ALBERT

Notes: The aim of this paper is to point out the advantages of multipoles for the exploration of the very near subsurface (0–3 m) by continuous profiling. We propose a new geometry with eight poles for a MUltipole Continuous Electrical Profiling (MUCEP) measuring system, where the array has a V-shape and is thus called ‘Vol-de-canards’. A series of criteria including 3D numerical simulations are performed (direct and inverse modelling) to determine the optimal geometry and to compare its performance (in terms of depth of investigation and resolution of the geometry of the targets) with the other arrays (quadrupoles or rectangular-type multipoles). This multipole was built together with a real-time acquisition system. The multidepth maps obtained confirm the characteristics predicted by numerical simulations.

Notes: A deterministic pure phase shift filter (PPSF) is developed to extract the fundamental mode from multimode surface Love waves. Because of different phase velocities of modes and hence different phase traveltimes for a fixed travel distance between source and receiver, the deterministic PPSF can be computed, provided that the dispersion relation of the medium is estimated from the existing transmission data. The process consists of (a) applying the deterministic PPSF to the multimode wave (this step of the filtering process results in a time series in which the amplitudes of the fundamental mode appear at acausal times and the amplitudes of higher modes appear at causal times); (b) setting amplitude values equal to zero for positive times; (c) applying the inverse PPSF to the filtered signal. By using such a deterministic PPSF process, the higher modes almost disappear. The method is applied to synthetic multimode data computed by the normal-mode summation method.

Notes: It is known that the reflection and transmission coefficients used in the zeroth order approximation of asymptotic ray theory (ART) are identical to those obtained for the plane wave impinging on a plane interface separating two perfectly elastic half-spaces. We have used ART to compute reflection and transmission coefficients for two viscoelastic media separated by a plane interface. Our method is different from the plane-wave approach because the ART approach requires only a local application of the boundary conditions both for the eikonal and the ray amplitudes.Several types of viscoelastic media were studied. For a given model, the elastic case was emulated by setting all the quality factors Q equal to each other. Several anelastic cases were computed by keeping the same velocities and densities while changing the Qs. The quality factor is a relatively difficult parameter to measure exactly. Hence elastic coefficients are used in most synthetic seismogram computations, and the quality factors are chosen from experimental measurements or simply estimated.From these computations, amplitude and phase differences between elastic coefficients and coefficients for dissipative media are observed in some cases. These differences show the importance of knowing the exact values of Q. Incorrect Q values can lead to unrealistic moduli and to noticeable phase differences of these viscoelastic coefficients.

Notes: Hopfield neural networks are massive parallel automata that support specific models and are adept in solving optimization problems. They suffer from a ‘rough’ solution space and convergence properties that are highly dependent on the starting model or prior. These detractions may be overcome by introducing regularization into the network in the form of local feedback smoothing. Application of regularized Hopfield networks to over 50 optimization test cases has yielded successful results, even with uniform (minimal information) priors. In particular, the non-linear, one- and two-dimensional magnetotelluric inverse problems have been solved by means of these regularized networks. The solutions compare favourably with those produced by other methods. Such regularized networks, with either hardware or programmed, parallel-computer implementation, can be extended to the problem of three-dimensional magnetotelluric inversion. Because neural networks are natural analog-to-digital converters, it is predicted that they will be the basic building blocks of future magnetotelluric instrumentation.

Notes: The Imperial College borehole test site consists of four boreholes with depths lying between 260 and 280 m. The boreholes intersect several cyclical sequences of sandstones, mudstones and limestones. The formations are highly laminated and ultrasonic measurements on preserved core have shown that the mudstones are intrinsically anisotropic. Little or no anisotropy is associated with the sandstones and limestones. A scheme is proposed to predict synthetic vertical and horizontal P- and S-wave logs. Combining (an)isotropic effective medium theories, the Gassmann equation and Backus averaging, the scheme extends previous sand-shale models to transversely isotropic rock formations. The model assumes that the anisotropy is due to layering and due to the preferred horizontal orientation of the clay minerals, pores and cracks within the mudstones. The pores and cracks within the sandstones and limestones are randomly orientated. After fitting the model to the ultrasonic data to obtain the unknown parameters, the model successfully predicts the sonic log and the direct arrival times from a cross-hole survey.

Notes: Migration using an erroneous velocity gives a curve along which the energy is smeared. Associated with this curve is the caustic enveloped by the normal rays. It is possible to compensate for an erroneous velocity by a simple modification of the imaging principle. Formulae are derived for the general case when the velocity changes laterally, and the position of the caustic suggests how to modify the imaging principle so as to obtain an estimate of the NMO velocity. A synthetic example is used to illustrate the results of the analysis.

Notes: Seismic depth migration may result in false reflector positioning and destructive interference when an incorrect velocity field is used to convert from time to depth. The assumption of isotropy to describe anisotropic rocks is one major source of error in the velocity model, although individual survey images may not be impaired by such an approximation. When different survey types such as VSP and cross-hole reflection seismics have coincident illumination of the subsurface, it is important not only to produce consistent images upon depth migration, but also to determine a consistent velocity model. Using real data sets as examples, both objectives are successfully achieved when anisotropy is incorporated into the velocity model.

Notes: Migration velocity analysis, a method for determining long wavelength velocity structure, is a critical step in prestack imaging. Solution of this inverse problem is made difficult by a multimodal objective function; a parameter space often vast in extent; and an evaluation procedure for candidate solutions, involving the calculation of depth-migrated image gathers, that can be prohibitively expensive. Recognizing the global nature of the problem, we employ a genetic algorithm (GA) in the search for the optimum velocity model. In order to describe a model efficiently, regions of smooth variation are identified and sparsely parametrized. Region boundaries are obtained via map migration of events picked on the zero-offset time section. Within a region, which may contain several reflectors, separate components describe long and short wavelength variations, eliminating from the parameter space, models with large velocity fluctuations. Vital to the success of the method is rapid model evaluation, achieved by generating image gathers only in the neighbourhood of specific reflectors. Probability of a model, which we seek to maximize, is derived from the flatness of imaged events. Except for an initial interpretation of the zero-offset time section, our method is automatic in that it requires no picking of residual moveout on migrated gathers. Using an example data set from the North Sea, we show that it is feasible to solve for all velocity parameters in the model simultaneously: the method is global in this respect also.

Notes: Short-period multiple reflections pose a particular problem in the North Sea where predictive deconvolution is often only partially successful. The targeted multiple attenuation (TMA) algorithm comprises computation of the covariance matrix of preflattened prestack or post-stack seismic data, the determination of the dominating eigenvectors of the covariance matrix, and subtraction of the related eigenimages followed by reverse flattening. The main assumption made is that the flattened multiple reflections may be represented by the first eigenimage(s) which implies that the spatial amplitude variations of primaries and associated multiples are similar. This assumption usually limits the method to short-period multiple reflections. TMA is applicable post-stack or prestack to common-offset gathers. It is computationally fast, robust towards random noise, irregular geometry and spatial aliasing, and it preserves the amplitudes of primaries provided they are not parallel to the targeted multiples. Application of TMA to 3D wavefields is preferable because this allows a better discrimination between primaries and multiples. Real data examples show that the danger of partially removing primary energy can be reduced by improving the raw multiple model that is based on eigenimages, for example by prediction filtering.

Notes: The most common noise-reduction methods employed in the vibroseis technique (e.g. spike and burst reduction, vertical stacking) are applied in the field to reduce noise at a very early stage. In addition, vibrator phase control systems prevent signal distortions produced by non-linearity of the source itself. However, the success of these automatic correction methods depends on parameter justification by the operator and the actual characteristics of the distorting noise. More specific noise-reduction methods (e.g. Combisweep (Trade mark of Geco-Prakla), elimination of harmonics) increase production costs or need uncorrelated data for the correction process. Because the field data are usually correlated and vertically stacked in the field to minimize logistical and processing costs, it is not possible to make subsequent parameter corrections to optimize the noise reduction after correlation and vertical stacking of a production record.The noise-reduction method described here uses the final recorded, correlated and stacked vibroseis field data. This method eliminates signal artifacts caused e.g. by incorrect vibroseis source signals being used in parameter estimation when a frequency–time analysis is combined with a standard convolution process. Depending on the nature of the distortions, a synthetically generated, nearly recursive noise-separation operator compresses the noise artifact in time using a trace-by-trace filter. After elimination of this compressed noise, re-application of the separation operator leads to a noise-corrected replacement of the input data. The method is applied to a synthetic data set and to a real vibroseis field record from deep seismic sounding, with good results.

Notes: A new spectral factorization method is presented for the estimation of a causal as well as a causally invertible ARMA operator from the correlation sequence of seismic traces. The method has been implemented for multichannel deconvolution of seismic traces with the aim of exploiting the trace-to-trace correlation that exists within seismograms. A layered earth model with a small reflectivity sequence has been considered, and the seismic traces have been considered as the output of a linear system driven by white noise reflection coefficient sequences.  The present method is the concatenation of three algorithms, namely Kung's method for state variable (F,G,H) realization using a singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm, Faurre's technique for computation of the strong spectral factor and Leverrier's algorithm for ARMA representation of the spectral factor. The inverted ARMA operator is used as a recursive filter for deconvolution of seismic traces. In the example shown, two traces with a covariance sequence of 160 ms length have been considered for multichannel deconvolution of stacked seismic traces. The results presented, when compared with those obtained from a conventional deconvolution algorithm, have shown encouraging prospects.

Notes: Aeromagnetic maps poorly represent lineaments that are at acute angles to the flight-line direction. Commonly used gridding algorithms cannot cope with local trends, magnetic anomalies at an angle with the main trend of the map, and tend to generate closed contours around the flight lines. By introducing some a priori information, it is possible to add extra data between the flight lines, i.e. trend lines, to reinforce local trends. The proposed automated technique is based on a nearest neighbour search of the maxima and minima in the aeromagnetic map. The resulting map is more realistic and derived maps, such as vertical gradients and analytical signal maps, are greatly improved. Moreover, this automated procedure is user independent and easy to implement. The technique is demonstrated on aeromagnetic data from the Kirkland Lake region, in north-eastern Ontario, Canada.

Notes: Most rocks display conductivity dispersion in the low-frequency range, when the usual displacement currents are neglected. The strong influence this low-frequency dispersion (LFD), including the response sign reversals, was revealed by field experiments with the coincident-loop configuration widely used in transient electromagnetics (EM). Mathematical modelling of LFD has been the subject of numerous studies. However, confirmation of the role of LFD or induced polarization (IP) by comparing mathematical modelling and field data is rather poor, because knowledge of the properties of rocks in the area of the field measurements is usually insufficient. For this reason physical modelling of LFD has been carried out at Moscow State Geological-prospecting Academy (Russia) in 1994-95. In order to observe criteria of similarity for both induction and polarization transients, a ring-shaped model was chosen and was represented by an electric circuit, consisting of lumped elements (real rock samples included). Qualitatively different transients for dispersive models and their non-dispersive ohmic equivalents were observed.

Notes: Natural fractures in reservoirs play an important role in determining fluid flow during production, and hence the density and orientation of fractures is of great interest. In the presence of aligned vertical fractures, the reflection amplitude at finite offset varies with azimuth. The effect of natural fractures on the azimuthal AVO response from a gas-sandstone reservoir encased within shale is investigated. A simple expression for the difference in P-wave reflection coefficient from the top of the reservoir parallel and perpendicular to the strike of the fractures is obtained in terms of the normal and tangential compliances, ZN and ZT, of the fractures. This expression is valid for small anisotropy and material contrasts and is compared with the results of numerical modelling. For a given value of ZT, the azimuthal variation in reflection coefficient at moderate offsets is found to increase with decreasing ZN/ZT. For gas-filled open fractures ZN/ZT ≈ 1, but a lower ratio of ZN/ZT may result from the presence of cement or clay within the fractures, or from the presence of a fluid with non-zero bulk modulus. For ZN/ZT = 1 and moderate offsets, the variation with offset of the reflection coefficient from the top of the fractured unit is dominated by the contrast in Poisson's ratio between the gas sand and the overlying shale, the effect of fractures only becoming noticeable as the critical angle for the unfractured sandstone is approached. However, for reflections from the base of the fractured unit, the variation in reflection amplitude with azimuth is much greater at conventional seismic offsets than for the reflection from the top. Azimuthal variations in the strength of the reflection from the top of the reservoir depend only on the variation in reflection coefficient, whereas the raypath is also a function of azimuth for reflections from the base of the fractured unit, leading to stronger, more visible, variations of AVO with azimuth. It follows that an azimuthal variation in AVO due to fractures in the overburden may be misinterpreted as due to the presence of aligned fractures in the reservoir.

