evolution and biologic significance of this intriguing geologic feature. Specific topics include sea level fluctuation, marine and non-marine life, and sedimentary rocks associated with the Western Interior Seaway. A paleogeographic map and discussion are provided with numerous links to additional information on related topics.
Supergraphics, U-Haul
Temporal variability of mass transport across Canary Islands Channels
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The equatorward flowing Canary Current (CC) is the main feature of the circulation in the Canary Islands region. The CC flow perturbation by the Canary Islands originate the Canary Eddy Corridor which is the major pathway for long lived eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic (Sangr� et al., 2009, DSR). Therefore the variability of the CC passing through the Canary Archipelago will have both local and regional importance. Past studies on the CC variability trough the Canary Islands point out a clearly seasonal variability (Fraile-Nuez et al, 2010 (JGR); Hern�ndez-Guerra et al, 2002 (DSR)). However those studies where focused on the eastern islands channels missing the variability through the western island channels which are the main source of long lived eddies. In order to fill this gap from November 2012 until September 2013 we conducted trimonthly surveys crossing the whole islands channels using opportunity ships (Naviera Armas Ferries). XBT and XCTD where launched along the cross channels transects. Additionally a closed box circling the Archipelago was performed on October 2013 as part of the cruise RAPROCAN-2013 (IEO) using also XBT and XCTD. Dynamical variables where derived inferring salinity from S(T,p) analytical relationships for the region updated with new XCTD data. High resolution, vertical sections of temperature, potential density, geostrophic velocity and transport where obtained. Our preliminary results suggest that the CC suffer a noticeable acceleration in those islands channels where eddy shedding is more frequent. They also indicate a clearly seasonal variability of the flows passing the islands channels. With this regard we observed significant differences on the obtained seasonal variability with respect the cited past studies on the eastern islands channel (Lanzarote / Fuerteventura - Africa coast). This work was co-funded by Canary Government (TRAMIC project: PROID20100092) and the European Union (FEDER).
Marrero-D�az, �ngeles; Rodr�guez-Santana, �ngel; Jos� Mach�n, Francisco; Garc�a-Weil, Luis; Sangr�, Pablo; V�lez-Belch�, Pedro; Fraile-Nuez, Eugenio
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Heron Island is located at the sourthern end of Australia's 2,050 km-long Great Barrier Reef. Surrounded by coral reef and home to over 1000 species of fish, scuba divers and scientists alike are drawn to the island's resort and research station. The true-color image above was taken by Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite with a resolution of 4 meters per pixel-high enough to see individual boats tied up at the small marina. The narrow channel leading from the marina to the ocean was blasted and dredged decades ago, before the island became a national park. Since then the Australian government has implemented conservation measures, such as limiting the number of tourists and removing or recycling, instead of incinerating, all trash. One of the applications of remote sensing data from Ikonos is environmental monitoring, including studies of coral reef health. For more information about the island, read Heron Island. Image by Robert Simmon, based on data copyright Space Imaging
Gentle Africanized bees on an oceanic island
Oceanic islands have reduced resources and natural enemies and potentially affect life history traits of arriving organisms. Among the most spectacular invasions in the Western hemisphere is that of the Africanized honeybee. We hypothesized that in the oceanic island Puerto Rico, Africanized bees will exhibit differences from the mainland population such as for defensiveness and other linked traits. We evaluated the extent of Africanization through three typical Africanized traits: wing size, defensive behavior, and resistance to Varroa destructor mites. All sampled colonies were Africanized by maternal descent, with over 65% presence of European alleles at the S-3 nuclear locus. In two assays evaluating defense, Puerto Rican bees showed low defensiveness similar to European bees. In morphology and resistance to mites, Africanized bees from Puerto Rico are similar to other Africanized bees. In behavioral assays on mechanisms of resistance to Varroa, we directly observed that Puerto Rican Africanized bees groomed-off and bit the mites as been observed in other studies. In no other location, Africanized bees have reduced defensiveness while retaining typical traits such as wing size and mite resistance. This mosaic of traits that has resulted during the invasion of an oceanic island has implications for behavior, evolution, and agriculture.
Rivera-Marchand, Bert; Oskay, Devrim; Giray, Tugrul
Sea water intrusion model of Amchitka Island, Alaska
During the 1960s and 1970s, Amchitka Island, Alaska, was the site of three underground nuclear tests, referred to as Milrow, Long Shot and Cannikin. Amchitka Island is located in the western part of the Aleutian Island chain, Alaska. The groundwater systems affected by the three underground nuclear tests at Amchitka Island are essentially unmonitored because all of the current monitoring wells are too shallow and not appropriately placed to detect migration from the cavities. The dynamics of the island`s fresh water-sea water hydrologic system will control contaminant migration from the three event cavities, with migration expected in the direction of the Bering Sea from Long shot and Cannikin and the Pacific Ocean from Milrow. The hydrogeologic setting (actively flowing groundwater system to maintain a freshwater lens) suggests a significant possibility for relatively rapid contaminant migration from these sites, but also presents an opportunity to use projected flowpaths to a monitoring advantage. The purpose of this investigation is to develop a conceptual model of the Amchitka groundwater system and to produce computer model simulations that reflect the boundary conditions and hydraulic properties of the groundwater system. The simulations will be used to assess the validity of the proposed conceptual model and highlight the uncertainties in hydraulic properties of the aquifer. The uncertainties will be quantified by sensitivity analyses on various model parameters. Within the limitations of the conceptual model and the computer simulations, conclusions will be drawn regarding potential radionuclide migration from the three underground nuclear tests.
Wheatcraft, S.W. [Nevada Univ., Reno, NV (United States). Hydrology/Hydrogeology Dept., Environmental and Resource Science
Habitat and environment of islands: primary and supplemental island sets
The original intent of the study was to develop a first-order synopsis of island hydrology with an integrated geologic basis on a global scale. As the study progressed, the aim was broadened to provide a framework for subsequent assessments on large regional or global scales of island resources and impacts on those resources that are derived from global changes. Fundamental to the study was the development of a comprehensive framework?a wide range of parameters that describe a set of 'saltwater' islands sufficiently large to Characterize the spatial distribution of the world?s islands; Account for all major archipelagos; Account for almost all oceanically isolated islands, and Account collectively for a very large proportion of the total area of the world?s islands whereby additional islands would only marginally contribute to the representativeness and accountability of the island set. The comprehensive framework, which is referred to as the ?Primary Island Set,? is built on 122 parameters that describe 1,000 islands. To complement the investigations based on the Primary Island Set, two supplemental island sets, Set A?Other Islands (not in the Primary Island Set) and Set B?Lagoonal Atolls, are included in the study. The Primary Island Set, together with the Supplemental Island Sets A and B, provides a framework that can be used in various scientific disciplines for their island-based studies on broad regional or global scales. The study uses an informal, coherent, geophysical organization of the islands that belong to the three island sets. The organization is in the form of a global island chain, which is a particular sequential ordering of the islands referred to as the 'Alisida.' The Alisida was developed through a trial-and-error procedure by seeking to strike a balance between 'minimizing the length of the global chain' and 'maximizing the chain?s geophysical coherence.' The fact that an objective function cannot be minimized and maximized simultaneously indicates that the Alisida is not unique. Global island chains other than the Alisida may better serve disciplines other than those of hydrology and geology.
Matalas, Nicholas C.; Grossling, Bernardo F.
Paleoindian seafaring, maritime technologies, and coastal foraging on California's Channel Islands.
Three archaeological sites on California's Channel Islands show that Paleoindians relied heavily on marine resources. The Paleocoastal sites, dated between ~12,200 and 11,200 years ago, contain numerous stemmed projectile points and crescents associated with a variety of marine and aquatic faunal remains. At site CA-SRI-512 on Santa Rosa Island, Paleocoastal peoples used such tools to capture geese, cormorants, and other birds, along with marine mammals and finfish. At Cardwell Bluffs on San Miguel Island, Paleocoastal peoples collected local chert cobbles, worked them into bifaces and projectile points, and discarded thousands of marine shells. With bifacial technologies similar to those seen in Western Pluvial Lakes Tradition assemblages of western North America, the sites provide evidence for seafaring and island colonization by Paleoindians with a diversified maritime economy. PMID:21385713
Erlandson, Jon M; Rick, Torben C; Braje, Todd J; Casperson, Molly; Culleton, Brendan; Fulfrost, Brian; Garcia, Tracy; Guthrie, Daniel A; Jew, Nicholas; Kennett, Douglas J; Moss, Madonna L; Reeder, Leslie; Skinner, Craig; Watts, Jack; Willis, Lauren
The tectonic evolution of the New Siberian Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The New Siberian Islands are located on the wide arctic shelf between the Laptev Sea in the west and the East-Siberian Sea in the east and represent the westernmost part of the Chuchotka-Alaska Terrane. Geologically, they are bounded by the Laptev Sea Rift in the west, the passive continental margin towards the Arctic Ocean in the north and the South Anyui Suture Zone in the south. Two scenarios are discussed: (1) the New Siberian Islands were situated at the North American margin before the start of the break-up of Laurasia in Jurassic times, and (2) the New Siberian Islands are part of the Siberian platform since at least Palaeozoic times. Compared with the structural evolution of Severnaya Semlya, Franz Joseph Land and Svalbard, the sedimentary succession of the New Siberian Islands is only very little affected by tectonicdeformation. There is no evidence for the Caledonian and Ellesmerian orogeny on the New Siberian Islands. Although there are some Late Ordovician volcanics exposed on the DeLong Islands, the stratigraphic succession continues without important breaks from Cambrian to Middle Carboniferous, a time span which includes both orogenies. Furthermore, the Paleozoic evolution of the sedimentary basin on the New Siberian Islands has more affinities to the Siberian platform than to Severnaya Semlya, Franz Joseph Land and Svalbard. The only observed deformation on the New Siberian Islands is related to the plate tectonic re-organisation of the recent Arctic during the break-up of the Arctic Ocean in probably Early Tertiary times. The deformation on the Anyui Islands is characterized by mostly gentle, open synclines and anticlines with NW-SE trending axis. The deformation increases westwards towards the Laptev Sea, and is dominated by tight folding, thrusting and partly cleavage-development at the west coast of Kote?ny Island and on Be?kovski Island. The fold-vergencies and the cross-cutting relationships of bedding and cleavage indicate NE-directed transports. On Novaya Sibir' Island and on the DeLong Islands, there is no evidence for NE-SW shortening, only minor tilting of the sedimentary units was observed. Structural investigations that were carried out during the CASE 13 expedition in September 2011 indicate that the folding on the western New Siberian Islands is probably related to the onset of the development of the Laptev Sea Rift during the Palaeocene. It is characterized by a dextral tectonic regime before anomaly 24 (55 Ma ago) and before the start of the sea-floor spreading in the Eurasian Basin. The evolution of the New Siberian Islands is very different compared to Severnaya Semlya, Franz Joseph Land, Svalbard and North Greenland/Ellesmere Island but quite similar to the south Taimyr Peninsula and Khatanga/Anabar areas. Based on this the New Siberian Islands have never been close to Severnaya Semlya, Franz Joseph Land, Svalbard and North Greenland/Ellesmere Island since Palaeozoic times, but they were relatively close to the Siberian margin. At least this means that the westernmost part of the Chuchotka-Alaska Terrane was never situated adjacent to Svalbard and North Greenland/Ellesmere Island.
Piepjohn, K.; Brandes, C.; Gaedicke, C.; Franke, D.; Mrugalla, S.; Sobolev, N.; Tolmacheva, T.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
In this north to south view of the Island of Luzon, Philippines (13.0N, 120.0E), the prominent Cordillera Central mountain range where gold, copper and silver are mined. The several large rivers that drain this region normally carry a heavy silt load to the sea but the absence of sediment plumes in this view is evidence of hot dry weather and lack of recent rains. Manila, the capital city is just visible at the south end of the island.
The Long Island Solar Farm (LISF) is a remarkable success story, whereby very different interest groups found a way to capitalize on unusual circumstances to develop a mutually beneficial source of renewable energy. The uniqueness of the circumstances that were necessary to develop the Long Island Solar Farm make it very difficult to replicate. The project is, however, an unparalleled resource for solar energy research, which will greatly inform large-scale PV solar development in the East. Lastly, the LISF is a superb model for the process by which the project developed and the innovation and leadership shown by the different players.
Anders, R.
Geology Fieldnotes: Buck Island Reef National Monument, Virgin Islands
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This National Park Service (NPS) site covers the geology of Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Virgin Islands. It discusses coral reef formation and characteristics, as well as the history of Buck Island. There are links for maps, visitor information, and more details about this monument.
Contextual view of Treasure Island from Yerba Buena Island, showing ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
Contextual view of Treasure Island from Yerba Buena Island, showing Palace of Fine and Decorative Arts (Building 3), far right, Hall of Transportation (Building 2), middle, and The Administration Building (Building 1), far left, Port of Trade Winds is in foreground, camera facing northwest - Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
Hydrogeology study of Faial Island, the Azores
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Azores Archipelago is a Portuguese territory formed by nine islands divided into three groups (eastern, central and western) located in the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands stretch along a NW-SE direction near the so called Azores triple junction, where the North American Plate, the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate meet. Faial Island is the westernmost island of the central group, located between 38�30'56'' to 38�38'40'' N latitude and 28�35'55'' to 28�50'06'' W longitude. Faial is affected by important tectonic features with a WNW-ESE general trend. These features combined with faults with NNW-SSE to NW-SE and NE-SW directions may have conditioned the emplacement of the central volcano with caldera on the central part of the island. In what concerns the geomorphology, besides the central volcano with caldera, one should refer to the graben on the eastern sector, to the scoria cones alignment on the W and to the flattened sector SE of the central volcano. The drainage network is markedly controlled by tectonics and the drainage density is higher on the northern and southern flanks of the central volcano. The origin of the island started more than 800000 years ago with the emplacement of a composite volcano on the NE of the island (Ribeirinha Complex) consisting of a series of lava flows of basaltic to benmoreitic composition and undifferentiated pyroclasts. The complex (Cedros Complex) which followed is about 580000 years old and corresponds to the central volcano formed by suites of basaltic to trachitic lava flows, pyroclasts and domes. Approximately 50000 ago an important fissural activity took place on the eastern part of the island and originated Almoxarife Formation consisting of basaltic to benmoreitic lava flows, scoria cones and tuff cones. The Caldeira Formation (~16000 years) comprises benmoreitic to trachytic materials emitted from the central volcano, whose explosive phases generated ten members formed mainly by pumice fall deposits and pyroclastic flows. Capelo Complex, which is partially contemporary to the previous formation, comprises the western fissural volcanism and the historical eruptions of Cabe�o do Fogo and Capelinhos. Groundwater occurs in two main aquifer systems: (1) the basal aquifer that corresponds to the freshwater lens floating over underlying salt water and (2) perched water bodies. 15 drilled wells and 10 hand dug wells extract water from the basal aquifer and about 80 springs drain the volcanic edifices at different altitudes. In what concerns hydrodynamic characterisation, an estimate of the recession constant of the springs yielded values from 2x10-3 to 14.2x10-3. Calculated transmissivity values for the basal aquifer and a perched aquifer are within the range of 9.5x10-3 to 3x10-2 m2/s. Hydraulic diffusivity estimated from tidal effect measurements has a value of 2634 m2/d. Physical and chemical water analysis shows that they are cold, except for two of them. Four water samples show high CO2 contents. Water from springs and from wells not contaminated by salt water intrusion are bicarbonated and sodium rich in composition while water from contaminated wells has higher chloride and magnesium contents. Geochemical modelling indicates that the major mineralizing processes are silicate dissolution and salt water intrusion.
Coutinho, R. M.; Cruz, J. V.
Introduction to Sea Island Folklife.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Examines the economic activity, language, world view, kinship patterns, and religion of contemporary Sea Islanders in order to illustrate the Islands' cultural conservatism and, thus, their appropriateness for the study of Africanism in the United States. (GC)
Twining, Mary A.; Baird, Keith E.
Development of Miocene-Pliocene reef trend, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands
The Miocene-Pliocene reef trend on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, rims the present southern western coasts of the island and includes accompanying lagoonal and forereef facies. The reef trend was established on a foram-algal bank facies that represents basinal shallowing from the deep-water pelagic and hemipelagic facies of the Miocene Kingshill Limestone. Information on facies distribution and thickness is derived
I. Gill; D. E. Eby; D. K. Hubbard; S. H. Frost
Holocene lagoonal sedimentation at the latitudinal limits of reef growth, Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea
The southernmost limit to coral reef growth occurs on Lord Howe Island (33�30?S, 159�05?E) where a discontinuous fringing reef flanks the western side of the island. Coring and radiocarbon dating indicate that carbonate sediments were first deposited within the lagoon around 6500 radiocarbon years BP coincident with sea level reaching close to its modern level. High-energy conditions dominated the reef
D. M Kennedy; C. D Woodroffe
Observations of large infragravity wave runup at Banneg Island, France
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
On Banneg Island, France, very high water-level events (6.5 m above the astronomical tide) have been observed on the western cliff, exposed to large swells from the North Atlantic. The analysis of hydrodynamic measurements collected during the storm of 10 February 2009 shows unusually high (over 2 m) infragravity wave runup events. By comparing runup observations to measurements in approximately 7 m of water and numerical simulations with a simplified nonlinear model, two distinct infragravity bands may be identified: an 80 s infragravity wave, produced by nonlinear shoaling of the storm swell; and a 300 s wave, trapped on the intertidal platform of the island and generating intermittent, low-frequency inundation. Our analysis shows that the 300 s waves are a key component of the extreme water levels recorded on the island.
Sheremet, Alex; Staples, Tracy; Ardhuin, Fabrice; Suanez, Serge; Fichaut, Bernard
Pediatrics in the Marshall Islands
The delivery of health care to children living on isolated island communities presents unique challenges to health professionals. An evolved method of providing longitudinal services to infants and children residing on islands of the Marshall Island chain - a central Pacific portion of the Micronesian archipelago - is presented. The difficulties associated with provision of comprehensive health care in a vast ocean area are discussed.
