Aquatic systems worldwide receive large amounts of organic carbon from terrestrial sources. This ‘allochthonous’ organic carbon (AlloOC) affects critical physical and chemical properties of freshwater ecosystems, with consequences for food web structures and exchange of greenhouse gases with the atmosphere. In the boreal region, loadings of AlloOC are particularly high due to leaching from huge organic deposits in boreal forest, mire and tundra soils. A main process of AlloOC turnover in aquatic systems is its use by heterotrophic bacteria. Applying a bioassay approach, I measured the respiration and growth (production) of bacteria in northern Sweden, in streams and lakes almost totally dominated by AlloOC. The objective was to elucidate how variations in AlloOC source, age, composition and concentration impact on its use by aquatic bacteria, and how AlloOC properties, in turn, are regulated by landscape composition and by hydrology. The bacterial respiration (30-309 µg C L-1 d-1) was roughly proportional to the concentration of AlloOC (7-47 mg C L-1), but not significantly related to AlloOC source or character. Bacterial production (4-94 µg C L-1 d-1), on the other hand, was coupled to the AlloOC character, rather than concentration. A strong coupling to AlloOC character was also found for bacterial growth efficiency (0.06-0.51), i.e. production per unit of assimilated carbon. Bacterial production and growth efficiency increased with rising concentrations of low molecular weight AlloOC (carboxylic acids, free amino acids and simple carbohydrates). While the total AlloOC concentrations generally were the highest in mire-dominated catchments, low molecular weight AlloOC concentrations were much higher in forested catchments, compared to mire-dominated. These patterns were reflected in a strong landscape control of aquatic bacterial metabolism. Moreover, high flow episodes increased the export of organic carbon from forests, in relation to the export from mires, stimulating the bacterial production and growth efficiency in streams with mixed (forest and mire) catchments. The potential of AlloOC to support efficient bacterial growth decreased on time-scales of weeks to months, as the AlloOC was aged in laboratory or lake in situ conditions. To conclude, landscape, hydrology and conditions which determine AlloOC age have large influence on bacterial metabolism in boreal aquatic systems. Considering the role of bacteria in heterotrophic food chains, these factors can have spin-off effects on the structure and function of boreal aquatic ecosystems.

Inland waters process large amounts of organic carbon, contributing to CO2 and CH4 emissions, as well as storing organic carbon (OC) over geological timescales. Recently, it has been shown that the magnitude of these processes is of global significance. It is therefore important to understand what regulates OC cycling in inland waters and how is that affected by climate change. This thesis investigates the constraints on microbial processing of sediment OC, as a key factor of the carbon cycling in boreal lakes. Sediment bacterial metabolism was primarily controlled by temperature but also regulated by OC quality/origin. Temperature sensitivity of sediment OC mineralization was similar in contrasting lakes and over long-term. Allochthonous OC had a strong constraining effect on sediment bacterial metabolism and biomass, with increasingly allochthonous sediments supporting decreasing bacterial metabolism and biomass. The bacterial biomass followed the same pattern as bacterial activity and was largely regulated by similar factors. The rapid turnover of bacterial biomass as well as the positive correlation between sediment mineralization and bacterial biomass suggest a limited effect of bacterial grazing. Regardless of the OC source, the sediment microbial community was more similar within season than within lakes. A comparison of data from numerous soils as well as sediments on the temperature response of OC mineralization showed higher temperature sensitivity of the sediment mineralization. Furthermore, the low rates of areal OC mineralization in sediments compared to soils suggest that lakes sediments are hotspots of OC sequestration. Increased sediment mineralization due to increase in temperature in epilimnetic sediments can significantly reduce OC burial in boreal lakes. An increase of temperature, as predicted for Northern latitudes, under different climate warming scenarios by the end of the twenty-first century, resulted in 4–27% decrease in lake sediment OC burial for the entire boreal zone.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Zoology, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 17-21).