Notes: The characteristic seismic response to an aligned-fracture system is shear-wave splitting, where the polarizations, time-delays and amplitudes of the split shear waves are related to the orientation and intensity of the fracture system. This offers the possibility of delineating fractured reservoirs and optimizing the development of the reservoirs using shear-wave data. However, such applications require carefully controlled amplitude processing to recover properly and preserve the reflections from the target zone. Here, an approach to this problem is suggested and is illustrated with field data.  The proposed amplitude processing sequence contains a combination of conventional and specific shear-wave processing procedures. Assuming a four-component recording (two orthogonal horizontal sources recorded by two orthogonal horizontal receivers), the split shear waves can be simulated by an effective eigensystem, and a linear-transform technique (LTT) can be used to separate the recorded vector wavefield into two principal scalar wavefields representing the fast and slow split shear waves. Conventional scalar processing methods, designed for processing P-waves, including noise reduction and stacking procedures may be adapted to process the separated scalar wavefields. An overburden operator is then derived from and applied to the post-stacked scalar wavefields. A four-component seismic survey with three horizontal wells drilled nearby was selected to illustrate the processing sequence. The field data show that vector wavefield decomposition and overburden correction are essential for recovering the reflection amplitude information in the target zone. The variations in oil production in the three horizontal wells can be correlated with the variations in shear-wave time-delays and amplitudes, and with the variations in the azimuth angle between the horizontal well and the shear-wave polarization. Dim spots in amplitude variations can be correlated with local fracture swarms encountered by the horizontal wells. This reveals the potential of shear waves for fractured reservoir delineation.

Notes: A Method of estimating attenauation from the first arrivals of VSP data is presented. The motivation is the desire to investigate the effects of scattering on wave propagation, and particularly the apparent attenuation and associated phase delay due to fine layering (the O'Doherty-Anstey effect).In order to take account of the frequency dependence of the predicted scattering attenuation, and to provide robust statistics for the estimates, a beam-forming method is used to measure the attenuation. This simularaneously estimates the slowness and polarization angle of the different wave modes, and results in attenuation measurements which are largely free of interference from reflected and mode-converted energy. By working in the frequency domain and measuring amplitude decay with depth, the frequency dependence of the attenuation is also accounted for. The beam-forming algorithm works in two passes, the first of which estimates slownesses and polarization angles over a small depth range, while the second uses the information from the first pass over a larger depth range to estimate attenuation.An approximate error analysis of the method shows that the standard variance of the estimated Q values is proportional to Q2 and the data quality (measured by its spectral coherence), and inversely proportional to the square of the analysis depth range and the square of the frequency. Hence the depth resolution is traded against the stability of the results.The method is applied to a zero-offset three-component VSP. The data are of good quality, with a bandwidth ranging from 180 Hz in the shallow part to 100 Hz in the deepest part. Stable results were obtained using a 450 m depth range. Above about 50 Hz, there is little evidence of frequency dependence in the attenuation. There is a clear division in depth into layers of higher and lower attenuation, with values of Q typically between 50 and 200. Below 50 Hz, however, attenuation increases rapidly with decreasing frequency throughout the depth range, with values of Q of less than 10 at 15 Hz. This behaviour appears anomalous since on physical grounds we expect very high values of Q at low frequency, and we have no explanation for these observations.

Notes: Groups of mature, non-lactating sheep and cattle grazed a Nardus stricta community during the growing season for six consecutive years from 1984 to 1989. Three unreplicated treatments were applied by continuous variable stocking to maintain between-tussock sward height at (a) 4·5 cm by cattle grazing and (b) 4·5 cm or (c) 3·5 cm by sheep grazing. Diet composition and herbage intake were measured from 1984 to 1987 on three occasions in the growing season, and live weight and stock density were recorded from 1984 to 1988. The diet of cattle usually contained more dead herbage, Nardus, sedges and rushes but less forbs and other fine-leaved grasses than the diet of sheep. Principal coordinate analysis showed different trends across years in diet composition, especially between the sheep and cattle treatments at 4·5 cm. Diet digestibility was usually higher for sheep treatments than for the cattle treatment. Diet digestibility and herbage intake increased between 1984 and 1985, and 1986; they also declined from spring to late summer. Regression of diet digestibility on independent principal components — which were derived from diet composition measurements — showed that the two most important principal components accounted for 72% of the variation in digestibility. Stock-carrying capacity (kg LW × d ha−1, calculated from live weight, grazing days and stock density) was greater on the cattle treatment than on either sheep treatment. Stock-carrying capacity also increased more in successive years on the cattle than on either sheep treatment, and it was greater on the sward maintained at 3·5 cm than at 4·5 cm by sheep. These increases in stock-carrying capacity were generally positively associated with the increase in the percentage specific frequency both of live material and of the more productive grasses in the swards. These data indicate that sheep-only stocking tends to Nardus dominance and suggest that further study using productive cattle — either alone or mixed with sheep — is needed, preferably in association with measurements of floristic change both within and between tussocks.

Notes: To investigate the effect of sward height on liveweight change in goats grazing grass/white clover swards, an experiment was conducted from mid-August to mid-November with groups of non-lactating female cashmere goats that continuously grazed perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) swards. Three replicated different sward height treatments — 10–8 cm (high), 7–5 cm (medium) and 5–3 cm (low) — were used to examine the effects on the competitive ability of grass and clover components within the sward canopy and their effect on liveweight. The pasture after grazing by goats had relatively higher ryegrass leaf (+0·26, high; +0·32, medium; and +0·18, low) and lower dead ryegrass proportions (−0·28, high; −0·23, medium; and −0·18, low) than at the beginning of the experiment, whereas the white clover fraction in the sward remained constant (+0·04, high; −0·02, medium; and +0·03, low). Higher proportions of the white clover leaf lamina and petiole were found near the top of the sward canopy and were negatively correlated with the rate of liveweight gain by goats (P 〈 0·05). Goats gained 50·2 g Live weight (LW) d−1 on the tallest treatment (high) but lost 0·01 and 42·3 g LW d−1 on the medium and low sward height treatments respectively (s.e.d. 13·21, P 〈 0·001). Liveweight changes that occurred between sampling periods were also correlated (R2= 0·858, P 〈 0·001) with changes in the mean sward height and proportion of white clover lamina-petiole at the sward surface in relation to the proportion found within the whole sward. These results suggest that goat liveweight gains would be increased if another species was introduced to reduce the white clover proportion in the surface horizon.

Notes: An experiment was carried out to compare the effects of two compressed sward height treatments, each at two fertilizer nitrogen (N) treatments (0 and 50 kg ha−1 in spring), on the date of turnout and liveweight gain of steers grazing a perennial ryegrass/white clover (Lolium perenne/Trifolium repens) sward sited on clay loam in south-west England. The sward height treatments were 6 cm all season, and 4 cm in the spring rising to 6 cm in June; these were maintained using continuously variable stocking with Hereford × Friesian steers. Cattle were turned out on average 11·5 days earlier on the 4-cm sward height compared with the 6-cm sward height treatment. Liveweight gain early in the season was lower on the 4-cm swards than on the 6-cm swards. Liveweight gain ha−1 over the whole season was similar for the two sward height treatments. Fertilizer N did not affect turnout date or liveweight gain.

Notes: The effects of spatial location of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) within a perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)/white clover pasture on stolon and petiole extension were investigated in two experiments, where patch size containing white clover (0·5 m, 1·5 m and 4 m diameter), location within the patch (inside and edge) and cutting height (4 cm and 8 cm) were varied. Stolon extension rate was greater on the edge of a patch (12·1 mm week−1) than inside the patch (7·2 mm week−1). Patch size affected both stolon and petiole extension rate, which were both greater in small and medium-sized than in large patches. It is suggested that the fastest spread of white clover in patchy sward environments should occur from small patches, which could double in diameter during a growing season. Manipulating the heights of vegetation within and outside large patches affected light quality (red-far red; R/FR) at ground level, which was greater under shorter than taller swards and greater under the canopy of the grass matrix than the grass/white clover patch. However, the height differences between adjacent vegetation had little effect on stolon or petiole growth. In May only, stolon extension at the patch boundary was greatest when both patches and the grass matrix had a height of 8 cm.

Notes: Two field experiments were carried out under irrigation and high fertility in northeastern Spain during 1992 and 1993. Ten triticale genotypes, five of spring growth habit and five winter types, were tested for their suitability for both forage and grain. Forage removal reduced grain yield per plant by about 17%, but did not have any significant effect on plant density, ear density or tiller number per plant. Tiller mortality was greater in winter types (65%) than in spring triticales (25%), but was not affected by cutting. Decreases in grain yield following cutting could be attributed to reductions in the number of grains per spike and kernel weight. Cutting decreased the number of grains per spike by about 9% by reducing the two components, spikelets per head and grains per spikelet. The average spike length was 10·6 cm in the uncut treatment and 10·1 cm in the dual-purpose plots. Cutting reduced thousand kernel weight by about 7% in winter triticales, and around 10% in spring types, both in main spike and in first tiller. The effect of a forage harvest on yield components was in general similar for both types of triticale. Cutting when jointing commenced induced changes in the relative importance of yield components influencing future grain yield. The yield components reduced by cutting were the most important contributors to grain yield after forage removal.

Notes: Laboratory experiments with lucerne (Medicago sativa) have shown that maceration at cutting improves silage fermentation. Samples taken during wilting and after various ensiling periods were analysed for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) numbers and indices of silage fermentation. In Experiment 1, in which maceration was tested in unwilted and wilted lucerne, there was an additive effect of maceration and wilting on LAB numbers at ensiling, thus LAB numbers were approximately 108 colony-forming units (cfu) g−1 fresh crop for wilted, macerated forage compared with 103 cfu g−1 fresh crop for unwilted, unmacerated forage at ensiling. Initially, maceration reduced pH (P 〈 0·001) and increased lactic acid (unwilted comparison only; P 〈 0·001) and insoluble N (wilted comparison only; P 〈 0·001) concentrations. After 70 d ensiling, beneficial effects of maceration were associated only with the wilted silage. In Experiment 2, macerated lucerne was compared with unmacerated material, which was either ensiled after a wilting period of similar length or after wilting had proceeded to the same DM concentration as in the macerated forage. During wilting, LAB numbers were significantly higher in macerated than unmacerated forage (P 〈 0·05). This was also the case during the first 16 h of ensiling (P 〈 0·01). A decline in pH was observed earlier in macerated silage. Two days after ensiling, lactic acid concentration was higher in macerated silage (P 〈 0·05), but insoluble N concentration was not different. In a third experiment, unconditioned forage was compared with forages ensiled after regular conditioning or maceration. Although drying rate over 30 h was not influenced by degree of conditioning, LAB numbers during wilting increased with the degree of conditioning. In silages made from these treatments after 6 h wilting, there were no major effects on fermentation characteristics. In a fourth experiment, digestibility and voluntary intake of precision-chopped silage were measured in sheep and found not to be increased by maceration. It was concluded that maceration per se resulted in marginal improvements in fermentation; however, when maceration also increased DM concentration, fermentation was markedly improved. In these precision-chopped silages, maceration had no effect on intake or digestibility.