Dungy, C.I.; Morgan, B.C.; Adams, W.H.
This heat island reduction strategies guidebook provides an overview of urban heat islands and steps communities can take to reduce them. In particular, this guidebook provides background basics and answers the questions: ?What is a heat island?? ?What are its impacts?" "What ar...
Adaptation and diversification on islands
Charles Darwin's travels on HMS Beagle taught him that islands are an important source of evidence for evolution. Because many islands are young and have relatively few species, evolutionary adaptation and species proliferation are obvious and easy to study. In addition, the geographical isolation of many islands has allowed evolution to take its own course, free of influence from other
Jonathan B. Losos; Robert E. Ricklefs
The response of a finite conductivity plasma to resonant magnetic perturbations is studied. The equations, which are derived for the time development of magnetic islands, help one interpret the singular currents which occur under the assumption of perfect plasma conductivity. The relation to the Rutherford regime of resistive instabilities is given.
Boozer, A.H.
Atsena Otie Key is one of thirteen islands on Florida's Gulf Coast that make up Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. Nearby waters support a multi-million dollar clam-farming industry. USGS documented pre-oil coastal conditions near the Refuge with baseline petrochemical measurements and aerial phot...
Building the intelligent island
The IT2000 project, Singapore's national information technology (IT) effort to create the intelligent island, is introduced. The motivation for Singapore's government and other parties in taking an active role in the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is outlined, and a strategic framework for coordinating the development of different aspects of the NII is presented. The architectural framework of
Juzar Motiwalla; Michael Yap; L. H. Ngoh
Siberian Expedition: Wrangel Island
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This web site chronicles an American Museum of Natural History research expedition in 1998 to Siberia's Wrangel Island to collect woolly mammoth bones and test the theory that lethal disease caused the mammal's extinction. Information on the team members and journal excerpts are included as well as information on the expedition's objectives and the important tools used by the team.
The entrance to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina. Training of Marine Corps recruits began here in 1915. The base has been training recruits for every major U.S. conflict of the 20th and 21st century.
Chet Smolski
An island groin flap was used for satisfactory reconstruction of defects in the anterior thigh, lower abdomen, or perineal regions in 9 patients. This flap has several advantages: simple operation, wide range of coverage, large rotation arc, direct closure of the donor site, and no sacrifice of muscle. Comparison with tensor fascia lata and other musculocutaneous flaps is made. PMID:4091467
Ohtsuka, H; Nakaoka, H; Saeki, N; Miki, Y
As a result of the accident in March 1979, the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor vessel sustained significant internal damage. Approximately half of the reactor core suffered some degree of melting, with 10 to 20 tons of molten core material relocating inside the vessel and flowing down onto the reactor vessel's lower head. The resulting damage and the
B. L. Lipford; N. M. Cole; T. J. Friderichs
This bibliography is divided into the following categories: Accident Overviews, Sequence and Causes; International Commentary and Reaction; Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Planning; Health Effects; Radioactive Releases and the Environment; Accident Investigations\\/Commissions; Nuclear Industry: Safety, Occupational, and Financial Issues; Media and Communications; Cleanup; Sociopolitical Response and Commentary; Restart; Legal Ramifications; Federal Documents: President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island;
M. S. Wood; S. M. Shultz
Island biogeography of Gal�pagos lava lizards (Tropiduridae: Microlophus): species diversity and colonization of the archipelago.
The "lava lizards" (Microlophus) are distributed throughout the Gal�pagos Archipelago, and consist of radiations derived from two independent colonizations. The "Eastern Radiation" includes M. bivittatus and M. habeli endemic to San Cristobal and Marchena Islands. The "Western Radiation" includes five to seven historically recognized species distributed across almost the entire Archipelago. We combine dense geographic sampling and multilocus sequence data to estimate a phylogenetic hypothesis for the Western Radiation, to delimit species boundaries in this radiation, and to estimate a time frame for colonization events. Our phylogenetic hypothesis rejects two earlier topologies for the Western Radiation and paraphyly of M. albemarlensis, while providing strong support for single colonizations on each island. The colonization history implied by our phylogeny is consistent with general expectations of an east-to-west route predicted by the putative age of island groups, and prevailing ocean currents in the Archipelago. Additionally, combined evidence suggests that M. indefatigabilis from Santa Fe should be recognized as a full species. Finally, molecular divergence estimates suggest that the two colonization events likely occurred on the oldest existing islands, and the Western Radiation represents a recent radiation that, in most cases, has produced species that are considerably younger than the islands they inhabit. PMID:19154379
Benavides, Edgar; Baum, Rebecca; Snell, Heidi M; Snell, Howard L; Sites, Jack W
Seaweed of the littoral zone at Cove Island in Long Island Sound: annual variation and impact of environmental factors
A site in the western part of Long Island Sound was monitored from January 2000 to May 2002. The littoral was divided into\\u000a five different zones from the supra-littoral fringe (A) to the infra-littoral fringe (E). The midshore was dominated by Fucus vesiculosus L. and the sublittoral fringe by Chondrus crispus Stackh. There was a significant change in community structure
A. Pedersen; G. Kraemer; C. Yarish
Western Hellenic subduction and Cephalonia Transform: local earthquakes and plate transport and strain
Focal parameters of local earthquakes in the region of the Ionian Islands of western Greece are constrained with a temporary dense array of three-component seismographs operated jointly offshore and onshore. Seismic deformation is documented to be confined to the east of the N20�E-striking steep continental slope west of Cephalonia island, the right-lateral Cephalonia Transform Fault, CTF, inferred from large earthquakes.
M. Sachpazi; A. Hirn; C. Cl�ment; F. Haslinger; M. Laigle; E. Kissling; P. Charvis; Y. Hello; J.-C. L�pine; M. Sapin; J. Ansorge
The last interglacial shoreline in northern Brittany, western France
Shorelines of the last interglacial highstand in western France are mainly represented by rocky abrasion platforms on which fossil gravel barriers are located. These coastal accumulations are scattered around islands (Ouessant, Belle-Ile) and on the mainland. They are buried by periglacial deposits, consisting of successions of sandy\\/gravelly units, then heads, loess and sands. OSL dating has allowed the first sandy\\/gravelly
Herv� Regnauld; Barbara Mauz; Marie-Th�r�se Morzadec-Kerfourn
Multidecadal shoreline changes of atoll islands in the Marshall Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Atoll islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of continued sea level rise. One of the most commonly predicted outcomes of continued sea level rise is widespread and chronic shoreline erosion. Despite the widespread implications of predicted erosion, the decadal scale changes of atoll island shorelines are poorly resolved. The Marshall Islands is one of only four countries where the majority of inhabited land is comprised of reef and atoll islands. Consisting of 29 atolls and 5 mid-ocean reef islands, the Marshall Islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. A detailed analysis of shoreline change on over 300 islands on 10 atolls was undertaken using historic aerial photos (1945-1978) and modern high resolution satellite imagery (2004-2012). Results highlight the complex and dynamic nature of atoll islands, with significant shifts in shoreline position observed over the period of analysis. Results suggest shoreline accretion is the dominant mode of change on the islands studied, often associated with a net increase in vegetated island area. However, considerable inter- and intra-atoll variability exists with regards to shoreline stability. Findings are discussed with respect to island morphodynamics and potential hazard mitigation and planning responses within atoll settings.
Ford, M.
Peritonitis - the Western experience
Peritonitis is a common surgical emergency. This manuscript will provide an overview of recent developments in the management of peritonitis in the Western world. Emphasis is placed on the emergence of new treatments and their impact of outcomes.
Malangoni, Mark A; Inui, Tazo
NSDL National Science Digital Library
"The Western Cave Conservancy is dedicated to securing permanent protection for threatened caves in the western United States." The website provides a great summary about the reasons for the need for cave protection. Visitors can learn about the Conservancy's current efforts to save Rippled Cave and Marble Mountain Quarry Cave. Users can view numerous images of these two caves as well as pictures of the Conservancy at work. The website provides downloads to the Conservancy's newsletters and minutes and meeting notes.
Rapid, quantitative Western blotting is a long-sought bioanalytical goal in the life sciences. To this end, we describe a Western blotting assay conducted in a single glass microchannel under purely electronic control. The ?Western blot is comprised of multiple steps: sample enrichment, protein sizing, protein immobilization (blotting), and in situ antibody probing. To validate the microfluidic assay, we apply the ?Western blot to analyses of human sera (HIV immunoreactivity) and cell lysate (NF?B). Analytical performance advances are achieved, including: short durations of 10�60 min, multiplexed analyte detection, mass sensitivity at the femtogram level, high-sensitivity 50-pM detection limits, and quantitation capability over a 3.6-log dynamic range. Performance gains are attributed to favorable transport and reaction conditions on the microscale. The multistep assay design relies on a photopatternable (blue light) and photoreactive (UV light) polyacrylamide gel. This hydrophilic polymer constitutes both a separation matrix for protein sizing and, after brief UV exposure, a protein immobilization scaffold for subsequent antibody probing of immobilized protein bands. We observe protein capture efficiencies exceeding 75% under sizing conditions. This compact microfluidic design supports demonstration of a 48-plex ?Western blot in a standard microscope slide form factor. Taken together, the ?Western blot establishes a foundation for rapid, targeted proteomics by merging exceptional specificity with the throughput advantages of multiplexing, as is relevant to a broad range of biological inquiry.
Hughes, Alex J.; Herr, Amy E.
Teaching Western Literature to Non-Western Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This paper explores ways in which Western literature can be taught to Non-western students. This paper demonstrates that non-western values do not have to be overcome but rather Western values can be highlighted and reinforced to deal with literary complexity. Values and ideals such as freedom, self-identity, religion, feminism, and equality are�
Pollock, Eric J.; Chun, Hye Won; Kim, Chung Ah
Genetic components in contemporary Faroe Islands Cattle as revealed by microsatellite analysis.
The gene pool of indigenous Faroe Islands Cattle is strongly affected by crossing with Norwegian Red. In this study, the genetic structure in 191 animals representing five North European cattle breeds (Faroe Islands, Icelandic, Blacksided Troender, Western Fjord and Norwegian Red) and the genetic admixture in the contemporary Faroe Islands Cattle at the population and individual level were evaluated using 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Only 6.7% of the total genetic variation could be attributed to the differences amongst the breeds. The factorial correspondence analysis based on all allele frequencies could hardly reveal a divergence between Faroe Islands Cattle and Norwegian Red. In addition, a Neighbor-Net tree constructed to examine the allocation of individuals of Faroe Islands Cattle and Norwegian Red provided a detailed interrelationship network for all the 72 animals. An estimation of the population admixture proportion showed a strong genetic contribution by Norwegian Red (47.3%) in the contemporary Faroe Islands Cattle. On the other hand, individual admixture analysis demonstrated that only seven of the individual Faroe Islands Cattle analysed, which also showed more traditional colour patterns, could be assigned to the Faroe Islands Cattle cluster, probably representing the breed's remaining purebred animals. Strategies for preserving the original native genes in Faroe Islands Cattle should be considered in order to prevent the breed from becoming extinct and to strengthen the breed's capability in future breeding programmes. PMID:16191039
Li, M H; Sternbauer, K; Haahr, P T; Kantanen, J
El Ni�o�driven landsliding and postgrazing vegetative recovery, Santa Cruz Island, California
El Ni�o�driven storms triggered widespread slope failures on Santa Cruz Island (SCI), California, during the 1997�1998 winter. After 120 years of intensive grazing, sheep had been removed from the western 90% of SCI in the 1980s. The contrast between sheep-free western SCI and heavily grazed eastern SCI created a natural laboratory for studying the effects of grazing and postgrazing recovery.
Nicholas Pinter; W. Dean Vestal
Modeling potential tsunami sources for deposits near Unalaska Island, Aleutian Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
In regions with little seismic data and short historical records of earthquakes, we can use preserved tsunami deposits and tsunami modeling to infer if, when and where tsunamigenic earthquakes have occurred. The Aleutian-Alaska subduction zone in the region offshore of Unalaska Island is one such region where the historical and paleo-seismicity is poorly understood. This section of the subduction zone is not thought to have ruptured historically in a large earthquake, leading some to designate the region as a seismic gap. By modeling various historical and synthetic earthquake sources, we investigate whether or not tsunamis that left deposits near Unalaska Island were generated by earthquakes rupturing through Unalaska Gap. Preliminary field investigations near the eastern end of Unalaska Island have identified paleotsunami deposits well above sea level, suggesting that multiple tsunamis in the last 5,000 years have flooded low-lying areas over 1 km inland. Other indicators of tsunami inundation, such as a breached cobble beach berm and driftwood logs stranded far inland, were tentatively attributed to the March 9, 1957 tsunami, which had reported runup of 13 to 22 meters on Umnak and Unimak Islands, to the west and east of Unalaska. In order to determine if tsunami inundation could have reached the runup markers observed on Unalaska, we modeled the 1957 tsunami using GeoCLAW, a numerical model that simulates tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. The published rupture orientation and slip distribution for the MW 8.6, 1957 earthquake (Johnson et al., 1994) was used as the tsunami source, which delineates a 1200 km long rupture zone along the Aleutian trench from Delarof Island to Unimak Island. Model results indicate that runup and inundation from this particular source are too low to account for the runup markers observed in the field, because slip is concentrated in the western half of the rupture zone, far from Unalaska. To ascertain if any realistic, earthquake-generated tsunami could account for the observed runup, we modeled tsunami inundation from synthetic MW 9.2 earthquakes rupturing along the trench between Atka and Unimak Islands, which indicate that the deposit runup observed on Unalaska is possible from a source of this size and orientation. Further modeling efforts will examine the April 1, 1946 Aleutian tsunami, as well as other synthetic tsunamigenic earthquake sources of varying size and location, which may provide insight into the rupture history of the Aleutian-Alaska subduction zone, especially in combination with more data from paleotsunami deposits. Johnson, Jean M., Tanioka, Yuichiro, Ruff, Larry J., Satake, Kenji, Kanamori, Hiroo, Sykes, Lynn R. "The 1957 great Aleutian earthquake." Pure and Applied Geophysics 142.1 (1994): 3-28.
La Selle, S.; Gelfenbaum, G. R.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The objective of this inquiry simulation is to investigate the issues concerning the fate of the Shell Island Resort, which is in danger of being destroyed by a migrating inlet, and then debate the future of this and other oceanfront structures threatened by coastal erosion. As students engage in their investigation, they are asked to identify the social, political, and scientific issues with which different stakeholders must deal. They will place themselves into the role of one of the stakeholders. The site lists the stakeholders and provides several sources of information for each. After reviewing the resources, students will prepare a statement to decide what should be the next course of action regarding the Shell Island Resort. Students then will present statements in a debate to decide the future of the resort.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This animation is a sequence showing the formation of the Pine Island iceberg and the glacial seaward flow upstream from the crack. It is a series of MISR images from the Terra satellite on top of the continental Radarsat view of Antarctica. The Pine Island Glacier is the largest discharger of ice in Antarctica and the continents fastest moving glacier. Even so, when a large crack formed across the glacier in mid 2000, it was surprising how fast the crack expanded, 15 meters per day, and how soon the resulting iceberg broke off, mid-November, 2001. This iceberg, called B-21, is 42 kilometers by 17 kilometers and contains seven years of glacier outflow released to the sea in a single event.
Perkins, Lori; Bindschadler, Bob; Diner, Dave
Charge Islands Through Tunneling
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
It has been recently reported that the electrical charge in a semiconductive carbon nanotube is not evenly distributed, but rather it is divided into charge "islands." This paper links the aforementioned phenomenon to tunneling and provides further insight into the higher rate of tunneling processes, which makes tunneling devices attractive. This paper also provides a basis for calculating the charge profile over the length of the tube so that nanoscale devices' conductive properties may be fully exploited.
Robinson, Daryl C.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
The effects of Tropical Storm Thelma in November 1991, three weeks prior to the taking of this photo can still be seen on Leyte, (10.5N, 125.0E). Flash floods and mud slides triggered by the heavy rainfall and aggravated by logging operations on the mountain slopes, added to the general destruction caused by the storm. Fresh water runoff (lens) into the ocean are still evident as numerous bright semi circles around the island perimeter.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Dauphin Island Sea Lab is Alabama's marine education and research center. Lab also provides a public aquarium that focuses solely on the native eco-systems of the Mobile Bay estuary. Site provides information on graduate programs, undergraduate opportunities, faculty, facilities, and news and events. Explore the Education and Aquarium sections for teacher resources and information on workshops, student summer camps, and academic-year programs.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Running vertically between Alaska on the right and Russia on the left, the Bering Strait is mostly free of ice in this true-color MODIS image acquired from data captured on May 31, 2001. To the lower right of the image, a phytoplankton bloom appears to be occurring at the mouth of Norton Sound, and is coloring the darker water a bright bluish green. At the bottom center of the image is snow-covered St. Lawrence Island.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
In this interactive application students playing at the easiest level count the number of each type of animal at the zoo on an island and choose the correct number to complete the list. The middle level has the student clicking on the number of each animal as shown in the bar graph. The hardest level requires students to interpret the data displayed in the bar graph. A worksheet is included in PDF format to be used for student work.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Landsat satellite images of Southern Vancouver Island are among the collection of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing's Images of Canada series (reviewed in the June 7, 2000 Scout Report for Science and Engineering). Below the full-color .jpeg images are tables documenting the satellites and sensors used, date of acquisition, image resolution, area (km), and links to a reference map. Educational, hyperlinked text about the featured region and close-ups of important topographic features accompany the images.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
While many visitors to San Francisco may be familiar with Alcatraz Island, they may be less familiar with the story of Angel Island, which is also located nearby. From 1910 to 1940, the island served as immigration station for newly arrived Asian American immigrants to the United States. While here, these people began to bond over their shared experiences, and also started to learn about the difficult time that they would face in this new land. This multimedia website pays tribute to their experiences through offering compelling information about this place through audio narration and music. As the title of the site suggests, visitors can read some of the poetry the immigrants carved into the barracks where they lived when they were being processed upon arrival. The website accurately suggests that ��there is no direct connection between them except for the languages, the time period, and place.� Of course, visitors may wish to continue their visit to the site, by taking the online tour of the facility, which includes the hospital building, the pier, and the barracks.
