On the coattails of climate? Opportunities and threats of a warming Earth for biodiversity conservation     

Shannon Hagerman  Rebecca Witter  Catherine Corson  Daniel Suarez  Edward M. Maclin  Maggie Bourque  Lisa Campbell 《Global Environmental Change》2012,22(3):724-735

The relationship between climate change and biodiversity was a central issue at the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In this paper we draw from participant observation data collected at COP 10, and related policy documentation, to examine how concerns about climate change are shaping the conservation policy landscape – in terms of the knowledge and rationales used as inputs, networks of actors involved, objectives sought, and actions proposed. We find that debates at the intersection of climate and biodiversity were overwhelmingly framed in relation to, or through the lens of carbon. Through a discussion of four core Climate-Motivated Responses, we illustrate how “carbon-logic”, and the initiatives that it generates, simultaneously creates threats to the objectives sought by some actors, and opportunities for the objectives sought by others. We situate our observations in the context of some of the historical dilemmas that have faced conservation, and discuss this current moment in the dynamic trajectory of conservation governance: a moment when decisions about conserving biodiversity are becoming entangled with carbon-logic and the market. In this case, while some actors seek opportunities for biodiversity ends by riding the coattails of the climate agenda, the threats of doing so may undermine the biological and social objectives of the CBD convention itself.  相似文献   

Radarclinometry of the sand seas of Africa’s Namibia and Saturn’s moon Titan     

Catherine D. Neish  Ralph D. Lorenz  Lauren C. Wye 《Icarus》2010,208(1):385-394

Radarclinometry is a powerful technique for estimating heights of landforms in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of planetary surfaces. In particular, it has been used to estimate heights of dunes in the sand seas of Saturn’s moon Titan (Lorenz, R.D., and 39 colleagues [2006]. Science 312, 724-727). In this work, we verify the technique by comparing dune heights derived from radarclinometry to known topography of dune fields in the Namib sand sea of western Africa. We compared results from three different image grid spacings, and found that 350 m/pixel (the same spacing at which the Cassini RADAR data was processed) is sufficient to determine dune height for dunes of similar morphometry to those of the Namib sand sea. At this grid spacing, height estimates derived from radarclinometry are largely representative of, though may underestimate by as much as 30%, or overestimate by as much as 40%, true dune height. Applying the technique to three regions on Titan, we estimate dune heights of 45-180 m, and dune spacings of 2.3-3.3 km. Obtaining accurate heights of Titan’s dunes will help to constrain the total organic inventory on Titan.  相似文献   

The Manicouagan impact structure as a terrestrial analogue site for lunar and martian planetary science   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

John G. Spray  Lucy M. Thompson  Marc B. Biren  Catherine O’Connell-Cooper 《Planetary and Space Science》2010,58(4):538-551

The 90 km diameter, late Triassic Manicouagan impact structure of Québec, Canada, is a well-preserved, undeformed complex crater possessing an anorthositic central uplift and a 55 km diameter melt sheet. As such, it provides a valuable terrestrial analogue for impact structures developed on other planetary bodies, especially the Moon and Mars, which are currently the focus of exploration initiatives. The scientific value of Manicouagan has recently been enhanced due to the production, between 1994 and 2006, of ∼18 km of drill core from 38 holes by the mineral exploration industry. Three of these holes are in excess of 1.5 km deep, with the deepest reaching 1.8 km. Here we combine recent field work, sampling and the drill core data with previous knowledge to provide insight into processes occurring at Manicouagan and, by inference, within extraterrestrial impact structures. Four areas of comparative planetology are discussed: impact melt sheets, central uplifts, impact-generated hydrothermal regimes and footwall breccias. Human training and instrument testing opportunities are also considered. The drill core reveals that the impact melt and clast-bearing impact melts in the centre of the structure reach thicknesses of 1.4 km. The 1.1 km thick impact melt has undergone differentiation to yield a lower monzodiorite, a transitional quartz monzodiorite and an upper quartz monzonite sequence. This calls into question the previous citing of Manicouagan as an exemplar of a relatively large crater possessing an undifferentiated melt sheet, which was used as a rationale for assigning different composition lunar impact melts and clast-bearing impact melts to separate cratering events. The predominantly anorthositic central uplift at Manicouagan is comparable to certain lunar highlands material, with morphometric analogies to the King, Tycho, Pythagoras, Jackson, and Copernicus impact structures, which have similar diameters and uplift structure. Excellent exposure of the Manicouagan uplift facilitates mapping and an appraisal of its formation and collapse mechanisms, enhanced by drill core data from the centre of the structure. Recent field studies at the edge of the central island at Manicouagan, and multiple drill core sections through footwall lithologies, provide insight into allochthonous (clastic and suevitic) and autochthonous breccia formation, as well as shock effects. The hydrothermal regimes developed at Manicouagan are akin to systems proposed for Noachian (>3.5 Ga) Mars that involve alteration of impact melts via meteoritic and surface waters, with the generation of phyllosilicates, zeolites, hematite, sulfates and sulfides that can contribute to martian soil formation and sedimentation processes.  相似文献   

