Microbial Iron Reduction by Enrichment Cultures Isolated from Estuarine Sediments

Microbial Fe reduction in acetate- and succinate-containing enrichment cultures initiated with an estuarine sediment inoculum was studied. Fe reduction was unaffected when SO42− reduction was inhibited by MoO42−, indicating that both processes could occur independently. Bacterially produced sulfide precipitated as FeS but was not completely responsible for Fe reduction. The separation of oxidized Fe particles from bacteria by dialysis tubing demonstrated that direct bacterial contact was necessary for Fe reduction. Fe reduction in cultures amended with NO3− was delayed until NO3− and NO2− were removed. However, bacterial attachment to oxidized Fe particles in NO3−-amended cultures occurred early during growth in a manner similar to NO3−-free cultures. During late stages of growth, bacteria not attached to Fe particles became pale and swollen, while attached cells remained bright blue when examined by 4′,6-diamidine-2-phenylindole epifluo-rescence microscopy. The presence of added oxidized Mn had no effect on Fe reduction. The results suggested that enzymatic Fe reduction was responsible for reducing Fe in these cultures even in the presence of sulfide and that cells incapable of Fe reduction became unhealthy when Fe(III) was the only available electron acceptor

Sulfate reduction and other sedimentary biogeochemistry in a northern New England salt marsh

Sulfate reduction rates, dissolved iron and sulfide concentrations, and titration alkalinity were measured in salt marsh soils along a transect that included areas inhabited by both the tall and short forms of Spartina alterniflora and by Spartina patens. Pore waters were collected with in situ 'sippers' to acquire temporal data from the same location without disturbing plant roots. During 1984, data collected at weekly intervals showed rapid temporal changes in belowground biogeochemical processes that coincided with changes in S. alterniflora physiology. Rates of SO4(-2) reduction increased fivefold (to greater than 2.5 micromol ml(sup -1)d(sup -1)) when plants began elongating aboveground yet decreased fourfold upon plant flowering. This rapid increase in rates of SO4(-2) reduction must have been fueled by dissolved organic matter released from roots only during active growth. Once plants flowered, the supply of oxidants to the soil decreased and sulfide and alkalinity concentrations increased despite decreases in SO4(-2) reduction and increases in SO4(-2):Cl(-) ratios. Sulfide concentrations were highest in soils inhabited by tallest plants. During 1985, S. alterniflora became infested with fly larvae (Chaetopsis apicalis John) and aboveground growth ceased in late June. This cessation was accompanied by decreased rates of SO4(-2) reduction similar to those noted during the previous year when flowering occurred. After the fly infestation, the pore-water chemical profiles of these soils resembled profiles of soils inhabited by the short form of S. alterniflora. The SO4(-2) reduction rates in S. patens soils are the first reported. Rates were similar to those in S. alterniflora except that they did not increase greatly when S. patens was elongating. Tidal and rainfall events produced desiccation-saturation cycles that altered redox conditions in the S. patens soils, resulting in rapid changes in the dissolution and precipitation of iron and in the magnitude and spatial distribution of SO4(-2) reduction

Flux pinning and phase separation in oxygen rich La2-xSrxCuO4+y system

We have studied the magnetic characteristics of a series of super-oxygenated La2-xSrxCuO4+y samples. As shown in previous work, these samples spontaneously phase separate into an oxygen rich superconducting phase with a TC near 40 K and an oxygen poor magnetic phase that also orders near 40 K. All samples studied are highly magnetically reversible even to low temperatures. Although the internal magnetic regions of these samples might be expected to act as pinning sites, our present study shows that they do not favor flux pinning. Flux pinning requires a matching condition between the defect and the superconducting coherence length. Thus, our results imply that the magnetic regions are too large to act as pinning centers. This also implies that the much greater flux pinning in typical La2-xSrxCuO4 materials is the result of nanoscale inhomogeneities that grow to become the large magnetic regions in the super-oxygenated materials. The superconducting regions of the phase separated materials are in that sense cleaner and more homogenous than in the typical cuprate superconductor.Comment: 4 figures 8 pages Submitted to PR