August 2008 eruption of Kasatochi volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska-resetting an Island Landscape
Kasatochi Island, the subaerial portion of a small volcano in the western Aleutian volcanic arc, erupted on 7-8 August 2008. Pyroclastic flows and surges swept the island repeatedly and buried most of it and the near-shore zone in decimeters to tens of meters of deposits. Several key seabird rookeries in taluses were rendered useless. The eruption lasted for about 24 hours and included two initial explosive pulses and pauses over a 6-hr period that produced ash-poor eruption clouds, a 10-hr period of continuous ash-rich emissions initiated by an explosive pulse and punctuated by two others, and a final 8-hr period of waning ash emissions. The deposits of the eruption include a basal muddy tephra that probably reflects initial eruptions through the shallow crater lake, a sequence of pumiceous and lithic-rich pyroclastic deposits produced by flow, surge, and fall processes during a period of energetic explosive eruption, and a fine-grained upper mantle of pyroclastic-fall and -surge deposits that probably reflects the waning eruptive stage as lake and ground water again gained access to the erupting magma. An eruption with similar impact on the island's environment had not occurred for at least several centuries. Since the 2008 eruption, the volcano has remained quiet other than emission of volcanic gases. Erosion and deposition are rapidly altering slopes and beaches. ?? 2010 Regents of the University of Colorado.
Scott, W. E.; Nye, C. J.; Waythomas, C. F.; Neal, C. A.
InSAR observation of an arrested dike under Marchena volcano, Galapagos Islands: Implications for the magmatic systems of aging basaltic shield volcanoes
The Western Galapagos Islands are very active shield volcanoes with an average eruption rate of 3 eruptions during 10 years. The most active volcanoes are located on the islands of Isabela and Fernandina. Here we discuss interferometric data of Marchena volcano in the Northwestern part of the archipelago. Marchena erupted last in 1991. An 1992-2002 interferogram displays range decrease (uplift)
F. Amelung
Wind Forced Circulation in Long Island Sound
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Western Long Island Sound is connected to the New York Harbor and the Hudson River through the East River, a sea level canal. Though the time mean, cross-sectional average flow in the Sound is thought to be westward into the Harbor, there is near-surface layer which transports fresh water into the Sound. This buoyancy flux has a significant influence on the vertical stratification which inhibits vertical mixing and exacerbates the extent and duration of summertime hypoxia. Recent work has revealed interment periods of enhanced vertical mixing. Using measurements from an array of vertically profiling current meters and wind observations, we show how the local and remotely forced circulation modulates the vertical stratification leading and influences the rate of decline of dissolved oxygen in the near bottom waters.
O'Donnell, J.; Bohlen, W. F.; Houk, A. E.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
"Surface Science Western is an analytical laboratory specializing in the surface characterization and failure analysis of materials." Located at the University of Western Ontario, the laboratory illustrates its analyses of microelectronic devices and semiconductor materials; metal finishing, plating, and corrosion; and plastics and coatings. Students can learn about secondary ion mass spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and many other methods of surface characterization and failure analysis. Researchers can find abstracts for countless publications by the scientists at Surface Science Western and downloads of newsletters. The website features the information on the VESPERS Project (Very Sensitive Elemental and Structural Probe Employing Radiation from a Synchrotron), involving the development of a high energy x-ray beam line at the Canadian Light Source (CLS).
Frontal Ablation And Temporal Variations In Surface Velocity Of Livingston Island And King George Island Ice Caps, Antarctica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Frontal ablation (i.e. the sum of calving and submarine melting) from glaciers and ice caps covering the islands off the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula is poorly known. Here we approximate the frontal ablation by the ice discharge through pre-defined flux gates, for the ice caps of King George and Livingston islands, the two largest islands in the South Shetland Islands archipelago. Glacier ice thickness is derived using a model based on principles of glacier dynamics. The model relies on the glacier surface velocities and glacier surface geometry, and is calibrated against ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements of ice thickness where available. The glacier surface velocities are obtained from intensity offset tracking of ALOS PALSAR-1 imagery from multiple tracks for both islands ensuring complete coverage of the ice caps. A total of 61 SAR images acquired between 2008 and 2011 were analyzed, providing surface velocities of up to 250 m a-1. The total frontal ablation for King George Island is found to be 720�428 Mt a-1, while around 509�381 Mt a-1 for Livingston Island. King George and Livingston ice caps cover areas of 1127 km2 and 697 km2, respectively. Dividing the measured ice discharge by the entire ice cap area provides specific balances of 0.6�0.4 m water equivalent (w.e.) a-1 for King George and 0.7�0.5 m w.e. a-1 for Livingston ice caps. For the Livingston ice cap, we also find large changes in frontal ablation rate (of �237 Mt a-1) due to temporal variability in surface velocities. This highlights the importance of taking into account the seasonality in ice velocities when computing frontal ablation with a flux-gate approach.
Osmanoglu, B.; Navarro, F. J.; de Corcuera, M.; Braun, M.; Hock, R.
White-tailed deer ecology and management on Fire Island
Deer populations have grown dramatically on Fire Island National Seashore (FIlS) since 1983. Trend data reveal a dichotomy in deer dynamics. In the eastern half of the island, deer density appears to have stabilized between 25-35 deer/km2. In the western half of the island, deer densities are 3-4 times as high in residential communities. Concomitant with that increase has been a general decline in physical stature of some animals, visible impacts on island vegetation, especially in the Sunken Forest, and a perceived increase in the frequency of human and deer interactions. Intensive research on FIlS has shown that deer occupy relatively predictable home ranges throughout the year, but can and do move up and down the island. Impacts of deer on vegetation are most dramatic in the Sunken Forest. Most obvious are the effects of browsing on the herb layer of the Sunken Forest. The least obvious, but perhaps more significant impact is the stark lack of regeneration of canopy tree species since about 1970, which coincides with the initiation of the deer population irruption. A number of herbs and shrubs have been greatly reduced in the understory, and their propagules from the soil. Deer do not readily transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease to other organisms, but deer are important hosts for adult ticks which underscores their importance in the transmission pathway of the disease to humans. Deer on FIlS, while occasionally docile, are still wild animals and should be treated as such. Some animals are relatively unafraid of humans due to the absence of predation and a lack of harassment. This in turn has contributed to a longstanding tradition of feeding deer by many residents and visitors, particularly in western portions of the island. Feeding affects both the behavior and population dynamics of deer inhabiting Fire Island. Recent efforts to reduce deer feeding by visitors and residents have been very effective. Ongoing experiments with Porcine Zona Pellucida immunocontraception demonstrate some promise of this technology as a population management tool.. Success appears to be linked directly to factors affecting access to deer, which vary considerably among treatment locations. Continued high National Park Service visibility among communities in the form of interpretive programs, extension and outreach activities, and continued support of research and monitoring of deer and their effects on island biota are keys to successful resolution of persistent issues.
Underwood, H.B.
Biogeochemical dynamics of Flores Island aquatic systems, Azores
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The present work was developed during the 2009 Flores and Corvo expedition organized by the Department of Biology, University of the Azores. The main goal was to conduct a robust ecosystem analysis in which the microbial community composition assessment of the lakes water column and of the adjacent bottom sediments was integrated with the environmental characterization of specific Flores Island freshwater habitats. For this, three lake systems and three mineral springs were studied. Water and sediment samples were collected at each site. Additionally, microbial biofilm samples were also collected where detected and the community was studied using a culture independent integrated approach. The Azores archipelago is located within the North Atlantic, between the boundary of three tectonic plates (American, Eurasia, and African plates), and it is composed of nine volcanic islands spread along a general WNW-ESSE direction, between 37� to 40� N and 25� to 31� W. The islands correspond to the emerged portions of the Azores plateau defined by the 2000 m bathimetry line Flores and Corvo form the western islands group, with Flores being the western most island of the archipelago. These islands genesis would have started during the Miocenico Flores island subaereal phase is dated of 0.7 M BP and the island volcanic actividade is thought to stop around 3000 years A.C. All lakes included in the study are of volcanic origins and are subject to vulcanic contamination. Hydrogeochemical studies can be used as an insight to the volcanic systems since vulcanic gases condensation and/or thermal fluids mixing can occur at these sites. Most microbial community studies within azorean freshwater systems were restricted to phytoplanktonic community studies or were conducted at hydrothermal sites solely. This is the first work that integrates microbial community composition studies of the lakes water column (phytoplankton as well as bacterioplankton) and of the adjacent bottom sediments using a multidisciplinary approach in order to characterize the ecosystem dynamics. Additional sampling was conducted at short mineral springs streams that feed into the lake systems in study. These streams were sampled at sites that were oxygen depleted as well as CO2 enriched.
Aguiar, P.; Antunes, P.; Raposeiro, P.; Mestre, R.; Costa, A.; Cruz, V.
Western Aeronautical Test Range
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This viewgraph presentation reviews the work of the Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR). NASA's Western Aeronautical Test Range is a network of facilities used to support aeronautical research, science missions, exploration system concepts, and space operations. The WATR resides at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The WATR is a part of NASA's Corporate Management of Aeronautical Facilities and funded by the Strategic Capability Asset Program (SCAP). Maps show the general location of the WATR area that is used for aeronautical testing and evaluation. The products, services and facilities of WATR are discussed,
Sakahara, Robert D.
Dynamic properties of Sherman Island peat
The dynamic properties of peat have been identified as a major source of uncertainty in the evaluation of seismic hazards throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in northern California. This paper summarizes the results of a laboratory study of the dynamic properties of a layer of peaty organic soil underlying the south levee on Sherman Island near the western side of the delta. Conventional Shelby tube sampling procedures were able to obtain high-quality samples because of the compactness of this peat layer, located between depths of 9 and 16 m. The samples tested were very fibrous and had ash contents of 35--56%. Staged cyclic triaxial loading was used to measure the stress-strain behavior of several specimens under cyclic shear strains ranging from about 0.0005% to 10%. Other tests included piezo-ceramic bender element tests to measure the shear wave velocity of specimens within the triaxial device, and undrained monotonic triaxial compression and extension tests. The effects of loading frequency, cyclic degradation, consolidation stress history, and structural anisotropy are evaluated. The resulting modulus reduction and damping relationships for the Sherman Island peat are compared with published results for other peats, solid waste materials, and mineral soils.
Boulanger, R.W.; Arulnathan, R. [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Harder, L.F. Jr.; Torres, R.A.; Driller, M.W. [California Dept. of Water Resources, Sacramento, CA (United States)
77 FR 71531 - Special Local Regulation; Kelley's Island Swim, Lake Erie; Kelley's Island, Lakeside, OH
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Kelley's Island Swim, Lake Erie; Kelley's Island, Lakeside...movement in portions of Lake Erie during the annual Kelley's...Temporary Final Rule A. Regulatory History and Information On June 5...Kelley's Island Swim, Lake Erie; Kelley's Island,...
75 FR 61993 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...2120-AA66 Amendment of Class E Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA...description of the Class E airspace areas for Kwajalein Island, Bucholz AAF, Marshall Islands, RMI. The...
77 FR 34894 - Safety Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice...temporary safety zone on the navigable waters of Long Island Sound in the vicinity of Manursing Island, NY...
75 FR 28643 - Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuges, Lee and...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...FWS-R4-R-2010-N051; 40136-1265-0000-S3] Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuges...environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and...
77 FR 51473 - Safety Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Final...temporary safety zone on the navigable waters of Long Island Sound in the vicinity of Manursing Island, NY...
Island studies for Helias Configurations
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
In the framework of the NESCOIL code, a method analogous to the procedure of Cary and Hanson was developed to eliminate islands and more generally to control the size and phase of islands. The method was applied to Helias stellerator vacuum fields in order to determine configurations with a dense set of flux surfaces in the plasma region and an island chain at the boundary which may serve as a basis for a divertor concept.
Merkel, Peter
Paleozoic archipelagic tectonic evolution of Western Junggar, NW China: implications for continental growth of southern Altaids
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Western Junggar, NW China, a dominant site for continental growth in Southern Altaids, bridges the Circum-Balkhash and Junggar belts and exposes ophiolite, igneous rocks and strata from Cambrian to Carboniferous. Recent updated data on structure, geochronology, geochemisty and paleomagnetism, integrated with previous data, present a newly Paleozoic spatial and temporal framework of Western Junggar. In Cambrian, the Western Junggar begins to birth at the Tangbale area to south, where occurs Ordovician blueschist and top-to-south vergence structures, indicating north-dipping subduction. This event triggers intra-arc extension to generate Ordovician island arc in the Hongguleleng-Xiemisitai area to north and seamount in the Mayile area, middle of Western Junggar. Until Silurian, a southeastward subduction begins in the extended back-arc basin to west of Mayile, occurring blueschist at the Barleik trench and the Nalunsuo magmatic arc, at the rear of which generates Devonian back-arc basin around the Durbut area. Meanwhile, a Silurian Xiemisitai magmatic arc has been developed at the northern part of Western Junggar, along which a northward subduction has emplaced the Tarbahatai ophiolite and generates the Carboniferous Sawur magmatic arc. At the middle part of Western Junggar, the coeval adakite and sanukitic dykes, charnockite, multiple properties of ophiolite and plutons, SSZ-like andesite, dacite and rhyolite and regional structures suggest that there develop double-subduction systems with ridge-trench interaction in Carboniferous. These features suggest that the Western Junggar experiences rollback, intra-oceanic extension and subduction polarity reversal/flip in back-arc basin settings. Furthermore, positive ?Nd(t) values and no huge movements of blocks suggest that the Western Junggar is amalgamated by juvenile elements with different orientations. Therefore, we conclude that the Western Junggar enlarges from an island arc to Paleozoic tectonic regime with island arcs and subduction-accretion complexes via continuous accretion presented as episodic events and it significantly contributes to continental growth in southern Altaids.
Zhang, Jien; Xiao, Wenjiao; Han, Chunming; Ma, Chong; Song, Dongfang
Forest Age and Relative Abundance of Pileated Woodpeckers on Southeastern Vancouver Island1
We estimated relative abundance of the pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) at four sites in the Coastal Western Hemlock Biogeoclimatic zone, on southeastern Vancouver Island during 1996-1997. The number of pileated woodpecker calls was correlated with age and structure of forests. Pileated woodpeckers did not use intensively managed forests < 80 years old that had low densities of dead wood (large
Carol L. Hartwig; Donald S. Eastman; Alton S. Harestad
First breeding records of whooping swan and brambling in North America at Attu Island, Alaska
We document the first breeding records of Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) and Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) in Alaska and North America on Attu Island in the Western Aleutians in the spring of 1996. Five cygnets were seen with adults and the nest located, and a territorial pair of Bramblings was observed and a nest with eggs found.
Sykes, P.W., Jr.; Sonneborn, D.W.
Structure and development of detrital reef deposits in turbid nearshore environments, Inhaca Island, Mozambique
Coral communities are intermittently developed along the seaward margins of wide (up to 500 m) intertidal flats that fringe the western margins of Inhaca Island, southern Mozambique. The coral communities occur in an environment that can be considered as marginal for coral growth in the sense that they are subject to high turbidity levels (which results in rapid light attenuation)
Christopher T. Perry
77 FR 12243 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Pacific Islands Region Coral Reef Ecosystems...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Comment Request; Pacific Islands Region Coral Reef Ecosystems Permit Form AGENCY: National...using a vessel to fish for Western Pacific coral reef ecosystem management unit species...or retaining any Potentially Harvested Coral Reef Taxa in the coral reef ecosystem...
Late Pleistocene megafauna site at Black Creek Swamp, Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
The occurrence of fossil vertebrate remains at Black Creek Swamp at the western end of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, along with reports of �primitive� stone implements in the vicinity has, for more than seventy years, fuelled speculation that this site would reveal a definitive relationship between humans and megafauna. Radiocarbon dating in the 1970s and again in 2004 suggested accumulation
? 13 C stratigraphy of the Proterozoic Bylot Supergroup, Baffin Island, Canada: implications for regional lithostratigraphic correlations
The Bylot Supergroup, northern Baffin Island, contains >1500 m of platform, shelf, and slope carbonates deposited between ?1270 and ?723 Ma. Limited chronostratigraphic data have led to the broad correlation of the Bylot Supergroup with predominantly Neoproterozoic successions in northern and western Laurentia; yet, detailed correlation has been impossible given biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic limitations. Carbon-isotope chemostratigraphy represents a potential dataset
Linda C. Kah; Anne G. Sherman; Guy M. Narbonne; Andrew H. Knoll; Alan J. Kaufman
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
In December 2008, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in partnership with the Data Quality Campaign, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) hosted a meeting of the West's key leaders in building state-wide integrated longitudinal data systems. Such data systems are essential to developing a better�
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2009
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Maintains that regional geography is undergoing important changes in its method of study to achieve a greater degree of relevancy in the context of a global system. Presents Western Europe as a case study to reflect this new approach. Includes 11 maps illustrating 6 generalizations applied to regional patterns. (CFR)
Brunt, Barry M.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
This video is a composite of 5 full length features. Titles include: powering one corner of the world, new technologies and new solutions, a new horizon, wetlands, regained, and western world of water a new horizon is the great plains orientation tape. Ex...
Western Criminology Review (WCR)
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The Western Criminology Review, a peer reviewed free journal hosted by Sonoma State University, is now available. The inaugural issue focuses on the topic of restorative justice and victim-offender mediation. The WCR will be a forum for "the publication and discussion of theory, research, policy and practice in the rapidly changing and interdisciplinary fields of criminology and criminal justice."
