Shelf-Ocean material exchange influencing the Atlantic chemical composition off NW Iberian margin since the last glaciation

Rivers are the main conduit of sediment to the shelf. The basin geology, the drainage area and the discharge rate are the major factors that determine their sediment load (Milliman and Syvistski, 1992). Besides suspended particles, dissolved components may also give some information on the eroded crust. Sr isotopes in carbonate shells of biological organisms have been used to study, in the geological record, the influence exerted by the chemical weathering of the continental crust on the seawater composition (Macdougall, 1991). In this work, Sr isotope ratios obtained in tests of foraminifera representing the last 40 ka are presented and discussed in the scope of the palaeogeographical evolution of NW Iberia. This work aims to present and discuss the results of Sr isotope analyses (performed, by TIMS, in the Isotope Geology Laboratory of the University of Aveiro) of tests of two species of foraminifera, from nine samples taken along the OMEX core KC 024-19 (181 cm; 42°08’98’’N, 10°29´96’’W, and 2765m), collected in the Galicia Bank area, off Galicia. Taking into account that Sr contained in the carbonate tests is usually considered as preserving the signature of the contemporaneous seawater, one planktonic species (Globigerina bulloides) and one benthic species (Cibicides wuellerstorfi) were selected in order to try to detect Sr isotope variations both through time and between two different levels of the water column. The core age model, which records the last 40 ka, is based on a combination of oxygen isotope stratigraphy, eight AMS 14C datings and the synchronisation of the last four Heinrich Events in the Iberian Margin sedimentary records. As a whole, the obtained 87Sr/86Sr ratios vary between 0.709209 and 0.709108, with a mean 2σ error of 0.000025. These values lie within the range of modern marine Sr isotope ratios (0.70910-0.70922), as previously defined using analyses of both seawater and marine carbonates (see compilation by Faure and Mensing, 2005). Despite their small variation, the 87Sr/86Sr ratios obtained in G. bulloides seem to indicate that Sr dissolved in seawater at the KC 024-19 core site became slightly less radiogenic after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This decrease is concomitant with diminishing amounts of the detrital components in the sediments (Fig. 1). Therefore, both the composition of dissolved Sr, as revealed by results on tests of planktonic foraminifera, and the proportions of suspended terrigenous particulate material arriving at the KC 024-19 site point to a decreasing importance of the contribution of the erosion of the Iberian Variscan crust since the Last Glacial Maximum and in the Holocene. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios measured in tests of benthic foraminifera (C. wuellerstorfi) are more erratic and no correlation can be established with palaeogeographical/palaeoclimatic constraints. The difference between the behaviour of Sr compositions in G. bulloides and C. wuellerstorfi may indicate that whilst the planktonic foraminifera should reproduce very closely the seawater composition, the benthic organisms should, in addition to the major role of seawater, also be affected by some sort of interaction with the sediments. As such, planktonic foraminifera are probably more reliable indicators of seawater composition in studies involving very small periods and corresponding very slight variations of the 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Taking into account that G. bulloides is a common planktonic species (living mostly in the first 50m of the water column), whose tests seem to be in equilibrium with sea water composition, variations in its 87Sr/86Sr ratios can be related with changes in the chemical composition of the water of the Atlantic Ocean off NW Iberian Margin. The highest 87Sr/86Sr values are contemporaneous with a period of low sea level (about -140 m; Dias et al., 2000) during the LGM. According to Dias et al. (2000) at 18 ka BP the shoreline was close to the shelf break. The summital parts of the Gerês and Estrela mountains were covered by local glaciers and close to the coast freezing occurred frequently. The river catchments, which extended far to the shelf, received more rainfall due to a longer, compared to present day conditions, wet season, which promoted both physical and chemical weathering. Higher pluviosity combined with the effect of spring ice melting maintained high river discharge and consequently caused very important sediment supply to the coastal zone. The extremely narrow shelf was a very energetic environment due to sea bottom inclination and very limited long wave refraction. Therefore, at that time, a long wet season and very competent rivers should have caused important erosion of the Variscan basement in NW Iberia. Additionally, then, the shoreline was much closer to the KC 024-19 site. The combination of all these factors favoured an important deposition of terrigenous sediments and the local slight enrichment in radiogenic Sr of the seawater. With sea level rise, after the deglaciation and during the Holocene, the river estuaries became progressively far away from the shelf break. Their competence of transport also became progressively reduced and the offshore transport of detrital sediments became progressively lower. Conversely the biogenic carbonate proportion in the sediments increased, due to lower dilution by the terrigenous particles. Simultaneously, the values of 87Sr/86Sr in the seawater at the KC 024-19 site became lower, as a consequence of a complete homogenization with the ocean global composition, which was now more effective with the increasing distance towards shoreline