Notes: In order to assess the effects of future elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on yield, mineral content and the nutritive value of mixed swards of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), both species were grown as monocultures and as different mixtures and were exposed season-long to ambient (380 p.p.m.) and elevated (670 p.p.m.) CO2 concentrations in open-top chambers. Mini-swards were cut four times at about monthly intervals at a height of 5 cm, dry-matter yields were determined and content of macroelements (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, Na) and crude fibre, crude protein and ash content were measured. The CO2-related increase in seasonal yield amounted to 16–38% for white clover monocultures, 12–29% for mixed swards and 5–9% for ryegrass monocultures. The white clover content of all swards was significantly enhanced by elevated CO2. The K and Na content of total yield was decreased by high CO2 but did not fall below the minimum requirements for ruminants. As the Ca content of total yield was increased by elevated CO2 and the P content was not changed, the Ca/P ratio of total yield was increased and exceeded values required for animal nutrition. The crude protein content of total yield was reduced by high CO2 at the beginning of the growing season only and was increased by elevated CO2 in the course of the experiment, whereas crude fibre content was decreased throughout the season, sometimes falling below the minimum requirement for ruminants. Removal of N, P, S, Mg and Ca by cutting was significantly enhanced because of CO2 enrichment. The results show that, besides the positive effect of rising atmospheric CO2 on dry-matter yield of white clover/ryegrass swards, impacts on the nutritive value should be expected. Possible changes in species composition and implications for grassland management are briefly discussed.

Notes: Twenty-one natural populations (thirteen tetraploids and eight diploids) of Dactylis glomerata ssp. izcoi (an Iberian endemic) were evaluated in the field for three consecutive years, using two clones per genotype, to separate genetic and environmental factors. Many traits showed significant differences between ploidy levels, but all of them overlapped. Therefore, it is justified to include both cytotypes in a subspecies in which tetraploids could be autopolyploids. In general, however, diploids had shorter stomatal guard cells, lower seed production and were later heading than tetraploids. Within tetraploids, most traits differed significantly between and within populations. There was less inter- and intrapopulation variation in the diploids. The range of plant dimensions exceeded that of former descriptions of the sub-species, bringing it closer to ssp. glomerata. Inland populations were not qualitatively different from one coastal population. Diploid populations showed less risk of hypomagnesemia than tetraploids.

Notes: The effect of sward surface height (SSH) on grazing behaviour and intake by lactating Holstein Friesian cows on continuously stocked grass pastures maintained at mean heights of 5, 7 and 9 cm was studied during the growing season. Intake rate was estimated over periods of 1 h by weighing animals before and after grazing, with a correction made for insensible weight loss. Grazing behaviour during that hour and over 24 h was recorded automatically using sensors to measure jaw movements.Although maintained at the overall mean SSH, swards had a patchy appearance with short, frequently grazed areas interspersed with taller, infrequently grazed areas, which is typical of pastures continuously stocked with cattle. Daily organic matter (OM) intake, calculated as the product of daily grazing time and intake rate, was greater at a SSH of 7 cm than at 5 or 9 cm (14·1 vs. 10·5 and 12·1 kg respectively). On the 5-cm sward, OM intake per grazing jaw movement (GJM) was reduced compared with that on the 7-cm sward (0·182 vs. 0·264 g respectively), and because cows were unable either to increase significantly GJM rate (95·8 vs. 90·1 GJM min−1) or the proportion of GJM that were bites (0·80 vs. 0·81) OM intake rate was reduced (16·9 vs. 23·5 g min−1). Cows were unable to increase their grazing time significantly (628 vs. 604 min d−1) to compensate for the reduction in intake rate, and as a result daily intakes were lower. Cows grazing the 9-cm sward also incurred a reduction in OM intake GJM−1 compared with those on the 7-cm sward (0·237 vs. 0·264 g respectively) and therefore there was a reduction in OM intake rate (21·6 vs. 23·5 g min−1). These animals did not compensate by increasing the time spent grazing (581 min d−1), probably owing to an increased ruminating requirement per kg of herbage ingested compared with those on 7 cm SSH (2264 vs. 1780 ruminating jaw movements respectively). The results show that SSH can significantly influence intake rate, but, while the cow's only effective strategy to compensate for any reduction in intake rate is to increase grazing time, this may be limited by the requirement for ruminating and non-grazing, non-ruminating activities, which is influenced by qualitative and quantitative aspects of the herbage ingested, whereas the cows' only effective strategy to compensate for any reduction in intake rate is to increase grazing time.

Notes: The boundary-element method is used to model the 2D terrain effect on the magnetotelluric (MT) field. Firstly, the boundary-value problem of a 2D magnetotelluric field is transformed into an integral equation problem by using Green's theorem. Then the boundary-element method is used to solve the integral equation and to obtain the MT field and its normal derivative on the terrain. From these values, the apparent resistivity can be calculated. Compared with the finite-element method, the boundary-element method is simpler in element division and the initial data preparation. The configuration of a terrain divided by the boundary-element method is more consistent with the practical terrain. The method proposed in this paper can be run on a microcomputer, so that it can be used in the field.

Notes: An iterative refinement method for determining a layered resistivity model from a Schlumberger or Wenner sounding curve is adapted to determine a layered resistivity model by using apparent resistivity and phase derived from the magnetotelluric impedance. Magnetotelluric observations presented as a function of period are first converted to an approximate resistivity–depth profile using Schmucker's transformation and this is used to construct an initial guess (starting) model. A two-stage procedure is then invoked. Keeping resistivities constant, layer boundaries are first adjusted to give a minimum misfit between measured data and responses and this is followed by resistivity adjustments with fixed layer boundaries to reduce the misfit further. The method is illustrated by application to some synthetic data both exact and with added noise, to a real field data set and to some magnetotelluric profile data obtained in a survey over the Carnmenellis granites in south Cornwall. The method is validated by recovering conductivity models from the exact and noisy 1D synthetic data. For complicated three-dimensional data at a single site and along a profile of stations, the method is shown to produce acceptable solutions which may be used as starting models in further two- or three-dimensional studies.

Notes: The recursive nature of rays in blocky models can be exploited to solve some difficult problems in seismic modelling. Each segment of a ray travels from an initial point up to a reflecting interface, where it is split into reflected and transmitted ray segments, which each continue in a similar way. The tree structure that thus emanates is conveniently handled by a recursive scheme. Recursion allows an automatic generation of all phases on a seismogram, together with all information necessary to analyse or select them. By operating recursively with a ray cell, bounded by a pair of vicinal rays in 2D, or a triplet of vicinal rays in 3D, and two successive isochrons, the two-point ray-tracing problem is reduced to a simple interpolation. Also, the cellular approach allows for a stable and robust evaluation of dynamic ray quantities without any paraxial tracing, which is cumbersome in blocky models of realistic complexity. Geometric shadows are filled by recursively generated diffractions. The recursive ray tracer has found applications in the fast computation of Green's functions in target-oriented inversion and in phase identification in VSP.

Notes: A highly resistive phonolitic body near Sainerholz / Westerwald in Germany has been investigated for geological mapping using vertical electrical soundings in a Schlumberger configuration. Because of its explicitly three-dimensional shape, conventional 1D and 2D interpretation techniques are not applicable. Therefore, a new 3D finite-difference forward modelling algorithm has been applied to acquire information about its subsurface structure and to explain the observed data. This investigation focuses on two exposed soundings: one located near the centre of the body and the other close to its rim. For the interpretation, data from electromagnetic measurements on the lateral extension of the body are additionally taken into account as well as geological a priori information. A possible 3D conductivity model is presented and evidence for its validity is discussed using model studies and sensitivity analyses. The latter are carried out using a newly developed 3D FD sensitivity modelling code with which the total subsurface response can be decomposed. This permits the determination of the resolution of model parameters, indicating the contribution of different parts of the model to the overall response. The results emphasize the feasibility of 3D forward modelling in practice.

Notes: The existing concept of the gradient of the potential field anomaly over a 3D source has been generalized. An observed anomaly is modified through a filter based on an assumed source geometry. The first-order derivatives of this modified anomaly in three mutually orthogonal directions form the components of a vector termed the resultant gradient. The gravity anomaly over a point mass, a vertical line mass and the gravity/magnetic anomaly reduced-to-pole over a bottomless right rectangular prism have been suitably modified to yield a specific shape for the amplitude of the resultant gradient in order to decipher the depth of the source centroid/corner. The applicability of the proposed technique is demonstrated by the analyses of a simulated example over a composite source and a real example from published literature with drill-hole information.

Notes: The attitude angles of an aeroplane used for geophysical measurements are necessary in order to calculate field components in a fixed reference frame. In this paper it is shown analytically how the measurement of static magnetic field components can be used to determine the attitude angles. Error analysis shows that when magnetic anomalies are small to moderate (less than 5% of the total field), the attitude angles can be determined to within a few degrees at high latitudes. For a given area the maximum error is linearly related to the magnitude of the anomaly.The technique is illustrated on a tensor VLF data set from an area in Sweden with local magnetic anomalies less than 1% of the regional total magnetic field. Attitude errors propagated into tensor VLF transfer functions are of the same order as their random errors.

Notes: When electric soundings are made over an irregular terrain, topographic effects can influence the values of apparent resistivity and lead to erroneous 1D interpretation. A 3D finite-element method has been applied to study the topographical effect of a slope on Schlumberger soundings parallel to the strike. When the resistivity survey is performed at the top of the slope, the apparent resistivity values can be two times higher than in the flat-earth case, depending on the angle (α) and height (H) of the slope, and on the distance (X) between the sounding and the slope top. The results are presented as nondimensional curves which can be used for evaluating topographic anomalies for any value of the parameters α, H and X. It is numerically shown that the topographic effects can be removed from measurements on horizontally layered structures with an irregular earth surface. Real measurements were performed in different geological conditions over an irregular terrain. The correction method based on the nondimensional curves has been applied to the data and has enabled the determination of the correct layered ground configuration using 1D interpretation.

Notes: 3D seismic data are usually recorded and processed on rectangular grids, for which sampling requirements are generally derived from the usual 1D viewpoint. For a 3D data set, the band region (the region of the Fourier space in which the amplitude spectrum is not zero) can be approximated by a domain bounded by two cones. Considering the particular shape of this band region we can use the 3D sampling viewpoint, which leads to weaker sampling requirements than does the 1D viewpoint; i.e. fewer sample points are needed to represent data with the same degree of accuracy. The 3D sampling viewpoint considers regular nonrectangular sampling grids.The recording and processing of 3D seismic data on a hexagonal sampling grid is explored. The acquisition of 3D seismic data on a hexagonal sampling grid is an advantageous economic alternative because it requires 13.4% fewer sample points than a rectangular sampling grid. The hexagonal sampling offers savings in data storage and processing of 3D seismic data.A fast algorithm for 3D discrete spectrum evaluation and trace interpolation in the case of a 3D seismic data set sampled on a hexagonal grid is presented and illustrated by synthetic examples. It is shown that by using this algorithm the hexagonal sampling offers, approximately, the same advantage of saving 13.4% in data storage and computational time for 3D phase-shift migration.

Notes: Point-source synthetic seismic responses for a thin, fractured bed are generated, interpreted and processed. The synthesis is carried out for a compressional source and multicomponent surface receivers. The anisotropy considered has hexagonal symmetry, with a horizontal symmetry axis, and represents oil- and gas-filled, aligned vertical fractures for a broad range of fracture densities and aspect ratios. P-to-S reflected conversions recorded on the horizontal geophones show both kinematic and dynamic anomalies that increase with increasing fracture density and are only weakly dependent on aspect ratio. In contrast, the vertical component P-wave reflections provide a much poorer diagnostic of fracturing. Analytic expressions for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a vertically fractured system are presented, that have the same simplicity as those for transverse isotropy. New linearized expressions for mode-converted amplitudes are developed for small angles of incidence and are used to interpret the synthetic response.

Notes: A new approach to self-potential (SP) data interpretation for the recognition of a buried causative SP source system is presented. The general model considered is characterized by the presence of primary electric sources or sinks, located within any complex resistivity structure with a flat air-earth boundary. First, using physical considerations of the nature of the electric potential generated by any arbitrary distribution of primary source charges and the related secondary induced charges over the buried resistivity discontinuity planes, a general formula is derived for the potential and the electric field component along any fixed direction on the ground surface. The total effect is written as a sum of elementary contributions, all of the same simple mathematical form. It is then demonstrated that the total electric power associated with the standing natural electric field component can be written in the space domain as a sum of cross-correlation integrals between the observed component of the total electric field and the component of the field due to each single constitutive elementary charge. By means of the cross-correlation bounding inequality, the concept of a scanning function is introduced as the key to the new interpretation procedure. In the space domain, the scanning function is the unit strength electric field component generated by an elementary positive charge. Next, the concept of charge occurrence probability is introduced as a suitable function for the tomographic imaging of the charge distribution geometry underground. This function is defined as the cross-correlation product of the total observed electric field component and the scanning function, divided by the square root of the product of the respective variances. Using this physical scheme, the tomographic procedure is described. It consists of scanning the section, through any SP survey profile, by the unit strength elementary charge, which is given a regular grid of space coordinates within the section, at each point of which the charge occurrence probability function is calculated. The complete set of calculated grid values can be used to draw contour lines in order to single out the zones of highest probability of concentrations of polarized, primary and secondary electric charges. An extension to the wavenumber domain and to three-dimensional tomography is also presented and discussed. A few simple synthetic examples are given to demonstrate the resolution power of the new SP inversion procedure.