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Arctic islands are characterized by beautiful mountains and glaciers, in which the wildlife lives in delicate balance with its environment. It is a fragile region with a long history of exploration and exploitation that is now experiencing rapid environmental change. All of these themes are explored in Islands of the Arctic, a richly illustrated volume with superb photographs from the Canadian Arctic archipelago, Greenland, Svalbard and the Russian Arctic. It begins with the various processes shaping the landscape: glaciers, rivers and coastal processes, the role of ice in the oceans and the weather and climate. Julian Dowdeswell and Michael Hambrey describe the flora and fauna in addition to the human influences on the environment, from the sustainable approach of the Inuit, to the devastating damage inflicted by hunters and issues arising from the presence of military security installations. Finally, they consider the future prospects of the Arctic islands Julian Dowdeswell is Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and Professor of Physical Geography at 0he University of Cambridge. He received the Polar Medal from Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to the study of glacier geophysics and the Gill Memorial Award from the Royal Geographical Society. He is chair of the Publications Committee of the International Glaciological Society and head of the Glaciers and Ice Sheets Division of the International Commission for Snow and Ice. Michael Hambrey is Director of the Centre for Glaciology at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. A past recipient of the Polar Medal, he was also given the Earth Science Editors' Outstanding Publication Award for Glaciers (Cambridge University Press). Hambrey is also the author of Glacial Environments (British Columbia, 1994).
Dowdeswell, Julian; Hambrey, Michael
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
On January 16, 2002, lava that had begun flowing on January 5 from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on the French island of Reunion abruptly decreased, marking the end of the volcano's most recent eruption. These false color MODIS images of Reunion, located off the southeastern coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, were captured on the last day of the eruption (top) and two days later (bottom). The volcano itself is located on the southeast side of the island and is dark brown compared to the surrounding green vegetation. Beneath clouds (light blue) and smoke, MODIS detected the hot lava pouring down the volcano's flanks into the Indian Ocean. The heat, detected by MODIS at 2.1 um, has been colored red in the January 16 image, and is absent from the lower image, taken two days later on January 18, suggesting the lava had cooled considerably even in that short time. Earthquake activity on the northeast flank continued even after the eruption had stopped, but by January 21 had dropped to a sufficiently low enough level that the 24-hour surveillance by the local observatory was suspended. Reunion is essentially all volcano, with the northwest portion of the island built on the remains of an extinct volcano, and the southeast half built on the basaltic shield of 8,630-foot Piton de la Fournaise. A basaltic shield volcano is one with a broad, gentle slope built by the eruption of fluid basalt lava. Basalt lava flows easily across the ground remaining hot and fluid for long distances, and so they often result in enormous, low-angle cones. The Piton de la Fournaise is one of Earth's most active volcanoes, erupting over 150 times in the last few hundred years, and it has been the subject of NASA research because of its likeness to the volcanoes of Mars. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
The phenomenon of urban heat island was investigated by the use of LANDSAT Thematic Mapper data sets collected over the metropolitan area of Washington DC (U.S.). By combining the retrieved spectral albedos and temperatures, urban modification on radiation budgets of five surface categories were analyzed. The surface radiation budget imagery of the area show that urban heating is attributable to a large heat flux from the rapidly heating surfaces of asphalt, bare soil and short grass. In summer, symptoms of diurnal heating begin to appear by mid morning and can be about 10 degrees warmer than nearby woodlands in summer.
Kim, Hongsuk H.
This bibliography is divided into the following categories: Accident Overviews, Sequence and Causes; International Commentary and Reaction; Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Planning; Health Effects; Radioactive Releases and the Environment; Accident Investigations/Commissions; Nuclear Industry: Safety, Occupational, and Financial Issues; Media and Communications; Cleanup; Sociopolitical Response and Commentary; Restart; Legal Ramifications; Federal Documents: President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island; Federal Documents: Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Federal Documents: United States Department of Energy; Federal Documents: Miscellaneous Reports; Pennsylvania State Documents; Federal and State Hearings; and Popular Literature.
Wood, M.S.; Shultz, S.M.
76 FR 16636 - Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and Caloosahatchee NWRs, Lee County, FL; Final...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...FWS-R4-R-2010-N240; 40136-1265-0000-S3] Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and...for the environmental assessment for Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay, and...notice, we finalize the CCP process for Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay,...
Southern elephant seals breeding at Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands
A population survey of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758) was conducted at Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, during the 2001 breeding season. Two breeding sites were identified, one of which had not been previously re? ported. The largest breeding site was located at Duthoit Point, with a total of 128 females, 111 pups and 7 weanlings distributed
Alejandro R. CARLINI; Sebasti�n POLJAK; Ricardo CASAUX; Gustavo Adolfo DANERI; Miguel GASCO
Geothermal exploration of Kos Island, Greece: Magnetotelluric and microseismicity studies
This paper reports the results of magnetotelluric (MT) and microseismicity studies, conducted as part of a multi-disciplinary project to explore the geothermal potential of the island of Kos, Greece. The MT survey, comprising 18 soundings, was carried out in the bandwidth 128 Hz-40 s, in order to determine the deep conductivity structure in the geothermally prospective western part of the island, Rigorous dimensionality analysis has indicated that the geoelectric structure could adequately be approximated with 1-D interpretation tools. Two significant and seemingly communicating conductive zones of potential geothermal interest were found within the first 2 km. The first is extensive and shallow, detected at depths of 400--600 m; the second is deeper (1,000--1,300 m), but of considerably smaller lateral dimensions. A very deep relative conductor (< 25 [Omega]m) was also detected at depths of 7--10 km, which is thought to comprise part of an old magma chamber with brine-saturated rocks. The microseismicity studies revealed the partial or total attenuation of shear waves in many microearthquake records. The analysis of these observations determined the vertical and lateral extent of that attenuation zone, the greatest part of which is located underneath the marine area between western Kos and Nissyros island to the south, extending approximately from near the surface to about 1.5 km depth. The nature of this zone is discussed in terms of fluid concentration due to the geothermal system of the area.
Lagios, E.; Tzanis, A.; Delibasis, N.; Drakopoulos, J. (Univ. of Athens (Greece). Dept. of Geophysics and Geothermics); Dawes, G.K.J. (Univ. of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics)
Fracture zones in the equatorial Atlantic and the breakup of western Pangea
The early breakup of western Pangea has been investigated by mapping the pattern of fracture zones and distribution of seismic reflectors within the sedimentary cover of the Atlantic between the Cape Verde Islands and the equator. Two distinct sets of transverse oceanic lineaments are present, separated by the Guinea Fracture Zone near lat 10°N. Lineaments to the north are associated
E. J. W. Jones
Preglacial and Glacial Loading of the Western Barents Sea Transform Margin
A distinctive feature of the western Barents Sea continental margin, between Norway and Svalbard, are the up to 6-km-thick Bear Island and Storfjorden fans. These fans have been deposited onto oceanic crust that developed in an Eocene segmented transform margin setting and later by slow, oblique seafloor spreading between Eurasia and Greenland. Approximately two thirds of this sedimentary load have
O. Engen; A. B. Watts; J. I. Faleide
Interannual Geostrophic Current Anomalies in the Near-Equatorial Western Pacific
A network of island tide gauges is used to estimate interannual geostrophic current anomalies (GCAs) in the western Pacific from 1975 to 1997. The focus of this study is the zonal component of the current averaged between 1608E and 1808 and 28 to 78 north and south of the equator in the mean flow regions associated with the North Equatorial
T. M. Shaun Johnston; Mark A. Merrifield
Aspects of Western Subanon Formal Speech. Publications in Linguistics. Publication Number 81.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This dissertation presents a study of patterns of speech in Western Subanon, as heard in areas of Mindanao, an island in the Philippines. An introductory section discusses relevant general issues in linguistic research and the present study. The relationships of language to linguistics and of language to society, the objectives of the study, the�
Hall, William C.
New evidence from the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago for the resubmergence of Bering Strait
Widespread molluscan samples were collected from raised marine sediments to date the last retreat of the NW Laurentide Ice Sheet from the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago. At the head of Mercy Bay, northern Banks Island, deglacial mud at the modern coast contains Hiatella arctica and Portlandia arctica bivalves, as well as Cyrtodaria kurriana, previously unreported for this area. Multiple H.
John H. England; Mark F. A. Furze
Spatial and temporal evolution of the subducting Pacific plate structure along the western Pacific margin
Tomographic images of the subducting Pacific plate beneath the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc illustrate a progression of geometries from shallow dipping to vertical from north to south along the arc. Recent advances in technology and inversion techniques have improved resolution of slab structure beneath the western Pacific island arcs, but reasons for the variation in geometry and morphology are still poorly understood.
M. S. Miller; B. L. N. Kennett; V. G. Toy
Spatial and temporal evolution of the subducting Pacific plate structure along the western Pacific margin
(1) Tomographic images of the subducting Pacific plate beneath the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc illustrate a progression of geometries from shallow dipping to vertical from north to south along the arc. Recent advances in technology and inversion techniques have improved resolution of slab structure beneath the western Pacific island arcs, but reasons for the variation in geometry and morphology are still poorly
M. S. Miller; B. L. N. Kennett; V. G. Toy
Status and Genetic Structure of Nesting Populations of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Western Pacific
A group of researchers, managers, and tribal leaders with extensive local knowledge from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua, Indonesia, provided new information on the status of leatherback nesting populations in the western Pacific Ocean. Twenty- eight nesting sites were identified, of which 21 were previously unknown or poorly described. Although data are still incomplete, we estimate a
Peter H. Dutton; Creusa Hitipeuw; Mohammad Zein; Scott R. Benson; George Petro; John Pita; Vagi Rei; Levi Ambio; Jacob Bakarbessy
Cenozoic tectonic history of the North America-Caribbean plate boundary zone in western Cuba
Structural studies of well-dated Jurassic to lower Miocene rocks in western Cuba constrain the sequence of structural events affecting this oblique collisional zone between the late Cretaceous island arc and the Jurassic-Cretaceous North America passive margin in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida. Results of detailed mapping and collection of fault slip data at 34 sites define
Mark B. Gordon; Paul Mann; D�maso C�ceres; Ra�l Flores
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Students will need to learn about urban heat islands before they will have all of the information necessary to complete this lab. Instructors may wish to accomplish this via lecture and/or assigned readings and discussion. You may wish to start with the following: Yow, D.M. 2007, "Urban Heat Islands: Observations, Impacts, and Adaptation," Geography Compass. Volume 2, October 2007, 1227-1251. Also, if your students have no prior experience with MS excel, guiding them through a quick tutorial is advisable. The first thing students will do in the exercise is report on some important causes of the UHI. Then, they will examine two real-world sites via photographs and Google Earth to discuss how each location's land use/land cover may affect local temperatures. Next, students will analyze data acquired at each site using MS excel. After that, students will be asked to think about potential impacts of the UHI. The exercise ends with a critical thinking exercise asking students to devise and evaluate strategies to communicate scientific knowledge to non-science professionals. Has minimal/no quantitative component Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields
Yow, Donald M.
Diabetes in Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
... in Asian and Pacific Islander Americans Diabetes in Asian and Pacific Islander Americans 4 Steps to Manage ... want to learn more about controlling the disease. Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Diabetes (from the Office ...
Isotopic fractionation of nitrogen and carbon in Paleoarchean cherts from Pilbara craton, Western Australia: Origin of 15N-depleted nitrogen
Nitrogen and carbon isotopic compositions, together with mineralogy and trace element geochemistry, were studied in a few kerogen-rich Paleoarchean cherts, a barite and a dolomitic stromatolite belonging to the eastern (Dixon Island Formation) and western (Dresser and Strelley Pool Chert Formations; North Pole Dome and Marble Bar) terranes of Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The aim of the study was to
Daniele L. Pinti; Ko Hashizume; Akiyo Sugihara; Marc Massault; Pascal Philippot
The Suckling Hills Fault, Kayak Island Zone, and accretion of the Yakutat microplate, Alaska
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Suckling Hills and Kayak Island are isolated mountain blocks located along strike from each other within the foreland of the St. Elias orogen in southern Alaska. These blocks preserve an erosional surface that was deformed by slip on northwest-dipping reverse faults in the Pleistocene. We suggest that the Suckling Hills Fault and Kayak Island Zone form a segmented fault network that links with the Bering Glacier structure to the north. This fault network separates the central Yakataga fold and thrust belt from complex, multiply deformed structures in the western syntaxis. Ongoing accretion of the Yakutat microplate to North America results in translation of structures of the fold and thrust belt into the western syntaxis. The composite Suckling Hills Fault, Kayak Island Zone, and Bering Glacier structure may have formed because the older structures of the fold and thrust belt were unfavorably oriented within the western syntaxis region. This pattern of deformation provides a template for understanding the complex deformation within the core of the western syntaxis and predicts refolding and straightening of the western syntaxis margin with continued accretion. This study provides an analog for structural overprinting and changing deformation patterns through time in orogenic corners.
Chapman, James B.; Worthington, Lindsay L.; Pavlis, Terry L.; Bruhn, Ronald L.; Gulick, Sean P.
Cactace� in the Galapagos Islands
IN my notice (NATURE, p. 623) of Dr. Baur's botanical collections from the Galapagos Islands, I intended to add a few words respecting the Cactace�, but forgot it at the last moment. This natural order of plants forms the most conspicuous feature in the vegetation of some of the islands, as may be seen in the excellent views illustrating the
W. Botting Hemsley
Inbreeding and Extinction: Island Populations
Island populations are more prone to extinction than mainland populations, with island endemic species having higher extinction rates than nonendemic species. Inbreeding depression is one possible expla- nation for this. Insular populations are expected to suffer increased inbreeding relative to mainland popula- tions due to bottlenecks at foundation and to lower subsequent population sizes. Inbreeding coefficients for 182 nonendemic and
Richard Frankham
Influence of inner-continental shelf geologic framework on the evolution and behavior of the barrier-island system between Fire Island Inlet and Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island, New York
High-resolution, sea-floor mapping techniques, including sidescan-sonar and subbottom profiling, were used to investigate how the geologic framework of the inner-continental shelf influenced the Holocene evolution and modern behavior of the Fire Island barrier-island system, Long Island, New York. The inner-continental shelf off Long Island is divided into two physiographic provinces by a broad outcrop of Cretaceous coastal-plain strata offshore of Watch Hill; this outcrop was part of a subaerial headland during the Holocene marine transgression. Erosion of the headland during transgression furnished sediment to the inner-continental shelf downdrift to the west. The sediment was, in turn, reworked by oceanographic processes into a series of shoreface-attached sand ridges. The oldest (~1200 yr BP) and most stable part of the barrier-island system is immediately landward of the outcropping coastal-plain strata and thickest sand ridges. East of Watch Hill, Pleistocene sediment either is exposed on the inner-continental shelf or is buried by a veneer of modern reworked sediment. Here the barrier-island system has migrated landward at a faster rate than the segment west of Watch Hill and has been breached by numerous historic inlets. Because the Pleistocene sedimentary deposit is generally of uniform thickness throughout the study area and unconformably overlies the Cretaceous coastal-plain strata, both the Holocene and historical evolution of the Fire Island barrier-island system are controlled by the physiography of this regional unconformity. In particular, the shoreface-connected sand ridges appear to be a significant source of sediment to the western portion of Fire Island. Previous attempts to develop a sediment budget for this coastal system have failed to explain volumetric discrepancies, primarily because poor assumptions were made about the nature of sediment transport in the system. A more realistic sediment budget must include a significantly larger spatial scale, including sediment input from the inner-continental shelf.
Schwab, W.C.; Thieler, E.R.; Allen, J.R.; Foster, D.S.; Swift, B.A.; Denny, J.F.
Geodetic Measurements From the Aleutians and Western Alaska: Examining Evidence for a Bering Block
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements are used to examine the hypothesis of a counter clockwise rotating Bering block. Originally proposed based on seismic data, the Bering block encompasses the Bering Sea, Western Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, with Eastern Russia defining its western boundary. Oblique convergence of 73 mm/yr between the subducting Pacific Plate and overriding North American Plate results in west-southwest to northwest displacements of 5 to 10mm/yr at benchmarks in the Andreanof Islands. This range of velocity results from differences in the coupling of the subduction zone. We have constructed a dislocation model that determines the spatial distribution and intensity of locked patches within the subduction zone in the Andreanof segment. The model reveals that when the interseismic strain is accounted for and removed from the measurements, the Andreanof Islands consistently show a southwestward velocity 5mm/yr. No structures have been identified to take up this southwestward motion immediately inboard of the arc. Thus, the long-term translation rate of the Andreanof Islands may represent the velocity of the Bering block. Similar analysis is applied to geodetic measurements from the Fox Islands in the eastern Aleutians to again determine the steady state translation rate relative to North America. Combined with recent measurements from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the Seward Peninsula, and the Pribilof Islands a quantitative estimate of the Euler pole location and velocity is made for the Bering block.
Cross, R. S.
Mittigating the effects of large subduction-zone earthquakes in Western Sumatra
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
No giant earthquakes have struck the outer-arc islands of western Sumatra since the sequence of 1797, 1833 and 1861. Paleoseismic studies of coral microatolls reveal that failure of the subduction interface occurs in clusters of such earthquakes about every 230 years. Thus, the next such sequence may well be no more than a few decades away. In the meantime, GPS measurements and paleogeodetic observations show that the islands continue to submerge, dragged down by the downgoing oceanic slab, in preparation for the next failures of the subduction interface. Uplift of the islands and seafloor one to two meters during large events leads to large tsunamis and substantial changes in the coastal environments of the islands, including the seaward retreat of fringing reef, beach and mangrove environments. Having spent a decade characterizing the seismic history of western coastal Sumatra, we are now beginning to work with the inhabitants of the islands and the mainland coast to mitigate the associated hazards. Thus far, we have begun to creat and distribute posters and brochures aimed at educating the islanders about their natural tectonic environment and guiding them in preparing for future large earthquakes and tsunamis. We are also installing a continuous GPS network, in order to monitor ongoing strain accumulation and possible transients.
Sieh, K.; Stebbins, C.; Natawidjaja, D. H.; Suwargadi, B. W.