NICMOS Imaging of the Nuclei of Arp 220

We report high resolution imaging of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 at 1.1, 1.6, and 2.22 microns with NICMOS on the HST. The diffraction-limited images at 0.1--0.2 arcsecond resolution clearly resolve both nuclei of the merging galaxy system and reveal for the first time a number of luminous star clusters in the circumnuclear envelope. The morphologies of both nuclei are strongly affected by dust obscuration, even at 2.2 microns : the primary nucleus (west) presents a crescent shape, concave to the south and the secondary (eastern) nucleus is bifurcated by a dust lane with the southern component being very reddened. In the western nucleus, the morphology of the 2.2 micron emission is most likely the result of obscuration by an opaque disk embedded within the nuclear star cluster. The morphology of the central starburst-cluster in the western nucleus is consistent with either a circumnuclear ring of star formation or a spherical cluster with the bottom half obscured by the embedded dust disk. Comparison of cm-wave radio continuum maps with the near-infrared images suggests that the radio nuclei lie in the dust disk on the west and near the highly reddened southern component of the eastern complex. The radio nuclei are separated by 0.98 arcseconds (corresponding to 364 pc at 77 Mpc) and the half-widths of the infrared nuclei are approximately 0.2-0.5 arcseconds. At least 8, unresolved infrared sources -- probably globular clusters -- are also seen in the circumnuclear envelope at radii 2-7 arcseconds . Their near-infrared colors do not significantly constrain their ages.Comment: LaTex, 15 pages with 1 gif figure and 5 postscript figures. ApJL accepte

Infinite-range Ising ferromagnet in a time-dependent transverse field: quench and ac dynamics near the quantum critical point

We study an infinite range ferromagnetic Ising model in the presence of a transverse magnetic field which exhibits a quantum paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition at a critical value of the transverse field. In the thermodynamic limit, the low-temperature properties of this model are dominated by the behavior of a single large classical spin governed by an anisotropic Hamiltonian. Using this property, we study the quench and AC dynamics of the model both numerically and analytically, and develop a correspondence between the classical phase space dynamics of a single spin and the quantum dynamics of the infinite-range ferromagnetic Ising model. In particular, we compare the behavior of the equal-time order parameter correlation function both near to and away from the quantum critical point in the presence of a quench or AC transverse field. We explicitly demonstrate that a clear signature of the quantum critical point can be obtained by studying the AC dynamics of the system even in the classical limit. We discuss possible realizations of our model in experimental systems.Comment: Revtex4, 10 pages including 10 figures; corrected a sign error in Eq. 32; this is the final published versio

Lidar Systems for Precision Navigation and Safe Landing on Planetary Bodies

The ability of lidar technology to provide three-dimensional elevation maps of the terrain, high precision distance to the ground, and approach velocity can enable safe landing of robotic and manned vehicles with a high degree of precision. Currently, NASA is developing novel lidar sensors aimed at needs of future planetary landing missions. These lidar sensors are a 3-Dimensional Imaging Flash Lidar, a Doppler Lidar, and a Laser Altimeter. The Flash Lidar is capable of generating elevation maps of the terrain that indicate hazardous features such as rocks, craters, and steep slopes. The elevation maps collected during the approach phase of a landing vehicle, at about 1 km above the ground, can be used to determine the most suitable safe landing site. The Doppler Lidar provides highly accurate ground relative velocity and distance data allowing for precision navigation to the landing site. Our Doppler lidar utilizes three laser beams pointed to different directions to measure line of sight velocities and ranges to the ground from altitudes of over 2 km. Throughout the landing trajectory starting at altitudes of about 20 km, the Laser Altimeter can provide very accurate ground relative altitude measurements that are used to improve the vehicle position knowledge obtained from the vehicle navigation system. At altitudes from approximately 15 km to 10 km, either the Laser Altimeter or the Flash Lidar can be used to generate contour maps of the terrain, identifying known surface features such as craters, to perform Terrain relative Navigation thus further reducing the vehicle s relative position error. This paper describes the operational capabilities of each lidar sensor and provides a status of their development. Keywords: Laser Remote Sensing, Laser Radar, Doppler Lidar, Flash Lidar, 3-D Imaging, Laser Altimeter, Precession Landing, Hazard Detectio

Elevated acetate concentrations in the rhizosphere of Spartina alterniflora and potential influences on sulfate reduction

Acetate is important in anaerobic metabolism of non-vegetated sediments but its role in salt marsh soils was not investigated thoroughly. Acetate concentrations, oxidation (C-14) and SO4(2-) reduction (S-35) were measured in S. alterniflora soils in NH and MA. Pore water from cores contained greater than 0.1 mM acetate and in some instances greater than 1.0 mM. Non-destructive samples contained less than 0.01 mM. Acetate was associated with roots and concentrations were highest during vegetative growth and varied with changes in plant physiology. Acetate turnover was very low whether whole core or slurry incubations were used. Radiotracers injected directly into soils yielded rates of SO4(2-) reduction and acetate oxidation not significantly different from core incubation techniques. Regardless of incubation method, acetate oxidation did not account for a significant percentage of SO4(2-) reduction. These results differ markedly from data for non-vegetated coastal sediments where acetate levels are low, oxidation rate constants are high and acetate oxidation rates greatly exceed rates of SO4(2-) reduction. The discrepancy between rates of acetate oxidation and SO4(2-) reduction in marsh soils may be due either to the utilization of substrates other than acetate by SO4(2-) reducers or artifacts associated with measurements of organic utilization by rhizosphere bacteria