Notes: A commercial marine seismic survey has been completed with the wavefield from the n-element (single guns and clusters) airgun array measured for every shot using an array of n + 2 near-field hydrophones, n of which were required to determine the source wavefield, the remaining two providing a check on the computation. The source wavefield is critical to the determination of the seismic wavelet for the extraction of reflection coefficients from seismic reflection data and for tying the data to wells.  The wavefield generated by the full array of interacting airguns can be considered to be the superposition of n spherical pressure waves, or notional source signatures, the n hydrophone measurements providing a set of n simultaneous equations for each shot. The solution of the equations for the notional source signatures requires three ingredients: the geometry of the gun ports and near-field hydrophones; the sensitivity of each hydrophone recording channel; and the relative motion between the near-field hydrophones and the bubbles emitted by the guns. The geometry was measured on the back deck using a tape measure. A calibration data set was obtained at the approach to each line, in which each gun was fired on its own and the resulting wavefield was measured with the near-field hydrophones and recorded. The channel sensitivities, or conversion from pressure at the hydrophones to numbers on the tape, were found for each near-field hydrophone channel using the single gun calibration data, the measured geometry, and the peak pressure from each gun, known from the manufacturer’s calibration. The relative motion between the guns and hydrophones was obtained from the same calibration data set by minimizing the energy in the computed notional source signatures at the guns which did not fire. The full array data were then solved for the notional source signatures, and the pressure was computed at the two spare hydrophones and compared with the actual recordings. The rms errors were 5.3% and 2.8% and would have been smaller if the hydrophone channel sensitivities had been properly calibrated beforehand and if the movement of the guns with respect to the hydrophones had been more restricted.  This comparison of the predicted and measured signatures at spare hydrophones can, in principle, be done on every shot and we recommend that this be implemented as a standard quality control procedure whenever it is desired to measure the wavefield of a marine seismic source.

Notes: The conversion of seismic time to depth through the use of analytical functions has been a common procedure in seismic work for many decades. With the exception of recent examples dealing with the linear function, none of the published time-depth relationships corresponding to these functions is applicable to multilayer depth conversion. The present work redresses this situation. It presents formulae applicable to multilayer depth conversion for a large number of analytical functions. The derivation is based on a procedure generally similar to that presented by Japsen (1993). Most of the functions considered date back to a publication by Kaufman in 1953 and earlier publications. A number of other functions hitherto not known in the industry are also presented.

Notes: A method of detecting lateral resistivity inhomogeneities with a multi-electrode cable for the Schlumberger array is presented. Using such a cable system, two dipole-dipole soundings are gathered in addition to the Schlumberger sounding at each point. Offset differences calculated from the dipole-dipole data give qualitative information about lateral resistivity inhomogeneities. Results from 1D modelling can give quantitative information about the 2D resistivity distribution since the dipole-dipole soundings are made to either side of the Schlumberger sounding point. Examples from two different locations in Norway are shown. At Reinøya, northern Norway, a dipping layer, confirmed by refraction seismic data, was identified. In a sedimentary basin with a contamination plume at Haslemoen, southern Norway, the method has revealed lateral variations in resistivity. In both cases, the Schlumberger soundings could be fitted with a 1D resistivity model.

Notes: Shallow reflection and refraction seismic studies were carried out in Greece in the eastern leg of the Chalkidiki peninsula, in order to test the validity of reports in history books which describe a legendary canal built by the engineers of King Xerxes during the major Persian invasion of Europe through Greece in the 5th century B.C.  In the narrowest part of the Athos peninsula, where it is 2 km wide, an 85 m profile was topographically defined almost centrally between the two coastlines. The position of this profile was based on palaeogeographical, geomorphological and topographic studies and observations. A sledgehammer was used as the seismic source for the shallow target. Despite the presence of significant urban and coherent noise, a final stacked section was produced by a suitable choice of acquisition and processing parameters.  Both the reflection and refraction seismic studies illustrated clearly the existence of a channel-like structure of trapezoid cross-section, almost midway between the two opposite sides of the peninsula.

Notes: We present a genetic algorithm that simultaneously generates a large number of different solutions to various potential field inverse problems. It is shown that in simple cases a satisfactory description of the ambiguity domain inherent in potential field problems can be efficiently obtained by a simple analysis of the ensemble of solutions. From this analysis we can also obtain information about the expected bounds on the unknown parameters as well as a measure of the reliability of the final solution that cannot be recovered with local optimization methods. We discuss how the algorithm can be modified to address large dimensional problems. This can be achieved by the use of a ‘pseudo-subspace method’, whereby problems of high dimensionality can be globally optimized by progressively increasing the complexity and dimensionality of the problem as well as by subdividing the overall calculation domain into a number of small subdomains. The effectiveness and flexibility of the method is shown on a range of different potential field inverse problems, both in 2D and 3D, on synthetic and field data.

Notes: Heterogeneous wave equations are more complicated numerically than homogeneous wave equations, but are necessary for physical validity. A wide variety of numerical solutions of seismic wave equations is available, but most produce strong numerical artefacts and local instabilities where model parameters change rapidly. Accuracy and stability of heterogeneous equations is achieved through staggered-grid formulations. A new pseudospectral staggered-grid algorithm is developed for the poroelastic (Biot) equations. The algorithm may be reduced to handle the elastic and acoustic limits of the Biot equations. Comparisons of results from poroelastic, elastic, acoustic and scalar computations for a 2D model show that porous medium parameters may affect amplitudes significantly. The use of homogeneous wave equations for modelling of a heterogeneous medium, or of a centred rather than a staggered grid, or of simplified (e.g. acoustic) wave equations when elastic or poroelastic media are synthesized, may produce erroneous or ambiguous interpretations.

Notes: A global optimization method incorporating a ray-tracing scheme is used to invert observations of shear-wave splitting from two near-offset VSPs recorded at the Conoco Borehole Test Facility, Kay County, Oklahoma. Inversion results suggest that the seismic anisotropy is due to a non-vertical fracture system. This interpretation is constrained by the VSP acquisition geometry for which two sources are employed along near diametrically opposite azimuths about the well heads. A correlation is noted between the time-delay variations between the fast and slow split shear waves and the sandstone formations.

Notes: Seismic and geoelectric methods are often used in the exploration of near-surface structures. Generally, these two methods give, independently of one other, a sufficiently exact model of the geological structure. However, sometimes the inversion of the seismic or geoelectric data fails. These failures can be avoided by combining various methods in one joint inversion which leads to much better parameter estimations of the near-surface underground than the independent inversions.  In the companion paper (Part I: basic ideas), it was demonstrated theoretically that a joint inversion, using dispersive Rayleigh and Love waves in combination with the well-known methods of DC resistivity sounding, such as Schlumberger, radial dipole-dipole and pole-pole arrays, provides a better parameter estimation.  Two applications are shown: a five layer structure in Borsod County, Hungary, and a three-layer structure in Thüringen, Germany. Layer thicknesses, wave velocities and resistivities are determined. Of course, the field data sets obtained from the ‘real world’ are not as complete and as good as the synthetic data sets in the theoretical Part I.  In both applications, relative model distances, in percentages, serve as quality control factors for the different inversions; the lower the relative distance, the better the inversion result.  In the Borsod field case, Love wave group slowness data and Schlumberger, radial dipole-dipole and pole-pole (i.e two-electrode) data sets are processed. The independent inversion performed using the Love wave data leads to a relative model distance of 155%. An independent Schlumberger inversion results in 41%, a joint geoelectric inversion of all data sets in 15%, a joint inversion of Love wave data and all geoelectric data sets in 15% and the robust joint inversion of Love wave data and the three geoelectric data sets in 10%.  In the Thüringen field case, only Rayleigh wave group slowness data and Schlumberger data were available. The independent inversion using Rayleigh wave data results in a relative model distance of 19%. The independent inversion performed using Schlumberger data leads to 34%, the joint and robust joint inversion of Rayleigh wave and Schlumberger data gave results of 18% and 20%, respectively.

Notes: An important aspect of any non-linear inversion method is the generation of a suitable or good initial model as this controls the rate of convergence and accuracy of the result. To overcome the problem, a numerical method is presented for direct interpretation of magnetotelluric sounding data based on the frequency-normalized impedance (FNI) function. The expressions used to calculate the parameters are developed, first for a two-layer case under the assumption that deeper layers do not contribute to the early part of the FNI curve, and they are then generalized for an n-layer situation. The parameters of the first layer are computed by using successive sample values and the final estimate is obtained from the arithmetic mean of selected values by excluding unacceptable results in the logarithmic space. The top layer is then removed using a reduction equation. The repetition of the procedure on successive branches of the FNI function gives successive layer parameters, the resistivity of the substratum being obtained at the final step, when the reduction equation becomes equal to the square root of that resistivity.  The proposed method can be used as a complementary method for iterative inversion as it creates an initial guess which is close to the optimal solution. The solution produced by the direct interpretation may also be modified by the interpreter to incorporate prior geological information before being input to iterative interpretation schemes.

Notes: A solution based on Tabarovskii's coupled pair of surface integral equations is given for the potential of a direct current flowing in an electrically anisotropic body and within the enclosing isotropic surroundings. The sources of the secondary potential exterior and interior to the body are fictitious surface charge distributions. The equations are solved numerically using point matching with pulse functions as subsectional basis functions. The model used in the applications is a long prism, excited by long line current electrodes aligned parallel to the strike. The strike length is set at a length sufficient to guarantee 2D behaviour of the model.  Comparisons of computation results indicate that for the models, electrode arrays and numerical procedures applied, the solutions based on fictitious surface sources converge faster and behave more regularly than those based on real surface charges. When compared with previously published integral equation solutions, the present solution seems to be relatively efficient, even in the case of purely isotropic models. The model experiments also showed that at moderate resistivity contrasts, the anomaly shapes are strongly dependent on the directions of the principal axes of the body resistivity. However, when the external resistivity is more than 100 times that of the geometric mean of the principal resistivities in the body, with the principal resistivities differing from each other by at most one order of magnitude, the contribution of the anisotropy to the anomaly diminishes as a result of electrical saturation.

Notes: Appropriate pre-sowing methods for the introduction of improved forage legume and grass germplasm are an important issue for hill pasture improvement in New Zealand. A pastoral fallow, which involves not defoliating pasture for a period generally from late spring/early summer to autumn, could create a potentially favourable environment for introducing improved germplasm. A field study was conducted on two aspects (shady and sunny) of moist, low-fertility hill country with or without added fertilizer (phosphorus and sulphur) in the southern North Island of New Zealand, to investigate the changes in plant population density and sward structure during a full or partial pastoral fallow, compared with a rotationally grazed pasture. A 7-month (October to May) pastoral fallow dramatically decreased the densities of grass tillers by 72% (P 〈 0·01), white clover (Trifolium repens L.) growing points by 87% (P 〈 0·01) and other species by 87% (P 〈 0·05). The decline in tiller density by pastoral fallow was enhanced on the shady aspect. Fertilizer application increased white clover growing-point density on the shady aspect (P 〈 0·05) and grass tiller density on the sunny aspect (P 〈 0·05). Decreased plant density during pastoral fallowing was attributed to aboveground biomass accumulation, which altered sward structure, leading to interplant competition and mortality by self-thinning and completion of the life cycle of some matured plants. The plant size-density relationship during pastoral fallowing in this mixed-species sward followed the serf-thinning rule, particularly when the calculation was based on all plant species rather than grass alone. There was no significant (P 〉 0·05) difference in final plant population density between the 7-month pastoral fallow and a shorter term (October to December) pastoral fallow. It is concluded that pastoral fallowing effectively reduced the plant population density and altered sward structure of a hill pasture. Such changes create a more favourable environment for the introduction of improved forage species.