Slowness tomography of Pdif beneath Western Africa
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Major earthquakes (M> 6.4) in South America (near Coast of Central Chile) and South Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea and Sandwich Islands) routinely display conspicuous Pdif phases as recorded by the Central European and Western Mediterranean seismological networks. The relative arrival times of Pdif at the stations of a certain network are obtained by correlating the individual traces with a template obtained using the corresponding network beam. The slowness values are derived by linear regression together with the 95% errors. A check for the presence of outliers is done using Chauvenet's criterion. Ellipticity corrections are evaluated with the standard tables. Corrections for the diffracted ray path are applied using a global 3-D model and a slightly modified version of the TauP Toolkit. The same procedure is applied to the synthetic seismograms to provide the reference slowness. Using a slowness tomographic approach, the (relative) slowness perturbation values are directly inverted to the velocity perturbations assigned to a set of trapezoidal cells located on the core-mantle boundary (CMB). The above 95% errors are used to weight the inversion, which is solved by a Monte Carlo method. Finally, we compare our results to the P-velocity perturbations from several global 3-D models in the same CMB area beneath Western Africa.
Ivan, Marian; Ghica, Daniela Veronica; Gosar, Andrej; Hatzidimitriou, Panagiotis; Hofstetter, Rami; Polat, Gulten; Wang, Rongjiang
Okhotskia: International Sakhalin Island Project
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This website presents the International Sakhalin Island Project (ISIP), "an international collaboration of American, Russian, and Japanese scientists to survey the plants, lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, insects, spiders, freshwater and terrestrial mollusks, freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles of Sakhalin Island." The website was developed primarily "to provide easy access to project results and databases, both for participants and other interested scientists." Site visitors can link to the project proposal- submitted by the University of Washington, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hokkaido University- for descriptions of project objectives, anticipated future research, references cited, and more. Links are also provided to project Results including ISIP databases, publications, and NSF reports for ISIP and the Phase One Okhotskia project: the International Kuril Island Project (IKIP). The Sakhalin Island Info page is currently under construction but will eventually feature sections on Lichens, Macrofungi, Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), and many more. The website also offers a small photo gallery with beautiful photographs from Sakhalin Island.
Okhotskia: International Sakhalin Island Project
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This website presents the International Sakhalin Island Project (ISIP), "an international collaboration of American, Russian, and Japanese scientists to survey the plants, lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, insects, spiders, freshwater and terrestrial mollusks, freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles of Sakhalin Island." The website was developed primarily "to provide easy access to project results and databases, both for participants and other interested scientists." Site visitors can link to the project proposal submitted by the University of Washington, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hokkaido University for descriptions of project objectives, anticipated future research, references cited, and more. Links are also provided to project Results including ISIP databases, publications, and NSF reports for ISIP and the Phase One Okhotskia project: the International Kuril Island Project (IKIP). The Sakhalin Island Info page is currently under construction but will ev entually feature sections on Lichens, Macrofungi, Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), and many more. The website also offers a small photo gallery with beautiful photographs from Sakhalin Island.
Western Waters Digital Library
NSDL National Science Digital Library
From the earliest European explorers to the time of modern engineers and hydrologists, the vast reserves of water within the Western United States have been the cause of both great excitement and concern. This compelling digital library brings together a wide range of documents (including legal transcripts, water project records, and personal papers) that document the Columbia, Colorado, Platte, and Rio Grande river basins. The project was completed with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and twelve university libraries in eight western states. On the homepage, visitors can perform advanced searches, or just elect to browse through the available materials. Browsing is a good option actually, as all of the materials are contained with one of four sections: subject, people, places, and signature collections. The signature collections are a real find, and visitors can look over troves that include "Native American Water Rights in Arizona", "The Platte River Basin in Nebraska", and "Las Vegas: Water in the West".
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Extremely high sediment loads are delivered to the Arabian Sea along the coast of Pakistan (upper left) and western India. In the case of the Indus River (far upper left) this sedimentation, containing large quantities of desert sand, combines with wave action to create a large sand-bar like delta. In the arid environment, the delta lacks much vegetation, but contains numerous mangrove-lined channels. This true-color image from May 2001 shows the transition from India's arid northwest to the wetter regions farther south along the coast. The increase in vegetation along the coast is brought about by the moisture trapping effect of the Western Ghats Mountain Range that runs north-south along the coast. Heavy sediment is visible in the Gulf of Kachchh (north) and the Gulf of Khambhat(south), which surround the Gujarat Peninsula.
We report measurements of rates of sap flow in dominant trees, changes in soil moisture, and evaporation from coarse woody debris in an old- growth Douglas-fir-western hemlock ecosystem at Wind River, Washington, USA, during dry periods in summer. The measurements are compared with eddy-covariance measurements of water-vapor fluxes above the forest (Ee) and at the forest floor (Eu) to examine
Michael H. Unsworth; Kyaw Tha
Paleomagnetic determination of paleolatitude and rotation of Bering Island (Komandorsky Islands) Russia: comparison with rotations in the Aleutian Islands and Kamchatka
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
A paleomagnetic study was carried out on Paleogene sedimentary rocks from Bering Island, Komandorsky islands, located at the far western end of the Aleutian Island Arc. The age of these sediments has been debated at length, but the combination of magnetostratigraphy with the fossil record indicates that the base of the section is of early Eocene (approximately 55 Ma) and the top latest Eocene age. Paleomagnetic data were obtained from 260 samples from 60 individual bedding units. The combined data show a clockwise rotation R=26.3��8.5�, F=8.1��2.5� with respect to the North American Plate and R=38��8.8�, F=8.7��2.7� with respect to the Eurasian Plate. They also show a shallowing of the inclination which yields a paleolatitude of 53�, 12� south of its expected latitude. The shallowing may have a component due to compaction, but the wide variation in sampled lithologies, combined with internal consistency of the data set, would argue against the shallowing being significant. To compare these data with other Aleutian Arc data we compiled a comprehensive survey of all available data sets. Out of these we selected four islands for which the data passed basic reliability criteria, namely Umnak, Amlia, Amchitka and Medny islands. All four showed significant clockwise rotation with respect to both North American and Eurasian polar wander paths. Several mechanisms can generate the observed rotation, ranging from block rotation driven by oblique relative motion of the Pacific plate, through lateral transport along the curve of the arc, to whole-arc rotation about its eastern end. The distribution and age spread of the rotation data are insufficient to discriminate between mechanisms, but it seems likely that different mechanism may have operated at different times and in different locations.
Minyuk, P. S.; Stone, D. B.
Asynchronous extinction of late Quaternary sloths on continents and islands
Whatever the cause, it is extraordinary that dozens of genera of large mammals became extinct during the late Quaternary throughout the Western Hemisphere, including 90% of the genera of the xenarthran suborder Phyllophaga (sloths). Radiocarbon dates directly on dung, bones, or other tissue of extinct sloths place their �last appearance� datum at ?11,000 radiocarbon years before present (yr BP) or slightly less in North America, ?10,500 yr BP in South America, and ?4,400 yr BP on West Indian islands. This asynchronous situation is not compatible with glacial�interglacial climate change forcing these extinctions, especially given the great elevational, latitudinal, and longitudinal variation of the sloth-bearing continental sites. Instead, the chronology of last appearance of extinct sloths, whether on continents or islands, more closely tracks the first arrival of people.
Steadman, David W.; Martin, Paul S.; MacPhee, Ross D. E.; Jull, A. J. T.; McDonald, H. Gregory; Woods, Charles A.; Iturralde-Vinent, Manuel; Hodgins, Gregory W. L.
Evolution of Galapagos Island Lava Lizards (Iguania: Tropiduridae: Microlophus).
Nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial genes (ND1, ND2, COI, and tRNAs) were determined for 38 samples representing 15 taxa of tropidurid lizards from the Galapagos Islands and mainland South America. Phylogenetically informative characters (759 of 1,956) were analyzed under Bayesian, maximum likelihood, and parsimony frameworks. This study supports the hypothesis that tropidurid lizards dispersed to the Galapagos on at least two separate occasions. One dispersal event involved an eastern Galapagos clade (Microlophus habelii and M. bivittatus, on Marchena and San Cristobal islands, respectively) the sister taxon of which is M. occipitalis from coastal Ecuador and Peru; the closest mainland relative of the western Galapagos clade was not unambiguously identified. The wide-ranging M. albemarlensis is revealed to be a complex of weakly divergent lineages that is paraphyletic with respect to the insular species M. duncanensis, M. grayii, and M. pacificus. PMID:15288053
Kizirian, David; Trager, Adrienne; Donnelly, Maureen A; Wright, John W
Pedicled tongue flaps have proved to be an effective method of repairing defects due to tissue loss in the oral cavity. Their central position, mobility, and excellent blood supply make their use feasible in a variety of sites. This paper describes the use and applications of central island tongue flaps to reconstruct defects of anterior floor of the mouth. This procedure was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical University Hanover, introducing an improved surgical method and presenting the actual operation performed in our department. This method is considered superior for resurfacing the anterior floor of mouth defects because it is easy to perform and results in recovery of function and cosmetics. PMID:9927907
Shibahara, T; Noma, H; Fujikawa, M; Miyao, T; Ishikawa, M; Takasaki, Y
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Annotated Version This mosaic was made from frames acquired by the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during Spirit's 1,031 Martian day, or sol, on the red planet (Nov. 27, 2006). It shows a rock target called 'King George Island' after the target was brushed by the rover's rock abrasion tool. The mosaic covers approximately 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across and shows the granular nature of the rock exposure. The grains are typically about 1 millimeter (.04 inches) wide. Data from the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer provides evidence that they have an enhanced amount of the mineral hematite relative to surrounding soils.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)10 April 2004 Marte Valles is an outflow channel system that straddles 180oW longitude between the region south of Cerberus and far northwestern Amazonis. The floor of the Marte valleys have enigmatic platy flow features that some argue are formed by lava, others suggest they are remnants of mud flows. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an island created in the middle of the main Marte Valles channel as fluid---whether lava or mud---flowed past two older meteor impact craters. The craters are located near 21.5oN, 175.3oW. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
The Sovereign Democratic Republic of the Fiji Islands, commonly known as Fiji, is an independent nation consisting of some 332 islands surrounding the Koro Sea in the South Pacific Ocean. This topographic image shows Viti Levu, the largest island in the group. With an area of 10,429 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles), it comprises more than half the area of the Fiji Islands. Suva, the capital city, lies on the southeast shore. The Nakauvadra, the rugged mountain range running from north to south, has several peaks rising above 900 meters (about 3000 feet). Mount Tomanivi, in the upper center, is the highest peak at 1324 meters (4341 feet). The distinct circular feature on the north shore is the Tavua Caldera, the remnant of a large shield volcano that was active about 4 million years ago. Gold has been mined on the margin of the caldera since the 1930s. The Nadrau plateau is the low relief highland in the center of the mountain range. The coastal plains in the west, northwest and southeast account for only 15 percent of Viti Levu's area but are the main centers of agriculture and settlement.This shaded relief anaglyph image was generated using preliminary topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. A computer-generated artificial light source illuminates the elevation data from the top (north) to produce a pattern of light and shadows. Slopes facing the light appear bright, while those facing away are shaded. The stereoscopic effect was created by first draping the shaded relief image back over the topographic data and then generating two differing perspectives, one for each eye. When viewed through special glasses, the result is a vertically exaggerated view of the Earth's surface in its full three dimensions. Anaglyph glasses cover the left eye with a red filter and cover the right eye with a blue filter.This image was acquired by SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (about 200 feet) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC.Size: 192 km (119 miles) x 142 km (88 miles) Location: 17.8 deg. South lat., 178.0 deg. East lon. Orientation: North at top Date Acquired: February 19, 2000 Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA
The comparative hydrochemistry of two granitic island aquifers: the Isles of Scilly, UK and the Hvaler Islands, Norway.
A comparative study is presented of granitic groundwaters from the Hvaler Islands, south-eastern Norway (11 samples) and the Scilly Islands, south-western England (10 samples). The islands display similar bulk lithologies (peraluminous S-type, U/Th-enriched granites) and land use, but differing glaciation and hence weathering histories. The groundwater of both groups bears a strong marine signature, although the Hvaler Islands display less marine influence and a greater degree of water-rock interaction. The most interesting hydrochemical dissimilarities concern the health related trace elements Rn, U and F. These display median (and maximum) values of 2510 Bq/l (8520 Bq/l), 15 micrograms/l (170 micrograms/l) and 3.3 mg/l (4.4 mg/l), respectively, for Hvaler, compared with 140 Bq/l (200 Bq/l), 1.5 micrograms/l (4 micrograms/l) and 0.1 mg/l (0.27 mg/l) for Scilly. Commonly employed drinking water limits for these parameters are 500 Bq/l (Norwegian action level), 20 micrograms/l (Canadian limit) and 1.5 mg/l. The differences in groundwater contents of these elements between Hvaler and Scilly may be ascribed to: (i) differing trace element compositions of the granites and fracture mineralisations; (ii) radically differing recent weathering histories; and (iii) hydrodynamic factors. PMID:9514038
Banks, D; Reimann, C; Skarphagen, H
75 FR 63500 - Virgin Islands; Major Disaster and Related Determinations
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Islands have been designated as adversely affected by this major disaster: The islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, including Water Island for Public Assistance. All islands within the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands are...
75 FR 71453 - Virgin Islands; Major Disaster and Related Determinations
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Islands have been designated as adversely affected by this major disaster: The islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, including Water Island for Public Assistance. All islands in the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands are...
Testing hierarchical levels of population sub-structuring: the Azores islands (Portugal) as a case study.
The Azores archipelago (Portugal) is formed by nine islands whose relative positions define them as three geographical groups: Eastern (S. Miguel and Sta. Maria), Central (Terceira, Faial, Pico, Graciosa and S. Jorge) and Western (Flores and Corvo). Using the father's surname of 187,398 individuals living on the nine Azorean Islands, a population analysis based on inter-island relationship and hierarchical organization was conducted. The relation between islands was investigated using summary statistics, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) as well as graphical methods. When the values of heteronymy were contrasted with values of gene diversity based on haplogroup frequencies of the Y chromosome, it was possible to verify that Graciosa and Sta. Maria appeared to have the least diverse populations, and that Flores, despite its smaller population size and geographical isolation, has considerably higher levels of diversity. As for inter-island relationships, the difficulty of directly interpreting summary statistics values was evidenced. The AMOVA revealed that only 0.77% of the variation in surnames can be attributed to among-island variation, a value that, although small, can be considered significant. Application of Mal�cot's model revealed that geographic distance has an important impact in the genetic structure of the archipelago. Monmonier's maximum-difference algorithm demonstrated that the most isolated island of the archipelago appears to be Graciosa, followed by the islands of the Western group and by Sta. Maria. After integrating values of summary statistics with results from AMOVA and graphical methods, a more accurate genetic profile of the Azores, highly supported by genetic data, has emerged. PMID:17956651
Santos, Cristina; Abade, Augusto; Lima, Manuela
Global Collembola on Deception Island
Three new non-indigenous springtail species are recorded in recent collections made on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctic: Deuteraphorura (Deuteraphorura) cebennaria (Gisin) (Collembola: Onychiuridae), Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek (Tullbergiidae), and Proisotoma minuta Axelson (Isotomidae). One of these, D. (D.) cebennaria, is described. Additionally, two new indigenous species, Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek and Proisotoma minuta Axelson, are also recorded. The total number of Collembola species now known from the island is 14, comprised of eight native species and six non-indigenous species. This number of non-indigenous species recorded at Deception Island compares with only a single non-indigenous springtail recorded at any other maritime or continental Antarctic location. The reason underlying this high level of occurrence of non-indigenous species on Deception Island is likely to be a combination of the island's high level of human visitation and the presence of relatively benign terrestrial habitats associated with areas of geothermal activity. Two of the new records represent species recently assessed as being of the highest risk to become invaders in the less extreme environments of the subantarctic, thereby emphasising the importance and urgency of adopting and applying effective biosecurity measures to protect the unique and vulnerable ecosystems of this region. Also documented are the impacts on the soil fauna of the island from human trampling, which drastically reduced densities of both native and non-indigenous species to 1% of the abundance typical of non-trampled sites.
Greenslade, Penelope; Potapov, Mikhail; Russell, David; Convey, Peter
PIPS: Pathogenicity Island Prediction Software
The adaptability of pathogenic bacteria to hosts is influenced by the genomic plasticity of the bacteria, which can be increased by such mechanisms as horizontal gene transfer. Pathogenicity islands play a major role in this type of gene transfer because they are large, horizontally acquired regions that harbor clusters of virulence genes that mediate the adhesion, colonization, invasion, immune system evasion, and toxigenic properties of the acceptor organism. Currently, pathogenicity islands are mainly identified in silico based on various characteristic features: (1) deviations in codon usage, G+C content or dinucleotide frequency and (2) insertion sequences and/or tRNA genetic flanking regions together with transposase coding genes. Several computational techniques for identifying pathogenicity islands exist. However, most of these techniques are only directed at the detection of horizontally transferred genes and/or the absence of certain genomic regions of the pathogenic bacterium in closely related non-pathogenic species. Here, we present a novel software suite designed for the prediction of pathogenicity islands (pathogenicity island prediction software, or PIPS). In contrast to other existing tools, our approach is capable of utilizing multiple features for pathogenicity island detection in an integrative manner. We show that PIPS provides better accuracy than other available software packages. As an example, we used PIPS to study the veterinary pathogen Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, in which we identified seven putative pathogenicity islands.
Soares, Siomar C.; Abreu, Vinicius A. C.; Ramos, Rommel T. J.; Cerdeira, Louise; Silva, Artur; Baumbach, Jan; Trost, Eva; Tauch, Andreas; Hirata, Raphael; Mattos-Guaraldi, Ana L.; Miyoshi, Anderson; Azevedo, Vasco
Global Collembola on Deception Island.
