ALBERT

Description: Research integrating experimental data and modelling to improve representation of plant physiological thresholds infers largely temperature-driven loss of conifer trees by 2100 across the southwestern USA and much of the Northern Hemisphere. Nature Climate Change 6 295 doi: 10.1038/nclimate2873

Description: Isolated congenital asplenia (ICA) is characterized by the absence of a spleen at birth in individuals with no other developmental defects. The patients are prone to life-threatening bacterial infections. The unbiased analysis of exomes revealed heterozygous mutations in RPSA in 18 patients from eight kindreds, corresponding to more than half the patients and over one-third of the kindreds studied. The clinical penetrance in these kindreds is complete. Expression studies indicated that the mutations carried by the patients-a nonsense mutation, a frameshift duplication, and five different missense mutations-cause autosomal dominant ICA by haploinsufficiency. RPSA encodes ribosomal protein SA, a component of the small subunit of the ribosome. This discovery establishes an essential role for RPSA in human spleen development.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677541/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677541/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bolze, Alexandre -- Mahlaoui, Nizar -- Byun, Minji -- Turner, Bridget -- Trede, Nikolaus -- Ellis, Steven R -- Abhyankar, Avinash -- Itan, Yuval -- Patin, Etienne -- Brebner, Samuel -- Sackstein, Paul -- Puel, Anne -- Picard, Capucine -- Abel, Laurent -- Quintana-Murci, Lluis -- Faust, Saul N -- Williams, Anthony P -- Baretto, Richard -- Duddridge, Michael -- Kini, Usha -- Pollard, Andrew J -- Gaud, Catherine -- Frange, Pierre -- Orbach, Daniel -- Emile, Jean-Francois -- Stephan, Jean-Louis -- Sorensen, Ricardo -- Plebani, Alessandro -- Hammarstrom, Lennart -- Conley, Mary Ellen -- Selleri, Licia -- Casanova, Jean-Laurent -- 8UL1TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- R01 HD061403/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- R01HD061403/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- UL1 TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2013 May 24;340(6135):976-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1234864. Epub 2013 Apr 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23579497" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Extreme enrichment and postmagmatic hydrothermal mobilization of the rare earth elements (REE), Zr, and Nb have been reported for a number of anorogenic peralkaline intrusions, including the world-class REE-Zr-Nb deposit at Strange Lake, Quebec, Canada. Establishing lithogeochemical vectors for these types of deposits is a challenging task because the effects of hydrothermal processes on element distribution are poorly known and the relationships of alteration types to mineralization stages have not been well documented. Here, we present results of a detailed mineralogical and geochemical investigation involving a dataset of over 500 mineral and bulk-rock analyses of a northeast-southwest section through the potential ore zone at Strange Lake. Based on these data, we develop a model that explains the role of hydrothermal processes in concentrating metals in peralkaline granitic systems and identify lithogeochemical vectors for their exploration. The B zone, located along the northwestern margin of the Strange Lake pluton, contains a lens-shaped, pegmatite-rich domain comprising subhorizontal sheets of pegmatites hosted by granites with a total indicated resource of 278 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.93 wt % total rare earth oxides (TREO), of which 39% are heavy rare earth elements (HREE). Within this resource, there is an enriched zone containing 20 Mt of ore grading 1.44 wt % TREO, of which 50% are HREE. The pegmatites are characterized by a core enriched in quartz, fluorite, and light rare earth elements (LREE) fluorocarbonates, and a granitic border enriched in zirconosilicates and granitic minerals. The pegmatite sheets and surrounding granites evolved in three essential stages: a magmatic stage (I), a near-neutral hydrothermal stage involving their interaction with NaCl-bearing orthomagmatic fluids (II), and an acidic hydrothermal stage (III, comprising high-[IIIa] and low-temperature [IIIb] substages) that resulted from their interaction with pegmatite-sourced HCl-HF–bearing fluids. Stage IIIa led to pseudomorphic mineral replacement reactions (e.g., Na-Ca exchange during replacement of zirconosilicates) and formation of an aegirinization/hematization halo around the pegmatites. In contrast, stage IIIb, which was responsible for the hydrothermal mobilization of Zr and REE, is manifested by fluorite and quartz veins, zircon spherules, gadolinite-group minerals, gittinsite, ferriallanite-(Ce), and a pervasive replacement of the granite by these minerals. The distribution of REE, Zr, Nb, and Ti was controlled by the competition between hydrothermal fluids and the stability of primary REE-F-(CO 2 ) minerals (e.g., bastnäsite-(Ce) host to LREE), zirconosilicates (i.e., Na zirconosilicates and zircon host to HREE and Zr), and Nb-Ti minerals (i.e., pyrochlore host to Nb and narsarsukite host to Ti), and the stability of secondary LREE silicates (i.e., ferriallanite-(Ce)), HREE silicates (i.e., gadolinite-(Y)), zirconosilicates (i.e., gittinsite and zircon), and Nb-Ti minerals (i.e., titanite and pyrochlore). Lithogeochemical vectors were identified to distinguish between the high-temperature acidic alteration (IIIa), using CaO/Na 2 O (indicator of Ca metasomatism) and Fe 2 O 3 /Na 2 O ratios (indicator of aegirinization/hematization), and the low-temperature acidic alteration (IIIb), using the CaO/Al 2 O 3 ratio (indicator of Ca-F metasomatism). Bulk-rock compositional data show that alteration was accompanied by an enrichment in heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) and ZrO 2 at the deposit scale, whereas there was no selective enrichment in the light rare earth oxides (LREO). A 2-D geochemical model of the deposit indicates that the LREO are more dispersed, whereas HREO and ZrO 2 are selectively distributed. These variations in LREE/HREE are also reflected in the mineral chemistry, especially in hydrothermal zircon crystals showing an unusual LREE enrichment and HREE depletion, contrasting with pseudomorphs, which are enriched in HREE. Hydrothermal ferriallanite-(Ce) and gadolinite-group minerals also show a clear trend of REE depletion with Ca enrichment. Controlling factors for the hydrothermal mobilization of LREE, HREE, and Zr were temperature, pH, and the availability of fluoride ions (F – ) in the fluid for the dissolution of zircon, and chloride ions (Cl – ) for the complexation of the REE. The study of rare hydrothermal minerals in conjunction with field observations and the evaluation of variations in bulk-rock composition allowed us to develop a new model for the hydrothermal evolution stage of Strange Lake.