Notes: Direct-cut grass silage was ensiled without compression in laboratory silos for 0–75 d. On occasions during this period, the silage was subjected to creep compression tests at three pressure levels for a period of 5 h and effluent production was measured. Precision-chopped Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was ensiled in the first experiment, whereas flail-harvested perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was ensiled in the second. Pressure levels were 11·3, 16·9 and 22·5 kPa for Experiment 1 and 5·7, 11·3 and 16·9 kPa for Experiment 2. Moisture contents of the ensiled herbage were 815 and 856 g kg−1 for Experiments 1 and 2 respectively. The consolidation of the grass silage was described by a Burgers body model. Effluent production was more closely related to strain than to compressibility. Linear regression equations for the relationship between strain and effluent production are presented. There was a significant positive linear relationship between pressure and effluent production at each silo opening time in both experiments. The time course of effluent production was fitted to a negative exponential curve. The time that elapsed before effluent release in each experiment was a function of both pressure and time after ensilage. The results of the experiments were compared with the predictions of two models of effluent production. Reasonable agreement between predicted and actual effluent production could be obtained provided the measured material parameters were used and immediate saturation of the forage was assumed. Using the models highlighted the need for a better understanding of saturation development in the silage.

Notes: The effects of defoliation upon root and shoot systems of prairie grass (Bromus catharticus Vahl) were examined in both field and pot studies. The varieties used were 78–32 (HY), a high-yielding variety; 79–42 (LY), a low-yielding variety; and the commercial variety Grasslands Matua. In the field, the presence of roots in early and late spring was estimated by measuring uptake of [32P]phosphate by roots; herbage yields and tiller numbers were recorded. In a pot study, root and shoot dry-matter (DM) yields were analysed. In the field, roots were detected to a depth of 1·2 m. After defoliation to a height of 0·1 m, root presence decreased more than 50% at depths of 0·6 m for LY and 1·0 m for Matua in early spring and at several depths for each variety in late spring. After a second defoliation, the apparent growth rate of shoots decreased by 35% in relation to the first regrowth period. In pots, shoot DM and root DM of control plants (undefoliated) had the following allometric relationship of the form: In (shoot DM) = 0·61 + 1·14 ln (root DM) (r2= 0·81). After defoliation, compared with undefoliated controls, the relative growth rate of shoots and total herbage yields were higher, but root and stubble DM were lower in all three varieties. Pooled root DM means were 10·3 and 6·8 g plant−1 and pooled stubble DM means were 12·7 and 7·6 g plant−1 for control and defoliated plants respectively. HY produced heavier tillers than LY, pooled means being 0·94 and 0·53 g DM tiller−1 (field study) and 3·44 and 2·05 g DM tiller−1 (pot study) for HY and LY respectively. HY had 5–6 green leaves per tiller, whereas LY had 3–4. Developed green leaves were heavier in HY (58 g m−2) than in LY (48 g m−2). It is suggested that differences in both leaf parameters may be related to higher herbage yields for HY than LY.

Notes: The rates of drying of perennial ryegrass, subjected to different treatments at mowing and after mowing, were assessed in the field by weight change of grass fresh weight in wire-mesh trays over 3·5 d (76 h). In a 5 × 3 × 3 factorial experimental design, the effects of five weights of grass per unit area [1·5, 3, 6, 12 and 24 kg fresh material (FM) m−2], three treatments at mowing (no treatment, mower-conditioned, flail-treated) and three treatments after mowing (no treatment, inverted, mixed) were examined. The experiment was replicated twice on 16 occasions in 1992 at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland. This gave a total of thirty-two replicates per treatment. The trays were weighed at 2-h intervals from 09.00 to 17.00 h each day. Data sets were restricted to rain-free days and also to the first day after mowing (day 1). On day 1, grass weight per unit area was a major factor dictating drying; reducing the grass weight per unit area of unconditioned grass from 6 to 3 kg FM m−2 increased grass drying rate by 47%. There was no significant (P 〉 0·05) benefit over the untreated grass on day 1 from mixing or turning mower-conditioned or the unconditioned grass. Mixing of the flail-treated grass improved drying rate significantly (P 〉 0·001) over the control. Over the whole 76-h period, the relative benefit from either mower conditioning or flail treatment over no treatment was dependent upon both grass weight per unit area and initial dry-matter (DM) concentration. At higher initial DM concentrations (〉150 g kg−1) and lower grass weights (〈6 kg FM m−2) both mower conditioning using a nylon brush type conditioner and intensive conditioning by flail treatment gave substantial increases in drying over no treatment. Moisture regain of grass exposed to overnight dew was small. Rain had a much greater effect than dew on subsequent moisture regain. Unconditioned grass at 12 kg m−2 retained 82% less water following rainfall than unconditioned grass at 3 kg m−2.

Notes: Variation in dry-matter yield at second harvests was studied in a long-term comparison of wheel traffic systems and soil compaction in grassland for silage in Scotland. Yields were obtained from compacted soil subjected to conventional traffic (C), from less compacted soil in a reduced ground-pressure traffic system (R) and from non-compacted soil in a zero-traffic system (Z). Relationships between the ratios of second-harvest yields, C2/Z2 and C2/R2, and a number of soil, rainfall and crop parameters were tested by correlation analysis. The yield ratios increased significantly with the number of days after mowing before 2 mm of rain fell in 1 d (r= 0·923*** and 0·715*, for C2/Z2 and C2/R2 respectively), and C2/Z2, but not C2/R2, decreased with increasing amount of rainfall in the 14 d after first mowing (r= 0·787*). It was concluded that yield from compacted soil was greater than that from non-compacted soil because the former depended less on rainfall in the weeks after first mowing. The degree of soil compaction in the reduced ground-pressure traffic system, although maintaining first-harvest yield benefit, reduced the risk of significantly diminished yield at second harvest in dry summers.

Notes: There have been few successful programmes to select forage plants with improved nutritive value for dairy cattle, despite the implications of improved forage quality for dairy production. Part of this lack of progress has been attributed to differences in opinion on the relative importance of improving individual traits relating to nutritive value. This paper reports the use of the Delphi survey technique to obtain an estimate of the priority for improvement of individual nutritive value traits among a large group of respondents. The Delphi technique has been used previously to rank nutritive value traits in forages for liveweight gain and wool production (Wheeler and Corbett, 1989, Grass and Forage Science, 44, 77–83). Increasing dry-matter digestibility (DMD) was ranked as the most important goal for grasses; increased non-structural carbohydrate (WSC) and improved rate of digestion were ranked second and third in importance. The absence of anti-quality factors, and an ‘optimal ratio’ of rumen degradable protein to undegradable protein (RDP/UDP) were ranked most highly for legumes, with increased DMD and WSC following closely behind. Increased magnesium and increased lipid content were ranked lowest for both grasses and legumes. Similar rankings were achieved when mean rankings from Australian and New Zealand scientists were compared with those from US and European scientists. Rankings were also similar when results from nutrition scientists were compared with those from plant breeders/agronomists.

Notes: Groups of mature, non-lactating, cows grazed two Molinia-dominant grassland communities in central and southern Scotland during six consecutive summers. Two treatments, designed to use either 33% or 66% of the estimated annual Molinia leaf production by grazing to different leaf lengths, were imposed at each site. Grazing was restricted to the period of Molinia growth each season. During the first 4 years, diet composition, diet digestibility and herbage organic matter intake were determined during either one or two measurement periods each year. There were differences between sites in the floristic content of the sward and these differences were reflected in the diet selected by the cattle. Cows grazing the taller (33% utilization) plots had higher percentages of Molinia, grass stem, sheath and inflorescences and lower percentages of broad-leaved grasses, sedges, rushes and dead herbage in the diet than those grazing the shorter (66% utilization) plots. Differences between the floristic composition of the sward and the diet were explicable by (a) the height at which cattle grazed in relation to the distribution of components within the sward or (b) the selective grazing of small areas dominated by a particular species. The organic matter digestibility of diets differed between sites but there was no significant difference in digestibility or organic matter intake between the treatments. On average less than 50 d grazing was provided by the experimental sites each year. During this period the liveweight gains of cows grazing the two treatments did not differ significantly. The implications of these results for the management of Molinia-dominant communities are discussed.

Notes: Effects of different grazing frequencies and intensities on herbage production (on both a unit pasture and individual plant basis) and on persistence of chicory (Cichorium intybus L. cv. Grasslands Puna) were studied at Palmerston North, New Zealand (latitude 40°23′S) from November 1994 to November 1995. Three experiments were conducted on the same chicory stand, sown on 12 May 1994. The main grazing experiment had two grazing intensities, hard-lax grazing (50- to 100-mm stem stubble to mid-January, and thereafter 100- to 150-mm stem stubble) and lax grazing (100- to 150-mm stem stubble), and three grazing frequencies (1-, 2- or 4-week intervals). A subsidiary plant survival experiment compared the survival of 120 marked plants in ungrazed and grazed treatments. A late autumn grazing experiment examined the effects on plant persistence in the following spring. The greatest herbage mass (leaf + stem) resulted from the 4-week grazing frequency [9640 ± 874 kg dry matter (DM) ha−1], in which stem mass was reasonably low (1270 ± 410 kg DM ha−1), but was significantly higher in the 4-week grazing frequency than 1- and 2-week grazing frequencies (P 〈 0·01). Grazing intensity had no significant effect except on the average stem mass of individual plants when the hard-lax intensity gave a lower stem mass (P 〈 0·01). There were no interactions between grazing frequency and intensity in herbage mass. Plant density declined by 35% over the growing season with the decline unaffected by grazing intensity or frequency during the season. Grazing in late autumn resulted in approximately 27% less plants the following spring. It was concluded that grazing management through the growing season cannot be used to improve persistence without compromising leaf growth rate, but that avoidance of grazing late autumn will improve the persistence of chicory.

Notes: A comparison was made of the estimates of the outputs of nitrogen (N) in faeces and urine on Awassi ewes using two methods: (1) conventional collection in digestibility crates, with urine acidified to prevent volatilization (separation method); (2) collection of both faeces and urine together in bags placed over the tail of the ewe and using the ratio between N and acid detergent fibre (ADF) in samples taken from the rectum to partition the total N output between faeces and urine (N:ADF method). The comparison was made on eight ewes in a crossover design using three collection periods of 5 d. There were no significant differences between the methods in the estimates of nitrogen in urine and faeces, although differences between methods in the estimation of total N output were close to being significant. The precision of the estimates was lower with the N:ADF method.

Notes: Results for years 4–8 of a long-term grazing experiment on swards of a diploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), var. Contender (D swards), a tetraploid ryegrass, var. Condesa (T swards) and Condesa with S184 white clover (Trifolium repens) (TC swards), direct sown in May 1987, are presented. The swards were continuously stocked with sheep from 1988 to 1990, as previously reported, and for a further 5 years, 1991–95, at a target sward surface height (SSH) of 4–6 cm. Control of sward height was successfully achieved by variable stocking, except in 1993 when paddocks were set stocked and the resulting mean SSH was 9·3 cm. Grass swards received on average 160 kg N ha−1 year−1; grass/clover swards were mainly not fertilized with N with the exception that they were given 30 kg N ha−1 as a remedial mid-summer application during a period of low herbage mass on offer in 1994 and 1995.Mean white clover content of the swards fell from 18·2% of herbage dry-matter (DM) in 1992 to 8·5% in 1993, whereas stolon lengths fell from 120 to 58 m m−2. A return to lower sward heights in 1994–95 resulted in an increase in white clover content to 12·8% by the final sampling in August 1995. Perennial ryegrass content of the grass swards remained high throughout (mean 96·7% in 1995). Perennial ryegrass tiller densities recorded in August 1991, 1993 and 1994 showed consistently significant (P 〈 0·001) sward differences (3-year mean 16 600, 13 700 and 10 100 perennial ryegrass tillers m−2 for the D, T and TC swards). In 1994, the year after lax grazing, a low perennial ryegrass tiller density (9100 m−2) and low white clover content (mean 4·3%) in the TC swards resulted in a much lower herbage bulk density than in the grass swards (April–July means 72, 94 and 44 kg OM ha−1 cm−1 for the D, T and TC swards). There was a consistent 40 g d−1 increase in lamb liveweight gain on the TC swards over the T swards, except in 1994. In that year there was a reduction in lamb liveweight gain of 33 g d−1 on the TC swards and a significant increase in ewe liveweight loss (117 g d−1) associated with low herbage bulk density despite optimal sward height. Lamb output (kg liveweight ha−1) on TC swards reflected white clover content, falling from a similar output to that produced from grass given 160 kg N ha−1, at 18% white clover DM content, down to 60% of grass + N swards with around 5% clover. A 6% greater output from the T than the D swards was achieved mainly through higher stocking rate. The experiment demonstrated a rapid, loss in white clover under lax grazing, and showed that the relationship between performance and sward height is also dependent on herbage density. High lamb output from a grass/clover sward was only achieved when the clover content was maintained at 15–20% of the herbage DM.