Three new non-indigenous springtail species are recorded in recent collections made on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctic: Deuteraphorura (Deuteraphorura) cebennaria (Gisin) (Collembola: Onychiuridae), Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek (Tullbergiidae), and Proisotoma minuta Axelson (Isotomidae). One of these, D. (D.) cebennaria, is described. Additionally, two new indigenous species, Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek and Proisotoma minuta Axelson, are also recorded. The total number of Collembola species now known from the island is 14, comprised of eight native species and six non-indigenous species. This number of non-indigenous species recorded at Deception Island compares with only a single non-indigenous springtail recorded at any other maritime or continental Antarctic location. The reason underlying this high level of occurrence of non-indigenous species on Deception Island is likely to be a combination of the island's high level of human visitation and the presence of relatively benign terrestrial habitats associated with areas of geothermal activity. Two of the new records represent species recently assessed as being of the highest risk to become invaders in the less extreme environments of the subantarctic, thereby emphasising the importance and urgency of adopting and applying effective biosecurity measures to protect the unique and vulnerable ecosystems of this region. Also documented are the impacts on the soil fauna of the island from human trampling, which drastically reduced densities of both native and non-indigenous species to 1% of the abundance typical of non-trampled sites. PMID:23438196
Greenslade, Penelope; Potapov, Mikhail; Russell, David; Convey, Peter
Geological and petrological aspects of the ongoing submarine eruption at El Hierro Island (Canary Islands, Spain)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The Canarian Archipelago comprises seven major and three minor islands, all of them of volcanic origin. The distribution of the islands forms an east-west volcanic chain, starting about 90 km west of the northwest African continental margin. The canary volcanism is unique among ocean islands (long lifetime, multiple periods of volcanic activity, extensive range of magma compositions) and various theories were developed in order to explain that specific volcanism, with such a variety of volcanic phases and chemical diversity. El Hierro, located at the SW end of this island group, is the youngest island with the oldest subaerial rocks dated at 1.12 Ma and is still in juvenile stage of shield growth. The island is the emergent summit of a 280 km2 volcanic shield which rises from a 3800-4000m depth and grows up to 1500 m above sea level. Although the whole island has been constructed by the volcanic material of two major volcanic edifices, Ti�or in the NE (0.8 -1.2 Ma) and El Golfo edifice in the NW (550 ka-130 ka), rift volcanism (134 ka - AD1793) has been very active after the second major tectonic event (gravitational collapse of El Golfo edifice), specially along the South ridge. Till July 2011 the most recent eruption was the Volc�n de Lomo Negro (AD1793) located at the western part of the island. The products of the Ti�or and El Golfo edifice, massive lava flows, are typical mafic basalts with phenocrystals of olivine and only in El Golfo sequence evolved lava flows (trachytes with phenocrystals of plagioclase feldspars) could be observed. However, the recent rift lavas present varied compositional and textural features. During the eruption of 2011-2012 a variety of volcanic material has been observed and sampled. On 15 October, bicoloured lava fragments were observed floating on the sea with a bomb-like shape and sizes between 10 and 40 cm. The outer part, black, vesiculated and no more than 1 cm thick, had a basaltic composition, while the inner part was white, highly vesiculated and rich in silica (>60%). This type of fragments was observed only during the first days of the eruption. On 27 November (and later) new lava fragments were observed while floating and degassing on the sea surface. Many of them were "lava balloons", with a huge cavity in the centre or fragments of pillow lavas, with sizes between 30 and 200 cm; all of them have a highly vesiculated outer crust. The composition is basaltic-basanitic and sideromelane could be observed most of the times. In this work, we describe the petrological evolution observed since the beginning of the eruption through the fragments emitted and the geological characteristics of the submarine edifice.
Meletlidis, S.; Di Roberto, A.; Iribarren, I.; Pompilio, M.; Bertagnini, A.; Torres, P. A.; Felpeto, A.; Lopez, C.; Blanco, M. J.
Perspective View of Okmok Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska (#1)
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This perspective view shows the caldera of the Okmok volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.The shaded relief was generated from and draped over an Airsar-derived digital elevation mosaic.Airsar collected the Alaska data as part of its PacRim 2000 Mission, which took the instrument to French Polynesia, American and Western Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Hawaii and Alaska. Airsar, part of NASA's Airborne Science Program, is managed for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise by JPL. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Perspective View of Okmok Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska (#2)
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This perspective view shows the caldera of the Okmok volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.The shaded relief was generated from and draped over an Airsar-derived digital elevation mosaic.Airsar collected the Alaska data as part of its PacRim 2000 Mission, which took the instrument to French Polynesia, American and Western Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Hawaii and Alaska. Airsar, part of NASA's Airborne Science Program, is managed for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise by JPL. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
9 CFR 72.3 - Areas quarantined in the Virgin Islands of the United States, the Northern Mariana Islands, the...
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
...the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Island of...the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Island of...Northern Mariana Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are quarantined....
Further evidence for the Western Cycladic Detachment System on Makronisos, Greece
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The island of Makronisos lies ~3 km east of the Attica port of Lavrion and is the northwesternmost part of the Western Cycladic archipelago. The geology of the Cyclades and the adjacent part of Attica is dominated by low-angle detachments caused by Miocene top-to-SSW crustal extension, forming the Western Cycladic Detachment System in this area. Although extension is well documented both in the other islands of the Western Cyclades and on the Attica mainland, the geology of Makronisos is very poorly known, due to its historical background, and is a "missing link" in the area. Thus the aim of the present study was to determine the tectonostratigraphic position of Makronisos in relation to the other Western Cycladic islands. Most of Makronisos consists of schists interlayed with blue-grey (mylonitic) marbles, with quartzites forming large-scale pinch-and-swell structures. Metabasite outcrops are present as small bodies along the east side of the island and are massively developed in the southeast. All thin-sections made of metabasites, from the whole length of the island, contain blue amphiboles, although often only as relicts after retrogression. Serpentinite has been found at two localities. The tectonostratigraphically highest level of the island consists of white to pale-reddish ultramylonites, of up to ~40 meter thickness. These are mainly located on the ridge of the island, but also, due to large-scale upright folding, along the coast. In several places, the ultramylonites overlie 1-2 metres of foliated ultracataclasites derived from the footwall pelitic schists. Stretching lineations and shear criteria indicate a top-to-SSW shear-sense. Microstructural analysis shows the same consistent shear-sense. The available data suggest that Makronisos underwent a similar geological history as the Western Cyclades to the SW and that the detachment mapped is a component of the Western Cycladic Detachment System, with the white to pale-red ultramylonites forming the uppermost part of the footwall. We are conducting low-temperature thermochronology and expect late Miocene cooling ages preserved in the footwall assemblages, consistent with ages reported for Kea and on Attica.
Loisl, Johannes; Lindner, Karoline; Huet, Benjamin; Grasemann, Bernhard; Neville Rice, Alexander Hugh; Soukis, Konstantinos; Schneider, David
Eolianites and Paleosols as indicators of Sea Level Changes in the Elba Island (Central Italy) during Late Pleistocene
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Late Pleistocene Calcareous eolianites exist along the coasts and islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Central Mediterranean), particularly on Sardinia Island (western coast), on the Tuscany coast and on the islands of Toscano and Pontino Archipelagos. In the second half of the last century, some authors interpreted Italian eolianites as hanging beach sediments, as shown in the geological maps of that time: in fact, studied eolianites often show hard interpreting facies and uncertain dating. The aim of this work is focused on nature and paleoclimatic significance of the eolianites of Elba Island, which is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at about 10 Km from the coast of the Tuscany (Central Italy); the Elba Island is the greater of Toscano Archipelago. The work is based on: field survey, with sedimentological, pedological and geomorphological description; laboratory methods, mainly grain size analyses; micromorphology, with observation and description of thin sections of eolianites and related paleosols and soils.
Trombino, Luca; Ern, Stephania Irmgard Elena
An analytical solution and case study of groundwater head response to dual tide in an island leaky confined aquifer
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
This paper presents an analytical solution of groundwater head response to dual-tide fluctuation in the transect of an island leaky aquifer system comprising a confined aquifer and its overlying semipermeable confining layer. Both layers terminate at the coastlines on two sides of the island. Solution analysis indicates that the tidal waves from the two sides of the island transect interfere at the middle of the island and the interference decreases to zero as the horizontal length of the aquifer increases to infinity. The leakage of the overlying confining layer enhances the landward attenuation of the tidal head fluctuation and shortens the time lag between the head and tide fluctuations. The solution agreed well with the observations in eight piezometers in Garden Island on the continental shelf of Western Australia reported by Trefry and Bekele (2004).
Sun, Pingping; Li, Hailong; Boufadel, Michel C.; Geng, Xiaolong; Chen, Shi
Paleomagnetic study of Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
A paleomagnetic study was carried out on recent volcanic rocks exposed on Deception Island (63.0�S, 60.6�W), Antarctica. Sampling comprised all stratigraphic units exposed on the island, which include basaltic, andesitic and trachytic lavas, basaltic dykes and pyroclastic flows. Following stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetization procedures, consistent characteristic remanence directions were determined at 21 sites, using principal-component analysis. The overall
Andr�s Baraldo; Augusto E. Rapalini; Harald B�hnel; Mabel Mena
The mosquito fauna in many areas of western Uganda has never been studied and is currently unknown. One area, Bwamba County, has been previously studied and documented but the species lists have not been updated for >40 yr. This paucity of data makes it difficult to determine which arthropod-borne viruses pose a risk to human or animal populations. Using CO2 baited-light traps, from 2008 through 2010, 67,731 mosquitoes were captured at five locations in western Uganda including Mweya, Sempaya, Maramagambo, Bwindi (BINP), and Kibale (KNP). Overall, 88 mosquito species, 7 subspecies, and 7 species groups in 10 genera were collected. The largest number of species was collected at Sempaya (65 species), followed by Maramagambo (45), Mweya (34), BINP (33), and KNP (22). However, species diversity was highest in BINP (Simpson's Diversity Index 1-D = 0.85), followed by KNP (0.80), Maramagambo (0.79), Sempaya (0.67), and Mweya (0.56). Only six species Aedes (Aedimorphus) cumminsii (Theobald), Aedes (Neomelaniconion) circumluteolus (Theobald), Culex (Culex) antennatus (Becker), Culex (Culex) decens group, Culex (Lutzia) tigripes De Grandpre and De Charmoy, and Culex (Oculeomyia) annulioris (Theobald), were collected from all five sites suggesting large differences in species composition among sites. Four species (Aedes (Stegomyia) metallicus (Edwards), Anopheles (Cellia) rivulorum Leeson, Uranotaenia (Uranotaenia) chorleyi (Edwards), and Uranotaenia (Uranotaenia) pallidocephala (Theobald) and one subspecies (Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti formosus (Walker)) were collected in Bwamba County for the first time. This study represents the first description of the mosquito species composition of Mweya, Maramagambo, BINP, and KNP. A number of morphological variations were noted regarding the postspiracular scales, hind tibia, and sternites that make Culex (Culex) neavei (Theobald) challenging to identify. At least 50 species collected in this study have previously been implicated in the transmission of arboviruses of public health importance suggesting a high potential for maintenance and transmission of a wide variety of arboviruses in western Uganda. PMID:23270157
Mutebi, J-P; Crabtree, M B; Kading, R C; Powers, A M; Lutwama, J J; Miller, B R
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The Western Water Assessment (WWA) seeks to work within an evolving social context to increase relevance and value of scientific information to improve decision making strategies. Their research focuses on the decision-making processes of the individuals, groups, and organizations in the Interior West that have responsibility for managing water resources, as well as those who use the water, and those responsible for its treatment and the protection of the aquatic environment. Research topics include impacts on climate variability and regional water resources, model assessments, stream pollution and metabolism, and use of model results in policy planning. WWA is a project of the environmental studies department at CU-Boulder.
Barrier-island aggradation via inlet migration: Mustang Island, Texas
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
After establishing its present location around 9.5 ka, Mustang Island aggraded, stacking over 20 m of barrier-island sand in the same location. Throughout Mustang Island's history, tidal inlets shifted within nearly the same location from 7.5 ka to the present, leaving 10-15 m thick deposits of clean, well-sorted, quartz sand deposited within only a few centuries. These deposits lack some of the sedimentary features normally associated with tidal inlets, such as tidal couplets and shell hash. The lack of such features is attributed to the uniform nature of the deposits cut by the inlets during the island's relatively long period of aggradation. Mustang Island was able to maintain an aggradation character throughout most of the Holocene due to the sediment eroded from three sources: Pleistocene headlands, the transgressive Colorado River delta of Texas, and the OIS 3 shoreline of the central-Texas shelf. Each of these sources was exposed to waves and accompanying longshore drift during the island's early history when sea level rose quickly, but was flooded or capped by transgressive muds by the time sea-level rise slowed during the middle Holocene.
Simms, Alexander R.; Anderson, John B.; Blum, Michael
Human responses to Middle Holocene climate change on California's Channel Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
High-resolution archaeological and paleoenvironmental records from California's Channel Islands provide a unique opportunity to examine potential relationships between climatically induced environmental changes and prehistoric human behavioral responses. Available climate records in western North America (7-3.8 ka) indicate a severe dry interval between 6.3 and 4.8 ka embedded within a generally warm and dry Middle Holocene. Very dry conditions in western North America between 6.3 and 4.8 ka correlate with cold to moderate sea-surface temperatures (SST) along the southern California Coast evident in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Core 893A/B (Santa Barbara Basin). An episode of inferred high marine productivity between 6.3 and 5.8 ka corresponds with the coldest estimated SSTs of the Middle Holocene, otherwise marked by warm/low productivity marine conditions (7.5-3.8 ka). The impact of this severe aridity on humans was different between the northern and southern Channel Islands, apparently related to degree of island isolation, size and productivity of islands relative to population, fresh water availability, and on-going social relationships between island and continental populations. Northern Channel Islanders seem to have been largely unaffected by this severe arid phase. In contrast, cultural changes on the southern Channel Islands were likely influenced by the climatically induced environmental changes. We suggest that productive marine conditions coupled with a dry terrestrial climate between 6.3 and 5.8 ka stimulated early village development and intensified fishing on the more remote southern islands. Contact with people on the adjacent southern California Coast increased during this time with increased participation in a down-the-line trade network extending into the western Great Basin and central Oregon. Genetic similarities between Middle Holocene burial populations on the southern Channel Islands and modern California Uto-Aztecan populations suggest Middle Holocene movement of people at this time from southern California desert environs westward to the southern islands, a migration perhaps stimulated by increased continental aridity.
Kennett, Douglas J.; Kennett, James P.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Cannariato, Kevin G.
Avian mortality associated with a volcanic gas seep at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
We identified natural pits associated with avian mortality at the base of Kiska Volcano in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska in 2007. Living, moribund, and dead birds were regularly found at low spots in a canyon between two lava flows during 2001�2006, but the phenomenon was attributed to natural trapping and starvation of fledgling seabirds (mostly Least Auklets, Aethia pusilla) at a colony site with >1 million birds present. However, 302 birds of eight species, including passerines, were found dead at the site during 2007�2010, suggesting additional factors were involved. Most carcasses showed no signs of injury and concentrations of dead birds had accumulated in a few distinctive low pits in the canyon. Gas samples from these locations showed elevated CO2 concentrations in late 2010. Analysis of carcasses indicated no evidence of blunt trauma or internal bleeding. Volcanic gases accumulating at these poorly ventilated sites may have caused the observed mortality, but are temporally variable. Most auklets breeding in the Aleutian Islands do so in recent lava flows that provide breeding habitat; our study documents a cost of this unusual habitat selection.
Bond, Alexander L.; Evans, William C.; Jones, Ian L.
Flow Regimes of Nonlinear Heat Island Circulation
Previous laboratory and numerical experiments show that the nonlinear heat island circulation has two different flow regimes: One has two maximums of updraft at both edges of the heat island (type E), while the other has a single maximum of updraft at the center of the island (type C). Our theoretical consideration shows that the heat island circulation is principally
Hiroshi Niino; Atsushi Mori; Takehiko Satomura; Sayaka Akiba
Pronounced fixation, strong population differentiation and complex population history in the Canary Islands blue tit subspecies complex.
Evolutionary molecular studies of island radiations may lead to insights in the role of vicariance, founder events, population size and drift in the processes of population differentiation. We evaluate the degree of population genetic differentiation and fixation of the Canary Islands blue tit subspecies complex using microsatellite markers and aim to get insights in the population history using coalescence based methods. The Canary Island populations were strongly genetically differentiated and had reduced diversity with pronounced fixation including many private alleles. In population structure models, the relationship between the central island populations (La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria) and El Hierro was difficult to disentangle whereas the two European populations showed consistent clustering, the two eastern islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) and Morocco weak clustering, and La Palma a consistent unique lineage. Coalescence based models suggested that the European mainland forms an outgroup to the Afrocanarian population, a split between the western island group (La Palma and El Hierro) and the central island group, and recent splits between the three central islands, and between the two eastern islands and Morocco, respectively. It is clear that strong genetic drift and low level of concurrent gene flow among populations have shaped complex allelic patterns of fixation and skewed frequencies over the archipelago. However, understanding the population history remains challenging; in particular, the pattern of extreme divergence with low genetic diversity and yet unique genetic material in the Canary Island system requires an explanation. A potential scenario is population contractions of a historically large and genetically variable Afrocanarian population, with vicariance and drift following in the wake. The suggestion from sequence-based analyses of a Pleistocene extinction of a substantial part of North Africa and a Pleistocene/Holocene eastward re-colonisation of western North Africa from the Canaries remains possible. PMID:24587269
Hansson, Bengt; Ljungqvist, Marcus; Illera, Juan-Carlos; Kvist, Laura
Large-amplitude pressure oscillations in the western Mediterranean
Pressure oscillations with unusually large amplitude of some 3 mb and periods of about 50 min have been registered in the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean sea) during summer 1989. These large pressure oscillations are maintained over several hours and have been recorded on several occasions. The synoptic pattern and vertical structure of the atmosphere simultaneous with these oscillations is described. The large amplitude waves described here do not appear to be directly related to convective activity. Some of the characteristics of these waves are described, however, their source mechanism remains unclear.
Monserrat, S.; Ramis, C. (Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain)); Thorpe, A.J. (Univ. of Reading (England))
34. Two lights on the western concrete counterweight on the ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
34. Two lights on the western concrete counterweight on the south span. The two lights are used, in conjunction with visible guides on Terminal Island by the bridge operator to judge speed and position of the south span as it opens or closes. Based on the movement of the lights relative to each other and the background the south span is speeded up or slowed down and the brakes applied during the opening and closing process. View facing south. - Henry Ford Bridge, Spanning Cerritos Channel, Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
Vanishing Island: Sea Level Rise
NSDL National Science Digital Library
This video features interviews with native people living on atoll islands in Micronesia, so viewers are able to understand the real, current threats that these people are facing due to climate change.