Selective separation of very fine particles at a planar air–water interface     

Diana N.H. Tran  Catherine P. Whitby  Daniel Fornasiero  John Ralston 《International Journal of Mineral Processing》2010,94(1-2):35-42

Selective fine particle separation is a key unit operation in the mineral and related industries. In flotation, the capture of fine particles by bubbles is inefficient due to their low mass and momentum, which result in low particle–bubble collision efficiency. We demonstrate that it is possible to selectively separate a mixture of very fine hydrophobic graphite and hydrophilic quartz particles by direct contact with an air–water interface without a particle–bubble collision step involved. We demonstrate that it is possible to scale-up the process from a simple batch to a continuous process. Good selective separation of graphite from quartz gangue could be obtained under continuous conditions.  相似文献   

Tectonic implications of new single zircon Pb-Pb evaporation data in the Lossogonoi and Longido ruby-districts,Mozambican metamorphic Belt of north-eastern Tanzania     

Elisabeth Le Goff  Yves Deschamps  Catherine Guerrot 《Comptes Rendus Geoscience》2010,342(1):36-45

Three single zircon Pb-Pb evaporation dating studies were performed on felsic orthogneisses and migmatites from the Longido and Lossogonoi ruby districts, Mozambique Belt of north-eastern Tanzania, in order to better constrain the geological setting of gemstone mineralizations. Igneous emplacement ages of protoliths ranging between 2636 and 2448 Ma document for the first time the presence of a Neoarchean to Lower Paleoproterozoic (Siderian) basement reworked in the Late Neoproterozoic Mozambique Belt of north-eastern Tanzania. This ancient crust of unknown dimension is well documented farther south, but also in south-eastern Kenya. A shearing event under high-grade amphibolite facies conditions, postdating the Pan-African metamorphic peak at 640 Ma and following nappes emplacement is demonstrated at ca. 610 Ma from metamorphic zircons of Lossogonoi district. In Lossogonoi district, ruby crystallizes during this last stage of deformation.  相似文献   

Springtime changes in snow chemistry lead to new insights into mercury methylation in the Arctic     

Catherine Larose  Aurélien Dommergue  Martine De Angelis  Bernard Averty  Nicolas Soumis  Christophe Ferrari 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2010,74(22):6263-6275

Seasonal snow is an active media and an important climate factor that governs nutrient transfer in Arctic ecosystems. Since the snow stores and transforms nutrients and contaminants, it is of crucial importance to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of contaminant cycling within the snowpack and its subsequent release to catchments via meltwater. Over the course of a two-month field study in the spring of 2008, we collected snow and meltwater samples from a seasonal snowpack in Ny-Ålesund, Norway (78°56′N, 11°52′E), which were analyzed for major inorganic ions and some organic acids, as well as total, dissolved, bioavailable mercury (THg, DHg, BioHg, respectively) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) species. We observe a seasonal gradient for ion concentrations, with surface samples becoming less concentrated as the season progressed. A significant negative correlation between BioHg and MMHg was observed in the snowpack. MMHg was positively and significantly correlated to methanesulfonate concentrations. Based on these results, we propose a new model for aerobic methylation of mercury involving species in the dimethylsulfoniopropionate cycle.  相似文献   

Nitrogenase activity and estimates of nitrogen fixation by freshwater benthic blue‐green algae     

Catherine W. Y. Lam  Warwick F. Vincent  Warwick B. Silvester 《新西兰海洋与淡水研究杂志》2013,47(1):187-192

The sandy substrate of Lake Taharoa (west coast, North Island, New Zealand ‐ 35°50'S, 173°41'E) is covered by communities of filamentous algae that extend from the exposed beach down to 21 m depth. The algae bind the sand to form crusts and mats which may break off as discrete plates. The dominant species are the blue‐greens Microcoleus, Nostoc, Phormidium, Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Scytonema, Stigonema, Shizothrix, Calothrix, Dichothrix, Tolypothrix, and Anabaena, with occasional high concentrations of the desmid Cylindrocystis. Nitrogenase activity, measured by acetylene reduction, showed a wide range of rates (4–150 μmol C₂H₄ m^‐2h^‐1). Estimates of annual rates of nitrogen fixation by the Taharoa communities are comparable with those for periphytic blue‐green algae‐dominated systems reported elsewhere.  相似文献   