Notes: During the middle Jurassic on the Southern Iberian Continental Margin (at the westernmost end of the northern Tethys) isolated carbonate platforms developed over volcanic edifices, forming guyots. The volcanic edifices were composed of K-rich pillow-lavas and pyroclastic rocks with a radiometric age ≈ 170 Myr. Such phenomena have not been described until now in this continental margin nor in other passive continental margins of Alpine domains. The presence of a shallowing-upward megasequence (Bajocian–Bathonian) with hummocky cross- stratification strata below oolitic shoals, shows that very shallow isolated carbonate platforms developed above the volcanic edifices, with similar facies to those recognized in other guyots, but with a different age and geodynamic context.

Notes: The Witwatersrand ‘basin’ is the largest known gold province in the world. The gold deposits have been worked for moren than 100 years but there is still controversy about the ore forming process. Detailed petrographic studies often reveal that the gold is late in the paragenetic sequence, which has led many researchers to propose a hydrothermal origin for the gold. However, observations, such as the occurrence of rounded, disc-like gold particles next to irregularly shaped or idiomorphic secondary gold particles in the same sample, suggest an initial detrital gold source within the Witwatersrand strata. Mineral chemical and isotopic data, together with SEM cathodoluminescence imaging and fluid inclusion studies, provide evidence for small-scale variations in the fluid chemistry – a requirement for the short-range mobilization of the gold. The existing data and observations on the Witwatersrand rocks support a model of hydrothermally altered, metamorphosed placer deposits, with at least two subsequent gold mobilization events: hydrothermal infiltration in early Transvaal time (2.6–2.5 Ga) and during the 2.020 Ga Vredefort impact event.

Notes: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is applied to detect subsurface tectonic structures and to map the geometry of faulted blocks. Tectonic interpretations from a profile crossing the graben fault and a grid in a second-order graben structure providing a 3D data set are correlated to the structural inventory of the outcrop. Folded layers of the roll-over anticline are identified by continuous curved reflectors and an increasing dip towards the main graben fault. Faults are indicated by arrays of reflector terminations. Variations in the water and clay content caused by karstification and brecciation on fault planes are displayed by changing amplitudes of the detected signal. The 3D visualization of the second-order graben structure with a grid of GPR profiles illustrates the local stress pattern which coincides with structural observations in the outcrop and photo lineations.

Notes: In the Alboran domain, two crustal-thickening late-orogenic extension cycles are superposed. The importance of the late Alpine thinning of the Alpujarride-Sebtide crustal section on top of the Beni Bousera peridotites is discussed here in metamorphic petrological terms. The Alpine metamorphism operated first under a HP–LT gradient, and reached the eclogite facies in the Permian–Triassic phyllites, before retrogression under a high geothermal gradient. A contrasting, higher temperature metamorphism characterizes the pre-Permian section, reaching the HP-granulite facies at the bottom of the crustal section. By reference to the western European setting, the granulites relate to the Hercynian orogeny, as supported by the isotopic ages of the enclosed, armoured monazite crystals. Thus, thinning of an overthickened crust might have occurred there during the late Hercynian extension and Tethyan opening, before being reactivated during the late Oligocene.

Notes: Nitrogen isotopes in peridotitic diamonds from Fuxian, China, suggest that the upper mantle δ15N-value has been globally homogeneous since at least the Proterozoic (−5 to −8‰/ATM), with similar values for subcontinental and MORB mantle. In addition, Fuxian diamonds retain the memory of a primary nitrogen lower in δ15N (down to −25‰). For the first time δ15N- values in diamonds match those of enstatite chondrites, supporting a formation of the Earth from such meteorites and the idea of a heterogeneous accretion of the Earth’s volatiles. Nitrogen concentrations in diamonds are believed to depend strongly on the rate of the diamond growth and not to be an indicator of C/N ratios of the fluids from which they grew.

Notes: The crustal architecture of the Southern Urals is dominated by an orogenic wedge thrusted westward upon the subducted East European continental margin. The N–S trending wedge constitutes an antiformal stack composed mainly of the high-P Maksyutov Complex, the overlying Suvanyak Complex and the allochthonous synformal Zilair flysch further west. These tectono-metamorphic units are separated by tectonic contacts and record discontinously decreasing metamorphic conditions from bottom to top. In the east, the E-dipping Main Uralian Normal Fault cross-cuts the metamorphic footwall and juxtaposes the non metamorphic Magnitogorsk island arc. This syncollisional normal fault compensated crustal thickening and exhumation of the high-P rocks. Orogenic shortening was accommodated by the Main Uralian Thrust, a W-vergent crustal-scale shear zone at the base of the wedge. Geological investigations and reflection seismics (URSEIS ‘95) argue in favour of a geodynamic evolution integrating subduction and basal accretion of high-P rocks during sinistral oblique thrusting along the Main Uralian Thrust and coeval normal-faulting along the Main Uralian Normal Fault.

Notes: The western Mediterranean is composed of irregular troughs formed as back-arc basins in the hanging wall of the W-directed Apenninic subduction which retreated eastward during Neogene and Quaternary times. The basins are progressively younger toward the east, ageing from late Oligocene–early Miocene (Valencia, Provençal, Alboran and Algerian basins), to middle Miocene–Pleistocene (Tyrrhenian Sea). The basins isolated boudins of continental lithosphere, the Sardinia–Corsica block representing the largest. The boudinage has a wavelength of 100–400 km and facilitated stretching of the continental lithosphere with formation of new oceanic crust in the Provençal, Algerian, Vavilov and Marsili basins. The boudins developed both in the earlier Alpine–Betic orogen (Alboran basin) and in its foreland (Provençal and Valencia troughs). The extension appears clearly asymmetric due to its eastward polarity, accommodated by E-dipping master low-angle normal faults. Moreover the thinning shows variations in boudinage wavelength and is characterized by several along-strike transfer zones and heterogeneities. The western Mediterranean back-arc setting is comparable with Atlantic and western Pacific back-arc basins associated with W-directed subduction zones that show similar large-scale lithospheric boudinage.

Notes: We present an approach for tracing the fate of anthropogenic CO2, compiling a large data set of stable organic carbon isotope ratios from surface sediments, plankton, and sinking matter in the Atlantic Ocean. The δ13C values of sinking matter are generally lower by 0.5–4.6‰ compared to the surface sediments. This difference increases with increasing latitude, which is explained by a stronger modern increase in surface water [CO2 (aq)] in the Southern Ocean relative to the Tropical/Subtropical Ocean. Preindustrial dissolved CO2 concentrations in Atlantic surface waters, estimated from the δ13Corg of surface sediments, are compared to recently measured surface water [CO2 (aq)] values taken from literature. We obtain only a slight increase in [CO2 (aq)] at lower latitudes but a significant change of about 7 ± 2 μm in high latitudinal surface waters which we attribute to anthropogenic perturbation. Our results suggest that CO2 released by human activities has been stored in Southern Ocean surface waters.

Notes: Intrinsic magnetic fields, corresponding to virtual axial dipole moments of the order of 1020 Am2, have recently been evidenced for the Jovian satellites Io and Ganymede. By reviewing the rock magnetic and palaeomagnetic properties together with the history of Io, the hypothesis of a moment due to induced or remanent magnetization of crustal rocks acquired within the ambient Jovian field is clearly eliminated. This demonstration is all the more valid for Ganymede, which experiences a much lower Jovian field. The demonstration of a present dynamo action for these Jovian moons, possibly sustained by Jupiter through tidal heating and background magnetic field, may be an actualistic model for the early lunar history. The hypothesis of a lunar dynamo, active at 3–4 Ga, seems to be strongly supported by this analogy.

Notes: Underground coal fires in China cause serious environmental problems, in addition to the loss of valuable coal resources. The present study aims at developing a quick and practical method to estimate the depth of coal fires using data integration techniques. In coal fields which have underground coal fires, the subsurface fires are associated with surface thermal anomalies. Airborne thermal infrared scanner data and colour infrared photographs were used in this study to depict the coal fire front and the outcrop of coal seams, respectively. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the study area was produced from topographic maps at 1:25 000 scale. Finally, taking into account the spreading direction of the coal fires and the relationships between thermal anomalies, relief factors and the occurrence of coal seams, the depths of the coal fires were obtained automatically by means of integration of remote sensing data and GIS techniques. This helped to target the fire fighting operations and made them more cost effective.

Notes: A detailed stable carbon isotopic profile of a late Miocene browncoal seam from the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany, reveals two clear separate cycles of different frequency: this is the first instance of this type of isotopic signature being recognized within coals. The ratio of the two frequencies suggests this isotopic signal possibly resulted from climatic or vegetational responses to orbital forcing. The cyclicity has been enhanced by the application of conventional filtering methods on the data set. An analysis of the seam’s palynology indicates a correlation between heavier isotopic compositions and the presence of Sequoiapollenites polyformosus, whose parent plant is believed to have favoured moist climates and higher groundwater tables.

Notes: SHRIMP U–Pb data from two samples of foliated anatectic leucogneiss bracket the high-grade metamorphic history of metasediments from southern Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Magmatic zircons in these two samples have mean crystallization ages of 535 ± 13 and 536 ± 35 Myr, and provide a good estimate for the timing of peak metamorphism and partial melting. Low-Th monazite grains in the same samples have mean ages of 528 ± 4 and 527 ± 11 Myr, which are within error of the zircon ages but may reflect a lower blocking temperature. High-Th monazite rims with younger mean ages of 518 ± 3 and 512 ± 13 Myr occur around low-Th cores in both samples, and were precipitated from hydrous fluids released during the crystallization of residual melts. These magmatic fluids were channelled along the retrograde foliation present in both samples. All mineral assemblages and fabrics preserved in the metasediments reflect intense Pan-African metamorphism and deformation, associated with high degrees of partial melting and significant vertical displacements of the crust. Continental reconstructions assuming limited Pan-African tectonism in East Antarctica should be reassessed in the light of these new data.

Notes: Records of densely spaced shots along the Sino-US reflection line INDEPTH II at offsets between 70 and 130 km parallel to the main profile provide an image of the crust straddling the Indus-Yarlung suture. The major features are prominent reflections at about 20 km depth beneath and extending out to about 20–30 km north and south of the surface exposure of the suture, and north-dipping reflectors north of the suture. Various interpretations for the reflections are possible. (i) They represent a decollement, possibly of the Gangdise thrust system. In this scenario, the surface expression of the Gangdise thrust as mapped in eastern south Tibet is a splay with the decollement continuing southwards and either ending as a blind thrust or ramping up as one of the thrusts within the northernmost Tethyan shelf sequence. (ii) The reflections represent fabrics within gneisses, partly obliterated by intrusions reaching various levels of the crust. The reflection bands may be interpreted in terms of deformation or sedimentary structures belonging to the Indian crust, the accretionary complex, and the basement of the Gangdise belt. The intrusions could be related to the Tethyan leucogranites south of the suture (Rinbung leucogranite), and to the Gangdise magmatic arc to the north of the suture. (iii) The reflections represent a fortuitous coincidence of different features north and south of the suture. South of the suture, the reflections may record the basement–cover interface of the Indian crust or a thrust system in the Tethyan shelf. North of the suture, they may comprise different levels within the Gangdise belt and its basement. Although it is not possible to discriminate between the suggested scenarios without additional information, the seismic mapping points to the importance of post-collisional (Oligocene–Miocene) tectonics, which reshaped the suture.