Halbert, Massy; Lyon, Jim; Yasutake, Mike; Lyon
Synthesizing knowledge of ocean islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
AGU Chapman Conference on the Gal�pagos as a Laboratory for the Earth Sciences; Puerto Ayora, Gal�pagos, Ecuador, 25-30 July 2011 An inspiration for Darwin's theory of evolution, the Gal�pagos Islands and surrounding waters are a natural laboratory for a wide range of Earth science topics. The Gal�pagos are perfectly situated for geophysical and geochemical investigations of deep-Earth processes at a hot spot, and proximity to a spreading center allows exploration of hot spot-ridge interactions. Several highly active volcanoes show rapid deformation facilitating investigation of melt transport paths and volcanic structure. The islands exhibit a range of ages, eruptive styles, and climatic zones that allow analysis of hydrogeologic and geomorphic processes. The Gal�pagos Islands are a World Heritage Site and are an ideal setting for developing an integrated biological and geological understanding of ocean island evolution.
Jefferson, Anne J.; Lees, Jonathan M.; McClinton, Tim
The Three Mile Island Disaster.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
For the past decade, education has been experiencing meltdown, explosions, radiation leaks, heat pollution, and management crises, just like the Three Mile Island disaster. This article offers suggestions on how to deal with these problems. (Author/LD)
Crosby, Emeral
Oil Spill Threatens Galapagos Islands
NSDL National Science Digital Library
On January 16, the aging Ecuadorean tanker "Jessica" ran aground on San Cristobal Island, threatening the delicate ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands, famous as the location for much of Charles Darwin's key research. The Galapagos, 97 percent of which is a national park, is perhaps the last complete and preserved island archipelago. The captain of the ship has since accepted responsibility for misjudging his entry into the bay and running the ship aground, spilling approximately 160,000 gallons of oil. Efforts continue to refloat the ship and remove the 10,000 gallons left inside. Fortunately, favorable winds and currents have limited the amount of oil washing up on the Galapagos Islands, but the long-term effects remain to be seen.
De Nie, Michael W.
NSDL National Science Digital Library
You can get a good sense of the American West by reading authors as diverse as Sherman Alexie, Mark Twain, John McPhee, but can they really accurately describe the sounds of a resting short-eared owl? Perhaps, but if you're looking to listen to the natural world of the Western states, you should probably click on over to the Western Soundscape Archive website. This aural database is housed at the University of Utah's J. Willard Marriott Library and features recordings contributed by state and federal agencies, conservation groups, and dedicated volunteers. Started in 2007, the archive continues to grow, and currently they have representative sounds from approximately 80% of the West's bird species and 90% of the region's frog and toad species. Visitors can get started here by taking a listen to the "Featured Sound" on the homepage and then move on over to the search engine. The site also has weekly podcasts, and a number of thematic sound collections, like the "Sounds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge". Overall, it's a tremendously well-presented site, and one that will be of interest to naturalists, scholars, and many others.
A re-evaluation of facies on Great Bahama Bank I: new facies maps of western Great Bahama Bank
A re-evaluation of the sediment distribution patterns on western Great Bahama Bank shows a facies distribution with two end-members. Coarse-grained sediments in the north, west and south of the bank surround a mud-dominated realm located on the western leeward side of Andros Island. This facies distribution is comparable to earlier maps, but shows considerably more detail and a complex distribution
The Eugene Island Block 330 field ranks third in cumulative hydrocarbon production on the federal Outer Continental Shelf of the United States and at peak production was the largest O.C.S. oil-producing field. This giant field, located offshore Louisiana, covers parts of seven blocks in the Eugene Island area, South Addition. The field was discovered by the Pennzoil 1, OCS-G 2115
D. S. Holland; D. R. Lammlein; J. B. Leedy
Invasive rodent eradication on islands.
Invasive mammals are the greatest threat to island biodiversity and invasive rodents are likely responsible for the greatest number of extinctions and ecosystem changes. Techniques for eradicating rodents from islands were developed over 2 decades ago. Since that time there has been a significant development and application of this conservation tool. We reviewed the literature on invasive rodent eradications to assess its current state and identify actions to make it more effective. Worldwide, 332 successful rodent eradications have been undertaken; we identified 35 failed eradications and 20 campaigns of unknown result. Invasive rodents have been eradicated from 284 islands (47,628 ha). With the exception of two small islands, rodenticides were used in all eradication campaigns. Brodifacoum was used in 71% of campaigns and 91% of the total area treated. The most frequent rodenticide distribution methods (from most to least) are bait stations, hand broadcasting, and aerial broadcasting. Nevertheless, campaigns using aerial broadcast made up 76% of the total area treated. Mortality of native vertebrates due to nontarget poisoning has been documented, but affected species quickly recover to pre-eradication population levels or higher. A variety of methods have been developed to mitigate nontarget impacts, and applied research can further aid in minimizing impacts. Land managers should routinely remove invasive rodents from islands <100 ha that lack vertebrates susceptible to nontarget poisoning. For larger islands and those that require nontarget mitigation, expert consultation and greater planning effort are needed. With the exception of house mice (Mus musculus), island size may no longer be the limiting factor for rodent eradications; rather, social acceptance and funding may be the main challenges. To be successful, large-scale rodent campaigns should be integrated with programs to improve the livelihoods of residents, island biosecurity, and reinvasion response programs. PMID:17883491
Howald, Gregg; Donlan, C Josh; Galv�n, Juan Pablo; Russell, James C; Parkes, John; Samaniego, Araceli; Wang, Yiwei; Veitch, Dick; Genovesi, Piero; Pascal, Michel; Saunders, Alan; Tershy, Bernie
As a result of the accident in March 1979, the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor vessel sustained significant internal damage. Approximately half of the reactor core suffered some degree of melting, with 10 to 20 tons of molten core material relocating inside the vessel and flowing down onto the reactor vessel's lower head. The resulting damage and the margin to failure of the lower head are of interest to the nuclear industry. In early 1988 the owner and operator of the TMI facility, had completed a large portion of the defueling work in the reactor core region and was preparing to remove the lower structural internals in order to defuel the area within the lower head. At that point the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (NRC-Res) in Washington, D.C., initiated a project to remove metallurgical specimens from the reactor vessel's lower head region. The goal was to determine the extent of damage to the pressure-retaining boundary in the lower head and to learn what happened during the accident.
Lipford, B.L.; Cole, N.M.; Friderichs, T.J. (MPR Associates Inc., Washington, DC (US))
Rare earth elements in soils from selected areas on the Island of Hawaii
Fifty soil samples for the wet, windward (east) side and dry, leeward (west) side of the Island of Hawaii were analyzed for La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Yb, and Lu by neutron activation/gamma-ray spectroscopic analysis. Data on concentrations in each sample are listed and analyzed statistically for soil samples collected from the western slope of Kohala Mountain, the western coastal plain of Mauna Kea, and the Northeastern coastal plain of Maunal Loa. Rare earth element (REE) concentrations are two to six times greater in soils from the western, dry side of the island, and good statistical correlation is exhibited among the samples for pairs of individual REEs. In the organic-rich soils of the east side, correlations are poor but are markedly improved when sample weights are adjusted for weight due to organic matter and water in soil colloids. If the mean compositions of selected rock samples from the Hawaii Reference Suite are representative of the compositions of the parent materials, REEs in the soils are moderately enriched (up to two times, based on oven-dry weights). Rare earth element concentrations in the island's western soils are as much as two times greater than the mean REE values of common sedimentary rocks worldwide; however, they are well within the concentration ranges of soils of continental origin. The eastern soils tend to have less La and Ce, but similar amounts of the middle and heavy REEs.
Barnard, W.M.; Halbig, J.B.
Toward Full Literacy in the Pacific. Report of a Sub-Regional Workshop on Youth and Adults with Limited Literacy Skills (1st, Apia, Western Samoa, May 9-17, 1988).
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Participants in the workshop on literacy reported in this document included 15 educators and specialists from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, and Western Samoa. Chapter 1 reports an assessment of the present literacy situation in the South Pacific with particular attention to the problem of hidden illiteracy. Chapter 2�
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Apia (Western Samoa). Office for the Pacific States.
Gravity Anomalies in the Northern Hawaiian Islands: Evidence for an Alternative Magma Chamber on Kauai and a Conjoined Niihau-Kauai Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
The shield stage evolution of the islands of Kauai and Niihau are poorly understood. Previous land-based gravity surveys provide only a coarse constraint on the observed gravitational field. Questions as to whether the island of Kauai was formed by a single or multiple shields and the developmental relationship between these neighboring islands are still debated. Our new land-based gravity survey of Kauai and ship-board gravity surveys around both islands identified large complete Bouguer gravitational anomalies under Kauai's Lihue Basin and offshore in the Kaulakahi Channel, a 30-km-long bathymetric ridge connecting the two islands. These gravitational highs are consistent in size and magnitude with those of other Hawaiian islands and imply local zones of high density crust, most likely attributed to magmatic intrusions; e.g. former magma chambers, or rift zones. The Lihue Basin anomaly observed is offset 20 km east from the geologically mapped caldera region. This offset implies either the unlikely case that the shield stage plumbing system connecting the magma chamber and caldera could have been inclined by up to 75 degrees from the vertical, or that the currently mapped caldera is a late feature, unrelated to shield volcanism. The location of the gravitational anomaly, in the Kaulakahi Channel, 20 km east of Niihau is consistent with geologic mapping, which indicates that Niihau is a remnant of an ancient shield volcano centered east of the island. The proximity of the Niihau gravitational anomaly 10 km from the western edge of Kauai supports the hypothesis that the two volcanoes were part of the same island.
Flinders, A. F.; Ito, G.; Garcia, M.; Kim, S.; Appelgate, B.
Late Holocene coastal stratigraphy of Sitkinak Island reveals Aleutian-Alaska megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis southwest of Kodiak Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Uncertainty in earthquake and tsunami prehistory of the Aleutian-Alaska megathrust westward of central Kodiak Island limit assessments of southern Alaska's earthquake hazard and forecasts of potentially damaging tsunamis along much of North America's west coast. Sitkinak Island, one of the Trinity Islands off the southwest tip of Kodiak Island, lies at the western end of the rupture zone of the 1964 Mw9.2 earthquake. Plafker reports that a rancher on the north coast of Sitkinak Island observed ~0.6 m of shoreline uplift immediately following the 1964 earthquake, and the island is now subsiding at about 3 mm/yr (PBO GPS). Although a high tsunami in 1788 caused the relocation of the first Russian settlement on southwestern Kodiak Island, the eastern extent of the megathrust rupture accompanying the tsunami is uncertain. Interpretation of GPS observations from the Shumagin Islands, 380 km southwest of Kodiak Island, suggests an entirely to partially creeping megathrust in that region. Here we report the first stratigraphic evidence of tsunami inundation and land-level change during prehistoric earthquakes west of central Kodiak Island. Beneath tidal and freshwater marshes around a lagoon on the south coast of Sitkinak Island, 27 cores and tidal outcrops reveal the deposits of four to six tsunamis in 2200 years and two to four abrupt changes in lithology that may correspond with coseismic uplift and subsidence over the past millennia. A 2- to 45-mm-thick bed of clean to peaty sand in sequences of tidal sediment and freshwater peat, identified in more than one-half the cores as far inland as 1.5 km, was probably deposited by the 1788 tsunami. A 14C age on Scirpus seeds, double 137Cs peaks at 2 cm and 7 cm depths (Chernobyl and 1963?), a consistent decline in 210Pb values, and our assumption of an exponential compaction rate for freshwater peat, point to a late 18th century age for the sand bed. Initial 14C ages suggest that two similar extensive sandy beds, identified in eight cores at higher tidal and freshwater sites, date from about 1.5 ka and 2.0 ka, respectively. A younger silty sand bed, <10 cm beneath the now-eroding low marsh around the lagoon, may record the 1964 tsunami. Correlations of two to three other sandy beds are too uncertain to infer their deposition by tsunamis. Stratigraphic contacts found only in cores and outcrops of the <0.8- to 1-ka tidal section fringing the lagoon may mark coseismic uplift (peat over tidal mud, sometimes with intervening sand) or subsidence (tidal mud over peat, sometimes with intervening sand). We collected samples of modern tidal foraminifera along three elevational transects for the baseline dataset needed to use fossil assemblages to measure the amount of uplift or subsidence recorded by contacts. Foraminiferal assemblages above and below one contact confirm rapid uplift a few hundred years before the 1788 tsunami, but cores are too few to correlate this contact with any of the sandy beds that we infer were deposited by tsunamis farther inland. These initial results demonstrate the promise of this previously unexplored island and similar sites for using stratigraphic evidence of sudden land-level changes and high tsunamis to map prehistoric ruptures of the Aleutian-Alaskan megathrust.
Nelson, A. R.; Briggs, R. W.; Kemp, A.; Haeussler, P. J.; Engelhart, S. E.; Dura, T.; Angster, S. J.; Bradley, L.
Evidence for two shield volcanoes exposed on the island of Kauai, Hawaii
The island of Kauai has always been interpreted as a single shield volcano, but lavas of previously correlated reversed-to-normal magnetic-polarity transitions on opposite sides of the island differ significantly in isotopic composition. Samples from west Kauai have 87Sr/86Sr 18.25; samples from east Kauai have 87Sr/86Sr > 0.7037, ??Nd ??? 6.14, and 206Pb/204Pb < 18.25. Available data suggest that a younger eastern shield grew on the collapsed flank of an older western one.
Holcomb, R. T.; Reiners, P. W.; Nelson, B. K.; Sawyer, N. -L. E.
Introduced predator removal from islands. Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration project final report
In order to restore black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba), 2 species injured by the T/V Exxon Valdez oil spill, the introduced predator, artic fox (Alopex lagopus), was removed from 2 islands near the western edge of the trajectory of the oil. Surveys indicated that although adequate nesting habitat was available at Simeonof and Chernabura, oystercatcher and guillemot population densities were much lower than at nearby fox-free islands. Elimination of foxes is expected to dramatically increase populations of these injured species as well as other native birds.
Byrd, G.V.; Bailey, E.P.; Stahl, W.
Developing and Applying a Transportation Model for Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
This research project focuses on Aquidneck Island in the State of Rhode Island. The research project has two primary objectives. First, the project builds the foundation for coordinated transportation and land use planning on Aquidneck Island using TransC...
F. Atash K. Woodward J. Boyce S. Eisenbeiser
76 FR 19781 - Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...Service [FWS-R1-R-2010-N222; 10137-1265-0000 S3] Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Island, and Whatcom Counties, WA; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan,...
78 FR 63860 - Amendment of Class D Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
...2120-AA66 Amendment of Class D Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA...SUMMARY: This action amends the Kwajalein Island Class D airspace description by amending the...
Western Regional Climate Center
NSDL National Science Digital Library
One of six regional climate centers in the United States, the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) was created in 1986. The WRCC is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is overseen by the National Climatic Data Center. Covering the area from Colorado to the boundary of the continental US (along with the states of Hawaii and Alaska), this website is a true trove of valuable historical climate information and current atmospheric observations and frequently updated forecasts. Along with providing information for scientists and researchers, the site also has a number of educational pages for teachers and young people. Here they can find answers to common questions about climate change and learn about some basic terms and definitions in the field of climatology. The site is rounded out with a nice selection of material about current projects sponsored by the WRCC, including the Yucca Mountain climate data project and a webcam view from its headquarters in Reno.
Lightning in Western Patagonia
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
the basis of 8 years (2005-2012) of stroke data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network we describe the spatial distribution and temporal variability of lightning activity over Western Patagonia. This region extends from ~40�S to 55�S along the west coast of South America, is limited to the east by the austral Andes, and features a hyper-humid, maritime climate. Stroke density exhibits a sharp maximum along the coast of southern Chile. Although precipitation there is largely produced by cold nimbostratus, days with more than one stroke occur up to a third of the time somewhere along the coastal strip. Disperse strokes are also observed off southern Chile. In contrast, strokes are virtually nonexistent over the austral Andes�where precipitation is maximum�and farther east over the dry lowlands of Argentina. Atmospheric reanalysis and satellite imagery are used to characterize the synoptic environment of lightning-producing storms, exemplified by a case study and generalized by a compositing analysis. Lightning activity tends to occur when Western Patagonia is immersed in a pool of cold air behind a front that has reached the coast at ~40�S. Under these circumstances, midlevel cooling occurs before and is more prominent than near-surface cooling, leading to a weakly unstable postfrontal condition. Forced uplift of the strong westerlies impinging on the coastal mountains can trigger convection and produces significant lightning activity in this zone. Farther offshore, large-scale ascent near the cyclone's center may lift near-surface air parcels, fostering shallow convection and dispersing lightning activity.
Garreaud, Ren� D.; Gabriela Nicora, M.; B�rgesser, Rodrigo E.; �vila, Eldo E.
Seasonal variation in water quality was compared for the Western Fish Toxicology Station (WFTS), Corvallis, OR, the adjacent Willamette River and approximately 40 major western Oregon rivers from 1972 through 1974. Water temperature patterns of the Willamette River and the WFTS w...
Flows in the Tasman Front south of Norfolk Island
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tasman Front is a narrow band of eastward flowing subtropical water crossing the Tasman Sea from Australia to North Cape, New Zealand. It is the link between the two subtropical western boundary currents of the South Pacific, the East Australian Current (EAC) off eastern Australia, and the East Auckland Current (EAUC) off northeastern New Zealand. Here we report the first direct measurements of flow in the Tasman Front from a moored array deployed across gaps in the submarine ridges south of Norfolk Island and hydrographic and ADCP measurements during the deployment and recovery voyages. The mean flow through the array over July 2003 to August 2004 was found to be eastward only in the upper 800 m with a transport of �6 Sv. Below 800 m a weak westward mean flow (�1.5 Sv) was measured, associated with Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). Using sea surface height to account for additional transport south of the moored array results in a total mean eastward transport between Norfolk Island and North Cape, New Zealand of �8 Sv, varying between -4 and 18 Sv. The measurements show that the Tasman Front is much shallower than either the EAC or EAUC, both of which extend below 2000 m depth, has less transport than either the EAC or EAUC and has instances of flow reversal. Thus, the Tasman Front is a weaker connection between the EAC and EAUC than the paradigm of a contiguous South Pacific western boundary current system would suggest.