Prompted by increased interest in understanding microporosity, recent efforts at describing and classifying pore types in mudstones have focused primarily on siliceous, gas producing unconventional reservoirs with little attention being paid to carbonate, mixed oil-and-gas producers. The Niobrara Formation in the Denver-Julesburg Basin is a self-sourced resource play producing oil and natural gas from low permeability chalks. Key reservoir lithologies consist of chalk, chalky marl and marl. These lithologies contain flattened chalk fecal pellets which play a significant role in providing porosity. Integration of depositional fabric with pore-type distribution emphasizes the unique textural and depositional nature of chalk and provides a starting point for evaluation of diagenetic porosity modification. Chalk depositional textures comprise two main subdivisions. The first, called rainstone, includes chalks that form largely from settling of planktonic skeletal remains and fecal pellets as marine snow. New terms related to pelagic chalk textures are pelagic mudstone, pelagic wackestone, and pelagic packstone. The second, called allochthonous chalk, consists of chalks formed from syndepositional tectonic disruption of the seafloor, resulting in mass-movement and redeposition of chalk as turbidites and slide sheets. New terms related to allochthonous chalk textures are allomudstone, allofloatstone, and allorudstone. A chalk porosity classification consisting of four major pore types is presented that can be used to quantify Niobrara chalk pores and relate them to depositional texture, porosity networks, diagenetic history, and pore distributions. Interparticle porosity occurs largely between coccoliths and coccolith fragments, and decreases with burial ranging from 27-38% to 5-17%. Intraparticle porosity occurs within chalk pellets, coccospheres, coccolith plates and foraminifera tests, and also decreases with burial. Organic matter pores are intraparticle pores located within organic matter and are related to hydrocarbon generation. Channel pores, where present, can have significant influence on hydrocarbon storage and permeability networks. In the Niobrara, burial diagenesis in the form of mechanical compaction, chemical compaction, and syntaxial cement overgrowths, modifies pore shape and abundance. Porosity distribution is controlled by the abundance of chalk pellets and the mineralogy of the matrix. Permeability is a function of matrix lithology (micrite-rich vs. silt- and clay-rich). Understanding chalk depositional and diagenetic processes, and how they relate to porosity formation and pore evolution provide a foundation for more accurately predicting the occurrence and distribution of hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks within the Niobrara.

<p> The area of study is a small area of allochthonous rocks structurally located immediately above an Archean antiform in the Wopmay Orogen of the Northwest Territories. The rocks of the study area represent various units of the Akaitcho Group epicontinental rift fill deposits. All rocks are allochthonous, lying structurally above basement and autochthonous cover. </p> <p> Within the allochthonous rocks, three phases of deformation and a metamorphic culimnation are evident. The first episode (Dl) involved thrusting and folding of the allochthon over the Slave Craton, coinciding with peak metamorphic conditions. This phase of deformation was followed by an episode of coaxial, thick-skinned folding (D2), producing the large scale folds of basement and cover witnessed in the area. A late cross-folding event (D3), has provided up to 6 km of structural relief in the study area. The deformational history thus recorded in the Wopmay Orogen is similar to that documented in other orogenic belts such as the eastern Alps and Gape Smith Belt in Quebec. </p> <p> Metamorphism in the study area is hot side up Buchan type. A progression is observed in pelitic assemblages from muscovite-sillimanite grade to sillimanite-K feldspar grade, from east to west across the study area. A retrogression has produced sillimanite quartz pods (faserkiesel), its occurrence has permitted a relocation of the pre-existing prograde isograd. </p> <p> These finds are consistent with the current tectonic model for the area. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

No description available.

No description available.