Notes: 40Ar/39Ar geochronological and palaeomagnetic dating methods applied to fault breccias in western Norway have isolated two brittle reactivation episodes of the syn-post-Caledonian, extensional Nordfjord-Sogn Detachment. These events, of latest Permian and latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous ages, demonstrate temporal relationships between development of chemical remanent magnetism and partial resetting of Ar isotopic systems during distinct breccia-forming episodes. A third event of Carboniferous age was also identified in the breccias with the 40Ar/39Ar technique and is a relict unroofing signature inherited from the fault wall-rocks. These brittle faults are significant time markers and become relevant to interpretations of offshore seismic data which attempt to place ages on faults that have undergone multiple reactivation episodes.

Notes: Benthic foraminiferal populations through 1991–94 were investigated by taking cores and in situ observations from the submersible Shinkai 2000 in Sagami Bay, Japan (1450 m water depth). At this location, a strong spring bloom causes seasonal deposition of phytodetrital material to the sea floor. The population size of benthic foraminifera is mainly controlled by this seasonal flux of organic matter, which triggers rapid, opportunistic reproduction of the shallow infaunal taxa Bolivia pacifica and Textularia kattegatensis. We propose that these species have a one-year life cycle. The deep infaunal taxa Globobulimina affinis and Chilostomella ovoidea show less pronounced seasonal fluctuations in population size, and seem to have a life cycle longer than two years. The foraminifera migrate vertically through the sediment, down to the maximum depth to which the sediment is oxygenated. The seasonal flux of organic matter thus is the most important determinant of population size, microhabitats, and reproduction in Sagami Bay. Such foraminifera are extremely relevant in the functioning of the global carbon cycle, especially at the interface of the hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Notes: Structural studies of Variscan plutons of the Pyrenees demonstrate their syn-orogenic character, contrasting with their post-orogenic Permian Rb-Sr datation. The Bassiès and Mont-Louis-Andorra plutons were emplaced before the main Variscan D2 phase and behaved as rigid markers during D2. Emplacement of the Néouvielle pluton was coeval with D2 as attested by its behaviour, first as a deformable body, then as a rigid body. The structures in plutons, combined with those of the country rocks, demonstrate that the whole Pyrenees acted as a large dextral ductile shear zone during the D2 main phase. This conclusion points out to the interest of the granitoids as kinematic markers.

Notes: The Monteferro El Rosal shear zone is characterized by an intense ductile deformation produced during the third phase of the Variscan orogeny. The petrology of the metasediments and the study of the fluid inclusions from synkinematic andalusite-bearing quartz veins indicate that the major Variscan phase of deformation occurred at around 2. 5–4 kbar and 565 ± 25°C.

Notes: In the eastern part of the Permo-Triassic Bowen Basin of Queensland, Australia, a transition from passive, thermal subsidence to flexural (foreland basin) subsidence is recorded within the Upper Permian stratigraphy. Two coarse-grained intervals containing deposits of mass-wasting processes occur within an otherwise siltstone-dominated succession over 1500 m thick (the Moah Creek Beds and equivalents). These intervals can be traced over at least 350 km north–south, along the structural eastern margin of the basin. The lower of the coarse-grained intervals is spectacularly exposed in the banks of the Fitzroy River, west of Rockhampton. Here, interbedded sandstones and siltstones of marine shelf origin are abruptly truncated by a mudrock succession containing evidence of slumping and contemporaneous magmatic activity. This unit passes up-section into packages of mass-flow conglomerates and diamictites, interpreted to have formed on an unstable submarine slope. The character of the mass-flow deposits, their stratigraphic position and lateral extent are interpreted in terms of destabilization of a sloping marine surface by pulsed, subsurface thrust propagation.

Notes: Tertiary collision-related volcanic rocks of the Eastern Rhodopes (37–25.5 Ma) display calc-alkaline and shoshonitic affinities, with (A) intermediate to basic and (B) acid compositions. (A) Latites, andesites, also shoshonites and basaltic andesites and scarce basalts, absarokites and ultrapotassic latites were emitted through different eruptive styles: lava flows often autobrecciated, domes, ash and scarce pumice falls and flows. Lahars are frequent. K2O contents of intermediate volcanics decrease from North to South towards the collision suture. (B) Rhyolites, trachyrhyolites and trachydacites show explosivity progressively decreasing with time. Several eruptive types can be distinguished: pyroclastic flows (weakly and strongly welded ignimbrite deposits), ash and lapilli falls, domes and lava flows. The large (30×10 km) Borovitza caldera is the result of a paroxysmic explosive phase. All rocks are characterized by high contents of Rb, Th and Y. Conversely, negative Ba and Ta–Nb anomalies are typical of collision-related magmatism. Intense hydrothermal episodes, contemporaneous with the volcanic activity, have converted large amounts of explosive products into bentonite and zeolites deposits. Typical metallogeny is associated with this collision-related volcanism: large Pb, Zn with Cu and Ag deposits and small U or Au deposits are exposed.

Notes: Magmatism at convergent plate boundaries is related to processes associated with subduction, where H2O brought into the mantle is thought to play an essential role in producing the melts. One of the important aspects of the melting of hydrous systems is that the rock packet can melt during compression corresponding to a gentle or negative dT/dP slope of the solidus curve at relatively low temperatures. Here, the effects of compression on batch and fractional melting of hydrous peridotites in the mantle wedge of subduction zones are estimated, taking account of the flow pattern, energy balance and phase equilibrium constraints. The results show that a significant amount of melt, comparable to the eruption rate on volcanic arcs, can be produced in the downward flow along the plate. Further studies on distribution and transportation of H2O in the mantle wedge and melt segregation processes are required to estimate the importance of compression melting.

Notes: A reflection/refraction seismic experiment performed in 1991 in the western Po plain gave basic data to constrain the interpretation of the crustal structures across the Alps/Apennines junction zones. Two different seismic domains, north and south of the western supposed prosecution of the Villalvernia-Varzi line, are evidenced from the interpretation of the data. The boundary between the two domains is characterized by strong lateral variations from southern high to northern low velocity layers. The northward abrupt deepening of the refractor/reflector basement is followed at depth by a similar deepening of the crust/mantle boundary. The geological interpretation evidences domains with coherent and independent evolution at surface level juxtaposed along oblique discontinuities cutting across the crust. A peculiar feature is the presence of both crust and mantle north-verging wedges into the crustal structure and the overthrust at depth of the ‘alpine’ metamorphic crust onto the ‘apenninic’ nappes (Monferrato region).

Notes: 1. For two species of planktonic rotifers, Brachionus calyciflorus and Synchaeta pectinata, neonates from larger eggs were more resistant to starvation than neonates from smaller eggs, so egg size was positively correlated with offspring quality.2. Theories of optimal offspring size in zooplankton predict either a decrease in offspring size with increasing food level, or maximum offspring size at intermediate food levels. In experiments using acclimated, even-aged individuals, neither rotifer species changed its egg size as predicted by theory. B. calyciflorus egg size increased with increasing food concentration, while S. pectinata egg size did not change.3. The lack of fit to theory may have occurred because of constraints on minimum or maximum egg size, constraints on total reproductive effort, or because offspring fitness is influenced by traits in addition to neonate starvation time.

Notes: 1. The predation impact of underyearling perch (20 mm total length) on the dynamics of Daphnia galeata was studied in three 6.5-m3 enclosures during a 17-day experiment in June 1995. These data were compared with zooplankton succession in three fish-free control enclosures and in the pelagic zone of Bautzen reservoir, Germany.2. Due to individual growth during the experiment, fish biomass in the enclosures increased from 210 mg wet body mass (w.b.m.) m–3 to 830 mg w.b.m. m–3, equivalent to an increase from 20 kg ha–1 to 75 kg ha–1.3. In the enclosures with fish, biomass of daphnids decreased steadily to values below 1 mg wet weight (w.w.) l–1 within 17 days, whereas in the fish-free controls and in Bautzen reservoir the Daphnia biomass fluctuated around 8 mg w.w. l–1. Other zooplankton species exhibited little or no change. Approximately 60 kg ha–1 was calculated as the critical underyearling perch biomass which may induce a drastic decline of the Daphnia galeata population in Bautzen reservoir. Comparison with values from other lakes is difficult due to differences in water depths and Daphnia biomasses.4. Mean individual biomass of daphnids, egg ratio and proportion of adult daphnids were significantly lower in the enclosures with fish compared with the control enclosures at the end of the experiment. This may be explained partly by preferential predation of the large, egg-carrying daphnids by fish. However, no difference was found in clutch size and size at first reproduction, possibly due to the short duration of the experiment.5. It must be assumed that the ‘summer depression’ of daphnids observed in many waters is not the exclusive effect of direct reduction of daphnids by fish predation. Even the high biomass of underyearling perch stocked in the enclosures did not completely account for Daphnia mortality. Instead, the selective loss of large size classes, combined with low food resources and reduced reproduction rates, may induce the marked declines in daphnids.

Notes: 1. Although the mass of dissolved organic matter (DOM) often exceeds that of living organisms in freshwaters, little is known about the roles of its constituent molecules as sources of energy and information for aquatic organisms. In the present review attention is focused on free amino acids (FAA) and humic substances (HS) as examples of labile and refractory components within DOM.2. The following questions are addressed. (i) What are spatiotemporal patterns in the distribution of DOM, HS and FAA? (ii) What are the origins of the components of DOM and how are their concentrations regulated? (iii) What is the significance of the spatial and temporal distributional patterns of DOM, HS and FAA to detritivorous invertebrates and other organisms associated with them? (iv) What is the relevance of DOM to the food web concept and to the biochemical ecology of freshwater ecosystems?3. Concentrations of DOM, FAA and HS within lentic ecosystems are ranked as follows: Sediment pore water 〉 Air–water interface 〉 Midwater column. Comparisons between water bodies show that the concentrations of labile constituents of DOM, such as FAA, are usually positively correlated with base cations, nutrients and biological activity. In contrast, HS concentrations are negatively correlated with base cations or nutrients but positively correlated with the rate of biological degradation (the maximum values occurring in the autumn). The FAA : HS ratios might serve therefore as an indicator of the potential productivity of a water body.4. External sources of DOM in general, and FAA and HS in particular, include rainwater, windborne material, surface flow and groundwater. The relative importance of these allochthonous sources of DOM decreases along the length of lotic ecosystems and also with increase in size of lentic ecosystems. Internal sources of FAA and HS include synthesis or polymerization from existing organic matter, degradation of organic matter and release from both living and dead organisms. The net accumulation of DOM released by living bacteria, phytoplankton, epilithon, macrophytes and invertebrates is much reduced due to heterotrophic uptake. Hence, most of the allochthonous DOM in freshwater originates from dead organic matter deposited on the sediment. Phytoplankton-dominated ecosystems may, however, differ, as most of their DOM may be recycled within the water column.5. The factors that determine the external concentrations of DOM, FAA and HS are discussed. Evidence is cited in support of the following testable hypotheses. (i) The rates of production of DOM components will be favoured by increasing base cation and nutrient concentrations. (ii) Colloidal clay, base cations, biopolymers and living organisms, particularly bacteria, facilitate the removal of HS. Consequently, base-rich eutrophic waters tend to have lower HS concentrations than oligotrophic, base-deficient waters. (iii) As a result of higher productivity and selective removal of FAA, eutrophic waters tend to have higher FAA concentrations than those that are oligotrophic.6. Labile DOM components, such as FAA, act as sources of information for aquatic organisms. More research is needed in this field. There is a consensus that DOM acts as an important source of energy for aquatic bacteria, thus forming the microbial loop. However, higher eukaryotic organisms also utilize DOM, including components released by bacteria and plants as metabolic end-products and photoassimilates, respectively. As a result, these DOM components may be more important as food for macrodecomposers than the microdecomposers themselves. HS may also benefit aquatic organisms by promoting their growth and protecting them from inimical forces. Conversely, the removal of photons and the release of toxins by HS may be detrimental to aquatic organisms.7. It is concluded that the central dogma of the foodweb, and its implicit assumption that the energy flow in aquatic ecosystems can be quantified solely by measuring rates of photosynthesis, ingestion of solid food and its digestion by higher organisms, is invalid. To extend our understanding of the role of DOM as a source of nutrition and information to aquatic organisms it is suggested that the subject should be studied within the context of ‘modules’ which have the following properties: (i) the components have co-evolved; (ii) the more vulnerable components will have protective mechanisms; (iii) the components will derive mutual benefits from co-existence; (iv) sedentary components will release kairomonal attractants or developmental primers; (v) living components will exchange energy and information; (vi) the module will collapse following the removal of strongly interactive keystone species. An example of a three-component, three-subset module, is provided by tubificid worms, epilithic bacteria and algae. A more complex module consisting of pulmonate snails, associated macrophytes, their epiphytic bacteria and algae has four components and six subsets. The elucidation of the interactive mechanisms within such modules demands an interdisciplinary approach, involving microbiology, biochemistry and behavioural biology.