Sutton, Philip J. H.; Bowen, Melissa
One million served: Rhode Island`s recycling facility
Rhode Island`s landfill and adjacent materials recovery facility (MRF) in Johnston, both owned by the quasi-public Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp. (RIRRC, Johnston), serve the entire state. The $12-million recycling facility was built in 1989 next to the state`s sole landfill, the Central Landfill, which accepts only in-state trash. The MRF is operated for RIRRC by New England CRInc. (Hampton, N.H.), a unit of Waste Management, Inc. (WMI, Oak Brook, Ill.). It handles a wide variety of materials, from the usual newspaper, cardboard, and mixed containers to new streams such as wood waste, scrap metal, aseptic packaging (milk and juice boxes), and even textiles. State municipalities are in the process of adding many of these new recyclable streams into their curbside collection programs, all of which feed the facility.
Malloy, M.G.
Community structures of soil animals and survival of land snails on an island of the Ogasawara Archipelago
On Chichijima, one of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands located in the Western Pacifi c Ocean, land snails have declined, the suggested cause being predation pressure by an invasive fl atworm ( Platydemus manokwari ). Soil fauna were investigated in areas where the snail survives, and where it has become extinct. Much of the fauna, dominated by introduced earthworms and ants,
Motohiro Hasegawa; Shinji Sugiura; Masamichi T. Ito; Aska Yamaki; Keiko Hamaguchi; Toshio Kishimoto; Isamu Okochi
The Role of Social Networks in the Post-Colonial Multilingual Island of Palau: Mechanisms of Language Maintenance and Shift
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
This paper aims to reveal mechanisms of language maintenance and shift in the rural post-colonial multilingual island community of Palau in the Western Pacific, using social networks as an explanatory framework. I explore the usefulness of social networks from three perspectives, investigating whether and how social networks can explain changes in�
Matsumoto, Kazuko
A new species of Edaphodon (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali) from the Upper Cretaceous Haslam Formation, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A complete dentition of Edaphodon hesperis, sp. nov., is described from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian) Haslam Formation of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the complete specimens for Edaphodon, most species of which are known only from incomplete toothplates. This is the first Cretaceous Edaphodon from western North America, extending the geographical range of the genus
Ji-Yeon Shin
The Messinian\\/Early Pliocene transition in Eastern Mediterranean: New palaeoenvironmental data from the Kalamaki section (Zakynthos Island, Greece)
The purpose of this study is to describe the Miocene-Pliocene microfaunal development, and to discuss its palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical significance. The studied section (Kalamaki section) is located in the eastern part of Zakynthos Island (western Greece). Details on lithology and stratigraphy of the section are given in Dermitzakis (1978) and Nikolaou (1986). Planktonic species indicate that sediments span the interval
Hara Drinia; Assimina Antonarakou; Theodora Tsourou; Evi Tzortzaki; Amalia Filippidi; Konstantinos Nikolaou
Soil rehabilitation and erosion control through agro-ecological practices on Reunion Island (French Overseas Territory, Indian Ocean)
On the western slopes of Reunion Island, the trends in cropping systems for perfume pelargonium are causing serious erosion problems. This paper reviews the causes of these trends, presents the consequences of this deterioration, and assesses the agro-ecological solutions by means of cover plants and hedging with agroforest species. Firstly, the short term effects of cover plants (Lotus uliginosus, Pennisetum
Sylvain Perret; Roger Michellon; Johnny Boyer; Jacques Tassin
2014 State of Western's Assets
In this report we document the State of Western�s Assets in terms of physical equipment, financial resources, strategic direction, and human capital, both at the organizational and regional levels. We identify the condition of our assets today and share what work we will be doing in these areas in the coming years.
Ecotourism as a Western Construct
Most of the burgeoning literature on ecotourism is essentially Western-centric, insofar as it accepts as given an approach that is deeply embedded in Western cultural, economic and political processes. Despite the plethora of definitions as to what actually constitutes ecotourism (Fennell, 2003; Page & Dowling, 2002), the most common denominator is that it is nature-based. However, in the same way
Erlet Cater
This book addresses the relationships between air pollution in western United States and trends in the growth and condition of Western coniferous forests. he major atmospheric pollutants to which forest in this region are exposed are sulfur and nitrogen compounds and ozone. The p...
Validation of a New Rainbow Model Over the Hawaiian Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
A new realistic model of the rainbow has been developed at the CNRM. It is based on the Airy theory. The main entry parameters are the droplet size distribution, the angle of the sun above the horizon, the temperature of the droplets and the wavelength. The island of Hawaii seems to be a perfect place for the validation of the rainbow model. Not only because of its famous rainbows, but also because of the convenient ring road along the coast. The older lower islands for more frequent viewing opportunities having to do with the proximity of clear sky to heavy rainfall. Both Oahu and Kauai as well as the western part of Maui have coastal roads that offer good access to rainbows. The best time to view rainbows is when the sun angle is lowest, in other words near the winter solstice. Figure 1 = Map of mean annual rainfall for the islands of Kauai and Oahu, developed from the new 2011 Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii. The base period of the statistics is 1978-2007. Figure 2 = Moisture zone map by Gon et al (1998). Blue areas are the wet ones. Green areas are the Mesic ones. Yellow areas are the dry ones.
Ricard, J. L.; Adams, P. L.; Barckike, J.
Nocturnal offshore convection near the island of Corsica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
In the region of Corsica, located in the western Mediterranean Sea, the mean daily lightning activity for late summer and autumn as an indicator for deep convection shows a distinct maximum in mid-afternoon and a secondary maximum in the night. During the night, most of the lightning activity is located offshore and near the island's coastline. Currently there are no observational data which could be used to explain this nocturnal offshore convection but understanding its formation mechanism is crucial for accurately forecasting the regional weather. In this work, we explore two possible mechanisms initiating nocturnal offshore convection: (i) convergence with subsequent lifting due to the interaction between drainage winds and the synoptic flow over the sea and (ii) dynamically induced lee-side convergence due to the island barrier effect. To this end, we perform numerical simulations with the Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) model at a convection-resolving horizontal grid spacing of 2.8 km. The analysis of two cases with different low-level wind directions reveals that the role of the island's drainage flow can either favour or hinder the development of deep convection. Furthermore, convective initiation is very sensitive to terrain elevation and model initialisation time and small changes of these features can decide whether deep convection occurs or not.
Barthlott, Christian; Adler, Bianca; Kalthoff, Norbert; Handwerker, Jan; Kohler, Martin; Wieser, Andreas
Photosymbiotic ascidians from Pari Island (Thousand Islands, Indonesia).
Photosymbiotic ascidian fauna were surveyed in the subtidal zone off Pari Island in the Thousand Islands (Java Sea, Indonesia). Nine species were recorded: Didemnum molle, Trididemnum miniatum, Lissoclinum patella, L. punctatum, L. timorense, Diplosoma gumavirens, D. simile, D. simileguwa, and D. virens. All of these species have been previously recorded in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Diplosoma gumavirens and D. simileguwa were originally described from the Ryukyu Archipelago in 2009 and 2005, respectively, and all of the observed species are potentially widely distributed in Indo-West Pacific coral reefs. PMID:25061385
Hirose, Euichi; Iskandar, Budhi Hascaryo; Wardiatno, Yusli
Photosymbiotic ascidians from Pari Island (Thousand Islands, Indonesia)
Abstract Photosymbiotic ascidian fauna were surveyed in the subtidal zone off Pari Island in the Thousand Islands (Java Sea, Indonesia). Nine species were recorded: Didemnum molle, Trididemnum miniatum, Lissoclinum patella, L. punctatum, L. timorense, Diplosoma gumavirens, D. simile, D. simileguwa, and D. virens. All of these species have been previously recorded in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Diplosoma gumavirens and D. simileguwa were originally described from the Ryukyu Archipelago in 2009 and 2005, respectively, and all of the observed species are potentially widely distributed in Indo�West Pacific coral reefs.
Hirose, Euichi; Iskandar, Budhi Hascaryo; Wardiatno, Yusli
Genetic architecture of a small, recently aggregated Aleut population: Bering Island, Russia.
The fishing community of Bering Island, located in the Russian Commander Islands off the Kamchatka Peninsula, was originally founded by a small number of Russian soldiers and merchants, along with Aleuts forcibly relocated from the western region of the Aleutian archipelago. The purpose of this study is to characterize the genetic variation of Bering Island inhabitants for autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosome DNA and classic genetic markers and to investigate the genetic impact of the 19th-century founding and subsequent demographic events on this heterogeneous community. Our results show a loss of diversity among maternal lineages in the Bering Aleut population, with fixation of mtDNA haplogroup D, as revealed by median-joining network analysis and mismatch differences. Conversely, paternal haplotypes exhibit an increase in diversity and the presence of a substantial number of non-Native lineages. Admixture results, based on autosomal STR data, indicate that parental contributions to the mixed Aleut population of Bering are approximately 60% Aleut and 40% Russian. Classic genetic markers show affinities between the Bering Island Aleuts and the other historically founded Aleut communities of St. Paul and St. George in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. This study demonstrates that the opposing evolutionary forces of genetic drift and gene flow acted on the maternal and paternal lineages, respectively, to shape the genetic structure of the present-day inhabitants of Bering Island. PMID:21417891
Rubicz, Rohina; Zlojutro, Mark; Sun, Guangyun; Spitsyn, Victor; Deka, Ranjan; Young, Kristin L; Crawford, Michael H
STS-56 Earth observation of Perth in Western Australia
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
STS-56 Earth observation taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, is probably the best view of Perth in Western Australia. (For orientation purposes, note that the coastline runs north and south). The major feature on the coast is the large estuary of the Swan River. The large port city of Perth is situated on the north bank and the smaller city of Freemantle on the south bank by the sea. Smaller seaside towns trail off north and south of this center of urban life. Inland lies a prominent escarpment, more than 600 feet high, seen running down the middle of the view and dividing the lighter-colored coastal lowlands from the highlands where dark-colored tree savanna and desert scrub dominates the land. The Moore River can be seen entering the sea at the top of the frame. Rottnest Island is visible in the sea and Garden Island near bottom edge of the frame. Perth is the largest economic center in Western Australia. It receives natural gas from an offshore field hundreds of miles
Dioxins, furans and AHH-active PCB congeners in eggs of two gull species from the Western Mediterranean
Polychlorinated biphenyls, dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans were analysed in eggs of a protected gull species, the Audouin's Gull (Larus audouinii) and compared to those of the Yellow-legged Gull (Larus cachinnans), both breeding in the Western Mediterranean (Ebro Delta and Medes Islands, respectively). Differences in concentrations as well as in congener profiles reflected differences in both habitat and diet of the two
D. Pastor; X. Ruiz; D. Barcel�; J. Albaig�s
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
NSDL National Science Digital Library
The Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC) is part of the Biological Division of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The mission of PIERC is to provide the scientific understanding and technologies needed to support the sound management and conservation of our Nation's biological resources occurring within the cultural, sociological, and political contexts of the State of Hawaii. The geographical isolation of the Hawaiian Islands has resulted in the evolution of a highly endemic biota, while human colonization has severely impacted native plant and animal populations. The PIERC website provides information and research studies about the Hawaiian Islands ecosystem, as well as staff projects that are currently in progress. Topics include birds, mammals, ecosystem diversity, genetics, wildlife health, plant ecology, and marine biology. There is an education section with outdoor activities, online activities, and a coloring book. Links are provided for further information.
Rhode Island Critical Resource Atlas
NSDL National Science Digital Library
Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is used to assist planners, scientists, geographers, and others to visualize data sets. This particular project created draws on data from the state of Rhode Island's Geographic Information System (RIGIS) database in order to assist land managers and other interested parties. The project was created with support from the Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, and a number of other organizations. On the site, visitors can click on maps of forests and wetlands, land use patterns, groundwater resources, soil hydrology, and biodiversity. On the site's homepage, visitors can also use the "Towns" drop down menu to look at information for different cities throughout the state. Additionally, the "Watershed Atlas" area provides detailed maps of the twelve watersheds located in Rhode Island.
The Western Cycladic Detachment System on Makronisos, Greece
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Makronisos, which lies 3 km east of the Attica port of Lavrion, is the northwesternmost part of the Western Cycladic archipelago. The Cyclades and adjacent part of Attica are dominated by Miocene low-angle detachments that developed during top-to-SSW crustal extension, forming the West Cycladic Detachment System. Although extension is well documented on the other Western Cycladic islands and in Attica, the geology of Makronisos is poorly known. The aim of this study is to provide data on the structural, microstructural and metamorphic evolution of Makronisos to resolve its tectonostratigraphic position and its relationships within the Cycladic realm. Most of Makronisos consists of grey, locally graphitic, pelitic schists and yellowish impure marbles, interlayed with blue-grey mylonitic marbles and quartzites, forming large-scale pinch-and-swell structures. Metabasites are present as small bodies along the east side of the island but are thicker and more continuous in the southeast. Petrography shows that metabasites usually contain blue amphiboles, although generally only as relicts after greenschist facies retrogression. Serpentinite has been found at two localities. The structurally highest level of the island consists of white-grey to pale-red ultramylonites up to 40 m thick. These mainly lie on the central ridge of the island, but, due to large-scale upright folding, also crop out along the east and west coasts. In several places, the ultramylonites overlie 1-2 m of foliated ultracataclasites derived from the footwall pelitic schists. Stretching lineations and macroscopic shear-criteria indicate a top-to-SSW shear-sense. Microstructural analyses consistently show the same shear-sense, indicated by shape and crystal preferred orientations, ?- and ?-clasts, mica-fish, rotated veins and SCC' structures. Deformation mechanisms observed in quartz (LT-bulging) and calcite (recrystallization) are evidence for deformation temperatures of c. 300�C. Albite porphyroclasts may preserve an older foliation and layering, exhibiting features of an earlier, higher grade metamorphism and deformation phase. This evolution is consistent with progressive cooling during top-to-SSW deformation. The relict HP-mineral assemblages indicate a correlation with the Cycladic Blueschist Unit and hence the white-grey to pale-red ultramylonites forming the structurally uppermost part of the island can be interpreted as a part of the footwall of the Western Cycladic Detachment System. 40Ar/39Ar analyses on metamorphic white mica from pelitic schists, quartzites and marble mylonites/ultramylonites yield ages between 15 and 22 Ma, with a positive correlation between young ages and higher strain. These results are younger than 40Ar/39Ar ages in the Cycladic Blueschist Unit on Evvia (55-45 Ma and 35-30 Ma) but are similar to white mica ages on nearby Kea. In combination with the given tectonometamorphic data, this suggests that Makronisos underwent a similar geological history as other Western Cycladic islands.
Loisl, Johannes; Lindner, Karoline; Huet, Benjamin; Grasemann, Bernhard; Rice, A. Hugh. N.; Soukis, Konstantinos; Schneider, David
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Boasting snow-covered mountain peaks and tropical forest, the Island of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, is stunning at any altitude. This false-color composite (processed to simulate true color) image of Hawaii was constructed from data gathered between 1999 and 2001 by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) instrument, flying aboard the Landsat 7 satellite. The Landsat data were processed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a landcover map. This map will be used as a baseline to chart changes in land use on the islands. Types of change include the construction of resorts along the coastal areas, and the conversion of sugar plantations to other crop types. Hawaii was created by a 'hotspot' beneath the ocean floor. Hotspots form in areas where superheated magma in the Earth's mantle breaks through the Earth's crust. Over the course of millions of years, the Pacific Tectonic Plate has slowly moved over this hotspot to form the entire Hawaiian Island archipelago. The black areas on the island (in this scene) that resemble a pair of sun-baked palm fronds are hardened lava flows formed by the active Mauna Loa Volcano. Just to the north of Mauna Loa is the dormant grayish Mauna Kea Volcano, which hasn't erupted in an estimated 3,500 years. A thin greyish plume of smoke is visible near the island's southeastern shore, rising from Kilauea-the most active volcano on Earth. Heavy rainfall and fertile volcanic soil have given rise to Hawaii's lush tropical forests, which appear as solid dark green areas in the image. The light green, patchy areas near the coasts are likely sugar cane plantations, pineapple farms, and human settlements. Courtesy of the NOAA Coastal Services Center Hawaii Land Cover Analysis project
The bulk of western ground-water law is currently imposed at the state and local levels, and is highly variable in its technical provisions. Most ground water law is of recent origin (largely since the end of World War II) and continues to evolve through legislative enactments and judicial decisions. The principal purposes of ground water law are: (1) to regulate the rate of depletion to aquifers whose natural and artificial recharge is insufficient; (2) to regulate the rate of depletion to aquifers which supply or support the flow of surface water to prior vested ownership rights which take from streams, lakes, and springs; (3) to protect aquifers from pollution; and (4) to regulate the extraction or injection of ground water in areas prone to geologic instability. The law which attempts to achieve these objectives is a patchwork of federal constitutional principles and judicial doctrine; federal statutes and subsidiary regulations; state constitutional and statutory provisions developed from judicial interpretation; state common law; local ordinances and regulations. Because of the extent and complexity of this body of law, clear-cut answers to all but the most routine and narrow questions are difficult to ascertain. This is due partly to the fact that such questions arose infrequently prior to the time ground water assumed a major role in supplying the water needs of the west, and partly from earlier incomplete and faulty understandings of ground-water hydrology by the courts.
Not Available
Western Aeronautical Test Range
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
NASA's Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) is a network of facilities used to support aeronautical research, science missions, exploration system concepts, and space operations. The WATR resides at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The WATR is a part of NASA's Corporate Management of Aeronautical Facilities and funded by the Strategic Capability Asset Program (SCAP). It is managed by the Aeronautics Test Program (ATP) of the Aeronautics Rese