Description: The impacts of climate extremes on terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood but important for predicting carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change. Coupled climate-carbon cycle models typically assume that vegetation recovery from extreme drought is immediate and complete, which conflicts with the understanding of basic plant physiology. We examined the recovery of stem growth in trees after severe drought at 1338 forest sites across the globe, comprising 49,339 site-years, and compared the results with simulated recovery in climate-vegetation models. We found pervasive and substantial "legacy effects" of reduced growth and incomplete recovery for 1 to 4 years after severe drought. Legacy effects were most prevalent in dry ecosystems, among Pinaceae, and among species with low hydraulic safety margins. In contrast, limited or no legacy effects after drought were simulated by current climate-vegetation models. Our results highlight hysteresis in ecosystem-level carbon cycling and delayed recovery from climate extremes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Anderegg, W R L -- Schwalm, C -- Biondi, F -- Camarero, J J -- Koch, G -- Litvak, M -- Ogle, K -- Shaw, J D -- Shevliakova, E -- Williams, A P -- Wolf, A -- Ziaco, E -- Pacala, S -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 31;349(6247):528-32. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1833.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. ; Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. ; DendroLab and Graduate Program of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA. ; Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Avda. Montanana 1005, 50192 Zaragoza, Spain. ; Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. ; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA. ; Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, UT 84401, USA. ; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. ; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26228147" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Extraordinarily warm 2013-14 and 2014-15 winter temperatures in California accompanied by drought conditions contributed to low snow accumulations and stressed water resources, giving rise to the question: how much has California's climate warmed over the last century? We examine long-term trends in maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) daily temperatures in winter estimated from five gridded datasets. Resulting trends show some consistent features, such as higher trends in Tmin than Tmax, however substantial differences exist in the trend magnitudes and spatial patterns due mostly to the nature of spatial interpolation employed in the different datasets. Averaged across California over 1920-2015, Tmax trends vary from -0.30 to 1.2 °C/century while Tmin trends range from 1.2 to 1.9 °C/century. The differences in temperature strongly impact modeled changes in Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) over the last century (from -5.0 to -7.6 km3/century).

Description: 〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Williams, A P -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 1981 Jul 10;213(4504):202-3.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17782780" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Nature Climate Change 6 1048 doi: 10.1038/nclimate3143

Description: Glacial ogives are transverse topographic, wave-like surface features that form below icefalls on some alpine glaciers. Ground-penetrating radar surveys from the Gorner glacier system in the Swiss Alps reveal an along-flow periodicity in scattering intensity that correlates with ogives. The scattering appears in the ablation zone and occurs at 5–20 m depth. The geometry of the scattering mimics that of the ogives, although exaggerated in amplitude. We interpret the scattering to represent lateral variations in water content. We propose that as glacial ice accelerated and stretched through the icefall, seasonal fluctuations occurred in water infiltration to crevasses during the summer and subsequent freezing of that water in the crevasses in the winter. This seasonally varying infilling and freezing locally altered the distribution of temperature, creating zones of temperate ice with water inclusions that preferentially scatter radar energy. In addition to the scattering pattern, highly reflective planar features associated with these periodic regions of temperate ice are interpreted as water-filled fractures. A three-dimensional rendering of the orientation of these planar features precludes a "fold-and-thrust" hypothesis for the formation of the ogives.

Description: Nature Geoscience 10, 284 (2017). doi:10.1038/ngeo2903 Authors: A. G. Konings, A. P. Williams & P. Gentine