Notes: 1. Enclosures were installed in a fishless stream and divided transversely into upstream and downstream sections. Downstream sections were further divided longitudinally, and one of the downstream sections in each enclosure was stocked with juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and the other side was left as a fishless control. Densities of juvenile coho were then manipulated in upper sections of enclosures to determine the effect of upstream predation intensity on fish predation effects in downstream sections.2. Significantly fewer mayflies (primarily Ameletus sp.) were observed grazing on unglazed ceramic tiles in lower enclosure sections with fish present. There was no detectable effect of fish density in upstream enclosure sections on the number of mayflies observed grazing on ceramic tiles in lower sections of the enclosures.3. There was a significant positive effect of both fish presence and upstream density on chlorophyll a concentrations on ceramic tiles in lower enclosure sections, but not on chlorophyll a on natural gravel substratum.4. Behavioural experiments with mayflies and coho in streamside troughs suggest that Ameletus sp. responds primarily to mechanical rather than chemical cues from coho parr.

Notes: 1. Inorganic carbon availability influences species composition of phytoplankton in acidic and highly alkaline lakes, whereas the overall influence on community photosynthesis and growth is subject to debate.2. The influence of total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and free CO2 on community photosynthesis was studied in six Danish lakes during the summer of 1995. The lakes were selected to ensure a wide range of chlorophyll a concentrations (1–120 μg l–1), pH (5.6–9.6) and DIC concentration (0.02–2.5 mm). Photosynthesis experiments were performed using the 14C technique in CO2-manipulated water samples, either by changing the pH or by adding/removing CO2.3. Lake waters were naturally CO2 supersaturated during most of the experimental period and inorganic carbon limitation of photosynthetic rates did not occur under ambient conditions. However, photosynthesis by phytoplankton in lakes with low and intermediate DIC concentrations was seriously restricted when CO2 concentrations declined. Similarly, photosynthesis was limited by low CO2 concentrations during phytoplankton blooms in the hardwater alkaline lakes.

Notes: 1. Effects of flow regulation on abundance and richness of net-spinning caddis larvae (Hydropsychoidea; Trichoptera) were examined in fifty-two North Swedish rivers. Models based on conditions at unregulated sites were used to predict densities at impacted sites and the residuals, i.e. the differences between observed and predicted numbers, were used as measures of the effects.2. Two broad categories of impacted sites were identified. Sites with regulated but unreduced flow often have reduced seasonal flow variation and slightly enhanced short-term variation, while those with reduced flow usually have long periods of low and stable flow occasionally interrupted by short periods of violently fluctuating flow.3. The abundance of net-spinning caddis larvae was significantly lower than predicted at both types of sites (reduction 30%), while richness was significantly reduced only at sites with reduced flow (reduction 20%).4. A subsequent analysis of the relationship between the effects and variables altered by flow regulations, e.g. flow magnitude and flow variation, indicated that species richness was primarily affected by the occurrence of periods with zero flow, while negative effects of abundance were associated with high flow variability.5. Significant negative effects on the abundance of individual taxa were observed for Cheumatopsyche lepida and Hydropsyche pellucidula at sites with regulated but unreduced flow.6. Analyses of the relationships between the effects and regulation-related variables suggest that H. siltalai was significantly negatively affected by the occurrence of zero flow and that negative effects on Arctopsyche ladogensis were associated with flow reduction and high flow variability.

Notes: 1. A variety of bioassessment metrics were tested using family-level macroinvertebrate data, gathered by standard colonization units, and associated physicochemical data from pollution gradients in three rivers in developing countries.2. Graphical methods of evaluation were used to evaluate the metrics with respect to these pollution gradients.3. In general, the macroinvertebrate communities sampled displayed a similar response to pollution to that observed in well-studied temperate areas.4. Of the twenty metrics tested seven described the pollution gradients adequately. Four of these seven metrics, which do not supply duplicate information, were selected for use in a multimetric system of bioassessment.5. A multimetric system is proposed and tested using the original macroinvertebrate data. It performs well in the assessment of the pollution status of the study sites and the description of the pollution gradient. However, local modifications are likely to enhance its performance.

Notes: 1. The relative importance of zooplankton grazing and nutrient limitation in regulating the phytoplankton community in the non-stratified Lake Kvie, Denmark, were measured nine times during the growing season.2. Natural phytoplankton assemblage bioassays showed increasing importance of nutrient limitation during summer. Growth rates at ambient nutrient concentrations were continually below 0.12 per day, while co-enrichment with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to above concentration-saturated conditions enhanced growth rates from May to the end of July.3. Stoichiometric ratios of important elements in seston (C : N, C : P, N : P), in lake water (TN : TP), in external loading (TN : TP) and in internal loading (DIN : DIP) were measured to determine whether N or P could be the limiting nutrient. TN : TP molar ratio of both lake water, benthic fluxes and external loading suggested P limitation throughout the growing season. However, seston molar ratios suggested moderate P-deficiency only during mid-summer.4. Abundance and community structure of the zooplankton varied considerably through the season and proved to be important in determining the responses of algal assemblages to grazing. High abundance of cladocerans and rotifers resulted in significant grazing impact, while cyclopoid copepods had no significant effect on the phytoplankton biomass.5. Regeneration of ammonium and phosphate by zooplankton were periodically important for phytoplankton growth. A comparison of nutrient regeneration by zooplankton with nutrient inputs from sediment and external sources indicated that zooplankton may contribute significantly in supplying N and P for the growth of phytoplankton.

Notes: 1. Distribution patterns in 1994 and 1995 of chironomid larvae in the sediments of wetlands on Presque Isle, Pennsylvania were used to determine whether relationships exist among species composition and wetland age, position or environmental characteristics. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to relate wetland age, degree of isolation, vegetation abundance and water chemistry to species composition.2. Of forty-two chironomid taxa collected, Tanytarsus lugens group, Paratanytarsus sp. and Cladotanytarsus mancus group were the most widespread, but Lauterborniella agrayloides, Stictochironomus sp. and Cryptochironomus sp. were locally abundant in several sampling sites.3. The canonical ordination based on all site characteristics was statistically significant and accounted for 54.9% of the variance in the species data and 69.5% of the variance in the species–environment relationship. The variables that contributed significantly to the ordination model were macrophyte abundance, conductivity and wetland area.4. Partial canonical ordination based on environmental conditions with wetland age and position effects as covariables showed that environmental conditions explain a significant proportion of the variance in species composition among sites. Neither wetland age nor position variables explain a significant proportion of the variance in species composition.

Notes: 1. Natural experiments, in the form of disturbance from spates, were used to study the resistance and resilience of interstitial communities. Investigations were conducted in a by-passed section of the Rhône River characterized by an artificial hydrology with frequent spates separated by regular minimum discharge of 30 m3 s–1.2. Three areas of a bar were studied, upwellings at the head of the bar (stations 1 and 2), and downwelling at the tail of the bar (station 3). In the head of the bar the substratum was characterized by stable cobbles, while mobile gravels dominated in the tail of the bar. At each station, samples were derived from four depths (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m below the surface of the substratum). Fifteen spates occurred during the study period whose peak discharge ranged from 50 to 1640 m3 s–1. Temporal variations of the fauna were studied by comparing the spate effect observed 1 day (resistance), 7 days (resilience) and 17 days after the spate. Within-class correspondence analysis was used to compare the temporal variability of the fauna within each class {station/depth}.3. The fauna differed markedly between the three stations, and the relative density of stygobionts (i.e. hypogean fauna) decreased from 55% at station 1 to 4% at station 3. The spatio-temporal variability increased dramatically from station 1 to station 3.4. The results suggest that the hyporheic zone acts as a patchy refugium: the stations were more or less active refugial zones, depending on hydrology (upwelling or downwelling), substratum stability and spate amplitude.5. The downwelling station was the main refugium area for benthic taxa. Important migrations of benthic groups (e.g. Gammarus, Cladocera) or hyporheic taxa (e.g. Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida) were observed deep into the sediment (2 m). Vertical movements of stygobionts (Niphargus, Niphargopsis) were also observed at high amplitude spates. These movements were very important (great numbers of individuals migrated) at low and medium magnitude spates, but were unimportant at high discharge, when the threshold of sediment instability was exceeded. In this case the substratum became mobile and induced drift of benthic organisms.6. Conversely, in the upwelling stable stations, accumulation was less important (lower number of species and lower densities) but more constant with increasing discharge, suggesting that substratum stability is also a key factor.7. Generally recovery was rapid at all stations (within 7 days) but no relationships were found between resilience (rate of recovery) and the amplitude of spates.

Notes: 1. The objective of this study was to compare, in freshwater bivalves, growth rates inferred from the spacing of internal annuli to those obtained directly by measuring annual changes in shell length.2. The unionid mussels studied were Elliptio complanata and Lampsilis radiata from a pond in the north-eastern U.S.A. Age was inferred from internal lines of 157 E. complanata and twenty-five L. radiata. Actual length change was determined from comparisons of annual remeasurements of marked E. complanata (n = 520) in 1992–95 and L. radiata (n = 81) in 1993–95.3. High retrieval rates of painted mussels demonstrated the efficacy of the marking method.4. Annual length changes determined by remeasurement were significantly lower than annual length changes predicted by length-at-age data from internal annuli. Should this be a common occurrence, past estimates of annual growth based on annuli are probably too large, and unionid mussels may be much older than previously assumed.

Notes: 1. Data on submerged and floating-leafed macrophytes, phytoplankton, nutrients (N, P) and calcium were collected from twenty-four small lakes (〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:00465070:FWB159:les" location="les.gif"/〉 1 km2) over a wide range of latitudes in Norway. The majority of the investigated lakes were mesotrophic or eutrophic, and most of the lakes were markedly affected by diffuse and point-source runoff from agriculture. According to their macrophyte species composition, the majority of the lakes can be classified as Potamogeton lakes or Chara lakes, or a combination of these.2. This study is consistent with the ‘two alternative stable states’ hypothesis. We observed clearwater lakes with dense macrophyte cover over a wider range of total P concentration than has been reported previously: from 30 to more than 700 mg P m–3. The clearwater state was only observed in lakes with mean depths of less than 1.9 m.3. Most clear lakes with high cover of submerged vegetation showed indications of N limitation.4. In this study nearly all the macrophyte-dominated lakes with P concentrations above 30 mg m–3 had dense stands of Ceratophyllum demersum (L.). This indicates that Ceratophyllum may also play an important role in stabilizing and maintaining a clearwater state at high P concentrations.

Notes: 1. The non-linear responses of environmental systems to changes imposed upon them is well known to scientists. Environmental managers rarely act accordingly, however, because of communication problems, a lack of imagination and various other constraints. Therefore, we illustrate such non-linear responses to demonstrate that gains in efficiency (benefit per money spent) can be made by integrating these characteristics into decision making.2. Identifying three measures that are currently the focus of large freshwater management budgets (waste-water treatment, riparian buffer strips and discharge allocations to regulated rivers), we relate the costs of these measures to the environmental improvements achievable in running waters. For each of these measures, the environmental improvement achieved per currency unit significantly decreases with an increase in total money spent.3. Traditional environmental management ignores this system behaviour because it invests important parts of budgets in a particular measure before focusing on the next among other measures. We therefore advocate alternating investments in that measure which achieves the greatest environmental improvement in the next possible investment step. Compared with traditional management, this alternating decision-making strategy will achieve greater environmental improvements for a given total budget.