Clypeina tibanai, sp. nov. (Polyphysaceae, Dasycladales, Chlorophyta), a mid-Cretaceous green alga from the Potiguar Basin, Brazilian margin of the young South Atlantic Ocean

The fossil genus Clypeina (Michelin, 1845) comprises some 40 species. We describe Clypeina tibanai, a new spe-cies from ? upper Albian–Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar Basin, Brazil, characterised by closely set verticils of tubular, bended laterals. It is compared with Clypeina hanabataensis Yabe & Toyama, 1949, a Late Jurassic species, and with Pseudoactinoporella fragilis (Conrad, 1970), an Early Cretaceous taxon. The new species be-longs to a short list of green algae found in the young South Atlantic oceanic corridor, an assemblage defining a phycological paleobioprovince discrete from that of the Tethyan realm

Falsolikanella danilovae RADOIČIĆ ex BARATTOLO 1978, n. comb., a diploporacean alga from the Urgonian facies

International audienceOriginally described as Likanella danilovae RADOIČIĆ 1969, nom. nud., the species partly revisited hereafter has been lately ascribed to the genus Praturlonella BARATTOLO 1978 and validly published under this new combination. This short paper aims to demonstrate that it should be referred to the genus Falsolikanella GRANIER 1987

The IMAM case. Additional investigation of a micropaleontological fraud

International audienceStarting in 1996 and for almost a decade, M.M. IMAM contributed to twelve papers published in international geological journals. These papers dealt with the micropaleontology and biostratigraphy of Cretaceous to Miocene series from Egypt and Libya. They were abundantly illustrated in order to support the author's findings and interpretations. However most photographic illustrations (189 at least) were fabricated with material lifted from the publications of other authors, commonly from localities or stratigraphic intervals other than those indicated by M.M. IMAM

Top-down estimate of a large source of atmospheric carbon monoxide associated with fuel combustion in Asia

We simulate the oceanic and atmospheric distribution of methyl iodide (CH3I) with a global 3-D model driven by assimilated meteorological observations from the Goddard Earth Observing System of the NASA Data Assimilation Office and coupled to an oceanic mixed layer model. A global compilation of atmospheric and oceanic observations is used to constrain and evaluate the simulation. Seawater CH3I(aq) in the model is produced photochemically from dissolved organic carbon, and is removed by reaction with Cl− and emission to the atmosphere. The net oceanic emission to the atmosphere is 214 Gg yr−1. Small terrestrial emissions from rice paddies, wetlands, and biomass burning are also included in the model. The model captures 40% of the variance in the observed seawater CH3I(aq) concentrations. Simulated concentrations at midlatitudes in summer are too high, perhaps because of a missing biological sink of CH3I(aq). We define a marine convection index (MCI) as the ratio of upper tropospheric (8–12 km) to lower tropospheric (0–2.5 km) CH3I concentrations averaged over coherent oceanic regions. The MCI in the observations ranges from 0.11 over strongly subsiding regions (southeastern subtropical Pacific) to 0.40 over strongly upwelling regions (western equatorial Pacific). The model reproduces the observed MCI with no significant global bias (offset of only +11%) but accounts for only 15% of its spatial and seasonal variance. The MCI can be used to test marine convection in global models, complementing the use of radon-222 as a test of continental convection.Engineering and Applied Science

Reinstatement of the genus Bakalovaella Bucur, 1993 (Dasycladeae, Dasycladaceae), and a description of its earliest Cretaceous representative

Une nouvelle espèce de Dasycladacée de l'Hauterivien d'Aquitaine (France) est décrite. Elle est attribuée au genre Bakalovaella Bucur, 1993, réhabilité ici. D'un point de vue phylogénétique, en se fondant sur le modèle du "piston élévateur", ce taxon appartiendrait à une lignée issue des Diploporacées.A new Dasycladacean species found in Hauterivian strata in Aquitaine is described. It is ascribed to the genus Bakalovaella Bucur, 1993, which is reinstated here. From a phylogenetic point of view, based of the "lifting piston" model, this taxon should be part of a lineage derived from the Diploporaceae

Upper Aptian calcareous algae from Pădurea Craiului (Northern Apuseni Mountains, Romania)

A study of calcareous strata previously assigned to the Barremian-Early Aptian interval in the northwestern part of Pădurea Craiului, (Apuseni Mountains), led to the identifi cation of a icropaleontological association indicative of a Late Aptian age. Unequivocal evidence for the Late Aptian assignment of these limestones is the presence throughout the sequence of two orbitolinid species, Mesorbitolina texana (ROEMER) and Mesorbitolina subconcava (LEYMERIE). The most interesting sections are located in the neighbourhood of Subpiatră, where both outcrops and a quarry facilitated detailed analyses. In this area, the Upper Aptian succession consists basically of three types of macrofacies: 1) limestone with rudists; 2) limestone with Bacinella and 3) limestone with corals, each of them showing several types of microfacies. Bacinella structures are the most common feature in the whole succession, irrespective of the macrofacies. This paper focuses on an algal association that was identifi ed in several levels within the succession. Dasycladalean algae are more frequent, and are commonly found in grain-dominated fabrics (mostly grainstone textures), in association with orbitolinid foraminifera and bioclasts of corals, rudists and gastropods. However, a few species are present only in mud-dominated fabrics (i.e. lower-energy intervals). The dasycladalean association from the Upper Aptian deposits of Pădurea Craiului is of special interest, for this group registered a dramatic decline at the Lower Aptian/Upper Aptian boundary, as confirmed by the relative scarcity of the Dasycladales in the Upper Aptian carbonate deposits

Transient response of sap flow to wind speed

Transient responses of sap flow to step changes in wind speed were experimentally investigated in a wind tunnel. A Granier-type sap flow sensor was calibrated and tested in a cylindrical tube for analysis of its transient time response. Then the sensor was used to measure the transient response of a well-watered Pachira macrocarpa plant to wind speed variations. The transient response of sap flow was described using the resistance–capacitance model. The steady sap flow rate increased as the wind speed increased at low wind speeds. Once the wind speed exceeded 8.0 m s−1, the steady sap flow rate did not increase further. The transpiration rate, measured gravimetrically, showed a similar trend. The response of nocturnal sap flow to wind speed variation was also measured and compared with the results in the daytime. Under the same wind speed, the steady sap flow rate was smaller than that in the daytime, indicating differences between diurnal and nocturnal hydraulic function, and incomplete stomatal closure at night. In addition, it was found that the temporal response of the Granier sensor is fast enough to resolve the transient behaviour of water flux in plant tissue