Carbon release from submarine seeps at the Costa Rica fore arc: implications for the volatile cycle at the Central America convergent margin

We report total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) abundances and isotope ratios, as well as helium isotope ratios (3He/4He), of cold seep fluids sampled at the Costa Rica fore arc in order to evaluate the extent of carbon loss from the submarine segment of the Central America convergent margin. Seep fluids were collected over a 12 month period at Mound 11, Mound 12, and Jaco Scar using copper tubing attached to submarine flux meters operating in continuous pumping mode. The fluids show minimum 3He/4He ratios of 1.3 RA (where RA is air 3He/4He), consistent with a small but discernable contribution of mantle-derived helium. At Mound 11, δ13C∑CO2 values between −23.9‰ and −11.6‰ indicate that DIC is predominantly derived from deep methanogenesis and is carried to the surface by fluids derived from sediments of the subducting slab. In contrast, at Mound 12, most of the ascending dissolved methane is oxidized due to lower flow rates, giving extremely low δ13C∑CO2 values ranging from −68.2‰ to −60.3‰. We estimate that the carbon flux (CO2 plus methane) through submarine fluid venting at the outer fore arc is 8.0 × 105 g C km−1 yr−1, which is virtually negligible compared to the total sedimentary carbon input to the margin and the output at the volcanic front. Unless there is a significant but hitherto unidentified carbon flux at the inner fore arc, the implication is that most of the carbon being subducted in Costa Rica must be transferred to the (deeper) mantle, i.e., beyond the depth of arc magma generation

Post-seismic response of the outer accretionary prism after the 2010 Maule earthquake, Chile

To investigate the dynamic response of the outer accretionary prism up-dip from the patch of greatest slip during the 2010 M-w 8.8 Maule earthquake (Chile), 10 ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) were deployed from May 2012 to March 2013 in a small network with an inter-instrument spacing of 710 km. Nine were recovered, with four recording data from intermediate-band three-component seismometers and differential pressure gauges, and five recording data from absolute pressure gauges (APGs). All instruments were also equipped with fluid flow meters designed to detect very low rates of flow into or out of the seafloor. We present hypocenters for local earthquakes that have S-P times <17 s (i.e., within similar to 125 km of the network), with a focus on events located beneath or near the network. Most of the seismicity occurred either near the boundary between the active accretionary prism and continental basement or in the outer rise seaward of the trench. For many outer-rise earthquakes, the P and S arrivals are followed by a distinctive T-phase arrival. Very few earthquakes, and none located with hypocenters deemed "reliable," were located within the active accretionary prism or on the underlying plate boundary. Nonvolcanic tremor-like pulses and seafloor pressure transients (but no very-low-frequency earthquakes or fluid flow) were also detected. Many of the tremor observations are likely T-phases or reverberations due to soft seafloor sediments, although at least one episode may have originated within the accretionary prism south of the network. The transient seafloor pressure changes were observed simultaneously on three APGs located over the transition from the active prism to the continental basement and show polarity changes over short distances, suggesting a shallow source. Their duration of several hours to days is shorter than most geodetic transients observed using onshore GPS networks. The results demonstrate the need for densely spaced and large-aperture OBS networks equipped with APGs for understanding subduction zone behavior.National Science Foundation (NSF) OCE1130013 / OCE1129574 Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 1117004

Diurnal and Circadian Rhythms in the Tomato Transcriptome and Their Modulation by Cryptochrome Photoreceptors

BACKGROUND: Circadian clocks are internal molecular time-keeping mechanisms that provide living organisms with the ability to adjust their growth and physiology and to anticipate diurnal environmental changes. Circadian clocks, without exception, respond to light and, in plants, light is the most potent and best characterized entraining stimulus. The capacity of plants to respond to light is achieved through a number of photo-perceptive proteins including cryptochromes and phytochromes. There is considerable experimental evidence demonstrating the roles of photoreceptors in providing light input to the clock. METHODOLOGY: In order to identify genes regulated by diurnal and circadian rhythms, and to establish possible functional relations between photoreceptors and the circadian clock in tomato, we monitored the temporal transcription pattern in plants entrained to long-day conditions, either by large scale comparative profiling, or using a focused approach over a number of photosensory and clock-related genes by QRT-PCR. In parallel, focused transcription analyses were performed in cry1a- and in CRY2-OX tomato genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: We report a large series of transcript oscillations that shed light on the complex network of interactions among tomato photoreceptors and clock-related genes. Alteration of cryptochrome gene expression induced major changes in the rhythmic oscillations of several other gene transcripts. In particular, over-expression of CRY2 had an impact not only on day/night fluctuations but also on rhythmicity under constant light conditions. Evidence was found for widespread diurnal oscillations of transcripts encoding specific enzyme classes (e.g. carotenoid biosynthesis enzymes) as well as for post-transcriptional diurnal and circadian regulation of the CRY2 transcript

Gardens of happiness: Sir William Temple, temperance and China

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordSir William Temple, an English statesman and humanist, wrote “Upon the Gardens of Epicurus” in 1685, taking a neo-epicurean approach to happiness and temperance. In accord with Pierre Gassendi’s epicureanism, “happiness” is characterised as freedom from disturbance and pain in mind and body, whereas “temperance” means following nature (Providence and one’s physiopsychological constitution). For Temple, cultivating fruit trees in his garden was analogous to the threefold cultivation of temperance as a virtue in the humoral body (as food), the mind (as freedom from the passions), and the bodyeconomic (as circulating goods) in order to attain happiness. A regimen that was supposed to cure the malaise of Restoration amidst a crisis of unbridled passions, this threefold cultivation of temperance underlines Temple’s reception of China and Confucianism wherein happiness and temperance are highlighted. Thus Temple’s “gardens of happiness” represent not only a reinterpretation of classical ideas, but also his dialogue with China.European CommissionLeverhulme Trus

Quantifying submarine fluid seep activity along the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara presents the rare case where active seafloor venting sites are found on the surface trace of a major plate boundary fault: the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The objective of the 2007 MarNaut project was to quantify the level of activity of these venting sites, and the source of the fluids emitted, with the goal of understanding the processes involved and setting a baseline for long-term studies of the relationship between seismic activity and fluid migration/expulsion processes. Sites for flow meter and fluid sampler deployment and coring included basin bounding transtensional faults and strike-slip faults cutting through the topographic highs. Significant fluid flow appears to be primarily an episodic phenomenon at all sites, with background rates on the order of mm/yr to cm/yr except at or very near rare focused vents. Basin bounding faults expel primarily shallow sourced fluid with a strong influence of brackish Pleistocene Lake Marmara water, with the notable exception of the main active fault along the northern edge of the Cinarcik Basin. Expulsion sites where the main fault crosses topographic highs are more complex with evidence for deep-sourced fluids including thermogenic gas. One site on the Western High displayed two mound structures that appear to be chemoherms atop a deep-seated fluid conduit. The fluids being expelled are brines with an exotic fluid chemistry along with thermogenic gas and oil. Our work shows that submerged continental transform plate boundaries can be hydrologically active and exhibit a diversity of sources and processes