Em riachos de cabeceira florestados, o aporte de material vegetal da zona ripária é de suma importância, pois sua decomposição disponibiliza nutrientes para um sistema de baixa produtividade primária. Mudanças no uso do solo têm forte influência na abundância e composição do material vegetal alóctone disponível para decomposição, alterando fontes e fluxos de nutrientes. Os macroinvertebrados atuam na decomposição como organismos fundamentais na conversão da matéria orgânica grossa em matéria orgânica fina. Neste contexto, este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a colonização e a função dos macroinvertebrados aquáticos na decomposição foliar. Foram selecionados dois riachos na Serra do Mar, SP, sendo um em área de floresta e outro em área de pastagem, onde foram instalados litter bags preenchidos com Mollinedia schottiana, Brachiaria brizantha (gramínea) ou a mistura das espécies. Estes foram dispostos no fundo dos riachos e coletados temporalmente aos 7, 17, 31, 63 e 91 dias após suas instalações. Os invertebrados foram identificados, quantificados e classificados em grupos funcionais e o material vegetal foi seco e determinado seu peso remanescente. Em seguida, foi realizada a análise isotópica dos macroinvertebrados encontrados e das suas possíveis fontes alimentares, sendo calculada também a contribuição dos produtores primários em suas dietas. Os resultados mostram uma decomposição mais rápida da gramínea na área de floresta e da M. schottiana na pastagem. Maiores abundâncias e densidades de macroinvertebrados foram encontradas na pastagem e nas gramíneas, sendo a densidade inversamente proporcional ao peso remanescente. A riqueza foi similar entre os riachos e tratamentos e a diversidade foi superior na área florestal. Chironomidae foram os mais abundantes em ambos os riachos e tratamentos, sendo responsáveis por mais de 50% do total de indivíduos. Trichoptera foram mais abundantes na floresta e nos tratamentos com a M. schottiana. Amphipoda foram encontrados apenas na floresta. Coletores, fragmentadores e predadores, de modo geral, foram os principais grupos tróficos encontrados, sendo os fragmentadores mais representativos nas coletas iniciais, destacando-se principalmente na floresta e nos tratamentos com a M. schottiana. Os valores isotópicos na pastagem se mostraram mais enriquecidos, tanto com relação ao 13C quanto ao 15N. Os valores isotópicos dos macroinvertebrados indicaram baixa contribuição das gramíneas (C4) em sua dieta, podendo destacar a maior influência de M. schottiana (C3) na floresta enquanto que, na pastagem, maior influência de perifiton e M. schottiana (C3). Assim, pode-se reforçar papel da vegetação ripária para os riachos, sendo sua conservação de grande importância na transferência de matéria e energia nesses ecossistemas e outros adjacentes / In forested headwaters, the plant material input from the riparian zone is very important, as its decomposition provides nutrients for a low primary production system. Land use changes have a great influence in the abundance and composition of allochthonous plant material available for decomposition, altering nutrients sources and fluxes. The macroinvertebrates act in the decomposition process as key organisms at the conversion of coarse organic matter into fine organic matter. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the colonization and the role of aquatic macroinvertebrates in leaf breakdown. Two streams of the Serra do Mar, SP, were selected, one at a forest area and the other at a pasture area, where litter bags filled with Mollinedia schottiana, Brachiaria brizantha (grass) or a mixture of species were installed. These were placed at the bottom of streams and collected periodically (7, 17, 31, 63 and 91 days).Invertebrates were identified, quantified and ranked into functional groups while plant material was dried for determination of its remaining dry weight. Then, the isotopic analyzes were performed for the found macroinvertebrates and its possible food sources, and it was also calculated the contribution of the primary producers in their diets. The results show faster breakdown of the grass at the forest area and of Mollinedia schottiana at the pasture. Greater macroinvertebrates abundance and density were found in the pasture and in the grass, being the density inversely proportional to the remaining weight. Richness was similar between streams and treatments and the diversity was higher at the forest. Chironomidae were the most abundant in both streams and treatments, being responsible for more than 50% of all individuals. Trichoptera were more abundant at the forest and in treatments with Mollinedia schottiana, while Amphipoda were found only in the forest. Collectors, shredders and predators, in general, were the main functional trophic group found and shredders were more representative in the first samplings, mainly at the forest and in treatments with Mollinedia schottiana. The pasture was more isotopically enriched, both in relation to 13C as to 15N. The isotopic values of macroinvertebrates indicated low grasses (C4) contribution in their diet, what can highlight the higher influence of Mollinedia schottiana (C3) in the forest and periphyton and Mollinedia schottiana (C3) in the pasture. Thus, it can enhance the role of riparian vegetation to the streams, and the importance of its conservation for the transfer of matter and energy process at these ecosystems and other adjacent systems

Unproductive lakes are one of few natural landscape compartments with net release of carbon to the atmosphere. Lakes also generally decrease the net terrestrial carbon uptake, since most of the CO2 production in unproductive lakes are derived from organic carbon produced on land (e.g. in forests). High latitude lakes are predicted to be particularly affected by the global climate change. The carbon cycling in these lakes and their role in the landscape are therefore important to study. In this thesis, carbon turnover processes were studied in two lakes above the arctic circle (Lake Diktar-Erik and Lake Merasjärvi) in year 2004 and 2005. Both lakes were net heterotrophic, with large variations in CO2 concentrations both on shorter (30min) and longer (24h) time-scales. The pelagic habitat supported a major part of the net production of CO2, with larger dynamics in the CO2 production than the sediments. The CO2 variations of the surface water were related to respiration of allochthonous organic carbon, and were affected by the concentration and quality of the DOC, as well as the whole lake water temperatures, and vertical water movements. The emission of CO2 from Lake Merasjärvi was measured with the eddy covariance tech­nique. The results showed that the gas transfer rate during moderate winds were higher than expected, causing the two most commonly used models to underestimate the long term fluxes of CO2 from the lake. Taken together, the results of the thesis show that the studied lakes contributed to bring terrestrial organic carbon back into the atmosphere, driven by a substantial internal CO2 production based on mineralization of allochthonous organic carbon. Major results are that the eddy covariance technique indicated that commonly used models tend to underestimate the net release rate of CO2 from lakes to the atmosphere, and that the lake CO2 dynamics can be the results of interactions between biogeochemical and physical processes in the lake water.