Subtidal Galeolaria hystrix (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) reefs in Paterson Inlet,Stewart Island,New Zealand     

Abigail M. Smith  Catherine R. McGourty  Louise Kregting  Andrew Elliot 《新西兰海洋与淡水研究杂志》2013,47(6):1297-1304

Serpulid patch reefs of Galeolaria hystrix Mörch, 1863 were found in water depths of 9–16 m in Big Glory Bay, Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island, and here we report preliminary studies of these important habitat‐formers. This is the first observation of this species in subtidal patch reefs; 114 reefs were noted in a survey of 28 000 m². Most reefs were 1–5 m in diameter, and up to 1.5 m high. Up to 65% of the serpulid tubes were occupied by living G. hystrix during a mid‐winter diving survey; 64% of reefs observed were whole, whereas 36% were broken or dead. Radiometric dating of a basal specimen of reef carbonate showed it to be less than 50 years old. Production of high‐Mg calcite, ranging from 9 to 11 wt% MgCO3, by G. hystrix may be as much as 11 kg CaCO3 m^‐2y^‐1, but was not reflected in surrounding sediments, which were dominantly terrigenous muds. A rich reef fauna, both sessile and motile, was associated with the reefs. Further study of these unusual temperate reefs is strongly recommended.  相似文献   

Low temperature hydrolysis of laboratory tholins in ammonia-water solutions: Implications for prebiotic chemistry on Titan     

Catherine D. Neish  Árpád Somogyi  Mark A. Smith 《Icarus》2009,201(1):412-421

Laboratory tholins react rapidly in 13 wt% ammonia-water at low temperature, producing complex organic molecules containing both oxygen and altered nitrogen functional groups. These reactions display first-order kinetics with half-lives between 0.3 and 14 days at 253 K. The reaction timescales are much shorter than the freezing timescales of impact melts and volcanic sites on Titan, providing ample time for the formation of oxygenated, possibly prebiotic, molecules on its surface. Comparing the rates of the hydrolysis reactions in ammonia-water to those measured in pure water [Neish, C.D, Somogyi, A., Imanaka, H., Lunine, J.I., Smith, M.A., 2008a. Astrobiology 8, 273-287], we find that incorporation of oxygen into the tholins is faster in the presence of ammonia. The rate increases could be due to the increased pH of the solution, or to the availability of new reaction pathways made possible by the presence of ammonia. Using labeled ¹⁵NH₃ water, we find that ammonia does incorporate into some products, and that the reactions with ammonia are largely independent of those with water. A related study in confirms water as the source of the oxygen incorporated into the oxygen containing products.  相似文献   

The effects of mid-Phanerozoic environmental stress on bryozoan diversity, paleoecology, and paleogeography     

Catherine M. Powers  David J. Bottjer 《Global and Planetary Change》2009,65(3-4):146-154

Evidence of sustained environmental degradation associated with the end-Guadalupian, end-Permian, and end-Triassic extinctions has been inferred from numerous geochemical and sedimentological studies, but the long-term impacts of this extinction-associated stress on the evolutionary trajectories of marine invertebrates have not been explored. An examination of the diversity, extinction, paleoenvironmental range, and geographical distribution of marine stenolaemate bryozoans during the Permian to Jurassic interval provides striking new evidence of the taxonomic and ecological influence of these mid-Phanerozoic extinctions on one of the most abundant components of the Paleozoic Fauna. Elevated bryozoan extinction rates during the Late Permian and Late Triassic were coupled with major changes in their habitats. Bryozoans gradually disappeared from deep-water offshore settings during the Late Permian and from nearshore and offshore settings during the Late Triassic. Re-colonization of these environments in the wake of each crisis was delayed but coupled with increases in global generic diversity. The taxonomic effects of the end-Guadalupian extinction were milder than previously described, even though ecologically bryozoans were becoming restricted to nearshore settings. The end-Permian mass extinction remained the largest for bryozoans, drastically reducing global and assemblage generic diversity and triggering a permanent change in their paleoenvironmental preferences from nearshore to mid-shelf settings. The 285 Myr dominance of stenolaemate bryozoans ended during the Late Triassic when all but one order (Cyclostomata) became extinct, initiating a taxonomic switch between stenolaemate and gymnolaemate bryozoans. Moreover, spatio-temporal variations in the paleoenvironmental history of bryozoans imply that Late Permian and Late Triassic marine environmental instability resulted largely from some stressful deep-water phenomenon. High extinction rates in nearshore environments in the Late Permian provide a link between marine and terrestrial/atmosphere extinction-related perturbations.  相似文献