Imposex still evident in eastern Australia 10 years after tributyltin restrictions

A survey of imposex in Thais orbita (Neogastropoda) along the New South Wales (NSW) coast, Australia, found imposex was still widespread 10 years after a partial ban on tributyltin (TBT) based antifouling paints. Transplant experiments also revealed that imposex was induced in T. orbita over a period of 9 weeks in Sydney Harbour, NSW. A comparison of the imposex data with that collected shortly after the introduction of restrictions on TBT revealed a general decline in imposex frequency occurring at open coast sites, an exception being the site at South West Rocks. Sites located within harbour/bay areas did not display a decline in imposex frequency but a decline in the severity of imposex was apparent. The observed decrease in imposex values in T. orbita may reflect a general decrease of butyltin contamination within the coastal environment. However, the persistence of contamination "hotspots" within harbours and bays remains a concern.     

Animal-sediment relations in shallow water benthic communities

Ninety benthic samples were used to study animal-sediment relations in Tomales Bay, California. While most of the benthic species studied were found more often in a particular type of substrate, individuals of such species were occasionally found in other substrates. There is a striking tendency for species occurring outside of their characteristic environment to be associated with the most diverse assemblages of the foreign substrate. Species low in the order of succession are those species that are found more frequently on other substrates. These phenomena are explained in terms of environmental stability. The concepts involved suggest a means of predicting the sequence of faunal changes following the alteration of the substrate.     

Is the ‘superhot’ hard x-ray component in solar flares consistent with a thermal source?

It has been shown by Brown and Emslie (1988) that any optically thin thermal bremsstrahlung source must emit an energy spectrumL () (keV s^–1 keV^–1) which has the property that higher derivatives alternate in sign, i.e., (–) ^j L(^j)() > 0 for allj. In this short note, we apply this test to the superhot component discussed by Linet al. (1981) in order to determine whether a strictly thermal interpretation of this component is valid. We find that all statistically significant higher derivatives do indeed have the correct sign; this strengthens the identification of this component as due to a thermal source.Presidential Young Investigator.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of eclogites from the Mariánské Lázně Complex,Czech Republic: Implications for Variscan orogenesis

The Mariánské Lázn complex (MLC) is located in the Bohemian Massif along the north-western margin of the Teplá-Barrandian microplate and consists of metagabbro, amphibolite and eclogite, with subordinate amounts of serpentinite, felsic gneiss and calcsilicate rocks. The MLC is interpreted as a metaophiolite complex that marks the suture zone between the Saxothuringian rocks to the north-west and the Teplá-Barrandian microplate to the south-east. Sm-Nd geochronology of garnet-omphacite pairs from two eclogite samples yields ages of 377±7, and 367±4 Ma. Samples of eclogite and amphibolite do not define a whole rock Sm-Nd isochron, even though there is a large range in Sm/Nd ratio, implying that the suite of samples may not be cogenetic. Eclogites do not have correlated _Nd values and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. Five of the eight eclogite samples have high _Nd values (+10.2 to +7.1) consistent with derivation from a MORB-like source, but variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7033 to 0.7059) which probably reflect hydrothermal seawater alteration. Three other eclogite samples have lower _Nd values (+ 5.4 to –0.8) and widely variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7033 to 0.7096). Such low _Nd values are inconsistent with derivation from a MORB, source and may reflect a subduction or oceanic island basalt component in their source. The MLC is an important petrotectonic element in the Bohemian Massif, providing evidence for Cambro-Ordovician formation of oceanic crust and interaction with seawater, Late Devonian (Frasnian-Famennian) high- and medium-pressure metamorphism related to closure of a Saxothuringian ocean basin, Early Carboniferous (Viséan) thrusting of the Teplá terrane over Saxothuringian rocks and Late Viséan extension.     

Radar observations of asteroid 1580 Betulia

Radar observations of the asteroid 1580 Betulia, made at a wavelength of 12.6 cm, show a mean radar cross section of 2.2 ± 0.8 km² and a total spectral bandwidth of 26.5 ± 1.5 Hz. Combining our bandwidth measurements with the optically determined rotation period sets a lower limit to the asteroid's radius of 2.9 ± 0.2 km.     

Primary fractionation of elements among iron meteorites

The primary fractionation process in iron meteorites is that responsible for the distribution of elements between the groups, most notably Ga and Ge, which show concentration ranges of 10³ and 10⁴ respectively. To investigate the cause of the primary fractionation, concentrations of 16 elements were converted to relative abundances by dividing the element/Ni ratio by the CI chondrite ratio. These abundances were plotted on logarithmic graphs with data for each group (except IB and IIICD) and each cluster of closely related anomalous irons averaged.Co, P, Au, As, Cu, Sb, Ge and Zn are positively correlated with Ga. For most groups (except IA, IC and IIAB) relative abundances of these elements tend to decrease from about 1 in approximately the order listed above. This is the expected order in which these elements will condense into Fe, Ni during equilibrium nebular condensation. Mean relative abundances of refractory elements in groups generally lie within a narrow range of 0.5–2, and are uncorrelated with Ga. Although the equilibrium model may be only a gross approximation, it suggests that most primary fractionation did occur during nebular condensation.The anomalous irons are essential for defining many of the primary fractionation trends. On several element-Ga graphs the displacements of the anomalous irons from the primary curves indicate that these irons experienced the same secondary fractionation process (probably fractional crystallization) that produced the trends within most groups. The anomalous irons appear to be samples from over 50 minor groups, which have similar histories to the 12 major groups.     

A simple hypoplastic model for normally consolidated clay

The paper presents a simple constitutive model for normally consolidated clay. A mathematical formulation, using a single tensor-valued function to define the incrementally nonlinear stress–strain relation, is proposed based on the basic concept of hypoplasticity. The structure of the tensor-valued function is determined in the light of the response envelope. Particular attention is paid towards incorporating the critical state and to the capability for capturing undrained behaviour of clayey soils. With five material parameters that can be determined easily from isotropic consolidation and triaxial compression tests, the model is shown to provide good predictions for the response of normally consolidated clay along various stress paths, including drained true triaxial tests and undrained shear tests.