Causas de variação do peso após o parto de vacas mestiças leiteiras

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar as causas de variação do peso após o parto de vacas mestiças leiteiras (1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8 e >7/8 de raças especializadas de Bos taurus), criadas em um sistema de produção do tipo médio-insumo na Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, em São Carlos, SP. Os dados de peso da vaca após o parto observados no período de 1981 a 2001 (n = 1.536) foram analisados pelo método dos quadrados mínimos, por meio de um modelo linear generalizado contendo os efeitos fixos de ano de parição (1981 a 2001), estação de parição (verão, outono, inverno, primavera), grupo genético (1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8 e >7/8), ordem de parto (1 a 8) e os efeitos aleatórios de pai da vaca e erro. Houve efeitos significativos de ano de parição, estação de parição, ordem de parto e de pai da vaca sobre o peso após o parto. As médias estimadas do peso após o parto aumentaram com o decorrer dos anos, principalmente a partir de 1992 quando a maioria do rebanho era constituído por filhas de touros mestiços leiteiros em teste de progênie. As vacas com parição na primavera (outubro a dezembro) foram significativamente mais leves após o parto do que aquelas cujos partos ocorreram nas demais estações do ano. O peso da vaca após o parto aumentou da primeira até a quarta ordem de parto, estabilizando-se nas ordens seguintes. Não houve diferenças significativas entre os grupos genéticos. O efeito significativo de pai da vaca indica que há variação genética no rebanho para peso da vaca após o parto

Identification of molecular species of simple lipids by normal phase liquid chromatography-positive electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and application of developed methods in comprehensive analysis of low erucic acid rapeseed oil lipids

Mono-, di- and triacylglycerol (MAG, DAG, TAG), sterol ester (SE), free sterol (S) and free fatty acid (FFA) standards were analyzed in the presence of ammonium ions and ammonia by flow injection MS2 and MS3, and by normal phase-liquid chromatography (NP-LC) MS2 positive electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS). The MS data recorded for ammonium adducts ([M+NH4]+) of TAGs, DAGs, and MAGs were consistent with stepwise fragmentation mechanisms. In the first step, ammonium ion in [M+NH4]+ donates proton to acylglycerol and ammonia is released. In the second step, FFA is cleaved from protonated TAG, water from protonated 1,3-DAG and MAG, both FFA and water from protonated 1,2-DAG, hence leading to formation of [DAG]+ ion from TAG and 1,3-DAG, [DAG]+ and [MAG]+ ions from 1,2-DAG, and [MAG]+ ion from MAG. In the third step, [DAG]+ ion of TAG is fragmented to yield [Acyl]+, [Acyl + 74]+, [DAG−74]+ ions, [DAG] ion of 1,3-DAG to [Acyl]+ ions, and [MAG]+ ion of MAG to protonated FAs, which are decomposed to water and [Acyl]+ ions in the fourth step. A stepwise mechanism for fragmentation of FFA was also evident from MS2 and MS3 data. Molecular species of low erucic acid rapeseed oil simple lipids were identified from characteristic ions produced in the NP-LC–ESI-MS2 of [M+NH4]+ ions. The percentage composition of the molecular species of each lipid class was calculated from integrated extracted ion chromatograms of [(M+NH4)]+ ions of SE, TAG,MAG, and FFA, of the sum of [(M+NH4)]+ and [(M+NH4)−NH3 −H2O]+ ions of both regioisomers of DAGs, and of sterol fragment ions of S

Gravitational collapse of Type II fluid in higher dimensional space-times

We find the general solution of the Einstein equation for spherically symmetric collapse of Type II fluid (null strange quark fluid) in higher dimensions. It turns out that the nakedness and curvature strength of the shell focusing singularities carry over to higher dimensions. However, there is shrinkage of the initial data space for a naked singularity of the Vaidya collapse due to the presence of strange quark matter.Comment: RevTex4 style, 4 pages; Accepted in Phys. Rev.

Trapped surfaces, horizons and exact solutions in higher dimensions

A very simple criterion to ascertain if (D-2)-surfaces are trapped in arbitrary D-dimensional Lorentzian manifolds is given. The result is purely geometric, independent of the particular gravitational theory, of any field equations or of any other conditions. Many physical applications arise, a few shown here: a definition of general horizon, which reduces to the standard one in black holes/rings and other known cases; the classification of solutions with a (D-2)-dimensional abelian group of motions and the invariance of the trapping under simple dimensional reductions of the Kaluza-Klein/string/M-theory type. Finally, a stronger result involving closed trapped surfaces is presented. It provides in particular a simple sufficient condition for their absence.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, final version to appear in Class. Quantum Gra

The distance to the LMC cluster NGC 1866 and the surrounding field

We use the Main Sequence stars in the LMC cluster NGC 1866 and of Red Clump stars in the local field to obtain two independent estimates of the LMC distance. We apply an empirical Main Sequence-fitting technique based on a large sample of subdwarfs with accurate {\sl Hipparcos} parallaxes in order to estimate the cluster distance modulus, and the multicolor Red Clump method to derive distance and reddening of the LMC field. We find that the Main Sequence-fitting and the Red Clump distance moduli are in significant disagreement; NGC 1866 distance is equal to $\rm (m-M)_{0,NGC 1866}=18.33\pm$0.08 (consistent with a previous estimate using the same data and theoretical Main Sequence isochrones), while the field stars provide $\rm (m-M)_{0,field}=18.53\pm$0.07. This difference reflects the more general dichotomy in the LMC distance estimates found in the literature. Various possible causes for this disagreement are explored, with particular attention paid to the still uncertain metallicity of the cluster and the star formation history of the field stars.Comment: 5 pages, incl. 1 figure, uses emulateapj.sty, ApJ accepte