Em riachos de cabeceira florestados, o aporte de material vegetal da zona ripária é de suma importância, pois sua decomposição disponibiliza nutrientes para um sistema de baixa produtividade primária. Mudanças no uso do solo têm forte influência na abundância e composição do material vegetal alóctone disponível para decomposição, alterando fontes e fluxos de nutrientes. Os macroinvertebrados atuam na decomposição como organismos fundamentais na conversão da matéria orgânica grossa em matéria orgânica fina. Neste contexto, este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a colonização e a função dos macroinvertebrados aquáticos na decomposição foliar. Foram selecionados dois riachos na Serra do Mar, SP, sendo um em área de floresta e outro em área de pastagem, onde foram instalados litter bags preenchidos com Mollinedia schottiana, Brachiaria brizantha (gramínea) ou a mistura das espécies. Estes foram dispostos no fundo dos riachos e coletados temporalmente aos 7, 17, 31, 63 e 91 dias após suas instalações. Os invertebrados foram identificados, quantificados e classificados em grupos funcionais e o material vegetal foi seco e determinado seu peso remanescente. Em seguida, foi realizada a análise isotópica dos macroinvertebrados encontrados e das suas possíveis fontes alimentares, sendo calculada também a contribuição dos produtores primários em suas dietas. Os resultados mostram uma decomposição mais rápida da gramínea na área de floresta e da M. schottiana na pastagem. Maiores abundâncias e densidades de macroinvertebrados foram encontradas na pastagem e nas gramíneas, sendo a densidade inversamente proporcional ao peso remanescente. A riqueza foi similar entre os riachos e tratamentos e a diversidade foi superior na área florestal. Chironomidae foram os mais abundantes em ambos os riachos e tratamentos, sendo responsáveis por mais de 50% do total de indivíduos. Trichoptera foram mais abundantes na floresta e nos tratamentos com a M. schottiana. Amphipoda foram encontrados apenas na floresta. Coletores, fragmentadores e predadores, de modo geral, foram os principais grupos tróficos encontrados, sendo os fragmentadores mais representativos nas coletas iniciais, destacando-se principalmente na floresta e nos tratamentos com a M. schottiana. Os valores isotópicos na pastagem se mostraram mais enriquecidos, tanto com relação ao 13C quanto ao 15N. Os valores isotópicos dos macroinvertebrados indicaram baixa contribuição das gramíneas (C4) em sua dieta, podendo destacar a maior influência de M. schottiana (C3) na floresta enquanto que, na pastagem, maior influência de perifiton e M. schottiana (C3). Assim, pode-se reforçar papel da vegetação ripária para os riachos, sendo sua conservação de grande importância na transferência de matéria e energia nesses ecossistemas e outros adjacentes / In forested headwaters, the plant material input from the riparian zone is very important, as its decomposition provides nutrients for a low primary production system. Land use changes have a great influence in the abundance and composition of allochthonous plant material available for decomposition, altering nutrients sources and fluxes. The macroinvertebrates act in the decomposition process as key organisms at the conversion of coarse organic matter into fine organic matter. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the colonization and the role of aquatic macroinvertebrates in leaf breakdown. Two streams of the Serra do Mar, SP, were selected, one at a forest area and the other at a pasture area, where litter bags filled with Mollinedia schottiana, Brachiaria brizantha (grass) or a mixture of species were installed. These were placed at the bottom of streams and collected periodically (7, 17, 31, 63 and 91 days).Invertebrates were identified, quantified and ranked into functional groups while plant material was dried for determination of its remaining dry weight. Then, the isotopic analyzes were performed for the found macroinvertebrates and its possible food sources, and it was also calculated the contribution of the primary producers in their diets. The results show faster breakdown of the grass at the forest area and of Mollinedia schottiana at the pasture. Greater macroinvertebrates abundance and density were found in the pasture and in the grass, being the density inversely proportional to the remaining weight. Richness was similar between streams and treatments and the diversity was higher at the forest. Chironomidae were the most abundant in both streams and treatments, being responsible for more than 50% of all individuals. Trichoptera were more abundant at the forest and in treatments with Mollinedia schottiana, while Amphipoda were found only in the forest. Collectors, shredders and predators, in general, were the main functional trophic group found and shredders were more representative in the first samplings, mainly at the forest and in treatments with Mollinedia schottiana. The pasture was more isotopically enriched, both in relation to 13C as to 15N. The isotopic values of macroinvertebrates indicated low grasses (C4) contribution in their diet, what can highlight the higher influence of Mollinedia schottiana (C3) in the forest and periphyton and Mollinedia schottiana (C3) in the pasture. Thus, it can enhance the role of riparian vegetation to the streams, and the importance of its conservation for the transfer of matter and energy process at these ecosystems and other adjacent systems